Lions @ Eskimos -- Blog, Post Game Stats and Comments

[TheLionKing]

Still would have had Leone punt for a single and 4 point lead. It would have forced the Eskimos to drive for a TD, which had been elusive for them most of the afternoon.


DH

Totally agree. If you don't kick it through and Edmonton tries to run it out to avoid giving up the rouge, you still have an opportunity to pin them very deep.

But the coaching decision that cost us the game was the sneak by McGhee. We send out McGhee, tipping our hand as to what the play will be. Edmonton goes offside and smacks our centre so hard he takes out McGhee. So now we know how Edmonton is going to defend the sneak attempt. So of course our bonehead coaches think "hey, let's run the same damn play that would not have worked if Edmonton had not jumped offside".

Reminds me of the 4 straight same running plays in Montreal couple of years back. It was stopped every time and the Lions insisted on running the same play.

[TheLionKing]

Lots to second guess and critique on both teams actually, but I really just want to underscore one belief I've always had:

When on the goal line, LEAVE YOUR STARTING QB ON THE FIELD AND RUN YOUR REGULAR OFFENCE!!

X2 and spread the players out to thin out the box. You're telegraphing your move when you line up tight.

[TheLionKing]

One caller on the post game show pointed his finger directly to Wally Buono and called for his dismissal. Since 2011, Buono has hired and fired his coach, and has his fingers all over the current situation.

[WestCoastJoe]

We played to protect a lead.

We played it conservatively.

We played it "safe."

We played not to lose.

We played deep zone. Usually we had only six in the box, an invitation to Reilly to run, when it counted. And for Bell. The EE, on the other hand, load up the box, especially on key downs. Stuffing the run, and blitzing hard on passing downs. They also mix it up, as does Stubler. We like to line them up the same each down. Stationary.

We ... play ... back.

Honestly, our management and coaching staff do not deserve to win. The players do deserve to win, and deserve better.

Good bye, Andrew Harris. Fare thee well, with a management team that deserves you.

Another life sucking loss.

Any of it stick to Wally? P.R. can explain away everything, of course. What we have been observing is not a train wreck, it is training wheels. We have all these young players. Wally is doing a great job. Juat look at his 25 year record.

It seems to me Braley has divorced himself from this team. With his absentee ownership, with management stuck in the 1990s with a philosophy of cronyism and ultra conservatism, It is a disgrace. We are 5 and 10.

[dat]

MY hats off to the D who played well. Again Leone probably cost the Leos with 4 easy points left on the sidelines. Lack of execution by the offence on the half yard line. QB turns the wrong way with no RB to give the ball to. Mistake by Jennings or Harris. I`m absolutely blown away that with a 240 RB like Lumbala you still try a QB sneak with McGhee or Jennings or handoff to Harris. Red zone play has killed this team the last month. At what point do they let Leone know that another game costing horrible performance will cost him his job ? There is a reason he's not in the NFL. His punting is good , his placekicking is horrible. I think he should be cut and a message sent with Fera as his replacement. Lumbala needs to be used as more than just a blocker as Harris seems to have lost his confidence. Another game that was in their grasp but given away. There needs to be consequences.

dat

[Sir Purrcival]

Well, lets be real, special teams overall cost us again tonight. To many long run backs, too many missed points. Another mind crushing fumble of a kick. If this league was about finding creative ways to blow games, the Lions would be in first place without a doubt. How long can a special teams squad continue in this vein. Leone may be a good punter but as a FG kicker and PAT kicker, he sucks. I don't know why he sucks. You would think that a week of nothing but kicking FG's and PAT's in practice and he could do it in his sleep. There must be someone else who can do that job? Give Ianuzzi a try or Collie. It can't be any worse.

[DanoT]

Esks shot themselves in the foot with penalties and interceptions all night but the Lions couldn't capitalize, mostly because they couldn't open any holes for the running game. The Lions need to focus on getting the ball in to Harris' hands, It might take some creativity which Wally doesn't like and the Lions aren't too good at.

Orlando Sewell is too good of a run stopper for the Lions' O line to handle.

Except for the Esks first punt return, the Lions special teams showed some improvement from last game.

Letting Bowman get 190+ yards receiving and the inability to stop the Esks final drive were black marks on an otherwise good performance from the D. They even blitzed some DBs.

Putting in McGee to run goal line short yardage is a puzzler. I guess they must have had him run it a lot in practice. The post game radio show guys said the Lions should spread out the O line in those situations to prevent the Esks from bunching up a lot of players near the centre.

This is a young team that hasn't learned what is takes to close out games and the coaching staff is too busy being out coached to teach them.

