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

[WestCoastJoe]

BC Lions -- Lots of blame to go around -- A Poll

Don't want to think about it?

Want to fire somebody?

Get if off your chest?

Who is responsible for the sad state of our team?

We are 4 and 8.

One wonders what the record will be by the end of the year.

One wonders if the players will pack it in emotionally.

Will Jonathan Jennings grab the team by the scruff of the neck and make us competitive?

Maybe we are not in crisis mode? 4 and 8 is not so bad?

Listed in alphabetical order ...

Choose 3.

[WestCoastJoe]

Braley. Absentee owner. Farmed it out. Tremendous owner in some respects.

Buono. Year 13 of his regime. 2 Cups in the rear view mirror.

Cortez. Surprise the defence? Hit the weak spots? Take what is there? One offence fits all?

Personnel Staff. The Draft. Ouch. Recruiting American players suited to the CFL game? Following a blueprint?

Players. They are putting their bodies on the line every game, following their instructions. Are they good enough?

Skulsky. How much authority does he actually have? Can he choose to hire or fire a GM?

Tedford. Where is the offensive guru? Where is his stamp on the team? Where is the attacking football he said he prefers?

Washington. Where is the attacking style of football he has mentioned in the off season? Oh, I see, a deep zone can be attacking football?

[WestCoastJoe]

We are 4 and 8.

Jennings gives us hope. But we have so many leaks in the boat. So many ...

[SammyGreene]

Oh WC Joe … where to begin. lol

It has to start with Wally. The on field product is in the state it’s in from questionable drafting, recruiting AND lack of development.
Having to start three Americans on the offensive line is an embarrassment and this unit still is far from dominant. But we have to ask ourselves would 2nd round pick Brett Jones become the player he did if it was BC and not Calgary who drafted him?

T-Dre Player is a great example. A starter to begin the 2014 and 2015 seasons before eventually being benched. Last year he was demoted all the way to the practice roster. Seemed to be part of an o-line that started off fine this season but eventually replaced by Valli and now Husband. He is just 23. Investing two years into his development with starter's playing time should be a huge benefit for the team moving forward. Apparently not.

Just some other bizarre recent GM decisions. The lack of urgency to develop a young QB even after Lulay re-injured his shoulder last season in Ottawa. What on earth do they see in a 34-year-old journeyman back-up with no proven track record in this league?

Even his reputation for recognizing players on the decline has taken a hit with what Brown and Logan are doing. Yet others like Khreem Smith get the benefit of the doubt and keep rolling along.

My fear now is Wally steps down at the end of the season and names Neil McElvoy as his replacement. He at one-time seemed like an excellent young candidate but I think he has been under Wally’s wing for too long and I fear similar decision making and basically status quo. The team badly needs a fresh start with someone outside of the organization.

[CardiacKid]

My fear now is Wally steps down at the end of the season and names Neil McElvoy as his replacement. He at one-time seemed like an excellent young candidate but I think he has been under Wally’s wing for too long and I fear similar decision making and basically status quo. The team badly needs a fresh start with someone outside of the organization.

I would be fearful of a Neil McEvoy promotion for a different reason. I recall reading another poster's account of a conversation they had with Skulsky and McEvoy where McEvoy readily admitted he preferred the NFL to the CFL.

You just have to wonder how motivated he would be to run the Lions when he apparently doesn't see an issue with admitting in front of his boss that the brand of football he works for, is 2nd best in his estimation.

Don't know the guy from Adam but would you buy a Ford from a guy who admits he prefers Hondas?

[dupsdell1]

My fear now is Wally steps down at the end of the season and names Neil McElvoy as his replacement. He at one-time seemed like an excellent young candidate but I think he has been under Wally’s wing for too long and I fear similar decision making and basically status quo. The team badly needs a fresh start with someone outside of the organization.

I would be fearful of a Neil McEvoy promotion for a different reason. I recall reading another poster's account of a conversation they had with Skulsky and McEvoy where McEvoy readily admitted he preferred the NFL to the CFL.

