Benevides keeps Lions’ glass half full all week
Players in locker-room know what they have to do vs. Calgary after loss to Saskatchewan
CALGARY — Mike Benevides had his choice. Two different snippets of game film were at his disposal to review for the B.C. Lions this week. Same opponent. Vastly different outcomes. You be the coach: Which view of the Calgary Stampeders would you show your CFL team?
It was a window into his coaching playbook when Benevides elected to show the Lions at their best earlier this season when they became one of only three teams to beat Calgary, as opposed to the last time they visited McMahon Stadium, when they were at their worst in the season opener.
And that’s consistent with the way you could look at the Lions going into the third of four meetings against the practically-perfect Stamps.
If the glass is half-full, you’d note the Lions are the only team in 14 games this season to hold Calgary to under 300 yards offence when B.C. recorded a 26-22 win at B.C. Place Stadium Aug. 17.
If it’s half-empty, well, the Stamps’ offence has been a nightmare: The last time they played here, the defence gave up 200 yards rushing for the first time since 2010 when the Lions were playing home games at Empire Field. Since 2009, four of the seven worst defensive showings by the Lions have been since Dave Dickenson became a Calgary coach.
The theatrical choice to Benevides was obvious, as was the reasoning in the wake of a disheartening home loss to the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
“We focused on the positive,” defensive lineman Keron Williams said. “Coming off a tough loss, I wouldn’t think it would be wise to berate your players and beat them down worse than they already feel.”
Indeed, other players also felt a few coaches who normally lash out following losses took a decidedly calmer approach this week.
The goal was trying to strike a balance between the passive play that had been evident on the road until two games ago and aggression which will be needed to avoid being embarrassed by the Stamps.
“At this point, everybody should know what’s at stake,” said linebacker Solomon Elimimian, who didn’t play in the 44-32 beat down absorbed in Calgary June 28 and said he was so mad watching the game in Vancouver he wanted to start throwing chairs.
“If the last two games don’t make youre member the physical intensity, I don’t know what there is to be said. It’s Calgary vs. B.C. Everything is amplified. Regular-season games feel like playoff games. Playoff games feel like Grey Cup games. We’ve got to come out with focus and intensity. That’s what is going to get the job done.”
What got the job done in B.C.’s win over Calgary was a first career kickoff return touchdown by Tim Brown, and a combined 16-tackle effort from Elimimian and Adam Bighill as part of a smothering defensive effort against Stamps quarterback Kevin Glenn, who gets the start tonight.
Nothing less will do from Thomas DeMarco in his first quarterbacking start against a Calgary defence that pitched a shutout last week in a home win over hapless Winnipeg. Showing a win in film study only reinforced that point.
“You can’t beat this team without being good from minute one to 60. If we don’t play that way we can’t get it done,” Benevides said.