Post Mortem on the Season, Als 50 - Leos 17

[MexicoLionFan]

Glenn has always seemed to play really badly in the playoffs. His record is abysmal it important games. I can't seem him being a Lion in 2015. Whether there are any takers for his services even as a free agent, I'm not sure. There are always comments about him being the best backup insurance QB, but is it really true when you barely squeak into the crossover game before tanking.

I've never been a big fan of the crossover concept. I'm wondering if now that we have Ottawa back in the league whether we should eliminate it in 2015.

Glenn looked pretty good torching Benevides Lions, in Vancouver, in the 2012 WF!

I have never thought of Glenn as a HOF QB, but he's certainly serviceable...he failed this season and collapsed in the Eastern Semi Final because he lost his confidence early in the season and couldn't get it back...he took a beating this season and honestly, how he made it to this game was remarkable! Glenn is like ANY OTHER QB, he needs some help...he didn't get much of any...why did he over throw so many receivers yesterday? Mechanics...and Kevin Glenn has superb QBing mechanics...he was afraid to throw off his front foot and follow through because he couldn't trust his OLine to protect him...Glenn got into the habit by week 6 of throwing off his back foot where the ball will sail on you creating INTs...Kevin Glenn was a bi-product of our horrendous offensive system! Travis Lulay would not have fared much or any better!

[Rammer]

The warts were there all season ie. no pass rush, not so special teams, playcalling, schemes, penalties etc. A win covers the warts, they were still there. Benevides and the coaching staff including Buono had 18 weeks to correct the problems but didn't. Results showed this afternoon.

The warts have compounded the W's, but I am not so sure that a win in the Eastern final would have saved KJ's job, maybe Benevides and that isn't a for sure conclusion. The atrocious penalties that the Lions took down the stretch were never resolved at any point, that in itself has to cost the HC his job. The inept play by Iannuzzi trying the onside punt that was doomed for failure when it was obvious that Jackson didn't know the play or the rules at minimum. I wonder how many times the Lions tried that play and then how many times they ran it successfully? The time for those plays were during the season, of which we didn't see any. Good-bye to all the Lions warts and they needn't be covered by compound W.

[tedbear]

Glenn has always seemed to play really badly in the playoffs. His record is abysmal it important games. I can't seem him being a Lion in 2015. Whether there are any takers for his services even as a free agent, I'm not sure. There are always comments about him being the best backup insurance QB, but is it really true when you barely squeak into the crossover game before tanking.

I've never been a big fan of the crossover concept. I'm wondering if now that we have Ottawa back in the league whether we should eliminate it in 2015.

Glenn looked pretty good torching Benevides Lions, in Vancouver, in the 2012 WF!

I have never thought of Glenn as a HOF QB, but he's certainly serviceable...he failed this season and collapsed in the Eastern Semi Final because he lost his confidence early in the season and couldn't get it back...he took a beating this season and honestly, how he made it to this game was remarkable! Glenn is like ANY OTHER QB, he needs some help...he didn't get much of any...why did he over throw so many receivers yesterday? Mechanics...and Kevin Glenn has superb QBing mechanics...he was afraid to throw off his front foot and follow through because he couldn't trust his OLine to protect him...Glenn got into the habit by week 6 of throwing off his back foot where the ball will sail on you creating INTs...Kevin Glenn was a bi-product of our horrendous offensive system! Travis Lulay would not have fared much or any better!

X2

[cromartie]

I am not so sure that a win in the Eastern final would have saved KJ's job, maybe Benevides and that isn't a for sure conclusion.

Oh, getting to the Grey Cup through the East would have been sufficient to bring back MB for another season. First, you can plausibly use injuries as a crutch to justify why they had to go through the East to begin with and, from a pure business standpoint, having the club in the Grey Cup at home salvages the season financially (win or lose) and props up the season ticket base somewhat for next year. Throw another assistant (Jones) under the bus after the Grey Cup loss and you're back on the treadmill for another year, no problem.

But, alas, it wasn't to be.

[almo89]

I don't think Glenn should take all of the blame on the offense. He was brought in as the best back up in the league. He was supposed to hold down the fort until Lulay got healthy. He actually did a good enough job, but nobody expected Lulay to go down after 1 game. Glenn was always a guy that couldn't win the big game, but I found it odd that throughout the season he was throwing so many interceptions when he's usually pretty good in that department. Lots of change needed in the coaching staff. Benny is the obvious choice to go. But guys like Dorazio and Mcmann have been here too long and it's becoming really stale. Get rid of those 2 first.

