Eskimos 39 - Lions 23 -- Post-Game Comments

[TheLionKing]

Mat Boesen has been invisible the past 2 games. Mind you, he's not the only one.

[cms22]

what a disaster....... i would say we were only in this game due to all those eskimo penalties early in the game. they were legit penalties but it wasn't like they were penalties that the lions earned through their play (like PI).....

how can we change so many players LAST YEAR and then DO IT AGAIN THIS YEAR? seems bizarre. can't we consolidate what we did last year where we did improve alot in 2nd half of year.

spent too much money on reilly and a few others. therefore, need to go bargain-basement and/or "square pegs in round holes" else...

we moved someone to center and added boyko who hadn't actually played games in a long time.

it boggles the mind to think that termanson was some overlooked gem.. and then to bring back thompson on short notice.

too many players who haven't played recently or at the positions they are playing

basically though, how could be change things up so much last year, find a pass rusher who works like Lemon and then just let him go.
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COMPLETELY BIZARRE. :( ........ and note most of us were saying this before game #1

[B.C.FAN]

Mat Boesen has been invisible the past 2 games. Mind you, he's not the only one.

It's not saying much but Boesen leads the B.C. defensive line in tackles through two games.

Boesen: 5 tackles
Coleman: 4 tackles, 1 sack, 1 fumble recovery
Louis: 4 tackles, 1 forced fumble
Willis: 3 tackles, 1 sack
Allen: 2 tackles
Luke: 2 tackles

[Lion Guy]

Jarious Jackson is in way over his head. He should have been turfed with Washington

[BC 1988]

Amidst the 4th quarter devastation last night, there couldn't have been a more unfortunate time to air that "The purrfect Play" TV spot. IMO, it makes Reilly look like a Frankenstein monster (and considering the beating he's receiving, Hervey might need to resort to putting him back together on that table before long).

[BeaverSports]

The biggest surprise of the Ed Hervey/Torey Hunter era thus far has been our stunning lack of quality recruits from US colleges, even if to push...

Hereby and his minions (who are noticeably quiet on Esks board now) love to take credit for Chris Jones’ work.

[TheLionKing]

Ed Hervey and Torey Hunter did their off season recruiting in Edmonton.

[B.C.FAN]

Ed Hervey and Torey Hunter did their off season recruiting in Edmonton.

Hunter was suspended for three months during the prime recruiting period so I’m not sure that much scouting got done.

[WestCoastJoe]

https://www.bclions.com/2019/06/21/bake ... 23-edm-39/

From Bake's Takes ...

Always a fearless leader, the quarterback scoffed at a question on why he didn’t take himself out of the game when it was out of reach in the final three minutes.

“Hell no. Listen, you know me too well for that. I’m going to fight with my guys until the end. We haven’t been together for very long but the time we have been together, I believe in these guys, I trust in them and I love playing with them. They’re not taking me off that field. (When) our ship is sinking out there, I’m going down with them you know what I mean? I believe we have the pieces that we need to make this thing right but it’s going to take a lot of work. It’s not just going to happen. You can’t sit there and hope. You’ve got to make it happen, so we’re going to figure out how to do that.”

''They're not taking me off that field.''

That is not his call. When he says that, and demonstrates that, he undermines his Head Coach and OC. He needs to be told that the coaching staff decides when he comes off the field. The backup needs some reps. Reilly's ongoing health needs to be considered, especially when a game is out of reach, or a short yardage plunge is taken. It is not all about Mike Reilly.

He had the same approach and attitude in Edmonton, refusing to give up any playing time to a backup. (Edmonton missed the playoffs last year, lest we forget, while Reilly passed for over 5,000 yards.) Who is in charge here? It should not be the quarterback.

Just imo.

[Toppy Vann]

I have seen no evidence in the first two games or at a couple of practices that the new HC and new offensive coaches have added anything to Jarius Jackson's offence.

[The_Pauser]

But Hervey wanted to sign the often injured White becuase Hervey is pathologically attracted to any player who has ever played in gold and green, especially if that player had been signed by Hervey when he was in Edmonton.

What is happening on defense is not surprising. The key to defense is an effective pass rush. Not sigining Lemon or signing a pass rushing free agent to replace him was dum. Expecting an aging Odell Willis and a rookie to get it done was more than foolish.

In the meantime, we let Lokombo walk and then spend even more money on Adan Konor to be a backup when Lokombo could have been starting for us and also contributing to special teams.

Expecting Reilly to be able to lead our offence to the Promised Land, without scheme changes on offence from last season was naive. Lulay and Jennings could not overcome the RPO scheme consistently nor will Reilly be able to.

On defense, going cheap has hurt so far.

Its a long season and a lot of things can happen and change in a CFL season. But right now, there is a lot that needs to get fixed.

Trimmed down your post for length, and because I can't argue most of it (because I agree with you).

