Depth Chart vs the Eskimos - 20111120 WDF

[WestCoastJoe]

Depth Chart vs the Bombers ...

It looks like we have finally acknowledged the failure of the 3.4 experiment.

I like the idea of Reddick at LB. Also like Banks at halfback. And Kornegay and Dennis at field side. Phillips will be interesting. Worked at 3 positions this week.

Kierrie Johnson at wideout. Good hands. Job 1 for a receiver.

Harris at RB.

5 D Linemen only. Not much depth. Not much rotation. Pressure on the QB? Run stopping?

[B.C.FAN]

Significant changes, especially with Phillips listed as starting field corner. It will be interesting to see what happens at that position.

I hope Kierre Johnson shows well. He has waited patiently for his chance. I thought he had too many drops in training camp but just about everyone except Simon was dropping passes then, and that continued into the regular season. Johnson's lack of size is a disadvantage as a wide receiver but it can be an advantage as a kick returner. He is dangerously fast.

The dept chart lists 7 NI starters, including Andrew Harris for the first time, and 6 import backups. Three of the following will have to be scratched: Ruffin, Dennis, Henderson, Moore, Brown and Robertson.

[TheLionKing]

I like the idea of an all Canadian backfield to free up an import elsewhere. Harris has certainly earned more playing time.

[Toppy Vann]

"I like the idea of Reddick at LB. Also like Banks at halfback. And Kornegay and Dennis at field side. Phillips will be interesting. Worked at 3 positions this week."

Are the Lions D righting the good Lollilop with RP at 3 positions or is this simply a Ship of Fools with shades of the mad magician Dorazio affecting M.B.

It seems insane to make in game changes play by play like that and the news media who wrote this up is saying likewise from the looks on RP's face.

[Blitz]

Overall, I like the changes!

We really should be going with an all Canadian offensive backfield. Robertson is not the future and Harris can get the job done. Would love to see Lee as well as Brown alternating at tailback and Cronk used in short yardage. Wally has not taken advantage of the different strengths we've had in this unit of our football team...using Robertson way too much in the past. We should have been taking advantage of Messam's talents, as Edmonton has. Harris has speed and good hands and can run inside as well as outside, Brown has breakaway speed, and Lumbala is a good blocker. Kronk does not have Messam talent but he's a buriser for certain short yardage situations.

The guy who could really add to the unit is Jamal Lee, who we have never found a spot for. We've dicked around with him at tight end and receiver in the past. Lee has 4.39 spped, a 44 inch vertical, was the only Canadian chosen in the 2009 Texas vs. the Nation game, had a tremdnous career at Bishops, and was a very late cut by the Carolina Panthers. The guy has proven that he has something and we haven't given him the chance to prove that.

I thought Moore played well last game and not sure why we would take out his size for Johnson.

However, its on defense that the changes are more significant. Teams were negating Banks at nickel this season and Philllips was not getting the job done at shortside halfback.

The longer term changes I would love to see on defense would be Henderson replacing Anton McKenzie and Banks at free safety.

My defensive backfield would have Marsh at short corner, Ruffin at short side halfback, Banks at free safety, Phillips at wideside halfback (he played so well as a ball hawk at that position in the past) and Kornegay at wideside corner. Deniis would be the seventh back and would also come in at nickel in certain situations. I like Reddick at nickel but he's not big and..Dennis has size and could blitz and play the run well from the nickel position...he has Marketih Knowlton potential at the nickel position.

Defnsively, we finally have Hunt back at defensive tackle, where he belongs and a 4-3 structure. Too bad we didnt' sign Foley..he would have been a ratio changer and got the job done at defensive end as well as anyone we have here and likely better. There were many seaons when a 3-4 defense would have been great for our team, especially when Glatt and Jamal Johnson were here... but of course, we choose to go to a 3-4 when we have the best middle linebacker in the league in Eliminian...makes one shake one's head.

I like having Gore and Bruce at slotback as well as Simon..gives us a lot of inside speed. No reason that Paris Jackson could not alternate with Foster at wideside receiver, coming in for certain packages. I would prefer Moore at shortside wide receiver over Johnson..he's a much bigger target and he cuaght everything last game.

