Leos/RedBlacks Keys to the Game

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Blitz
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Our Leos travel to Ottawa for their first game of the season and their first contest under new Head Coach Jeff Tedford, new offensive coordinator George Cortez, new offensive line coach Doug Malone, and new defensive line coach Greg Ross. Travis Lulay will also be back at the controls of our offence, after missing most of last season due to injury. Lulay's only start in 2014 was a 7-5 loss in Ottawa last year.

The Ottawa RedBlacks won their first game of the season in Montreal. The RedBlacks defense conceded just 188 yards of net offence while forcing two Montreal quarterbacks to the sidelines. Ottawa's offence was also rejuvenated from last season with the addition of a bevy of new receivers who bring much more talent to the Ottawa offence.

Our Leos struggled offensively during the pre-season, running a lot of vanilla offence, and we will get a much better look at our new offensive scheme in this game.

Here are my keys to the game:

OFFENCE

1. RUN THE FOOTBALL

Travis Lulay has a lot of game rust on him. He is plays most effectively when we can run the football well on first down and set up play action, which slows the pass rush and also provides greater opportunities for Lulay to be a double threat quarterback, rather than being a pocket passer. With a new import offensive center (Foster) a new starting right guard (Player) and a new import left tackle (Draheim) our offensive line is more talented but needs to gel. Our new tight end (H Back) offence also provides better blocking schemes for the run. Running the football is a recipe for offensive line aggressiveness and Cortez and Malone both like to run the football. Andrew Harris had a great training camp and newcomer Lawrence brings the option of a speed change up.

2. LULAY NEEDS TO EASE BACK INTO GAME ACTION

Pass protection was a very serious issue last season. In fact it has been a serious issue, except for the 2011 Grey Cup season and the first half of the 2012 season. Its no secret that our offence played its best football during that stretch and has had its struggles ever since. The last thing that Lulay needs is to be under constant pressure in his first start of this season, after being out of action for so long.

We need to run offensive plays that are high percentage plays to start this game. Dump offs to Harris, the quick utilization of our tight end into the offence with quick throws, high percentage sprint out plays, quick screen action, and quick underneath throws created by clear out action are the recipe to build confidence in the early going. Bryan Burnham, who will start in place of Taylor and Collie have shown very good hands and good route running in pre-season action and are solid possession style receivers.

DEFENSE

PRESSURE THE QUARTERBACK

Henry Burris threw three interceptions in the first half against Montreal. When pressured, Burris will try to put the football into tough spots. Ernest Jackson was Ottawa's go to receiver against Montreal with 8 catches. The last time we played Ottawa Ernest Jackson was in a Lions uniform and had eight catches for 195 yards in a Lions uniform. Chris Williams is dangerous. Sinopoli and Price are also weapons. To minimize the potential impact of Ottawa's new offensive receiver weaponry an effective pass rush is essential to win this game. Last season we ran a lot of vanilla pass rush. We need to be more aggressive, change up more often, and use the blitz more often and more effectively this year.

SHUT DOWN THE RUN

Jock Sanders has been rushed into action for this game and will likely have a restricted package. However, our inability to stop the run was a major factor was a major problem last year. Roh, who was switched inside, starts inside in place of the injured Minter. Westerman gets a chance to show us what he can do on the outside and hopefully will help shore up our run defense.

MAXIMIZE THE TALENTS OF OUR LINEBACKERS

Sol E. Bighil. Johnson, Lokombo. This is the best linebacking unit in the CFL and there is depth behind them. We need to use Sol E. as more than a run stopper, quarterback spy, and occasional blitzer. Bighill needs to be used more than a zone pass defender in passing situations. Josh Johnson can cover and he can blitz and we need to take greater advantage of his aggressiveness and toughness. Lokombo is a stud and his talents can be utilized effectively based on down and distance in certain packages. Its time to turn these guys loose and let them create the mayhem they are so capable of. This unit is our best weapon but we've mostly been using them like a single shot black powder rifle. Its time to use the entire arsenal of their abilities.

WRAP

Its an Ottawa team that is going to be excited playing their first home game of the season, coming off a win, and playing for a very enthusiastic crowd. Our Leos should be excited about playing their first game of the season and after watching every other team in action while sitting out a bye week to begin the 2015 season.

We'll have a much better idea of this 2015 edition of the Leos after this game.

Go Leos Go :beauty: :thup: :beer:
"When I went to Catholic high school in Philadelphia, we just had one coach for football and basketball. He took all of us who turned out and had us run through a forest. The ones who ran into the trees were on the football team". (George Raveling)
Qman
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just show up, and henry will throw the ball to us.

Ottawa is terrible. If we lose to them ... i'm restarting the fire Tedford thread
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Toppy Vann
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Qman wrote:just show up, and henry will throw the ball to us.

