B.C. Lions bring back T.J. Lee, hoping he can help sagging defence

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The B.C. Lions are hoping an old friend provides a new spark to their defence.

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The Lions announced Wednesday that they have signed defensive back T.J. Lee, bringing back the 34-year-old who had been sitting idle since general manager Ryan Rigmaiden said in February that the team had cut ties with the 10-year veteran.

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Assuming Lee plays Friday against the Ottawa Redblacks at B.C. Placeit will be his 140th regular-season game in B.C. colours, to go with eight playoff match-ups. The Seattle product sits third on the club’s all-time list with 584 defensive tackles, and his 28 interceptions have him seventh in team history.

B.C. has had its troubles stopping other teams all season long. They are second from the bottom in the nine-team CFL in points against (29.8 per game). And the issues shutting down opponents have been particularly prevalent of late.

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They held the Redblacks to a mere 84 yards of offence in the first half Friday in Ottawa, but gave up 293 yards in the second half and wound up losing 34-33. They allowed a 52-yard pass with 33 seconds to go — when everyone in the stadium knew Ottawa was throwing deep — to set up the winning tally from 10 yards out. They were outscored 18-6 in the fourth quarter by Ottawa, and they have been outscored by 21 points in the fourth quarter in their past five games.

The Ottawa setback followed a 52-34 loss on the road to the Toronto Argonauts, a night in which the Lions allowed 25 points in the second quarter, marking the most points they had given up in any single frame since 2010.

Ottawa and Toronto are the bottom two teams in the Eastern Conference.

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B.C. (5-7) is still in a playoff hunt going into the Friday return visit against Ottawa (4-8), although these recent loses have the Redblacks and Argonauts (4-8) now suddenly hot on their heels when it comes to B.C. getting the cross-over playoff game with the Eastern Conference.

Rigmaiden is bringing in other reinforcements to help right the ship. Along with Lee, the team also announced the signing on Wednesday of defensive back Marquise Bridges, 28, who had been with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers earlier this year. On Tuesday, it was the addition of defensive lineman Bradlee Anae, 26, who was at San Francisco 49ers training camp.

“We’re inconsistent right now. We’ve got to get the ability to finish,” Rigmaiden said. “You’ve seen us play really, really well at times, and you’ve seen us play poorly at times. We’ve got the talent. We know we can hang with anybody in this league. But consistency is the key.”

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Rigmaiden balked at the idea of finding ways to keep out the frustration right now.

“You are frustrated. It motivates you. It would be one thing about not having the talent, not having the coaching and getting beat,” he said. “It’s another thing when it’s penalties or poor play or whatever it is. When we feel like we have the talent and we’re not performing, we’ve got to get better and we’ve got to change our focus.”

A bugaboo when it comes to focus for the Lions continues to be penalties. They were flagged nine times against Ottawa for 105 yards. The Lions (74.8 yards per game) are giving up the second most yards for infractions in the CFL right now, and it’s spread across the board with the offence (36, third most), defence (39, most) and special teams (24, tied for most) all frequent guilty parties.

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“It can’t happen. Can’t happen,” coach Buck Pierce said of this penalty penchant. “We’ve addressed it internally. We’ve got to do better.”

Rigmaiden added: “Buck and the rest of the coaching staff have been focussed on penalties and discipline all year. Sometimes it’s taken, sometimes it’s not. And frankly last week you saw some of the penalties — especially post whistle — and that stuff is unacceptable. We’ve got to get better. We’ve challenged the guys. I think they’re policing themselves a little bit more.”

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Linebacker Micah Awe talks about how he believes the Lions have “an extremely, extremely good team, but it’s all potential right now.

“We need to translate that into the whole game,” Awe said. “Even if we get into the playoffs, it’s going to be one and done if we don’t learn from what happened to us the past couple of games. If we do learn, we’re dangerous.

“I think the main thing is just mindset. It’s always mindset. That’s the only difference between professional athletes. Our talent is plus or minus a little bit. The scheme is plus or minus a little bit. At the end of the day, it’s mindset.”

Lee tore his Achilles in the 2023 playoffs. He returned ahead of schedule last season, and wound up with 61 tackles in 12 games.

“I’m not typical. Why would I subscribe to the typical mindset when I’ve done nothing typical?’ Lee told Postmedia’s J.J. Adams last July.

@Seveves

SEwen@postmedia.com

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