Lions 16 - Roughriders 20 -- Post Game Stats and Comments

[South Pender]

I find myself wondering whether Lulay is really back to 100%. Can a shoulder fully recover to full strength and provide a full range of motion in that time after some pretty major surgery? And I may be wrong about this, but should the Lions' poor offensive performance on Sunday really be laid entirely at Glenn's feet? The fact that the offense was going nowhere in the second half didn't necessarily call for a QB change--particularly since Glenn had been completing most of his passes (although hurried) earlier in the game, and ended up with a 71% completion rate for the game. Other changes may have been far more productive--like those suggested by Blitz. Frankly, I don't think that a definitive decision about who plays at QB is the answer to the team's offensive woes, although it may be a good idea all the same. Getting the running game up and...um...running seems like the more promising route to offensive success.

[Sir Purrcival]

Well the Riders pretty much had to do that starting their backup in the 2nd half. If they can do it why can't the Lions put in Lulay at the start of the 4th after watching nothing happen offensively for 3 quarters of the game? No, I can't really accept that they couldn't have pulled Glenn. I don't know that Travis would have been any better, his timing looks way off but it could have been done and should have been done.

[TheLionKing]

]

And replace the staff with whom? Show me some viable candidates. Benny might be on the hot seat, but again, who is out there as a legit candidate to replace him?

This question invariably comes up when the subject of firing a coach or releasing a player comes up. O'Shea in Winnipeg, Jones in Edmonton and Campbell in Ottawa, all rookies are doing OK. Prior to that a lot of fans in Montreal were wondering why Jim Popp hired Marc Trestman who had no previous CFL experience.

[Sir Purrcival]

Not viable till the end of the year but Dave Dickenson stands out for me. I would also consider Matt Dunnigan. There is no point speculating about it however. No way any change happens until the end of the season and maybe not then even if we miss the playoffs. Wally doesn't pull these triggers very quickly especially when the person he would be axing would be his hand picked successor.

[South Pender]

Not viable till the end of the year but Dave Dickenson stands out for me. I would also consider Matt Dunnigan. There is no point speculating about it however. No way any change happens until the end of the season and maybe not then even if we miss the playoffs. Wally doesn't pull these triggers very quickly especially when the person he would be axing would be his hand picked successor.

Yeah, I agree. I don't see Wally dumping Benny quite this soon, but Wally/Benny might dump one or both coordinators. Dave Dickenson is definitely HC material, in my view, although perhaps not quite yet (another year or two of success might season him adequately), but I have some doubts about Matt Dunigan. No question he was a great player and has a fairly high down-home entertainment quotient, but he doesn't strike me as having the gravitas needed in a HC (and, unfortunately, also lacking in Benevides).

[Blitz]

What didn’t come across as well was Benevides’ use of his quarterbacks against Saskatchewan. The coach told reporters beforehand he was going to go on the feel of the game, despite having told Lulay on Saturday there was little chance he would play.

Lions were 2 and out most of the second half and Benevides still stayed with Kevin Glenn. He really doesn't have a feel of the game

I thought K. Glenn played very well, especially in the first half. There was no way they could have pulled Glenn out of the game much earlier. The teams were hammering each other tooth and nail and you normally don't pull out your starting pivot and gutsy team leader, to put in a stone-cold QB in the heat of battle. Glenn was throwing pin-point darts in the 1st half, no QB could have done any better considering the defence he was facing. In hindsight it's easier to say they should have pulled Glenn but for all we know a cold Lulay might have done worse and destroyed any chance we had in winning a very close game.

The failure I saw was the inability to incorporate our 3 stellar RB's more effectively in the attack. Why was Logan even dressed if they were only going to give him one carry? The OC perhaps should have conjured up some old-school Frank Clair twin tight-end formations with 2 RB's + FB (albeit with no Russ Jackson). The Rough Riders would do a double or triple reverse on virtually every play, which confused and froze the defence. One of Harris/Logan should have moved to the slot on every play, replacing one of the dud receivers the QB mostly ignores. Why S. Gore got more rushing attempts than Logan + Brown is hard to fathom.

Exactly John Henry!! You hit the nail on the head bang on!!!!

