Eskimos 37 - Lions 26, Post-Game Stats and Comments

[David]

How brilliant is the decision looking now to release Justin Sorensen? I have been impressed with Husband's play, but keeping Sorensen would have allowed us to play Husband at guard or vice-versa.

Have you ever horsed around with your young son or nephew and stuck your palm on his forehead and stood two feet back while he flails away? That's what our D-line looked like going against the Esks O-line. Very concerned about our inability to blitz as well. It's invariably picked up, and happens year after year, with or without Bighill in the line-up.


DH

[JaboVancouver]

Leos are 4-2 after six games, maybe we shouldn't be abandoning ship and calling for Buono's head. Yes, the Eskimos game was bad, and given the injuries Edmonton has faced, we should have had a better result. Lions have had there own share of injury issues to date, especially in the secondary. Maybe Ryan Phillips gets a call?

They have to be better on both sides of the line. There are lots of guys who could be called out, but as a unit, both need to be better, period. The personnel is what it is, for better or worse, so adjusting schemes and alignments may be a short term fix. Trading Olafioye was a cap decision that doesn't seem to be working out so far, but it's still early.

[CardiacKid]

I went and checked Frank Alexander's Twitter feed to see if anything was posted that would give any indication of his status. He still includes the Lions in his profile description but does likewise with the Panthers.

He makes mention of pursuing some form of physical therapy along with some rather oblique references to "getting back in". Not sure if he is referring to football in general or the NFL in particular.

Not suggesting he would have been an absolute solution for the DLine but he did offer the potential.

[Don Miller]

Not sure if RP is the answer. He has lots of experience but has lost a step. How do you let a receiver get that wide open for a108 yard td? Weak O line and minimal pass rush. Foucault is getting beat like a drum. Time to start someone else in his spot. Sask will not be as easy as some think. They have a good receiving corp and with the injuries we have in the secondary the game will be a lot closer than people think. We play them back to back which is tough especially in their new stadium which seems louder than the old one. Hopefully we can get some NFL cuts to help out. #44 would look good if we can get him back.

[CardiacKid]

I see Dillon Guy is on the Rider PR. Time for a little tit for tat? Would make for some great headlines at the very least. Take that stubblejumpers!
Not sure if his being on the PR is a reflection of his health status or more due to his relative experience and passport. The Lions were willing to roll the dice on his health once and according to some press reports at the time of training camp, his knees were good and his attitude showed an inclination to get physical and nasty. Wally says he wants more physicality across the board so why not poach the dude? Of course I have no practical knowledge of how to get players from other PRs but it has happened before.

As for Foucault, it would be unwise to consign him to the scrap heap yet. We just faced a guy in Sorensen who was once upon a time the poster boy for draft day busts. Patrick Kabongo went from struggling in Edmonton to resurrect his career with the Lions. My point is the guy just might need to step back from being a starter for awhile and hone his skills to start afresh.

[BC 1988]

Great post Blitz! I share your frustrations. Every time our Leos have the attention of this market (and I guarantee the local TV numbers were strong, evidenced by the buzz around the team all week), be it important divisional match-ups in the regular season or "do or die" playoff games, we completely come off the rails. Getting exposed by superior coaching is a big part of it. I'd be interested if Steve Daniels keeps track of "busted coverages." If we haven't led the league in Mark Washington's tenure, we must be damn close.

For example, in this game, Lulay threw some interceptions, as he did in his two previous outings. I will not blame him as I did not blame Jennings last season when he did. Lulay was not 'trying to do too much because we were behind'. He was trying to 'make plays' because if our players don't 'make exceptional plays' we lose. And he was trying to make plays under very adverse conditions like a pass rush in his face all game.

Lulay was 22/26 under those condtions. He played very well with the game plan he was given, the pass rush he encountered, and the plays that he was asked to 'execute'.

Another post-game quote that infuriated me was Buono saying Travis "has to get rid of the ball quicker." Implying some or all those sacks were his fault, when he was running for his life! If this game was in less capable hands than our field general Lulay, it would have been a massive blow-out.....with a third of the Eskimo starters injured!


DH

..."has to get rid of the ball quicker." is the most depressing thing in the aftermath of that game. I'd like to see Wally try to perform as QB in the criminally short time TL and JJ10 have had in every game this season except vs WPG.

It's depressing because he isn't acknowledging what is a coaching responsibility (not the QBs). The Lions are going to be obliterated vs CGY in 3 weeks if he doesn't work on the real issues by then.

[TheLionKing]

Buono would never throw his coaching staff under the bus. Never about schemes, playcalling. All about EXECUTION

[David]

I went and checked Frank Alexander's Twitter feed to see if anything was posted that would give any indication of his status. He still includes the Lions in his profile description but does likewise with the Panthers.

He makes mention of pursuing some form of physical therapy along with some rather oblique references to "getting back in". Not sure if he is referring to football in general or the NFL in particular.

Not suggesting he would have been an absolute solution for the DLine but he did offer the potential.

I've been curious about this too. I sent 2 tweets to Farhan about Frank Alexander in the last couple of weeks (whether the foot re-hab is just a convenient exit strategy for both sides) which he never responded to. I may try LU.

Alexander is listed on the Lions website.

https://www.bclions.com/players/frank-alexander/162083/


DH

[Gridiron Ernie]

Toward the end of this clip (post-game comments https://www.bclions.com/2017/07/28/buon ... estructed/) Wally says "They were the better team tonight -- they played like it, they coached like it". I'm quoting this not to be confrontational here regards any comments or opinions expressed here, only to remind that, for the record, Wally did admit this about the coaching. And indeed he does time to time allow for this type of verbal critique -- pointing a finger back to himself and his staff. It's only fair to acknowledge that. Of course, now, him having said that, what we're all hopefully awaiting are changes and improvements! Quite rightfully!

