Leos vs. Riders in Regina / Game Day Thread

[Blitz]

Our 9-7 B.C. Lions travel to Regina to take on the 11-6 Saskatchewan Rough Riders in our last road game of the 2018 season.

Here is a long pre-game thread read for a rainy day.

The Riders have a lot to play for, in front of their home crowd. The Riders still have a chance to finish in 1st place in the West. The Calgary Stampeders have been struggling on offence in the second half of this season and numerous injuries to their receiving corps has not helped their cause.

WHEN THE BLACK CATS PROWL AND THE PUMPKINS GLEAM, MAY LUCK BE WITH OUR LEOS JUST BEFORE HALLOWEEN

Our B.C. Lions, presently the CFL’s hottest team, with a win in Regina, could move up the standings into 3rd place in the West, with a win in Regina, combined with a Bombers loss in Calgary.

Both the Riders and our Leos strengths this season have been their defenses. Saskatchewan’s defense ranks 2nd in the CFL, in terms of opponents’ net yards. Our Leos defense presently ranks 4th but has steadily climbed the CFL rankings.

During the first part of the season, it was the CFL’s second worst defense, with only Montreal’s defense being worse.

But since the mid-point of the season, it has been dominant, except for a few occasions as well as the Hamilton back to back series, when we switched back to zone defense.

The Riders offence ranks 8th in the CFL. Steve McAdoo uses the most prevalent RPO scheme in the CFL, and it only averaging 325 yds. of offence per game. It ranks 7th in first downs.

Jarious Jackson’s offence, which only most recently moved away from an RPO dominated scheme ranks 7th in the CFL, only averaging 326 yds. per contest. It ranks 8th in 1st downs.

The Riders passing attack, also stuck in mostly an RPO scheme, has struggled for most of the season. Only the Riders running game, which ranks 3rd in the CFL, has given their offence any impetus in most games.

Our Leos running game ranked 8th for most of this 2018 season but recently has jumped up to 5th in the CFL, off the back of our last three contests, when we have made a determined effort to rush the football.

A TALE OF TWO HALVES

First Half of the 2018 Season

The difference between our Leos first half of this 2018 season and the second half of this season has been like night and day.

Our Leos went into a bye week, at the half way point of this season with a 3-6 record. Our Leos were in last place in the West and things looked dismal, to say the least. Our offence and defense had struggled.

Our defense was stuck, most of the time, in the zone scheme we had used for many seasons. There were some games in which our defense played well for parts of the game but the missed assignments or assignment confusion continued to be an issue.

On offence, we were using Jarious Jackson’s RPO scheme, with modified Spread for second and long situations at times. The results were mediocre.

We were 1-2 with Jonathan Jennings as our starter and 2-4 with Travis Lulay behind center. While Travis ran the RPO offence a little better, both quarterbacks had quarterback efficiencies that were not anything to be happy with.

There wasn’t a lot to smile about as our Leos were out of a playoff spot. Jennings had been blamed for our offensive woes in our first 3 games,

Lulay had been yelled at by Buono, on the sidelines in two different games, Rainey was being criticized for his lack of production, and Leo players were being blamed for not executing and making plays.

The Second Half of 2018 (so far)

Since that mid-season bye, its been a different story. Our Leos went out and won 6 of their next seven games.

At the mid-season point, our defensive players advocated to the coaching staff that they wanted to play man pass defense and our defensive scheme was changed.

Changes on offence took much longer.

We had lost our two previous games to Toronto and Saskatchewan as we prepared to play the Ottawa Red Blacks.

It all began in an almost strange way.

We needed to beat Ottawa and we needed to keep wining if we wanted a chance for a playoff berth.

In the first quarter of that game, Cody Husband was injured. Pearce took over at center and his bad snaps only stifled an offence that was struggling enough without adding more misery

.

Travis Lulay also was injured in the first quarter of that game (eye injury) but returned to play until he was hit by two unblocked Ottawa Red Blacks and was forced out of the game due to a head injury.

Jennings, who had not started since Game 3 came into the game in the second quarter. Jonathon Jennings completed 10/12 passes in relief of Lulay.

Ricky Collins Jr. recorded his first 100 yard receiving game, setting a new career high with 10 receptions, and our offence scored 16 second half points.

Our defense, led by Odell Willis with three sacks, created problems for the REDBLACKS all night long, recording six total sacks and forcing three interceptions as we won the game 26-14. Our winning streak had begun.

Travis Lulay returned as our starter for our next game against Montreal but he was injured early in the first quarter and once again Jonathan Jennings came into the game once again in relief, this time early in the first quarter.

Our Leos won the game 32-14, as our defense sacked Pipkin 7 times and intercepted 3 passes, two of them going for Pick 6’s in the fourth quarter.

