Lions 40 - Eskimos 23 Post Game Stats and Comments

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Anglophone
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Field Goals FG LG XP PTS
P. MCCALLUM 4/4 44 4/4 16
Lots of fours for #4, who is still 100% in the playoffs as a BC Lion.

A great game. I cannot believe that we actually made the grey cup after 0-5
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pennw
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WestCoastJoe wrote:
I don't recall any speculation in the media about a 6 man D Line rotation by the Lions. Myself and Blitz had speculated about it on here.

We were thin at DB, sort of. Arakgi and LaRose getting dinged temporarily put us to the limit. Reddick could always drop back as DB. And we have Cauchy Muamba in backup.

I see backup O Lineman Andrew Jones did play although he was not on the listed Depth Chart. Getting 6 D Linemen suited is not an easy roster ratio task, but IMO it paid dividends today.
So who sat to get the extra guy in on dline ? I did notice Jamal Robertson was not dressed .
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pennw
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Anglophone wrote: A great game. I cannot believe that we actually made the grey cup after 0-5
A near running of the table from that early season slump . Very remarkable .Well done team ! And win just one more !
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WestCoastJoe
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pennw wrote:
WestCoastJoe wrote:
I don't recall any speculation in the media about a 6 man D Line rotation by the Lions. Myself and Blitz had speculated about it on here.

We were thin at DB, sort of. Arakgi and LaRose getting dinged temporarily put us to the limit. Reddick could always drop back as DB. And we have Cauchy Muamba in backup.

I see backup O Lineman Andrew Jones did play although he was not on the listed Depth Chart. Getting 6 D Linemen suited is not an easy roster ratio task, but IMO it paid dividends today.
So who sat to get the extra guy in on dline ? I did notice Jamal Robertson was not dressed .
Robertson, Foster, Dennis, Priest sat out. Not sure of the total game roster as the depth chart was inaccurate, not listing Andrew Jones, who did actually play in the game. Did anyone see Mahmoudi play? I believe he was out also.
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SammyGreene
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Blitz wrote:What a game!!!!!!!!! We're going to the Grey Cup game and playing at home in new B.C. Place, loaded to capacity.

The Western Final was a display of our Leos team contining its tremendous roll..it continues to a magical season..from the depths of dispair to the magic of winning big at home, ....exciting offence, big plays, great quarterbacking, outstanding talent and speed and intensity, great defense, and stellar special teams play.

OFFENCE

There were so many highlights...which included tremendous play from our skilled positions as Travis Lulay, Geroy Simon, Arland Bruce,and Andrew Harris all made huge plays. Artland Bruce started it off with a great 43 yard catch and Geroy then showed his stuff with a one handed long touchdown catch. Andrew Harris showed hsi speed and agility with his catch and run touchdown and his running ability by making a couple of great cuts to drive the football into the end zone. Travis Lulay took off for the longest run of his football career, a 61 yard touchdown, which not only highlighted Lulay's speed and mobility but it also featured a tremendous block by Arland Bruce. In fact Bruce and Simon made a number of key blocks in this gane.

There is always the game within the game that determiens victories. Our offensive line kept Lulay on his feet and gave him time to throw, even with the number of disguised bltizes that Edmonton threw our way. Olafioye and Archibald were outstanding and a guy who has been under the radar sceen all season, Rolly Lumbala, made some outstanding blocks. In fact Chapdelaine's decision to go with Lumbala on first down and often a tight end set as well was a real key to turning our season around after our early struggles and once again it allowed Lulay a lot of time on first down to throw.

JaquesBall was also on full display, as he game planned and play called so well that he had Edmonton's defense off balance for most of the game. Our offence attacked vertically, horizontally, used misdirection effectively, and combatted the blitz skillfully, When I saw Chapdelaine even using the wide bunch formation today I knew this was an offence now that is so well schemed it often looks like a machine, with Chapdelaine calling the plays skillfully, Lulay executing them with skill and poise, and everyone executing at a high level.

Impressive!!

