The Time Has Come..

[Blitz]

The Time Has Come


“The time has come
A fact’s a fact”

(Midnight Oil)



THE BIGGER PICTURE

The time has come for a look at the bigger picture of what ails our Leos. We’ve been at the top of the league as an organization for over four years. We are all aware of what took place to get there, after wandering the desert (or being lost on the ocean) for a long time.

David Braley, stuck with our team, even during it’s low times and then got the chance to hire Bobby Ackles and did. That meant instant credibility, in terms of leadership and experience. Ackles connected with the fan and the business and corporate community. Ackles, long time NFL connections, were invaluable in helping bring in talent. He got the opportunity to hire both Wally Buono and Bob O’Billovich, two very experienced football men. O’Billovich brought in the talent, Wally assessed it and made good decisions. We signed an experienced quarterback in Dave Dickenson, providing a greater sense of stability. Casey Printers electrified crowds in 2004 and helped bring in new fans.

Buono ran a disciplined, professional football team. Our talent became the best in the league. Our players reconnected with the community. Attendance continued to increase. We proved we could win with different quarterbacks (Dickenson, Printers, Pierce, Jackson), we upgraded our offensive line by deciding to go with two import offensive tackles, and developed a tougher offensive mindset.

However, it was on defense, where the greatest changes were made that were the key to our success. Brent Johnson emerged as a premiere defensive end in the league, Otis Floyd was a terror, and Carl Kidd gave us inspiration. Korey Banks and Dante Marsh became shutdown short side halfbacks. Ryan Phillips, while wasted for one season, gave us another defensive ball hawk. Barrin Miles gave us defensive backfield leadership, Ty Williams was a great run stopper and defensive leader. Cameron Wake was added to the mix last season and became the best defensive end in the league in his rookie season.

However, it was Dave Ritchie, hired in 2005, was our best defensive weapon. Ritchie was experienced, innovative, and got our defense to play a different style. We became aggressive and led the league in interceptions and fumble recoveries. Almost every defensive player on our defense in our 2006 Grey Cup season, scored a touchdown. Playing defense as a Leo was fun, exciting, and gave everyone the opportunity to make big plays.

On special teams, we continued to get faster and better. Carl Kidd offered to play special teams and as our ‘arrow’ he led with passion. Jamal Johnson, Jason Pottinger, Jerome Dennis, Ricky Foley became players who played special teams with a tremendous sense of pride. Barrin Miles, a veteran, would set an example, as a veteran, by his play on special teams. Paul McCallum solidified our place kicking game. Ian Smart became the best return man in the league. Mike Benevedes was a dedicated, smart special teams coach.

Yes, mistakes were made along the way. We did a poor job of dealing with the Dickenson/Printers quarterback situation, we underestimated our offensive line talent at tackle in 2005 and didn’t have enough depth at defensive back, we moved Phillips out of wideside defensive half in 2006, we underplayed McKay-Lauscher when he was here, the decision to make Glatt a middle linebacker is questionable, and the decision to let Thelwell go may have been too hasty. We probably hung onto Dickenson a year too long and didn’t get trade value for him and our decisions to play him rusty in playoff games was at the very least, very questionable.

However, many more right, than wrong decisions were made during the past five years, from the decision to give Bent Johnson the opportunity to start at defensive end, the decision to pick up Korey Banks from Ottawa’s demise to letting players go when it was necessary and we let players like Carter, Warren, Young, and Kidd go. We drafted well and stocked our team with great Canadian talent.

However, things would begin to change for the 2008 season and it’s impact has still not been totally felt.


THE 2008 SEASON-A SEASON OF CHANGE

There have been numerous changes that have had a major impact upon our 2008 Leos team. First of all the loss of Bob O’Billovich and Richard Wade to Hamilton took away a key component of our team, the ability to bring in top talent each season. Yes, we found Stefan Logan, who has been a pleasant surprise and give Ackles credit for that scoop. However, the off-season need to bring in a deep threat receiver to compliment Geroy Simon, to find a quality nickel back to replace Knowlton, and to find a backup import linebacker never materialized.

Bobby Ackles passing unexpectedly, was a huge blow. He was not only the face of our Leos but his quiet leadership, wisdom, and perspective, were important for Wally Buono.

Coaching changes have also had a huge impact. We have a play caller on offence in Chapdelaine, who was with us in the past, but we made changes to our offence last season, and it has been an adjustment again offensively. However, it was on defense and special teams that the most changes were made. We have a new defensive coordinator in Benevedes and a new defensive backfield coach in Washington, both in their rookie seasons, in those positions. We also had to adjust to a new special teams coach.

WHAT REALLY AILS US

There are a number of things that have hurt us in our 2008 season. From a player perspective there will always be growing pains with quarterbacks like Jackson and Pierce, who lack a lot of experience, but we won in the past with Printes, Pierce, and Jackson, so that is not the major problem. A bigger problem has been our offensive scheme, our running game this season at times, and the fact that defenses are able to cheat on our big three receivers, without another import deep threat.