However, it was learned that Lulay had suffered a dislocated shoulder and would be on the shelf for the next four weeks.

Perhaps the most pivotal and crucial game of our winning streak came against Hamilton at home. This time, we could not rely on our defense. Hamilton forced our defense back into zone and Masoli shredded our defense, completing 76% of his passes for 311 yds. in the contest.

Jennings, started the game for the injured Travis Lulay and our Leos pulled off what was called a ‘near impossible comeback or what cfl.ca referred to as the ‘comeback of the ages’ to stun the Tiger Cats, 35-32 in overtime.

Jennings, starting for the injured Travis Lulay, threw three touchdown passes and no interceptions, finishing his night with 346 passing yards

In the fourth quarter, with the game looking like it was almost out of reach, we abandoned our RPO offence.

We scored 18 4th quarter points.

Bryan Burnham hauled in a 20-yard touchdown pass from Jonathon
Jennings with no time on the clock, adding a two-point conversion to send the game to overtime on a tip-toe catch that needed to be reviewed and overturned.

It was our 3rd win in a row.

Our Leos played Hamilton in the return match and were soundly defeated 40-10 in what became known as Logogate.

Once again, with our defense playing zone, Hamilton shrededed our defense for 20 first quarter points while their defense shut our offence completely down to start the game.

We never recovered from that 20-0 first quarter shellacking. The game turned into a rout as both our defense and our offence looked like disasters.

But the next week we defeated Toronto at home. Our Leos took a 26-10 lead in the game.

We finally began running the football and Jermiah Johnson ran 19 times for 118 yds.

But the Argos switched quarterbacks, putting in Franklin. We played zone a lot in the second half (we don't seen to learn easily) and the Argos mounted a comeback but fell short 26-23.

It was time for Jennings to pass the torch back to Travis Lulay but our Leos were 4-1 with him at the helm and without him, a playoff spot might have been out of the cards.

Our next game was in Calgary and we needed to keep winning. The game was a defensive battle, with our defense holding Bo Levi Mitchell to a miserable 44% passing for a miserable 146 yds. Offensively we only passed for 194 yds.

But Sutton, getting his first start as a Leo rushed for over 100 yds. on 22 carries and Anthony Parker’s 78 yd. punt return was a key play.

We only scored two second half field goals for the second game in a row but our defense held Calgary to only one second half field goal as we upset the Stamps at home. We played man defense most of the way and the Stamps offence struggled.

That set up last week’s key match with Edmonton. Edmonton jumped to an early lead 12-0 lead. But an very exciting Chris Rainey kick return touchdown and a Behar fumble and Thompson recovery got us back into the game.

Edmonton held Lulay and our offence down to 37 yds. passing, along with an interception, in the first half as our pass plays focused on short possession passes. Only our running game was going. But in the second half, just as in the home game against Hamilton, we abandoned the RPO styled short passing game.

Lulay went vertical, hitting Burnham deep for 50 yds. and by the time the third quarter was over, Lulay had thrown three touchdown passes, two of which were to Devier Posey.

That third quarter explosion was the catalyst for a 42-32 victory.

As we head into Saskatchewan, our Leos have won mostly with outstanding defense.

But in games in which we needed our offence to rack up points, both Jonathan Jennings, against Hamilton and Travis Lulay, against Edmonton both got it done by going vertical. With only the minor blemish in Hamilton our Leos have won and kept on winning in the second half of this season.

On Saturday, against the Riders, we’ll be going for win number 7 of our last 8 contests. What a second half turnaround.

The GLASS HALF FULL, THE GLASS HALF EMPTY

Everyone looks at life though a different set of binoculars. Our reality is influenced by our own individual subjectivity.

The same holds true for football fans. On Lionbackers, there are diverse views of the Leos games we watch and the effectiveness and impact of our coaching.

The starting quarterback position is often a heavy focus (too heavy a focus in my opinion) and game planning, play calling, and game management decisions are often much discussed as are many other topics.

That’s a good thing. It would be a boring website if we all thought the same or saw Leos football the same. When we stick to the topic and don’t make it personal, Lionbackers provides a variety of insights and opinions that make this a very interesting website to read.

Perhaps the biggest focus of diverse views on Lionbackers concerns our Leos Head Coach and coaching staff.

The ”Buono-ites” and the “Revolutionists’

It’s difficult to create two words that describe each ‘camp’ when Buono and our coaching staff are discussed. But for lack of better words, I have chosen two.

The views and opinions of Lionbackers actually range along a continuum and are often not black and white and have much more 'grey' than will be presented. But there is at least a tendency for many Lionbackers to be a strong Buono supporter or not.

The reasons are multiple but one of those reasons is Buono’s style of coaching, which tends to create strong opinions.

Of course there are many Lionbackers who tend to operate in the ‘middle’ when it comes to Buono and our coaching staff, such as Toppy Vann, who either has great perspective and wisdom or ‘headed’ too many soccer balls during his life.

