Lions 34 - Bombers 23 Grey Cup Stats and Comments

[korey&dante4ever]

Congratulations Lions!!! So proud and impressed!

[Blitz]

Apparently Travis Lulay played despite a groin injury, which was aggravated during the game. Apparently he said it was all he could do to get through the game. Awesome, Travis. The heart of a champion.

I noticed it in the 4th quarter when Travis had a clear chance to run but slid early, BB

Not sure if Lulay's groin bothered him or not...Lully said after the game that he had felt fine during the game and the reason for the high passes was that his eyes had gotten big.

Either way, he battled through some adversity and came up big in the second half.

I also should have mentioned Jarious play on short yardage...he looked excellent on those plays and they were important...the days of getting stuffed on third and short were gone during our winning streak...another thing we got changed successfully

[274always]

Can't wait to see the championship ring.

[Robbie]

Can't wait to see the championship ring.

And let's see if there's three different kinds of the rings just like in 2006 - one type for the players and coaches, a second type for the office staff, and a third type for the Felions.

[Robbie]

A crowd of 400 people showed up at James Armstrong Richardson International Airport in Winnipeg to welcome the Blue Bombers:
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breaki ... 28123.html

I wonder if that's more than the crowd that welcomed the Lions at Vancouver International Airport after 2000 and 2006 GC games.

[34power]

Well, that was awesome. My first time in the 'new' BC Place... it couldn't have been better. It's been awhile since I watched Lui kick the winning FG in '94, but I swear this was somehow sweeter. Perhaps it's the recent resurgence in CFL popularity, perhaps it's just this particular Lions team, I don't know. I just love it.

The Bombers played great D - they rallied to the ball really well and made it difficult on our O all-day. Going in, I was afraid of them playing just well enough to hang around and getting a few key breaks to make it close (or even pull off the upset). This was almost what happened. It's a good thing that Benevides' guys played the run well enough to keep the ball mostly away from Garrett. For the large part, the Bombers couldn't get any drives going and in the end, the Lions didn't have any key mistakes: the high passes fell harmlessly to the turf, the near-interception never happened, and they held on to the ball in some nasty ball-stripping mobs (it almost looked like Wpg was deliberately trying to set this up with line-drive punts).

One note about the Gore 'miss'... it's been reported that Travis overthrew him but watching live it looked to us like Gore underestimated Lulay's arm and he didn't break to full speed when he could have. Had he got on his horse sooner, it would have been right in his arms. Not a huge criticism.. it's possible that regular-season Lulay doesn't throw it that far; Grey Cup at home adrenaline-filled Travis DOES.

[B.C.FAN]

One note about the Gore 'miss'... it's been reported that Travis overthrew him but watching live it looked to us like Gore underestimated Lulay's arm and he didn't break to full speed when he could have. Had he got on his horse sooner, it would have been right in his arms. Not a huge criticism.. it's possible that regular-season Lulay doesn't throw it that far; Grey Cup at home adrenaline-filled Travis DOES.

Gore is a young receiver with amazing talent but he's just in his first year as a starter, and has a long way to go to develop into a great receiver. That's most evident on deep passes, where he needs to better adjust to the ball and keep his feet moving after the catch. On the two occasions when he caught a 50-yard pass this year, in preseason in Calgary and against the Argos at Empire, he simply caught the ball and fell down, content to pick up a big gain. The challenge with many young receivers is to become confident enough to adjust to the ball in flight, make the catch in stride and keep running.

Paris Jackson took years before he was able to regularly pick up yards after the catch. He had great hands, no feet. No matter where he was on the field, he would catch the ball and fall down. I recall the first time I saw him catch the ball in stride and keep running. I don't remember when it was or who the opponent was, but he ran a fly pattern down the left sideline at B.C. Place, caught the ball at the 10-yard-line and ran in for the touchdown.

Akeem Foster is a much different receiver who has shown amazing ability in his first year as a starter to catch the ball in stride and keep running. It's no coincidence that Foster had 4 catches of over 50 yards and 6 TDs before being hurt while Gore didn't score his first TD until the final game of the regular season, and that was a 7-yarder. Fans can look forward to many more big plays from both young receivers as they continue to develop.

[PigSkin_53]

WRAP

This was the most memorable Leos season for me ever and the most gratifying one. It wasn't just that we won but how we won and the changes we made to get to the Grey Cup and win it. It was a treat to watch our offence for the last 12 games of the season as they played an exciting and intelligent brand of football. Defensively, it was a treat to watch the tenacity and aggressiveness of our defense, which not only was the unit which started our turnaround but became the best defense in the CFL over the past 12 games of the season.

As the game ended yesterday I wished there were more games to watch but I also knew that this special season would also be savored during the winter months ahead.

And now Blitz my old fiend, there is just the small matter of a bridge I had to sell in Brooklyn...

Turns you were right about Chap this time, and I could not be happier you were.

Deepest congratulation to Wally Buono and all his coaching staff, to all the Leo players (the finest ever), and Lion's fans all over the world!

Most of all...warmest love to Bill Reichelt, his wife and his family for dealing with the most difficult of times, at such a critical point in his career, and in his family's lives.

We will never forget the cost to you and your loved ones, in your hour of great loss Billy...you are and will remain the greatest trainer in all Lion history!

[WestCoastJoe]

Some post game comments gleaned from the article by Cam Cole ...

“I’ll say it again: we won the line of scrimmage, and that’s why we won the game,” Buono said a full hour and more after his team gave up a couple of late scores and donated some heart palpitations to the 54,313 fans at BC Place.

