Lions 28 - TiCats 3 -- Game Journal and Post Game Comments

[aklawitter]

beat the team to beat in the west
beat the team to beat in the east

i wonder if these lions will get any love from the eastern media

[dat]

No criticisms at all. What a difference from last years visit to Hamilton. A stifling performance from the Lions defence. The only thing I would have liked to see different. After Jeremiah Johnson got nicked up the runs were almost exclusively to Shaq Murray- Lawrence. He's athletic but he's a skatback. Like I said many times last year I would like to see big 245 pound Rolly Lumbala get a few more touches when theyre finishing out a game. I know he's a good blocker but sometimes you need that big body to carry the ball when the other D is a little worn down. Hopefully Brooks, Rainey and Johnson are good to go next week. When you see the full stadium in Hamilton it makes you think there should be a few more people in the seats here. I know there is competition with the Whitecaps and Canucks but the Leos should get more respect with the media considering how they are playing. Good job overall tonight. Go Lions !

DAT

[TheLionKing]

Very pleased to see an attacking defence promised by Mark Washington. Unlike in the previous Lions kept coming instead of laying back and play a prevent defence.

[Alputt]

Woooooooooo! Did we just hold Eastern powerhouse Ti-Cats essentially scoreless? YES!

[JohnnyMusso]

Anyone know what happened to Levy Adcock? Is he hurt. I noticed some rookie in there playing in the spot he was projected to have.

Anyway, it was a great game. Surprised Lions won and so dominating a performance. Offence still needs some work. But defence looks great.

Lions open the season beating the 2 best teams in the CFL.

[aklawitter]

Adcock has pneumonia

[WestCoastJoe]

GM Wally has presided over the acquisition of an abundance of National talent.

We have never in his time here had two Nat safeties such as Edem and Fraser.

Two Nat studs in the D Line, Westerman and Menard.

A super athletic Nat LB such as Lokombo. Yes, Yes, Javy Glatt had his fans.

Excellent OL draft picks, after years of wasted picks. Steward, Vaillancourt, Fabien. Plus Husband and O'Neill.

And Gore might be moving into Clermont and Jackson range. Sacrilege, I know. But with Jennings at the helm, Gore's outstanding play just might continue.

We suddenly have a boatload of Nat talent. And you can see it having effect on the field.

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

This fan is very happy with what we see.

Mark W is designing and calling outstsnding, aggressive defence.

Khari has an offence that suits Jennings and our personnel. Quick passes. Sturdy run game behind hogs.

Great stuff.

[WestCoastJoe]

Re the Lions' unis ...

Man, I love those things. Gonna treat myself tomorrow. Ha ha

[maxlion]

Kind of an ugly win, but keeping the Ticats to 3 pts is outstanding under any circumstances.
Edem and Stewart seem to be astute acquisitions. Brooks might be our MVP this year. D is just unbeatable right now.
Jennings again outperforms opposing QB. Granted, Masoli was terrible with and against the wind.
JJ24 is a better straight up rusher than Harris. He isn't spectacular but seems to have a nose for the holes. Kudos to the Oline.
Ticats were undisciplined. Lions just made plays.

[maxlion]

Re the Lions' unis ...

Man, I love those things. Gonna treat myself tomorrow. Ha ha

Ha! Read my mind!

[BC 1988]

Q1

Masoli moving the Cats.  FG missed.

Lions' unis look very bright.  Creamsicle colours.  Orange and white.  First reaction:  They are OK.

Nice run by JJ24.  JJ to Gore. Pressure on JJ.  FG missed.

 Fumble recovered by Phillips..  FG good. Wind factor crazy.

JJ 24 for 5.  Punt.  Great punt by Leone.

Very nice deception and pressure by Mark W's D.  This fan loves it. JJ to Moore.  JJ24 nice run.  JJ24 first down.

Good quarter for the Lions on the road.Good D.  JJ effective.  JJ24 and the OL moving the ball a bit .

Good D. JJ effective. JJ24 and the OL moving the ball a bit on the ground.

I think we are lucky to be facing HAM without Collaros. It would be nice if he is still not back by week 8 for the rematch.

It's rare to see kickoffs as impaired by the wind as both teams experienced (requiring a holder).

Seeing the Road unis with the proper helmet, on TV they do look better than expected. The orange looks much less reddish shade than the online pics. Of course, it doesn't hurt to see them used in such a convincing victory too.

[DanoT]

Re the Lions' unis ...

Man, I love those things. Gonna treat myself tomorrow. Ha ha

Ha! Read my mind!

I was thinking during the game that we need to officially, at least on Lionbackers, refer to the new away unis as the creamsickles. DONE.

