Consistency is what every team strives for.
And it’s something that B.C. Lions defensive coordinator Ryan Phillips is still trying to find with his unit 15 games into the 2024 CFL season.
The Lions appeared to have turned the corner with victories against Ottawa and Montreal, only to follow those wins with home losses to Toronto and Hamilton.
The 32-29 defeat to the Tiger-Cats in overtime last Friday at BC Place took that inconsistency to another level.
The Lions defense was dominant in the first half, holding Hamilton scoreless with the Tiger-Cats managing just three first downs and 36 yards passing while mustering only 52 yards of total offense.
Staked to a 16-0 lead after two quarters, the Lions defensive unit collapsed in the second half, giving up 20 first downs, 282 yards passing and 301 yards of total offense.
Hamilton had seven first half possessions and punted on six of them with the other ending with a Ronald Kent Jr. interception.
In the second half, the Tiger-Cats had six possessions which resulted in four touchdowns, a field goal and a punt.
You have to tip your cap to Hamilton quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell, who went on a heater after Kent’s interception by completing 29 of 30 passes but you also have to look at the B.C. defense and ask what’s going on?
Why was a dominant first-half followed up by a second-half performance that saw Mitchell post video game numbers?
The first thought process is to point at the secondary, but if you ask Phillips, the blame falls on everyone.
“We just need to finish the game. We had opportunities to make some plays to change the game, whether it was through tackling or whether it was making plays with the ball in the air. We had guys in similar spots (in the second half) in which they were making plays in the beginning but every thing starts with me as far as the position I put them in. We weren’t as aggressive in our play calling. It was a team thing and that includes the coaches, so I can be better as well,” Phillips told us after practice earlier this week.
The Lions pass rush is also to blame for issues in the passing game.
The defensive line needs to get more constant pressure on opposing quarterbacks – and that also means getting there with four rushers rather than Phillips having to blitz and leaving the secondary exposed.
“It’s all hand in hand. We’re talking about a complete defense. I tell everyone it takes 12 to stop the run just like it takes all 12 to negate the pass. You need those one or two guys to be able to make some plays in case things break down. The defensive line can save the back end and vice versa,” explained Phillips.
Phillips loves to see his defense dictate the game to the opposing team’s offense. He wants his unit to play with confidence and aggressiveness yet that has been an issue for the Lions this season when looking at the numbers. The Lions have only managed nine interceptions, which is last in the CFL. The opposing quarterback efficiency rating was 108.3 heading into the Hamilton game and that number surely will go up after Mitchell’s performance. To give you some context, Dave Dickenson has the CFL’s best career efficiency rating at 110.2 with only Trevor Harris (102.7) and Zach Collaros (100.0) in triple digits.
In other words, the Lions defense has been making average quarterbacks look like Hall-of-Famers.
Part of the problem has been a constant shuffling of personnel from week-to-week which means players aren’t playing with confidence and aggressiveness when starting in a new position or beside a new teammate.
Some of that shuffling has been due to injury while some of it has been because Phillips is still trying to find players who will produce.
“This is professional football though, so you have to be ready to meet the standard. Regardless of whether it’s a new guy, a rookie or someone that’s only played two or three games, we have got to find ways to get guys to play fast, play physical and make sure we’re able to make those plays that we need to win games. I don’t like using it as an excuse but it (the shuffling) sometimes plays a factor when you have to maybe make some things simpler for guys to play faster, but at the end of the day, we still have got to be in position to make those plays,” said Phillips.
With three games left in the regular season and the Lions fighting for a playoff spot, it appears that Phillips will settle on a group that features shutdown corner Garry Peters and halfback Manny Rugamba on the boundary side, rookie Cristophe Beaulieu in the middle at safety, with Ronald Kent Jr. and veteran Jalon Edwards-Cooper manning the wide side half and corner respectively.
“We’re going into week 16 now, so we are trying to set ourselves up for the long run. It’s time for us to start establishing our ground. I like the group that we have out there right now. I expect those guys to make plays and I expect those guys to take care of one another. We should see a few more plays being made,” said Phillips.
Heading into this Friday’s game against Calgary at BC Place, Phillips just wants to see a full 60 minutes from his unit.
“If we do that, I like our chances. We have the talent level — and that’s fine and dandy — but we’ve got to go out there and play for 60 minutes. We have to execute for 60 minutes and I have to call plays to make sure our guys are able to do that for 60 minutes. We can’t go out there and play 30 minutes and then think that a team with their back against the wall is not going to give us their best effort in the second half. We have to go out there and take the game. I want to see that approach for every single play,” said Phillips.
It’s imperative that the Lions do just that with a month left in the schedule.
The team’s post-season hopes will in all likelihood depend on it.
OVERTIME:
* The Stampeders (4-9-1) come into Vancouver coming off a bye to play the Lions (7-8) Friday night at BC Place (7 p.m.; CKNW 980, TSN). Calgary is winless in six road games this season.
* Lions running back William Stanback rushed for 103 yards on 15 carries against Hamilton, and in the process, cracked the 1,000-yard mark for the third time in his career. It’s also the third time that Stanback has eclipsed the 100-yard mark in the last six games.
* The Lions are hoping that receiver Jevon Cottoy (ankle) and fullback David Mackie (hamstring) might be able to play on Friday night but it’s not looking too good as both players didn’t practice on Tuesday. Defensive end Pete Robertson (foot) is back practicing and could be activated soon.
* The ‘Gravy Bowl’ will take place prior to the game at Terry Fox Plaza with a special turkey carving and pie eating contest featuring Lions President Duane Vienneau and Stampeders President Jay McNeil.
Veteran B.C. sports personality Bob “the Moj” Marjanovich writes twice weekly for Black Press Media.
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