Ottawa is terrible. If we lose to them ... i'm restarting the fire Tedford thread
I hope you are joking about just turn up. That thinking does happen with teams collectively. It's not a collective decision but collectively some teams will come in and take a bad opponent too lightly and they get their butts handed to them. Seen it - experienced it first hand. Bad start and bad team scores and panic sets in and the game is not recovered.

My sense is that no one in a Lions uniform or on the staff believes this sort of thinking wins football games or games in any sport.

This is not a terrible team in OTT as their opening W suggests they are going in the right direction.

It takes all types to build a fan base but no one can be serious that the season hinges on preseason or even an opener despite just a 18 game season where every game and all points scored can count.

I would sooner my team lose early if they are complacent as a group so they see the standard and the bench mark that they need to reach and surpass for success.
"Ability without character will lose." - Marv Levy
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pennw
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Qman wrote:just show up, and henry will throw the ball to us.

Ottawa is terrible. If we lose to them ... i'm restarting the fire Tedford thread
Are you serious ? You already had one fire Tedford thread based on a preseason game and now saying it again ? You can't find a bandwagon to jump onto somewhere , like maybe FIFA or something ?
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Rammer
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pennw wrote:
Qman wrote:just show up, and henry will throw the ball to us.

Ottawa is terrible. If we lose to them ... i'm restarting the fire Tedford thread
Are you serious ? You already had one fire Tedford thread based on a preseason game and now saying it again ? You can't find a bandwagon to jump onto somewhere , like maybe FIFA or something ?
I read that for the poke that it was intended to be, lets not be so serious.

As for the game itself, I am hoping that the Lions can keep Lulay healthy, as it was pointed out that it was the REDBLACKS that were responsble for injuring Lulay's shoulder last season. With the way the QB 's are dropping at the start of 2015, any games that Lulay can play will be an advantage over teams without a starter.
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Blitz
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A receiver that our Leos defense needs to key on for this game is Ottawa slotback Ernest Jackson, who led Ottawa's offence in their victory over Montreal.

I was always a huge Ernest Jackson fan, as I was an early Nick Moore fan and Courtney Taylor fan. Sometimes it was frustrating to read from some on Lionbackers that Jackson couldn't run a pattern, that Nick Moore had poor hands because he dropped a couple of footballs early in his Leo career, and Taylor lacked the ability to make the tough catches.

Moore is gone and looked great for Winnipeg last night (Moore leads the CFL in receiving and is off to another great start in Winnipeg), Taylor is injured and I wouldn't be surprised to see him lose his spot to the younger Burnham, and Jackson looks like he will emerge in Ottawa with a coaching staff who has confidence in him.

Ernest Jackson, last season with our Leos finished 9th in the CFL in receiving and had an impressive 16.6 yard per catch average, while having limited opportunities. But Jackson was in and out of the lineup for our Leos during his three seasons with our Leos. Our Leos, three years too late, had a semi-light bulb moment of some sort in the off-season and offered Jackson a new contract but it wasn't close to the Ottawa offer.

Here are a few excerpts from Lowell Ullrich's article today in the Province, regarding Jackson's time in B.C. and his first start in Ottawa.
Squeezed out in B.C., wideout looking forward to new, expanded role with Redblacks
Jackson showed in his debut with the Ottawa Redblacks last week what he showed in, well, one contest with the Lions, a player who could be dominant if given the chance.
Jackson only played six games last season with the Lions but one of them was a career-high nine-catch, 195-yard receiving performance against Ottawa that left an obvious impression.
Ottawa brought in three other receivers this year who have CFL experience with Burris, Chris Williams, Craig Ellingson and Brad Sinopoli. They had no trouble making room for another receiver in Jackson, who was always being squeezed out by the Lions.
“It was only near the end when I showed I could be a dominant player, but the season was over by then,” he said. “I was never really felt into the groove. There was always that moment where you didn’t know where you stood.”
So he began his second CFL life with seven catches for 74 yards helping the Redblacks to their first franchise road win last week against Montreal, and now suddenly he’s the life of the party
.
“He brings a lot of energy to the locker-room,” said Burris
"When I went to Catholic high school in Philadelphia, we just had one coach for football and basketball. He took all of us who turned out and had us run through a forest. The ones who ran into the trees were on the football team". (George Raveling)
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B.C.FAN
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Blitz did a great job with his keys to the game, as always. I can boil mine down to three keys:

1. Stop the run
The new B.C. defensive line, unproven rookies Michael Brooks and Craig Roh starting inside, will need to step up for the B.C. defence to be effective.

2. Establish the run
Similarly, the B.C. offence works best when Andrew Harris can get established as a runner. Bad things happen when the offence becomes one-dimensional and defences blitz B.C. quarterbacks relentlessly.