You just have to wonder how motivated he would be to run the Lions when he apparently doesn't see an issue with admitting in front of his boss that the brand of football he works for, is 2nd best in his estimation.

Don't know the guy from Adam but would you buy a Ford from a guy who admits he prefers Hondas?

Wally will not step down , we are stuck with him until the end of time

[B.C.FAN]

Football is cyclical. The Alouettes and Lions have the longest active playoff streaks in the league, at 19 and 18 years, respectively. One or both of those streaks will likely end this year. Both teams have had great runs, thanks to outstanding management and solid ownership. We knew this would be a rebuilding year. Lulay's health was questionable and there were no proven backups behind him.

We've seen in recent weeks that the team has talent and pride. It could use some upgrades on the O-line and D-line, at receiver and backup RB (Mini-Shaq may have a future but a proven back is needed to take the load of Harris). The GM and HC have to share responsibility for the roster that has been assembled and the decisions that have been made this year. Mostly, though, this team has underperformed in areas where it should have excelled, specifically in offensive coaching. The H-back experiment seemed to be an afterthought once the season began, and was eventually abandoned. The offensive scheming, with no misdirection to spread the field horizontally and few quick-hitting pass patterns to keep defences honest, is a total puzzlement. This was supposed to be Tedford's strength. Cortez has a world of experience. Between the two of them, I expected a much better offence. The underperformance of the team and its 4-8 record is on Tedford.

[swervynmerv]

My first thought was Braley because he is the owner and the buck should stop at him. He saved this team and without him, thereare likely no Lions to cheer for so I rank him #2. We are in need of local ownership that are more hands on and understand the complexities of the Vancouver market.

All things for this team, start and end with Wally. Like Lombardi in Green Bay and Landry in Dallas, his legend will always hover over this team until he is gone. It doesn't matter who is coach or GM, as long as Wally is present in any capacity and Braley is the owner, Wally will always have final say.

With Braley, Wally saved the Lions and turned us into a powerhouse and flagship of the CFL. Like all good things, his time has come to an end. The Lions are stale, stale,stale!

The hiring of Tedford, though heralded by some, was just a hire of another "Wally Guy". Same with George Cortez. Successful managers hire good people and let them do their jobs. Wally puts a bunch of his cronies and yes men in to place. The entire coaching staff is ripe with guys who are Wally loyalists and follow his gospel and drink the grape kool aid that Wally pushes. That is great if it is 1998, but it's 2015 and the game has passed him and his ideas by.

Where is the sober second thought for Wally? Ever since we lost Bobby Ackles, there is no one who will or can offer a different opinion on things. Bobby had the knowledge and respect in football to offer guidance and differing opinions. Who would Wally turn to now? Dennis Skulsky is a boob and has done as much damage on the business side of this team as Wally has lately on the football side. Skulsky couldn't sell water in the Sahara!

On the personnel side, the pipeline of players that we used to find has dried up. Combine that with our dismal record of attracting the top free agents, you have to wonder why BC isn't the primary destination of players?

I grew up and spent a large chunk of my life in BC but unfortunately, no longer live in God's Country( I won't say where I know live, just that it is a really flat, cold place that has real annoying fans that wear green non-stop !). Trust me when I say that there is no more beautiful and desirable place to live than BC! If you were a player that was being recruited from the states, Vancouver and it's scenery should be in your mind from the 2010 Olympics. One visit to Vancouver and almost anyone, with all factors considered equal should choose Vancouver EVERY time!

Why then are we losing out on Free Agent players? The answer simply is Wally is CHEAP!

It is well known and has been hinted at by Angus Reid on the Team 1040 that Wally is extremely frugal. He pinches pennies at every turn. We always get out bid by other teams. Trevor Harris is a FA QB this off-season, what would be the chances of us signing him? With Wally at the helm I would doubt it! Wally is still stuck in the 50's where he grew up poor in Montreal and has that mentality that no one is worth XXXXXX dollars. Well guess what Wally, top end players in the CFL do get paid better now than they did in 1979! Times change.

