Leos/Evil Empire Post-Game Thoughts!!

[WestCoastJoe]

Close, tough game.

The Eskimos showing they had some pride left in the tank, but they still found a way to lose.

I do like their QB Stefan LeFors. The kid has courage and ability.

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

Statistics are still for losers:

Passing yards: BC 245 ... EE 250

Rushing yards: BC 61 ... EE 154

Punting average BC 41 ... EE 48

Field goals BC 0 ... EE 3

Hey, great game EE. Pretty good stats. Too bad you lost. :lol:

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

Big plays for the Lions:

* Korey Banks interception, setting up Joe Smith's TD

* Jarious Jackson to Jason Clermont for 93 yards, setting up a TD by Ian Smart

* Ryan Philips ... picks off LeFors at the 15 for his 11th interception of the year

* Ian Smart ... 56 yard punt return to set up a TD

I have the greatest respect for what Smart brings to the team. Since before the time of Aaron Lockett I have been wishing the Lions would find a premium return guy. Smart fills the bill for me. Not as flashy as some, but so solid and productive. I like his direct, north-south style.

* Jarious Jackson to Geroy Simon to take the lead in the game for good

* Lavar Glover ... Pass knockdown ... second last EE play

* Lavar Glover ... Pass incomplete ... last EE play

* D Line ... 3 sacks

* O Line ... only 1 sack given up

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

An enemy is often most dangerous just before they die. The Evil Empire will not expire without trying to strike at their foes.

Let's keep striking them until they are finished.

[cromartie]

You guys are tough.....we win on the road in a place we have not won a game in three years, albeit a very close one, and still not satisfied.!

Don't mistake being "tough" for being unhappy, or not supporting the guys and the coaches, or whatever. I'm glad they won, I'm always glad they win and I like the team and the coaches and support them. A lot of the subtle things this team does, especially on Special Teams, are a joy to watch.

But there's always room for improvement, and it's no crime to point those things out. Never get too high when you win, never get to low when you lose, right? Until you're holding the cup, in which case, party hardy.

it really doesn't matter how you get them as long as you do

It matters if you're down 21-3, which, thanks to our defense, we weren't.

Toronto is actually the best defense in the league except for one thing

BC can actually stop the run?

The remaining regular season games should take on a different texture. Two are at home, and all three are on artificial surfaces. 14 wins seems a reasonable goal and good on em for it.

Unlike some of the other posters, I'm not going to quibble that they're winning boring (because winning is never boring) or long for the days of Chap Ball. But some of the fundamental things still apply on offense. They need to sustain drives. They need the running game. They need to keep Time of Possession respectable so they don't wear out the defense, particularly the front four. JJ developed a bird dogging problem (which, lest someone accuse me of bias, I freely admit Buck has at times also). These things should be addressed in time for the WDF, or they are going to haunt us somewhere down the line.

[Roaring Fan Since 82!!]

Great recaps Blitz and BC Fan. Thanks for the great reads!

I like it that Wally stuck with JJ even when it would have been easy to pull him and put Buck or DD in. Heck, i was thinking Buck should have gone in in the third. Shows both DD and Buck they're going to have to earn their way back into the lineup.

[WestCoastJoe]

Post game comments from Wally Buono ...

"We're proving to be a resilient team.

Last week we won with two goal line stands.

It's not just one area we are relying on.

Smart had the big runback when it was most critical.

Our cover team was the best when it was most critical.

Our defence was the best when it had to be.

It's about how you win.

We have to be proud of how the guys fought through everything they did to win."

[lion24]

I would like to throw my two cents in so here it is.....as I have been witnessed to for many years the Lions struggle to play at Commonwealth However in the end they are able to pull it out so I am satisfied!!

OFFENCE

I am a little concerned with the rushing output the last two games as the O-line seems to be lacking that push they had for much of the season or is Smith maybe dinged a bit?? I think Blitz and many others would agree that Jackson is filling in wonderfully at QB. However, at times he stilll makes some risky throws that are intercepted or come close to being picked off. One thing that would make things easier is if he LOOKED OFF the defence as he is still focusing on the primary receiver all the way and not disguising at all where he is throwing. This was most evident on the play to Jackson in the endzone that was tipped and even on the ensuing TD to Simon in which he was drilled in the endzone but still caught the ball. I am just not sure how much longer we can get away with sloppy passing plays especially if Smith is shut down.

DEFENCE

The defence was both good and bad. The interceptions were great but then Banks dropped a sure int that would have ended the game. However, Glover made a game saving play at the end by deflecting a ball in the back of the endzone getting Banks off the hook. I also noticed some poor tackling during the game although it looked like the field had something to do with that as well. Finally, I would like to see a little more aggression on second and long as the D seemed to sit back and allow Lefors way too much time to find a deep receiver which would result in a first down or close.

