The Lions showed a lot of character in grinding out a tough 29-23 win in Ottawa to ruin the return of Redblack quarterback Trevor Harris and to get their two-game Eastern road trip off to a great start.
It was a game of mistakes and missed opportunities for the Lions, who dominated time of possession but left lots of points on the board with a missed field goal on a drive that reached the Ottawa 5-yard line, a fumble at the Ottawa 1-yard line and a sack that took them out of field-goal range. But the Lions ground out yards all night, dominating the time of possession by more than 13 minutes. Jonathon Jennings, despite struggling in the first half against Ottawa's zone defence and being sacked 6 times (the Lions had 4 sacks), completed 23 of 31 passes for 289 yards. Harris was an almost identical 23 of 31 but had more passing yards (352), thanks to three big completions of 30 yards or more to one big play of 34 yards for Jennings to Burnham.
Chris Rainey gave the Lions a spark by running, catching and returned the ball. Manny Arceneaux had 7 catches for 96 yards, Bryan Burnham added 8 for 86 yards. The Lions added 128 yards rushing, including 76 from Anthony Allen.
Lions at Redblacks postgame stats and comments
Moderator: Team Captains
Passing
JENNINGS, Jonathon
23/31 74.2% 289 1 0 34
LULAY, Travis
1/2 50.0% 3 0 0 3
Rushing
ALLEN, Anthony
13 76 5.8 22 0
RAINEY, Chris
4 21 5.2 11 0
JENNINGS, Jonathon
5 20 4.0 6 0
MURRAY-LAWRENCE, Shaquille
1 4 4.0 4 0
LUMBALA, Rolly
1 4 4.0 4 0
LULAY, Travis
3 3 1.0 1 2
Receiving
ARCENEAUX, Emmanuel
7 96 13.7 24 0
BURNHAM, Bryan
6 86 14.3 34 0
BOLDEWIJN, Geraldo
4 53 13.2 17 0
GORE, Shawn
3 31 10.3 13 0
ALLEN, Anthony
2 11 5.5 6 0
RAINEY, Chris
1 10 10.0 10 1
MURRAY-LAWRENCE, Shaquille
1 5 5.0 5 0
IANNUZZI, Marco
0 0 0 0 0
Field Goals
LEONE, Richie
2 1 23 1 23 33
Punt Returns
Player
NO YDS AVG LG TD
RAINEY, Chris
3 59 19.7 41 0
IANNUZZI, Marco
3 33 11.0 13 0
Kickoff Returns
RAINEY, Chris
3 92 30.7 32 0
MURRAY-LAWRENCE, Shaquille
1 16 16.0 16 0
Punting
Player
LEONE, Richie
7 383 54.7 71 1 288 41.1
Kickoffs
NO YDS AVG LG S
LEONE, Richie
5 317 63.4 69 0
Defence
ELIMIMIAN, Solomon
10 0 0 0 0 0
EDEM, Mike
6 0 0 0 0 0
BAZZIE, Alex
4 0 2 0 0 0
YELL, Ronnie
3 0 0 0 0 0
BIGHILL, Adam
3 0 0 0 0 0
PHILLIPS, Ryan
2 0 0 0 0 0
STEWART, Brandon
2 2 0 0 0 0
GAITOR, Anthony
2 0 0 0 0 0
PURIFOY, Loucheiz
2 0 0 0 0 1
ROH, Craig
1 0 1 0 0 1
BURNHAM, Bryan
1 0 0 0 0 0
MENARD, David
1 0 1 0 0 0
WESTERMAN, Jabar
1 0 0 0 0 0
BROOKS, Mic'hael
1 0 0 0 0 0
PARKER, Keynan
0 1 0 0 0 0
ARAKGI, Jason
0 3 0 0 0 0
FRASER, Eric
0 2 0 0 0 0
JENNINGS, Jonathon
0 0 0 0 1 0
THOMPSON, Anthony
0 1 0 0 0 0
LOKOMBO, Bo
0 1 0 0 0 0
JENNINGS, Jonathon
23/31 74.2% 289 1 0 34
LULAY, Travis
1/2 50.0% 3 0 0 3
Rushing
ALLEN, Anthony
13 76 5.8 22 0
RAINEY, Chris
4 21 5.2 11 0
JENNINGS, Jonathon
5 20 4.0 6 0
MURRAY-LAWRENCE, Shaquille
1 4 4.0 4 0
LUMBALA, Rolly
1 4 4.0 4 0
LULAY, Travis
3 3 1.0 1 2
Receiving
ARCENEAUX, Emmanuel
7 96 13.7 24 0
BURNHAM, Bryan
6 86 14.3 34 0
BOLDEWIJN, Geraldo
4 53 13.2 17 0
GORE, Shawn
3 31 10.3 13 0
ALLEN, Anthony
2 11 5.5 6 0
RAINEY, Chris
1 10 10.0 10 1
MURRAY-LAWRENCE, Shaquille
1 5 5.0 5 0
IANNUZZI, Marco
0 0 0 0 0
Field Goals
LEONE, Richie
2 1 23 1 23 33
Punt Returns
Player
NO YDS AVG LG TD
RAINEY, Chris
3 59 19.7 41 0
IANNUZZI, Marco
3 33 11.0 13 0
Kickoff Returns
RAINEY, Chris
3 92 30.7 32 0
MURRAY-LAWRENCE, Shaquille
1 16 16.0 16 0
Punting
Player
LEONE, Richie
7 383 54.7 71 1 288 41.1
Kickoffs
NO YDS AVG LG S
LEONE, Richie
5 317 63.4 69 0
Defence
ELIMIMIAN, Solomon
10 0 0 0 0 0
EDEM, Mike
6 0 0 0 0 0
BAZZIE, Alex
4 0 2 0 0 0
YELL, Ronnie
3 0 0 0 0 0
BIGHILL, Adam
3 0 0 0 0 0
PHILLIPS, Ryan
2 0 0 0 0 0
STEWART, Brandon
2 2 0 0 0 0
GAITOR, Anthony
2 0 0 0 0 0
PURIFOY, Loucheiz
2 0 0 0 0 1
ROH, Craig
