Lions 20 - Bombers 17 Post Game Stats and Comments

[WestCoastJoe]

Ricky Ray seemed to pop out of the cereal box throwing for 65/300, from Day 1. That is way beyond rare.

Sigh, I remember licking my chops just over a decade ago, knowing we were headed into Edmonton to face a QB making his very first CFL start. Well, his stats on that day speak for themselves:

Name--------Date-----Team-Opp--Att-Comp---%--Yards-Long-TD---%--Ints--%---Rating
RAY, R---2002-07-26--EDM---BC---28---21---75.0--277---57---4--14.3--0---0.0--153.4

Oh yes, I remember it well. It was like picking cherries for Ricky Ray. And was he a one game wonder? Ummmm ... No. The man can read a D, the man can stay cool, and the man can thread the needle.

Looking at recent performances around the league, I will make a bit of a case that outstanding defensive performances are minimizing the effectiveness of more QBs than just Travis Lulay.

August 25, Kevin Glenn ... 15 of 24 for 171 yards, 2 TDs, 0 Ints. vs Riders

August 25, Darian Durant ... 17 of 29, 179 yards, 0 TDs, 1 Int. vs Stampeders

August 24, Joey Elliott ... 20 of 42 for 256 yards, no TDs and 1 Int. vs Lions

August 24, Travis Lulay ... 16 of 26, 220 yards, 1 TD, 2 Ints, plus 50 yards scrambling vs Bombers

August 23, Henry Burris ... 22 of 34, 281 yards, 1 TD, 1 Int. vs the Alouettes

August 23, Anthony Calvillo ... 25 of 36, 329 yards, 1 TD, 0 Int, vs the TiCats

August 19, Darian Durant ... 18 of 27, 170 yards, 0 TDs, 3 Ints.

August 19, Travis Lulay ... 22 of 30, 257 yards, 1 TD, 0 Ints.
............

Aside from Hall of Fame bound Anthony Calvillo, I don't see many QBs shooting lights out in those games. I have seen a lot of great defence this year. And it ain't just Lulay (and Chapdelaine) struggling to beat the blitzes these days.

I don't have earlier stats, but Ricky Ray, also Hall of Fame bound, has had a number of 300 yard games, of course.

Just another reason why I am patient, as a fan, with Lulay, and loyal to him.
...........

Just maybe, the defences of the CFL, have been adjusting to the advantage the O has enjoyed since Hufnagel and Trestman joined the league, and IMO swung the advantage to the O.

Now we have the DCs starting to swing it back the other way. JC has not been the first to adapt in his career. But it just might be time for some more adaptation, as no doubt Trestman and Milanovich have already been adapting their O to the more challenging Ds of this day, including all out blitzes from Hell.

We have seen it here in B.C. And in Edmonton. And with the Bombers. And with the Riders. And even with the Stampeders.

6 man D Line rotation on defence. Hybrid LBs like Reddick. Bltizes from all over, at any time. Overloads at the LOS. Stunts. Changing location. Substitutions. As Benny has noted the Lions rely on at least 15 guys on defence.

As I said, IMO the O has enjoyed an advantage since Hufnagel and Trestman joined the league. Now the Ds have made some adjustments, taking away most of the 300 yard passing games, pressuring the Hell out of the QBs.

At the head of the class for offences to adjust once again, I would expect to find Marc Trestman and Scott Milanovich. I hope we don't just stand pat. IMO that has been something of a characteristic of Jacques, and Wally, but not with Benny. I hope ...
...........

What I saw in the Lions vs Bombers was cutting edge defence really taking it to the offences. Lulay and Elliott IMO did very well to keep their cool, and marshall their offences. I would say the defences had the advantage throughout, that the offences did not really show good game plans to handle the all out pressure.

It made for a very intense defensive stuggle, not easy to watch. But I credit Lulay and Elliott for keeping their cool, and making a number of things on offence work.

Based on what we have seen and what we know, as the O adapts again, I would expext to see Trestman and Milanovich and Hufnagel leading the newest adaptations by the offences. Jacques can be in that group, as we have seen in the last year, unless he gets too comfortable with what he has in his playbook and mindset now.

Just IMO ...

