Leos/Evil Empire Post-Game Thoughts!!

[No Ordinary Joe]

Haven't had time to read the entire thread before posting my thoughts so forgive me if I say something that's already been talked about.

First of all, why does it seem like we can't get it going for early starts? Almost every time we've had an early game we come out flat and then struggle to catch up the rest of the game, thankfully we've only managed to lose once in that scenario but we sure like making things tough on ourselves in these early games.

Second, what is wrong with Joe Smith? This is the second game in a row that he's failed to produce. Granted, he's still managed to get into the end zone in both games, but he's also rushed for his two lowest yardage totals of the season. Is he simply having problems with the weather conditions in these outside stadiums? Hopefully he rebounds at home next week because I'm starting to get concerned. I'm also wondering if he's starting to wear down after all the punishment he's taken this year. He's taken some pretty big shots and seemed to take a few extra smacks in Winnipeg last week. He's been getting a heavy workload in almost every game (save the 9 carry disgrace against Saskatchewan) and it might be taking a toll. Perhaps Wally should consider sitting him in the final game of the season if we've wrapped up home field by then.

Take away those two catches from Clermont and look at our passing stats! Ugly!

Our O-Line was not dominating and at this stage in the year, they should be imposing their will on every team they face, that was not the case today. I hope they use this game as motivation to not be pushed around again.

Lavar Glover was awesome today! Made a couple of very clutch plays that helped preserve the win.

Korey Banks' INT was the momentum shifter we needed in the first half, without that play setting up Joe's TD, I don't think we win to be honest with you. We needed to have at least something to hang our hat on in the 1st half and he gave us that. At the end of the day though, that's not going to be the play people remember from this game but I think it's a lot more important than it'll get credit for.

Gotta give Wally some props for letting Jarious work though his early struggles to finish the game and get the win. If this was a couple of years ago, Wally wouldn't have thought twice about putting in his backup when the offence was sputtering. You can tell he's learned his lesson and isn't about to upset Jarious' confidence or disrupt team chemistry by suddenly turning away from the guy who has all been given the title of starting QB. Seeing Jarious reward that confidence with a come from behind win is great.

Our Defence was pretty big at times today. Cam Wake was a beast as usual, Ty Williams had another good game and Lavar Glover and Korey Banks as I mentioned earlier deserve kudos as well.

Finally, our special teams, namely Ian Smart were vital. That return from Smart was huge for us and his TD was much needed. I like seeing Smart get involved in the offence, having a two-headed attack in the backfield keeps teams off-balance. If you ask me, Smart should have been the guy taking those outside runs, not Joe. Joe simply plows straight ahead and runs over two or three guys to get his 5-7 yards. The play calling for the running game was subpar today I thought.

Oh well, at the end of the year, nobody is going to care how it happened, just that it was another victory so I shouldn't be too hard on the team, but it was just frustrating to see us have such an uncharacteristic performance against a team that we should have killed. At this time of the year, you can't start falling into lulls, you need to play every game with the focus and intensity of the playoffs. Maybe you can get away with taking some plays off early in the year, but now that the playoffs are so close, you can't start developing bad habits, you need to amp it up so that you can go into the playoffs a well-oiled machine. 3 games left to get it right.

[TheLionKing]

The slow start is going to bite the Lions in the butt if they don't correct it .... and soon. As to Joe Smith low statistical numbers the last two games, you have to give the opposition some credit. You can't expect to roll over the opposition every game. Edmonton was stacking the box this afternoon to stop Smith.

[WestCoastJoe]

Ed Willes, The Province

Published: Sunday, October 14, 2007

"If the third quarter was still slow I might have considered [pulling Jackson] but I'm not one to start playing with the quarterback's mind if he has a bad quarter or bad half," said Buono. "Jarious fought through that. I think our team fought through that, and you have to give your players the confidence they can fight through some adversity."

[joesports]

You have to wonder if the team had it in the back of their minds that this game was going to be a cakewalk, and played down a bit. Every team will tell you leading up to a game with a supposedly weaker team that they're still taking it seriously, they're not looking past them, etc. Then they look past them.

It's never great to lose a game, but maybe this is one they needed to lose, to get a kick in the a$$. Playing like this at playoff time won't fly. Hopefully next weekend BP is able to get some playing time if we're way ahead (or trailing).

[Blitz]

Second, what is wrong with Joe Smith? This is the second game in a row that he's failed to produce. Granted, he's still managed to get into the end zone in both games, but he's also rushed for his two lowest yardage totals of the season.

Joe Smith doesn't play alone just like Jarious Jackson doesn't play alone. You have to have holes to run through....just like a quarterback needs time in the pokcet and receviers open to throw to. There nothing wrong with Joe Smith but there are adjustments we are going to need to make to deal with the way defenses are playing us!