1 0 1 0 0 1
BURNHAM, Bryan
1 0 0 0 0 0
MENARD, David
1 0 1 0 0 0
WESTERMAN, Jabar
1 0 0 0 0 0
BROOKS, Mic'hael
1 0 0 0 0 0
PARKER, Keynan
0 1 0 0 0 0
ARAKGI, Jason
0 3 0 0 0 0
FRASER, Eric
0 2 0 0 0 0
JENNINGS, Jonathon
0 0 0 0 1 0
THOMPSON, Anthony
0 1 0 0 0 0
LOKOMBO, Bo
0 1 0 0 0 0
Darn it was a close one. Certainly memorable... A bit tongue tied at the moment but a big W some big games put in by key players. Still shows how close it can get against a good team. Ray next week in Toronto... bring it Lions!
Our Leos win an exciting, nail biting contest to beat the Ottawa Red Blacks 29-23.
It went right down to the wire, with our Leos mounting a late game drive for the go ahead touchdown and then turned to our defense to hold off the charging Ottawa offence's last minute attempt to win the game.
This was a game that Ottawa fans were looking forward to, as Trevor Harris, with his 82% completion average and 139.0 quarterback efficiency average was back at the controls the Ottawa offence. Jonathan Jennings, coming off a tough game against Calgary was hoping to rally our Leos back to their winning ways.
Lets have a closer look at this big road victory for our Leos.
OFFENCE
Jonathan Jennings completed 23 passes for 289 yards and a touchdown. Travis Lulay added two touchdowns on quarterback sneaks.
Jennings completed his first five passes of our opening drive of the game and drove the football down to the Ottawa 22 yard line before being swarmed on two consecutive plays and we kicked a field goal to take the early lead 3-0.
In the second quarter, we converted a 37 yard punt return into our first touchdown of the game. Our offence took over the ball in prime field position. Allen rushed for 7 yards on first down and Lulay then punched the football in.
However, our offence mostly struggled in the first half of the game. Jennings was under constant pressure, Ottawa started out playing man but also ran a lot of zone blitzes. Our passing game had very few anti-blitz plays or short passing plays and Ottawa stacked the box often on first down, using the blitz as both a run and pass blitz.
Down 13-10 to start the second half of the game, our offence began the third quarter with Jennings completing five consecutive passes while still under incredible pressure, driving our Leos to the Ottawa 5 yard line. But on second down, Jennings was sacked for a 20 yard loss and Leone missed the 33 yard field goal attempt. An impressive drive was wasted.
Jennings orchestrated yet another second half long drive that seemed destined to end with a touchdown. Arseneaux made a catch near the goal line but had the footballl punched out of his hand and the Red Blacks recovered the football on the two yard line.
Following an Ottawa field goal that gave Ottawa a 23-21 lead, and down to the final minutes of the game, Jennings began our final winning touchdown drive. On second down, we dialed up a bubble screen to Bryan Burnham. The play looked like it was being designed to get us closer to a long field goal attempt. But, with Boldewijn and Iannuzzi making great cut blocks, Burnham raced for 34 yards and the horse collar tackle gave us the football at the Ottawa 2 yard line. Lulay ran the football in on second and two and then hit Arsenault for the two point conversion to give us the 20-23 lead.
It was not time for our defense to hold the fort and give us our victory.
DEFENCE
Our defense was able to shut down Ottawa's final drive, as they mounted their comeback attempt and drove the football into our territory. Things looked bleak until Harris missed his first down pass and then our defense sacked Harris on second down for a 7 yard loss. It was such a key play, setting up 3rd and 17. Harris attempted to throw to Chris Williams, who was blanketed and the game was over.
