Poll ... Who is responsible for the sad state of our team?

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Who is responsible for the sad state of our team?

Braley, Owner
8
12%
Buono, GM
24
36%
Cortez, OC
9
14%
Personnel Staff
1
2%
Players
2
3%
Skulsky, President & CEO
9
14%
Tedford, HC
8
12%
Washington, DC
5
8%
 
Total votes: 66
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WestCoastJoe
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Train wreck. Where to start in trying to figure out how we got to this place?

Shaky decision making. Curious and bizarre at times. How does the cloud descend on a coaching staff that seems incapable of planning how to attack, how to defend, or how to have effective STs?

There seem to be equal measures of good and bad mixed in.

I will start here: It seems to me that if the thinking at the top is dominated by focusing on avoiding failure, there will be a tendency to bring on that exact failure. Overly conservative thinking. Afraid to blitz. Afraid to attack. Hoping the opponent screws up while you play it "safe."

Overly conservative in hiring cronies to coach. There is comfort in hiring familiar old faces, or agreeable young faces that reflect your values.

2012. It seems that hiring Mike Benevides as HC was a poor decision by Wally. Was Benny a bad coach? Who knows? It seems like it was still Wally's team, up on the rooftop, watching. Benny was a long time protégé of Wally. There was comfort there. The downhill slide went from 2012 to 2014.

2015. The downhill slide has accelerated. Wally fired Benny. Jeff Tedford made himself available, having worked with Wally back in Calgary years ago. This was surprising. Tedford seemed to be downsizing in his career. He had much success at UCAL. He was an OC in the NFL, until a health issue put him on the sideline. He seemed to have all the credentials one could hope for in a CFL coach.

Many on this site, from the start, wondered about the level of autonomy Tedford would have. Would Wally be pulling strings, exercising his influence too much? Would the chain of command be muddled?

Well things certainly seem muddled now.

STs. STs are the most glaring example of poor coaching. Against the Bombers it seems we had some kind of screw up on each play. Tedford kept some of Wally's guys on, including Chuck McMann. That could not have been based on film study, as our STs have been underwhelming all the time Chuck has been ST coach.

Defence. Tedford kept Mark W on as DC. One got the impression that Mark W was presented by Wally as a must keep coach. For half the season we had DL guys playing out of position. We had Wally defending how we played defence, bringing in Matt Sekeres to show him the light of Wally's ways. Lately we finally started to blitz more, with some good effect. But too often, we play it conservatively. 3 man rush. Deep drops in the zone pass defence. Too few players in the box to defend running plays.

Offence. Puzzling. Vast experience at hand. Lulay had two great games, very different in style, one passing, the other running. Then his play fell apart. Then he got injured. John Beck was a mistake in judgment, going back to last year. His injury ended the mistake in judgment. Jennings was a revelation, playing fast and loose. With STs doing all it could to keep the Bombers in the game, JJ started to make some mistakes.

What is the common thread in all of this?

It is Wally's team. His fingerprints are all over everything. Personnel. Philosophy. Hirings. Drafts. His great success over 20 years, and his great work in the community have given him a Teflon coat. Media and fans are reluctant to criticize his work.

Well, he hired Mike Benevides. A mistake? Gotta be. He hired Jeff Tedford. A mistake? Something ain't right. Tedford does not seem to have seized control of this team. With the results we had shown on the field in 2014, a clean sweep of the coaching staff might have been considered by an incoming Head Coach. Total autonomy over coaching issues, as well as systems and player decisions. Some of Wally's guys were kept on. There was talk of an attacking style of football. But we seem to coach to play it safe, conservative.

Some of us fans have been pointing out what seems obvious to us. Other fans are more patient, tolerant or even forgiving.

Where is our team going? The downhill slide continues. There is some good mixed in with the bad. We have made some good personnel decisions. Jennings first and foremost. Some good DL guys. Some good DBs. Some receivers who have looked wonderful catching passes from Jennings. So, some good. But, to me, it seems this train wreck is just going to continue on.

13 years here for Wally. 13 in Calgary. Time to move on.

It will happen anyway, even without a decision being made to move on. The results on the field will make that happen. And when Wally goes, most likely most of his staff will move on also.
John Madden's Team Policies: Be on time. Pay attention. Play like hell on game day.

Jimmy Johnson's Game Keys: Protect the ball. Make plays.

Walter Payton's Advice to Kids: Play hard. Play fair. Have fun.
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WestCoastJoe
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Joined: Mon May 22, 2006 8:55 pm

In points scored, we are 7th.

In points allowed, we are 7th.

And that, along with our wins and losses record, is about where we are as a team, it seems to me.
John Madden's Team Policies: Be on time. Pay attention. Play like hell on game day.

