He was 48-42 coming into this season. Outside of this year and last, he has a Grey Cup win and two other finals appearances. Last season was his first ever sub .500 team. I think most coaches and fans would at least be content with those results in six years.

I think we can all agree that was awful on all fronts. Just try to learn from it and use this game as motivation in the future, as to not get so embarrassed again. A reminder to always respect your opponent.

Funny how quickly it all fell apart in Hamilton. They were in back to back Grey Cups less than three years ago. Perhaps Austin made the mistake of trying to keep all the same guys and it got stagnant. You'd think he'd be able to turn it around, given his successful track record in the league, but it ...

Nice to see a lot of us really have no idea what the hell Chris Jones is doing/thinking. I still feel he doesn't make it through the season, barring major changes on the scoreboard. Defence is supposed to be his thing, and the Riders have been sorely lacking in all areas on D. If it weren't for the ...

Offensive line was much better this game, and the receivers showed how scary the offence could be. Even with the garbage time TD's, the defence completely owned the Riders. All around a good showing, always room for improvement.

A couple minor takeways:

What's it's going to take for people to come ...

Leos are 4-2 after six games, maybe we shouldn't be abandoning ship and calling for Buono's head. Yes, the Eskimos game was bad, and given the injuries Edmonton has faced, we should have had a better result. Lions have had there own share of injury issues to date, especially in the secondary. Maybe ...

Great topic on a lot of levels. As much as I want to gripe about what can or can't be challenged, the big issue continues to be quality. Being a ref is tough and thankless, and we all know the CFL has its moments of on-field lapses with officiating. But now there seems to be a trend of inconsistency ...

Any game Andre Proulx and his crew are a part of becomes a joke at some point. This is not specific to the Lions. The league always talks about improving the officiating, yet they continue to trot this group out every week, with the same results. Surely there are referees out there not currently in ...

The drop off in coverage on the Lions has been very noticeable. You could argue it has stemmed from when the broadcast rights went from a local station (CKNW) to what is now a station run out of Toronto (TSN1040). At the end of the day, it's all about money, which is why guys like Lowell Ullrich and ...

Best part of this game will be the line battle with the Als O Line and the Lions D line. It's not glamorous but should be fun to watch.

justabitoutside.podbean.com

Real nice read. Also highlights the importance of getting the younger crowd into it though. Best thing the Lions will do this year is the $5 ticket offer for kids. They've been missing that engagement for too long.

justabitoutside.podbean.com

Big question for me tonight is the defensive scheme that will be employed. With Whitaker out for the Argos, are the Lions best served to blitz or fall back into a prevent? I'd like to see a more aggressive approach, to limit the time Ray has in the pocket.
The offence should be fine. They did well ...

Lots of great thoughts and insights. Couldn't agree more with the offensive lines concerns. The general thought is Olafioye was a salary cap victim, but there are creative ways to deal with that. Should the 2017 version of the O line stay healthy and gel, it won't really matter, but it was s shaky ...

As much as there is to like about the Leos this year, assuming everyone stays healthy, the West still runs through Calgary, but you could easily argue everyone except the Riders in the West has a chance. Too much change going on there still. The better question in Regina is will Jones make it ...

We're back for another season! Looking forward to how good the offence should be, and what the defence may look like. What do you think is the biggest question mark or challenge for the Leos this year?

https://justabitoutside.podbean.com/