Our defense stugggled at times in the first half. Harris completed 15 of his first 16 passes of the game. Ottawa tailback Trayvon Van was elusive. Harris hit Ottawa receivers for big plays throughout the game. His threw to Chris Williams for a 44 yard completion in the first quarter. He threw to Ernest Jackson for a 30 yard touchdown strike in the first half as Fraser, playing safety was slow to get over to help on the play.
A long pass to Ellingson, with 17 seconds remaining in the second quarter cost us three points.
In the third quarter, Harris hit Greg Ellingson for two receptions for a combined 68 yards and Van was able to dash into the end zone from three yards out to tie the game.
Our Leos sacked Harris for a safety in the fourth quarter and had Ottawa pinned on its two yard line. But we allowed Harris to throw a 53 yard completion to Williams on first down, leading to Milo kicking a field goal to give Ottawa in the lead in the closing minutes.
Alex Bazzie had a great game at defensive end. Menard made a key tackle on Harris to prevent him throwing away the football and giving us a safety. Ronnie Yell had an excellent game at corner.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Once again Leone's booming punts were impressive. He pinned down Ottawa to its 2 yard line on one punt, booted a 71 yard single, but once again, he missed a very makeable 33 yard field goal attempt that could have cost us the game.
Our downfield tackling on kickoffs left a lot to be desired. Chris Rainey was dangerous all night on punt and kick returns, as well as on offence.
THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY
The Good
Our Leos offence mounted a winning football drive at crunch time. Jennings, had to make precision throws all night under great pressure or to escape to buy time. Arsenault and Burnham made outstanding plays.
Arsenault's run, after his crossing pattern catch in the fourth quarter, was a determined run by a player who really wanted to make up for his fumble. Burnham continues to impress this season with great catches and excellent running after his catches. Boldewijn looked more confident. Shawn Gore continued his fine play.
Anthony Allen had a solid effort.
Alex Bazzie had a hell of a game. Our defense gave up some big plays and there is more work to do. But they never gave up, played hard, and fought. Ryan Phillips had a great break up of a pass that showed great anticipation.
THE BAD
Once again, mistakes really hurt us. Jennings took a 20 yard sack when he should have thrown the football earlier when in the red zone. But he had no one to throw to. Our pass patterns are almost all intermediate and long. He has no safey valve on many plays.
Our offensive line pass blocking was horrible. Its time to get Vaillencourt and Steward back in the lineup and also to bring Johnson back. Adcock is not ready.
Jennings was sacked 6 times and it could easily have been 12 sacks without his mobility and instincts.
Defensively, we played well overall but big plays took their toll. Special teams coverage and tackling on kickoffs left a lot to be desired.
THE UGLY
Leone's field goal kicking is ugly. We're winning on offence due to talent of our quarterback and receivers positions. Our scheme is terrible on offence. No screens, no running game diversity, no check downs, no swing patterns, no anti-blitz plays, too many pass patterns that are too long. For example, on a second and four play, deep in Ottawa territory, we didn't have one receiver running a pattern less than 15 yards long. Our offensive scheme is lacking and without Jennings our offence would be in big trouble.
WRAP
A tough contest and a big road win for our Leos. Players of the game were Jennings, Bazzie, and Rainey. An exciting win for our Leos.
It went right down to the wire, with our Leos mounting a late game drive for the go ahead touchdown and then turned to our defense to hold off the charging Ottawa offence's last minute attempt to win the game.
This was a game that Ottawa fans were looking forward to, as Trevor Harris, with his 82% completion average and 139.0 quarterback efficiency average was back at the controls the Ottawa offence. Jonathan Jennings, coming off a tough game against Calgary was hoping to rally our Leos back to their winning ways.
Lets have a closer look at this big road victory for our Leos.
OFFENCE
Jonathan Jennings completed 23 passes for 289 yards and a touchdown. Travis Lulay added two touchdowns on quarterback sneaks.
Jennings completed his first five passes of our opening drive of the game and drove the football down to the Ottawa 22 yard line before being swarmed on two consecutive plays and we kicked a field goal to take the early lead 3-0.
In the second quarter, we converted a 37 yard punt return into our first touchdown of the game. Our offence took over the ball in prime field position. Allen rushed for 7 yards on first down and Lulay then punched the football in.
However, our offence mostly struggled in the first half of the game. Jennings was under constant pressure, Ottawa started out playing man but also ran a lot of zone blitzes. Our passing game had very few anti-blitz plays or short passing plays and Ottawa stacked the box often on first down, using the blitz as both a run and pass blitz.
Down 13-10 to start the second half of the game, our offence began the third quarter with Jennings completing five consecutive passes while still under incredible pressure, driving our Leos to the Ottawa 5 yard line. But on second down, Jennings was sacked for a 20 yard loss and Leone missed the 33 yard field goal attempt. An impressive drive was wasted.
