Lionbackers.com

It's remarkable that the Argos were able to end the season as champions after a terrible year last year and dithering through the off season, missing out on free agents. More proof, if any was needed, that Trestman is an outstanding coach. Popp left the Als a mess that will take years to clean up, but made one right decision in Toronto in luring Trestman back.

The only explanation for the Stamps is that Wally must be interfering with his old proteges Hufnagel and Dickenson and causing their failure.

It was a classic grey cup with the snow falling and the last minute drama.

The Stamps are a hard team to cheer for...too cocky....glad guys like Singleton McDaniel & Hughes got silenced

I must say I was very un enthusiastic about this game, till I saw the snow! I figured it could be anyone's game with these conditions where I thought Calgary was going to dominate it was sloppy and greasy! Shania at halftime...coming in on dogsled, awesome VaVaVoom! Justin Beiber I fart in your general direction! So happy to see Calgary fail again

It was the right call but the wrong throw. Absolutely you take 1 shot at the end zone, but you have to be more cautious. BLM is capable of making some of the most precise passes into tight coverage, but in that situation if your receiver is not wide open you simply don't put the ball anywhere near there.

Glad for Ricky Ray. He's always been a good dude. Too bad Trestman didn't take an extra year before returning to the CFL. He'd look great in Orange.

People seemed to like Shania. I wasn't all that enthused. She looked like someone trying to look 30 again singing tunes from 20 years ago. I generally don't expect much from half-time shows, in this case, that felt about right.

Belize City Lion wrote: ↑

Mon Nov 27, 2017 12:11 pm

It was the right call but the wrong throw. Absolutely you take 1 shot at the end zone, but you have to be more cautious. BLM is capable of making some of the most precise passes into tight coverage, but in that situation if your receiver is not wide open you simply don't put the ball anywhere near there.

Glad for Ricky Ray. He's always been a good dude. Too bad Trestman didn't take an extra year before returning to the CFL. He'd look great in Orange.

I'd say more poor throw than wrong throw. Initially it was single coverage with the other defender coming across. Bottom line it was a wobbler and underthrown. He could've put a bit more zip on it and put it in a place where onty his guy could catch up to it or he'd overthrow everybody.

Belize City Lion wrote: ↑

Mon Nov 27, 2017 12:11 pm

It was the right call but the wrong throw. Absolutely you take 1 shot at the end zone, but you have to be more cautious. BLM is capable of making some of the most precise passes into tight coverage, but in that situation if your receiver is not wide open you simply don't put the ball anywhere near there.

Glad for Ricky Ray. He's always been a good dude. Too bad Trestman didn't take an extra year before returning to the CFL. He'd look great in Orange.

If anything it was under thrown. The receiver was open. BB

CardiacKid wrote: ↑

Sun Nov 26, 2017 10:30 pm

-I am surprised that I haven’t seen any CFL media types mention the parallels to 1971 and Leon McQuay.

It's always an interesting question and topic for discussion as to why certain players involved always be notoriously remembered as the scapegoat and others who also made some bad plays are spared and can even be forgotten. If you ask anyone to name a player from the 1986 Boston Red Sox I dare say 99% will reply Bill Buckner. In an international scale, ask someone to name a player from the Colombia National Team in the 1994 FIFA World Cup for Colombia, and everyone will say Andres Escobar. In the first of four straight Super Bowl losses by the Buffalo Bills, I'd say Scott Norwood would better remembered compared to Jim Kellly or Thurman Thomas. And in some cases it may not be a player but a fan, like Steve Bartman or Jeff Maier.

Anyways, I guess one reason Leon McQuay's fumble stands in infamy is that the Argonauts didn't win a Grey Cup since 1952 so they were hungry after the drought. Also, I would say that no Argonauts player, not even QB Joe Theismann would be considered "outstanding and memorable" and as such, one would remember that bad parts which may be human nature, unfortunately. Also, communication was not as good back in 1971 and as such if you didn't watch the game your only source the limited media (television reruns) and network televisions would only telecast the most extreme and dramatic scenes. And as such, very few people would know after McQuay's fumble the Argonauts still had a chance to win as they forced the Stampeders on a 2 and out and punted. But the Argonauts punt returner Harry Abofs kicked the ball out of bounds which according to CFL rules gave possession back to the Stampeders. But nobody remembers Harry Abofs and he gets less than 1% of negative feedback because the media didn't replay his actions like they do with Leon McQuay.

With much better communication and with the power of the Internet, everyone will remember Kamar Jorden's fumble. So how will Kamar Jorden be remembered in history? Time will tell however....using precedence examples it looks like there's another important factor as to whether the player would be remembered positively or negatively.

B.C.FAN wrote: ↑

Sun Nov 26, 2017 10:51 pm

hope Kamar Jorden can overcome his misfortune. Leon McQuay never did. He took the disappointment with him to the grave.

