Monday Morning Joe

[Sir Purrcival]

Players may not appreciate Wally's business sense but as a fan I appreciate his methodical ways and what I see is his desire to put the good of the team ahead of personal loyalty to long-serving players. It was evident long ago that Korey Banks would not be back with the Lions in 2014 and that Dante Marsh would not be back in 2015. The players didn't want to admit it but their time had come and the Lions couldn't afford to replace the two veterans in the same year, so Banks as the older of the two went first. At quarterback, Wally had to make hard decisions to let go of Dave Dickenson and Buck Pierce when the team couldn't count on them to stay healthy. I expect Wally to make a similar decision with Travis Lulay if he doesn't restructure his contract. You can say a lot of things about Wally and his loyalty to certain coaches but his treatment of veteran players is and always has been consistent and predictable.

It is consistent but it isn't done with any apparent sensitivity. Respect is a concept borne out by actions. Unfortunately, some of WB's actions are not exactly respectful. His sound bites to the media regarding personnel are offside. His evasiveness on occasion with regards to his own responsibility for the some of the problems doesn't enhance his reputation among players. In his defense, we don't hear him taking credit all over the place when things are successful either. It seems to be who he is as an individual. I wouldn't go quite as far as to say he isn't a "stand up" guy. Wally's motis operandi is well known. He doesn't really say to people that I'm gonna move heaven and earth to treat you right. His message has always been. I'm gonna wring every little bit of skill and performance out of you until I think I can't get any more or at least enough to make it worthwhile. And then bye, bye, not really interested in keeping you, etc. etc. That is the part that rankles. If I were a player and I had dedicated years, suffered injury, been a loyal and good soldier, I would be miffed too if at the point I was close to being done, it was buh bye, have a nice life.

Now again, I'm not in those conversations to know what is said or not said but again too many ex players seem to have problems with Wally to be random. In days past with the likes of Bobby Ackles about, there was another voice in there that moderated Wally's. Now he is a power unto himself, short of David Brailey who doesn't get involved with day to day football operations. I don't want to seem like I am dumping all over WB. He has done so many good things for this team but he comes with a style that can be off putting.

[WestCoastJoe]

It is consistent but it isn't done with any apparent sensitivity. Respect is a concept borne out by actions. Unfortunately, some of WB's actions are not exactly respectful. His sound bites to the media regarding personnel are offside. His evasiveness on occasion with regards to his own responsibility for the some of the problems doesn't enhance his reputation among players. In his defense, we don't hear him taking credit all over the place when things are successful either. It seems to be who he is as an individual. I wouldn't go quite as far as to say he isn't a "stand up" guy. Wally's motis operandi is well known. He doesn't really say to people that I'm gonna move heaven and earth to treat you right. His message has always been. I'm gonna wring every little bit of skill and performance out of you until I think I can't get any more or at least enough to make it worthwhile. And then bye, bye, not really interested in keeping you, etc. etc. That is the part that rankles. If I were a player and I had dedicated years, suffered injury, been a loyal and good soldier, I would be miffed too if at the point I was close to being done, it was buh bye, have a nice life.

Now again, I'm not in those conversations to know what is said or not said but again too many ex players seem to have problems with Wally to be random. In days past with the likes of Bobby Ackles about, there was another voice in there that moderated Wally's. Now he is a power unto himself, short of David Brailey who doesn't get involved with day to day football operations. I don't want to seem like I am dumping all over WB. He has done so many good things for this team but he comes with a style that can be off putting.

I recall when Bobby got Wally out of Calgary. Hallelujah. For me, really. Brought our franchise back from the wilderness. Twelve years of solidity.

Is it merely coincidence that since the passing of Bobby Ackles we have seen a measure of ups and downs with our organization? I think not.

When Wally came to the Lions, I recall a long, interesting article on him in one of the local papers. Wally was asked, even before his first Training Camp, I seem to recall, if he had any regrets in his career. He said something I found surprising at the time. He said he wished he could have been nicer. I think now I know to what he was referring. Cutting guys. Not finding the right words to say in parting. A cold-hearted approach to cutting veterans. A cold-hearted approach to restructuring contracts. His way with the media. Public comments about players or coaches.