“Buono-ites” tend to be very loyal to Buono and his long or longer time assistants Dan Dorazio and Mark Washington. They view Buono as a legendary coach with a long successful proven record as well as continue to view Buono as a very good football coach..or even better.

LiKe Buono himself, they tend to put the onus on player execution as the major factor in our Leos winning or losing. They viewed Jonathan Jennings as the major culprit for our lack of offensive success.

They also tend to be supportive of Buono when he identifies players and deems them responsible for losses.

The ‘Buono-ites’ tend to view themselves as more devoted or ‘true blue’ (‘true orange') Leo fans.

They are steadfast in their support of Buono and his coaching staff, even when we don’t make the playoffs, like last season or when we were 3-6 and in last place during the first half of this season.

They also tend to have a ‘disciple’ approach or at least a very passionate approach to in their support of Buono or his coordinators.

They are often staunch in their views, are consistent, and tend to regard any Lionbacker who is critical of Buono or any of his coordinators as disloyal, or being an agitator/mutineer/dissident, or at least label them as being ‘too ‘negative’.

The ‘Revolutionists’, while giving Buono credit for past success, tend to view Buono as a coach who too often has hindered our Leos talent, by scheme, by game planning, play calling, and game management and also by publicly criticizing players.

The Revolutionists, while being very supportive of Travis Lulay as our starter, are usually supportive of all Leos players.

They did not consider Jonathan Jennings as the major problem of our offence but rather our scheme and play calling. The ‘Revolutionists’ are usually very supportive of a Leo player if he has been thrown under the bus.

The 'Revolutionists' do not view themselves as subversive or as ‘traitors’ for not viewing Buono’s schemes, coaching style, or game management in a positive light.

They also don’t see themselves as being less loyal Leo fans. In fact, they view themselves as very loyal Leo fans who want the best for Leos football.

As there is often a ‘disciple’ aspect to ‘Buono-ites, there is also a ‘freedom fighter’ passion to the Revolutionists, tending to view themselves as fighting for the truth or supporting Leo players who they view as being scapegoated, rather than ‘drinking the Kool Aid or being ‘too negative’.

Both the ‘Buono-ites’ and the ‘Revolutionists’ create diverse views that provide multiple perspectives on Lionbackers. They help make it always an interesting football website to read and post to.

THE DIFFERING VIEWS OF EACH HALF OF THE 2018 SEASON

‘Buono-ites’ tended to view the first half of the 2018 season as mainly a player issue. The prevailing view was that it basically took a half of a season for our Leos players on defense to get used to playing with each other. Once that happened (plus the addition of Shawn Lemon), our defense got on track.

Player mistakes, penalties, missed assignments, along with unfamiliarity with each other, on defense, were considered our major issues before our defence began playing very well.

‘Buono-ites often considered our Leos talent as not being ‘good enough’ or our execution ‘good enough' during the first half of our 2018 season.

On offence, the ‘Buono-ites’ viewed our offensive issues in the first half of the season as mainly a Jennings issue (even though he only started 3 of our first 9 games). They also tended to view dropped passes, receiver talent, poor execution, penalties, inadequate individual blocking, etc as being major culprits.

Buono-ites also tended to view Jarious Jackson’s offence favorably and tended to a viewpoint that it was unfamiliarity with a new style possession style of passing and our players just needed better execution.

The Revolutionists viewed things very differently. They believed that our Lions had much more talent than our win-loss record of the first half of this season. I wrote, (as a Revolutionist of course ) at the start of the season that I believed that we had Grey Cup winning talent, for example.

The Revolutionists tended to believe that it was our scheme on defense (passive zone), our RPO styled offence (post-snap reads, blocking for run and pass at the same time), penchant for a simplified ‘up the gut’ philosophy for our offensive running game and our punt return game were our major issues.

WCJ, for example, had posted for a long, long time that we needed a more aggressive defensive scheme and to get out of our passive zone style defense.

Revolutionists also viewed game management decisions, at times, as another issue that that hurt us at times, in the first half of the 2018 season, as well as in the longer past.

They viewed us in ‘’plug and play’ schemes, rather than adapting our schemes to our players, and viewed those plug and play schemes as inadequate, until they changed.

WHAT IS THE REALITY

If reality can be impacted by our own subjectivity, what is reality?

Here are some facts.

Our Lions lost with both of our quarterbacks in the first half of the season. Jennings was 1-3 and Lulay was 2-4. In the second half of his season, Jennings was 4-1 (coming into two of those wins in the second and first quarter) and is 2-0 with Lulay, in wins over Calgary and Edmonton.

Our defense switched to man pass defense in the second half of this season. They have played outstanding football in man and the only times they have not primarily played man defense (going back to zone) was against Hamilton in both games and in the second half against Toronto, while protecting a lead.

