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“I don’t buy the argument,” Buono said at the team’s Surrey practice facility. “I understand the argument but I don’t buy it. I do buy what I see on tape and to me, when the physicality is there, when the intensity is there, we’re winning. That’s all I know.”

And all that he can allow himself to know at this point of his CFL season.

Looking back over the ragged landscape of this Lions campaign, it’s now pretty obvious their inconsistency is a direct consequence of all that turnover on and off the field. To be sure, the Lions have shown flashes in building their 3-5 record.

But the more lasting impression is a team that’s unsure of itself, a team that is unclear about what to expect from itself and each individual when the game is on the line.

Maybe that’s to be expected when more than half of your players are new to their jobs. The problem for the Leos is Saturday’s game will mark the halfway point of their season and they’ve squandered whatever margin of error existed two months ago when they were that fun-loving expansion outfit.

They’re already a game back of the Roughriders in the race for fourth. A loss to the Green Things would mutilate their post-season aspirations. In a kinder world, the Lions would still be trying to adjust to their new roles and their new assignments, but the world of professional sports isn’t exactly known for its charity or benevolence.

“Right now we’re an abstract paint,” said running back Jeremiah Johnson. “It might be beautiful to a lot of people and it might not. I think we need to be more like the Mona Lisa where everyone knows it’s a beautiful picture and knows exactly what it is.”