We also had to throw out half of our offence due to the field conditions...they stacked the inside zone and we couldn't run the stretch play and cut back either due to the field condidtions. Joe Smith is a cutback runner.

[PigSkin_53]

my heart cant take much more of this. lol

What a great and loyal heart it is too Brian, full of love and courage, roaring with the strength and confidence in the faith that this team can overcome any odds, so long as we all pull together.

[Blue In BC]

I think the Lions only had 25 yards passing in the first half. Although it worked out in the end, I was surprised that the Lions didn't put Pierce in to get some game time.

It's one thing to not pull JJ without giving him a chance to pick up the tempo, but he was having a bad game. Ok, no problem. It happens to all QB's.

It seemed an appropriate time to get Pierce back into the flow.

[Rammer]

Second, what is wrong with Joe Smith? This is the second game in a row that he's failed to produce.

It is hard to produce when he gets nailed in the backfied and has two defenders on him when he reaches the Line of Scrimmage. That is the difference the last two games. Teams are stacking the box and shutting down our running game and daring us to win with JJ's 60-yd longbombs.

So far so good, but I doubt we would of beaten a Joseph or Burris-lead team today. A timely screen pass to the fullback might of helped, but then L. Greene is no John Henry White.

Don Matthews said when he coached here, he used an import fullback because it is a skill position and he wants an impact player there. I don't want to rag on Greene, but the Lions are left with few options if they shut down Joe.

Jarius seems to have regressed a bit over the last two games. Now those were two good defences who have plenty of gametape on JJ now. But he was locking on to his targets and not seeing the field. It is only the tremendous velocity on his passes which prevented several more INT's.

Let's face facts. The Lions have been lucksack over the past several games and our ravenous defence is keeping us in the games and coming up with timely turnovers.

But the games are 60 minutes long and JJ has found a way to win over the past few weeks, and it has been an incredible and exciting run...but I feel we need Buck or Dave to get back in there behind centre to win the Big Game.

While I agree that Greene dropped a pass, I don't think that is a regular happening with him. He actually is a very good receiver out of the backfield, IMHO.

[SammyGreene]

Few thoughts on yesterday’s game

•Man... it looked like Lefors had the angle to run into the end zone on that 2nd down play where Glover came up big. The kid shows good promise and nearly pulled off a big win for his team.

•Yes it was an awful start for Jarious but it should be pointed out no Lion QB has looked sharp at Commonwealth since an early July game in the ’04 season. Both Dickenson and Printers struggled there. I don’t think Buck has ever taken a snap there.

•I know the Lions were slipping and sliding all over the place in the opening half and sure the Eskimos might have watered it down. But shouldn’t the Lions have figured out their footing during the 40 minute warm-up? If I’m a receiver or a RB and playing on natural grass for the first and only time this season,it should be a number one priority and I should be able to figure what cleat type is best suited for my cuts.

•Wonder what has happened to the ’06 version of Lockdown U or even the unit that started off this season? Yes they are coming up with timely turnovers or stops when it matters the most and they deserve huge kudos for that, but we’re just not seeing the same kind of dominace we witnessed earlier.
Just not a huge fan of always dropping 6 or somtimes 7 dbs into zone coverage. Miles was all over the field making plays in the first few games and now I hardly see him except dropping an easy INT yesterday.

Would like to see Jamal Johnson back in the mix too. He has missed more games (3) with a pulled groin than he did with his broken wrist.

[WestCoastJoe]

I don't think it is a footware issue. I think it is the fact the Eskimos learn to run around on what amounts to an ice rink, and the visiting teams do not get that chance.

As has been discussed on other threads, the league should disallow how the Evil Empire gives themselves an unfair advantage by setting the field up as they do.

If needed the league should monitor how the field is prepared before a game. And the visiting team should be allowed ample access to the field prior to the game.

What the EE does is cheating. It is playing with a rigged deck. It is bush, and it is what the Evil Empire is all about.

[Blitz]

While I agree that Greene dropped a pass, I don't think that is a regular happening with him. He actually is a very good receiver out of the backfield, IMHO.

Green has very good hands and that's always a very tough pass to catch because of the angle it's thrown!!

I think the Lions only had 25 yards passing in the first half. Although it worked out in the end, I was surprised that the Lions didn't put Pierce in to get some game time.

Well, its' hard to get a lot of passing yards in a first half when you don't throw the football. We only threw it 9 times in the first half. We had less than 25 yards of rushing too. The field was a big factor in the first half and our game planing didn't take it into account and we had to throw out half our offence.