THE CRAPPY COMMONWEALTH FIELD

I know this has been talked about time and time again but it is time to get rid of the grass as it may as well be two teams playing on a bloody cow pasture :x :x You cannot even see the best out of BOTH teams as guys cannot make proper cuts and it really takes away from games. There was a time when the field was an advantage for the Esks but that time seems to have long passed. The Grey Cup 2002 game was ruined by the field and there have been many games since that are less than stellar.

WRAP

The closeness of this game did not shock me as the Lions have always struggled here and I have witnessed many during my time here. However, as bad as things seemed we pulled out the game and that is most important. I think the team may have been a little complacent and that will have to be rectified next week in the return match. I am still not sure JJ has what it takes to finish the season and start in the playoffs so I hope Buck and DD get some reps but we will see. Anyway a tough, ugly game today but in the end a big road win here at the COW PASTURE GO LIONS!!!!!!!!!

[Blitz]

quote]
Great recaps Blitz and BC Fan. Thanks for the great reads!

I like it that Wally stuck with JJ even when it would have been easy to pull him and put Buck or DD in. Heck, i was thinking Buck should have gone in in the third. Shows both DD and Buck they're going to have to earn their way back into the lineup.
_________________
Da Lions rule!
[/quote]

It's not that I don't have some worries at times about Jarious's play but I also have different worries about Buck and Dickenson too!! However, you just can't just start throwing quarterbacks out there willy nilly when things get a little tough. There are times when you need to change a quarterback but it has to be based on specific criterion.

If your running game is going great guns, your quarterback has time, and your receivers are open and your quarterback keeps missing or making bad reads then you might make a change. Sometimes you make a change because you believe it's the only way to create a spark or sometimes you make a change when your quarterback is stuck..whether that's constantly throwing underneath when the vertical attack is open or when he is zeroed in constantly on going deep when the underneath game is open.

Jarious locked in more today than he has since his first start. In part that was because Geroy has been hot so he was looking for him early and secondly because he never had time to go to his third read almost all game.

What I find frustrating is that too many fans only lock into the quarterback position. Johnson has only one sack in two months but no one is calling for his backup in Foley. Our offensive line didn't have one of their better games and yet I didn't hear anyone calling for Valli or Hameister-Rees. I didn't hear anyone calling for Nicholson or Anderson for Boden when he slipped once or dropped a pass. However, if a quarterback on our Leos makes a mistake or throws an interception..it seems like no matter who it is... the calls for the backup start quickly!!

It's great to see that we have a Head Coach in Buono, who not only has developed a lot of great quarterbacks, but through trials and tribulations as well as his own decidions in the past, has also learned that he's gotta make his decison for the best of the team and not allow feelings to interfere with it. With age comes wisdom!!

THE CRAPPY COMMONWEALTH FIELD

I know this has been talked about time and time again but it is time to get rid of the grass as it may as well be two teams playing on a bloody cow pasture You cannot even see the best out of BOTH teams as guys cannot make proper cuts and it really takes away from games. There was a time when the field was an advantage for the Esks but that time seems to have long passed. The Grey Cup 2002 game was ruined by the field and there have been many games since that are less than stellar.

Enjoyed reading your post lion 24. Certainly the league and Cohon should have a serious look at what Edmonton deliberately does with it's field. It's the only natural grass field in the CFL, which is an advantage for Edmonton and that's fine but they are always screwing with the field. Teams should be allowed to use the field for a practice prior to games and they should send a directive to have the field in it's best condition for games or get fined. It's also something that should be discussed among the owners of the league. What Edmonton is doing is bush league!!

[ryant]

What I find frustrating is that too many fans only lock into the quarterback position. Johnson has only one sack in two months but no one is calling for his backup in Foley. Our offensive line didn't have one of their better games and yet I didn't hear anyone calling for Valli or Hameister-Rees. I didn't hear anyone calling for Nicholson or Anderson for Boden when he slipped once or dropped a pass. However, if a quarterback on our Leos makes a mistake or throws an interception..it seems like no matter who it is... the calls for the backup start quickly!!

I think your arguement doesn't hold water because we are dealing with our specific qbs. We don't have relatively unproven qbs behind JJ. We have a proven youngster and a former MOP (and current GC MVP). How long do we put up with mediocrity and "skin of our teeth" wins before we make a change.

[WestCoastJoe]

Buono knows what he is doing.

I agree with him for sticking with Jarious.

The team needs stability at the QB position.

Buono is confident enough that he can make the unpopular decision, that some fans cannot abide.

When a team has more than one great QB, fans are gonna take sides and be impatient if their guy is not in, and the starter is not playing lights out.

It is a disaster if you pull the QB and the next guy also falters. Then you are in a no-win situation. It is dicey.

As long as the Lions had a good chance to win, Buono is gonna stick with Jarious.

