Post Mortem

[Don Miller]

Too many big plays missed to open recievers today. Stephan Logan played his rear end off. McCallum missed two field goals? Our linebackers are just plain not good enough and haven't been all season. Glatt should be back on special teams. Jamal Johnston has to go to the middle, heck I would put Araki in there, he is on of our best tacklers. Our db's are slow and can't tackle. For sure we go into Regina as huge underdogs. Where was Brent Johnston today? I thought that Jarious should have played a little. Buck was not real sharp today. We had better be ready for the quarterback draw for sure. If we can pressure Bishop he will throw up some interceptions. Very disappointing from a season ticket holders perspective. I am sure David Braley is very disappointed. Glen Suitor should put on his old Riders jersey again he is such a Rider homer. With the poor start we had we are lucky we are not crosssing over to Winnipeg. I think the Peg will beat Edmonton. I think Sask will be favoured by 7.

[SammyGreene]

The lionbacking play was deplorable today. It started with Reynolds ripping off big runs then his back-up — then their 2nd string QB of all culprits.

This season has reminded me a lot of what it use to look like prior to Ritchie's arrival in ’05. A competitive team that needs to out gun quality opponents for Ws and unit will look even worse minus Wake next season.

I don't know if it's Buck's ankle but the confidence and swagger we saw for much of the last 2 months has suddenly gone missing. He seems to have trouble with his reads and his decision making is lacking at times. Still, thanks to a terrific game from Logan, more than enough points were produced today. Again, it goes back to our defence not getting the job done regardless who was quarterbacking.

Biggest concern is what Blitz has pointed out — Ritchie beated to his own drum and put his stamp on the defence where Benevides is more of Wally's guy and his scheme reflects that. I can see Wally making personnel changes for next season but the playbook staying relatively the same.

[Blitz]

Too many big plays missed to open recievers today. Stephan Logan played his rear end off. McCallum missed two field goals? Our linebackers are just plain not good enough and haven't been all season. Glatt should be back on special teams. Jamal Johnston has to go to the middle, heck I would put Araki in there, he is on of our best tacklers. Our db's are slow and can't tackle. For sure we go into Regina as huge underdogs. Where was Brent Johnston today? I thought that Jarious should have played a little. Buck was not real sharp today. We had better be ready for the quarterback draw for sure. If we can pressure Bishop he will throw up some interceptions. Very disappointing from a season ticket holders perspective. I am sure David Braley is very disappointed. Glen Suitor should put on his old Riders jersey again he is such a Rider homer. With the poor start we had we are lucky we are not crosssing over to Winnipeg. I think the Peg will beat Edmonton. I think Sask will be favoured by 7.

You hit a lot of nails on the head in your post!

First of all, it's been obvious for four games now that defenses are going to sit on our underneath game. They have been doing that with underneath zone most of the time. Today Calgary did it with bump and run press man coverage underneath. Buck throws the eight yard pass very well. He is excellent at hitting Logan out of the backfield. But outside of one nice pass to Paris Jackson he has trouble throwing anything accurate deeper than 12 yards. He underthrew Paris Jackson in the end zone in what should have been a sure touchdown. He threw passes behind Geroy Simon. He almost got Coleman killed. He left a lot of good plays out there that went incomplete. If Buck couldn't hit Logan out of the backfield or a short underneath pass we were in trouble. No defense is worried about his running ability. Buck's two interceptions really hurt as well. Buck is obviously nicked up with his sore ankle but right now I don't have the confidence of us winning a playoff game with Buck going all the way. I'm not confident in Jarious going all the way either.

Logan had a fantastic game, both running and pass receiving. He was most of our offence but he couldn't do it all by himself. Our offensive line also blocked very well most of the time, gave Buck a lot of time to throw on most occasions. Calgary has the best run defense in the league and we opened good holes for Logan. However, we couldn't pass against the fifth worst pass defense in the league.

The fact is that we have Buck who excels at the underneath game but struggles with the deeper ball. We have Jarious who throws beautiful deep and long intermediate passes but lacks touch on the dump off pass and the short stuff. However, Jarious is an excellent runner and right now Buck is not. We need a combination of both and since we don't have that in one quarterback we should be using both.