Jennings orchestrated yet another second half long drive that seemed destined to end with a touchdown. Arseneaux made a catch near the goal line but had the footballl punched out of his hand and the Red Blacks recovered the football on the two yard line.
Following an Ottawa field goal that gave Ottawa a 23-21 lead, and down to the final minutes of the game, Jennings began our final winning touchdown drive. On second down, we dialed up a bubble screen to Bryan Burnham. The play looked like it was being designed to get us closer to a long field goal attempt. But, with Boldewijn and Iannuzzi making great cut blocks, Burnham raced for 34 yards and the horse collar tackle gave us the football at the Ottawa 2 yard line. Lulay ran the football in on second and two and then hit Arsenault for the two point conversion to give us the 20-23 lead.
It was not time for our defense to hold the fort and give us our victory.
DEFENCE
Our defense was able to shut down Ottawa's final drive, as they mounted their comeback attempt and drove the football into our territory. Things looked bleak until Harris missed his first down pass and then our defense sacked Harris on second down for a 7 yard loss. It was such a key play, setting up 3rd and 17. Harris attempted to throw to Chris Williams, who was blanketed and the game was over.
Our defense stugggled at times in the first half. Harris completed 15 of his first 16 passes of the game. Ottawa tailback Trayvon Van was elusive. Harris hit Ottawa receivers for big plays throughout the game. His threw to Chris Williams for a 44 yard completion in the first quarter. He threw to Ernest Jackson for a 30 yard touchdown strike in the first half as Fraser, playing safety was slow to get over to help on the play.
A long pass to Ellingson, with 17 seconds remaining in the second quarter cost us three points.
In the third quarter, Harris hit Greg Ellingson for two receptions for a combined 68 yards and Van was able to dash into the end zone from three yards out to tie the game.
Our Leos sacked Harris for a safety in the fourth quarter and had Ottawa pinned on its two yard line. But we allowed Harris to throw a 53 yard completion to Williams on first down, leading to Milo kicking a field goal to give Ottawa in the lead in the closing minutes.
Alex Bazzie had a great game at defensive end. Menard made a key tackle on Harris to prevent him throwing away the football and giving us a safety. Ronnie Yell had an excellent game at corner.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Once again Leone's booming punts were impressive. He pinned down Ottawa to its 2 yard line on one punt, booted a 71 yard single, but once again, he missed a very makeable 33 yard field goal attempt that could have cost us the game.
Our downfield tackling on kickoffs left a lot to be desired. Chris Rainey was dangerous all night on punt and kick returns, as well as on offence.
THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY
The Good
Our Leos offence mounted a winning football drive at crunch time. Jennings, had to make precision throws all night under great pressure or to escape to buy time. Arsenault and Burnham made outstanding plays.
Arsenault's run, after his crossing pattern catch in the fourth quarter, was a determined run by a player who really wanted to make up for his fumble. Burnham continues to impress this season with great catches and excellent running after his catches. Boldewijn looked more confident. Shawn Gore continued his fine play.
Anthony Allen had a solid effort.
Alex Bazzie had a hell of a game. Our defense gave up some big plays and there is more work to do. But they never gave up, played hard, and fought. Ryan Phillips had a great break up of a pass that showed great anticipation.
THE BAD
Once again, mistakes really hurt us. Jennings took a 20 yard sack when he should have thrown the football earlier when in the red zone. But he had no one to throw to. Our pass patterns are almost all intermediate and long. He has no safey valve on many plays.
Our offensive line pass blocking was horrible. Its time to get Vaillencourt and Steward back in the lineup and also to bring Johnson back. Adcock is not ready.
Jennings was sacked 6 times and it could easily have been 12 sacks without his mobility and instincts.
Defensively, we played well overall but big plays took their toll. Special teams coverage and tackling on kickoffs left a lot to be desired.
THE UGLY
Leone's field goal kicking is ugly. We're winning on offence due to talent of our quarterback and receivers positions. Our scheme is terrible on offence. No screens, no running game diversity, no check downs, no swing patterns, no anti-blitz plays, too many pass patterns that are too long. For example, on a second and four play, deep in Ottawa territory, we didn't have one receiver running a pattern less than 15 yards long. Our offensive scheme is lacking and without Jennings our offence would be in big trouble.
WRAP
A tough contest and a big road win for our Leos. Players of the game were Jennings, Bazzie, and Rainey. An exciting win for our Leos.
"When I went to Catholic high school in Philadelphia, we just had one coach for football and basketball. He took all of us who turned out and had us run through a forest. The ones who ran into the trees were on the football team". (George Raveling)
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TheLionKing
- Hall of Famer
- Posts: 25103
- Joined: Sat Feb 19, 2005 10:13 pm
- Location: Vancouver
If they hope to win against the Argos they need to improve coverage on special teams, the play of the offensive line particularly Kirby Fabien. They can't afford any mental breakdown especially on 2nd down and long.