Wally often gets things stuck in his head for way too long..from using Powell at left tackle and an injured Mantyke in 2005 to tryign to make Duncan O'Mahoney at field goal kicker to Javy Glatt as a middle linebacker to Gary Butler to the offensive line misexperiment last year to using foru receivers who had never caught a CFL pass to begin this season and the list goes on and on over the years.

When you look at our lineup..there is a ton of talent. All we really are lacking on defense right now is a defensive end who can really get to the quarterback. On offense we have two outstanding offensive tackles, talent at receiver, and Brown and Harris can get the job done. We just need an offensive scheme that will enable our talent to be utilized well. We seem to be going in a positive direction in terms of using our running game and having more offensive diversity and we've made scheme changes on defense that were needed too.

Its a shame that we have make huge mistakes in our decision making, both personell and scheme wise, at the start of a season, as we did the past two seasons, and are behind the eight ball. I can see us having a much better second half of the season again this year.

[David]

I thought Moore played well last game and not sure why we would take out his size for Johnson.

For his versatility in that he can catch the football and return kicks. Not to mention 4.3 speed.

Not sure this was the week to experiment without Jamal Robertson at RB. With the pressure the Bombers exert, would much rather have Robertson chip or protect Lulay's blind side than Brown or Harris when in single back formation. Great safety valve for the swing pass too.

I agree, I like the changes overall but we need to settle on some positions instead of constantly experimenting, and let these guys develop trust and chemistry.

DH

[Blitz]

I thought Moore played well last game and not sure why we would take out his size for Johnson.

For his versatility in that he can catch the football and return kicks. Not to mention 4.3 speed.

Not sure this was the week to experiment without Jamal Robertson at RB. With the pressure the Bombers exert, would much rather have Robertson chip or protect Lulay's blind side than Brown or Harris when in single back formation. Great safety valve for the swing pass too.

I agree, I like the changes overall but we need to settle on some positions instead of constantly experimenting, and let these guys develop trust and chemistry.

DH

I agree David that we need to settle on some positions. Last season the offensive line mis-experiment really hurt us and offensive line is such a key place to have cohesion and teamwork and chemistry.

A second area needing the same is the defensive backfield..especially when we play so much zone defense back there. We really need to settle there too.

Not sure I agree with you regarding Robertson..he's good as a safety valve and good but not great as a blocker...and is only an average runner.

Harris and Brown can take the swing pass and be able to do more with it than Robertson. Both have more explosive speed and Harris can run inside. My guess is that we'll see Lumbala in more situations where we keep the back in.

However, keeping the back in, rather than swinging him out, is not the best strategy against the blitz and our offence sees a lot of blitzes due to our scheme..has for ages. If you release the back it forces linebackers to stay home and not blitz and the defense will not know which side the back will release to.

If you are worried about the blind side..you'er better off to run a tight end on that side while using the back to release. We can use Lumbala as a tight end in those situations and still release Harris or Brown. We used to use Jamal Lee as a tight end and I would love to see us use him again that way, as well as getting some touches in the backfield.

[WestCoastJoe]

There are no changes to the Lions' 46-man roster this week. The team flew to Edmonton today but I'm not sure who was left behind, other than Peterson.

Harris, Robertson, Lee and Brown are listed as running backs, in that order. Paris Jackson is listed as backup to Kierre Johnson at boundary wideout, which would likely make him the sixth receiver.

Depth Chart

BCFAN usually spots the new depth chart before me.

I would ask why dress Jones and Bates in the O Line? Jones only plays STs.

I would suit up 6 D Linemen. Rotate them. Keep them fresh. Pressure the QB.

As Hunt and Mitchell have commented, they know there is no one behind them on the bench. They cannot get tired. They cannot get injured. IMO they cannot even play all out every play in that situation. Take a receiver out. Take a running back out. Take an O Lineman out. Lots of options. Take out Arakgi.

[B.C.FAN]

I would ask why dress Jones and Bates in the O Line? Jones only plays STs.

I would suit up 6 D Linemen. Rotate them. Keep them fresh. Pressure the QB.