Last week Reilly put up over 300 yards on a good Bombers defense. This week we got off to a very good start in the first quarter and just disappeared after. Edmonton absolutely was up for this game playing against Reilly and wanting to beat their old QB. Meanwhile, our offensive line which basically have 4 guys at different positions, or who are new to the line this year. This was a game where they struggled, and when the offensive line gets turnstiled like they did it almost doesn't matter what kind of offense you have, your QB will be ineffective.

I absolutely agree that our reliance on ex-Eskimos is problematic. Letting Lokombo walk was also not a smart move. I'm quite concerned with our secondary where Termansen has been victimized two games in a row. Starting 10 Nationals isn't going to work and we need to find replacements for the ones who aren't working out. Even Boyko didn't look good on the O-line, though I'd like to see what Knevel can do there before going back to an import at RT.

We need to figure out how to establish the run, and if White can't do it then we need to give Rutley a shot.

I'm high on Cottoy, but if he isn't going to be used then he's being wasted out there and we're handicapping our offense. Defenses can key on Burnham and Carter and that'll shut down our passing game.

I'm not a fan of RPO, but I think Reilly had enough input into the offensive scheme that we'll have an offense he can work with. I do think you and others put too much blame on the coaches and not nearly enough on the players. Yes, part of the blame should be on coaching, but to me it seems like you're absolving the players completely of blame. But I do think it's fair to question the composition of this team. And I too am also very concerned about our pass rush. It seems like our scouting has declined significantly this past decade and the amount of quality players they are finding is nowhere close to what we had early on in Wally's tenure.

[Toppy Vann]

The first responsibility of the HC (after hiring them) isto get his coaches in synch with his philosophy and intended culture versus a new department manager who has the time to listen, watch and learn before implementing new ides.

It's not clear what the culture is yet as clearly it's not one able to handle adversity.

It's also not evident that there's any new thinking in the offence and there are good offensive coaches there and a new HC who has successfully defended against the Lions offence just last season.

Boyko didn't look great as much of the rush came from outside his side of the field - suggesting that all the Esks did was watch the film from the Bombers game and attack the unprotected areas. The response to that was to keep doing what they had been doing and expecting a better result.

No run game and the winning teams this season have all had good running attacks.

It's not about picking a player or two and laying blame on individuals nor a specific coach such as a REC like Duron Carter as then you'd be running Derel Walker out of Toronto and he's another top receiver.

I saw no evidence at practice that the Lions are running any plays that will get anyone consistently open as the opponents know they're not running a very creative set of plays.

[pennw]

Interesting to read through the posts here and see almost all the focus on the offense . The offense has right fully received it's share of blame , it is awful . But the defense has been terrible too .
Yes we lost some players like Shawn Lemon or Elimimian . But I don't think having those 2 back would have made the difference . Solly missed most of last year anyways. Lemon on his own instead of Boesen would not turn the D around . The defense is the responsibility of Rich Stublar and that is where the blame needs to be put , there and with the HC . IMO it was one of the biggest mistakes to bring back Stublar , of the changes made. This guy is not an upgrade over Mark Washington . Stublar may have lots of experience , but there comes a time when everyone goes past their 'best before date' , and with Stublar that was some time ago , just like Wally Bouno .His last two seasons he has been on some very poor Als and Argo teams that went 5-13 .
The defense we have seen so far is just what we may have to get used for this season .
None of this should not be surprising as Stublar was fired here previously for his losing Defense in the play-offs here in 2013 when he refused to try stopping the run of the Rider QB squandering a huge lead late in that game ( seeming to still clinging to that stupid belief that a team could not beat you with the run). Go ahead and review that game for those who don't remember that .
Of course I hope to be wrong on this , but not holding my breath on that.

[MacNews]

Jarious Jackson is in way over his head. He should have been turfed with Washington

At first I thought "Jarious Jackson is OC because he's one of Wally's guys". Then I remembered that Wally is not our HC anymore, and Devone can place anyone he wants in that role. Outside of winning a Cup with Toronto as Ray's backup, and his time in BC, in what way is Jarious qualified to be OC?

Maybe we spent too much of the budget on offence and neglected the defence. Losing Solly and Bighill hurts.

[BC 1988]

''They're not taking me off that field.''

That is not his call. When he says that, and demonstrates that, he undermines his Head Coach and OC. He needs to be told that the coaching staff decides when he comes off the field. The backup needs some reps. Reilly's ongoing health needs to be considered, especially when a game is out of reach, or a short yardage plunge is taken. It is not all about Mike Reilly.

He had the same approach and attitude in Edmonton, refusing to give up any playing time to a backup. (Edmonton missed the playoffs last year, lest we forget, while Reilly passed for over 5,000 yards.) Who is in charge here? It should not be the quarterback.

Just imo.

Fully agree--this is something that should not be happening. I think Claybrooks, at least in the early going, is showing too much deference to player attitudes like this (the opposite of how Hervey would react if he was the HC).