Leos/Bombers Post-Game Thoughts!!

[Blitz]

It was a cold, wet, windy night in the ‘Peg as our Leos went into hostile territory. It was a battle between the two best teams in the CFL, with bragging rights on the line. In these kinds of condiitions the team that wants it more usually wins. Jarious Jackson showing great poise in the pocket in picking out his receivers within those tough conditions. In the end, it took a huge play by our defense to preserve the victory. Let's have a closer look.

OFFENCE

We took the turnover from our special teams and converted it into a touchdown to get off to a great start offensively. We hammered Joe Smith, hit Geroy for a first down and then Jarious scrambled into the end zone, showing great speed to the outside.

On our second series we went two and out, as Jarious tried to hit Geroy deep unsuccessfully. However, that play showed how far Jarious Jackson has come from his first start of the year. He recognized the safety playing up and automatically tried to take advantage of it. Wally spoke earlier in the day about Jarious great third down toss to beat Saskatchewan. Jarious recognized the safety slowing his feet and his recognition of that subtle play made his decision to go deep to Simon.

Jarious Jackson hit Geroy Simon on second and long early in the second quarter, for a big completion but the drive stalled as Paris Jackson was slow to react to the sideline out play. Bret Anderson came in and kicked a 44 yard field goal on his first attempt to give us a 9-4 lead. With time running out in the first half Jarious hit Paris on a deep post and then converted a second and long, after a Murphy leg whipping call, to Josh Boden. Jarious threw into the enc zone to Paris but went down early and couldn’t bring the ball into his hands. Bret Anderson stepped in and kicked a 41 yard field goal to give us a 12-4 lead with two minutes left in the half.

Jarious took the football, with time running out in the first half, and looked first for Clermont. and Simpson was called for illegal contact. He then connected with Geroy Simon deep in the middle, Clermont on a crossing pattern. Jarious then hit Jason Clermont in the end zone, as the ball hit Clermont in the chest but Clermont kept his concentration and dove to catch the ball in the end zone. It was another example of a great scoring drive for Jarious Jackson and our offence all through the air, to give us a 19-4 lead. The play also resulted in Bolden and Hebert in an altercation on the sidelines.

Jackson was poised in the pocket all of the first half, the Wrecking Crew provided very good protection, and our receivers made some solid catches from throws that can get there in a hurry, with some zing, from Jackson’s strong arm. Jackson threw for 173 yards in the first half, in miserable cold conditions.

On our first drive of the second half Jackson threw an ill-advised interception as he scrambled left, had a lot of time but no receivers open, and threw it up for grabs deep.Winnipeg then kept our offence pinned down for a chunk of the third quarter as we started two drives inside our own ten yard line. The Bombers did a good job on Joe Smith on first down, putting us in second and long. The Bombers dropped Smith behind the line of scrimmage for his second loss of the season and forced him to run wide in the wet conditions. At the end of the third quarter, Joe Smith only had 39 yards rushing.

. Late in the third quarter Jarious shook off a Bomber tackler, scrambled, and then took off for a huge gain. We also picked up a late Winnipeg hit on Jackson on the play. He then hit Simon on a beautiful throw and catch but Paris Jackson was offside on the play. However, the offensive series enabled us to get field position back for a brief moment.

Early in the fourth quarter our offence moved the football downfield as Jarious hit Clermont, Boden and Simon, throwing into the wind, to get the football down to the two yard line. One of those plays came off play action in the two back set, a formation we used rarely in this game.. Joe Smith was stuffed on second down andWally gambled on third down. Joe Smith hit it low and hard to give us back our 15 point lead as we went ahead 26-11

With less than four minutes left and our offence trying to run out the clock Joe Smith was stuffed on first down and then Murphy took a procedure penalty, forcing us into another second and long. It was a position we were in too often in the second half as Winnipeg shut down our running attack in the ace back set. Why we didn’t go two back set more often surprised me.


