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We’re playing football, right?
Courtesy Vancouver Province:
“I don’t want to talk.”
There are times when a natural self-preservation mode is useful for players like Geroy Simon. But a second later, once he reassessed the leadership role he plays on his team, there was no holding back the slotback after the Lions’ truly horrific performance in losing 28-24 to the Saskatchewan Roughriders Friday.
“I’ve never been a part of something that bad,” he said. Short. Sweet. Accurate.
“We can’t execute our offence with the quarterback on his back, and when we drop balls. We can’t make excuses because by the time the season’s over we’re going to make so many damn excuses we’re going to be out of the playoffs.
“We’re supposed to execute. This is professional football.”
Really? What both teams did for the most part looked as if it belonged on Eric Tillman’s back lawn, with the exiled general manager of the Roughriders serving the Lions spiked lemonade.
It was what you’d expect for a regular season CFL opener, but a lot worse for the Lions. Nine sacks allowed. Seven turnovers. Six fumbles. And the amazing part was if not for a missed catch by Ryan Grice-Mullen behind coverage late in the circus, the Lions nearly went to overtime. All but five of the 52 points scored in the contest came off turnovers.
There were some foundation-building moments. Javy Glatt and Anton McKenzie combined for 13 tackles. Martell Mallett averaged 10.5 yards a carry. Ryan Phillips had two interceptions. Led by the defence, the Lions produced eight turnovers and almost had 10.
Bonehead plays, however, proved deadly.
A fumbled punt by Paul McCallum resulted in a Riders touchdown.
“The balls were super-slick,” he said.
Lyle Green failed to fall on one of two blocked punts, which would have at least produced a field goal.
“The bounces just didn’t go our way,” said Green.
Further, there was odd strategy by coach Wally Buono, a repeat offender in Regina. Buono had McCallum punt rather than try a 40-yard field goal into the wind in the fourth quarter, and took career active punt blocker Barron Miles off the field at least twice on special teams.
The real problem, aside from the fact quarterback Buck Pierce barely escaped with all his body parts intact because of the Riders’ rush, is that the Lions offence looked like Jesse Lumsden’s shoulder. Neither is better than last year.
And it might get worse if Ian Smart can’t bounce back from a groin pull suffered without being hit. Given a chance to both start at tailback and return kicks, Smart didn’t return after only his eighth touch of the game.
“Call it fatigue,” Buono said of Smart, who had improved Saturday but will get a precautionary MRI Monday.
Pierce, who tossed the first two interceptions of his career against Saskatchewan, only completed three passes longer than 15 yards but also only had two snaps inside the red zone. He rarely had time to attack and when he did, the Lions weren’t sure of some of the play alignments.
“You got to focus even more when the bleeping crowd is screaming as loud as they were,” said Simon (three catches, 14 yards), who was about as visible as the Riders’ Jason Clermont (one catch, nine yards).
“Listen to what the quarterback says [in the huddle], instead of as soon as he starts talking you start running. It’s the basics of football. You got to process the information. My son, he’s eight years old and he’s playing Pop Warner football — the first thing you teach him is that you have to hear the play. You can’t be like a two-year-old running around.”
But for starters, that’s exactly how the Lions looked. It’s the truth.
