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Blitz
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maxlion wrote:If the Lions win next week, perhaps the coaches will be vindicated for this poor display. But if they lose, and especially if they fail to put in a strong performance, there will be a lot of hard feelings. I would have liked to see a much better effort for the final home game of the year.

Suitor couldn't stop talking about how Lulay proved he was a viable option in the playoffs. I couldn't disagree more. He's got great leadership qualities and has given a lot to the franchise, but he's been done as a qb for a couple of years now.
I was hoping for an 8-10 season and a win for the fans at home. We are at a point where this is a fragile market and games like this one don't help.

A few post- game thoughts.

I was happy to see Lulay complete three long passes in this game. He showed arm strength that I have not seen since 2012. Lulay also found Harris out of the backfield in the first quarter, something Lulay has always been very good at. Lulay went 14/20 and showed that he could back up Jennings next week in the event of injury. But our offence did not score a touchdown in three quarters of play with Lulay at quarterback and only put 7 points on the board. Our offence does not have the same flow with Lulay at quarterback. It looks more 'discombobulated'. (an old Wally term). Lulay still has that tendency to bail to his right when he feels pressure and then throws the football away - a play we have seen too many times over the past number of seasons. Lulay still struggles at times with his second and third reads.

Jennings has the best quarterback efficiency in the CFL over his past 6 games - better than Burris or Bo Levi Mitchell. He changes our offence and makes it much more dangerous. But it was good to see Lulay wanting to play well and to see him smiling on the sidelines. Its not been an easy past three seasons for Lulay.

~I wish we could have seen a little more of McGhee passing the football. He was close to Jennings in training camp, in terms of proficiency. He is very mobile and athletic. He threw the football too hard at times, when he did get the chance to throw it. But in his flashes, he showed some talent and poise. Our future at quarterback looks bright.

~I believed Jeffers Harris should be starting at slotback for us early this season. He is a big receiver with speed and good hands. He played like I expected him to and hopefully our Leos coaching staff recognizes his talent for next season. Jeffers-Harris is a much better threat than Burnham and is a better blocker too.

~Boldewijn showed why Tedford thinks highly of his potential. He glides past defenders. He's a rangy, big bodied receiver with long arms and good speed.

~We played Murray Lawrence at tailback from the first quarter up to the last offensive series. He will never be a replacement for Harris in the future. His future role, at best, is as a change up rotational tailback who could be used in space. I really wish we would have played Lochard - he is a much better option as a National backup.

-The third down gamble, out of the spread, with a fake reverse, delayed handoff was demonstrative of Cortez's weaknesses as an offensive play caller.

~On defense, it was obvious that our defense is very negatively affected when Brooks is out of the lineup. It was hopeful for the future to see Murabre Ajufo get a sack. Bazzie looked impressive and has played very well of late.

~Cord Parks was awful in this game and he's mostly been awful since his rookie season at corner under Stubler. Cord Parks should not be brought back next season. Clarke also made a bonehead play that cost us a touchdown. When a quarterback scrambles, receivers are taught to either come back to the football or take their route deep. Clarke was tight to his receiver 30 yards down field. He should have been playing off with Tate running hard right. The receiver turned upfield and Clarke was bum sniffing. Not a smart play by a pro defensive back.

~McMann, who dodged the spotlight again this week, looked completely confused on the sidelines again and our special teams looked confused at times too. We had no end on a punt. We looked unsure of assignments.

~Fera showed that his punting has improved. He averaged 49.5 yards a punt, which equalled Leones average. But he missed two field goals. Tedford does not have an easy decision next week.

WRAP

Our Leos will have Jennings back next week. Harris will play the entire game. Stubler will have a great game plan for Jennings. Cortez/Tedford will need to have a good one as well or it will be a very challenging game offensively in the Semi-Final. Washington has also better not go conservative and vanilla against Calgary next week because Calgary's offence is designed to take the shorter underneath routes as well as run and chew up yardage.

I really believe we have a good chance for an upset next Sunday. But to do that, we'll need excellent game planning and play calling on both sides of the football, as well as sound special teams, and that is not something we've seen this season in all three phases, in one football game.

Still, I believe we have enough talent to beat Calgary.
"When I went to Catholic high school in Philadelphia, we just had one coach for football and basketball. He took all of us who turned out and had us run through a forest. The ones who ran into the trees were on the football team". (George Raveling)
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Lionheart
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That game was purrfect. stampers feel nice and cozy now, just where we want them.
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WestCoastJoe
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Did we do the Rope a Dope on the Stampeders? Nah. As noted there is endless tape on our tendencies. Did we do everything possible to "play possum" for the more successful adversary? Yes.

Slimmed down playbook? Yes. But more than that, our team's play demonstrated that we were not showing our cards. We seemed indifferent to losing. We lacked intensity.

It is not easy to turn game intensity on and off. If you play safe, you almost always lose. If you play not to lose, you almost always lose.

It might be better to plan and play normally. Hold nothing back. A huge benefit of this approach is to give the fans a rousing game.

We failed to do that. We provided a snoozefest.

We need to shake ourselves up now for playoff intensity. Can we do it? We will see ...
John Madden's Team Policies: Be on time. Pay attention. Play like hell on game day.

Jimmy Johnson's Game Keys: Protect the ball. Make plays.

Walter Payton's Advice to Kids: Play hard. Play fair. Have fun.
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Lionheart
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We are in far greater shape now to beat the stamps than if we went all out with all starters and won the game. I have zero doubt on that.
VictoriaFan
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not sold on Lulay, his day is done, but I'd like to see him as a QB coach. Murray Lawrence doesn't impress me on kick returns or as a back-up RB, Ionuzzi is better on returns if Harris decides to leave next year I hope they pick up a big Messam type back not one of those wee backs the Lions like. I wonder what will happen with Elimimian with Hoffman Ellis and Bo Lokombo in the wings also.
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Rammer
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Lionheart wrote:We are in far greater shape now to beat the stamps than if we went all out with all starters and won the game. I have zero doubt on that.