Defensively, our inability to shut down the run up the middle, our lack of a strong push from the inside tackle position, and the fact that quarterbacks can step up into the pocket and have lots of time has hurt us. Our pass defense is giving up huge passing yardage each game, a combination of a lack of a consistent rush, even with the two best defensive ends in the league, has hurt us badly. Miles is older, a step slower at safety, and Reggie Myles has not been good enough at nickel has also hurt.

A more passive defensive scheme, some questionable defensive play calls, have also played a role and our defensive backs are not having the same kind of season as in the past, are also having an impact. Our defense led us in the past, special teams played a key role, and our offence often took advantage. That isn’t the case this season.

However, none of those things are what really ails us the most. What really ails us is the fact, that as an organization, we’ve allowed other teams to catch up, both talent wise. We also being outcoached, both on the practice field and the playing field on game days.

The big question is why has that happened? First of all, our success in winning the Grey Cup in 2007 and winning a record 14 games last season, has not forced us to make personel changes, where they need to be made this season. The second is that we have continued to go in-house, in terms of coaching, when perhaps we needed to bring in some coaches with new ideas. Let’s have a look at both.

TEAM CULTURE

Winning the Grey Cup in 2006 was huge for our Leos organization, who really were the best team in the league beginning in 2004 but came up empty, in terms of a Grey Cup victory in 2004 and 2005. The seeds of the struggles that we are facing now began at the start of 2007 at training camp. It was a terrible camp and the practices throughout that season continued to reflect it, especially on offence. While our defense slid some, it was still a strength and the addition of Cameron Wake and the play of Ryan Phillips masked that we were moving away from what made our 2006 defense so great. However, it was on offence, where those seeds were planted. There was dissatisfaction with the change to run the football more from some players. Practices showed a lack of concentration, focus, and intensity. However, with John Hufnagel consulting, Kruck and Dorazio changing the style of our offence into a dominating running attack, allowed us to lead the league in points and touchdowns scored. Our special teams were opportunistic and we continued to be the best team in the league during the regular season.

However, that country club atmosphere, would continue into 2008 and this time the talent around the league had improved so much that this season we haven’t been able to overcome it. The decision to drop Joe Smith from the lineup and insert Stefan Logan was made, not only due to Logan’s running style and talent but also to try to open up a vanilla running attack. If it was meant to also send a message to our players it was lost because Joe Smith was not a dog at practice.

That message could have been sent or needed to be sent in other areas. It could have been sent by rewarding Stith for his great play instead of playing Rob Murphy after three practices. It could have been sent by inserting Stith into this last game against Calgary. If Murphy wants to chat at practice or before games, rather than warming up, perhaps we should play someone who is ready to show he really is excited about playing.

It could have been sent to Javy Glatt or Otis Floyd by inserting Pottinger and Jamal Johnson in there, when their play on defense has not been good enough. It could have been sent to Aaron Hunt, for showing up to training camp out of shape by inserting Bell at defensive tackle. It could have been sent by pulling Banks for undisciplined play or Barrin Miles for substandard play at safety since the middle of last season at safety. However, there have been different standards for players like Jarious Jackson and Joe Smith than there have been for other players and that can be a confusing message to players.

A second confusing message to both players and coaches was the return of Jaques Chapdelaine as our play caller. When Wally said there was no position for Chapdelaine at the end of last season and then hired him again and gave him the keys to our offence, it gave the wrong message, that certain players had too much influence. It sent the wrong message to Steve Kruck and Dan Dorazio. For Kruck, it meant his hard work in play calling our offence to the most points in the league and most touchdowns meant nothing. For Dan Dorazio, it meant that instead of sharing the offensive duties with Steve Kruck, he was now the sole offensive coordinator but his influence was really lessened with his old boss now calling the plays and really being in charge of the offence.

On defense, bigger mistakes were made. By going with two coaches in new positions we lost something that would be hard to regain. If we wanted to hire Mark Washington as our defensive backfield coach, then we should have hired an experienced defensive coordinator. If we wanted to promote Benevedes then we should have hired an experienced defensive backfield coach. We also might have been wise to allow Washington to break into the coaching ranks by not immediately moved him from player to coach on the same team in his first season but found a way to work him in gradually. To go from a player to a coach at the professional level, with no coaching experience, is not a decision that is often made.

Finally, the days have arrived when you can see that an organization is starting to move from being innovative to becoming too set in their ways. Wally likes control and hiring in-house. That has some advantages but over the long haul it also can have some serious disadvantages. Bob Ackles was a much stronger leader after his work in the NFL when he returned. O’Billovich had seen a lot outside of Wally’s organization. Dave Ritchie probably made the biggest impact as a Leos coach and he came from the outside.