The final factor with Wally and our lack of signing FA's is his reputation of divisiveness and treatment of older players. Would it really of killed us to sign Geroy for the money he wanted? Yes maybe he wasn't the player he once was, but what about all those years he gave us. So you "reward" him in his final year by overpaying him.

No what does Wally do? He cuts him and then we have to sit and watch maybe the all-time best Lion win a Grey Cup with the Riders! Maybe, just maybe Wally, if we had signed Geroy,, he makes one of his famous last minute grabs in Regina in the 2013 WSF and WE go on to win the GC in Regina!

That's it Rant over! Thanks WCJ

[WestCoastJoe]

Great stuff, Guys.

Language is a funny thing. I just noticed something. In abbreviating, as with GM, HC, et cetera, Mark W comes out as Washington, DC. LOL Pope Francis was just there, with much acclaim, joy and jubilation. Could he help our team? He could certainly help keep our spirits up.

Yes, lots of blame to go around, Sammy.

And that was a passionate, meaningful post, swerv.

[MexicoLionFan]

Football is cyclical. The Alouettes and Lions have the longest active playoff streaks in the league, at 19 and 18 years, respectively. One or both of those streaks will likely end this year. Both teams have had great runs, thanks to outstanding management and solid ownership. We knew this would be a rebuilding year. Lulay's health was questionable and there were no proven backups behind him.

We've seen in recent weeks that the team has talent and pride. It could use some upgrades on the O-line and D-line, at receiver and backup RB (Mini-Shaq may have a future but a proven back is needed to take the load of Harris). The GM and HC have to share responsibility for the roster that has been assembled and the decisions that have been made this year. Mostly, though, this team has underperformed in areas where it should have excelled, specifically in offensive coaching. The H-back experiment seemed to be an afterthought once the season began, and was eventually abandoned. The offensive scheming, with no misdirection to spread the field horizontally and few quick-hitting pass patterns to keep defences honest, is a total puzzlement. This was supposed to be Tedford's strength. Cortez has a world of experience. Between the two of them, I expected a much better offence. The underperformance of the team and its 4-8 record is on Tedford.

Football is cyclical because talent and coaching excellence continually shifts. The trick is to stay at the cutting edge on both fronts, but that's not Wally's style. Since Bob O'Billivich left we simply have not recruited players Internationally as well as the rest of the league has...not only have they finally caught up to the Lions, but they have passed them. Wally has never been aggressive with FAs and now they avoid BC like the plague. Plus, with the sole exception being the years the Kelly Bates ran the show, our drafting under Wally has been abysmal at best. And with our coaching, since 2007 the rest of the league got on par with the Lions, and now they have left the Leos in the rear view window. What was a solid staff in 2011 (with Wally the GM and HC allowing JC and Stubler to adapt the Lions stale philosophies into "custom approaches" that accented the talent that was already here) was slowly dismantled by Buono into the fiasco that last season was. This year it looked like we were finally going to be able to compete at an X's and O's level, but let's be honest, Jeff Tedford is clearly MISSING IN ACTION, Cortez is running a stale system and Washington is the lone DC in the league not using pressure as a tactic. Our talent and coaching is simply not as good as the upper echelon in the league and our record reflects that. And until this changes, our record will continue to reflect this reality.

Now, the good news...as BCFAN noted, the Lions suddenly have the talent to compete. Our defence is finally populated with the right people in the right places and played very well yesterday, in EXTREMELY ADVERSE conditions. They suffered from injuries and bad penalties, but the Esks did NOT dominate our D at any point during the game. The Esks simply took advantage of the endless gifts we gave them. Roh is going to only get better at DE, eventually we will find another good one, we are now loaded at DT, with Westerman back in the fold and playing well, our LBs are still the best in the CFL with Sol E. injured, and our secondary has talent, they simply have needed a safety and some help from our DLine. Things are starting to come together for them, and think what it could become with a good Defensive coach???