[Hambone]

I don't think Glenn should take all of the blame on the offense. He was brought in as the best back up in the league. He was supposed to hold down the fort until Lulay got healthy. He actually did a good enough job, but nobody expected Lulay to go down after 1 game. Glenn was always a guy that couldn't win the big game, but I found it odd that throughout the season he was throwing so many interceptions when he's usually pretty good in that department. Lots of change needed in the coaching staff. Benny is the obvious choice to go. But guys like Dorazio and Mcmann have been here too long and it's becoming really stale. Get rid of those 2 first.

I think what bothered me most about Glenn yesterday was his accuracy or lack thereof. He was like a pitcher who couldn't find the strike zone. If he wasn't sailing them over a receiver's head he was too far in front, too far behind or in the dirt. Particularly frustrating were the 2 or 3 where he bought himself enough time to go through his progressions and allow a receiver to settle down in a soft spot in coverage near the sidelines. Then he threw it 5 feet over the receiver's head.

[Blue In BC]

Glenn is not a QB that will win often by taking the team on his shoulders. He's a QB that needs to be surrounded by very good talent around him so that he can manage games within his limited skill set.

He wins games during the season but if you honestly review his actual playoff games, you will see those have not been his best games.

It's not that he just loses but he's tended to really be bad in those losses to boot.

[David]

Glenn looked pretty good torching Benevides Lions, in Vancouver, in the 2012 WF!

I have never thought of Glenn as a HOF QB, but he's certainly serviceable...he failed this season and collapsed in the Eastern Semi Final because he lost his confidence early in the season and couldn't get it back...he took a beating this season and honestly, how he made it to this game was remarkable! Glenn is like ANY OTHER QB, he needs some help...he didn't get much of any...why did he over throw so many receivers yesterday? Mechanics...and Kevin Glenn has superb QBing mechanics...he was afraid to throw off his front foot and follow through because he couldn't trust his OLine to protect him...Glenn got into the habit by week 6 of throwing off his back foot where the ball will sail on you creating INTs...Kevin Glenn was a bi-product of our horrendous offensive system! Travis Lulay would not have fared much or any better!

Good post, MLF. Glenn would be a good back-up to have, but unfortunately, he was an 18 game (including playoffs) starter. Is that his fault? Did he claim the trade was the "steal of the century?" No, those silly expectations were placed on his shoulders. He has his limitations - can't really run, not especially good at dealing with pocket pressure, easy rattled after he's been sacked, and tends to lock into his "favourite" receiver (ranger)....but he still threw for more yards this season than any CFL QB not named Ricky Ray!

No question he had a bad game yesterday. He was actually awful really, if we're being honest. But I wouldn't put all of the blame for our offensive woes at his feet. I wasn't sold on our play-calling this year, our line play could be charitably referred to as "spotty," and I just don't think his two wideouts Poblah and Iannuzzi are CFL caliber (yet? ever? hard to say). We may need him around next year to groom the younger guys. John Beck? Tough call. I liked his professionalism and his red-zone production this year but he certainly didn't wow me. Not sure he's going to be an upgrade over Glenn next year (an easier "sell" to the ticket buying public over Glenn? Yes! But an actual quarterbacking upgrade? No). If there's a silver lining, I thought Partridge acquitted himself very well yesterday for a rookie under very trying circumstances.



DH

[sj-roc]

Glenn is not a QB that will win often by taking the team on his shoulders. He's a QB that needs to be surrounded by very good talent around him so that he can manage games within his limited skill set.

He wins games during the season but if you honestly review his actual playoff games, you will see those have not been his best games.

It's not that he just loses but he's tended to really be bad in those losses to boot.

One wonders how the 2007 Grey Cup would have unfolded had he been able to play, instead of the Bombers being forced to thrust a green rookie into his first ever pro start. What is your recollection of the mood among Bomber fans over this? It was a pretty narrow Ssk win that came largely on the strength of three James Johnson INTs.

Interestingly enough, that same green rookie was the offensive coordinator whose charges shredded us yesterday.

[Hambone]

Good post, MLF. Glenn would be a good back-up to have, but unfortunately, he was an 18 game (including playoffs) starter. Is that his fault? Did he claim the trade was the "steal of the century?" No, those silly expectations were placed on his shoulders. He has his limitations - can't really run, not especially good a dealing with pocket pressure, easy rattled after he's been sacked, and tends to lock into his "favourite" receiver (ranger)....but he still threw for more yards this season than any CFL QB not named Ricky Ray!

No question he had a bad game yesterday. He was actually awful really, if we're being honest. But I wouldn't put all of the blame for our offensive woes at his feet. I wasn't sold on our play-calling this year, our line play could be charitably referred to as "spotty," and I just don't think his two wideouts Poblah and Iannuzzi are CFL caliber (yet? ever? hard to say). We may need him around next year to groom the younger guys. John Beck? Tough call. I liked his professionalism and his red-zone production this year but he certainly didn't wow me. Not sure he's going to be an upgrade over Glenn next year (an easier "sell" to the ticket buying public over Glenn? Yes! But an actual quarterbacking upgrade? No). If there's a silver lining, I thought Partridge acquitted himself very well yesterday for a rookie under very trying circumstances.