[pennw]

There's no problems criticizing players who aren't playing well. Right now Travis seems to be struggling. He is playing well enough that he hasn't hurt the team, but games like last night where we should have blown out the opponent, we just squeaked by. Even last week against Saskatchewan there were long stretches where we couldn't generate much of anything.

What has frustrated me the most is that we are not targetting our big play receivers. Geroy got a handful of catches last night, but Arland Bruce only had 1 reception. These should be our two primary reads, and if they aren't there we have a good enough bunch of secondary receivers that there should be no concern when we end up throwing to them. Arland Bruce makes plays. Geroy Simon makes plays. Throw to them.

I am concerned about Lulay's production, but will not hit the panic button just yet since we are still winning, and when the chips are down he has shown he can come up with a clutch drive like the end of last nights game.

Big props to Andrew Harris. Right now he is probably my nominee for Western MOP.

I donèt buy that the problem is Lulay not being given time to throw. For example We gave up 74 sacks in 2005, 56 in 2006, 40 sacks in 2008, and 65 sacks in 2010. Our previous quarterbacks in Dickenson, Printres, Pierce, and Jackson were besieged and its not as if they were not mobile...Printers, Pierce, and Jackson were all mobile and Dickenson was a smart quarterback and a tricky runner. Going into the Winnipeg game Lulay had been sacked 8 times, the least amount of sacks given up in the league and last season our Leos only gave up 29 sacks..the best in the league. Lulay has had more time to throw the football than any qb in the Buono era. Our previous quarterbacks were hampered by a pocket style, a bad offensive scheme, and an inconsistent and often ineffective running attack...and none of them had the deep threats we have, the speed of our receving corps or its quality, and none of them had a back like Harris that they could throw to out of the backfield.

Lulay has things to work on. He is most effective when Chap gives him a designed pass play to a primary receiver and gets it out quickly. He is a good runner. However, If Lulay has to read the defense he often stuggles. He stuggles with his accuracy at times. Last season there were games that he had 5 and 6 seconds to throw the football. Defenses are bringing more heat because they have figured out that he is not accurate under pressure and often has a tendancy to not like to step up or stand in there to make a pass.

I like his leadership, his running ability, and that he doesnèt rattle. However, there are weaknesses to his game that are being exposed. Against Winnipeg, when he stood in there and rifled a pass he looked very good. However, he constantly missed wide open receivers because one his first look seemed covered he looked to bail. With our defense playing so well, weve looked better than we have played because our offence has been bogged down way too often and the major reason has been Lulay missing throws or missing wide open receivers or throwing late and the defensive back is able to close.

Hopefully Lulay can get back on the wave that he was on last season during our winning streak. It was obvious in the first half that Lulay was reluctant to throw downfield or test the Winnipeg defense long. He only did that on our last drive. I still believe in Lulay but there is no hiding the fact that he is not playing well and needs to get back to playing at a higher level.

Lulay was sacked way less because of his escapabilty , not due to pass protection . DD would have been sacked atleast half dozen times last night .

[cromartie]

My post above is invisible??? What Lulay has to do is simple...but he not doing it...relax and take what they give...start small, and build up with confidence...he is trying to do too much!

In theory, I don't disagree with you. However, there are two issues with this:

Are the passing lanes there? When opponents rush eight, can he not hit what they're giving him because defenders are clogging the passing lanes? I won't have video of last night's game until tomorrow (I was at my local NFL preseason match up looking for guys that might be cut, but caught the last quarter on radio), and of course we don't get the all 24 video, so I don't know.

When your QB has a decision making issue (which I think you and I both agree is some part of the issue here), you design a game plan to put him in a position to make fewer decisions quicker. What we did in 2007 offensively when Jarious came in was a nice example of how the offense was modified for a guy who had both limitations in the throws he could make (albeit different ones than what Travis may have) and limitations in his decision making process. You don't have to simplify the offense as much as we did back then, but cutting the field in half a bit more often might yield more success.

I'm also a proponent of more plays out of a TE set.

I also wonder if Harris' turf toe is more of a problem then we're being told, limiting our run game. Because Brown (of whom I'll describe as servicable) is no Harris.