Offensively, with a RAW rookie QB, Harris injured and tons of injuries on the OLine, we moved the ball against EDM (a very good Defence) until such time that George Cortez simply made it IMPOSSIBLE to do. What we saw yesterday in EDM had nothing to do with a lack of player talent on Offence, it was an OC that coached AFRAID (like his DC counterpart) and limited the success of his young offence by making things SO PREDICTABLE and easy for Chris Jones and the EDM defence, perhaps the best in the league!!! WHY??? This is the question we should be asking...not the WHO! Why do we play such a timid style of football in all 3 aspects of the game when the rest of the league has embraced fast and aggressive???

I saw what BCFAN saw yesterday, and that's HOPE because for the first time in over a year and a half the Lions looked like they had a good collection of talent on the field! This is a group that has the ability to play with the league's best and win games come November...but until this team finds a coaching staff to match this young talent, then its just not going to happen! Personally, I am SICK AND TIRED, fed up, of watching the Lions be out coached every single game. This has got to change and its more and more looking like Jeff Tedford isn't going to lift a finger to be part of the change. The status quo that has been the BC Lions for a decade MUST CHANGE...the Lions will have to adapt to the new CFL or die...this was the single most important message from Charles Darwin's observations into "micro-nature", those organisms and species that united together and embraced change lived on, while those that stubbornly refused to adapt became extinct!

[WestCoastJoe]

Great post, MLF. Passion and insight as usual.

Re the D ... On what was Edmonton's final TD pass, one saw Adam Bighill in a deep zone, in the middle of the field, near no one, standing still, reading the QB. What good does that alignment and assignment do a team? Take your best defender and make him an observer?

As you said, MLF, our OC and DC coach from fear. Afraid to go for it. Afraid to coach to win. And that has always been Wally's hallmark, aside from some bizarre on field decisions. Cortez and Washington thoroughly reflect Wally's ultra conservative approach.

And, by the way, congratulations once again to Wally, on receiving the Order of Canada. Fully deserved. Tremendous contributions to Canadian life and to the community.

[CardiacKid]

BC Fan used the word "cyclical" and I think it is a wise word to use in regards to the Lions situation. Our expectations have been formed by those consecutive years in the playoffs, the relative success in terms of Grey Cups and a number of years dominating on the field of play.
Cyclical also describes the emotions I felt for this team entering this and how they have morphed as the year went along. Hope for entertaining, competitive and combative football gave way to frustration, head shaking and disappointment. But underneath it all there is the abiding thought that at some point in the future, I as a fan will be able to enjoy watching a BC Lions team competing near or at the top of the league.
What has been worrying me for a few weeks now is how the players will approach the rest of the year. I am just a fan and have (fingers crossed) many more years of being a Lions fan, for better or worse. For the players though, this is their job, their career and I have to believe, something they dearly love doing. Otherwise they wouldn't be out there week in, week out. For them, it could be now or never...or at best a few more years of playing the game.

I truly hope that for their own sense of pride, they are able to play with intensity and enthusiasm for th rest of the year. That their passion for the game has not been bled dry by this season's challenges.

[TheLionKing]

Two people:

i) Dennis Skulsky for the declining attendance and his inability to address this issue other than blocking off sections of the stadium and raising prices in the once lower priced sections so the Lions' make a profit. So much for his "business plan"

ii) Wally Buono for the on field product. This team has been in decline since the passing of Bob Ackles. What worked in 2000 isn't working in 2015. His fingerprints are all over this train wreck.

[SammyGreene]

Two people:

i) Dennis Skulsky for the declining attendance and his inability to address this issue other than blocking off sections of the stadium and raising prices in the once lower priced sections so the Lions' make a profit. So much for his "business plan

Yep. 2016 season ticket renewal packages should be sent out over the next few weeks. Will it be the same old crap? "Renew by Dec 17 to get 2015 early bird pricing"

[B.C.FAN]

Yep. 2016 season ticket renewal packages should be sent out over the next few weeks. Will it be the same old crap? "Renew by Dec 17 to get 2015 early bird pricing"

Wait! I haven't even received my playoff ticket notice yet.





























Oh ... Never mind.