DEFENCE

Our Leos went with six defensive lineman for the first time this season, as many Lionbackers had hoped and Ricky Ray was under pressure most of the game. We had three sacks on defense, really hit hard, created three turnovers, and shut down Edmonton so well in the first half that it had to be domoralizing for Edmonton.

The best move our Leos defense made all season was to move Korey Banks back to his shortside halfback spot and move Phillips back to the wideside. Today that move continued to prove more than its worth as Banks played a lot of shutdown pass defense, along with his partner, Dante Marsh and between them they had three interceptions.

A revitalized Brent Johnson came hard, Khalif Mitchell was a monster, Eric Taylor played possessed, and Aaron Hunt gave it everything. Eliminan was all over the field as usual, McKenzie made a couple of key plays, and Phillips looked very good at corner.

You almost hate to mention a negative but standing out like a sore thunb at safety was LaRose,who had an awful game and looks out of place at safety.

However, overall, it was an inspired defense that took Edmonton's offence out of the game early and while they made a desperate surge at the end, our defense had established its superiority and talent and passion and it was too much for Edmonton.

Benevedes called a great game as well, had some very timely bliitzes, and forced Edmonton to do a lot of things it didn't want to do. The way our defense came out hitting had Edmonton playing with a lot of nervous anticipation that was also a key factor in our victory.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Paul 'Money' McCallum went 4/4 in the first half, including a 45 yarder and all were straight down the pipe. Our special teams coverage was great. Andrew Harris made a great play on a kickoff that everyone anticipated would be an onside kick and caught the football over this shoulder and made a great return.

KEY PLAYS OF THE GAME

There were many key plays in this game but two stood out. The first was Reddick focing a fumble, coming off a bliz, as he hit Ricky Ray's arm. The play came just after Lulay's interception and really changed momentum. The second was Travis Lulay's 61 yard touchdown run..it was a dagger into the heart of the Edmotnon team.

WRAP

It will be hard to see this special season come to an end. However, lets hope it ends great, with a Grey Cup victory next Sunday. Its the way the final chapter this 2011 Leos story should be written.
Great recap and analysis as usual Blitz :thup: Lulay's poise, accuracy and field vision is beyond his years. I don't know if he was humbled by the 1-6 to rethink his philosophy or just part of his development as a coordinator but Chapdelaine's play calling has never been better. The opening drive was a thing of beauty with four different receivers making catches. If Chaps had been doing this earlier in his career he would have been long gone as a HC somewhere else in the league.

Totally agree on Larose. The one time he did stick a receiver he got hurt and then he was too late providing Phillips with help on the Barnes TD. It's been that scenario all season. I thought Keron Williams had a quiet game and Brent Johnson was actually more effective than him. Wouldn't be surprised if Wally tries to get another season out of #97 given what he has provided in a relief role and trying to find another Canadian to fill the same role will be extremely difficult.

Two unsung heroes today .... Rolly Lambala for his hustle on Thompson's INT to not only prevented a TD but set the stage for Reddick's forced fumble one play later. Also Jamal Lee for hanging onto Edmonton's early onside kick attempt when the Lions didn't have their hands unit on the field.
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Rammer
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SammyGreene wrote:
Blitz wrote:What a game!!!!!!!!! We're going to the Grey Cup game and playing at home in new B.C. Place, loaded to capacity.

The Western Final was a display of our Leos team contining its tremendous roll..it continues to a magical season..from the depths of dispair to the magic of winning big at home, ....exciting offence, big plays, great quarterbacking, outstanding talent and speed and intensity, great defense, and stellar special teams play.

OFFENCE

There were so many highlights...which included tremendous play from our skilled positions as Travis Lulay, Geroy Simon, Arland Bruce,and Andrew Harris all made huge plays. Artland Bruce started it off with a great 43 yard catch and Geroy then showed his stuff with a one handed long touchdown catch. Andrew Harris showed hsi speed and agility with his catch and run touchdown and his running ability by making a couple of great cuts to drive the football into the end zone. Travis Lulay took off for the longest run of his football career, a 61 yard touchdown, which not only highlighted Lulay's speed and mobility but it also featured a tremendous block by Arland Bruce. In fact Bruce and Simon made a number of key blocks in this gane.