Maybe its time for Wally to bring in Hobokicker or another cdn FG kicker on PRBlitz wrote:Our Leos win an exciting, nail biting contest to beat the Ottawa Red Blacks 29-23.
It went right down to the wire, with our Leos mounting a late game drive for the go ahead touchdown and then turned to our defense to hold off the charging Ottawa offence's last minute attempt to win the game.
This was a game that Ottawa fans were looking forward to, as Trevor Harris, with his 82% completion average and 139.0 quarterback efficiency average was back at the controls the Ottawa offence. Jonathan Jennings, coming off a tough game against Calgary was hoping to rally our Leos back to their winning ways.
Lets have a closer look at this big road victory for our Leos.
OFFENCE
Jonathan Jennings completed 23 passes for 289 yards and a touchdown. Travis Lulay added two touchdowns on quarterback sneaks.
Jennings completed his first five passes of our opening drive of the game and drove the football down to the Ottawa 22 yard line before being swarmed on two consecutive plays and we kicked a field goal to take the early lead 3-0.
In the second quarter, we converted a 37 yard punt return into our first touchdown of the game. Our offence took over the ball in prime field position. Allen rushed for 7 yards on first down and Lulay then punched the football in.
However, our offence mostly struggled in the first half of the game. Jennings was under constant pressure, Ottawa started out playing man but also ran a lot of zone blitzes. Our passing game had very few anti-blitz plays or short passing plays and Ottawa stacked the box often on first down, using the blitz as both a run and pass blitz.
Down 13-10 to start the second half of the game, our offence began the third quarter with Jennings completing five consecutive passes while still under incredible pressure, driving our Leos to the Ottawa 5 yard line. But on second down, Jennings was sacked for a 20 yard loss and Leone missed the 33 yard field goal attempt. An impressive drive was wasted.
Jennings orchestrated yet another second half long drive that seemed destined to end with a touchdown. Arseneaux made a catch near the goal line but had the footballl punched out of his hand and the Red Blacks recovered the football on the two yard line.
Following an Ottawa field goal that gave Ottawa a 23-21 lead, and down to the final minutes of the game, Jennings began our final winning touchdown drive. On second down, we dialed up a bubble screen to Bryan Burnham. The play looked like it was being designed to get us closer to a long field goal attempt. But, with Boldewijn and Iannuzzi making great cut blocks, Burnham raced for 34 yards and the horse collar tackle gave us the football at the Ottawa 2 yard line. Lulay ran the football in on second and two and then hit Arsenault for the two point conversion to give us the 20-23 lead.
It was not time for our defense to hold the fort and give us our victory.
DEFENCE
Our defense was able to shut down Ottawa's final drive, as they mounted their comeback attempt and drove the football into our territory. Things looked bleak until Harris missed his first down pass and then our defense sacked Harris on second down for a 7 yard loss. It was such a key play, setting up 3rd and 17. Harris attempted to throw to Chris Williams, who was blanketed and the game was over.
Our defense stugggled at times in the first half. Harris completed 15 of his first 16 passes of the game. Ottawa tailback Trayvon Van was elusive. Harris hit Ottawa receivers for big plays throughout the game. His threw to Chris Williams for a 44 yard completion in the first quarter. He threw to Ernest Jackson for a 30 yard touchdown strike in the first half as Fraser, playing safety was slow to get over to help on the play.
A long pass to Ellingson, with 17 seconds remaining in the second quarter cost us three points.
In the third quarter, Harris hit Greg Ellingson for two receptions for a combined 68 yards and Van was able to dash into the end zone from three yards out to tie the game.
Our Leos sacked Harris for a safety in the fourth quarter and had Ottawa pinned on its two yard line. But we allowed Harris to throw a 53 yard completion to Williams on first down, leading to Milo kicking a field goal to give Ottawa in the lead in the closing minutes.
Alex Bazzie had a great game at defensive end. Menard made a key tackle on Harris to prevent him throwing away the football and giving us a safety. Ronnie Yell had an excellent game at corner.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Once again Leone's booming punts were impressive. He pinned down Ottawa to its 2 yard line on one punt, booted a 71 yard single, but once again, he missed a very makeable 33 yard field goal attempt that could have cost us the game.
Our downfield tackling on kickoffs left a lot to be desired. Chris Rainey was dangerous all night on punt and kick returns, as well as on offence.
THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY
The Good
Our Leos offence mounted a winning football drive at crunch time. Jennings, had to make precision throws all night under great pressure or to escape to buy time. Arsenault and Burnham made outstanding plays.
Arsenault's run, after his crossing pattern catch in the fourth quarter, was a determined run by a player who really wanted to make up for his fumble. Burnham continues to impress this season with great catches and excellent running after his catches. Boldewijn looked more confident. Shawn Gore continued his fine play.