Tough job. Out front in the media also.

Personally, I support the tougher comments on staff and players that get posted on here. Based on something perceived by the poster. This is a fan site for sure. But it is also a place, where things can be said, that would be outside the realm of where the newspapers or other media can go.

Shooting at each other? I am happy to see the relative peace and tranquility on this website, especially in comparison to how it was a few years ago. Sniping all over the place, at each other.

Personally, I support the comments of Blitz and MexicoLionFan, two of our tougher, more courageous posters of criticism, and praise, as they see it. I look forward to their detailed posts and their deeply considered opinions. Almost every one of their posts could start a new thread. They break new ground, beyond riffing on other posts, and reacting to others, as we all do. Two more passionate Lions' fans we will not see. They perceive our team as being on the brink. And I do not presume to speak for them. I too think we are on the brink. No QB. No Head Coach. Backsliding. Humiliated in the playoffs. Needing radical change in the culture of the team. IMO that puts us on the brink. Can we make a quick recovery? Sure. Depending on the next major hiring by Wally Buono. In his long career as GM/HC, aside from himself in both roles, he has only hired one Head Coach, Mike Benevides. And that move had been rumoured for years. It was an appointment, not a hiring based on an extensive search across the continent, as will happen now. That does not make for a good track record in his hirings. We will see ...

As a fan of the Lions, the CFL and this website, I cannot find commentary to match this site anywhere. Lots of strong medicine? For sure.

Just IMO ...

[BC 1988]

As a fan of the Lions, the CFL and this website, I cannot find commentary to match this site anywhere. Lots of strong medicine? For sure.

Just IMO ...

Yes, that was why I decided to join this site a year ago, (after years of reading it.)
With the depth of regular posters, there is no CFL fan site as good as this one.
Thank you all for making this the go-to site to find out about the Lions.

[South Pender]

In his [Buono's] long career as GM/HC, aside from himself in both roles, he has only hired one Head Coach, Mike Benevides. And that move had been rumoured for years. It was an appointment, not a hiring based on an extensive search across the continent, as will happen now. That does not make for a good track record in his hirings.

Well, maybe not with respect to his one and only HC hiring, but in fairness, we should give him credit for the acquisition (hiring) of many great players. In the mind of some forumers (although not me), the Lions have had by far the best player talent for some time, including this past season. If true, Wally should be credited with many good hirings (including his deft acquisition of Kevin Glenn, without whom we would probably have ended up in last place in the West), and the one bad hiring should, I think, be viewed with this perspective. But to reiterate a thought that has been posted here before, let's not fall victim to hindsight bias. With what was known about Benevides at the time of his promotion, he didn't look bad at all. Correct me if I'm wrong on this, but my recollection is that there was little, if any, strong criticism of Benevides' hiring at the time. Should Wally have known better? I'm not sure. Sometimes we make the very best decision with the available data, and yet the outcome is far worse than anticipated.

[WestCoastJoe]

In his [Buono's] long career as GM/HC, aside from himself in both roles, he has only hired one Head Coach, Mike Benevides. And that move had been rumoured for years. It was an appointment, not a hiring based on an extensive search across the continent, as will happen now. That does not make for a good track record in his hirings.

Well, maybe not with respect to his one and only HC hiring, but in fairness, we should give him credit for the acquisition (hiring) of many great players. In the mind of some forumers (although not me), the Lions have had by far the best player talent for some time, including this past season. If true, Wally should be credited with many good hirings (including his deft acquisition of Kevin Glenn, without whom we would probably have ended up in last place in the West), and the one bad hiring should, I think, be viewed with this perspective.

Talent and the staff that finds talent? Some have said we have good talent. I have said that, over and over again. That is a credit to Wally and his personnel staff, as I have said numerous times. If someone says we do not have good talent, that reflects on our GM and his personnel staff.