On offence, until we played Edmonton last week, we mostly remained in RPO during the second half of this season. We came out of RPO in the second half of the Hamilton game at home.

In our game against Ottawa and especially since Sutton started two games ago, we have used pre-snap running plays with lead blocking, as well as trap and kickout blocking.

In the passing game, in this second half of this season, when Jennings was starting, offensive success came off non-RPO pre-snap pass plays.

When Lulay took over as our starter against Calgary, we stopped using RPO and instead used Sutton as a pass blocker, rather than for misdirection run fakes but still used our possession style pass plays most of the time, with limited success.

Lulay only had 194 yds. passing against Calgary and his only success in that game came off vertical style pocket passing plays.

Against Edmonton, we used possession styled pass plays, with the same designed routes, as our RPO pass plays in the first half of that game.

Similarly, to the second half of the home game against Hamilton, )when Jennings was quarterbacking) we opened up our offensive passing game and went with vertical layered patterns.

Lulay went deep and often, as Jennings did against Hamilton for his miracle finish against Hamilton. Lulay led us to a third quarter offensive explosion, hitting Burnham and Posey deep.

The difference in success between post-snap RPO and pre-snap running and pre-snap passing plays, when we have used pocket pass blocking and layered vertical routes has been astounding.

In both of our last two wins, punt and kick returns that were difference makers. An both did not come from ‘up the gut’ runs that Wally had benched Rainey for not exectuting to his satisfaction previously.

Parker gave up ground on a punt return and raced wide for a 78 yarder against Calgary that led to a quick 4 yd. touchdown. Rainey, against Edmonton, did not follow his wedge, but took it wide and then cut up at the first open seam to take it all the way.

The recipe of 2016 success was back. That season, we ran the football often and then passed deep.

The only problem for that season is that we did not have hot reads or a layered passing game to give our quarterback a safety valve against pressure.

On defense, in 2016, we got pressure on the opposing quarterback.

Our major problem that season was that we played passive zone behind, rather than man defense, as we are playing now (and therefore are more aggressive)

In 2016, Rainey had the freedom to take it wide if he chose to. He was the best and most dangerous return man in the CFL.

For most of this season he did not have that freedom. But Parker and Rainey have shown, in our last two contests, that the ability to have variety in punt and kick return choice pays big dividends.

LIONBACKER PREDICTIONS

As we prepare to play the Riders, with a playoff spot now secure, lets look back to our pre-season predictions.

I’ll start first, in terms of ‘accountability. In my first regular season game thread of the season I wrote:

There is hope in Leo Land for 2018. The personnel changes we have seen this off-season, from free agent signings to trades are not the types of changes we have seen in the past under Buono as GM.

How these changes will work out is yet to be determined. A new era is beginning in B.C. One can feel the transition. Most predict our Leos to finish either last or fourth in the West. But this 2018 Leos team could surprise.

B.C. Fan wrote, before our season began:

One of my biggest takeaways from training camp in Kamloops was that Chris Rainey will be the player to watch on the B.C. offence this year. He has great hands and speed. Expect him to get lots of touches. If they can get him the ball in space, he can break down defences.

Jarious Jackson said, before the season began said he planned to use Rainey at running back, and as much as he could, wherever else without compromising his team’s kick-return game.

“Any situation where I feel I can get him the ball in space,” he said. “We’re still going to hand him the ball in the backfield, we’re still going to expect him to protect, but he’s definitely a dynamic player.

“Anytime you can design plays where you can potentially get him in a one-on-one matchup, or get him the ball in space, it basically becomes a punt return for him.”

The Province's R.J. Adams provided a warning, even though that was not his intention:

Burt don’t expect to see Jackson swinging for the fences or the home run play call every time the Lions are in possession; he’s got a more patient, adaptive philosophy.

The adaptive aspect has taken a long, long time.

After our first game of the season, B.C. Fan posted:

“So many things went wrong in this game, it's hard to lay the blame on anything but coaching. The Lions were beaten by their own overly conservative philosophy".

After our first game of the season I wrote”I wrote, in the post game comments thread

Meanwhile, on offence, our Leos offence lacked rhythm and consistency. Jarious Jackson mixed his run/pass option plays with some West Coast and spread offence but it was a disjointed effort. Five quarterback sacks, penalties, and dropped footballs added to our offensive issues against Edmonton.

Wins and losses are too often attributed overwhelmingly to quarterback play when quite often its not that simple. But I am now of the mind, that when Travis Lulay is healthy, I believe we should give him the controls.

If we expect to beat the best teams this season, we are not going to get it done by having Jonathan Jennings become a game manager type of quarterback throwing short passes off the run/pass option.
controls for a while.