Anthony Allen had a solid effort.
Alex Bazzie had a hell of a game. Our defense gave up some big plays and there is more work to do. But they never gave up, played hard, and fought. Ryan Phillips had a great break up of a pass that showed great anticipation.
THE BAD
Once again, mistakes really hurt us. Jennings took a 20 yard sack when he should have thrown the football earlier when in the red zone. But he had no one to throw to. Our pass patterns are almost all intermediate and long. He has no safey valve on many plays.
Our offensive line pass blocking was horrible. Its time to get Vaillencourt and Steward back in the lineup and also to bring Johnson back. Adcock is not ready.
Jennings was sacked 6 times and it could easily have been 12 sacks without his mobility and instincts.
Defensively, we played well overall but big plays took their toll. Special teams coverage and tackling on kickoffs left a lot to be desired.
THE UGLY
Leone's field goal kicking is ugly. We're winning on offence due to talent of our quarterback and receivers positions. Our scheme is terrible on offence. No screens, no running game diversity, no check downs, no swing patterns, no anti-blitz plays, too many pass patterns that are too long. For example, on a second and four play, deep in Ottawa territory, we didn't have one receiver running a pattern less than 15 yards long. Our offensive scheme is lacking and without Jennings our offence would be in big trouble.
WRAP
A tough contest and a big road win for our Leos. Players of the game were Jennings, Bazzie, and Rainey. An exciting win for our Leos.
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Sir Purrcival
- Hall of Famer
- Posts: 4621
- Joined: Sat Aug 23, 2003 11:48 am
- Location: Comox Valley
I wonder if the recent punt coverage woes are a matter of Leone out kicking the cover team. Those are huge punts so I wouldn't be surprised.
Tell me how long must a fan be strong? Ans. Always.
Leone averaged 54.7 yards per punt tonight, with a net of 41.1 yards. I'll take that any time. Their season average net punt is 38.7 yards, tied for best in the league.Sir Purrcival wrote:I wonder if the recent punt coverage woes are a matter of Leone out kicking the cover team. Those are huge punts so I wouldn't be surprised.
Ottawa punter Zackary Medeiros averaged 38.9 yards tonight, with a net of 25.7 yards. The Lions gained an average 15.4 yards in field position with every exchange of punts.
On the season the Lions have gained an average of 7.3 yards on every exchange of punts. They lead the league in every punt and punt-return category.
My post-game game balls tonight:
OFFENSE - Manny Arceneaux. Sure, the fumble was costly, but he 'brought it' late and was a YAC beast. Another stiff arm beat down that felled yet another defender and gave our Leos great field position. Runner-up: Burnham.
DEFENSE - Alex Bazzie. 2 sacks on the night and an all-important one on the final drive. His 8 sacks lead the league. He's having a great year and his contain and tackling are much better. Runner-up: Solly
SPECIAL TEAMS - Chris Rainey. The field position was titled all night for us thanks to some slick returns (his carries and receptions were the difference tonight as well. I think he left 4 jockstraps on the field on his TD catch).
DH
OFFENSE - Manny Arceneaux. Sure, the fumble was costly, but he 'brought it' late and was a YAC beast. Another stiff arm beat down that felled yet another defender and gave our Leos great field position. Runner-up: Burnham.
DEFENSE - Alex Bazzie. 2 sacks on the night and an all-important one on the final drive. His 8 sacks lead the league. He's having a great year and his contain and tackling are much better. Runner-up: Solly
SPECIAL TEAMS - Chris Rainey. The field position was titled all night for us thanks to some slick returns (his carries and receptions were the difference tonight as well. I think he left 4 jockstraps on the field on his TD catch).
DH
Roar, You Lions, Roar
I agree and we could easily take the roster spot occupied by ShaqM L and give it to a Candian FG kicker with out losing anything at all . While leone is head and shoulder above the rest as a punter , we could use a separate FGs kicker .Qman wrote:
Maybe its time for Wally to bring in Hobokicker or another cdn FG kicker on PR
This. As I'm watching the game at the beginning of the fourth quarter, on more than one occasion Jennings has adequate protection (3-4 seconds to get a throw off) but no one is open. This tells me either he isn't seeing his outlet receiver, or the pattern for that outlet receiver is taking too long to develop.Leone's field goal kicking is ugly. We're winning on offence due to talent of our quarterback and receivers positions. Our scheme is terrible on offence. No screens, no running game diversity, no check downs, no swing patterns, no anti-blitz plays, too many pass patterns that are too long. For example, on a second and four play, deep in Ottawa territory, we didn't have one receiver running a pattern less than 15 yards long. Our offensive scheme is lacking and without Jennings our offence would be in big trouble.