Agreement on the credit, over and over.

Kevin Glenn trade again? I like Kevin. I thought we gave up too much for him. We were behind in developing our own young talent at QB. We were desperate. Yes, injuries, draft, et cetera. But we were vulnerable. Having to give up a lot for a quarterback is a reflection on management. I have made note of my feeling that without Glenn our record would probably have been much worse. Cutting him loose now? Scary. On management. And now the "deft acquisition" is gone.

"deft acquisition"? A desperate acquisition, at a high price. Teams in better shape in their roster spin off backups for draft choices. With our depleted QB roster we were shopping. IMO ...
............

In his long career as GM/HC, aside from himself in both roles, he has only hired one Head Coach, Mike Benevides. And that move had been rumoured for years.It was an appointment, not a hiring based on an extensive search across the continent, as will happen now. That does not make for a good track record in his hirings.

Well, maybe not with respect to his one and only HC hiring ...

I see no disagreements there ...
............

But to reiterate a thought that has been posted here before, let's not fall victim to hindsight bias. With what was known about Benevides at the time of his promotion, he didn't look bad at all. Correct me if I'm wrong on this, but my recollection is that there was little, if any, strong criticism of Benevides' hiring at the time. Should Wally have known better? I'm not sure. Sometimes we make the very best decision with the available data, and yet the outcome is far worse than anticipated.

New item since I last read ... Hindsight re the Benny hiring. I did not speak out against it. I had heard back in 2006 from a key member of the organization that Benny was the anointed one. What does that tell one about the eventual search process? And once again, I did not speak out against the Benny hiring.

Do I engage in hindsight ("hindsight foul"), as cromartie has said on two occasions? I do look back. I do ponder ... What if? I don't revise history, or change it.

Hindsight foul? I was amused by cromartie saying that. Is this going to become something more than an amusement? Dunno ...

[South Pender]

I''ll stick with deft acquisition. Wally played the RedBlacks with the notion that all was going to be well with Travis Lulay and got Glenn's price down to what? A single first-round draft pick (correct me if I'm wrong about this)? What would that draft pick have accomplished this season? Very little I'd argue, and yet Glenn was able to step in and provide true pro quarterbacking when none existed elsewhere on the roster. Even with Glenn now gone, we can't be sure that that draft pick would have worked out. We knew that Glenn would make us at least respectable, something we would not have been with John Beck or Travis Partridge under center.

Edit: There's nothing wrong with hindsight; we all have it. What Cromartie was referring to is hindsight bias, defined (Wiki) as the inclination, after an event has occurred, to see the event as having been predictable, despite there having been little or no objective basis for predicting it, prior to its occurrence.

Cromartie is right in pointing this out. There has been a tremendous amount of this recently--actually throughout the 2014 season--about Benevides' poor performance as a HC. None of us provided any foreshadowing at the time of Benevides' appointment as HC; he seemed fine. Now it seems as if Wally was just terribly remiss in not seeing what a poor HC Benevides would be.

[WestCoastJoe]

As a fan of the Lions, the CFL and this website, I cannot find commentary to match this site anywhere. Lots of strong medicine? For sure.

Just IMO ...

Yes, that was why I decided to join this site a year ago, (after years of reading it.)
With the depth of regular posters, there is no CFL fan site as good as this one.
Thank you all for making this the go-to site to find out about the Lions.

And welcome aboard once again.

[B.C.FAN]

With regard to quarterback development, the Lions fell victim to their own success. Mike Reilly left as a free agent to become the starter in Edmonton. Thomas DeMarco was selected by Ottawa in the expansion draft. Buck Pierce hung up his cleats to become QB coach in Winnipeg. The cupboard wasn't bare for lack of QB development. It was raided.