I was hoping that Jackson would keep the good and throw out the bad, add some new concepts and design his offence around our players talents and strengths.

But its not just Jonathan Jennings who is not suited for this type of offensive style of play. Bryan Burnham is also not suited for this offence, we’ve completely changed our offence, to a new type of plug and play offence that does not match some of our players strengths while given them an entire new offence to learn, with new terminology, new reads, etc. etc.

I was hoping Jarious Jackson would build our offence around our players talents and strengths. as hoping that Jackson would keep the good and throw out the bad, add some new concepts and design his offence around our players talents and s Its back to the drawing board on offence. If Wally wants to play his “root, toot we just gotta execute’ number his farewell tour is going to be a miserable one.

LIONBACKES PREDICT OUR 2018 SEASON RECORD.

Its all about ACCOUNTABILITY. I predicted our Leos would finish 3rd in the West, as did Sir Percival and David, but we did not predict our won-lost record for 2018.

Toppy Van predicted a 9-9 season as did maxlion. Sammy Green and Rammer predicted an 8-10 record while the Pauser and Cromartie thought our Leos would go 10-8, and Hambone predicted our Leos would win at least 10 games. Kamloops Lion Starter thought our Leos would go 11-7.

B.C. Fan, ever the optomiist predicted a 12-6 Leos season. Based on our talent, I don't think he was over-optomisitic at all. Squishy 35 and dodger also predicted a 12-6 season.

West Coast Joe posted all kinds of comments but was as hard to pin down as mercury.

AVENGING OUR LOSS

The last time we played the Riders we lost to them at home. Travis Lulay only completed 58% of his passes for 240 yds. We kicked 5 field goals in the game, as we struggled to get into the end zone.

Hopefully this game, we’ll give Lulay the ability to go deep early, if he chooses to and open up our offence from the start of the contest.

Our defense should be able to play man against McAdoo’s RPO scheme.

Even though we lost to the Riders last time at home, it was not the fault of our defense. They held Collaros to 59% passing and only 215 yds. while limiting the Riders Mason to only 57 yds rushing

WRAP

Our Leos should be wearing deep orange and black for this contest. But instead we’ll be wearing creamsicle, a color that does not reflect the power and passion of our defense or the danger of our offence, if given opportunity.

Hopefully, Jarious Jackson will continue to wean himself from MaAdoo’s approach to offense and continue an evolution to becoming his own man as an offensive coordinator.

Lets play some exciting offensive football, as we have shown we are capable of, when the reins are loosened.

Mark Washington has learned this season that the old passive zone is not such a good thing, to say the least.

Hopefully, he’ll play man for most of the game and not get tempted to return to zone if we have a lead or play it in the shadows of our own goal posts, as he sometimes reverts back to.

Go Leos Go!

It should be a great game.

[The_Pauser]

Calgary winning tomorrow will really help the Lions as it will eliminate Saskatchewan from contending for first place in the west. Though I don't expect Saskatchewan to take us any lighter because they still would be playing to at least lock down second, and it's their final game of the regular season so they'll be jacked for their home crowd.

I'm not sure what to expect, though these are the best two teams in the league right now so it should be a good game.

This does go to show how painful some of those losses earlier on in the season are. That 1 point loss to Toronto has really come back to bite us. As has that loss at home to Saskatchewan where we couldn't gain a yard to get a first down on the final drive. And then you have that game in Ottawa where we blew the lead late. Those three games would have given us a 6-3 start, and we would be sitting pretty at 12-4 right now, talking about locking up top spot.

[Blitz]

No question the Pauser, our inability to gain even one measly yard, to get a first down, on our final drive of our last game against the Riders more than hurt.

Here are some individual player stats going into this game.

Neither Collarus nor Lulay have very good QB efficiency numbers compared to Mike Reilly, Trevor Harris, Bo Levi Mitchell or Jeremiah Masoli.

But those quarterbacks have not been stuck in a RPO scheme, as Collaros has all season and Lulay has, for most of this season, when he has played.

Collaros comes into this game completing 61.2% of his passes for an average gain of 7.9 yds Travis Lulay has completed 61.1% of his passes for an average gain of 8.3 yds.

Its interesting that the concept of RPO offences was to throw quick, high possession style passes and allow receivers to get YAC in space and yet both quarterbacks have low pass percentages in RPO. Obviously, its not such a high percentage passing style scheme after all.

The Riders come into this game with tailback Tre Mason averaging 5.1 yds. per carry. Terell Sutton is averaging 5 yds. per carry. Jeremiah Johnson, who will likely not dress again, averaged 5.3 yds per carry before being benched for Sutton.

Bryan Burnham is our top receiver and has moved up to 8th in CFL receiving. He was mostly used as a possession receiver in the first half of the season but we've gone vertical to him in the second half and he is now averaging 15.3 yds. per reception.