There's a difference between developing a bad scheme and not being able to adjust in game. We may come in with a good game plan but not be able to adjust as good as some of our opponents. Sometimes we win despite it (last night), and sometimes we look terrible from start to finish (Calgyra last week), and sometimes we just dominate because the game plan walking in works (Hamilton).
And I think the thing to resign ourselves to, and some years it falls under the category of a pleasant problem, is that Wally coached teams just don't adjust well in game on either side of the ball. They walk in with a game plan and they try and execute that game plan come h3ll or high water, you know?
Most of the game Jennings was pressured, harried, or sacked. He threw most of his completions under heavy pressure. He needed to be very accurate on most of his completions because there was not a lot of separation.As I'm watching the game at the beginning of the fourth quarter, on more than one occasion Jennings has adequate protection (3-4 seconds to get a throw off) but no one is open. This tells me either he isn't seeing his outlet receiver, or the pattern for that outlet receiver is taking too long to develop.
There's a difference between developing a bad scheme and not being able to adjust in game. We may come in with a good game plan but not be able to adjust as good as some of our opponents. Sometimes we win despite it (last night), and sometimes we look terrible from start to finish (Calgyra last week), and sometimes we just dominate because the game plan walking in works (Hamilton).
And I think the thing to resign ourselves to, and some years it falls under the category of a pleasant problem, is that Wally coached teams just don't adjust well in game on either side of the ball. They walk in with a game plan and they try and execute that game plan come h3ll or high water, you know?
cromartie
Hall of Famer
I don't see a quick outlet receiver on many pass plays. The receivers are either running intermediate or deep patterns. The tailback is blocking on most pass plays.
I totally agree with you cromartie that we don't adjust well in most games...as you comment....we come in with a game plan and attempt to execute that game plan 'come hell or high water'.
What drives me crazy is that every game plan should have a number of plays to counter a defense that is blitzing often. Those plays not only include hitch screens, screens, quick outs and slants, swing patterns, quick crosses, etc. which are often termed anti-blitz plays but each pass pattern on every pass play should have a quick check down. I dont' see us having a check down on every pass play...it seems that we don't have a quick check down on at least half of our pass plays.
"When I went to Catholic high school in Philadelphia, we just had one coach for football and basketball. He took all of us who turned out and had us run through a forest. The ones who ran into the trees were on the football team". (George Raveling)
For me, the offensive player of the game was Jennings. He completed 23 of 31 passes, most while under heavy pressure. He threw accurate passes with defenders in his face and surrounding him. His mobility enabled him to buy time to throw a number of times. Jennings also ran five times in the game and had to. He also had a first half drive end up with only one point on a missed Leone field goal and a second half drive wiped out by Arsenault's fumble.It was a game in which to lionize the versatility of Rainey and the leadership of Jennings, who put together a winning drive late in the fourth quarter, after the Lions trailed 23-21.
On that critical, eight-play drive, Jennings connected with Manny Arceneaux (24 yards) and Bryan Burnham (34 yards) to put Travis Lulay into position for a one-yard touchdown run, the winning score.
In only his 15th regular-season career start, Jennings paid a heavy price, however. He was buffeted by a furious rush and sacked six times. Nonetheless, he managed to throw for almost 300 yards (289) without a pick and represented leadership incarnate.
“He made some big-time plays when the pressure was on him,” Buono said. “Jonathon’s growing, he’s learning, and he will continue to grow. He’s a soft-spoken kid, but he’s tough. He’s physically tough and mentally tough.”
“He’s a commander, a leader in the huddle,” added running back Anthony Allen, making his first start since July 29. “The players have a lot of faith in him.”
Vancouver Sun
Bazzie had two sacks and a knock down and it was his key sack on Harris, on a rollout, on second down, with the Red Blacks threatening to score the winning touchdown towards the end of the game, that was so important, forcing the Red Blacks into a third down and 17.
Rainey had 182 all purpose yards in the game. He has been asking Buono for more opportunities to play offence and got more in this game.
I thought our defense played well overall but five defensive lapses led to Harris completing passes of 44, 39, 30, 52 and 53 yards.The total of those five pass plays total was 218 yards and comprised the majority of the Riders passing offence.
With the six sacks on Jennings, my hope is that we will see some offensive line changes. Dorazio started the year off well but the mad professor always needs to erexperiment. Get Vaillencourt and Steward back in the starting lineup. Determine if Adcock is Lgoing to get better quickly or get Antonio Johnson back in there.
On defense, I didn't focus on Gaitor's play for his first game but he didn't look like he was particularly picked on. It wouldn't upset me if we replaced Stewart at corner. It would be interesting to see Fenner given a shot at corner.
In terms of kicking and punting, I always preferred Fera to Leone, while realizing that Leone was the better punter. I wonder if we shouldn't be looking for a Canadian field goal kicker to replace Leone's field goal kicking duties. We could use Leone for kickoffs and long field goal attempts. Taking Shaq Murray Lawrence out of the lineup for a Canadian field goal kicker would make sense to me. Perhaps it would have to wait for next season but we should think about drafting a National field goal kicker.