I supported the acquisition of Kevin Glenn. The Lions needed a veteran to fill the void. I said at training camp that the Lions would go as far as Kevin Glenn could take them an they wouldn't go anywhere without him. In the end, he didn't take them far enough. Glenn had his moments but his play regressed this year. He became a sitting duck in the pocket as we didn't see enough of his patented quick release. His penchant for throwing untimely interceptions was never as apparent as it was this year. He ignored his wideouts on passing plays and focused almost exclusively on his two slotbacks. In the end, opponents were able to clog the middle of the field and shut them down.

A number of factors affected the play of Glenn and the offence this year. The team struggled with the spread offence of Khari Jones. The O-line was in turmoil. The team suffered key injuries at running back. The receiving corps showed its inexperience and never got in sync. I look forward to changes in the coaching staff and personnel next year, including at quarterback. It is time for some new blood.

[WestCoastJoe]

But to reiterate a thought that has been posted here before, let's not fall victim to hindsight bias. With what was known about Benevides at the time of his promotion, he didn't look bad at all. Correct me if I'm wrong on this, but my recollection is that there was little, if any, strong criticism of Benevides' hiring at the time. Should Wally have known better? I'm not sure. Sometimes we make the very best decision with the available data, and yet the outcome is far worse than anticipated.

New item since I last read ... Hindsight re the Benny hiring. I did not speak out against it. I had heard back in 2006 from a key member of the organization that Benny was the anointed one. What does that tell one about the eventual search process? And once again, I did not speak out against the Benny hiring.

Do I engage in hindsight ("hindsight foul"), as cromartie has said on two occasions? I do look back. I do ponder ... What if? I don't revise history, or change it.

Hindsight foul? I was amused by cromartie saying that. Is this going to become something more than an amusement? Dunno ...

Edit: There's nothing wrong with hindsight; we all have it. What Cromartie was referring to is hindsight bias, defined (Wiki) as the inclination, after an event has occurred, to see the event as having been predictable, despite there having been little or no objective basis for predicting it, prior to its occurrence.

Cromartie is right in pointing this out. There has been a tremendous amount of this recently--actually throughout the 2014 season--about Benevides' poor performance as a HC. None of us provided any foreshadowing at the time of Benevides' appointment as HC; he seemed fine. Now it seems as if Wally was just terribly remiss in not seeing what a poor HC Benevides would be.

OK, so this is going to become more than an amusement.

I might rouse myself to look back and see the two occasions on which cromartie said I was using hindsight ("hindsight foul," he cried). And I might not ...

[WestCoastJoe]

With regard to quarterback development, the Lions fell victim to their own success. Mike Reilly left as a free agent to become the starter in Edmonton. Thomas DeMarco was selected by Ottawa in the expansion draft. Buck Pierce hung up his cleats to become QB coach in Winnipeg. The cupboard wasn't bare for lack of QB development. It was raided.

I supported the acquisition of Kevin Glenn. The Lions needed a veteran to fill the void. I said at training camp that the Lions would go as far as Kevin Glenn could take them an they wouldn't go anywhere without him. In the end, he didn't take them far enough. Glenn had his moments but his play regressed this year. He became a sitting duck in the pocket as we didn't see enough of his patented quick release. His penchant for throwing untimely interceptions was never as apparent as it was this year. He ignored his wideouts on passing plays and focused almost exclusively on his two slotbacks. In the end, opponents were able to clog the middle of the field and shut them down.

A number of factors affected the play of Glenn and the offence this year. The team struggled with the spread offence of Khari Jones. The O-line was in turmoil. The team suffered key injuries at running back. The receiving corps showed its inexperience and never got in sync. I look forward to changes in the coaching staff and personnel next year, including at quarterback. It is time for some new blood.

Fair enough. Circumstances did conspire against us. And timing. And we were caught short ...

[TheLionKing]

So Blitz, what you're saying is that Wally Buono would make a good politician.