3. Stop Ottawa's dangerous receivers
Ottawa's receiving corps is faster and more experienced than B.C.'s. Ernest Jackson has great body control and showed last year that he can make tough catches in traffic. I had been lukewarm to him in the past because he doesn't have a quick burst to get separation but he makes up for it by winning jump balls. Maurice Price has the burst to get separation and has been a Lion-killer in the past with Calgary. Chris Williams lacks the size and experience as a wide receiver but he is as fast as anyone and extremely dangerous with the ball in his hands. Free-agent acquisitions Greg Ellingson and Brad Sinopoli are proven possession receivers. There isn't a weakness in this receiving corps and they all present difficult matchups in man coverage. B.C.'s inexperienced secondary, particularly T.J. Lee, Ronnie Yell and Chris Rwabukamba, will have their hands full. If the Lions can get pressure on Henry Burris, he has been known to get careless with the ball. Ryan Phillips and Cord Parks have the ability to capitalize on some forced throws to the wide side of the field.
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WestCoastJoe
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B.C.FAN wrote: 3. Stop Ottawa's dangerous receivers
Ottawa's receiving corps is faster and more experienced than B.C.'s. Ernest Jackson has great body control and showed last year that he can make tough catches in traffic.
Yes. In one year Ottawa has built a very nice receiving corps.
Blitz wrote: Ernest Jackson, last season with our Leos finished 9th in the CFL in receiving and had an impressive 16.6 yard per catch average, while having limited opportunities. But Jackson was in and out of the lineup for our Leos during his three seasons with our Leos. Our Leos, three years too late, had a semi-light bulb moment of some sort in the off-season and offered Jackson a new contract but it wasn't close to the Ottawa offer.
And, as Blitz pointed out, it seems at times in the past, our staff has developed limited views of the potential of some players. Ernest Jackson is just one example.

It is a new year and one is reluctant to make quick evaluations of the strength of teams. But Ottawa did well defeating Montreal. They seem to have an attack-style defence, certainly my preference by far over Wally's conservative approach. They have many weapons on offence, including Henry Burris.

In his 15 years in the CFL, Burris has thrown for 55,254 yards, 335 TDs, 205 Ints. He has also run the ball effectively. He is a top candidate for the Hall of Fame when he finally retires. He can blow hot and cold, but a defence needs to respect his abilities.

Victories might be hard to come by this year. This first game will tell us a lot about our team.
John Madden's Team Policies: Be on time. Pay attention. Play like hell on game day.

Jimmy Johnson's Game Keys: Protect the ball. Make plays.

Walter Payton's Advice to Kids: Play hard. Play fair. Have fun.
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Rammer
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WestCoastJoe wrote:
B.C.FAN wrote: 3. Stop Ottawa's dangerous receivers
Ottawa's receiving corps is faster and more experienced than B.C.'s. Ernest Jackson has great body control and showed last year that he can make tough catches in traffic.
Yes. In one year Ottawa has built a very nice receiving corps.
Blitz wrote: Ernest Jackson, last season with our Leos finished 9th in the CFL in receiving and had an impressive 16.6 yard per catch average, while having limited opportunities. But Jackson was in and out of the lineup for our Leos during his three seasons with our Leos. Our Leos, three years too late, had a semi-light bulb moment of some sort in the off-season and offered Jackson a new contract but it wasn't close to the Ottawa offer.
And, as Blitz pointed out, it seems at times in the past, our staff has developed limited views of the potential of some players. Ernest Jackson is just one example.

It is a new year and one is reluctant to make quick evaluations of the strength of teams. But Ottawa did well defeating Montreal. They seem to have an attack-style defence, certainly my preference by far over Wally's conservative approach. They have many weapons on offence, including Henry Burris.

In his 15 years in the CFL, Burris has thrown for 55,254 yards, 335 TDs, 205 Ints. He has also run the ball effectively. He is a top candidate for the Hall of Fame when he finally retires. He can blow hot and cold, but a defence needs to respect his abilities.

Victories might be hard to come by this year. This first game will tell us a lot about our team.
Burris has always thrown INT's when he is pressured, not sure the Lions are capable of that with our young DL. If we do get pressure it will depend upon our blitz packages and of course this will make us vulnerable to the vacated coverage area. It is important to make Burris throw quickly.
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Sir Purrcival
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I think it is mostly going to hinge on one thing. Pressure on Burris. They have some dangerous receivers and experienced receivers. With the new rules regarding no contact, the main point to disrupt plays happens at the pivot position. If you can't put pressure on there you are going to burn if the QB has any degree of accuracy. They have a couple of possession receivers, they have the big play guy and they have a burner. Right now, I would probably rate that core better than ours.