Shaq Evans and Jordan Williams-Lambert are the Riders go to receivers. Evans is the more dangerous deeper threat, averaging 15.6 yds per reception.

On defense, our Lions are 2nd in the CFL in quarterback sacks and 1st in interceptions. But the Riders only have one sack less than our Leos and only two less interceptions. They can get to the quarterback and create turnovers too.

Charleston Hughes leads the CFL with 15 sacks and Willie Jefferson is 5th in the CFL with 9 sacks. Hughes has also created 3 forced fumbles.

Shawn Lemon is 3rd in the CFL with 11 sacks and Odell Willis is 4th with 10 sacks.

Our Leos have two of the top 3 interceptors in the CFL. Both Orange and Winston Rose are tied with Ottawa's Rose with 5 interceptions each.

When you look at defensive end combos, this game features the teams with the two best

In looking at leading tacklers (not secondary players), Samuel Eguavoen leads the Riders in tackles while Bo Lokombo leads our Leos in that category and is having an outstanding season.

[Riderfan67]

You guys really scare me , especially your D ! Man your defence doesn’t get the credit it deserves especially your front 4 ,it’s gonna be a great game on Saturday! Let the best team win !

Go Riders Go!

[KnowItAll]

You guys really scare me , especially your D ! Man your defence doesn’t get the credit it deserves especially your front 4 ,it’s gonna be a great game on Saturday! Let the best team win !

Go Riders Go!

yeah, I agree. Some of the guys who post on here are pretty scary

[Blitz]

Chris Jones on our B.C. Lions (cfl.ca)

“They’re all athletic, they’re good up front on both sides of the ball. They’ve got a big bruising back now that puts them in second-and-manageable situations.

They’ve got a possession guy in 16 (Bryan Burnham), and they do a good job at throwing the deep ball, so we’ve got our hands full.”

Chris Jones is sure right that our Leos team is very athletic. Ed Hervey sure has brought in a lot of very athletic, aggressive type of players, with experience, this season.

He has also not remained pat. He added Jovan Olifioye just before training camp and then traded for Coleman during training camp.

Since then, he has added Shawn Lemon, Terrel Sutton, Anthony Parker and Devier Posey.

[WestCoastJoe]

Great read, Blitz. I like the reviews you provide, as when Lulay and Jennings are in/out, et cetera.

We learn slowly? At a glacier's pace. Not quite ready to mothball the passive zone defence? Very, very slow to abandon the RPO. One suspects that those dysfunctional systems have not yet been consigned to the trashcan. We will see.

Adjustments are made, however, as this is the last go-round for Wally. With all the hype on his final year, one thinks it just might happen, that he might retire. It kind of feels like 2011. As Yogi Berra would say, ''it's deja vu, all over again.''

We have outstanding talent. All one has to do is watch them play. We have outstanding leadership from the players, as with Lulay, Lemon, Lee and Willis. Many, many top character guys.

There is always the chance that our game plans can lay an egg.

Looking forward to the game. One can feel the adrenalin start to flow. It gets your attention.

[WestCoastJoe]

West Coast Joe posted all kinds of comments but was as hard to pin down as mercury.

Ha ha

I might have thrown a dart at a board. Too many uncertainties. For me, it made no sense to pick a number.

What system would we get from Jarious?

Would Mark stay with soft zone once again, with a very deep safety?

Would Reinebold get to run STs on his own terms?

I liked bringing in Ed Hervey. His personnel moves turned out to be breathtaking.

I would say the season has gone about as expected, with a somewhat surprising resurgence.

[B.C.FAN]

The Lions have made several roster changes this week. Ed Hervey’s latest free-agent acquisition, former Ticat Shakeir Ryan, debuts as the Lions’ punt and kick returner. Another former Ticat, Keon Lyn, is activated at backup outside linebacker and special teamer, replacing rookie Lee Bennett, who was awarded the special-teams game ball after last week’s victory over Edmonton. Rookie DE Edward Godin is activated in place of the injured David Menard. Antonio Johnson is also activated as backup OT but will likely be a game-time scratch, along with Chris Rainey.

[CardiacKid]

Not too long ago, the Riders were regarded as the CFL's "hottest team". But throughout their hot streak, it still seemed obvious to this fan that their offense was so unconvincing, that it absolutely needed to be bailed out time and again by the defense and special teams.

I don't know if you could call their offense competent. It seems to be operating at a level that aims to just "manage" their game. But I guess RPO aims to just "manage"....? Their defense is obviously pretty good but you can take its temperature through Willie Jefferson. Minimize his impact and marginalize him as much as possible and it will trickle down through their defensive ranks.

All in all, I think the Riders have flattered to deceive. If the Lions put a greater emphasis on running the ball than they have all year, even greater than last week, I think they will prevail.