[Toppy Vann]

Players may not appreciate Wally's business sense but as a fan I appreciate his methodical ways and what I see is his desire to put the good of the team ahead of personal loyalty to long-serving players. It was evident long ago that Korey Banks would not be back with the Lions in 2014 and that Dante Marsh would not be back in 2015. The players didn't want to admit it but their time had come and the Lions couldn't afford to replace the two veterans in the same year, so Banks as the older of the two went first. At quarterback, Wally had to make hard decisions to let go of Dave Dickenson and Buck Pierce when the team couldn't count on them to stay healthy. I expect Wally to make a similar decision with Travis Lulay if he doesn't restructure his contract. You can say a lot of things about Wally and his loyalty to certain coaches but his treatment of veteran players is and always has been consistent and predictable.

Illustrations on the Lions and the Stamps differences:

1. Nik Lewis would have been long gone under Wally Buono - instead he's still there and contributing less but when he makes the play it's a team lifter. When he speaks it is like he is channeling Huf and Dickenson - same phrases on the same topics - all leadership focused stuff that allows coaches to get their messages instilled in their team.

2. How they spoke of Kevin Glenn. Huf, Dick'n and N. Lewis - all saying the same thing. Huf. asked by Orlesky if Glenn was underrated. Reply - 'you're asking the wrong guy that question - I dont underrate him' -
Lions - some players didn't fit this year - Glenn one of them.

Wally has admitted at times he has erred in dumping players before their best before date. Yes, you need to do that but there have been a lot of good ones dumped and then dumped on to get their spin out.

Vic Rapp cutting Tyrone Walls - and Rapp was hardnosed and hard on many players - tears as it was the hardest thing he had done.

[TheLionKing]

I supported the acquisition of Kevin Glenn. The Lions needed a veteran to fill the void. I said at training camp that the Lions would go as far as Kevin Glenn could take them an they wouldn't go anywhere without him. In the end, he didn't take them far enough. Glenn had his moments but his play regressed this year. He became a sitting duck in the pocket as we didn't see enough of his patented quick release. His penchant for throwing untimely interceptions was never as apparent as it was this year. He ignored his wideouts on passing plays and focused almost exclusively on his two slotbacks. In the end, opponents were able to clog the middle of the field and shut them down.

A number of factors affected the play of Glenn and the offence this year. The team struggled with the spread offence of Khari Jones. The O-line was in turmoil. The team suffered key injuries at running back. The receiving corps showed its inexperience and never got in sync. I look forward to changes in the coaching staff and personnel next year, including at quarterback. It is time for some new blood.

Can't help but wonder the reason for Glenn ignoring his wideouts is because his arm strength isn't as strong as it was.

[MexicoLionFan]

Calling out hindsight bias is ridiculous and is someone just looking for a fight. Blitz, Joe and I have a good eye for the game and we share our thoughts honestly and in detail...if someone doesn't want to read them, exercise your right and "turn the channel"...that's freedom. Tracking regular contributors here who are simply pointing out the blatantly obvious with "well why didn't you say this before" is not only incredibly shortsighted, but unruly as well. And for anyone who cares to remember, A LOT OF US, not just Blitz and I had concerns about MB, what you are not understanding is that like Joe, we knew a LONG TIME AGO that MB was the anointed one and there was nothing going to change it...we merely tried to focus on the positive aspects of Benevides...which for Mike is that he is a "rah-rah" guy and has great energy to spread to all three parts of the game...his problem is that he is not an X's and O's guy, he was never a master at any level of the game (of which Blitz and I consistently pointed out) and he was only going to be as good as his Assistant Coaches...we were one game away from the Grey Cup in 2012 because of JC and Rich Stubler...they led us as far as they could with McMann and Dorazio holding them back. When they were fired after the bizarre 2013 season, Benny was exposed as a guy with lots of energy, emotion and rah-rah, but no substance! That's not a knock against Benny, he's a nice guy and COULD BE A GOOD HC, but only in the right situation...and it wasn't here in BC.

