THE CANADIAN PRESS
VANCOUVER -- A missed block that results in a crucial quarterback sack.
A blown defensive assignment that ends up in a touchdown.
The B.C. Lions have played some pretty good football this CFL season. It's just been the occasional brain cramp and lapse of discipline that has resulted in the Lions sitting last in the West with a 5-7 record.
It's something the Lions know must be corrected when they play the Saskatchewan Roughriders Friday night at B.C. Place Stadium.
"I think we have been beating ourselves," defensive end Ricky Foley said after the Lions practised Thursday. "I don't think other teams have been beating us too much."
Veteran slotback Geroy Simon said 55 minutes of harmony can turn into a painful noise by five minutes of bad play.
"That has been our problem all year long," said Simon, who has just four touchdown catches this season. "We go out and play well. Then the nasty head of inconsistency creeps up and bites us on the butt."
"We have to find a way to play more consistently, find a way to put teams away when we have the lead. We've been so inconsistent it's killing us."
Mental mistakes and missed assignments can be an excuse in the third week of the season but the Lions are entering Week 13. Wally Buono, B.C.'s coach and general manager, knows time is running out.
"I really do believe this club needs to take a jump in its performance and needs to take more accountability for its play," said Buono, who leads the CFL with 232 career wins. "That's something we are stressing to them (the players)."
"It's critical to make sure you make the critical plays at critical times. You have to grow when it's crunch time, you have to get your momentum back. You have to stay away from stupidity, and you have to stay away from not being able to handle the situation."
Saskatchewan head coach Ken Miller said a look at the logjam in the CFL West standings shows all of the teams have lacked consistency.
"That has been one of our own battles, to improve consistency, particularly on offence," said Miller. "We have been a bit more consistent of late."
"If we can catch a streak where we are more consistent and they have some inconsistency, that would be good for us."
Quarterback Darian Durant said it boils down to who makes the least mistakes.
"Who ever executes the best, takes care of the ball, and makes sure they don't have dumb penalties and things like that, they will be the team to come out on top," he said.
The Riders roll into town tied with Calgary for first place in the West with a 7-5 record. Saskatchewan is also coming off an emotional 23-20 win over Edmonton last week.
The teams have split their first two games of the season, with the Riders winning the season-opener 28-24 in Regina. B.C. responded by whipping Saskatchewan 35-20 at B.C. Place.
One of Durant's favourite targets this season has been receiver Weston Dressler. Voted the CFL's top rookie last year, Dressler has 53 catches for 815 yards and three touchdowns.
Balancing Saskatchewan's air attack is a solid ground assault. Running back Wes Cates has 659 running yards and five touchdowns on 128 carries. The Rider offence leads the league with 17 rushing touchdowns.
.This isn't good news for a Lions defence that has given up a league-high 147.4-yards rushing a game.
Bruising Lions linebacker JoJuan Armour said stopping the Riders' run game is key.
"When ever you can stop the run, and make a team one dimensional, you have an outstanding chance to win that game," said Armour. "I don't think Durant can win the game by himself without that running game."
The Lions defence has been burned for some big plays along the ground this year. Winnipeg's Fred Reid ran wild with 260 yards on 25 carries on a night when the Bombers rushed for 393 yards.
Foley, named the CFL's top Canadian for September, said the Winnipeg game was an exception. Generally, the Lions defence has held firm but given up a few big plays.
"We have been good nine out of 10 running plays, then all of a sudden they get something that works because we did a mental mistake," he said. "We have to be more consistent."