[TheLionKing]

Leone may be a good punter but as a FG kicker and PAT kicker, he sucks. I don't know why he sucks. You would think that a week of nothing but kicking FG's and PAT's in practice and he could do it in his sleep.

Leone is a natural punter who is learning how to place kick.

[David]

Players are getting very frustrated with the coaching staff. Chris Rainey expressed his frustration after the game tonight with the lack of touches. Can you blame him? He was a running back with the Steelers and possesses 4.3 speed. While run blocking hasn't been up to par, IMHO Andrew Harris is too tentative at approaching the LOS and not as fast as Rainey at hitting the edge or finding a seam.

Not saying Harris isn't a good back. I just don't know if he's right for this offense and this O-line at this time.

[video][/video]


DH

[aklawitter]

Will this be the game that convinces everybody that we need to spend 2 rosters spots on a kicker and punter? Winnipeg finally realized that, why haven't we done the same?

Leaving points on the table and LOSING games because of it is worth less than an extra special teams spot?

[Sir Purrcival]

All I know is that one team is going to get into the playoffs with a records that says they have no business being there. I don't know whether it is the Lions, the Bombers or the Als but this is hearkening back to the good old pre-crossover days when 3rd in the East was usually some horrendous record.

[Rammer]

All I know is that one team is going to get into the playoffs with a records that says they have no business being there. I don't know whether it is the Lions, the Bombers or the Als but this is hearkening back to the good old pre-crossover days when 3rd in the East was usually some horrendous record.

True. However if the Lions get on and Edmonton finishes second, the Esks should be more than a little worried
Lions have deserved to win the two loses vs the Esks, and all three games have been physical, not an easy matchup even with the Lions subpar record.

[Larry Key]

Players are getting very frustrated with the coaching staff. Chris Rainey expressed his frustration after the game tonight with the lack of touches. Can you blame him? He was a running back with the Steelers and possesses 4.3 speed. While run blocking hasn't been up to par, IMHO Andrew Harris is too tentative at approaching the LOS and not as fast as Rainey at hitting the edge or finding a seam.

Not saying Harris isn't a good back. I just don't know if he's right for this offense and this O-line at this time.

[video][/video]


DH

I totally agree about Harris's tentative approach and lack of burst through the holes. His injuries over the last couple years have taken a toll on him. His body language after each failed run says it all. He is a 6 year pro and vet, you can't set bad examples to the younger guys. Look at Kareem Smith, that guy is an ultimate pro IMO. I don't see AH back next year, who would want to be back with a porous O-line like we have? You put him behind a line like the Stamps and he'd be considered the MVP every year like Cornish.

[MexicoLionFan]

Players are getting very frustrated with the coaching staff. Chris Rainey expressed his frustration after the game tonight with the lack of touches. Can you blame him? He was a running back with the Steelers and possesses 4.3 speed. While run blocking hasn't been up to par, IMHO Andrew Harris is too tentative at approaching the LOS and not as fast as Rainey at hitting the edge or finding a seam.

Not saying Harris isn't a good back. I just don't know if he's right for this offense and this O-line at this time.

[video][/video]


DH

I totally agree about Harris's tentative approach and lack of burst through the holes. His injuries over the last couple years have taken a toll on him. His body language after each failed run says it all. He is a 6 year pro and vet, you can't set bad examples to the younger guys. Look at Kareem Smith, that guy is an ultimate pro IMO. I don't see AH back next year, who would want to be back with a porous O-line like we have? You put him behind a line like the Stamps and he'd be considered the MVP every year like Cornish.

I agree completely LK, Harris is tentative (as David accurately noted) because he has been conditioned for NO HOLE to appear and to be challenged in the backfield. As soon as he moves at the snap of the ball you can see Harris already looking for openings, instead of just "running the designed play". Harris is a PRO and knows better, so what does this tell us??? He would be a huge star in CGY, and likely EDM too. I would love to see him go to HAM and let Austin design plays for his unique talents.

[MexicoLionFan]

We played to protect a lead.

We played it conservatively.

We played it "safe."

We played not to lose.

We played deep zone. Usually we had only six in the box, an invitation to Reilly to run, when it counted. And for Bell. The EE, on the other hand, load up the box, especially on key downs. Stuffing the run, and blitzing hard on passing downs. They also mix it up, as does Stubler. We like to line them up the same each down. Stationary.

We ... play ... back.

Honestly, our management and coaching staff do not deserve to win. The players do deserve to win, and deserve better.

Good bye, Andrew Harris. Fare thee well, with a management team that deserves you.

Another life sucking loss.

Any of it stick to Wally? P.R. can explain away everything, of course. What we have been observing is not a train wreck, it is training wheels. We have all these young players. Wally is doing a great job. Juat look at his 25 year record.

