Grey Cup, Game Day Thread

[WestCoastJoe]

The Eskimos simply smothered Ottawa's league-leading passing attack to death. After the Redblacks scored two quick touchdowns against primarily man coverage, the Eskimos played a lot more zone, taking away deep and intermediate routes and forcing Burris to check down to running back William Powell, who led all Ottawa receivers with 7 catches for 57 yards. None of the Redblacks' quartet of 1,000-yard receivers was able to stretch the secondary. Powell's 24-yard catch and run in the second quarter was the longest of the day for the Redblacks. Burris threw for 150 yards in the first half but just 70 in the second half, mostly checkdowns to Powell on second and long.

Don Landry of cfl.ca has a good analysis of how the he Eskimos did it.

The Eskimos, according to CFL.ca Grey Cup Insider Rob Bagg, played a heavy dose of man-to man coverage on those first two Ottawa touches and then went primarily with zone schemes after that. "They played a lot of zone, dropping nine," agreed receiver Chris Williams, who was held to two catches and 35 yards, but might have had more, including a touchdown, had Burris not under thrown him in the first quarter, gifting Watkins with an easy pick.

A switch from man coverage to more complicated zone schemes, however, was one of the keys to the Eskimos' Grey Cup triumph, and a reason why the Ottawa offence went from gusher to trickle.

Early adjustment helped Esks shut down REDBLACKS

The TSN panel discussed how Chris Jones' defence has evolved over the years. In the early hears, he was a strict adherent to press man coverage, blitzing heavily and living and dying with the cover skills of dominant DBs such as Brandon Browner in Calgary. Now he plays much more zone, often rushing just 3 or 4 players and dropping 8 or 9 into coverage, lining them up at the first-down marker. A lot of teams play the same way. The Eskimos just do it better than most.

I enjoyed hearing that analysis.

Jones is not a one trick pony. Started press man to man. Burris was eating it up. Jones switched to zone with different reads. But the O still has to be ready for a blitz at any time. More of a Stubler approach.

In general terms, it seems to me, with top level play, the offence will always have the advantage. Few teams can provide that top level O play. But when they do, it is best if the D can mix it up, vary it. Jones made adjustments on the fly, before the half.

To this fan, our D seems brain dead. Whoever had the notion of putting Bighill at deep Safety should be given a FAIL (Wally or Mark?). Whoever had the notion of putting undersized Craig Roh at tackle should be given a FAIL. We do not have the courage or conviction to play with a truly aggressive attitude. Most teams are like that. Fortunately in the CFL a number of coaches have an all in attitude, some on O, some on D.

This fan still wonders if the D we played truly represented what Mark W believes in. Dunno ... He might have to move out from under the shadow of Wally for us to really know.

[InUrFace]

You get a grip sir... it is your team you see swirling around in toilet being flushed down to the the sewer of this league

Now it is you who must provide me with the evidence of the Phoenix of the lions, otherwise step aside, and taste the ashes of another failed seasons, with your vaunted "winning coach of CFL history???

I agree everything you saying. Im surprised Wally hasnt announced going to Hawaii yet. This is his mind set. He is the cancer of this organization but where is the cure for it. Who will and can step in. Will he be given a new contract. What if Skulsky finds owners for the team, will he keep Wally as GM. What if Wally gets rid of Jeff, will that make Wally be HC and GM again. Will this improve the season. I told you peeps on here 2 to 3 yrs ago to get rid of Wally. I predicted he would ruin this organization. Yet you all called me a troll. No whos laughing. I was right and all you who said Wally is amazing and great. Now he is your cancer and the falling of this team and organization. So all you peeps who went against me guess now you doing this To you I laugh at! You all know who you are. HAHA! Those who still think Wally isnt the problem I laugh at you even more. HAHAHA!
Im sorry but anything or any position Wally takes will still make the cancer spread more rapidly down the ranks. To each coordinator and HC if any HC is here that is. Where is the scouting for talent. its a embarrassing time here for football and Lions fans. 2015 was a growing pain. Now what more growing? Or more pain. Or a little of both. I for one am tired of this organization and Wally at the helm .. Its time for him to go, he cant compete along side any Coach or GM in my book. Hes washed up and should go for a permanent vacation to Hawaii.

[Dusty]

You get a grip sir... it is your team you see swirling around in toilet being flushed down to the the sewer of this league

Now it is you who must provide me with the evidence of the Phoenix of the lions, otherwise step aside, and taste the ashes of another failed seasons, with your vaunted "winning coach of CFL history???