Linebacker play is killing us. Glatt was slow and in poor position on both touchdowns that Nealy scored on. On the second touchdown, Jamal Johnson forced him inside and Glatt was nowhere to be seen. Miles took a terrible pass interference call that really hurt, following Smart not making a smart play at all on a football that was bouncing around. He should have let it go dead.

However, our biggest problem is that we're being outcoached. Calgary adjusted their defense to our passing attacck, making the short stuff very difficult to get and knew we wouldn't be able to hurt them deep. That's how smart defensive coaches are playing us and Richie Hall will play us that way next week. Meanwhile, Calgary also had a great game plan offensively, throwing quick passes to negate our pass rush and using a lot of misdirection runs to try to freeze our defensive ends.

However, our coaches are not doing the same thing. We are not scheming well. Offensively I was pleased that Chap ran the football a lot against a very tough defense to run against and the dump off pass to Logan is now a featured part of our offence. However, we don't scheme to get the deep ball to anyone except Simon and defenses know it. Defensively, no matter how much criticism I read about our defensive backs the big problem is scheme now and that is very obvious, plus we have a few players who are not performing. They are Brent Johnson, Javy Glatt, Otis Floyd, and Barrin Miles. If we want to win in Regina they have to play much better and Benevedes has to scheme better and his play calling has to improve as well. The fact is that too often there are receivers completely uncovered and that's a scheme problem.

A disappointing loss when we were playing a team that had nothing to play for except pride and sat their first string quarterback for the entire second half and rested Joffrey Reynolds as well. Not good enough!!!!! :no: :no: :x

[Big Time]

Wally displayed much of the questionable decision making he has displayed all year today. It was obvious that Buck did not have his A game today yet he stuck with him, foolishly hoping he would come around. Wally has been extremely stubborn this year and it's cost the team a couple of games because of it. The team desperately needed a shake up and JJ would have been the purrfect choice, but he stuck with Buck and ended up exactly where he deserved. The huge gaping hole in the middle that has been there all season long once again reared it's ugly head. How a team with such an obvious weakness cannot address this problem 18 games in is inexcusable and falls directly on the coach.

I still think despite everything the Lions have a good chance of winning next week, largely because the Riders are the worst 12-6 team in the history of the CFL and have been playing one level above garbage for two thirds of the season. That being said, the Lions defense is so schizophrenic that you just don't know who will show up. I do know if I were the Riders I would be making sure that the offensive game plan revolves around going up the middle on every single play. As the Stamps showed today, it can be 2nd and 20 with your backup QB and all you have to do is run up the middle for an easy first down. Just disgusting.

[jagger13]

The tackling and coverage in the secondary has been a joke all year. Judging by the post game calls fans will demand big changes in the off season to the defence. We need a few db's that actually are big and strike fear into receivers. Our linebackers are suddenly looking old and slow as well. The calls from the sidelines have rarely worked and we REALLY miss Dave Ricthie!

Wally is a good coach but you have to wonder if the game is passing him by. Bright young coached like kent austin and john hufnagel seem to out scheme us every time. Calgary obviously has some advantage with dickenson on the sidelines helping Burris but it sometimes looks like they know what plays we are calling.

It also seems as though we have 2 back up quarterbacks and no true starter. Buck missed many open receivers that a touch football QB could hit. He is way too fragile and is starting to run like an old man. Jarious just likes to tease us with his potential. Wally should have put Jarious in the game today. And Geroy...you have dropped more balls this year...WTF is wrong?

Finally Mr Braley did not diserve to see that pathetic last quarter unfold that cost him 500K for the semi final. For all his support and generacity with this franchise this was a slap in the face. One thing wally has done very well is make cuts when players do not perform. Unless a real sense of desperation and a little luck happen in the playoffs, the off season should be chance to cull both players and coaches that have underperformed
consistantly this season.

[Bobbyp]

I cant argue with anything said here.

