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In light of the fact that the BC Lions have missed the playoffs for the first time in 21 years and obviously there's a lot of disappointment and resentment over this, exactly how does this season compare to the other seasons that the Lions missed the playoffs in recent memory - i.e. the last 5 times the Lions missed the playoffs. Would you say this season is the worst or would other seasons are much worse?

I'll give my thoughts on each since 1989, as well as immediate changes afterwards.

1989: 7-11
After the 1988 Grey Cup appearance, high expectations were given to the team. Unfortunately the Lions started off 0-5 and after the 4th loss then-head coach Larry Donovan was fired and Joe Galat took over as head coach. At the halfway point, the Lions went 4-5, but in the latter half the team faltered and missed the playoffs for the first time since 1982. Matt Dunigan and the Lions offence actually set a then-record of 521 PF and statistically Dunigan performed better than 1988. But it the loss of several defensive players to Edmonton from the completion of the Dunigan trade resulted in several close losses. Changes to the team occurred shortly afterwards from the new owner Murray Pezim who fired Joe Galat as well and brought in new coaching and leadership. As good as he was, Matt Dunigan would be traded away in the off season.

1990: 6-11-1
A different management staff was brought in with new GM Joe Kapp and HC Lary Kuharich, and several new QB competing for the starting QB job. However, Doug Flutie had not yet adjusted to the CFL game yet and the team was not able to accommodate all the players who came and left, so the team was still in turmoil. In mid-season, both HC and GM were fired and Bob O'Billovich was brought in for a new fresh start.

1992: 3-15
In 1991 obviously with the help of league MOP Doug Flutie, offence was great but the defence was still terrible and as a result, the Lions lost several close blowout games including the WDF. With the loss of the only offensive weapon in the form of Doug Flutie, then both offence and defence were terrible as Danny Barrett was absolutely no replacement whatsoever and fittingly, the team suffered a humiliating 3-15 season. Owner Murray Pezim abandoned the team mid-season, and at the end of the season Bob O'Billovich was dismissed as well as new owner Bill Comrie brought in a new coaching staff in the form of GM Eric Tillman and HC Dave Ritchie and the team became championship caliber in just two years.

1996: 5-13
When owner Bill Comrie decided to sell the team to Nelson Skalbania, lots of management changes came effect as well with a new HC Joe Paopao and future hall of famers like Danny McManus and Darren Flutie all left for free agency. Andre Ware was brought in as the new starting QB and was totally ineffective, paving the way for Damon Allen who eventually became the second-longest Lions QB to date. David Braley became new owner and would be the start of 20 seasons of playoff appearances.

2017: 7-11
This season has been discussed in several threads so I won't go into detail now other than ask you....compared to 1989, 1990, 1992, and 1996 how does this season rank relatively in terms of anger, disappointment, and frustration?

2017 ranks the worst for me simply because the issues that led to this season have been screamed about off and on for a decade. It is one thing to have a team in turmoil, it is another to have a team in turmoil and have the powers that be pretend like they bear no responsibility for and acknowledgement of what has been a relatively clear and steady decline for several years.

If I were to go back a few years, I would probably look hard at the Danny Barrett era. Bad ownership, bad on field departures and acquisitions and god, DB was an awful QB. Right up there with thinking that Steven Jyles could be a replacement for Ricky Ray. If there is one thing I hate, it is trying to pass off a player with very limited skills as some kind of equivalent for a great player. I know that isn't great for the player coming in but nothing more frustrating that trying to be convinced that a hamburger is really filet mignon.

As mentoned in another thread, this season feels most like 1965. The team was coming off its first Grey Cup victory and everyone expected more. Instead, 1965 was the first year in the longest stretch of futility in franchise history, encompassing 12 straight years without a winning record.

Of the years listed in the poll, 1989 was the most similar to 2017 and 1965. The team had come close to winning the Grey Cup the previous year and expectations were high. I liked Larry Donovan as a coach and thought his firing was premature. It led to a long period of coaching instability through the 1990s.

The 2017 team was loaded with enough talent to win the Grey Cup. Seven narrow losses, three blown fourth-quarter leads, constant confusion on special teams, stale coaching and inconsistent quarterbacking made this season the most disappointing in over 50 years..

B.C.FAN wrote: ↑

Sun Nov 05, 2017 1:58 pm

As mentoned in another thread, this season feels most like 1965. The team was coming off its first Grey Cup victory and everyone expected more. Instead, 1965 was the first year in the longest stretch of futility in franchise history, encompassing 12 straight years without a winning record.

Of the years listed in the poll, 1989 was the most similar to 2017 and 1965. The team had come close to winning the Grey Cup the previous year and expectations were high. I liked Larry Donovan as a coach and thought his firing was premature. It led to a long period of coaching instability through the 1990s.

The 2017 team was loaded with enough talent to win the Grey Cup. Seven narrow losses, three blown fourth-quarter leads, constant confusion on special teams, stale coaching and inconsistent quarterbacking made this season the most disappointing in over 50 years..

Without question, this was the most disappointing season for me in 50 years too B.C. Fan. I think I'm still in shock in that the losses seemed to pile up so quickly and our chance at at a playoff berth was over before it really all began to sink it deeply.

But the warning signs were there, even very early in this 2017 season and those signs were posted repeatedly on Lionbackers. But mostly they just got ignored by our coaching staff.