DEFENSE

We allowed the Bombers to march the football downfield to our one yard line on their opening drive, as Glenn moved the Blue and Gold downfield through the air. However, within that drive we saw some things defensively that demonstrated we had come to play. Marsh hit Charles Roberts on a great tackle on a swing pass that temporarily stunned Roberts. Ty Williams stuffed Roberts on first and one and then our defense, with great penetration from Hunt and Williams, dropped Roberts for a loss on second down, forcing a field goal. It was a huge goal line stand that made a statement.

On Winnipeg’s next series Ryan Phillips jumped a route that had sure touchdown written all over it but couldn’t hang on to the football. Phillips jumped a second route on the Bombers next series, forcing Glenn to bring the football down. The play led to Brent Johnson bull rushing into Glenn for his second sack in the last nine games…it was great to see Johnson back in the groove and put us into the CFL sack lead again, Cameron Wake was impressive, in the second quarter, forcing a holding call and getting pressure on Glenn. He can make a move inside and still recover back to the outside with his range and speed and his wingspan, when he gets his hands up creates problems for quarterbacks.

We did a good job of keeping Roberts in check in the first half, outside of one big gain but gave up a lot of passing yardage. However, we tightened our pass defense, when we needed to, holding the Bombers to only a field goal and a single.

In the third quarter Roberts got going and we started to struggle a little in containing him. With Winnipeg pinned deep in their end our defense allowed them to march the football into our half of the field. A holding call put Winnipeg in a hole with second and long but Glenn’s pass was deflected by a Winnipeg receiver, on a botched routem, right into Terrance Edwards hands for a Winnipeg touchdown touchdown. The touchdown toss made a major dent in our lead as we now only ahead 19-11.

Our offence drove the football downfield early in the fourth quarter to give our defense a 26-11 lead to hold with 11 minutes to go. Cameron Wake came up with a huge sack on Glenn on Winnipeg’s first series of the fourth quarter.

Winnipeg got great field position, following the overruled fumble recovery on McCallum’s fourth quarter punt. The no yards call gave our defense a short field to defend. Winnipeg gambled on third and a long one and he hit Steggall, while well covered by Knowlten and Steggal then wove his way into the end zone to make the score 26-18.

Wiinnipeg’s offence took over the football with less than three minutes left and drove the football against our “Dâ€

[LFITQ]

However, the play was overruled on the challenge by Winnipeg even there wasn’t conclusive evidence to overrule it. Instead of getting the football at mid-field we end up getting a no yards call instead. A pure homer call by Jake Ireland that would never have been made if the play wasn’t in Winnipeg’s home field aat a crucial time in the game.

A little physics law for Jake:

KE=1/2*m*v

also:

A body in motion tends to stay in motion.

So knowing some basics physics please explain to me how the football stops dead after "going through the legs of Johnson without being touched"? The ball hits him in the leg and stops dead. No further is there a bounce to it. Watch the way it bounces towards Johnson then watch how it bounces after he "doesn't touch it".

[WestCoastJoe]

Great wrap, Blitz
........................

Charles Roberts 19 104 0 18

Joe Smith 18 45 1 7

Charlie wins that matchup. He is some slippery devil.


.............CP/AT YDS TD INT

Kevin Glenn 21/31 285 2 0

...............CP/AT YDS TD INT

Jarious Jackson 17/33 241 1 1

.......................

What a nasty, head-knocker of a game that was.

Buono moved faster than he has moved in 10 years running across the field. A very happy Ackles meets him half way.

[B.C.FAN]

On offence, Jarious Jackson, Geroy Simon and Josh Boden made big plays and Joe Smith, while held in check for the most part, scored a huge TD on third-and-one in the fourth quarter.

On defence, Otis Floyd had a big game with 5 tackles. He stopped Roberts on second-and-goal in the first quarter to force a field goal and then forced the Roberts fumble on the B.C. 1-yard-line in the final minute. Tyone Williams was a huge run-stopper in the middle, leading the team for the second straight game with 7 tackles to take the team lead with 58 on the season, just one off his career high. Cameron Wake and Brent Johnson each had steady pressure and a sack from the outside.

On special teams, Bret Anderson kicked his first 2 career field goals, both from outside 40 yards, to solidify the B.C lead in the second quarter. Ricky Foley's recovery of the opening kickoff was a huge play and set the tone for the game, setting up the opening touchdown.