Jimmy Johnson's Game Keys: Protect the ball. Make plays.

Walter Payton's Advice to Kids: Play hard. Play fair. Have fun.
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WestCoastJoe
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Joined: Mon May 22, 2006 8:55 pm

We are 5 and 10. A Five and Dime team, it seems. Are we in the midst of a great rebuilding job?

Not IMO.

The coaching is too poor.

Management decisions have been questioned on here all year, starting with some veteran releases and the draft.

The offence is moribund, aside from whatever spark Jennings can provide.

The defence works hard, but IMO it is saddled with an ultra conservative philosophy that comes straight from Wally through MW. Deep zone drops. Too few in the box to stop the run, especially at key times. The prevent D does little or nothing to stop big passing plays. QB runs up the middle are still extremely difficult for us. We basically line up 6 in the box, almost always in the same formation, with the same drops. The LBs have heavy responsibility vs the pass.

STs have been at the level of poor amateur preparation. Also entirely predictable and easy to trick.

Yes, we have some good players. But we seemed to have no idea where to play some of them, until at least half way through the season.

We continue to blow draft picks, and treat that process like a crap shoot. And that is extremely annoying. The best teams mine gold on a regular basis from the draft. Drafting and developing National talent for the O Line? Oh my Gawd ... Well, we play 3 Internationals in the O Line, to answer that question. We had 12 years of a wasteland behind the leadership of Dan Dorazio, one of Wally's lifers.

Whatever, we are 5 and 10. On a professionally conducted rebuild that comes straight from the desk of Wally Buono. :dizzy:
John Madden's Team Policies: Be on time. Pay attention. Play like hell on game day.

Jimmy Johnson's Game Keys: Protect the ball. Make plays.

Walter Payton's Advice to Kids: Play hard. Play fair. Have fun.
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DanoT
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Location: Victoria, B.C. in summer, Sun Peaks Resort in winter

One of the consistent themes with the Lions this season is that in most games opponents have been able to neutralize the Lions' biggest weapon, Andrew Harris. This is on Tedford and his coaching staff who have no answers, no adjustments, no clue. :dizzy:
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WestCoastJoe
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Joined: Mon May 22, 2006 8:55 pm

We finished the season 6th in points for and 6th in points against. Below middle of the road at 7-11. Squeaked into the playoffs as the team with the 6th best win/loss record.

Highly touted, hugely qualified Head Coach, Jeff Tedford, quits after one year, with time left on his contract.

Hugely experienced OC, George Cortez, quits after one year. If he had been out of football in 2015, he just might look pretty good as an incoming OC for 2016. After last year, I think most fans are not unhappy to see him gone.

So Wally needs to rebuild the O staff, in a hurry. Starting pretty much from scratch.

The D staff might return pretty much intact. And as noted many fans will not be all that thrilled that Mark W returns as DC.

http://www.cfl.ca/standings/

At his press conference Wally said to blame him. Sounds about right.
John Madden's Team Policies: Be on time. Pay attention. Play like hell on game day.

Jimmy Johnson's Game Keys: Protect the ball. Make plays.

Walter Payton's Advice to Kids: Play hard. Play fair. Have fun.
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WestCoastJoe
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Posts: 17721
Joined: Mon May 22, 2006 8:55 pm

2011 we start 0-5. Lulay is MOP, we rally all the to the Grey Cup. Lulay MVP. Wally moves upstairs as GM only.

2012 Succession Plan A initiated. Wally's protege, Mike Benevides, is promoted to Haed Coach. 13-5

2013 11-9

2014 9-9. Benevides fired

2015 Succession Plan B initiated. Jeff Tedford, to much acclaim, is hired as Head Coach. 7-11. Tedford quits.

2016? No Succession Plan C yet. Wally returns as Head Coach, with the title, along with that of GM.

13 ... 11 ... 9 ... 7. Is it alarmist to note this trend, this downward spiral? Everything could be all right?

Still in the playoffs, however.

One wonders if David Braley, Dennis Skulsky and Wally Buono have this organization in a death spiral. Are the dynamics such that there is no escape?

Can Wally reverse this trend next year?

Can Wally find high level coaches to fill the huge holes left by the sudden, shocking departure of Tedford and Cortez?

Can the organization find a way to market this outfit to a diminishing fan base?

Can Wally actually pull a few rabbits out of the hat, and be competitive next year? One might as well have hope. But the odds look daunting.

Too tough? It don't look pretty. At this point it looks like a shambles. But things can change fast in the CFL.
John Madden's Team Policies: Be on time. Pay attention. Play like hell on game day.

Jimmy Johnson's Game Keys: Protect the ball. Make plays.

Walter Payton's Advice to Kids: Play hard. Play fair. Have fun.
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