Here's the thing. I think a lot of posters are right. Defenses, in general, have the advantages over offenses in the league right now. I think Travis' decision making has been a problem. Though the offensive coaching staff has made some significant strides since the 0-5 start last year, we aren't quite as adept at adjusting as we have been. Travis' play has dropped off a bit for reasons I think both you and I agree on.

I do share your concern. There was a valid Sword of Damocles that hung over this team's head offensively in that 2007 season. Did we win a lot? Sure. Did we win the division and earn the bye? Yes. But the feeling then is my feeling now. This isn't humming, offensively, the way it needs to yet, in order for us (or at least, I think you and I) to feel comfortable with saying this team will come out of the West.

On the plus side, Special Teams were much better, from what I understand.

[TheLionKing]

On the plus side, Special Teams were much better, from what I understand.

The coverage teams were outstanding. Return teams not so much

[Rodu]

On Reilly's int, I think we need to give the ball to the RB more often to make that PA play work, we most of the time have Reilly just follow one of the hogs upfront for a sneak

[MexicoLionFan]

On Reilly's int, I think we need to give the ball to the RB more often to make that PA play work, we most of the time have Reilly just follow one of the hogs upfront for a sneak

On Reilly's INT, it was a great call, as the WR had 3 steps on the defender...it is up to the player to execute, and if you are Reilly, you make sure that the ball is either caught by our guy or over his head...no INT...but Reilly strikes me as the kind of player that will bust his butt to ensure he doesn't make this same mistake again.

[JohnHenry]

I also saw lots of Bombers virtually running free through the line to take shots at Lulay (1.3 seconds to make a read. That is laughable and impossible). Lulay danced and dodged for his life, and made the pressure look like less than it was.

Lulay was sacked way less because of his escapabilty , not due to pass protection . DD would have been sacked atleast half dozen times last night .

That is absolutely correct. Travis is a magician back there at avoiding sacks. The OL pass blocked very well last year with Newman in there, but Travis still had to play dodge'em and took many hard hits...on the way to winning the League MOP/MVP awards. The Lions won 12 or their final 13 games last year enroute to the Grey Cup championship with Travis throwing 31 Td's and 6 Int's in their final 13 games.

I believe Travis has the ability stand behind the line flat-footed and throw nice tight spirals to his 2nd, 3rd and 4th receivers. I know he can do it. There must be some compelling reason why he's running for his life, taking hard hits and chucking the ball in the general direction of the first receiver he sees?

Here are a few observations:

* Lulay lacks urgency at this time. After last year's miracle run of must-win games, this season is somewhat anti-climatic so far. At 6-2, with still 12 games to play, Travis still hasn't put it in overdrive yet. The practical reason is that no player, not even Lulay, can keep it cranked up for all 18 games. The offence may be pacing themselves a bit, perhaps only subconsciously, saving themselves for the stretch run. I'll bet we see the offence crank it up real soon and start dominating games.

* I believe the first few scrambles by Lulay to open the last game were by design, not because of the pressure or that Lulay has "lost it". The Bomber DE's were crashing in and not protecting the flanks, leaving Travis wide-open to run around the end. Taking what they gave us.

* Lulay's stats suffer because he throws the ball away more than any other QB...which saves the sack, but hurts his passing % and QB rating. A couple of Travis' Int's this year were on Hail Mary's to end the game or half. Not crucial plays, but they hurt his stats.

[DanoT]

Part of the low sack total against the Lions is due to Lulay's ability to scramble out of trouble and a willingness to throw the ball away if the play is not there. He does, imo, need to work on the quick release short pass to the hot receiver on a blitz play instead of always trying to scramble out of the blitz.

[WestCoastJoe]

I also saw lots of Bombers virtually running free through the line to take shots at Lulay (1.3 seconds to make a read. That is laughable and impossible). Lulay danced and dodged for his life, and made the pressure look like less than it was.

Lulay was sacked way less because of his escapabilty , not due to pass protection . DD would have been sacked atleast half dozen times last night .

That is absolutely correct. Travis is a magician back there at avoiding sacks. The OL pass blocked very well last year with Newman in there, but Travis still had to play dodge'em and took many hard hits...on the way to winning the League MOP/MVP awards. The Lions won 12 or their final 13 games last year enroute to the Grey Cup championship with Travis throwing 31 Td's and 6 Int's in their final 13 games.