[VictoriaFan]

Lol I'm a Revolutionist, is Charleston Hughes playing? I heard he got a DUI and wasn't co operating with the fuzz

[B.C.FAN]

Lol I'm a Revolutionist, is Charleston Hughes playing? I heard he got a DUI and wasn't co operating with the fuzz

Hughes is listed as a starter. He sat out one game and was fined half a game cheque, which is apparently the maximum allowed under the CBA.

[Blitz]

Berg vs. Ferg: Are the BC Lions for real?

October 26, 2018

CFL.ca Staff

This week’s question: are the BC Lions a legitimate Grey Cup contender?

With six wins in seven games, the BC Lions are the hottest team in the CFL.

Wally Buono’s final season in the three-down game is shaping up to be a magical one, with his team peaking at exactly the right time and firing on all possible cylinders with just two weeks to go.

However, despite their recent surge, there was plenty of debate when the Lions topped this week’s Nissan Titan Power Rankings, overtaking top spot in the weekly list for the first time this season.

Saskatchewan, Winnipeg and Ottawa have all made a strong case for themselves in recent weeks, while the Stamps still boast the CFL’s top record — and a long history of success — even though they’ve dropped two straight.

So who exactly are the BC Lions, and where can we place them among top contenders for the 106th Grey Cup presented by Shaw? Unlike the Bombers, BC has clinched a playoff spot and has an outside shot at finishing second and hosting a playoff game.

Meanwhile, the Lions don’t appear to have any major weaknesses. Defensively the Lions have been consistent all season, while on offence, Travis Lulay brings a Grey Cup-winning pedigree and the additions of Tyrell Sutton and DeVier Posey have made the Leos a much more dangerous group.

The Lions’ recent success is undeniable, but is it sustainable? Pat Steinberg and Marshall Ferguson weigh in on the latest Berg vs. Ferg:

FERG (12-8): QUESTIONS ABOUT SUSTAINABILITY IN BC

Marshall Ferguson, CFL.ca

The BC Lions of 2018 have truly come out of nowhere for me. I expected in the pre-season for them to be bad and through the first half of the season I just thought the West Division would be far too overwhelming for Wally Buono’s final ride in the orange polo to land a playoff spot.

I was wrong: the Lions are in and appear to be playing at a high level at the right time, but I still don’t believe they are a legitimate contender to win the Grey Cup.

Travis Lulay is an exceptional manager of the football game at this point in his career and needs to carry the Lions into the playoffs, but his injury history limits how aggressive Jarious Jackson can call the offence with change of pace quarterback runs, and the Lions defence has become susceptible to getting beat deep – on double moves primarily – over the last month.

While getting linebackers healthy and trading for another physical running back in Tyrell Sutton from Montreal is a worthwhile cause, these things take a little bit to fully gel in a manner that allows consistent high level play in a playoff situation.

The win at Calgary was an eye opener, and beating Edmonton at home was a marquee memory for this version of the Lions. The question to me remains can they do it against opponents that don’t seem to be sliding the wrong direction?

Ottawa, Winnipeg and Saskatchewan all look primed for a playoff run and while all have their own flaws, I have a hard time favouring many of the Lions’ matchups come November.

BERG (8-12): AS COMPLETE A TEAM AS ANY

The BC Lions are no mirage. With wins in six of their last seven games, the Lions have everything to play for heading into their final two games of the season, including a shot at a home playoff date.

But this uptick in form from BC is anything but smoke and mirrors; the Lions are a legitimately good team that could really rattle some cages this post-season.

I really like what we’re seeing from the Lions defensively. In four of their six most recent wins, BC has kept the opposition to 23 points or less, which speaks volumes of how much this group has improved.

Defensive Coordinator Mark Washington has done a really nice job in bringing his unit along and they’re now one of the league’s most difficult to pass on.

BC is keeping teams under 255 passing yards per game, which is impressive knowing where things were in the early stages of the season. On top of that, the Lions have some big play ability with the ball hawks they’ve got in the backfield.

Corners Anthony Orange and Winston Rose co-lead the league with five interceptions each, while TJ Lee isn’t that far behind with three. This team is hard to throw on these days, and when you do, they can take the ball away in impressive fashion.

On the offensive side of the ball, the Lions look like they’ve found their missing piece. Running back Tyrell Suton has fit in perfectly since debuting a couple weeks ago; he has a pair of touchdowns and 203 rushing yards in two starts since arriving in BC.

Sutton looks like the feature back this offence has been lacking on a consistent basis and the Lions look far more complete with him in the lineup.

Bryan Burnham is one of the most consistently dangerous slot receivers in the league, which positions him nicely as the leader of this group that also includes DeVier Posey and Shaq Johnson.

With veteran Travis Lulay playing some solid, reliable ball, the Lions have an offence that can complement what is happening on the defensive side of things.