The reason is that if the player was never too outstanding in the first place or overall, then any mistakes they made are less forgivable. Since Kamar Jorden is not considered an all-star and didn't win any awards so far, I'd say it's more likely he will be negatively remembered. If Jorden later on wins a Grey Cup and is inducted to the hall of fame, his 'record' will be removed.

As a great example of the latter, from a Lions fan perspective I would say that I've almost never heard of any bad memories or criticism of Matt Dunigan during his two year stay as a Lion in 1988-89 despite the fact that threw a fatal interception in late stages of the 1988 Grey Cup and had a 7-11 non-playoff season in 1989 before he was traded. On the other hand, relatively speaking, I dare say that Lions fans would criticize Damon Allen more over his inconsistency and the late fumble in the 1999 WDF, despite the fact that he redeemed himself with a 2000 Grey Cup win and played for 7 seasons for the Lions as opposed to just 2 seasons for Dunigan.

Finally, I'd say even making positive plays does not automatically make one famous in the years to come. Let's see if Matt Black enters the history books 30 years from now. And for better or worse, I think great offensive plays are more memorable than great defensive plays. As great as they are, I wonder if off the top of your head (within 10 seconds) do you remember:

1. In the 1964 Grey Cup who picked up a fumble for scored a TD for the Lions?
2. Who forced a goal-line fumble on Tracy Ham in the 1994 Grey Cup?
3. In the 2000 WDF who intercepted a Dave Dickenson pass in the first half and ran it back for a touchdown?
4. Who defensive Lion forced a fumble in the late stages of the 2006 Grey Cup?
5. Regarding the Lions in the late stages of the 1988 Grey Cup, everyone knows it was Mike Gray who made the interception. But who tipped Dunigan's TD pass attempt that triggered the chain of events?

Kamar Jorden screwed up, but it wasn't all his fault that the Toronto player was able to run the ball 109 yards after recovering the fumble. Calgary still had plenty of time time afterwards to win the game.

Mitchell's last minute interception was the worse blunder as they would have been almost guaranteed a chance in overtime if not for the terrible throw. Unlike Jorden's blunder, Mitchell was solely responsible for the consequences of the mistake.

Bo screwed up on the int by under throwing the ball. He should have thrown it to the corner of the end zone and then his receiver runs under it for the TD and win, or it goes incomplete. Then kick the FG for the tie.

shades of 1988

KnowItAll wrote: ↑

Mon Nov 27, 2017 4:03 pm

shades of 1988

Held in the same stadium in Ottawa, though then called Lansdowne Park. In that game, there was no snow but instead, very heavy wind. And Bob Cameron was the better punter against the wind with his Top Canadian performance, while Lui Passaglia could only muster a 23-yard punt in his last punt of the game (scrimmage from BC 27, punt landed at BC 50 a did a backspin bounce and forced a no-yards call as well). With the good field position by scrimmaging from 1st down at the BC 27, Winnipeg made an easy 30-yard field goal with 2:55 remaining to lead 22-19.

Lions also lost the 2004 Grey Cup held in Ottawa and in that game, mother nature had minimal effect.

The Grey Cup was good for TSN, thanks to Southern Ontario viewers who made it the most watched game since 2013 (Hamilton vs. Saskatchewan). Here's a press release from TSN:

TORONTO (November 27, 2017) – Annually one of the biggest events in Canadian television, last night’s snow-covered 105th GREY CUP presented by Shaw captivated viewers nationwide, becoming the most-watched since 2013 and growing 10% over 2016, according to overnight data from Numeris. An average audience of 4.3 million Canadians tuned in to TSN (4.1 million) and RDS (220,000) to watch the Toronto Argonauts dramatic come-from-behind victory over the Calgary Stampeders in the instant-classic championship game.

Overall, nearly 10 million unique viewers, or almost 30% of Canadians, watched some or all of the Argo’s dramatic 27-24 victory over the Stampeders. The game achieved a 34% share, meaning more than one in three Canadians watching television across Canada on Sunday were tuned into the game.

The audience for the 105th GREY CUP presented by Shaw peaked at nearly 6 million viewers late in the fourth quarter as Stampeders’ quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell’s Hail Mary pass was intercepted by Argo’s defensive back Matt Black, sealing the Argo’s GREY CUP victory.

Fans of the winning team rallied around televisions, with audiences in the Toronto/Hamilton market up +58% on TSN compared to last year’s championship game.

leo4life wrote: ↑

Mon Nov 27, 2017 11:27 am

The Stamps are a hard team to cheer for...too cocky....glad guys like Singleton McDaniel & Hughes got silenced

Fully agree. Maybe Hughes will learn not to run his mouth so much in the future.
https://3downnation.com/2017/11/27/shaw ... y-cup-win/

Losing a Grey Cup is the hardest way to end a season. The Lions are 6-4 overall in Grey Cup games and 4-1 in their last five appearances but I still feel the pain of the four losses in 1963, 1983, 1988 and 2004.

Calgary, by contrast, seems cursed. The Stamps are 7-9 overall but just 1-3 in this decade despite going 107-35-2 in the regular season since 2010.