When you have coaches like Chapdelaine, Dorazio, Kruck, Benevedes, and Washington, most of their experience comes under one roof and that roof is the Buono way of looking at things. Wally is also getting very set in his ways. Past success does that and Wally is also very conservative at times.

We might have been better off if we had allowed the influence of Hufnagel on Kruck and Dorazio continue into this season, in terms of our offensive direction, than going back to the past with Chapdelaine. We would have been wise to consider hiring Chris Jones, a very smart defensive coordinator out of Montreal, with the imminent retirement of Ritchie, rather than allowing Calgary to scoop him. We might have been wise to hire someone, not out of the Calgary organization, a fired receivers coach, to come in to coach our special teams but instead looked elsewhere. A successful organization hires both inside and outside, looking for both stability and new ideas. We have the stability down, in terms of Wally always going to people he has worked with in the past, but the innovation part of it, is lacking. We seem to always go back to the past when hiring or stay in-house.

Perhaps even more profound, we might have been wiser to have had Wally become our General Manager and hired John Hufnagel to coach, before Calgary hired him but that would have been Wally’s decision. However, Wally was starting to lose his edge in Calgary before he left. Leos fans always write that Fateri made a huge mistake but perhaps the change to B.C. was what Wally needed to get his spark back.

WRAP

Right now, we’re at the cross-roads. This season is still young enough and anything can happen in the playoffs. However, our talent is not good enough right now, in that we have some weak spots and our practice habits need to intensify or changes need to be made. Our player leaders have to lead by example with their intensity at practices. We’re quite simply being outplayed at some key positions.

Quite frankly, we’re also being outcoached. Chapdelaine looks like he is ready to step out of a rut but he’s also had some excellent game plans in the past and reverted. We have to continue to be innovative on offensive and much more aggressive on defense, in terms of both scheme and play. Our special teams have to also get better. Right now we’re an undisciplined team, a team that takes too many penalties, and a team that doesn’t have that edge and you just can’t turn that on on game day….same goes for our coaches!! Right now Wally cant' say he's running a disciplined team with all the mental errors and penalties out there. It’s time to get it together before it’s too late.

[Rammer]

What concerns me is the desire that should have been in the core of the team leaders at the beginning of the season, that has yet to materialize, allowing the Stamps, Esks and Riders surge past us not on talent, although all have shown solid additions, it is on desire.

Last year perhaps one reason we had so much success was due to our D and the ability to steal the game for us with a bend and take the ball away approach, everything seemed to roll our way. Add to that in the defensive penalties that seem to hurt us at the wrong time (we didn't see many called against us on the 5 yardline with the game at stake last season).

What really was frustrating last night was the yardage given up at crucial times on our one strength this season, ST play. For the first time that I can recall, we were beaten up on ST, an indicator of how much effort a team is prepared to give on game night.

The OL while the names tell me that they should be allstars, we are not achieving that level. Jimenez has had a solid contribution this season, nice to see him settle into a controlled manner and seemingly few errors. Why we can't hammer the line 3 yards downhill on short yardage though concerns me.

[Blitz]

What concerns me is the desire that should have been in the core of the team leaders at the beginning of the season, that has yet to materialize, allowing the Stamps, Esks and Riders surge past us not on talent, although all have shown solid additions, it is on desire.

Last year perhaps one reason we had so much success was due to our D and the ability to steal the game for us with a bend and take the ball away approach, everything seemed to roll our way. Add to that in the defensive penalties that seem to hurt us at the wrong time (we didn't see many called against us on the 5 yardline with the game at stake last season).

What really was frustrating last night was the yardage given up at crucial times on our one strength this season, ST play. For the first time that I can recall, we were beaten up on ST, an indicator of how much effort a team is prepared to give on game night.

The OL while the names tell me that they should be allstars, we are not achieving that level. Jimenez has had a solid contribution this season, nice to see him settle into a controlled manner and seemingly few errors. Why we can't hammer the line 3 yards downhill on short yardage though concerns me.

Our offence really didn't play that badly. We had 158 yards of rushing and 178 yards through the air for a total of 336 yards.
However, defensively we gave up 434 yards to Calgary and that just isn't good enough in a big game like this at home.

There were some key plays that really hurt us. Jarious had an excellent drive going and Simon's rough play penalty killed it. Buck Pierce had an excellent drive going and Simon's off-side was deadly. Allowing Reynolds to run through the heart of our defense, in the first quarter, right by Glatt and Floyd and then easily outrun Miles was inexcusable. We rave about Logan but Reynolds outrushed him, getting 124 yards on the ground. Our run defense is so bad these days that it allows offences to use play action against us and when your defense can't stop the run and the pass you're in big trouble. The penalty against Banks was a terrible call at a crucial time, setting up a Calgary touchdown, instead of a field goal. Finally Buck Pierce's interception was on first down and he threw across his body. It's a tendancy he sometimes when he runs to his right and it's too dangerous a throw.