Our offense is going to sputter if for no other reason than our QB hasn't had any meaningful playing time for the better part of 1.5 years. Our main RB is coming off a major injury, our kicker is new as are the kick returners. Factor in our questionable D line, our new alignments and personnel on the Oline and frankly, I see this as being a reason for a loss. Of course being the CFL, it may well mean we thump them harder than we have ever done but....
Last edited by Sir Purrcival on Sat Jul 04, 2015 2:57 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Blitz
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It is a new year and one is reluctant to make quick evaluations of the strength of teams. But Ottawa did well defeating Montreal. They seem to have an attack-style defence, certainly my preference by far over Wally's conservative approach. They have many weapons on offence, including Henry Burris. WCJ
I'm really interested WCJ to see what approach we will use on defense this season, what packages we'll use Lokobomo in, and what blitz packages we will use. Last year, we were in a lot of vanilla zone defense. I'm sure we will both be taking a keen interest in our defensive philosophy this season and keying on what might be different this year. Hopefully we will be more aggressive.

Sol E. had a great season last year but his tackle count would have been lower if we could have done a better job of stopping opposition running backs from getting into our second layer. We have to do a better job of run defense this year.

I agree with Rammer that we need to get pressure on Burris...its a key. I think Poh, moved inside may be able to get some inside pressure but its also his first game and in an unfamiliar position at tackle.

I also wonder how Lulay will start. Sir Percival notes his lack of game action over the past 1 1/2 seasons. The key to Lulay's success is to give him high percentage plays early, as I mentioned in the opening of this thread.

With our Leos going H Back and up tempo, strategy and play calling will be crucial. If the defense sets up on first down with a nickel back, we can use the tight end to block and have an advantage. If they go with a third traditional linebacker, we should have a mismatch with our tight end on a linebacker in a pass route.

The inability for the defense to substitute with up tempo gives the H Back offence more advantages than the spread offence, if we can make the right play calls and take advantage of defensive personell.
"When I went to Catholic high school in Philadelphia, we just had one coach for football and basketball. He took all of us who turned out and had us run through a forest. The ones who ran into the trees were on the football team". (George Raveling)
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WestCoastJoe
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Blitz wrote:
It is a new year and one is reluctant to make quick evaluations of the strength of teams. But Ottawa did well defeating Montreal. They seem to have an attack-style defence, certainly my preference by far over Wally's conservative approach. They have many weapons on offence, including Henry Burris. WCJ
I'm really interested WCJ to see what approach we will use on defense this season, what packages we'll use Lokobomo in, and what blitz packages we will use. Last year, we were in a lot of vanilla zone defense. I'm sure we will both be taking a keen interest in our defensive philosophy this season and keying on what might be different this year. Hopefully we will be more aggressive.

With our Leos going H Back and up tempo, strategy and play calling will be crucial. If the defense sets up on first down with a nickel back, we can use the tight end to block and have an advantage. If they go with a third traditional linebacker, we should have a mismatch with our tight end on a linebacker in a pass route.

The inability for the defense to substitute with up tempo gives the H Back offence more advantages than the spread offence, if we can make the right play calls and take advantage of defensive personell.
For sure, Blitz.

Attack. Attack. Always Attack. If you want to be middle of the road, play it safe.

Looking forward to seeing us take advantage of the H Back. We seemed to keep it under wraps in preseason.
John Madden's Team Policies: Be on time. Pay attention. Play like hell on game day.

Jimmy Johnson's Game Keys: Protect the ball. Make plays.

Walter Payton's Advice to Kids: Play hard. Play fair. Have fun.
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Rammer
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WestCoastJoe wrote:
Blitz wrote:
It is a new year and one is reluctant to make quick evaluations of the strength of teams. But Ottawa did well defeating Montreal. They seem to have an attack-style defence, certainly my preference by far over Wally's conservative approach. They have many weapons on offence, including Henry Burris. WCJ
I'm really interested WCJ to see what approach we will use on defense this season, what packages we'll use Lokobomo in, and what blitz packages we will use. Last year, we were in a lot of vanilla zone defense. I'm sure we will both be taking a keen interest in our defensive philosophy this season and keying on what might be different this year. Hopefully we will be more aggressive.

With our Leos going H Back and up tempo, strategy and play calling will be crucial. If the defense sets up on first down with a nickel back, we can use the tight end to block and have an advantage. If they go with a third traditional linebacker, we should have a mismatch with our tight end on a linebacker in a pass route.

The inability for the defense to substitute with up tempo gives the H Back offence more advantages than the spread offence, if we can make the right play calls and take advantage of defensive personell.

For sure, Blitz.

Attack. Attack. Always Attack. If you want to be middle of the road, play it safe.

Looking forward to seeing us take advantage of the H Back. We seemed to keep it under wraps in preseason.
The H-Back was kept so far under wraps, it was mummified. I hope that the wraps come off tomorrow, but I expect just a single layer to be shown.
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