There is always the game within the game that determiens victories. Our offensive line kept Lulay on his feet and gave him time to throw, even with the number of disguised bltizes that Edmonton threw our way. Olafioye and Archibald were outstanding and a guy who has been under the radar sceen all season, Rolly Lumbala, made some outstanding blocks. In fact Chapdelaine's decision to go with Lumbala on first down and often a tight end set as well was a real key to turning our season around after our early struggles and once again it allowed Lulay a lot of time on first down to throw.

JaquesBall was also on full display, as he game planned and play called so well that he had Edmonton's defense off balance for most of the game. Our offence attacked vertically, horizontally, used misdirection effectively, and combatted the blitz skillfully, When I saw Chapdelaine even using the wide bunch formation today I knew this was an offence now that is so well schemed it often looks like a machine, with Chapdelaine calling the plays skillfully, Lulay executing them with skill and poise, and everyone executing at a high level.

Impressive!!

DEFENCE

Our Leos went with six defensive lineman for the first time this season, as many Lionbackers had hoped and Ricky Ray was under pressure most of the game. We had three sacks on defense, really hit hard, created three turnovers, and shut down Edmonton so well in the first half that it had to be domoralizing for Edmonton.

The best move our Leos defense made all season was to move Korey Banks back to his shortside halfback spot and move Phillips back to the wideside. Today that move continued to prove more than its worth as Banks played a lot of shutdown pass defense, along with his partner, Dante Marsh and between them they had three interceptions.

A revitalized Brent Johnson came hard, Khalif Mitchell was a monster, Eric Taylor played possessed, and Aaron Hunt gave it everything. Eliminan was all over the field as usual, McKenzie made a couple of key plays, and Phillips looked very good at corner.

You almost hate to mention a negative but standing out like a sore thunb at safety was LaRose,who had an awful game and looks out of place at safety.

However, overall, it was an inspired defense that took Edmonton's offence out of the game early and while they made a desperate surge at the end, our defense had established its superiority and talent and passion and it was too much for Edmonton.

Benevedes called a great game as well, had some very timely bliitzes, and forced Edmonton to do a lot of things it didn't want to do. The way our defense came out hitting had Edmonton playing with a lot of nervous anticipation that was also a key factor in our victory.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Paul 'Money' McCallum went 4/4 in the first half, including a 45 yarder and all were straight down the pipe. Our special teams coverage was great. Andrew Harris made a great play on a kickoff that everyone anticipated would be an onside kick and caught the football over this shoulder and made a great return.

KEY PLAYS OF THE GAME

There were many key plays in this game but two stood out. The first was Reddick focing a fumble, coming off a bliz, as he hit Ricky Ray's arm. The play came just after Lulay's interception and really changed momentum. The second was Travis Lulay's 61 yard touchdown run..it was a dagger into the heart of the Edmotnon team.

WRAP

It will be hard to see this special season come to an end. However, lets hope it ends great, with a Grey Cup victory next Sunday. Its the way the final chapter this 2011 Leos story should be written.
Great recap and analysis as usual Blitz :thup: Lulay's poise, accuracy and field vision is beyond his years. I don't know if he was humbled by the 1-6 to rethink his philosophy or just part of his development as a coordinator but Chapdelaine's play calling has never been better. The opening drive was a thing of beauty with four different receivers making catches. If Chaps had been doing this earlier in his career he would have been long gone as a HC somewhere else in the league.

Totally agree on Larose. The one time he did stick a receiver he got hurt and then he was too late providing Phillips with help on the Barnes TD. It's been that scenario all season. I thought Keron Williams had a quiet game and Brent Johnson was actually more effective than him. Wouldn't be surprised if Wally tries to get another season out of #97 given what he has provided in a relief role and trying to find another Canadian to fill the same role will be extremely difficult.

