Absolutely!! As I was the first to post that our Leos should not target Manny or Burnham early in the game, I wasn't trying to blame Manny but it almost sounds like I was. Sorry. I was just pointing out, by Manny's words, that it was not Jennings fault, since he always gets blamed for interceptions. I was really upset, after the Bombers loss, that Wally had said he'd considered pulling Jennings a few times this season due to interceptions. This was from the same Head Coach who earlier in the season supported Jennings 'attack' style.B.C.FAN wrote:The interception is not on Jennings and it's not on Manny. It's on the coaching staff for targeting Manny on the first two plays of the game when they knew he would draw tight coverage, and for sticking with the game plan even after everyone in the building saw him get hurt on the opening play. He couldn't come back to the ball on the second play because he had a freshly sprained ankle and was, in his words, at 20 per cent. Kudos to him for gutting it out and competing on every play without complaint until Loffler knocked him from the game.Blitz wrote:Manny says he doesn't have a concussion and has a device that he purchased himself to speed up the heeling on his ankle.
Manny also took responsibility for the interception against the Bombers...so much for Wllles and others to try to blame it on Jennings.
He does admit that he sprained his ankle on the first play of the game, which compromised his ability to make a play on the second. Quarterback Jonathon Jennings’ pass, intended for Arceneaux, was intercepted by defender Chris Randle, leading to Winnipeg’s first touchdown.
“That’s on me. And I owe the team for that,” Arceneaux said. “I was at 20 per cent in that game (he still made four catches for 56 yards). My 40 per cent is some people’s 100 per cent. So I’m working every day to get ready for Sunday.”
The dam truth is that we have a vertical passing offence that sends our two best receivers almost constantly on deep and deep intermediate routes, often against double coverage, all season.
.Jennings has never told not to throw deep or not to throw deep into double coverage but encouraged to do so, all season Our coaching staff wanted to live by the sword on offence because it was working. But if something went wrong, then it was Jennings fault.
Only after this past game did Wally stand up completely and fully for Jennings. Before this, Wally let the press blame Jennings, create the impression that it was part of Jennings 'learning curve' and let Jennings take full responsibility. I've even read on Lionbackers, from a few, that the interceptions were 'inexperience'. Not most of them.
The deep passes have been a deliberate part of our scheme. If they work, the coaches take partial credit and are given a lot of credit.
Of course, good 'ol Wally, (with a little credit thrown to Khari and Travis Lulay's mentoring), bask in the glow of the success of our passing offence. But when Jennings throws an interception, well then its good 'ol Wally supporting Jennings as he 'grows' and 'learns' , but did consider pulling him, while Khari is not to be seen and Lulay's non-mentoring for the interceptions receives no press for that situation.Its good 'ol Wally back on the sidelines that is the reason why those long passes into double coverage work, as Jennings throws a purrfect deep football time after time, 40-50 yards deep, a couple of inches past the defenders hands and just into the fingertips of Manny or Burnham or Manny/Burnham outleap two defenders to high point the football.
The truth is that without Jennings this season, we would likely have struggled, as we did without him for most of last season and began winning with him at the end of last season ..and the result would have been a lot less 'good 'ol legendary Wally' aricles in the newspapers.
But this last game, when Willes brought up the early interception, Wally got pissed But we won you see. Wally wanted to focus on the 'positive'. But when we lost against the Bombers and Jennings threw an interception, Wally didn't support him in the same 100% manner.Its a nice simple world for Wally and Company. Jennings success is 'our' success. Any Jennings failure is 'HIS' failure only. Writers like Willes and Beamish promote the concept.
Does anyone here think that Wally or Khari will come out and say they shouldn't have made that play call. Do you think Wally or Khari will come out and say that, with Manny hurt, they should certainly not made that play call. Do you think any of the press will ask why our coaching staff were throwing it to Manny early and hurt as well.Now we have Manny taking full blame for the interception. The fact that he shouldn't have been targeted on the first play of the game is point one. The fact that he should not have been the primary receiver on a comeback route on the second play of the game is point 2.
Do you think any of our coaching staff will be asked why we didn't take Manny out of the game for that first series, after he hurt his ankle on the first play, and have a look at how injured it was. Nope! Just throw to him as a primary receiver anyway.
Do you think that the press will ask why we were throwing deep into double coverage to a hurting Manny on the play that he was knocked out on. No, the focus will only be on Loffler as well as Manny's health.
Our coaches and press will just allow Manny to wear the early interception and if Manny had not worn it Jennings would have.
.You have to really admire these players for their powerful sense of responsibility and accountability. You have to admire Jonathan's courage to stand up and take the fire, time and again, when most of it was not his fault. You have to admire Manny, playing on a really bad ankle in the game and knocked out trying to catch a deep ball in double coverage, on a route that he should never have been assigned in that game
I won't express the words that I would like to use, regarding those who don't take any accountability or responsibility or the press who don't have the courage to say I like it really is because they are intimidated or afraid they won't get quotes in the future. We have some very good football writers in Mike Beamish, Ed Willes, Cam Cole. etc.
But what put Lowell Ullrich at the top of the heap was not his writing skills but that Ullrich often had the courage to not just spout the usual pablum about Wally or be in awe of his 'legendary' status and actually question the things that don't get questioned now.
This type of script has been here for a long time with our Leos. Its not just Jennings this season. Dickenson took the rap for our lack of success in three playoff games, when we played him rusty as well as brought him back too early from concussions a couple of times. Printers took the rap, even though he had to practice throwing underhanded and pre-game with his rotator cuff injury and on his second edition here in B. C. he played on a knee injury that required knee reconstruction surgery, after he was released, which is mind blowing.The others are quite happy to write articles giving good 'ol Wally most of the credit when we win and Jennings or someone else take the blame if we lose.
We let Jarious Jackson take the heat for a loss, when he was started with the knowledge that he had a bad finger injury on this throwing hand and yet was thrown to the wolves. Travis Lulay played with a bad shoulder at the end of 2012 and 2013 but still took blame for the losses and he personally accepted blame for losses.
So, now we have Manny, recovering from an ankle injury, (on a play that he should not have been targeted) worsened in the game by playing on it, and recovering from a brutal hit (on a route that he should never have been running - a deep route with a bad ankle against double coverage, taking responsibility for an interception (and deflecting usual blame from Jennings) even though he couldn't plant his foot and the route should not have been called and he should have been taken out of the game at that point, while also paying for his own medical device to speed up the healing of his ankle.
Anything wrong with this picture. Seems like a young 24 year old first year starting quarterback and a 28 year old receiver have more courage than the more 'mature' adults who coach them, to take responsibility.An admitted fast healer, Arceneaux is employing newfangled technology — a Game Ready machine, which he purchased himself — to give his ankle recovery a boost. The electro-medical contraption uses pneumatic compression and rapidly circulating cold therapy to ease pain and aid recovery for acute injuries to backs, knees and ankles.
So I'm proud of you B.C. Fan and to all those colleague Lionbackers for sticking up for Jennings and now for sticking up for Manny, and Jennings in the past too.
They deserve it. Do they ever deserve it.