[Blitz]

Clearly yes...everytime he opens his mouth in public, he usually puts one of his feet in it...the Lions have the best, deepest talent in the league and we are 5-4 overall and 2-3 at home, with all 3 losses coming to Western Div opponents, where we did NOTHING in the 2nd half. There is a problem, but not with the players. Benny is not an X's and O's guy so there is NOTHING he can do to help Jones...and he was never a great DC so there's not much he can tell Wash...Washington runs the same, laid back, lax D that Benny tried to run, until Stubler came in and turned things around for him. A guy like Stubler KNOWS and he can actually help others. like an embattled OC with advise, there is NO ONE on this staff who can do this...when I say that things will only get worse, it doesn't come from pessimism, it is rooted in observation. Unless Wally steps back in ("every time I try to get out, they pull me back IN") this thing will get ugly and here's why...the PLAYERS KNOW THEY ARE A TALENTED BUNCH...you can hear the anger/frustration in their comments already...if this goes on another few weeks there are going to be select players that are going to snap post game and tell the media what they really think and it won't be pretty.

And again, so much of this is on Jones right now, but Washington had NO BUSINESS blowing that lead for us at home in the 4th quarter with our vaunted Defence...he could have and should have laid waste to the SSK's rookie QB...he didn't because either he doesn't KNOW or because he doesn't TRUST, its one of the two...and Benny was NOWHERE near him on the sidelines offering help...

Offensively, we have found a way to get Harris, Logan and Brown into the lineup at the same time...our QBs are Kevin Glenn and Travis Lulay...Emmanuel Arceneaux is one of our receivers...we have a CDN at LT playing at an all star level...what the F$CK is the problem here? It isn't rocket science...the CFL field is 55 yards wide...we are allowed pre snap motion...the defence lines up a yard off the ball and don't know our snap count. There is such an advantage in the CFL game to the offence it isn't even funny...All the defences around the league (including the RedBlacks who are a good group) are using PRESSURE to slow down offences, all EXCEPT OUR DEFENCE. And to counteract the blitz we have Andrew Harris and Stephan Logan...last game they ran the ball a total of 9 times for 12 yards...the 12 yards isn't the stat you should be focusing on, the 9 times IS!

There is NO LEADERSHIP on this coaching staff because NO ONE on it ultimately sees the big picture and thus cannot direct us anywhere...right now Wally would honestly be better off having Benny sit down this bye week with Blitz, Joe, BCFAN, Cro, Rammer, Sammy, Dano and Hambone and coming up with a new game plan for next week than with anything else...

MexicoLionFan....here are some stats that back up your consistent thoughts regarding our defense this season and the need to be more aggressive.

The first set of stats are from Dave Ritchie's defenses from 2005-2007

The second set of stats are the two seasons that Stubler was our defensive coordinator.

The third set of stats is based upon this season after 9 games and extrapolated to 18 games.

Dave Ritchie
2005 45 sacks, 24 interceptions, 19 fumble recoveries, 49 takeaways, 60.7% pass completion average against
2006 50 sacks, 36 interceptions, 20 fumble recoveries, 61 takeaways, 56% pass completion average against
2007 61 sacks, 24 interceptions, 17 fumble recoveries, 57 takeaways, 58.8% pass completion rate against

Stubler
2012 47 sacks, 18 interceptions, 7 fumble recoveries, 32 takeaways, 60.5% pass completion rate against
2013 45 sacks, 21 interceptions, 16 fumble recoveries, 46 takeaways, 61.5% pass completion rate against

Washington
2014 19 sacks, 7 interceptions, fumble recoveries 6, 18 takeaways, 58% pass completion rate against (mid-point)
2014 38 sacks, 14 interceptions, 12 fumble recoveries, 36 takeaways, 58% pass completion rate against (projected season end)

Its obvious that our most aggressive defense was under Ritchie and at present our defense is less aggressive than even Stubler's defense of last season. Its also important to note that while our takeways were down in 2012, we had the best run defense in the CFL as well as the top ranked defense in the CFL.

To make matters worse, our run defense this season is the lowest rank its ever been in the Buono era. Our defense has presently given up the most run yards in the CFL and is ranked 8th against the run in average yards per game and 8th in average yards per carry.

So, the reality is that we are projected to have our lowest sack total, our lowest takeaway total, and our worst run defense in the Buono era.

B.C. Fan often posts about the importance of turnovers and what they mean to a team and how often they convert to touchdowns, points, and winning.