BC still has everything to play for, and a win by four or more points over Saskatchewan this weekend keeps them in the hunt for a home playoff date.

After a mediocre start to the season, the Lions have found their groove at an important time, and what they’re doing right now is legit.

[Blitz]

The Lions have made several roster changes this week. Ed Hervey’s latest free-agent acquisition, former Ticat Shakeir Ryan, debuts as the Lions’ punt and kick returner.

Another former Ticat, Keon Lyn, is activated at backup outside linebacker and special teamer, replacing rookie Lee Bennett, who was awarded the special-teams game ball after last week’s victory over Edmonton.

Rookie DE Edward Godin is activated in place of the injured David Menard. Antonio Johnson is also activated as backup OT but will likely be a game-time scratch, along with Chris Rainey.

What is going on with Chris Rainey? He ran a punt back for a touchdown and the next game he was benched. He was back in the lineup last week and ran a kickoff back for a touchdown and this game, from your post B.C. Fan, it looks as if he will be benched again.

Rainey leads the CFL in kick return average yd. per return and he leads the CFL in punt return yardage, even though he has to run punts back 'right up the gut'.

One of my disappointments this season has been our ineffective use of Rainey on offence. At training camp, where Rainey looked outstanding, Jarious Jackson said he was going to get the football to Rainey in space, on offence. Never happened. Rainey has been used as a rotational tailback for mostly 'up the gut' run plays when he joins our offence.

Its interesting that there is so much raving about Sutton and yet Jeremiah Johnson (5.3 yds. per carry) has a better average than Sutton (5.0 yds. per carry) .

Jeremiah Johnson was stuck carrying the football for RPO plays while Sutton has had the benefit of pre-snap run plays to execute while our offensive line has been able to utilize prescriptive run blocking for Sutton with trap plays, kick out plays etc.

With some imagination on offence, we could have inserted both Jeremiah Johnson and Terrell Sutton on offence at the same time, going two back set (John Henry White, Larry Key style) at times, taking Collins out and going with Burnham, Posey, Shaq, and Parker in a four receiver set.

We could also rotate Sutton and Johnson at tailback, while also inserting Rainey at times (once again taking out Collins) with either.

For that situation, we could have either Sutton or Johnson (with their two different styles) in the backfield at any one time, lined up with Rainy in the backfield (and he could also go in motion or also line up as our fifth receiver.

In other words we could move Rainey all over the place and create all kinds of matchup problems for the opposing defense.

Unfortunately, imagination is not one of our coaching strengths. Here we have an asset like Rainey, who can run inside or outside, is a good receiver, and would be dangerous for screens, bubble screens, jailhouse screens, crossing patterns, etc. and we have no concept of how to get him the football in space.

Paul LaPolice would drool at the opportunity to have a player like Rainey and would take advantage of all the different things he can do, as well as use his speed and cutting abilities. Look at how LaPolice has used Nic Dempski and he doesn't have close to the talent of Rainey.

The problem with 'plug and play' concepts is that plug and play doesn't adapt an offence to the talents of players. No way Lulay or Jennings should have been turned into RPO style quarterbacks for most of this season. No way that Bryan Burnham should have been used primarily as a short possession receiver for the first half of this season.

Most recently, its looked like we've dropped our RPO offence. No, we haven't completely. We've gone to prescriptive pre-snap run and pass plays and no post snap RPO. The pre-snap run game has really benefited from both designed run blocking with lead, trap, and kick out blocks.

Our passing game is now a combination of old RPO pass patterns and some Spread pass plays.

For our pass game, Jackson took our old RPO plays and just asked Sutton to pass block rather than use the post snap misdirection fake handoff. Our old RPO pass patterns didn't change though. Those old RPO pass patterns was what Lulay was given to execute in the first half against Calgary. The result: 37 yds of pass plays in the first half and 1 interception.

But in the second half, playing from behind, Jackson went to Spread style vertical passing plays with layered routes (and pocket forming pass blocking). The result: Lulay exploded our offence exploded with long passing plays to Burnham and Posey and 3 touchdowns.

It was similar to our home game against Hamilton, when in the fourth quarter, with Hamilton having a big lead, Jarious abandoned RPO and we went to Spread, going vertical, with layered routes and Jennings exploded our offence.

Its so obvious its scheme, scheme, scheme, style of plays, style of plays, style of plays that makes the difference to our success or not on offence, more than any other reason, by far.

[B.C.FAN]

Chris Rainey injured his ankle late on the pick-six by Aaron Grymes in the fourth quarter last week. Shakeir Ryan took his reps at practice. On LU's weekly radio show, Wally said it's important at this time of year to put the healthiest players on the field. I'm curious to see what Ryan can do. He had a 104-yard kick return touchdown for the Ticats against Calgary last month.