"When I went to Catholic high school in Philadelphia, we just had one coach for football and basketball. He took all of us who turned out and had us run through a forest. The ones who ran into the trees were on the football team". (George Raveling)
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DanoT
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- Location: Victoria, B.C. in summer, Sun Peaks Resort in winter
Got to give the coaching staff credit for changes at half time that resulted in an improved second half.
Better run blocking in the second half and somewhat better pass protection.
Since the team is now on an extended road trip and a short week, I suspect Adcock will play in the next game and Johnson will remain in Vancouver on the PR. But I would like to see Adcock get some relief with Steward getting on the field at tackle for more than just short yardage. The same thing goes for getting Vallaincourt more plays and resting Fabien and O'Neil at times. Since there is not much drop off between starting and back up NAT guys on the O line, then might as well do some platooning like they do with the D line. Keep the Good Girth Guys rested and content going down the stretch and into (hopefully) the playoffs.
On Burnham's big play to set up the winning TD, I think it was Iannuzzi and Boldewijn who threw the purrfect Olympic style choreographed Synchronized Blocking.
As far as Leone's FG kicking, it is going to require some patience as he doesn't have a ton of experience. I don't want to see the Lions give up too soon on him like the Riders did with McCallum years ago.
Better run blocking in the second half and somewhat better pass protection.
Since the team is now on an extended road trip and a short week, I suspect Adcock will play in the next game and Johnson will remain in Vancouver on the PR. But I would like to see Adcock get some relief with Steward getting on the field at tackle for more than just short yardage. The same thing goes for getting Vallaincourt more plays and resting Fabien and O'Neil at times. Since there is not much drop off between starting and back up NAT guys on the O line, then might as well do some platooning like they do with the D line. Keep the Good Girth Guys rested and content going down the stretch and into (hopefully) the playoffs.
On Burnham's big play to set up the winning TD, I think it was Iannuzzi and Boldewijn who threw the purrfect Olympic style choreographed Synchronized Blocking.
As far as Leone's FG kicking, it is going to require some patience as he doesn't have a ton of experience. I don't want to see the Lions give up too soon on him like the Riders did with McCallum years ago.
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CardiacKid
- Legend
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- Joined: Sat Jul 14, 2012 9:46 am
- Location: Under Christmas Hill, Saanich
I was going to suggest we pluck Quinn Van Glyswick off the Riders practice roster....partly to fill a need but also to stick it to Chris Jones. Alas he is on the 6-game IR and not the PR.
Would folks say Adcock at least improved this game versus the game against Calgary? As for Vaillencourt and Steward, I think they need to get back in there regardless of past indiscretions with penalties (Steward I am talking about). Wally talked up the size and physicality of the O-Line, let's get back to implementing that and give the unit a chance to operate as a cohesive unit before the playoffs are well and truly looming.
Right now, teams have virtually abandoned the run. The Leos lead the league in yards rushed. IMO the Leos need to entrench this strength because at some point, the tide will turn back towards the run. Probably not in huge numbers but as defenses adjust to the pass, the run is going to become more vital as the year progresses. I think the Leos will rely on their running game (and its depth) to a greater degree and the O-Line with Steward and Vaillencourt did really well at the start of the year with pounding out yards, taking time of the clock etc.
Dunigan made a good point last night regarding passing yard stats for QBs. It used to be that if a QB got over 300 yds in a game, you pretty much assumed they did pretty good. But now, everybody and their dog seems to be cracking 300 yds because the run has gone out the window.
And kudos to the RedBlacks for having 3 Canadians start on their d-line; the fact they lead the league in sacks makes it all the more intriguing.
Would folks say Adcock at least improved this game versus the game against Calgary? As for Vaillencourt and Steward, I think they need to get back in there regardless of past indiscretions with penalties (Steward I am talking about). Wally talked up the size and physicality of the O-Line, let's get back to implementing that and give the unit a chance to operate as a cohesive unit before the playoffs are well and truly looming.
Right now, teams have virtually abandoned the run. The Leos lead the league in yards rushed. IMO the Leos need to entrench this strength because at some point, the tide will turn back towards the run. Probably not in huge numbers but as defenses adjust to the pass, the run is going to become more vital as the year progresses. I think the Leos will rely on their running game (and its depth) to a greater degree and the O-Line with Steward and Vaillencourt did really well at the start of the year with pounding out yards, taking time of the clock etc.
Dunigan made a good point last night regarding passing yard stats for QBs. It used to be that if a QB got over 300 yds in a game, you pretty much assumed they did pretty good. But now, everybody and their dog seems to be cracking 300 yds because the run has gone out the window.
And kudos to the RedBlacks for having 3 Canadians start on their d-line; the fact they lead the league in sacks makes it all the more intriguing.