“No disrespect to Winnipeg, but we were better. We gave our quarterback time to throw, ran the ball well enough and our defensive front four was, I thought, tremendous.” - Wally Buono

“Man, it’s the way you got to play those guys,” said Banks. “They had our number the last few times we’ve played them.

“We knew what kind of animal we were facing in their defence. But the only negative thing I would say is, you guys called them the best defence in the league, but they’re still our little brothers.

“But if we hadn’t won it, I’d wish they did. Because they play defence the way we do. They smash-mouth.”

“The ebb and flow of this game was no different than the season,” said Buono. “Travis Lulay played hurt. Did it affect him? Yes. Did it affect his composure? No. Did the players around him and coaches understand what was going on? Yes.

“Yeah, there were throws there, there were opportunities, but in the end, the character that got us through the season got us through this game.”

Lulay, true to form, never even mentioned the injury as the confetti flew around the post-game platform truck at centre field.

“You know, honestly? I felt great,” said the 28-year-old quarterback who was voted the game’s most valuable player to go with the season’s MOP award he won Thursday. He completed 21 of 37 passes for 320 yards with two touchdowns — to Kierrie Johnson and Arland Bruce — and no interceptions.

“I was way more calm than I thought I’d be,” he said. “My eyes were great, I thought the game was relatively slow, I just missed a couple of throws. I didn’t get my feet under me — I think I just got bug-eyed when I saw a guy get open, and missed four or five throws I haven’t missed in a long time, but … you know, championship game. Doesn’t matter how it gets done.”

Buono said Lulay aggravated an old groin injury and couldn’t stride properly into his throws.

“Winnipeg’s got an outstanding defence, and it’s not like you’re just standing out there playing skelly [skeleton practice]. Those guys are comin’ after you and they don’t have good thoughts in mind,” said the coach.

“The guy’s a beast, man,” said centre Angus Reid. “He’s a leader, and he’s a great quarterback because he’ll take what the defence gives him. He knows how to play the position outstanding…ly.” He laughed. “That’s not even a real word.”

“Wally made us still believe, and we worked our butts off, nobody threw in the towe,l nobody turned on each other,” said Reid. “He told us we’re a good team, keep working. We did what he said, we fought for the man beside us.”

http://www.bclions.com/article/lulay-ea ... ts-history

[Toppy Vann]

Some post game comments gleaned from the article by Cam Cole ...

“I’ll say it again: we won the line of scrimmage, and that’s why we won the game,” Buono said a full hour and more after his team gave up a couple of late scores and donated some heart palpitations to the 54,313 fans at BC Place.

“No disrespect to Winnipeg, but we were better. We gave our quarterback time to throw, ran the ball well enough and our defensive front four was, I thought, tremendous.” - Wally Buono

That is the Bomber problem - been like that all year. Not Baresi the OC who didn't call the plays.

[WestCoastJoe]

http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Football/CFL/ ... 34706.html

The Bombers in 2008 were almost in the same situation as this one is in right now. Doug Berry was a second-year coach who had just unexpectedly guided Winnipeg to the Grey Cup, which they lost. The defence was better than the offence. They had only three potential free agent starters, and they were all re-signed. Not much else was done, and essentially the same squad returned in 2008.

Ditto for 2001, when the Bombers lost to the Stampeders in the Grey Cup and allowed an aging team to get older. The result in 2002 was a loss in the West Final.

2001, 2008, 2011. Close but no cigar three times in a decade. Ouch.

Doug Brown, who is retiring after 11 seasons, made the following warning on Nov. 27, 2007: “There’s lessons to be learned from 2001,” Brown said that day. “There’s a fine line between keeping a core group of players intact and not making enough improvements to progress. They say if you’re not getting better, you’re getting worse.”

Mack is not going to let the Bombers get worse. He loves young, less expensive talent, and he will no doubt trim a few veterans from the roster. That right there will already be a difference from what happened after 2001 and 2007. In addition, Mack will sit down with head coach Paul LaPolice this winter and work with him to improve the offence.

One of Wally's strengths over the years has been his ability to keep the team young and fresh. Tough to cut older vets, but it has been a key to the Lions' quality of talent. It takes judgment, and it hurts on a personal level.

“It’s obvious we have to be more productive there,” Mack said. “Paul’s aware of that. I’m aware of that. We have very constructive, frank discussions about everything on the team.

“To Paul’s credit, he’s always open to acknowledging where we have to get better. He and I will have very in-depth conversations about what we need to do to get the offence to the championship level we want it to be.”

Pretty obvious that the Bombers need to improve their offence. And IMO it is not on Buck. It is not on Jamie Baresi now either, if it ever was. It is on LaPolice. Game planning and play calling.

[Toppy Vann]

WCJ, it is more than play calling and game planning. The blocking at times this year for the Bombers was an adventure leading to huge hits on Buck. Wasn't it Dieter Brock or when he as Ralph Brock who gave the Bombers an ultimatum? Upgrade the O line or he was about to move on. It is not just the O Line in Bomber land. Receivers missed blocks leading to Buck being blind sided.

Cavillo is no different than Buck. He doesn't like to get hit and if they hit him at his age pretty soon he is far off his game. He needs the time the Lions gave Lulay. Lulay would not have even be a finalist from the west with the Bombers blocking for him.

At times too much is put on the QB. It is one thing to be missing passes if you the time Lulay got - it is another to have to always think of the blindside hits that Pierce has to think about on every play meaning that Lulay can focus on finding the open receivers with less worry of a big hit. Buck has to know they might be coming. Kind of like our high school line and thinking that on a drop back pass from the pocket you could get time. Our outlet guy would get the ball 9/10 times.