The Lions proved once again that they don't need to dominate the yardsticks to win games. They just made big plays when it counted and the game was on the line. Congratulations.

[Blitz]

GAME BALLS:

Offence:

Jarious Jackson. He just keeps on leading us to victories in tough games and making key plays at key times. In this game our offence had to win, based on his arm as the Bombers shut down our running game.

Josh Boden: He came up with key catches at key times. This is no ordinary 20 year old.

Geroy Simon: He made some big catches in this game and showed that he is back, big time.

Cory Mantyka: He kept Canada out of our backfield all game.

Defense:

Ty Williams: The big guy has had a couple of monster games recently and his play tonight was a key to shutting down Roberts inside, especially down at the goal line.

Cameron Wake: He had an important sack, a key knockdown, and was all over the field again.

Ryan Phillips: He missed an interception that would have gone for a touchdown but he also showed why he is the best ball hawking, route jumping defensive back in the league.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Bret Anderson: What can you say about Anderson...two clutch field goals that were important in wet conditions with the wind swirling. The guy is an incredible dynamic athlete who always comes through!

[WestCoastJoe]

Canadian Press

10/5/2007 11:25:05 PM

WINNIPEG - B.C. quarterback Jarious Jackson threw for one touchdown and ran in another and the Lions' defence recovered a key turnover late in the game in a 26-20 win over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Friday night.

B.C. linebacker Otis Floyd ripped the ball out of Winnipeg running back Charles Roberts' hands on the one-yard line with 47 seconds remaining, and Lion defensive back Ryan Phillips pounced on the ball for the crushing turnover.

It was the Lions' fourth straight win and kept them atop the CFL standings and West Division with a 10-3-1 Record.

The East Division-leading Bombers dropped to 8-5-1 in front of 26,593 fans in a rainy, windy Canad Inns Stadium.

Jackson, receiver Jason Clermont and running back Joe Smith scored B.C.'s TDs. Bret Anderson booted two field goals with the wind from 44 and 41 yards.

Anderson took over kicking duties as B.C. veteran kicker Paul McCallum was suffering from a badly bruised hip that compromised his field-goal capabilities. McCallum did handle the punting.

CFL-leading receiver Terrence Edwards had a 35-yard TD catch, Milt Stegall added a 15-yard TD reception and Pikula had a field goal and 78-yard punt single for Winnipeg's scoring. Anderson also conceded a safety.

Jackson completed 17 of 33 pass attempts for 241 yards, one TD and one interception.

Bomber quarterback Kevin Glenn was 21-of-32 for 285 yards, two TDs and one interception.

Smith had 18 carries for 45 yards and Roberts had 19 carries for 104 yards. Smith still leads the league in rushing over Roberts, who's won the title the past two seasons.

Pikula handled all of Winnipeg's kicking chores after Bomber head coach Doug Berry benched veteran Troy Westwood when he needed to make room on the roster for backup offensive linemen.

In a possible Grey Cup preview, the Bombers couldn't get on track and botched the game's opening kickoff. Anderson's kick into the wind dropped among a group of Bombers and B.C. defensive lineman Ricky Foley fell on the ball at Winnipeg's 35-yard line.

Bomber linebacker Ike Charlton then dropped a sure interception in the end zone and Jackson finished the drive running for a five-yard TD at 3:06.

The Lions couldn't get off the convert attempt and settled for six points.

Winnipeg responded with an 11-play, 75-yard drive that ended with a Rob Pikula 10-yard field goal after the Lions' defence dug deep and held the Bombers twice from the one-yard line.

Winnipeg was missing injured offensive linemen Obby Khan and Matt Sheridan and defensive linemen Gavin Walls and Jerome Haywood.

The Lions led 19-4 at halftime after Anderson's two field goals and Claremont's TD catch. Clermont caught the ball in the end zone after it bounced off Charlton's shoulder into his hands.

Edwards' TD came after teammate O'Neil Wilson tipped the ball and it flew into his hands for the third quarter's only scoring.