To you I laugh at! You all know who you are. HAHA! Those who still think Wally isnt the problem I laugh at you even more. HAHAHA!

Oh yeah!.... well... "I fart in your general direction"......

Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear.... I've sunk to Monty Python levels..... Tomorrow I'll think of something more pertinent to contribute...

[Belize City Lion]

Please one of you sugar coated Leo fans explain to me why Reilly was such a write off, we could afford to trade him in the youth of his years for what???

Who were the anointed ones Pasquale decided were the acceptable, to cast of the MVP of the 2015 Grey Cup Champions

Where are you Wally, you swine, are you watching this you hound from hell?

You're right. It's Wally's fault he didn't have the ability to predict the future. Instead Wally should have dumped the reigning MOP who had just led us to a Grey Cup, so that we could keep the backup QB who wanted to become a starter.

LOL some people.

Reilly was not a "write off". Far from it. He was a high valued pending free agent right before the expansion draft. If the Lions had kept him in 2013 they would have certainly lost him for nothing in return in the 2014 expansion draft. Remember, teams could only protect 1 QB and at the end of the 2012 season there was nobody who would have considered protecting Reilly while leaving Lulay exposed. But at the same time Reilly would have been the odds on favourite to be picked #1 in the expansion draft if he was available. So the only choice the Lions had was to either keep Reilly as insurance for 2013, or trade him away and get something in return. Wally played it off as "giving Reilly a chance to start", but to me that was because he only got a swap of second round pick in 2013 and the Esks second round pick in 2014 in exchange. Edmonton clearly won that trade.

[pennw]

The TSN panel discussed how Chris Jones' defence has evolved over the years. In the early hears, he was a strict adherent to press man coverage, blitzing heavily and living and dying with the cover skills of dominant DBs such as Brandon Browner in Calgary. Now he plays much more zone, often rushing just 3 or 4 players and dropping 8 or 9 into coverage, lining them up at the first-down marker. A lot of teams play the same way. The Eskimos just do it better than most.

I noticed this too . In fact I noticed the Stamps as well as almost very other Team , also play the same sort of defence , rushing just 3 , dropping 8or 9 a lot . Sounds just like a Mark Washington defence ! Chris Jones must have been taking notes when he played against BC !

[B.C.FAN]

The TSN panel discussed how Chris Jones' defence has evolved over the years. In the early hears, he was a strict adherent to press man coverage, blitzing heavily and living and dying with the cover skills of dominant DBs such as Brandon Browner in Calgary. Now he plays much more zone, often rushing just 3 or 4 players and dropping 8 or 9 into coverage, lining them up at the first-down marker. A lot of teams play the same way. The Eskimos just do it better than most.

I noticed this too . In fact I noticed the Stamps as well as almost very other Team , also play the same sort of defence , rushing just 3 , dropping 8or 9 a lot . Sounds just like a Mark Washington defence ! Chris Jones must have been taking notes when he played against BC !

It's not what you do, it's how well you do it. B.C. has the personnel to be successful on defence. The only missing ingredient is a top-notch rush end.

[pennw]

You get a grip sir... it is your team you see swirling around in toilet being flushed down to the the sewer of this league

Now it is you who must provide me with the evidence of the Phoenix of the lions, otherwise step aside, and taste the ashes of another failed seasons, with your vaunted "winning coach of CFL history???

I noticed you haven't bothered responding to my posts in here. I suppose it's tough to argue when confronted by facts.

Some people are not even worth responding to . Facts are irrelevant to some , BC had a choice , Lulay or Reilly as starter period. Reilly was a free agent shortly after this and he wasn't signing on as a back up anywhere . I too thought it may be a mistake letting Reilly go at the time , but completely understood they could not trade Lulay away either . At any rate , Jon Jennings may end up being better than either down the road , so no need to second guess that one anymore . But by then the above poster will probably be telling us "I told you so " about Jennings if that does play out . This is the guy , after all , that told us recently that Casey Printers did a great job evading the rush of Grover Covington when he first broke onto the scene , even though Covington retired almost 15 years before Printers' rookie season .

[pennw]

The TSN panel discussed how Chris Jones' defence has evolved over the years. In the early hears, he was a strict adherent to press man coverage, blitzing heavily and living and dying with the cover skills of dominant DBs such as Brandon Browner in Calgary. Now he plays much more zone, often rushing just 3 or 4 players and dropping 8 or 9 into coverage, lining them up at the first-down marker. A lot of teams play the same way. The Eskimos just do it better than most.