However, one of the reasons we are playing so well in the second half of games is that we are passing at a 2-1 ratio in the second half of games than the first half of games. I really believe in the running attack but when the defense has everyone up there to stop the run we have to pass more often. We've had games where Jarious has thrown 7 passes in the first half.

Defenses are on to our first half strategy and taking risks to stop our running game. The simple answer is just to look at the passing yardage in the first half of a game! The more complex answer is to look at how defenses are strategizing against us in the first half of games recently and how we are adapting early to that strategy. That is more where the answer lies!!

Of course the playing surface in Edmonton played a huge role yesterday. In the future we just have to go more with what the defense is giving us as they adjust more to our tendancies and strengths!

[Soundy]

I don't think it is a footware issue. I think it is the fact the Eskimos learn to run around on what amounts to an ice rink, and the visiting teams do not get that chance.

As has been discussed on other threads, the league should disallow how the Evil Empire gives themselves an unfair advantage by setting the field up as they do.

If needed the league should monitor how the field is prepared before a game. And the visiting team should be allowed ample access to the field prior to the game.

What the EE does is cheating. It is playing with a rigged deck. It is bush, and it is what the Evil Empire is all about.

I think that's a little excessive...

Yeah, the Esks have more of a chance to familiarize themselves with the field... because they play there A LOT MORE THAN EVERYONE ELSE. Giving the opposing team a half hour or so to fiddle around on it before the game may help initially, but frankly, it's not enough for them to be FAMILIAR with the conditions.

For the home team, playing in those conditions becomes second nature: you don't need to think about how the field is going to react to your feet, and you can concentrate on playing. Even with some lead practice time, a visiting team is going to have to carry the field in a corner of their minds all the time, taking some of the concentration off the game play, trying to assess what might happen if they step wrong...

It's part of the phenomenon called "home field advantage", and it's the same in almost every sport (including "home ice advantage" in hockey).

[Shaggy]

Obviously EE has the home field advantage, but sprinkling it ( for what purpose...come on, what useful purpose does that serve ) when it's freezing at night makes NO sense. Is anyone else in Edmonton sprinkling their lawns right now? Typical BS from the Esks.

As far as the Lions, I would be willing to bet that if they could go out and practice making their cuts and mess w/footwear setups for an hour or two the day BEFORE the game, they'd feel a bit more dialed in at kickoff time.
They would likely be more comfortable reacting, playing instead of thinking about footing.

Would the Esks still have an advantage? Sure they would, but not as much as they do the way things are right now.

[Blitz]

Obviously EE has the home field advantage, but sprinkling it ( for what purpose...come on, what useful purpose does that serve ) when it's freezing at night makes NO sense. Is anyone else in Edmonton sprinkling their lawns right now? Typical BS from the Esks.

As far as the Lions, I would be willing to bet that if they could go out and practice making their cuts and mess w/footwear setups for an hour or two the day BEFORE the game, they'd feel a bit more dialed in at kickoff time.
They would likely be more comfortable reacting, playing instead of thinking about footing.

Would the Esks still have an advantage? Sure they would, but not as much as they do the way things are right now.

It really is something the league has to take a serious look at!! Geroy Simon said it was like playing on ice and Edmonton players weren't slipping like we were....so they were prepared for the field conditions that they knew would exist because Edmonton prepared them that way.

In the meantime it just wasn't the field conditions although they were a serious factor. As Lowell Ullrich stated in his blog.. "There was something about the too-relaxed atmosphere around the Lions from the minute they arrived Friday that put up at least one red flag. What is it about inferior teams that start a backup quarterback that bother these guys?"

No question that both times we've faced a backup quarterback (Brady in Montreal, Lefors in Edmonton) we haven't been up for the game. It's natural that happens but it's also not a good thing. You have to be able to kick teams when they are down!!

Ullrich also said "Maybe defences have started to figure out how to stop Joe Smith" I don't believe that! However they have figured out how to shut down our running game lately and that's a combination of game planning, defensive strategy, and play calling. Our offensive line is also a key part of the running game...not just Joe Smith. However, it's hard to block for the run with five offensive lineman and one or two running backs when they have more people in the box than we have blockers and they're keying inside.

Another factor that riled up the Eskimos was Wally's comment before the game that his plan was to try to play all three of our quarterbacks. Certainly he was only responding to our own media regarding attempting to get Pierce and Dickenson some game reps...something that was also being requested on Lionbackers.

However, Edmonton used it as dressing room bulletin material as an insult and it helped with their motivation and they had a lot going into this game at home, with the field prepared in a special way to negate our team speed and turn it into as sloppy a game as possible.

Their vets had met in a closed door meeting to commit all they had to this game and making the playoffs. For us it was to establish first place but to Edmonton it was more of a life and death struggle to make the playoffs and winning this game was so key to that opportunity!