Two unsung heroes today .... Rolly Lambala for his hustle on Thompson's INT to not only prevented a TD but set the stage for Reddick's forced fumble one play later. Also Jamal Lee for hanging onto Edmonton's early onside kick attempt when the Lions didn't have their hands unit on the field.
Nice acknowledgement on the Lee and Lumbala plays, both were large albeit vastly overlooked by us on this board. I will add in the Lumbala swing pass/option (lol) from Lulay. That was a reward for the stop on Thompson, and it was fun to see him involved with the Esks trash talking after that play.
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Sir Purrcival
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Can't add a thing to what has already been said.

It should be a very exciting match next week with two very strong defences. The same recipe should apply for the Grey Cup. Pressure Buck but I think we have more to worry about from the Bombers run game. We will need to be careful of that.

An all round hearty congrats to the team. You did a splendid job today and you truly deserve to be competing for the ultimate prize next weekend.
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WestCoastJoe
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Rammer wrote:
SammyGreene wrote:Two unsung heroes today .... Rolly Lambala for his hustle on Thompson's INT to not only prevented a TD but set the stage for Reddick's forced fumble one play later. Also Jamal Lee for hanging onto Edmonton's early onside kick attempt when the Lions didn't have their hands unit on the field.
Nice acknowledgement on the Lee and Lumbala plays, both were large albeit vastly overlooked by us on this board. I will add in the Lumbala swing pass/option (lol) from Lulay. That was a reward for the stop on Thompson, and it was fun to see him involved with the Esks trash talking after that play.
Yes. Credit to Rolly. Nice catch. Nice hustle on the Int. And a beautiful block on Harris' TD run.

Very heads up play by Jamal Lee.

The Eskimos outscored us in the second half. They had 14 points in the 4th.

If they had recovered that onside kick it would have been scary. If Lulay had not run for that TD, the game would have been close with lots of time left. If Reddick had not stripped the ball off Ray, it would have been close.

3 TDs in the 4th quarter is as nothing in the CFL.

The Eskimos behind Ray and his outstanding receivers were trying mightily to come back. The Lions were defending ferociously. IMO the game was somewhat vulnerable until Dante's interception.
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WestCoastJoe
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Some ideas on the relative strengths of the Lions and the Eskimos.

DBs: Advantage Lions. Korey. Dante. Ryan. Tad. Outstanding. Vulnerable at safety. Looks like we go with LaRose over the younger, inexperienced Muamba.

LBSs: Advantage Lions. Solomon. Anton. Anthony. Outstanding.

D Line: Advantage Lions. A ferocious 6 man rotation. Loaded with All Stars playing like men possessed.

O Line: Advantage Lions. Although the Eskimos guys played their brains out.

Running backs: Even. (Check that. Edge to the Lions.) Except no one in the league compares to Andrew Harris as a receiver out of the backfield.

Receivers: Even. Both sensational. IMO the Lions have two gamebreakers, Geroy and Arland (Foster is close). The Eskimos may have more (Barnes, Stamps, Bouman and Armstead).

Quarterbacks: Wow. Ricky Ray is Hall of Fame. Even with the ferocious pressure we brought, he almost got his team back into the game. If Travis continues on, the sky is the limit. Pretty much a tossup. I'll gladly take the younger Lulay, the league's deserved MOP. If it was the Ricky Ray of 2005, that would be a tougher call.
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Anglophone wrote:
A great game. I cannot believe that we actually made the grey cup after 0-5
Alot of people myself included wouldn't put money on the Lions making the playoffs let alone the Grey Cup
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cromartie wrote:
1) On the trophy, it's possible they engraved both plates before the game and just affixed the Lions one to it with glue shortly before the conclusion of the game.
That makes a whole lot of sense.
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[quote="SammyGreene Great recap and analysis as usual Blitz :thup: Lulay's poise, accuracy and field vision is beyond his years. I don't know if he was humbled by the 1-6 to rethink his philosophy or just part of his development as a coordinator but Chapdelaine's play calling has never been better. The opening drive was a thing of beauty with four different receivers making catches. If Chaps had been doing this earlier in his career he would have been long gone as a HC somewhere else in the league.