I noticed this too . In fact I noticed the Stamps as well as almost very other Team , also play the same sort of defence , rushing just 3 , dropping 8or 9 a lot . Sounds just like a Mark Washington defence ! Chris Jones must have been taking notes when he played against BC !

It's not what you do, it's how well you do it. B.C. has the personnel to be successful on defence. The only missing ingredient is a top-notch rush end.

Another thing BC is frequently critisized for is cutting Aging Vets even though other teams do the exact same thing . Hufnagel is often sited as a model HC/GM in the way he handles things but he dumped the very popular and still productive Nick Lewis exactly the same way . The Esks did it to Fred Stamps . Both were scooped by the Als and did well there in 2015 along with Stefan Logan . Korey Banks did not do well anywhere after BC , neither did Dante Marsh .

[Ballistic Bob]

Ottawa punting at the end of the game reminded me of the Lions punting at the end of the 2004 GC and not getting another shot. Oh well.BB

[TheLionKing]

This fan still wonders if the D we played truly represented what Mark W believes in. Dunno ... He might have to move out from under the shadow of Wally for us to really know.

The answer is obvious. He promised an attacking defence when Benevides was appointed Head Coach. Tedford and him promised the same thing when the former was introduced as Head Coach

[TheLionKing]

You get a grip sir... it is your team you see swirling around in toilet being flushed down to the the sewer of this league

Now it is you who must provide me with the evidence of the Phoenix of the lions, otherwise step aside, and taste the ashes of another failed seasons, with your vaunted "winning coach of CFL history???

I noticed you haven't bothered responding to my posts in here. I suppose it's tough to argue when confronted by facts.

Some people are not even worth responding to . Facts are irrelevant to some , BC had a choice , Lulay or Reilly as starter period. Reilly was a free agent shortly after this and he wasn't signing on as a back up anywhere . I too thought it may be a mistake letting Reilly go at the time , but completely understood they could not trade Lulay away either . At any rate , Jon Jennings may end up being better than either down the road , so no need to second guess that one anymore . But by then the above poster will probably be telling us "I told you so " about Jennings if that does play out . This is the guy , after all , that told us recently that Casey Printers did a great job evading the rush of Grover Covington when he first broke onto the scene , even though Covington retired almost 15 years before Printers' rookie season .

I wonder if he posted that it was a mistake at the time when the trade was made.

[VictoriaFan]

maybe I'm just getting old but was having FalloutBoys at halftime another Beiber like ploy to get teenage girls to watch the CFL? The only thing good was the pyro technics. Then after the game I went to see King Crimson, hmmm maybe I am getting too old.

[aklawitter]

You decry the efforts of the CFL to connect with the younger masses?

[B.C.FAN]

The league has done a great job in recent years in selecting breakout international acts as halftime performers. Just a week before the Grey Cup, Fall Out Boy won the American Music Award for Favorite Artist - Alternative Rock. A day after the Grey Cup, they appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live with Boyz II Men in the last of a celebrated "Mash Up Monday" series.

Last year's Grey Cup performers, Imagine Dragons, won the same American Music Award in 2013 and 2014, as well as the 2014 Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance.

I have no interest in music these days, especially at a football game, and can't comment on the quality of the performances, but I'm in the older male demographic that forms the core CFL audience. Grey Cup acts are chosen to attract a mass audience, including younger female viewers who are less likely to tune in for the football game alone. If 3.8 million people out of an average audience of 4.3 million stayed in front of their TVs at halftime to see Fall Out Boy, that seems to indicate success.

[WestCoastJoe]

The league has done a great job in recent years in selecting breakout international acts as halftime performers. Just a week before the Grey Cup, Fall Out Boy won the American Music Award for Favorite Artist - Alternative Rock. A day after the Grey Cup, they appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live with Boyz II Men in the last of a celebrated "Mash Up Monday" series.

Last year's Grey Cup performers, Imagine Dragons, won the same American Music Award in 2013 and 2014, as well as the 2014 Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance.

I have no interest in music these days, especially at a football game, and can't comment on the quality of the performances, but I'm in the older male demographic that forms the core CFL audience. Grey Cup acts are chosen to attract a mass audience, including younger female viewers who are less likely to tune in for the football game alone. If 3.8 million people out of an average audience of 4.3 million stayed in front of their TVs at halftime to see Fall Out Boy, that seems to indicate success.

Same demographic. I don't watch the half time show. But I gather the game had good TV viewership.

As I have stated all along, the CFL game itself is first rate as a sporting event. IMO its following will grow.

#1 issue ... Concussions. If we are not more proactive, these injuries will greatly damage the viability of the game.