I was hard on Chapdelaine, even though I like Jacques and know how smart he is, because he was STUBBORN (a very common trait with Lion coaches under Buono) about being forced to adjust out of his preferred system into a compensatory one that accounted for Dorazio's weaknesses. I understood JCs frustration, but I just wanted us to win...and as soon as JC had silenced "his critics" (but as Blitz has now exposed, Dorazio's critics) he tried to go back into the spread where our QB talent was destroyed. The abuse that Travis Lulay took during the last half of the 2012 season and through the 2013 season until he lowered his shoulder to scramble in for that crucial TD against MTL was SICKENING! Let me say that again, what Travis Lulay had to endure from his coaches, his General Manager, and MANY FANS on this site was sickening and I was the ONLY one defending Lulay's play based on a system that simply did not account for his health! Much in the same way I defended Soloman Elimimian! Most of my wrath went to JC for his STUBBORNNESS (not his intelligence and ability) in not making permanent changes to protect his QBs...but many of you here made JUDGEMENTS against Lulay, supporting our coaches BECAUSE YOU KNEW THAT THE QB CUPBOARD WAS STILL FULL with Mike Reilly and Thomas DeMarco! "If Lulay can't make the throws in the offence then maybe he shouldn't be our QB" MOST OF YOU started saying!!! INSANITY!

Lulay was a once in a decade type football player...he was Joe Kapp, Casey Printers and Dave Dickenson all rolled into one...we needed to build an offence AROUND HIM, around his strengths and PROTECT HIM. My anger towards JC was the fact that he consistently put Lulay into situations that should have worked (JC IS a brilliant offensive mind), but they didn't because our 5 OLinemen and 1 RB couldn't provide sufficient protection, and while JC shoved Dorazio's INCOMPETENCE into Wally's face, even in the press, Wally did nothing but publicly BLAME JC!!! Unbelievable! That's two grown men having a public pissing match with Travis Lulay's health on the line. And basically no one here, except perhaps Joe, wanted to hear what I was saying. It even led to Blitz getting angry with me, which I hated because I LOVE JOE AND BLITZ! I guess I just didn't do a good enough job explaining to Blitz that I agreed with him on JC, that the fault was on Dorazio's incompetence but that someone OTHER THAN ME needed to be fighting for Travis Lulay...there were so many here that were advocating to dump Lulay and keep Reilly. Now, I am aware that would actually have been better, BUT WHY??? Because over the course of about 16 football games (over two seasons) Travis Lulay took more punishment than Joe Kapp could ever have dreamt of!!! Dave Dickenson, Buck Pierce, Jarious Jackson, Casey Printers...Wally has brought in and slowly developed the CREME de la CREME of CFL QBs right here in BC, only to destroy EVERY ONE of them because of his BLIND loyalty to Dan Dorazio. And when JC made it clear that it was beyond just the "player's executing" Wally went right out in public and spanked JC, telling us the fans (through is actions) that JC was the problem on this football team. And what did JC do? He never said another word after that, and went out and redivised his system to Jumbo formations, more play action, much more motion and got the receivers involved with HELPING TO BLOCK and to run the football. Or didn't any of you notice Geroy Simon BLOCKING more than his fair share of the time at the LOS, in the pocket, to protect Lulay! That was BRILLIANCE on JC's part, doing his best to think outside of the box to make things work...but he didn't continue with it.

So where does that leave us? No QB when guys like DD, Pierce, JJ and Lulay should all still be enjoying their careers...they are all coaches (with Lulay soon to be) because they no longer had the physical clearance to play the game! So is Wally a bad GM? NO! Was Wally a bad coach? Clearly not! But he is a CONUNDRUM! A devout Christian that has a hard time looking players in the eyes and telling them THANK YOU or showing them love, who consistently shows the "cold shoulder" to players, coaches, fans, refs, the press and league officials...and yet Marco Iannuzzi and JR LaRose start for us under his orders...Dan Dorazio and Chuck McMann still coach for us when neither of them could find employment anywhere else in the CFL and Mark Washington is promoted to DC in favour of Rich Stubler...Stubler's D during these playoffs gave up nary a point and won a GC...Washington's D over his last four games gave up a 150 points and a country mile in yardage and penalties! In the MTL playoff game, MTLs rookie QB only threw for 120 some odd yards against us, but Washington's D gave up 50 points in 3 quarters before they finally showed us mercy! And there are people here that want Washington back as DC??? Again, you are not seeing what is right in front of you...he achieved restricted passing yards against by opening up EVERYTHING ELSE and NEVER adapted or changed! Is that what you want? Your DC after a 4 game collapse at the end of the season telling the fan base, nearly in tears, that maybe he should have tried generating more pressure on the QB? How were Joe, Blitz and I able to tell you that Washington's D was going to have serious problems if he didn't change??? Because it was that obvious!