The reality is that we are now running a Buono style of defense, taken right out of his pagebook as a former defensive coordinator. Dave Ritchie drove Wally crazy at times with his aggressive style of defense but the results are evident. Benevedes ran a Buono style of defense as our defensive coordinator. Stubler ran his own style of defense that he used in Toronto. Washington is running a Buono style of defense again.

Sacks make a huge difference in a game, takeways even more. Ritchie's results above show that you can play aggressive defense, stop the run and have a very good pass defense as well.

We have ball hawks in Yell, Parks and Philips. We have very aggressive, fast players in Eliminian, Bighill, Jamal Johnson, and Josh Johnson. We have a very quick, aggressive pass rushing end in Bazzie. We have two very tough tackles in Taylor and Mitchell who like to penetrate. This defense calls for a Ritchie style of defense.

On a further note, a recent post refered to our present offence as a Chap style of offence. In reality our present offence is based on the spread offence ran by Hufnagel in the 90's in Calgary. That playbook was passed down to Cortez and then Chapdelaine and now Khari Jones. Hufnagel adopted it from the college ranks, where it was used initially by underdog teams who didn't have the talent to play power football. Those teams adapted by removing the fullback and tight end and loading up on receivers. The spread offence featured the passing game, a lot of crossing patterns, the ability to create one on one matchups, and a running attack with a single backor an empty backfield and no tight ends - it was a pass first offence that most often ran the football inside, hoping to get to the second layer where there was often lot of space...or so the theory went.

It was very successful for quite a long period of time and was the offence de jour for both CFL and NFL teams for years - if you were not running the spread you were an anachronism. However, teams like New England realized that it had reached its nadir and was no longer innovative. New England went with a more tight end formations and power football while integrating some spread offence concepts, especially in longer passing situations.

In the CFL, Mark Trestman and Chapdelaine were the first to move away from the spread. Trestman was very multi-formational and Chap went to a lot of power formations after Game 7 in 2011 and he used power formations on first down most of the time from that time on.

This season we have been in the five or six receiver spread most of the time. We've returned to being a very spread style of offence.

However, Hufnagel's offence is a volume offensive playbook and does not require an offence be in the spread all of the time. Hugnagel himself moved away from his inclination to pass the football in spread formations in the 90's to focusing on the running attack. He reinforced running the football more in 2007, when he served as a Leo offensive consultant and he has done that in Calgary as well.

The reason that innovative offensive coordinators have moved away from the spread is due to a number of factors which include 1) its no longer innovative and defenses see it a ton 2) defenses added nickel and dime backs to defend the extra receivers and moved to big defensive tackles to take away the inside run or at least did and do with the right style of defense 3) defenses either dropped a lot of defenders into pass coverage or blitzed the hell out of the spread, often successfully or used both - it puts a hell of a lot of pressure on a quarterback to make quick reads and great throws 4) the zone blitz took away the run, got quick pressure, lots of hits and sacks on a quarterback - and losing a great starting quarterback is costly to an offence 5) press coverage also began to be used to take away the quick pass from quick release quarterbacks.

There is a time (down and distance) to use a spread formation these days but being in the spread too often is a recipe for offensive challenges. John Henry's post that we should be in a two back set or a two back set with a tight end or a one back set with two tight ends makes so much sense.

You build this offence around Harris and Logan and when Lulay returns, with misdirection play action off those two backs. Lulay is mobile and purrfect for a power style offence that uses play action bootlegs and semi-rolls. You also utilize Lumbala more often as a lead blocker or a tight end and if the tailback is being kept in to block why are we using Logan in a pass blocking role at 5'6 and 175 pounds is ridiculous. Logan is a speed back perfectly designed for power formations - its hard to get to the edge out of the spread and Logan is also a great cut back style back. Harris excels with a lead blocker because he reads blocks so well.

Arsenault is a big receiver who can line up as a tight end and also release downfield. He is purrfect made to line up tight or be spread out. A big receiver like Ernest Jackson (220 pounds) could also be utilized tight in power formations (why we use Gore as a tight end when we occasionally go power is beyond me). Haidara, a tough blocker at 215 pound is being wasted when we could rotate him in for Gore in power sets as another option.

Iannuzzi is only designed for the spread and he is a lousy blocker for plays like the hitch screen and the power toss. A tall, big target at 6'4, 200 pounds in Adekelu, is a great choice as a fifth receiver, when we do go spread because he is a big target on the outside and a better option for crossing patterns due to his reach and size.