I have always felt that with a "Pride of Lions", "the Pride of all BC" and well, "Gay Pride" there is a strong basis for a marketing connection to Vancouver's gay community. Those away pants may just be the start of a new marketing plan....OK I'm calling those pants GAY, but I'm just trying to put a nice spin on it.

[SammyGreene]

Time for me to pour some more well deserved praise after the past couple of weeks.

Wally: His remarkable tenure as a coach here slipped in the latter years until the 2011 run but now we are reminded again. He holds everyone accountable and has earned the respect of his players that is simply unmatched. These guys would run through a wall for him. As a coach that is hard to accomplish in any league or any sport.

Mark Washington: Thought it might be a make it or break it season in his coaching career. Has learned from his past four seasons as DC and the talent he has to work with. There were a few times where Masoli went through his reads and simply didn't have the options that were available the previous week and you could see his frustration. Washington is throwing a whole bunch of looks at opposing offences including double safeties which is getting Anthony Thompson value game time too. I will leave it to Blitz to get into the Xs and Os of the various looks Washington is giving. But keep this up and he is destined to be at the top of head coaching candidates next season.

Shawn Gore & Jamal Westerman: Two one-time promising Canadians that are thriving with Wally back in charge. Throw Lokombo, Edem, Menard, Steward, Vallincourt and Husband and the Lions' national talent is looking as good as anyone. Also tells what they think of Thompson's ability when they don't even dress an extra American DB. Didn't see Ianuzzi targeted even once last night. Sure would like to see Adekolu get some playing time.

Real short turnaround week with some potential key injuries to be concerned about — Brooks, Johnson and Rainey. Very likely we will see Anthony Allen, Bryant Turner and maybe JC Coleman against the Argos.

[pennw]

Time for me to pour some more well deserved praise after the past couple of weeks.

Wally: His remarkable tenure as a coach here slipped in the latter years until the 2011 run but now we are reminded again. He holds everyone accountable and has earned the respect of his players that is simply unmatched. These guys would run through a wall for him. As a coach that is hard to accomplish in any league or any sport.

Mark Washington: Thought it might be a make it or break it season in his coaching career. Has learned from his past four seasons as DC and the talent he has to work with. There were a few times where Masoli went through his reads and simply didn't have the options that were available the previous week and you could see his frustration. Washington is throwing a whole bunch of looks at opposing defences including double safeties which is getting Anthony Thompson value game time too. I will leave it to Blitz to get into the Xs and Os of the various looks Washington is giving. But keep this up and he is destined to be at the top of head coaching candidates next season.

Shawn Gore & Jamal Westerman: Two one-time promising Canadians that are thriving with Wally back in charge. Throw Lokombo, Edem, Menard, Steward, Vallincourt and Husband and the Lions' national talent is looking as good as anyone. Also tells what they think of Thompson's ability when they don't even dress an extra American DB. Didn't see Ianuzzi targeted even once last night. Sure would like to see Adekolu get some playing time.

Real short turnaround week with some potential key injuries to be concerned about — Brooks, Johnson and Rainey. Very likely we will see Anthony Allen, Bryant Turner and maybe JC Coleman against the Argos.

I think you mean Jabar Westerman , his brother's name is Jamal .

[cromartie]

Mark Washington: Thought it might be a make it or break it season in his coaching career. Has learned from his past four seasons as DC and the talent he has to work with. There were a few times where Masoli went through his reads and simply didn't have the options that were available the previous week and you could see his frustration. Washington is throwing a whole bunch of looks at opposing defences including double safeties which is getting Anthony Thompson value game time too. I will leave it to Blitz to get into the Xs and Os of the various looks Washington is giving. But keep this up and he is destined to be at the top of head coaching candidates next season.

This is what I saw that I liked the most.

Tasker had a great game. But he had a great game because he was the inside receiver whose job it was to sit in the zone between the hashes and be the receiver that took what the zone gave them. When he has a great game it means that the outside pressure worked, be it from our ends or from zone blitzes. It also means that our outside corners and halves won their matchups against their man either because of overall pressure or because of solid coverage ability one on one. He's the security blanket in that offense and he was the only one they had. (This is not a knock on his talent. He makes his dad proud, I'm sure.)

Not sure why you guys have been sleeping on Gore. I've seen him take some hits that would make JC82 cringe going over the middle. If he hasn't succeeded it has, in my mind, been more a matter of scheme than of ability.

A super athletic Nat LB such as Lokombo. Yes, Yes, Javy Glatt had his fans.

That's not how I remember it. But he made one key stop to help seal a GC victory so I suppose he gets a pass.