DH

Oddly as poor as Glenn's performance was Joseph was even worse. Not sure that Glenn "can't run". Danny McManus couldn't run. Ricky Ray and Anthony Calvillo were not fleet of foot either but weren't afraid to tuck the ball and run frequently extending a drive with a timely scamper. In Glenn's case it seems more like he flat out refuses to run. All too often when almost any other QB would instinctively take off when he saw no open receiving options and 10 yards of open real estate Glenn would treat the other side of the line of scrimmage like it was a mine field. He'd stubbornly stop short of the LOS and continue to wait for a receiving option usually to the point where the defence closed in on him removing the run option. On the rare occasions when Glenn did instinctively take off this season he made some big plays and first downs with his legs.

[MexicoLionFan]

At this point Kevin is a CFL backup...if he will take backup money to stay here, the Lions would be foolish to get rid of him...as David, Blue, Ham all said, he's a QB that needs help, but in the right circumstances can be effective with his quick release and normally accurate throws.

BTW, when a QB is consistently under throwing his receivers, its either too quick of a release or he's jumping too much...I found Glenn doing a lot of that the 2nd half of the season even when he didn't need to...bad habits caused by constant pressure...it can happen to all of us...

[Toppy Vann]

Good post, MLF. Glenn would be a good back-up to have, but unfortunately, he was an 18 game (including playoffs) starter. Is that his fault? Did he claim the trade was the "steal of the century?" No, those silly expectations were placed on his shoulders. He has his limitations - can't really run, not especially good a dealing with pocket pressure, easy rattled after he's been sacked, and tends to lock into his "favourite" receiver (ranger)....but he still threw for more yards this season than any CFL QB not named Ricky Ray!

No question he had a bad game yesterday. He was actually awful really, if we're being honest. But I wouldn't put all of the blame for our offensive woes at his feet. I wasn't sold on our play-calling this year, our line play could be charitably referred to as "spotty," and I just don't think his two wideouts Poblah and Iannuzzi are CFL caliber (yet? ever? hard to say). We may need him around next year to groom the younger guys. John Beck? Tough call. I liked his professionalism and his red-zone production this year but he certainly didn't wow me. Not sure he's going to be an upgrade over Glenn next year (an easier "sell" to the ticket buying public over Glenn? Yes! But an actual quarterbacking upgrade? No). If there's a silver lining, I thought Partridge acquitted himself very well yesterday for a rookie under very trying circumstances.

DH

Oddly as poor as Glenn's performance was Joseph was even worse. Not sure that Glenn "can't run". Danny McManus couldn't run. Ricky Ray and Anthony Calvillo were not fleet of foot either but weren't afraid to tuck the ball and run frequently extending a drive with a timely scamper. In Glenn's case it seems more like he flat out refuses to run. All too often when almost any other QB would instinctively take off when he saw no open receiving options and 10 yards of open real estate Glenn would treat the other side of the line of scrimmage like it was a mine field. He'd stubbornly stop short of the LOS and continue to wait for a receiving option usually to the point where the defence closed in on him removing the run option. On the rare occasions when Glenn did instinctively take off this season he made some big plays and first downs with his legs.

And what does a good coach do when you have a non-runner at QB and you need to change it up?

You do as they have done in Hamilton with Burris there and put in other QBs (2 in that last year of his) and run and pass and keep the D on edge.

Glenn is proven best when he has the RB like Calgary and even when Cornish wasn't there other guys ran well.

As to dressing Lulay to get the other coaches preparing also for him - in this case that's absolutely laughable.
No one on the Als staff with half a brain would have believed Lulay was coming and if he did ... yes he might run - once anyway. Not much to prepare for there.

I think very much his window dressing was like telling your team you don't believe in them. Oh and Lulay was apparently injured in the warm up.

Yep great Mike Benny decision to pretend Lulay could play.

[WestCoastJoe]

From Mike Beamish ...

Washington conceded that the discombobulation of the Lions’ defence over the past month, after being the stoutest in the CFL for the first 16 games, was not just a bad a stretch but hints at a systemic issue -- with the schemes, the players and, by extension, the coaches.

“Scheme, system, personnel, what we coach, how we coach it, from top to bottom there are a lot of things that needed to be reviewed and made better,” Washington said. “Fortunately, or unfortunately, we have a long offseason ahead of us to look at those things.”