The personel of this team does not suit a spread focused offensive scheme but is so well designed for a four receiver set, while using Harris, Logan, and Lumbala in creative ways. We have such different styles of weapons in our receivers and we have the great range of running backs to attack inside and outside with both the run game and pass game.

On a final note, Lulay mentioned the other day we need to go more vertical in our passing game. He is so right but its not easy to go vertical in the spread, especially when releasing the back. The spread moves an offence into quick possession passes and crossing patterns.

Drives me crazy to see how we are forcing our players into a system that does not suit our offensive talents.

[Hawkballer 14]

Not viable till the end of the year but Dave Dickenson stands out for me. I would also consider Matt Dunnigan. There is no point speculating about it however. No way any change happens until the end of the season and maybe not then even if we miss the playoffs. Wally doesn't pull these triggers very quickly especially when the person he would be axing would be his hand picked successor.

The same Dave Dickenson who has repeatedly said that he doesn't want to leave Calgary? Who is the obvious heir apparent for when Hufnagel moves upstairs?

Matt Dunnigan leaving that cushy TSN gig to subject himself to the stupid long hours and increased stress level that comes with being a pro HC? C'mon man...

I asked for realistic replacement options, not your dream candidates...

[WestCoastJoe]

MexicoLionFan....here are some stats that back up your consistent thoughts regarding our defense this season and the need to be more aggressive.

The first set of stats are from Dave Ritchie's defenses from 2005-2007

The second set of stats are the two seasons that Stubler was our defensive coordinator.

The third set of stats is based upon this season after 9 games and extrapolated to 18 games.

Dave Ritchie
2005 45 sacks, 24 interceptions, 19 fumble recoveries, 49 takeaways, 60.7% pass completion average against
2006 50 sacks, 36 interceptions, 20 fumble recoveries, 61 takeaways, 56% pass completion average against
2007 61 sacks, 24 interceptions, 17 fumble recoveries, 57 takeaways, 58.8% pass completion rate against

Stubler
2012 47 sacks, 18 interceptions, 7 fumble recoveries, 32 takeaways, 60.5% pass completion rate against
2013 45 sacks, 21 interceptions, 16 fumble recoveries, 46 takeaways, 61.5% pass completion rate against

Washington
2014 19 sacks, 7 interceptions, fumble recoveries 6, 18 takeaways, 58% pass completion rate against (mid-point)
2014 38 sacks, 14 interceptions, 12 fumble recoveries, 36 takeaways, 58% pass completion rate against (projected season end)

Its obvious that our most aggressive defense was under Ritchie and at present our defense is less aggressive than even Stubler's defense of last season. Its also important to note that while our takeways were down in 2012, we had the best run defense in the CFL as well as the top ranked defense in the CFL.

... Saving some space. Entire quote above.

That is a great review, Blitz. Thank you.

[Hambone]

From the wouldas and couldas department how many times did a BC ball carrier blow a tire on Sunday to stifle a big play? I was just watching the replay in TSN2. Brown lost his footing on a return. Either late in the first or early in the second after getting twisted a bit by Kilgore. Still wound up around the 31 but there was room for plenty more. Just before McCallum's 1/ yd FG later in the 2nd Taylor blew a tire making a bit of a cut coming across the middle after a catch. I think he was easily in for 6 had he not lost his footing. Instead of 7 they settled for 3. There was at least one other occasion I can think of where a Lion went down all on his own in the first half.

[TheLionKing]

Heard that Taylor was wearing new shoes which may explain his slipping. Don't know whether Brown was wearing it too. If it was , it certainly didn't affect his running.

[Coast Mountain Lion]

MexicoLionFan....here are some stats that back up your consistent thoughts regarding our defense this season and the need to be more aggressive.

The first set of stats are from Dave Ritchie's defenses from 2005-2007

The second set of stats are the two seasons that Stubler was our defensive coordinator.

The third set of stats is based upon this season after 9 games and extrapolated to 18 games.