I agree, the game merely showed the Lions depth on the defensive side of the ball needs to be addressed for 2016. However between the two teams I believe the Lions starting QB is superior to the Stamps and the Lions D has a ton more to offer.

Still the Lions will have to play a full 60 minutes of error free football to pull off the upset. Of course weather also will become a factor, something neither team can prepare for, but the Stamps have the better running game to limit the weather affect. Cortez has an ace in the hole in Harris, he just needs to get a game plan to use his talent effectively.
Entertainment value = an all time low
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sj-roc
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Lionheart wrote:We are in far greater shape now to beat the stamps than if we went all out with all starters and won the game. I have zero doubt on that.
That could be like saying that someone with $100 in their pocket is in far greater shape to buy a Vancouver house than someone with $20 in their pocket.
Sports can be a peculiar thing. When partaking in fiction, like a book or movie, we adopt a "Willing Suspension of Disbelief" for enjoyment's sake. There's a similar force at work in sports: "Willing Suspension of Rationality". If you doubt this, listen to any conversation between rival team fans. You even see it among fans of the same team. Fans argue over who's the better QB or goalie, and selectively cite stats that support their views while ignoring those that don't.
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pennw
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Lionheart wrote:We are in far greater shape now to beat the stamps than if we went all out with all starters and won the game. I have zero doubt on that.
I just can't see the logic that by losing the first game , it helps us to win the next one. With a fragile team I See the opposite instead . This loss is more likely to have an adverse effect by bringing back that losing feeling they had for most of the season . I certainly don't see the Hufnagel lead Stamps looking past BC or getting some sort of overconfidence problem because they won this one . They are too good a team to go that way IMO and would not be as good as they are if they had that problem .
The positive I think is that we found out we do have some pretty good receivers on reserve and that we should be much better with Jennings back at QB . I agree with those that think Lulay's day has passed, our offence regressed right back to where it was before Jennings started , inspite of our receivers playing very well .
That Rennie Curran at lb , I think we could cut already as he was owned by Messam and was directly resonsible for a 14 point swing in our last game . It was he who whiffed on the rushers that blocked the Punt that went in for the TD , didn't block his guy at all then left Fraser behind him to block Two guys alone , one of which did get the block . Just prior to that it was him who put his hands on the back of an Argo who was not even close to the play , which negated a TD for us. If he's no good as a linebacker , nor special teams why keep him ?
Araki on the other hand looked very good at linebacker .
On the DL we sure did miss Brooks , but nice to see Bazzie looking good at DE , for his undersize he is very strong , on the one bull rush he flat out just knocked a OL flat on his back . He may be only listed At 228 , but is he ever ripped and athletic, he probably easily carries as much muscle as DE 20 lbs heavier .
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aklawitter
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VictoriaFan wrote:I wonder what will happen with Elimimian with Hoffman Ellis and Bo Lokombo in the wings also.
You ride SolE and Biggie until they collapse on the field. This is the most feared LB duo in the league, as proven by the TSN Player's Poll of the past couple seasons.
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BC 1988
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TheLionKing wrote:Why are the Lions in the spread on 3rd and 1 ?
That sums up how much of an exhibition/evaluation contest this was.

I think Tedford got what he needed out of the game. Let's see if he can use it effectively when it counts.
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JohnHenry
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Lionheart wrote:That game was purrfect. stampers feel nice and cozy now, just where we want them.
Yep, the TSN panel said the Stamps just have to show up and they'll beat the Lions. Everyone thinks this will be a cake-walk for the Stamps, but Jennings played pretty darn well in Calgary in his first extended CFL action. While he threw 3 picks with Hail Mary-type passes with the Lions down a couple TD's, he still had the Stamps on their heels. Jennings has been the top-rated passer in the CFL ever since with a 108 passing efficiency rating. (In comparison, Casey Printers had a 115 QBR in his 2004 MOP season, while Dave Dickenson had a career 110 QBR, the highest ever, I believe.)

I'm not sure trying to destroy the Stamps on Saturday, trying to put doubt and fear in their ranks would have helped the Lions win next Sunday? Now everyone thinks it will be a Calgary cakewalk...but instead they could be facing a buzz-saw behind Jonathon Jennings and the resurgent B.C. Lions. :roar: We saw how the team ignited when Jennings took the controls in their last game in Calgary...on offence, defence and special teams. The whole team perked up like they flicked on the light switch. They became a team. The Lions were unlucky not to be riding an extended winning streak leading up to, ummm, the snooze-trap on Saturday. So the Stamps will just have to show up and win...but first say hello to our little friend... :wink:

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cromartie
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I really believe we have a good chance for an upset next Sunday. But to do that, we'll need excellent game planning and play calling on both sides of the football, as well as sound special teams, and that is not something we've seen this season in all three phases, in one football game.
I rate the chances of this happening somewhere between Slim and None, and Slim lives in Mexico City.
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KnowItAll
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cromartie wrote:
I really believe we have a good chance for an upset next Sunday. But to do that, we'll need excellent game planning and play calling on both sides of the football, as well as sound special teams, and that is not something we've seen this season in all three phases, in one football game.
I rate the chances of this happening somewhere between Slim and None, and Slim lives in Mexico City.
but None will be the head ref
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Fera surprised me with his punting. I would have liked to see him kick a convert.
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B.C.FAN
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TheLionKing wrote:Fera surprised me with his punting. I would have liked to see him kick a convert.
Wouldn't we all?
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