However, both Jarious and Buck were under major heat out there. Jarious was hit and hit again, often during his throwing motion. Buck was running for his life and alluded to two potential tacklers just to have a chance to get the football off, so it's easy to foist too much blame on his interception. Buck got some jump back into our offence when he went in there and poor pass blocking and a crucial penalty killed that momentum.

The fact is that poor special team coverage and penalties kept our offence on a long field all night and pressure on our quarterbacks made playing offence challenging. The bright spot was our running attack, as Logan, Jarious, and Buck combined for 158 yards on the ground. Offensively, the low note was our pass blocking and especially the play of Rob Murphy, because a quarterback has to feel that his offensive line has his blind side, or he'll start glancing instead of looking downfield. Our receivers missed some key reads against Calgary's zone and that led to some incompletions that make Jarious look bad.

However, defensively, we allowed Calgary to drive the foottball field too many times and too often on short fields due to terrible downfield coverage on special teams. We are not a disciplined football team right now. Too many mistakes, penalties, missed tackles, and missed assignments. We are not an innovative football team right now either, although offensively we did more things this game than we have for a long time and really didn't play that badly against a very good Calgary defense. Finally we're not an inspired, hungry football team either. Showing up on game day and wanting to win is not the way you win. You win football games at practices and how hard you work during the week. We're being outcoached and outplayed.

However, you win football games with defense and special teams. Both have been the strength of our team during the Buono era. They are not right now. Finally, our receiving corps is just not good enough and you can't win with three receivers who are threats and two guys who only get open because teams are sliding off them to give more attention to Simon, Clermont, and Jackson. Our passing game will contine to have it's struggles unless we can get another quality receiver. I'm praying for one to arrive from NFL cuts if Shivers has closed up the barbecue, tossed away the apron, taken back the empties, and gets off his ass and gets a good one in here!!

[TheLionKing]

What concerns me most about the Lions is the consistent inconsistency by the Lions since game 1. They are still making the mental mistakes, dropped balls, missed tackles, predictable playcalling, poor special team play. These all should have been fixed weeks ago. It's developing a trend.

[PigSkin_53]

In a sense Wally is a dinosaur who’s time has long since past him by.

He tends to fly in the face of modern change reading his own press clippings far too often rather than read the writing on the wall. His tendency to be stubborn and immovable have kept him from numerous successes in the past, and will continue to haunt him in the future.

He has very little tolerance for any player who has fallen behind their game, but when it comes to his own worth as head coach it is a different story, and he is exhibiting all the same signs as the players he has cut over the last five years. That is that his best days are behind him.

His recent history of bad decisions will bear me out on this. If you wish I can summarize them for you, but you know as well as I do what they are.

If a players is only as good as his last game, and what have you done for me recently is Coach Buono’s credo, then I ask you as a fan will you accept anything less than a 100% from the head coach and his coaching staff?

Wally conveniently looks the other way on this subject, and I ask you if he were anyone other than Wally Buono, and only head coach and not general manager on this team do you really think he would have lasted this far into the season?

Where does the buck stop? In many ways this season is reminiscent of Wally’s 2002 year, with a record of 6 wins 12 losses and 0 ties, his last with Calgary, where the Stamps missing the playoffs entirely. Is history repeating itself?

In 18 years of having either lost the division finals, or the semi-finals, he has but four Grey Cup wins to his credit with Calgary and BC combined.

Don Mathews himself was terminated for a five game loosing streak here in this very town in 1986 with a record of 8 wins, 6 losses, 0 ties. I wouldn’t be making this statement if Don had been General Manager of the BC Lions would I?

Do I want a new head coach of the BC Lions?

No but I want Wally to take a long, hard look in the mirror and tell me if he is committed to
leading this team to a Grey Cup Championship this season, and excepting the responsibility for the many losses that could have otherwise turned us into the dynasty franchise we had the capability of being, and stop the bleeding and inventing new ways to loose football games.

Why did we turn back the clock on the promise we so richly shared last season?

I can accept loss as well as anyone of you the fans of this team can, but this path we now tread will bring us to nothing but ruin and grief.

[ziggy]

I have to disagree with Blitz on the offence played pretty well part of his post. I thought that they were terribly inconsistent and while the yardage doesn't look bad, a lot of it was from sporadic big plays followed by quick two and outs. It looked promising in the first quarter, then the offence lost its focus failed to sring together drives and left the defence on the field for far too much of the last half of the game.

I also think we are worrying too much about the run at this point although it may become a problem down the road .We have much bigger issues to deal with now. We are being beaten consistently by the passing attack . Who would run against us when we are so easy to throw against?

It's easy to point out an individuals weakness, but its a team game. If the Offence doesn't move the ball the defence spends too long on the field and gives up points. If special teams give up good field position points are often scored, if they fail to gain good field position and the offence doesn't move the ball points aren't scored and field position is lost. No rush the opposing QB picks apart the DB's. Poor pass protection and the QB makes bad decisions, a bad throw or throws and int.