With the gap 19-11, Smith jumped over a pile of Bombers on third down with one yard to go to make it 26-11 just over three minutes into the fourth.

Winnipeg appeared to fumble a punt return, but a challenge was successful after it was ruled Bomber returner Albert Johnson III hadn't touched the ball.

The breath of life led to Stegall's TD and a 26-18 score with less than five minutes left in the game.

http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/news_story/?ID=219991&hubname=

[Blue In BC]

Congratulations you bastar**. Beat us in our own house.

See you in the Grey Cup for the rubber match.

[LFITQ]

See you in the Grey Cup for the rubber match.

You're on!

[lion24]

See you in the Grey Cup for the rubber match.

You're on!

I thought it was football that was played at the Grey Cup, I don't want any part of a "rubber" match Seriously, I would be very pleased if it was to be a Bomber/Lions GreyCup

[Don Miller]

Kudos to Brett Anderson Mr Verstility for sure. He did a great job kicking tonite. Paul McCallum sucked it up to punt. You could see he was in a lot of pain. Hopefully the rest next week will allow him to kick against edmonton in the tundra. At times we did not get nearly enough pressure on Glenn. We missed a couple of interceptions and that fumble was definitely touched by Johnson. Defense again stiffened when they had to. Josh Boden had a good game catching the ball. Paris Jackson at times has brain cramps not running to the ball and going offside on a big Geroy catch in the 3rd quarter. We need to keep it going and keep at least 3pts ahead of the gangreen.

[Blitz]

Sometimes it's never too pretty in big games but big plays win those kinds of games and we made more of them than the Bombers on both sides of the football.

Bet the sports media lead off with the Canucks game tonite..even though they are going to lose. Those Canuck crotch sniffing reporters just have no perspective.

Anyway, they won't effect my joy of watching by far the game of the evening and that was Leos football!!

[PigSkin_53]

In the first half of tonight’s tilt our Leos looked like they have the requisite character and heart to in win in Playoffs and into the Championship game.

If we play as we did in the first half of this game I will guarantee the victory of a second Grey Cup win, but there can be no flagging like what happened in the second half of this game.

What I saw was the tale of two mindsets as the Lions became complacent and sloppy after the half, while their possible GC opponents woke up and found new life in the second and played a whole and much better game than we did.

Fortunately for us we found that other gear and realized what was on the line in time and showed up big time when it mattered the most.

Three guys that make me proudest are Jarious Jackson who shows that many in both leagues were foolish to have given up on so early in his career.

Bret Anderson the firefighter who was talk out of retirement by Wally to save our bacon tonight.
He is simply the most talented and most versatile Lion ever to play on our franchise, and a major reason if we should be so lucky as to repeat it will be because all Championship teams have one of this kind of intangible in their organizations.

Ryan Phillip’s ability to jump the underside of his and other defensive teammate routs is becoming one of Lion’s football lore, as he once again proved he is one of the team’s all time elite defensive assets.

Kudos to Floyd, Glatt, Knowlton, and Crawford for shutting down the Bomber running game on the goal line stands, because they were as essential as any other offensive weapon used to win this game, thanks to Paris, Geroy, and Lion82

Also to you Blitz for your unswerving dignity, loyalty, and deft touch when it comes to the art of Football analysis.

[TheLionKing]

Cory Mantyka: He kept Canada out of our backfield all game.

I must have been in a time warp ! :lol:

[Ravi]

See you in the Grey Cup for the rubber match.

You're on!

I thought it was football that was played at the Grey Cup, I don't want any part of a "rubber" match Seriously, I would be very pleased if it was to be a Bomber/Lions GreyCup

I hope that you don't mind an Argos/Lions Grey Cup because that is more likely what you will get instead.

[Area51]

SPECIAL TEAMS

Ricky Foley continued his fine play on special teams by recovering a Winnipeg fumble on the opening kickoff.

And two more ST tackles tonight for Ricky as well. He may be frozen out of any playing time on defence, but he's making big plays when he does get on the field for kick coverage. It's funny to hear the announcers talk about how Boden earned a spot on the offense by "paying his dues" on special teams. I guess Ricky still has more "dues" to pay.