As Hunt and Mitchell have commented, they know there is no one behind them on the bench. They cannot get tired. They cannot get injured. IMO they cannot even play all out every play in that situation. Take a receiver out. Take a running back out. Take an O Lineman out. Lots of options. Take out Arakgi.

I've been meaning to comment on the play of Andrew Jones lately, so I'll take this opportunity. Jones gets a lot of work as a tight end in the short-yardage package and for extra pass protection. Every time I've watched him on short yardage, he's easily manhandled his defender. In one case, he drove a defensive lineman 10 yards back. I don't watch the interior line play closely enough to know why he didn't regain the starting guard spot he held last year. He seems to have the strength and footwork for the job.

As for dressing two backup O-linemen and only one backup D-lineman, it comes down to ratio. Other than Bassi, who seems to have trouble walking, let alone running, the Lions don't have an extra non-import DL on the active roster or practice roster. Bryant is the only import on the practice roster. Activating him would require dropping another import backup from the 42-man roster, and I don't see that happening.

[WestCoastJoe]

I would ask why dress Jones and Bates in the O Line? Jones only plays STs.

I would suit up 6 D Linemen. Rotate them. Keep them fresh. Pressure the QB.

As Hunt and Mitchell have commented, they know there is no one behind them on the bench. They cannot get tired. They cannot get injured. IMO they cannot even play all out every play in that situation. Take a receiver out. Take a running back out. Take an O Lineman out. Lots of options. Take out Arakgi.

I've been meaning to comment on the play of Andrew Jones lately, so I'll take this opportunity. Jones gets a lot of work as a tight end in the short-yardage package and for extra pass protection. Every time I've watched him on short yardage, he's easily manhandled his defender. In one case, he drove a defensive lineman 10 yards back. I don't watch the interior line play closely enough to know why he didn't regain the starting guard spot he held last year. He seems to have the strength and footwork for the job.

As for dressing two backup O-linemen and only one backup D-lineman, it comes down to ratio. Other than Bassi, who seems to have trouble walking, let alone running, the Lions don't have an extra non-import DL on the active roster or practice roster. Bryant is the only import on the practice roster. Activating him would require dropping another import backup from the 42-man roster, and I don't see that happening.

I like Andrew Jones. I agree he should get playing time on O as a guard. My point was about the 2 extra O Linemen dressed. I would sit Bates before Jones.

IMO better to dress an extra D Lineman.

Yes there are ratio problems. It is true that the roster is not in good shape for NIs, especially on the D Line. Some of us have been harping on the need to draft top quality D Linemen for years. Has not happened.

We miscalculated thinking we could go with the 3.4 defence. With a 4.3 there is a greater need for D Linemen.

Import candidates to drop ... Dennis, Ruffin, Moore, Brown, Robertson. NI candidates to drop ... Arakgi, Muamba, Bates or Jones, Iannuzzi, Jackson, Lee.

I see the lack of depth on the D Line as more important than these backups. I would put Bassi in there as an NI. If he can't play, he should not be on the roster. I would suit up Bryant. If he can't play he should not be on the roster.

This is a complicated problem.

Contributing factors ...

* Not drafting NI D Linemen.

* Not finding top level import rush ends.

* Ratio problems requiring short staffed D Line.

* Misguided decision to go with the 3.4, thinking we would need fewer D Linemen.

The horses are out of the barn.

As Tommy Prothro once said: "When you are up to your butt in alligators, it is too late to drain the swamp."

[WestCoastJoe]

Phillips at corner. He is fast enough. Good cover guy. Abysmal tackler, which might not matter as much on the corner. No RBs up the middle to play bullfighter with.

Muamba at safety. Hope he plays well.

Taylor back at tackle. Henley not on the 46. Yet.

Bates back to the clipboard.

All Canadian backfield. Harris and Lumbala.

Wally will not give up on Christie's recruiting discovery. Screen pass to Lumbala? Short yardage handoff to Lumbala? "Lumbering Lineman Lumbala downfield." He's a good blocker as a fullback, a very good ST player. IMO he is not a running back, nor a receiver.

[TheLionKing]

Hunt is far more effective at tackle than at defensive end.