And the lack of a crisp passing game or running game cannot be put on just Jarious.

If it was Buck that started or Dave, it would be the same criteria.

Another thing is that with all his success Dave has many very loyal fans. Buck with his exciting, spectacular play also has many loyal fans. Jarious does not have as many loyal fans yet, but it seems to me, Buono is one of them, as am I.

[TheLionKing]

The Lions did not deserve to win the game this afternoon. They got away with one. Jarius made a couple of bad plays out there particularly in the third quarter when they attempted a screen play with 3 Eskimos covering the Lion receiver. Yikes

[notahomer]

One of the reasons some Lionbackers are 'tough' on the Lions is what we endured during the 2005 season (with a possible home field shot at the Grey Cup). The BC Lions and NFL Colts both had AWESOME undefeated streaks to start their seasons that year and both did nothing in the playoffs. Last season both teams took that final step (the hardest one) to winning the championship.

[Blitz]

Buono knows what he is doing.

I agree with him for sticking with Jarious.

The team needs stability at the QB position.

Buono is confident enough that he can make the unpopular decision, that some fans cannot abide.

When a team has more than one great QB, fans are gonna take sides and be impatient if their guy is not in, and the starter is not playing lights out.

It is a disaster if you pull the QB and the next guy also falters. Then you are in a no-win situation. It is dicey.

As long as the Lions had a good chance to win, Buono is gonna stick with Jarious.

And the lack of a crisp passing game or running game cannot be put on just Jarious.

If it was Buck that started or Dave, it would be the same criteria.

Another thing is that with all his success Dave has many very loyal fans. Buck with his exciting, spectacular play also has many loyal fans. Jarious does not have as many loyal fans yet, but it seems to me, Buono is one of them, as am I.

quote]
Great recaps Blitz and BC Fan. Thanks for the great reads!

I like it that Wally stuck with JJ even when it would have been easy to pull him and put Buck or DD in. Heck, i was thinking Buck should have gone in in the third. Shows both DD and Buck they're going to have to earn their way back into the lineup.
_________________
Da Lions rule!
[/quote]

There are never any guarantees no matter which quarterback is in there. We had the best team in the league in 2004 and lost a Grey Cup game with a former MOP quarterback leading us in Dickenson. We lost the 2005 Western Final at home, with Dickenson leading us against a third place Edmotnon team. We won the Grey Cup last season with Dickenson leading us.

Having Dickenson lead us is no guarantee nor are our chances definitely better. When it comes down to one game shots in the playoffs a lot of things can happen but you're always better off going into the playoffs with a quarterback who the team feels most comfortable with and they always feel more comfortable with the quarterback they've been playing a lot with before the playoffs begin. As for winning ugly in Edmonton this year...we've lost there the last 3 seasons 'losing pretty' so I'll take so called ugly wins every time over pretty losses.

Right now I'm much less concerned with Jarious than I am with the fact that opposing teams are coming out determined to shut down our inside zone run and stretch play early. We arent't throwing the ball enough early in the first half in games when they use that strategy. We've been determined to run the football. It's gotten us behind in games.

We may need to start future games passing a little more in the first quarter of games and if successful it would force defenses to change their strategy and then come back with the run. We also have to establish the dive play with the fullback because whenever we fake to the fullback (counter, counter toss, option..... teams aren't buying it now. Time to get the pitch series back in there and play action early and then come back to the inside run and stretch play.

As for my point regarding our quarterbacks my point was not who we have backing up the quarterback position behind Jarious (I'm aware that we have two quality quarterbacks in Pierce and Dickenson) but that its' a team game and when an offence isn't playing as well as you wish it was there are a whole lot of other factors that come into play beside the quarterback position from game planning, play calling, the running game effectiveness, pass blocking, receiver's getting open, etc.

My second point ryant was that there are backups at many positions but when a player doesn't have a great game in those other positions there isn't a whole lot of discussion about those other positions and sometimes there are quality backups there...Foley is one example of that. I just got out a straw and am looking through it at the replay of the game, but only looking at the quarterback position..... so I can understand what not to watch!!

[Canuck_4_Life]

Lavar was the main attraction at Lockdown U.

[Ballistic Bob]

Plow that field under. BB

[Disturber]

Nail-biter of a game.

I like Jarious. I wish he wouldn't telegraph his passes so much.

[Blitz]

Plow that field under. BB

A few interesting stats...

First of all Otis Floyd had 8 tackles to lead our defense and Ty Willams had 5.... and even though there were some anxious times our defense only gave up 1 point in the second half.

In terms of passing this season Dickenson averaged 148 yards a game in the 3 games he played, Buck Pierce averaged 209 passsing yards a game in his four games, while Jarious Jackson is averaging 265 passing yards a game during the time he's started for us.