So if you don't like the passion with which some of us post, at least first understand the circumstances of the WHY before you categorize me as say a "know-it-all", "a loud-mouth", or a "jerk"...maybe, just maybe I have something worth sharing in amongst all of the passion! Maybe not, but you don't need to use cute phrases like "hindsight bias" to try and minimize my all too obvious points. I have NEVER been a fan of Mike Benevides as a coach because he never became a master of a thing! Chris Jones, Ritchie Hall, Rich Stubler, Kent Austin, Dave Dickenson all had great chances to become great coaches because they were students of the game and Masters of parts of it! As Jeff Reinbold put things so chillingly accurate with his words to Orlando Steinhauer...there are only 40 some odd pro HC spots available, and few come open at a time...GMs must ensure that the BEST POSSIBLE candidates are handed the keys to these valuable and rare opportunities, because so much rides on these decisions. Some fans look back to Wally's hiring of MB and don't see it as that big of a deal, and Benny had a record of 33-21 so what's the big deal? It was a big deal because we had a talent advantage over the rest of the CFL that we might not EVER see again...with the Internet, Email, Cameras in every cell phone that can record VIDEO as well and Youtube, scouting has become a VERY SMALL WORLD! No one team will ever have the advantages that Wally and Shivers, and then Wally, Bob Ackles, and Obie had! NEVER! Times have changed...you must now DRAFT WELL and then TEACH those draft picks well to create the disparity in talent (see CGY and MTLs CDN OLines)...there are high school football coaches in the US that are spending time with Peter Carroll, Andy Reid and Chip Kelly understanding their approaches and getting the heart of what they are doing TAUGHT to 15 year olds! There are 17 year old coming out of American High Schools that are STARTING and becoming All Stars in their freshman seasons of College! Don Matthews came to the CFL out of High School! For the first time in football history the coaching depth has finally matched the players depth in talent and ability! As a franchise, Wally either embraces this new truth, or his sticks his head in the sand for another couple of years before Evolution kicks him to the side of the road and steamrolls past him! Because in an age of digital video being analyzed and then the information being run through computers to find out team's tendencies on EVERY DOWN, in EVERY QUARTER, against EVERY OPPONENT, in EVERY WEATHER CONDITION, and EVERY ASPECT OF THE SCORE, the Dan Dorazio's, Mark Washington's and Chuck McMann's of the world will be exposed! Its literally that simple...hunches no longer cut it, and neither do Handshake deals with Wally!

The fact is, the renaissance of our football team came about because of Bob Ackles, a true believer and follower of the words of Christ. Bob blessed everyone he met with his authenticity and passion for life and his job...he spent money taking care of people because he KNEW that was money well spent! Investing in great PEOPLE are the best investments we ever make in our lives...as Toppy said CGY's decision (see John Hufnagel) to keep Nick Lewis was money VERY WELL SPENT! So, where are Carl Kidd, Korey Banks, Geroy Simon and Dave Dickenson? Where is Travis Lulay headed? Are they gone because Wally knew he had "FOUR MORE WAITING TO REPLACE THEM"? That isn't just "bad business" for football, its "bad business" for life! When you build around great talent, and then keep that great talent it breads more great talent...this is where greatness will gravitate towards and this is why to some in the CFL, they simply won't look past the Rockies for teams to play for!

[WestCoastJoe]

Well said, MLF. From the heart as always.