I believe Travis has the ability stand behind the line flat-footed and throw nice tight spirals to his 2nd, 3rd and 4th receivers. I know he can do it. There must be some compelling reason why he's running for his life, taking hard hits and chucking the ball in the general direction of the first receiver he sees?

Here are a few observations:

* Lulay lacks urgency at this time. After last year's miracle run of must-win games, this season is somewhat anti-climatic so far. At 6-2, with still 12 games to play, Travis still hasn't put it in overdrive yet. The practical reason is that no player, not even Lulay, can keep it cranked up for all 18 games. The offence may be pacing themselves a bit, perhaps only subconsciously, saving themselves for the stretch run. I'll bet we see the offence crank it up real soon and start dominating games.

* I believe the first few scrambles by Lulay to open the last game were by design, not because of the pressure or that Lulay has "lost it". The Bomber DE's were crashing in and not protecting the flanks, leaving Travis wide-open to run around the end. Taking what they gave us.

* Lulay's stats suffer because he throws the ball away more than any other QB...which saves the sack, but hurts his passing % and QB rating. A couple of Travis' Int's this year were on Hail Mary's to end the game or half. Not crucial plays, but they hurt his stats.

Part of the low sack total against the Lions is due to Lulay's ability to scramble out of trouble and a willingness to throw the ball away if the play is not there. He does, imo, need to work on the quick release short pass to the hot receiver on a blitz play instead of always trying to scramble out of the blitz.

I'm pretty sure when Mike Benevides goes to sleep at night (OK, at maybe 2:00 am), he thanks the Lord for all of his blessings, including Travis Lulay.

At this time, kind of guessing, I would suggest that there a number of factors at work.

Travis is still growing and evolving as a QB.

Teams now have a book on what worked for the Lions in the stretch last year. That means they have a book on the best way to slow Travis down, and how to defend Jacques and the changes JC made last year.

So we see all out blitzes. Kamikaze. High risk, gambling defence. But the alternative for the D is worse. We've seen more passive D this year. And Travis starts the game marching down the field for a TD. Remember? So teams gamble, and blitz as fast and hard as they can.

IMO we need to prepare for that blitzing as Job 1. IMO we are not treating it with as much respect and attention as it needs. We are putting too much pressure on Travis. I am going to look at the tape again. But I know I will see Bombers sprinting through blitz lanes in the line, flying at Lulay. Absolutely no time for any read.

Intensity? IMO Travis is ultra intense. If he was not, IMO at this time he would be the latest Lions' QB to be knocked out. His survival instincts have saved him time and time again from absolutely ferocious defences keyed totally on creaming him.

Defensive evolution and adjustments. Swinging back towards the D, after 5 years or so of the O winning the ongoing evolution battle.

Adapt or die. It is obvious that we need some adaptation.

As some of us on here have said, a guy like Dave D would be in the trainer's room already this year. Buck too. Casey too. Even the tank known as Jarious. But Travis has amazing innate senses to escape. Even with his escapability he has taken a helluva lot of shots this year. Given time, I will review the game and count the hits, knock downs and hurries on him last game. It is way up there. And I will check the read time he has.

Once again I will say that I think we need a much more robust anti blitz package, and we need game plans more suited to what will work for Lulay.

More screens? Sure. I recall the 49ers used to run screens that could go left or right, about 12 times a game. Pretty dayum hard to blitz that offence. The Cowboys under Landry did that also.

JC is doing some stuff, but I can't help but feel that he just prefers the QB in the pocket, the spread passing game, 5 O Linemen, empty backfield, or one back, same patterns, stuff he used to run. And it seems we are slipping back into that. So it seems to me.

It will all come out in the games to come. Either we adapt, or bad stuff happens. We can't let teams put their ears back and call the play the Vikings used to run with Alan Page and company: "Meet at the quarterback." The Cowboys planned specifically to meet that rush. Rushers create lanes. Seal them off. Page would penetrate and Blaine Nye would seal him off. And Walt Garrison would run through the lane Page had created with his bull rush. Much easier to do than stop a bull rush. But do not let them rush willy nilly.

