Blitz wrote:Our 7-6 B.C. Lions, 4th in the West take on the East leading 5-7 Hamilton Tiger Cats in a key west-east matchup on Saturday.
Our B.C. Lions, minus Andrew Harris will use a rookie tailback in Antolin to lead our running attack in this game. Hamilton does not have much of a counterpart as Kent Austin's Tabbies running game is almost non-existent, with Dan Lefevour, 14th in CFL rushing, as their leading ground gainer.
Going by team stats this should be a close game. Our offence is averaging 331 yards per game this season while Hamilton is averaging 325 yards per game. Defensively we have the edge. Our defense has given up the least amount of points in the CFL while Hamilton's defense has not reached those standards. However, Hamiltion has the CFL's 3rd best defense and are no easy pushovers.
I'm going to take a different tact from the traditional focus on offence, defense, special teams and football strategies for this week's KEYS TO THE GAME. Instead, I'm going to take a cue from West Coast Joe's post, which reflected on Angus Reid's recent article. The Reid article was courageous and put the spotlight where in needs to be - on Mike Benevedes leadership and coaching.
Here are my KEYS TO THE GAME. The keys come directly from Angus Reid's comments.
LEADERSHIP
""Now is the time for Lions head coach Mike Benevides to demonstrate his ability to lead and provide his players with a real passion to win.It’s time for Mike Benevides not only to show what kind of coach he is, but more importantly, what kind of leader he is, too. That’s the only option at this stage, and given the overall situation, it’s time anyways to see if he can really do it."
MAKE THE TROOPS BELIEVE
"This is exactly the opportunity for Benevides to prove he has what it takes to make his troops believe. It’s too late to think you can win now by re-writing your whole playbook, and you don’t have the time to be holding weekly tryouts until you get the right people. You now have to find a way to sell the belief to your men that you have exactly the right people you need to win, and to keep winning".
"This will not be accomplished by emotional pre-game speeches, silly clichés or manufactured hype. Pros see right through that and it usually only adds to their belief that you don’t really know what to do. It’s a true art form that is impossible to commoditize, the ability to actually get players to believe you have the answer and that by following you they can’t lose.If Benevides can find a way to make his players truly believe, and play every single play like they can’t be stopped, two things will happen. This team can go as far as anybody else in this wacky season, and Benevides will have shown many who are questioning him that he has what it takes to lead at the pro level"..
PASSION AND A SENSE OF PURPSOE.
"The time has come for Benevides to unify this team’s passion and have them playing with a sense of purpose. It’s not the play calls that will matter Saturday against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. It’s not even the execution of the play. For this team to have a chance, it will all come down to the passion that is put into the execution".We are at the point where wins become paramount, but more important is finding a way to play inspired football".
BENEVEDES HAS TO PROVE HE HAS IT FOR REAL
"It will be up to Benevides to see if he has it for real".
WRAP
Our B.C. Lions have been in decline for two seasons now. The injuries are not an excuse. Many CFL teams in the past have overcome injuries to key players.
Kevin Glenn has lead Calgary to West Division crowns and a berth in a Grey Cup. Andrew Harris stepped in as a rookie part way through 2011 and we went on to win a Grey Cup. We have a top receiver in Arsenault, as we did with Simon that Grey Cup winning season. Our defense is the best in the CFL at keeping the opposition off the scoreboard. We have the tools to be able to win.
It's truly time for Benevedes to step up and truly earn the Head Coaching position that was basically handed to him on a platter. Its truly time for real leadership.
Go Leos
