Our Offence-Words From Boss Buono!!

[Lionheart]

I have no problem with taking that strategy... however, just don't fall into bad habits is all.

[Blitz]

Provided below are Jason Clermont's thoughts about our offence in today's Vancouver Sun.

Clermont said "Naysayers don't believe that our offence is operating at a level to help us continue to win. The important numbers are found in the standings, not the statistics. Teams who are losing need to pass on almost every down, get big chunks of yards and pack in as many plays as they can. While there will be times that we will need to employ that strategy, we are quite content in protecting a lead, controlling the ball and the clock and collecting wins. Quite a luxury to have that as our biggest problem"!

Overall I agree with Clermont. We've been protecting leads, the running game is coming back into prominence against pass oriented defenses and we're ahead of the curve in that regard! However, our time of possessio isn't good. We still need to put together longer drives to keep our defense fresh and off the field and better execution in our passing game!

[Shi Zi Mi]

Time of possession is directly affected when you have a big lead and your playing "don't make a mistake" ball and the opposition defence is fully aware of the same........it's tough getting 1st downs and controlling the ball when your playbook is not only limited but the opposition has a good idea what's coming.

[Rammer]

Time of possession is directly affected when you have a big lead and your playing "don't make a mistake" ball and the opposition defence is fully aware of the same........it's tough getting 1st downs and controlling the ball when your playbook is not only limited but the opposition has a good idea what's coming.

While I agree completely on the reasons why the Lions haven't produced like some clubs have offensively, I am not sold on the limiting of our playbook to dump and run passes. Look at what was available to us when JJ took a couple of 30 yard passes downfield instead of a dump pass (which continues to be a problem throw for him), we would have had two long gains had Rodgers held onto a catchable ball. Going deep and getting an INT against you shouldn't hurt that much as it almost equates to a punt. Plus if you do that, all of a sudden the D has to respect your passing game and it opens up both the dump pass and the run.

Keep the petal to the metal and the results will show not only on the final scoreboard, but statiscally also.

[Shi Zi Mi]

Time of possession is directly affected when you have a big lead and your playing "don't make a mistake" ball and the opposition defence is fully aware of the same........it's tough getting 1st downs and controlling the ball when your playbook is not only limited but the opposition has a good idea what's coming.

While I agree completely on the reasons why the Lions haven't produced like some clubs have offensively, I am not sold on the limiting of our playbook to dump and run passes. Look at what was available to us when JJ took a couple of 30 yard passes downfield instead of a dump pass (which continues to be a problem throw for him), we would have had two long gains had Rodgers held onto a catchable ball. Going deep and getting an INT against you shouldn't hurt that much as it almost equates to a punt. Plus if you do that, all of a sudden the D has to respect your passing game and it opens up both the dump pass and the run.

Keep the petal to the metal and the results will show not only on the final scoreboard, but statiscally also.

While sounding great in theory.......very few coaches will go that route for one reason.......momentum.....or more specifically, the shift in momentum to the opposition if you turn the ball over, irregardless of field position.

Most coaches would prefer to trust their defense and their ability to stop the opposition, rather then risk the momentum shift and possible score that can occur on a turnover by your offense.

[Rammer]

Time of possession is directly affected when you have a big lead and your playing "don't make a mistake" ball and the opposition defence is fully aware of the same........it's tough getting 1st downs and controlling the ball when your playbook is not only limited but the opposition has a good idea what's coming.

While I agree completely on the reasons why the Lions haven't produced like some clubs have offensively, I am not sold on the limiting of our playbook to dump and run passes. Look at what was available to us when JJ took a couple of 30 yard passes downfield instead of a dump pass (which continues to be a problem throw for him), we would have had two long gains had Rodgers held onto a catchable ball. Going deep and getting an INT against you shouldn't hurt that much as it almost equates to a punt. Plus if you do that, all of a sudden the D has to respect your passing game and it opens up both the dump pass and the run.

Keep the petal to the metal and the results will show not only on the final scoreboard, but statiscally also.

While sounding great in theory.......very few coaches will go that route for one reason.......momentum.....or more specifically, the shift in momentum to the opposition if you turn the ball over, irregardless of field position.

Most coaches would prefer to trust their defense and their ability to stop the opposition, rather then risk the momentum shift and possible score that can occur on a turnover by your offense.

There are times to go deep though, you make things much easier down the stretch if you can spread the D out, rather than having them load the box. Any rate, if we are leading teams into our tendencies of a ball control offense late in games, perhaps we will burn them when the games really count in the playoffs.