Just IMO as a football fan. The coaches know way more than we do. We see what we see, and that is a lot. It is all there to be seen. But we don't know the subtle stuff. We don't know what they are setting up, et cetera. And sometimes fans, with all their life experiences, see stuff that coaches don't want to see: predictability as one example. Sometimes lack of adaptability for another. Just as shoppers can sometimes see that a store is going to die, although the managers and owners (the inside experts) do not adapt.

[pennw]

What can't be overlooked IMO , is that opposing D's have been very keen to take away what worked so well last season for BC . And that is , Andrew Harris . They have been keying on Harris , who was able to take advantage last year , of the fact that Teams were trying to shut down Simon and Bruce , leaving Harris relatively uncovered for much of the time . Not so anymore , they all saw how Harris killed them , and now are very focused on Harris , the bread and butter guy from a year ago .
So , yes it may be back to the drawing board for some new plans , maybe Bruce or some of the others could be used more . Good things always seem to happen when the ball is in Bruce's hands .
FWIW, I see they fired Lapolice in Winnipeg after their loss yesterday .

[WestCoastJoe]

Took another look at the 1st quarter.

Lulay ran designed plays, or quick scrambles 5 times, for very nice yardage. Passed only twice, 1 completion. Harris ran 2 or 3 times very well.

On one of the passing plays, the Bombers had 7 guys at the LOS, blitzed 6, with ferocious pressure and a hit on Lulay, after about 1.3 seconds of time.

On the other passing play, 4 man LOS, 4 rushing, great pressure. I think JC knows our O Line is a bit of sieve just now. It is smoke and mirrors until we get healthy.

This O really slows down the pressure, but does not light up the scoreboard, when Reilly gets his throw held up in the wind, and Sears make a sensational recovery. A more experienced Gore would have held up, preventing Sears from getting position, and probably drawing an interference penalty.

So Lulay stats are going to look lousy as a passer in the first Q.

Lulay also took 5 hits. Too many in one quarter. Who knows what those hits take out of you. And he is running the O that JC wants. It kept the game close. Wore down the Bombers a bit. But you ain't gonna have passing stats with that Offence. But late in the 4th Q, the Bomber D Line ain't quite so fresh, were they?

So I would say this was JC's plan. And it works. But you do risk Lulay running him so much, and giving him 5 hits in one quarter. There are rarely any easy answers.

Lulay delivered exactly what JC wanted in Q1. Considering the vulnerability of our O Line, I credit JC's plan up to this point. If I get back into this, I will check the other Qs.

That is one quarter. This takes a lot of time.
.........

And I think I see one adaptation that will come in the league as a whole. Blitzing all out? Teams start to build the running game again. Even with a running QB, as we used Lulay in Q1. Pound the D Line. Not just 15 rushes per game, but 25 or more. Wear that D Line out. It will probably come, if teams keep bringing the heat. That was about 8 runs by our O in Q1.

..........

I actually missed the first Q first time around. I like JC's plan so far. But it does take a toll on Lulay.

[WestCoastJoe]

Quarter 2 done.

2nd down ... Jovon's man beats him clean, from 8 at the LOS for the Blue. Lulay has about 1.5 seconds to throw the ball away

second possession ...
BC opens it up just a bit, nice pass to Geroy
1st down ... good heat, good cover, Lulay throws it away
2nd down ... Lulay and Geroy may have miscommunicated or Lulay made a bad throw. Who knows? ball to the side, geroy falls down, incomplete

3rd possession ...
nice pass to Arland
nice pass to Marco
nice pass to Geroy
Valli's man beats him clean, Lulay dodges 2 guys, stopped for small gain
Reilly runs behind strong block by JonHR who can barely get up after
nice play to Harris fumble nice play by Gore
Archibald's man beats him clean, sack, small loss
Geroy off side, field goal

4th possession
Lulay has rushed for 46 yards so far
Jovon's man beats him clean, Sears holds Geroy, Lulay has less than 2 seconds, Sears goes to the ball, Int, roughing on Lulay
nice pass to Gore
nice pass to Marco
Archibald's man beats him clean, Lulay takes a hit
nice pass to Harris
Reid's man beats him clean
beautiful play to Harris, TD

After two quarters I have no complaints with JC's game plan or with Travis' play. None whatsoever. Travis may have thrown it behind Geroy on one hook, or they may have miscommunicated, or whatever.

