"Out-played, out-schemed, out-coached" - Lowell Ullrich

[Toppy Vann]

At this point I don't expect the Lions to do anything this season, a playoff date would be a bonus, a positive playoff run would be my wildest dream.

There are no dominant teams in the West this season. Everyone has been inconsistent. The Lions are just two points out of first place, and all playoff spots are up for grabs. I still hope the Lions finish the season much stronger than they started.

[West Coast Blue Fan]

Oh please Thinskin 53......you have been nothing less of a blowhard for almost 5 years.

Biggest bandwagon jumper I have seen, and trust me, OB.com is full of em.

Biggest critic of the Lions when they lose.

For someone 4 provinces away, you'd think that you actually knew something about the game, rather than trying to spew your Shakespearean tripe on us. We all laugh at guys like you and your half hearted inferences.Everyone on here has folks they don't see eye to eye with.....heck, I may dislike Solar, but at least the guy represents and stays loyal regardless of the outcome and I respect that. Gerry is a diehard Leos fan....shows up at all the events, always roots for them and takes a lot of heat for his unrelentless defence of the Lions on many other forums.

Try being a real fan for once. (**Mod edit**)

[OV - 54:40]

The Lions might have tried throwing in a bigger linebacker like Yurichuck to help stop the bleeding but maybe he needs more "time to develop" still; loading up the box with more DBs (like maybe a bigger, better tackling safety in Crawford) might have been an option too, but maybe we shouldn't be questioning the coaches so much as they just want to win and will do what's best.

By bigger I assume you mean must mean taller. Splitting hairs here but Yurichuk is the lightest Leo LB. He is a bit taller thus a bit lankier. If bigger is what you want you should be advocating Nande instead of the rookie NI.

Yurichuck was measured at 222 at the CFL Combine and I'd bet he has bulked up some for the CFL since then - thus i believe he is heavier than Armour (and i don't care what CFL roster listings say - Armour is a safety/OLB type by trade), and clearly way bigger than Banks manning an OLB spot, and also around the same size as Glatt, so i don't get at how you arrive at him as the "lightest Leo LB"?; plus Yurichuck is more a natural MLB type who often are employed there (in other football leagues anyways) because of run-stopping skills. Nande has has his shots in actual CFL games on defence and not shown that much IMO, but yeah, i would have advocated him getting a shot too last game to try and shore up the run defence; if a bigger, run-stopping skills DT was available, he might have got a shot too, plus a bigger, strong tackling safety might have been thrown in too and load him up in the box (Crawford was a leading tackler in US college ball). Coaching adjustments can also include tweaking the personnel to match-up with the schemes and personnel you are facing in a specific game; won't happen if the coaches have little faith in their depth though.

[Toppy Vann]

We are just fans and good fans like us shouldn't call other fans down - although a few here constantly accuse me of trying to disturb the good posters here with a fair degree of success.

There is a fine balance here between player responsibility to work hard and play tough, aggressive, disciplined football and coaches accepting responsibility. No post should make it sound like this is only about the coaching and schemes. If that sort of thinking sets in in a team they are doomed. Schemes are one thing and players must have confidence that the schemes they are using will be successful and that is a key ingredient but not the whole formula for success. The D schemes here led to a breakdown and it never fully got corrected before the game was lost.

What also was needed for this defence to get a decent break was the offence to have not been bombs away and getting off the field so suddenly. Again schemes but still you can never place the blame only on coaches as they never miss or make a tackle or get to run with the football - that is the players job.

Wally has been one of the greatest coaches in the CFL and a Canadian guy to make it even better. He has worked hard to get to where he is and be as successful as he has been. The West has changed dramatically and they are still in the hunt. They need better service from these assistants but we can never forget that in the end it is the performance of the players that wins games. We can never lose sight of the fact that Wally took us fans from the bleak days of the prior era to where BC once again is a good franchise with pretty good personnel. He didn't do it alone of course.

We may not always agree with the coaches but I'd not be dumping too much on Wally Buono as I can't think of a better coach than him that is out there - other than maybe Dave Ritchie who is older than WB but has never let the game pass him by as he is strong at his x's and o's where WB is maybe stronger at building top teams and keeping them there and staying in one city. WB has been HC in two cities!!!! WB is about to top HC for wins!!! You'd have to go back to Pop Ivy and Frank Clair days to find coaches who won and had staying power in a city and franchise. Don Matthews who he will surpass has led as many teams as in the whole league when you count his returns. Not sure of the numbers but you get the gist of the point.

Trestman was a super addition to the CFL and without a lot of personnel changes he got some good CFL experienced assistants and has been successful. Toronto goes to Andrus and look at that ongoing mess! Coaching changes don't always work out in any sport. It is a gamble. There is no immaculate change that can be made that will produce instant results. Dickinson arriving as an example. Look at how Printers had Danny Mac with him in Hammyville and nada in results. He didn't settle, didn't learn and I recall Danny M. saying he loved their offence when CP arrived.

WB needs to take a second look at the schemes - even if he denies he is doing it - but if they don't - it is going to be an up and down season.

[Gerry]

I haven't been "hiding", piggy. I haven't been posting a lot. Just biding my time.

[Blue In BC]

Even as a Bomber fan, I'm disturbed about the play of the Lions. While I'm happy for the Bomber win, I want to see the Lions do something to improve the team and become a dominant team again ( except when playing Winnipeg ).