Dave Ritchie
2005 45 sacks, 24 interceptions, 19 fumble recoveries, 49 takeaways, 60.7% pass completion average against
2006 50 sacks, 36 interceptions, 20 fumble recoveries, 61 takeaways, 56% pass completion average against
2007 61 sacks, 24 interceptions, 17 fumble recoveries, 57 takeaways, 58.8% pass completion rate against

Stubler
2012 47 sacks, 18 interceptions, 7 fumble recoveries, 32 takeaways, 60.5% pass completion rate against
2013 45 sacks, 21 interceptions, 16 fumble recoveries, 46 takeaways, 61.5% pass completion rate against

Washington
2014 19 sacks, 7 interceptions, fumble recoveries 6, 18 takeaways, 58% pass completion rate against (mid-point)
2014 38 sacks, 14 interceptions, 12 fumble recoveries, 36 takeaways, 58% pass completion rate against (projected season end)

Blitz, notably absent from your post are the stats for the 2008-2011 seasons when whazzisname was defensive co-ordinator. But do we need to ask how they compared to the Ritchie or Stubler years?

[cromartie]

Not viable till the end of the year but Dave Dickenson stands out for me. I would also consider Matt Dunnigan. There is no point speculating about it however. No way any change happens until the end of the season and maybe not then even if we miss the playoffs. Wally doesn't pull these triggers very quickly especially when the person he would be axing would be his hand picked successor.

The same Dave Dickenson who has repeatedly said that he doesn't want to leave Calgary? Who is the obvious heir apparent for when Hufnagel moves upstairs?

Matt Dunnigan leaving that cushy TSN gig to subject himself to the stupid long hours and increased stress level that comes with being a pro HC? C'mon man...

I asked for realistic replacement options, not your dream candidates...

Throw enough money at Paul LaPolice to be the Head Coach instead of the Offensive Coordinator and you'd get him back on the field, especially considering the relatively long leash he'd get under his friend and GM Wally Buono.

This is still a gate driven league to some extent, and the current staff is laying giant piles of crap at home in a market where it can ill afford to. Throw in the lost revenue on the guarantee game, a likely decline in attendance over last year and a staff that one can reasonably assert has underachieved (in 2012 and thus far this season) relative to their talent level and heads would typically roll.

Is this what I would do? At this point I'm non-committal. But your position of "well, heck, there's no one better out there, so we may as well keep what they have" is a very bad trap to fall into. And if you don't believe me, just take a look at the damage done in San Diego when they kept Norv Turner around two or so seasons beyond his expiry date.

[Hawkballer 14]

Throw enough money at Paul LaPolice to be the Head Coach instead of the Offensive Coordinator and you'd get him back on the field, especially considering the relatively long leash he'd get under his friend and GM Wally Buono.

This is still a gate driven league to some extent, and the current staff is laying giant piles of crap at home in a market where it can ill afford to. Throw in the lost revenue on the guarantee game, a likely decline in attendance over last year and a staff that one can reasonably assert has underachieved (in 2012 and thus far this season) relative to their talent level and heads would typically roll.

Is this what I would do? At this point I'm non-committal. But your position of "well, heck, there's no one better out there, so we may as well keep what they have" is a very bad trap to fall into. And if you don't believe me, just take a look at the damage done in San Diego when they kept Norv Turner around two or so seasons beyond his expiry date.

Paul LaPolice? Really?

Replacing everybody at the first sign of trouble isn't exactly the way to go. Eventually the good ones look at your program and be like: "Screw that, I'm not going near that organization."

[Sir Purrcival]

Not viable till the end of the year but Dave Dickenson stands out for me. I would also consider Matt Dunnigan. There is no point speculating about it however. No way any change happens until the end of the season and maybe not then even if we miss the playoffs. Wally doesn't pull these triggers very quickly especially when the person he would be axing would be his hand picked successor.

The same Dave Dickenson who has repeatedly said that he doesn't want to leave Calgary? Who is the obvious heir apparent for when Hufnagel moves upstairs?

Matt Dunnigan leaving that cushy TSN gig to subject himself to the stupid long hours and increased stress level that comes with being a pro HC? C'mon man...

I asked for realistic replacement options, not your dream candidates...

Ahem, those are realistic options. Unrealistic options would include coaches under contract like Huff, Milanovich or Austin. Dickensen has a history here and who is to say he wouldn't be interested in a HC gig here? Huff may or may not be going anywhere soon. Do you think DD wants to wait 5 years to get to the HC position? As for Dunnigan, I know there is a lot of mixed opinion about him based on his time in Calgary way back when. Given the Gong show that was running at the time, I don't know that it really amounts to a fair appraisal. He wouldn't be my first choice but I wouldn't throw his name out of the hat either.

If you are going to shoot down my choices, why not put yourself out there and come up with some names?