None of this is news to anyone on this site , but my point is, the guy or group who looks bad often aren't the only ones at fault. I don't think the whole team has fallen apart or we need wholesale changes. I hope we need just need a little tweaking.

[TheLionKing]

In a sense Wally is a dinosaur who’s time has long since past him by.

He tends to fly in the face of modern change reading his own press clippings far too often rather than read the writing on the wall. His tendency to be stubborn and immovable have kept him from numerous successes in the past, and will continue to haunt him in the future.

He has very little tolerance for any player who has fallen behind their game, but when it comes to his own worth as head coach it is a different story, and he is exhibiting all the same signs as the players he has cut over the last five years. That is that his best days are behind him.

His recent history of bad decisions will bear me out on this. If you wish I can summarize them for you, but you know as well as I do what they are.

If a players is only as good as his last game, and what have you done for me recently is Coach Buono’s credo, then I ask you as a fan will you accept anything less than a 100% from the head coach and his coaching staff?

Wally conveniently looks the other way on this subject, and I ask you if he were anyone other than Wally Buono, and only head coach and not general manager on this team do you really think he would have lasted this far into the season?

Where does the buck stop? In many ways this season is reminiscent of Wally’s 2002 year, with a record of 6 wins 12 losses and 0 ties, his last with Calgary, where the Stamps missing the playoffs entirely. Is history repeating itself?

In 18 years of having either lost the division finals, or the semi-finals, he has but four Grey Cup wins to his credit with Calgary and BC combined.

Don Mathews himself was terminated for a five game loosing streak here in this very town in 1986 with a record of 8 wins, 6 losses, 0 ties. I wouldn’t be making this statement if Don had been General Manager of the BC Lions would I?

Do I want a new head coach of the BC Lions?

No but I want Wally to take a long, hard look in the mirror and tell me if he is committed to
leading this team to a Grey Cup Championship this season, and excepting the responsibility for the many losses that could have otherwise turned us into the dynasty franchise we had the capability of being, and stop the bleeding and inventing new ways to loose football games.

Why did we turn back the clock on the promise we so richly shared last season?

I can accept loss as well as anyone of you the fans of this team can, but this path we now tread will bring us to nothing but ruin and grief.

Good post.

[KnowItAll]

Don Mathews himself was terminated for a five game loosing streak here in this very town in 1986 with a record of 8 wins, 6 losses, 0 ties. I wouldn’t be making this statement if Don had been General Manager of the BC Lions would I?

if only Don had been GM at the time, instead we had the worst idiot this league has ever seen. This firing of Don was the worst travesty ever in the CFL,as far as hirings and firings go and just one of the reasons why Galat should never have been allowed anywhere near the cfl.

[No Ka Oi]

Subconsciously, perhaps the players know that all four western teams will probably make the playoffs. So why kill yourself trying to get first place when you might have an easier route as the 3rd place club in the East?

I have a feeling once the chips are down, this team will come through, but there seems to be little sense of urgency right now. I don't think the team needs to be blown up, they have proven they can win but are just not motivated. Perhaps we can fault the coaches for not putting a burr in their saddle?

While Jarius was 9-2 as a starter last year, the defence was flying around creating multiple turnovers for the offence at opprotune times, which may have masked some problems with our offence. No such luck this year.

[Tighthead]

I have a feeling once the chips are down, this team will come through, but there seems to be little sense of urgency right now. I don't think the team needs to be blown up, they have proven they can win but are just not motivated. Perhaps we can fault the coaches for not putting a burr in their saddle?

I'm glad you are optimistic - it is good for balance in here. I think the team from a few years ago could turn it on when necessary, but not this one. They are not closers. Players shouldn't need motivation, and I am not a big believer that players play for coaches anyway. Some do, I am sure. They were embarassed in the WF last year and continue to look soft, and apparently haven't changed their practice habits.

If this season ends badly - and I don't just mean with a loss, but if they still look lazy and outclassed, the team is going to look old and bloated under the harsh light of the offseason.

[Blitz]

I have to disagree with Blitz on the offence played pretty well part of his post. I thought that they were terribly inconsistent and while the yardage doesn't look bad, a lot of it was from sporadic big plays followed by quick two and outs. It looked promising in the first quarter, then the offence lost its focus failed to sring together drives and left the defence on the field for far too much of the last half of the game.

I also think we are worrying too much about the run at this point although it may become a problem down the road .We have much bigger issues to deal with now. We are being beaten consistently by the passing attack . Who would run against us when we are so easy to throw against?

It's easy to point out an individuals weakness, but its a team game. If the Offence doesn't move the ball the defence spends too long on the field and gives up points. If special teams give up good field position points are often scored, if they fail to gain good field position and the offence doesn't move the ball points aren't scored and field position is lost. No rush the opposing QB picks apart the DB's. Poor pass protection and the QB makes bad decisions, a bad throw or throws and int.

