VANCOUVER — Nathan Rourke and the BC Lions got the best of Tre Ford and the Edmonton Elks with a 31-14 win on Saturday night to close out Week 1.
First half looked tricky for Lions but Rourke starting cooking in the second. As a fan during the 2022 season, I felt the old confidence in the team returning last night. The QB looked relaxed and confident and most importantly, having fun out there. Pierce called a tight, enlightened second half, although his short yardage attempts in the first half were hair-brained.
The D looked solid, too.
Special teams need work. The coverage on returns looked effete and uninspired. Jackson’s returns were questionable; he needs coaching in the mental aspect of returns. Another game of mistakes like this one and he won’t be around much longer.
Although I wasn’t looking forward to Snoop Dogg, I’m glad I was part of it. The fans (and many players I suppose) brought a fun, cool vibe to the night, especially when Mr. Dogg threw a tight spiral to the upper deck, into the hands of a young woman. It was almost Rourke-worthy.
Biggest complaint is for TSN. When I got home to watch the replay I recorded on TSN 3, the result wasn’t even HD. It was chopped liver SD. Just crap. I was hoping this season would be better than the previous ones where the quality of the broadcast image gets worse on TSN the further west you go. Once out of Ontario, the image keeps getting worse through Winnipeg to Regina to AB teams until it’s a blotchy low-res mess by BC. How does TSN get away with that? Is it because games from BC start at 10 PM EST and there’s a ‘who cares’ attitude that not enough Canadians east of Vancouver are watching for TSN headquarters in Toronto to invest in a quality image, HD at the least?
That was the highlight of his performance!
Why is the kicker for the Elks wearing #26; that’s Cutler’s old number. Among the team’s sacred numbers that should only be admired from afar and not used are #26.
I’m not a fan of the QB sneak. I like a FB to bulldoze in. Lions needed MACKIE. The new punter can boom them but his hang time was zilch. EE had 20+ yards before we got near them sometimes. A few games in will help our returner figure out when to run and when not to try the run out of the endzone. Rourke got us out of trouble a few times. Man Tre can move!!!
I guess Brice hasn’t improved any in that department.
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What TV provider do you use?
I haven’t had a chance to watch the recording via Shaw/Rogers IPTV (visiting bro is where my TV is), but last year, I didn’t notice any difference in quality between the games (i.e., it doesn’t look SD). I’m in Vancouver. The two preseason games I recorded looked fine.
I was glad to see the two players I think are the most underrated on the team, Hladik on defense and Cottoy on offence, stand out in this game. They deserve more notice than they usually get.
He probably needs to re-start his Modem or upgrade the internet plan,