Totally agree on Larose. The one time he did stick a receiver he got hurt and then he was too late providing Phillips with help on the Barnes TD. It's been that scenario all season. I thought Keron Williams had a quiet game and Brent Johnson was actually more effective than him. Wouldn't be surprised if Wally tries to get another season out of #97 given what he has provided in a relief role and trying to find another Canadian to fill the same role will be extremely difficult.

Two unsung heroes today .... Rolly Lambala for his hustle on Thompson's INT to not only prevented a TD but set the stage for Reddick's forced fumble one play later. Also Jamal Lee for hanging onto Edmonton's early onside kick attempt when the Lions didn't have their hands unit on the field.[/quote]

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I really believe the change in Lulay's play after our 1-6 start was due to a number of reasons. 1) We changed the offensive blocking scheme 2) we changed our formation on first down to a two back set or a tight end set or both and that gave him more time to throw on first down 3) Lulay was under duress the first 7 games as we had given up the most quarterback sacks up to that point and he was pressured almost every play..once he had more time to throw his accuracy improved 4) Lulay started to run more often rather than stay in the pocket...somerthing he had done the previous season but was too focused on just 'executing the offence' in his first 7 games 5) JaquesBall emerged...with more formations, more anti-blitz strategies, a more effective running game, misdirection etc. and it was huge to get out of the spread offence exclusively 6) the benching of Lulay in the Winnipeg game..soemthing that a number of Lionbackers had called for to give him a view for a short period of time from the sidelines was also important...Lulay has said so himself 7) the addition of Arland Bruce gave Lulay more confidence that he had another experienced reciever to throw to, esepcially with the droppsies that we had been experiencing tothat point and fianlly 8) the game started to slow down for Lulay and once we began to win he felt more comfortable, more relaxed, and his confidence just grew..and his continued experience at playing the position also began to take effect.

As for Chaps..as you know..I've watched his scheme and play calling very closely and often very critically over the years...this past 12 games his offensive coordination, scheme changes, play calling, game planning etc. have been impressive...and you're right..he could have been a HC if he had performed this way in the past...its like a totally different guy coaching our offence now.

Great to see Rolly recognized and Lee as well..good mention Sammy!!!

However, even more than our offence our defense set the tone early with relentless pressure and some tremendous hitting from our secondary. The Edmonton recievers were feeling footsteps all game.

By the way, we got 21 points off defensive turnovers!!
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I found it interesting that Edmonton chose to scrimmage on their 35 yard line rather than have the Lions kickoff after their first 2 field goals.
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sj-roc
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TheLionKing wrote:I found it interesting that Edmonton chose to scrimmage on their 35 yard line rather than have the Lions kickoff after their first 2 field goals.
I was scratching my head on that one as well, TLK, given our shoddiness on cover teams at times this year, even during the eight game win streak. Then on top of that, after PMcC kicked his 3rd FG late in the first half, when you'd think they would scrimmage to conserve time, they elected to have us kick off, and IIRC they didn't even get it out to the 35 yard line where they could have had it for free. But then again, they ended up giving us the ball back with enough time to kick yet another FG to close out the half, so maybe it was really a time wasting strategy. :hypno:
Sports can be a peculiar thing. When partaking in fiction, like a book or movie, we adopt a "Willing Suspension of Disbelief" for enjoyment's sake. There's a similar force at work in sports: "Willing Suspension of Rationality". If you doubt this, listen to any conversation between rival team fans. You even see it among fans of the same team. Fans argue over who's the better QB or goalie, and selectively cite stats that support their views while ignoring those that don't.
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sj-roc wrote:
TheLionKing wrote:I found it interesting that Edmonton chose to scrimmage on their 35 yard line rather than have the Lions kickoff after their first 2 field goals.
I was scratching my head on that one as well, TLK, given our shoddiness on cover teams at times this year, even during the eight game win streak. Then on top of that, after PMcC kicked his 3rd FG late in the first half, when you'd think they would scrimmage to conserve time, they elected to have us kick off, and IIRC they didn't even get it out to the 35 yard line where they could have had it for free. But then again, they ended up giving us the ball back with enough time to kick yet another FG to close out the half, so maybe it was really a time wasting strategy. :hypno:
Exactly my thoughts
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