None of this is news to anyone on this site , but my point is, the guy or group who looks bad often aren't the only ones at fault. I don't think the whole team has fallen apart or we need wholesale changes. I hope we need just need a little tweaking.

Well, I agree with you, regarding the offence playing inconsistent. After a first quarter, where both teams moved the football well, the defenses took over for a while and we had more two and outs. However, I made my comments in the context that Calgary's defense was the best in the league in most categories going into this game.

Offensively, we had a much more balanced attack than in previous games. However, our passing attack continues to struggle. It struggled early last season with Dickenson at quarterback and it struggled a lot of times with Jackson at quarterback last season. It struggled early, in our first game, with Buck starting, and it struggled again against the Stamps. Some of that can be laid on the quarterback but not the whole deal. The facts are that we haven't had a great receiving group since Thelwell left. Three players have carried the load now for too long and they need help. More importantly, quarterbacks look great when they have time to throw the football and a lot of good options.

Buck and Jarious have been under pressure every time they've played this season. Why are Burris and Cavillo having great seasons? They both have time to throw...sometimes oodles of time. Their low sack totals also reflect it. They also have a great receiving team to throw to. Our receivers are covered more often than many fans realize. They just assume that a receiver is open every play and Jarious doesn't get him the football. Defenses are programmed to blanket Simon, Clermont, and Paris Jackson. It forces more route adjustments, more difficult throws and in the meanwhile the quarterback is under major pressure when trying to make those more challenging throws.

With regard to your comments regarding the run vs the pass, almost every Grey Cup winner, outside of Toronto, was outstanding at shutting down the run. In 2006 we gave around 80 yards per game in total, and that included runs by tailbacks and quarterbacks. By shutting down the run, you force an offence to become one dimensional and then you can key on that. The run sets up play action and keeps a defense guessing. When a defense is able to shut down the run, they can then pin their ears back and play pass defense. If you aren't able to shut down an offences running game you can't do that!!

[SammyGreene]

Dear Mr. Shivers,

NFL final cuts are fast approaching and this should be like Christmas time for CFL player personnel directors.

We have been fortunate in the past few years to hardly rely on this time of year. In fact, Kendrick Jones was the last player to step in to the line-up in September and make a significant contribution.
Typically, we sign them, we may dress them for a game or two in a back-up role, but usually leave them on the practice roster and put them in our plans for next season. But times have changed.
Coming off a 14 win season and many key players either under or getting lucrative contracts, there didn’t seem to be much of a need to bring in a lot of competition to training camp. I even recall Mr. Buono suggesting after a few days of camp he could name his opening day roster right then if he had to. Perhaps that was a telling tale. But even us at Lionbackers were feeling pretty smug about things.

In the meantime, the teams behind us were busy taking advantage of no competition from NFL Europe to significantly upgrade their rosters. Now the gap has closed to the point where we sit at 4-4 and some would suggest we are lucky to even have that record.

Your shopping list should include:
• A game breaking receiver with speed and size — not one that we’re just trying to fit in as a 4th or 5th option. We have three outstanding talents but they could use some help.

• A defensive tackle that is going to push one of our starters who signed a new contract in the off-season and has since been playing ineffectively overweight.

• One or two defensive backs who are at least going to push our secondary or even upgrade it.

• One import offensive tackle. We already have one prospect on our practice roster but it very well could be the changing of the guard with one starter playing out his option and another making a lot of money.

Thanks
A Concerned Lions Fan

[Blitz]

In a sense Wally is a dinosaur who’s time has long since past him by.

He tends to fly in the face of modern change reading his own press clippings far too often rather than read the writing on the wall. His tendency to be stubborn and immovable have kept him from numerous successes in the past, and will continue to haunt him in the future.

He has very little tolerance for any player who has fallen behind their game, but when it comes to his own worth as head coach it is a different story, and he is exhibiting all the same signs as the players he has cut over the last five years. That is that his best days are behind him.

His recent history of bad decisions will bear me out on this. If you wish I can summarize them for you, but you know as well as I do what they are.

If a players is only as good as his last game, and what have you done for me recently is Coach Buono’s credo, then I ask you as a fan will you accept anything less than a 100% from the head coach and his coaching staff?

Wally conveniently looks the other way on this subject, and I ask you if he were anyone other than Wally Buono, and only head coach and not general manager on this team do you really think he would have lasted this far into the season?

Where does the buck stop? In many ways this season is reminiscent of Wally’s 2002 year, with a record of 6 wins 12 losses and 0 ties, his last with Calgary, where the Stamps missing the playoffs entirely. Is history repeating itself?

In 18 years of having either lost the division finals, or the semi-finals, he has but four Grey Cup wins to his credit with Calgary and BC combined.