JC's game plan kept the Bomber pass rush from really teeing off on a line that was like a sieve. Archibald and Olafioye looked like anything but the all stars they were last year.

JonHR is playing in huge pain. Reid also. Valli is far from sharp.

And IMO Lulay executed JC's game plan as drawn up.

The O Line does much better with the well designed running plays that keep the D Line on its heels a bit. Pass blocking terrible IMO, and maybe understandable. I don't think Archibald and Olafioye are injured also, but who knows? Only time for quick hitters it seems to me, and that is exactly what JC calls, and Travis delivers.

2 more Qs to review.

[sj-roc]

2 more Qs to review.

You might wanna skip the 3rd. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Even Coach Bene admitted after the game, "Sometimes you just have to be thankful for a win and not try to break it down too much."

http://bclions.com/article/a-win-despite

This is prob one of the few parts of the second half worth reviewing:

http://bclions.com/video/index/id/77717

Starting at 0:26 you can see Bene near the 40 yard line during the penultimate play, approaching the nearest official for a timeout, which might well have saved the last tick of the clock.

[Blitz]

In reading the sports pages today here are a few more post game thoughts.


~117 of the Lions’ 331 yards of offence cane in the final 2:32 of the game. The positive was that we had a touchdown drive and a winning field goal drive during that short period of time and came through for a big win. The negative was that our offence was bogged down for so long in this game and without great defense we would not have been in the position to make the comeback

~Jason Aragki started the game at linebacker in place of Reddick and played very well overall. Aragki has also been used in a rotation at linebacker this season. Kudos to Stubler, who took Aragki from the safety position, where he was third on the depth chart and moved him to linebacker and gave him an opportunity to contribute. Aragki has been inspired by the opportunity and that is also being reflected in his special teams play as well, where he has stepped up to lead us in downfield tackles. Stubler also moved Muamba into the starting safety postion this season. These two decisions alone exemplify why Stubler is so good at what he does.

~Jovan Olifoye is not having as strong a season as he did last year...not sure why but he didn't even give up a sack last season and he has not been as sharp this year.

~Benevedes' time out call, which saved us a delay of game penalty at a crucial time, was an example of Bevevedes being sharp during game action. It was also Benevedes, confering with Chap, who wanted our Leos to go for it towards the end of the game, taking an aggressive approach rather than playing for a tie.

~The slotback sweep play to Gore was the only call of the game that I questioned. Gore could not get out of bounds and wisely went down with one second left. Had Winnipeg let him go a few more yards we would not have had the chance to kick the winning field goal.

~Reddick is getting an MRI done to check out his injury and Angus Reid has an ankle sprain, which he hurt during the Winnipeg game but played on. With Hameister-Rees still hurting, Norman ready to go back to school and Newman not ready to return yet we can't afford any more lineman getting hurt.

~Eliminian contacted the Leos and will take his 10 days to determine if there are any other NFL teams who have an interest. With Bighill playing so well it will be hard to find a place for Eliminian. Stubler could go with a 3-4 and play both Bighill and Eliminian as two interior linebackers but it would mean giving up an import and going with a five man defensive rotation. The only other option would be to start Iannuzzi at the short side wide receiver postion in place of Earnest Jackson. Be itneresting to see what our Leos do but they would be wise to keep Eliminian away from other CFL teams until this season is over. A trace is also a possible scenario.

~We've only given up one touchdown in four games but Cavillo is a tough quarterback to hold down, especially at home and Lulay and the rest of our offence will need to be better in Montreal if we want to come out with a victory.

[Rodu]

I don;t like the idea of running a 3-4 on a frequent basis, not a traditional one at least. We don't have the OLB's for the job. Solo and Bighill would be purrfect for the ILB, but you need some size to play OLB in a 3-4 . From what I remembered of how we ran it last year, our OLB's were several yards back from the LOS, which just seemed odd