[Blitz]

There are times to go deep though, you make things much easier down the stretch if you can spread the D out, rather than having them load the box. Any rate, if we are leading teams into our tendencies of a ball control offense late in games, perhaps we will burn them when the games really count in the playoffs.
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TD LION82, the ball is thrown into Section 17 where a mad scramble ensues, the winner of the

Now there is a great thought...I can see it in my mind already!

[Toppy Vann]

Wally figured that Geroy petered-out at about the 15 game mark last year due to the beating he was taking. And this year they want to start him off slower to preserve his body so he can be a factor in the playoffs. Wally said that Geroy would be back as the premier receiver by mid-season.

I guess there is no reason to get Geroy too beat up this early season. Better to use all your receivers and work in some new guys, as all four Western teams might make the playoffs with the crossover.

I laughed at Wally's characterization of the Geroy stats. This clearly is a case of statistics don't lie but people can spin them as they want. GM/HC Wally Buono is for the most part, truthful with the fans and media. The worst he could be accused of in a pinch like a bad injury situation the most he could be accused of is telling the truth- slowly.

Guys like Geroy have been open and just not seen for a lot of reasons including QB time to make the reads, their prep time for the seaon and just plain missing guys. If the BC Lions weren't at all quietly concerned about the QBs not finding the Simons, I'd say the coaches better get checked out for post concussion stress syndrome.

The main stat is the 4 wins. This is a good record however stellar the performances to get the wins were. When you win a Grey Cup I don't think fans ask the player/coach sporting the ring whether it was a good game or not. They take the win.

However, in the earlier season going, football teams like the Lions are taking the wins but learning the lesson from the games to get better. The real risk for BC is the QB now trying to force throws to receivers like Geroy and getting picked. The offence needs to find its rhythm and it will if the QBs are not banged up and the play calling and execution is smart.

Receivers like Geroy have to be personally concerned in this league and team when their numbers fall as they all know the Lions HC says his job is to find a guy better than the guy he has now and the GM is always looking for the same talent and rising star who comes at a cheaper price! This ain't NHL hockey where a mediocre player with potential gets offer sheets that drive his pay beyond anything the guy deserves.

Geroy has a lot of followers in this town and the owner and President see how well fans react to him and come to see him play. That has to be worth something, I hope for his and the fans sake. But if we are still seeing Geroy's numbers this low with 4 games to play, I'm not sure what the wins-losses then might be for their team.

[midwestlion]

Receivers like Geroy have to be personally concerned in this league and team when their numbers fall as they all know the Lions HC says his job is to find a guy better than the guy he has now and the GM is always looking for the same talent and rising star who comes at a cheaper price!

Exaclty!!! As i said before this could shape to be the demise of Geroy in O and B. Ive seen this too many times. Unless they are forced to use him they are in no rush, obviously. And "waiting to use him" is just outright ridiculous. It is called timing and chemistry which Geroy isnt getting with Buck. Wally is not stupid. If it smells and looks funny something funny is going on 9 times out of ten. 8)

[Shi Zi Mi]

Let's see the Lions are 4-0, they have the league best record in both "points for" and "points against".........yet, there's something broken?

Anyone else a little confused by the huge concern over statistics?

[Lion Guy]

Let's see the Lions are 4-0, they have the league best record in both "points for" and "points against".........yet, there's something broken?

Anyone else a little confused by the huge concern over statistics?

Nope. Don't care who's playin'.....don't care who'se throwin' and catchin'......just win baby.

[LFITQ]

Let's see the Lions are 4-0, they have the league best record in both "points for" and "points against".........yet, there's something broken?

Anyone else a little confused by the huge concern over statistics?

Anyone else remember the season upon season upon season where the Lions would win the stats but lose the game? I kinda like this year's version better. However, just because something is getting you the results you want, doesn't mean that something isn't broke or needs more maintenance. Being aware of problems can allow you to be PROACTIVE rather than REACTIVE. And trust me, it really sucks when you get into a "reactive" mode, right Hamilton?

[Blitz]

Anyone else remember the season upon season upon season where the Lions would win the stats but lose the game? I kinda like this year's version better. However, just because something is getting you the results you want, doesn't mean that something isn't broke or needs more maintenance. Being aware of problems can allow you to be PROACTIVE rather than REACTIVE. And trust me, it really sucks when you get into a "reactive" mode, right Hamilton?
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It's a difficult change for some of the players LFITQ and I think you understand that! We had to make changes to our offence!!It was obvious, regular season statistics aside, in a big game, that if you doubled Geroy, brought pressure, and played the underneath game aggressively, you could shut down our offence fairly effectively.

We had to get running the ball more often. Being seventh in rushing attempts and a team low in rushing yardage the last two seasons meant that, by shutting down our intermediate passing game (we had become reluctant to test teams deep very often) you could take away 80% of our offence.