Mark W is falling on his sword here. Passive defence all year. No fear in the offence of the opponents. Does it take courage and an attitude whereby you are willing to fail to play aggressive defence? Yes. Some DCs have that attitude. Some do not. Can any DC run attack oriented schemes? Probably not. You have to believe totally in what you are doing, and your team must share that belief.

Some basketball coaches cannot bring themselves to run a full-court press. They might say they do not have the overall quickness, et cetera.

Some football coaches say it is too dangerous to run an all out attack oriented defence. Well, for them, it would be.

Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/Lion ... z3JNY5iLby

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From Cam Cole ... About a different kind of attitude on defence.

“Chris Jones sent pressure the whole time. He was going to live or die by it,” said Roughrider coach Corey Chamblin. “We couldn’t get some balls off… (Joseph) just didn’t have it. You couldn’t have a running game. That’s the whole thing, they were blitzing the run. Jones knew that was our strength, our running game and he was able to take that away and move us to the pass game.

Can Wally or Benny or Mark Washington suddenly assume an aggressive, attack philosophy on defence? No. It has to be in your nature, in your approach to the game. Attack defence takes an all in attitude. Live or die by the blitz. That has never been Wally's approach. Nor Benny's in his brief time at DC. Nor Mark Washington's in his brief time at DC.
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From Elliott Pap ...

Desjardins, by the way, fell on his sword for Friday’s debacle.

“I always think if it’s one or two guys who play badly, it’s probably the one or two guys,” said the coach.

“But I think if your team plays badly, then I think you have to look at the coach more. Whatever we did to prepare probably wasn’t what we needed to do.”

Yes. If the team plays poorly as a group, IMO, that is on the Head Coach.

Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/Canu ... z3JNXiCoF7

[notahomer]

The quote I saw played from Glenn was 'I don't worry about things I can't control'. I guess I understand where he is coming from in the sense it will be Buono and his coaching staff to make decisions about Glenn but I wish he'd made things harder in terms of a solid performance.....
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Benevides clips were the usual, 'its about execution and mistakes by the players...' IMO, they sounded like excuses but thats me.

[WestCoastJoe]

From Lowell Ullrich ...

The two men in charge of the B.C. Lions spoke Monday for 45 minutes in the wake of the calamitous end to their CFL season, but it was what Wally Buono didn’t say when it was his turn that may factor more into the team’s direction.

For starters, he did not give a definitive endorsement of third-year head coach Mike Benevides. And when asked if he knew who would be his starting quarterback next season, the keys to the offence weren’t thrown straight at Travis Lulay either.

But non-action a day after a horrific performance in the East Division semifinal against the Montreal Alouettes cannot be mistaken for indecision, and Buono said it was nonetheless inevitable that major changes are in store in the wake of a second straight season of a regressive win total.

“I’m not sure anyone is safe,” said Buono, which might have been the first time during his 12-year tenure he had identified his vulnerability with the Lions, also adding for the first time he’d be willing to serve as an interim coach if needed.

After a number of players lined up outside the door of Benevides for exit meetings to expedite a process that wasn’t supposed to start until Tuesday, the general manager admitted the performance in Montreal left him in a state of shock.

“This is devastating. If it’s not devastating, then you were not committed,” Buono said. “Maybe I’m not realistic; I’m too much a person that dreams. That team should have been good enough to execute better and have a competitive game. They didn’t.

“What did I learn about our football club? I learned we’re not good enough and we have to do something about it.”

On a day in Montreal when they had more penalty yards than passing, and when they gave up only 156 yards through the air defensively and still were humiliated, the Lions looked a lot further than four years behind the elite teams in three-down football.

“If you’re honest with yourself, the truth isn’t hard to take,” said Buono.

He’s right. Change is coming. It only remains to be seen whether it’ll be enough to satisfy their fan base.

We will see ...

Is it remotely possible that Wally will stay with Benny after these words to the media? LOL I have to say I think it is possible. Can't put odds on it. It will take some serious rationalization, and some serious selling to the fan base. And the fan base might be the stumbling block to any thoughts of keeping Benny as HC.

Other changes?

Wally needs to look in that mirror and grade himself for his decision making process in the hiring of a Head Coach, the first time he ever had to do it. I think it deserves a failing grade. The fans, with some exceptions, have not bought Benny as Head Coach. And one could suggest that, ultimately, the team gave up hope in his leadership.

I think we have to keep Kevin Glenn as a backup.

Some player positions need to be upgraded.

It seems to me that at least three coaches beneath the Head Coach need to be replaced.

Heartless? Good G**, this is an entertainment business, and it is a competitive business. It is not an Old Boys Club. It is not a Country Club. It is dog eat dog in the football business. And it is dog eat dog in the entertainment business.

"Mama, don't let your sons grow up to be football coaches." (Apologies to Willie Nelson)
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Just IMO ...