It seems to me Braley has divorced himself from this team. With his absentee ownership, with management stuck in the 1990s with a philosophy of cronyism and ultra conservatism, It is a disgrace. We are 5 and 10.

Outstanding Joe, thank you.

As BCFAN pointed out the Lions have led after 3 quarters in NINE GAMES and only have 3 wins to show for it...that's COACHING! The Lions were gifted one-sided ref'ing, turnovers, field position and did everything they could NOT TO WIN! Putting McGhee in COLD and then running the same QB sneak, ON THE SAME SNAP COUNT, is just plain stupid. McGhee is a PRO and should be able to hang on to the ball, secure the snap, BUT, its still not his fault. Leave Jennings in the game and EXECUTE! Our short yardage production while Wally has been here has been beyond a joke, and that has continued over a number of HC's ad OC's.

The Lions D got two consecutive stops on EDM during the 2nd half of the 4th quarter by playing somewhat AGGRESSIVE, blitzing to ensure pressure and disrupt Reilly. Suddenly, with only a minute and a half to go, and 85 yards of territory in front of them Washington LITERALLY (I'm not joking) went into a 2-2-8 formation as I believe I joked about earlier in the season. I could not believe my eyes when I saw this. That D was obviously designed to keep the play in front of our Defence, and thus gave up key runs and scrambles, and STILL allowed Adarius Bowman to haul in a long pass WITH 8 GUYS DEEP! And this is what you get with Wally's defence, he will NOT key on any one guy, they simply line up and play "their game". Perhaps this is why Adarius Bowman has such a history against us? Its literally just incredible that MW GAVE EDM 3 points and OT, instead of playing for the win. Reilly did NOT have a good day, Bowman did. Take away Bowman, keep Bighill in the box to SPY (there's a novel idea) against Reilly running with the ball, and make Reilly do something that he wasn't able to do ALL GAME LONG! And this is our Defensive Coordinator? He hasn't learned a single THING over two disastrous seasons as DC, in fact he's only getting worse!

Joe said it best, our players DESERVED TO WIN, they played their hearts out, on the road, coming off another heartbreaking loss, against the 1st place team, and SHOULD HAVE WON, but for a rookie QB being asked to come off the bench and control the offence at the most critical point in the entire game! Bullsh$t!. Sorry for the language, but there's nothing else to say. Our Coaches work hard EVERY WEEK trying NOT TO WIN. That's not saying that they are trying to lose, but clearly they have doubts about their ability to win games thus they are playing "not to lose" and the results speak for themselves!

Over the last 3 games Andrew Harris has ran the ball ONLY about 25 times! One of those games he ran for over a hundred yards. Yesterday, in EDM during Autumn, we ran the ball with Harris SIX FREAKING TIMES, passed to him ONLY ONCE, and Rainey touched the ball only once. Last week Harris ran for 42 yards on something like 7 carries. What gives? Is our offence designed to ignore or punish Harris as Belize Lion speculated? Or have we just gone INSANE? Without Andrew Harris the Lions wouldn't have 4 of our wins this season, he can run and catch the ball equally well, and he touched the ball SEVEN times in total yesterday for a total of 11 yards! Does anyone still think Cortez knows what he's doing? That Jeff Tedford actually has any control as HC over this football team? That MW is a competent DC? Or that Chuck McMann belongs coaching football? Come on, we have all got to wake up to what is going on here...this team is WALLY BUONO version 3.0 and it is repeating the same mistakes over and over again while ALIENATING players all over this league! Our brilliant coaching staff and MGT are running essentially an ALL IMPORT OLine and we still can't run the ball? Our AMERICAN Punter is being asked to be our place kicker as well, and is so nervous and lacking in confidence that he has now missed something like 8 converts this season. Have any of you kicked in football? The extra point is SO CLOSE to the uprights, and the uprights are so far apart at that distance, that you have to TRY just to be able to miss a convert! Something is radically wrong with Leone PK game, and NOTHING is being done about it!

Everywhere one looks it's coaching, Coaching, COACHING!!! As Blitz pointed out last week, the long time Buono assistants don't speak out or change ANYTHING, they are shielded from the press, stick their heads in the ground, thank the Lord of Wally that they have a job, and keep on doing the SAME THING over and over and over again! Charles Darwin's principle message throughout all of his studies and writings was not that all organisms are selfish, survival-minded life forms, rather that nature is about CONSTANT CHANGE, and that those species that accept change and learn to work together to adjust SURVIVE and THRIVE, those that don't become EXTINCT!

Enough of this movie, groundhog day, starring Wally Buono! Its time for REAL CHANGE!