Don Mathews himself was terminated for a five game loosing streak here in this very town in 1986 with a record of 8 wins, 6 losses, 0 ties. I wouldn’t be making this statement if Don had been General Manager of the BC Lions would I?

Do I want a new head coach of the BC Lions?

No but I want Wally to take a long, hard look in the mirror and tell me if he is committed to
leading this team to a Grey Cup Championship this season, and excepting the responsibility for the many losses that could have otherwise turned us into the dynasty franchise we had the capability of being, and stop the bleeding and inventing new ways to loose football games.

Why did we turn back the clock on the promise we so richly shared last season?

I can accept loss as well as anyone of you the fans of this team can, but this path we now tread will bring us to nothing but ruin and grief.

An impressive post Pigskin!

WALLY WON'T BE JUDGED IN THE SAME WAY AS HIS PLAYERS

First of all, Wally, should be judged, in many ways, like he chooses to judge his players. Wally said that, when an offence is struggling, the easiest guy to replace is the tailback and Joe Smith was benched. Wally and Company were looking for a more successful style of running back.

Wally won't be judged in the same way as Joe Smith. Perhaps Wally's style of offence (and even his more conservative style of defense, now that he has a defensive coordinator like Benevedes, who will more reflect Wally's conservative philosophy than Ritchie ever did) is also out of style. Sometimes the easiest guy to replace is also the Head Coach but we know that won't happen nor do we want it to.

Wally's 18 seasons in the CFL, with most seasons being very successful in terms of wins, has earned him the stature of being the league's premiere Head Coach. Wally's work here, in B.C., along with the efforts of Bobby Ackles and Bob O'Billovich have brought us a long period of success, something very rare here in Leo Land. The only way that Wally the Head Coach, will ever be fired in B.C. is if Wally, the General Manager, decides he's had enough.

MISTAKES HAVE A HIGHER COST IN 2008

However, the mistakes that Wally has made here in B.C. in the past, will have a higher cost this season. Wally badly underestimated our offensive line talent in 2005. Our Leos didn't have enough defensive back depth in 2005 either. Both, together would cost us a Grey Cup berth. The lack of defensive back depth began our slide and our inability to protect the quarterback at both offensive tackle positions killed us in the 2005 Western Final. Wally's mishandling of the quarterback controversy (something he admitted himself) also hurt our team. Wally's decision to stick way too long with Duncan O'Mahoney also badly hurt our squad when it was obvious to all but Wally that O'Mahoney was only a punter and would never become a successful, considtent, field goal kicker. His conservatism, in going to a rusty Dickenson, in 2004, 2005, and 2007, in the playoffs, was highly questioned, not only on Lionbackers, but around the league.

COACHING ERRORS IN THE PAST

Wally has never been a great game day coach. The more he interferes with his assistants during games, the more headaches we have. His decision to have us punt out of bounds against Toronto, in the 2004 Grey Cup, was a disaster and we kept on trying to do it when it was unsuccessful. His decision to have McCallum try to kick the football out of the end zone against the Riders was another example. His conservatism in the playoffs, in terms of game planning, has always hurt us and he's always been more involved in those games. His own defense told him to stop interfering in games when Ritchie was here, because he was causing confusion. We were lucky to win the last time Joe Smith played because Wally jumped in on our last drive, causing an illegal procedure and a delay of game penalty and then he says Jarious needs to manage games better. If Jarious hadn't hit Joe Smith for that third down, 11 yard gain, to set up the winning field goal, Jarious would have worn Wally's sideline mistakes.

REASONS FOR LONG TERM SUCCESS

What has made Wally successful, over a long period of time, is first of all, having superior talent. Roy Shivers and Ackles/O'Billovich brought in that talent during Wally's years in Calgary or here in B.C. and Wally assessed it very well and made many good decisions. Secondly, Wally has always kept enough distance from himself and his players to make sound judgments regarding a players abilities or when it's time to let a player go. Thirdly, John Hufnagel gave him an offensive system that was by far ahead of it's time in the CFL, for most of his career, along with a concept of giving practice reps to all his quarterbacks. Wally continued the practice through the Cortez, Chapdelaine, and Kruck/Dorazio years. Finally Wally ran a tight ship, making sure he had character players as well as talented players, having high expectations for performance, and making sure he kept his players at a high competitive edge.

Wally Buono has never been a coach who has been loved by most of his players. He's often not even liked by many, but he's respected. Wally's record of success, both in Calgary and here in B. C. has often meant he gets a much freeer ride by sports writers and fans, when he does make mistakes in judgment. On Lionbackers he's often revered but because there are so many knowledgeable posters on this site, it's probably the only place where a tough mirror is held up for Wally Buono, at times, and that's a good thing. Wally can criticize a player in the press (something players hate) but if any player ever said the most minor thing that was not praiseworthy of our teams direction...he'd be gone.