[PigSkin_53]

Oh please Thinskin 53......

What is this?

A “cut and paste” attack from this time a year ago or must I quote you when you attempted to embroil me in your last seasons entanglement, which had no meaningful ending but more rancor and you of course, having the last word.

Speaking of thin skins I can see right through yours or why else is it that you feel so loath and compelled to utter ((**Mod edit**)) obscenities, and derogatory remarks in support of your poor beleaguered ally.

I told you more than a year ago I didn’t like the way this team was being managed and as you can see we are reaping the seeds we had sown then.

We all laugh at guys like you

Who are the “we” you are referring to? You mean the malcontented egos that used the same type of intimidation to silence the critics of the way this team has been mismanaged since 2005?

The cyber-bullies who now post at a less successful alternate site that hardly competes with this one? Yes I read how you all laugh all right…laugh at Blitz and Solar “the rabble-rousers of the Island”. That kind of exclusive clique I am glad to say hasn’t existed here for nearly a year now.

But now things are so tediously slow over there you feel the need to troll here, attack, and trash those with legitimate concerns about where this team has been headed now for well over a year ago?

I read what you said about it being “a bitter/sweet” victory for Winnipeg last Friday night. I’m sure it was just as rewarding as you likely celebrated our crushing defeat with your Bomber buddies at the pub after the game.

For someone 4 provinces away, you'd think that you actually knew something about the game

The boundaries of the island or mainland, Provinces or Countries, cannot and will never be separate the love and pride in this football club, which has never been the exclusive right of BC or its Present Owner, president, GM or HC.

The team belongs to us…all of us! Its loyal and suffering fans...

and I will continue to criticize complacency and arrogance where it continues to threaten the team’s confidence and successes, and praise honesty, responsibility, hard work and victory, where it brings us unity and team spirit, IMHO.

Biggest bandwagon jumper I have seen, and trust me, OB.com is full of em.

Biggest critic of the Lions when they lose.

I have never jumped on any “bandwagon” ever to jump back of off of it in the 1st place, so your arss is sucking wind…

I became a dedicated life-long supporter of the BC Lions Football Club long before the great Wally Buono rode into town, in his shining armor on his great white steed. My admiration dates back to their 1st Championship, which I witnessed with my own two eyes.

At a time when both you and Gerry were just snot-nosed kids in grade school giggling about how you bullied some four-eyed academic in the schoolyard that day, and I don’t need to take lessons in how to be a loyal fan of this organization (present management/coaching excluded) from the like of you two.

In his seven years (more than any one coach that has enjoyed had that kind of tenure with the Lions) what has Wally Buono done that Dave Richie, Steve Buratto, Don Mathews, or Dave Scrine for that matter hasn’t?

They all did as much for the BC Lions, they all won a single championship title, yet they were all let go as coaches, some such as Mathew most unjustly and well before his time.

Why should Buono be immune to this fact and escape their fate?

Taking the heat for sub-par performance and mounting losses is the charge of the HC. It comes with the territory, and if Buono isn’t uncomfortable in the hot seat let him find someone who is.

When you consider that WB has always weighed the performance of his athletes with as much powder as “you’re only as good as your last game” it is only to fair that he (and especially his coaching staff) should live up to his own stringent standards.

Besides which respect has to been earned on a day-to-day basis, and not granted especially when you are now expected to live up to your billing as “winningest coach in CFL history”.

“Try being more than a sheep for once.”

[OrangeShoes99]

Who are the “we” you are referring to? You mean the malcontented egos that used the same type of intimidation to silence the critics of the way this team has been mismanaged since 2005?

The cyber-bullies who now post at a less successful alternate site that hardly competes with this one? Yes I read how you all laugh all right…laugh at Blitz and Solar “the rabble-rousers of the Island”. That kind of exclusive clique I am glad to say hasn’t existed here for nearly a year now.

But now things are so tediously slow over there you feel the need to troll here, attack, and trash those with legitimate concerns about where this team has been headed now for well over a year ago?

I read what you said about it being “a bitter/sweet” victory for Winnipeg last Friday night. I’m sure it was just as rewarding as you likely celebrated our crushing defeat with your Bomber buddies at the pub after the game.

Wow...Since I seem to be under some sort of attack here, may I just point out a couple things.

First of all I'm quite happy with the progress of a site that's barely over a year old.Try making one sometime and you might find out it takes a little while.The main focus of the site is the blog, and it's developing a nice little place in the CFL social media circle, in fact three of our members have had content published on CFL.ca. Not to shabby for an unsuccessful site I would say. Google "BC Lions" sometime.

Second of all, this cyber-bully thing is quite hypocritical. It seems to me that a few people here, you of course included feel they have the right to refer to Wally Buono as incompetent, arrogant and I've seen the word retarded thrown around. Fair enough and if you feel you have the right to personally insult these coaches and players, then that's you're right. But by putting yourself and your statements out in the public domain, i.e the internet, you can expect to have those statements challenged, and the people that challenge them are entitled to do so. I am sure Wally would treat you with much more respect than he's treated with by you.

If you have a problem with people debating the intent of your posts might I suggest you refrain from posting on internet forums? Just because someone challenges your opinion or calls you on the words that YOU spoke, does not mean they are bullying you.

Are you a cyber-bully when you're referring to Wally Buono as "too retarded" to realize something?