[David]

I couldn't agree more with all of you guys on what you've posted above. ^

For the first time, I wouldn't be averse to Wally stepping down as Head Coach and concentrating on his GM duties (I'm not saying I want that, but I won't be too upset if it happens). His teams been inexcusably flat in two important games down the stretch, undisciplined, and badly outschemed as well. To top things off, he couldn't read the tea leaves when it came to pulling Buck from the game when it became painfully obvious to me, the layman, that he was misfiring and we needed a spark from our 1B quarterback (take away the last drive when Calgary was playing soft zone, and the dump passes to Stefan, and what was his completion percentage this afternoon? Maybe 40%?). Bruised egos and fragile confidence be damned. We had a football game to win!

In fact, if I was Jarious, I'd be pissed at not even being asked to warm up - especially after his stellar performance last week. But to blame the quarterbacking today is to ignore the more serious issues with this team and that is stopping the other team on second down, where we've been horrendous all season. I am sure Wes Cates is licking his chops at the prospect of the guard sealing off our linebacker and leaving a big gaping hole in the middle of the field.

Kudos to Logan, Wake, the O-line, Grise-Mullen, Coleman, Arakgi, and Pottinger for going balls out today.

[TheLionKing]

Despite Buck's performance the Lions were able to put 30 points on the scoreboard. You should be able to win alot of games if you can 30 pts consistently. The problem today as was most of the season have been the defence. They couldn't stop Calgary's backup quarterback in the second half. They threw the ball three friggen times in the second half. The rest were basic run plays. Hufnagel did all he could to give the game to the Lions.

All Lionbackers know what defence the Lions are going to be on 2nd and long. They line 5,6,7 guys on the line like they're going to come with an all out blitz. When the ball is snapped they drop into coverage and come with a 3 man rush. They got 5 guys blocking 3 rushers. :x The quarterback sits there and throws into the middle. Guy catches the football and the defensive backs miss tackles. Presto, first down.

[MacNews]

I want to give credit to

-Pottinger
-Arakgi
-Wilson
-Grice-Mullen

Geroy and Wake get all the headlines but these guys have been just awesome.

[pennw]

I want to give credit to

-Pottinger
-Arakgi
-Wilson
-Grice-Mullen

Geroy and Wake get all the headlines but these guys have been just awesome.

Wake was great today too . So was Logan.
This game reminded me of the '04 GC game , with WB sttubornly clinging to his belief his QB will turn it around .
JJ deserved better today , he earned a shot to win it today with his performance last week , but never got it .
I feel badly for JJ , seems WB doesn't learn from past mistakes , he just repeats them . I wonder how JJ feels now ?
This game seemed to indicate the WB's time has come , all season there has been glaring weakness in the D after the front line , but it has remained ignored . Now it's to late and I think it will get us an early exit from the playoffs along with WB's stubborn determination not to make needed changes in due time during games .

[DonVitoD]

BC Lions Fans are the biggest fair whether fans I've ever seen. Of course your gonna blame the QB for losing, but that just goes with the job. The real losers are the defense, JJ is a spazz and if he would've started it would have been the same result. Buck lifted this team when it needed it. OK so he had two picks, that gives 9 for the year, still really good. BC doesn't deserve a QB like Pierce, the fans are the reason Buck will probably be outta here next year. You guys will be talking about Buck next year for sure though, when he's passing all over U in Ottawa. BC will win next week in regina and everybody will be eating their words. Hope it Tastes Good.

[hwgill]

Have you been watching this year? Buck has been either spot on, or terrible. When he's hurting, he's usually not very good, and that was obvious today.

However, as was said, the offense did score 30 points, and that should be enough IF the defensive backfield would simply do their jobs.

[Solar Max]

You guys will be talking about Buck next year for sure though, when he's passing all over U in Ottawa. BC will win next week in regina and everybody will be eating their words. Hope it Tastes Good.

You must know something that no one else does, because if Buck is in Ottawa next year, the only thing he'd be throwing is newspapers at people's doorsteps.