It's not easy on the receivers for a number of reasons. First of all, stats aside this is a returning championship team and players prefer something they are used to. They got a lot of passes thrown to them in the past. This is a bit of a change...and when it works they will be fine with it but they have a little less of a role, all receivers want the football thrown to them, and they have to adjust to a different rythym with a few more runs mixed in there!

It's always easier to make a change when you are rebuilding or when an entire new coaching staff comes in, or when things haven't worked well in the past and a change is refreshing, or when you have a lot of key players who haven't been with the team for more than a couple of seasons.

However, for a veteran offence (and the key players were vets...Angus Reid, Geroy Simon, Jason Clermont, Dave Dickenson)...then it takes some adjusting. The adjustment was proably the most difficult especially for Simon after the season he had, when our Leos threw to him a lot and for Dickenson, who likes to play pass and catch football.

It takes more guts to make some changes in offensive orientation to a championship team. However, championship teams don't stay championship teams without making adjustments. You're either going ahead or going backward. Sometimes you have to take a step backward to go two steps ahead but that isn't easy when there is a high standard that you win each game and win it impressively!

We all know that defenses are stacked against the intermediate pass, especially agains us. The zone blitz has also added to the equation because defenses can blitz without giving up the deep ball in man coverage. We know they can bring in special packages with lots of extra defensive backs to attempt to shut down your prime receivers.

The recipe is that you have to run the ball a little more (and for us we're still only running the football about 33% of the time with our running backs. You also have to go maximum protection at times to give the quarterback a little more time to go deep! However, you don't need a lot of extra time to go deep. Too many quarterbacks throw the deep ball when they see the receiver open and hang it up there! That's too late and defensive backs often recover when the ball is in the air. It has to be thrown earlier, just as the cushion is breaking down!

LFITQ is right...offences have to be proactive, not reactive! You almost have unlimited motion with your receivers and backs in the CFL and tremendous flexibility with personel and formation. The question is...so why would you use basically one formation, with everyone stationary except two receivers getting a bit of a running start before hitting the line of scrimmage..and using the same personel on every down as well!

Defenses got ahead because they went multi-formational, specialized with down and distance, and studied offensive tendancies. So what do CFL offences do...they show the defense what formation they are going to be well before the snap, they rarely change offensive personel for down and distance, they don't utilize the motion they have, and they continue to go with the same tendancies!

It's not rocket science...but too many CFL offences continue to help defenses do their job! Thankfully, we're making an attempt to counteract that with our offence. Will it be successful...no one knows for sure but it at least makes sense!

[Shi Zi Mi]

Let's see the Lions are 4-0, they have the league best record in both "points for" and "points against".........yet, there's something broken?

Anyone else a little confused by the huge concern over statistics?

Anyone else remember the season upon season upon season where the Lions would win the stats but lose the game? I kinda like this year's version better. However, just because something is getting you the results you want, doesn't mean that something isn't broke or needs more maintenance. Being aware of problems can allow you to be PROACTIVE rather than REACTIVE. And trust me, it really sucks when you get into a "reactive" mode, right Hamilton?

IMHO, it's impossible to tell if something is broke or needs maintenance unless you have a real need for it.........you can't tell if the car in the garage with the tarp over it needs maintenance unless you need to take it out on the road.

The offense has not needed to put up big offensive numbers because of the play of the defense........short fields, big leads, etc has the causal effect of not requiring our offense to open things up......so, why assume that something must be broken? After all, a win by 1pt is the same in the standings as a win by 60pts.

[Rammer]

Let's see the Lions are 4-0, they have the league best record in both "points for" and "points against".........yet, there's something broken?

Anyone else a little confused by the huge concern over statistics?

Anyone else remember the season upon season upon season where the Lions would win the stats but lose the game? I kinda like this year's version better. However, just because something is getting you the results you want, doesn't mean that something isn't broke or needs more maintenance. Being aware of problems can allow you to be PROACTIVE rather than REACTIVE. And trust me, it really sucks when you get into a "reactive" mode, right Hamilton?

IMHO, it's impossible to tell if something is broke or needs maintenance unless you have a real need for it.........you can't tell if the car in the garage with the tarp over it needs maintenance unless you need to take it out on the road.

The offense has not needed to put up big offensive numbers because of the play of the defense........short fields, big leads, etc has the causal effect of not requiring our offense to open things up......so, why assume that something must be broken? After all, a win by 1pt is the same in the standings as a win by 60pts.

While you are mostly correct, a win by 60 gives you an advantage against a divisional rival for a tie breaker, but I agree with putting up wins, and all of that is a moot point.