THREE BIG REASONS FOR OUR STRUGGLES THIS SEASON

Wally's conservatism, an increasing country club atmosphere at practices, and different standards for different players are starting to hurt. Let's look at all three: First of all, Wally's conservatism really showed up this season when he went back to Chapdelaine as our play caller. Yes, he listened to his players instead of sticking with his original gut. However, he also chose to go back to something from the past, even though Chapdelaine had shown that he could not take an offence without superior talent in Edmonton, and do something with it.

His conservatism showed when he hired both Benevedes and Washington, choosing to stay completely inside with two guys who would do exactly what he wanted. The real success of our team over the past number of seasons has been our defense, since Ritchie arrived in 2005. It was also a battle between Ritchie and Buono, two very good friends, with two very different philosophies of defense. Had Ritchie not been so experienced, so strong in his beliefs, and so successful with what he did, Buono would have had him playing passive zone defense all the time. With Benevedes and Washinton in there, it's obvious that Buono's conservative defensive philosophy is more in evidence this season and we're no longer an attack defense.

Chapdelaine often gets criticized by me for a vanilla running attack and a boring offensive scheme but it's also what Wally wants. Manage the game, don't make mistakes, don't throw interceptions are his mantras. He wants a conservative, low risk offence rather than an innovative one. Wally is really a vanilla guy, who likes a defense to play a lot of zone, to blitz rarely and conservatively when it does, and wait for an offence to make a mistake. Offensively, he also wants a simple game and execution.
When you have superior talent, those philosophies can be very successful most of the time. However, when the league is catching up talent wise or you have weaknesses in your units, it doesn't always bear fruit.

Secondly, our training camps and practices since 2006 have sucked. Lowell Ullrich wrote, about the 2007 training camp as a major disappointment. He noted that our Leos receivers dropped more footballs at practices early last season than in the first four seasons under Buono. The trend has not changed and we don't practice hard, like we did in Wally's first four seasons here. The mental mistakes, missed assignments, sloppy tackling, poor pass blocking, penalties, that we've experienced so far this season have their root causes at Leo practices. This is not a sharp team. We got away with it last season, because our talent was still better and we were able to pull out some big wins. That's no longer the case nor will it be for the remainder of this season.

Finally, there have to be the same rules and standards for everyone on our Leos. Rob Murphy has to be treated the same way as Joe Smith. Korey Banks has to be dealt with the same way as Jarious Jackson. All players have to warm up and some can't be chatting while others get ready. Players, even pro players will take advantage but when it comes down to it...every player understands that, for a team to be successful, there can be no favorites, no preferential treatment, no different standards. If not it can slowly become a malaise.

ULTIMATE RESPONSIBILITY

Ultimate responsiblity comes down to the Head Coach. Wally has the ability to get this turned around but for those who think we can just pull this season out easily have the wool over their eyes. It's going to take more than just the players sucking it up and playing better. Geroy Simon looked stunned after the Calgary loss..saying he didn't have the answers...just that are offence isn't good enough. He thought bringing Chap back would solve all our problems in the passing attack. He was wrong last season when he thought that.

However, Wally can't get this done alone either. He needs help from Shivers to bring in a quality receiver and defensive back. He needs to create a climate where his coodinators can move away from what has worked in the past with superior talent and try new things and become more aggressive and innovative, on both sides of the football, in terms of philosophy, tactics, and schemes, because we're being outcoached.

He needs to put the foot down and start expecting sharper practices and getting some excitement back into our players language. You don't sense that excitement about the game these days. Finally, Wally needs to treat them all like men or all like dogs but he needs to treat them all the same. Players will get that message if and when he delivers it.

WRAP

If we want to avoid a potential 6-12 season, like Wally's last season in Calgary, those changes need to be made immediately!!

[PigSkin_53]

The sense of urgency is immanent now that the lack of Bobby influence has been lost to us.

Bob brought in Don Mathews in 1983, for exactly the same reasons he brought in Wally in 2003, to make us into a winner again in his image, for he was always a winner.

It is now up to us the fans of the greatest football team in the CFL history to see that it stays that way, and that we commemorate this great season to his memory.

Bobby’s shining vision for this team and it’s aspirations is a legacy we cannot afford to squander. When one of us fails we fail each and everyone of our team mates, and that is something he would never tolerate.

The time for talk is long since past.

Time to make success out of failure.

Action out of indifference again.

[notahomer]

Read some good notes in todays Province. Apparently WB 'lost' it and smashed a whiteboard during halftime due to poor play. He doesn't have a rep as a oldstyle SCREAMER so when he does get angry it carries more weight.

Kelly Bates is concurring with the too much countryclub during practices. I've never been to a practice (Surrey or otherwise) but I certainly have heard that practice can be a little lax.

I'm actually looking forward to watching the next two Lions games on TV. An early Lions game on TV sounds like a great way to start off a long weekend to me.