[PigSkin_53]

Too many big plays missed to open recievers today. Stephan Logan played his rear end off. McCallum missed two field goals? Our linebackers are just plain not good enough and haven't been all season. Glatt should be back on special teams. Jamal Johnston has to go to the middle, heck I would put Araki in there, he is on of our best tacklers. Our db's are slow and can't tackle. For sure we go into Regina as huge underdogs. Where was Brent Johnston today? I thought that Jarious should have played a little. Buck was not real sharp today. We had better be ready for the quarterback draw for sure. If we can pressure Bishop he will throw up some interceptions. Very disappointing from a season ticket holders perspective. I am sure David Braley is very disappointed. Glen Suitor should put on his old Riders jersey again he is such a Rider homer. With the poor start we had we are lucky we are not crosssing over to Winnipeg. I think the Peg will beat Edmonton. I think Sask will be favoured by 7.

You hit a lot of nails on the head in your post!

First of all, it's been obvious for four games now that defenses are going to sit on our underneath game. They have been doing that with underneath zone most of the time. Today Calgary did it with bump and run press man coverage underneath. Buck throws the eight yard pass very well. He is excellent at hitting Logan out of the backfield. But outside of one nice pass to Paris Jackson he has trouble throwing anything accurate deeper than 12 yards. He underthrew Paris Jackson in the end zone in what should have been a sure touchdown. He threw passes behind Geroy Simon. He almost got Coleman killed. He left a lot of good plays out there that went incomplete. If Buck couldn't hit Logan out of the backfield or a short underneath pass we were in trouble. No defense is worried about his running ability. Buck's two interceptions really hurt as well. Buck is obviously nicked up with his sore ankle but right now I don't have the confidence of us winning a playoff game with Buck going all the way. I'm not confident in Jarious going all the way either.

Logan had a fantastic game, both running and pass receiving. He was most of our offence but he couldn't do it all by himself. Our offensive line also blocked very well most of the time, gave Buck a lot of time to throw on most occasions. Calgary has the best run defense in the league and we opened good holes for Logan. However, we couldn't pass against the fifth worst pass defense in the league.

The fact is that we have Buck who excels at the underneath game but struggles with the deeper ball. We have Jarious who throws beautiful deep and long intermediate passes but lacks touch on the dump off pass and the short stuff. However, Jarious is an excellent runner and right now Buck is not. We need a combination of both and since we don't have that in one quarterback we should be using both.

Linebacker play is killing us. Glatt was slow and in poor position on both touchdowns that Nealy scored on. On the second touchdown, Jamal Johnson forced him inside and Glatt was nowhere to be seen. Miles took a terrible pass interference call that really hurt, following Smart not making a smart play at all on a football that was bouncing around. He should have let it go dead.

However, our biggest problem is that we're being outcoached. Calgary adjusted their defense to our passing attacck, making the short stuff very difficult to get and knew we wouldn't be able to hurt them deep. That's how smart defensive coaches are playing us and Richie Hall will play us that way next week. Meanwhile, Calgary also had a great game plan offensively, throwing quick passes to negate our pass rush and using a lot of misdirection runs to try to freeze our defensive ends.

However, our coaches are not doing the same thing. We are not scheming well. Offensively I was pleased that Chap ran the football a lot against a very tough defense to run against and the dump off pass to Logan is now a featured part of our offence. However, we don't scheme to get the deep ball to anyone except Simon and defenses know it. Defensively, no matter how much criticism I read about our defensive backs the big problem is scheme now and that is very obvious, plus we have a few players who are not performing. They are Brent Johnson, Javy Glatt, Otis Floyd, and Barrin Miles. If we want to win in Regina they have to play much better and Benevedes has to scheme better and his play calling has to improve as well. The fact is that too often there are receivers completely uncovered and that's a scheme problem.

A disappointing loss when we were playing a team that had nothing to play for except pride and sat their first string quarterback for the entire second half and rested Joffrey Reynolds as well. Not good enough!!!!! :no: :no: :x

I said it before…

Wally is exhibiting all of the same symptoms of the players he has cut in the past, because they had outlived their usefulness to him.

So until we all admit the Emperor has no clothes, nothing will change in the Lion’s future.