I'm not a big fan of Wally -- his personality and style. Admittedly my GM/Coach hero in this league is Huff. But that's beside the point, as it's to some degree a matter of personal taste with me, I know, but there's more to it than that it seems to me. However I'm not savvy enough to put my finger on it. That said, I have a huge amount of respect for Wally and his knowledge of experience. I always want to give him the benefit of the doubt. But, to be candid, that's tough going at times. But seeing I've never played or coached I have to defer to him, albeit grudgingly. I really appreciate all the insight and alternate angles I get here at Lionbackers.

Emotionally, I can quickly find myself on either side of the fence. i.e. if he's given too much grief I get my back up a little, and if he gets carte blanche pass I fume. Lol. That's why I cling to comments like I quoted, hoping it's not just a passing comment, but meant as a stern rebuke and that the coaches will examine everything clearly, and act upon it.

The trenches have been discussed already. Quite right. However not too much has been knocked about re the STs -- although some have cited that for sure. I'm here to amplify that! It pisses me off that two real talents and the work they do (or try to do) --namely Ty Long and Chris Rainey, goes for naught. In Long's case, he mightily boots that ball, but our punt coverage is less than mighty. And Rainey, for whatever reason(s) gets nowhere in his return game. Has he lost confidence? Is he getting zero blocking? Is Marcello Simmons lacking as a coach, or for some reason's lost his coaching mojo?

Dunno. But there's nothing that frustrates me more than the wasted opportunity I see each time our STs are out there. It's sad to witness. Yes, I know, the promise of Chris Williams is just around the corner (re the kick return game) but success and advantage shouldn't be dependent on that. Hopefully after the next game I'll hear Wally in the wake of a victory (fingers crossed!) in truth saying "We were the better team tonight -- we played like it, and finally we COACHED like it". Wouldn't that be sweet.

[CardiacKid]

Great post Blitz! I share your frustrations. Every time our Leos have the attention of this market (and I guarantee the local TV numbers were strong, evidenced by the buzz around the team all week), be it important divisional match-ups in the regular season or "do or die" playoff games, we completely come off the rails. Getting exposed by superior coaching is a big part of it. I'd be interested if Steve Daniels keeps track of "busted coverages." If we haven't led the league in Mark Washington's tenure, we must be damn close.

For example, in this game, Lulay threw some interceptions, as he did in his two previous outings. I will not blame him as I did not blame Jennings last season when he did. Lulay was not 'trying to do too much because we were behind'. He was trying to 'make plays' because if our players don't 'make exceptional plays' we lose. And he was trying to make plays under very adverse conditions like a pass rush in his face all game.

Lulay was 22/26 under those condtions. He played very well with the game plan he was given, the pass rush he encountered, and the plays that he was asked to 'execute'.

Another post-game quote that infuriated me was Buono saying Travis "has to get rid of the ball quicker." Implying some or all those sacks were his fault, when he was running for his life! If this game was in less capable hands than our field general Lulay, it would have been a massive blow-out.....with a third of the Eskimo starters injured!


DH

..."has to get rid of the ball quicker." is the most depressing thing in the aftermath of that game. I'd like to see Wally try to perform as QB in the criminally short time TL and JJ10 have had in every game this season except vs WPG.

What I found very befuddling in the loss was the absence of the running game. Given the fact the Edmonton has such a stacked DLine, I assumed the Lions would have inserted more run plays to at least give the Esks something to think about. Give them a reason to NOT pin their ears back and think pass rush. In the end JJ24 had 5 rushes. Yes Rainey had some touches as well but the game plan did not appear to account for helping the Oline.

My puzzlement was further entrenched by the knowledge that the Leo's did have success against that same DLine in the first game of the year. JJ24 had almost 100 yards with a 6.6 rush average on 14 carries. This recent game was 5 carries for 30 yards.

IMO the OLine and Travis would have benefitted from having a more prominent run game.

[TheLionKing]

In my opinion Khari Jones did an awful job of neutralizing the Edmonton pass rush.

[maxlion]

I "reviewed tape" (thanks to youtube) of the first half with an eye on the oline.

Others might see it differently (and I'm no expert, just a fan) but, of the 3 sacks, the first was due to a missed block by Lumbala, the second due to Lulay not finding a receiver, and the third to Steward and Foucault getting their signals crossed.

There were a couple of pressures as well where Lulay got hit almost immediately. Palmer was culpable on both and Foucault partly responsible on one. For the most part, Lulay was getting enough time to throw and not get hit.

The 2 interceptions had nothing to do with the oline, just basically bad throws by Lulay.

The oline took 3 penalties, 2 by Palmer, one by Steward.

Overall, in the first half at least, it was not a stellar performance by the oline, but not terrible either. Palmer was the worst of the bunch, followed by Steward/Foucault.

The main reasons we fell so far behind was big plays against the D and the 2 interceptions by Lulay.

[David]

In my opinion Khari Jones did an awful job of neutralizing the Edmonton pass rush.

* We didn't move the launch point 'til the second half. We were often 2nd and long in the first.

* Why don't we ever seem to go with double tights, even occasionally as a different look?

* We used the screen pass effectively, but I would have screen passed the Eskimos to death (Rainey and Johnson) until they could prove they could stop it. It would have neutralized their aggressive pass rush.

* I sure wish we would adopt a more sophisticated running attack with more nuance and imagination.


DH

[Blitz]

Great post Blitz! I share your frustrations. Every time our Leos have the attention of this market (and I guarantee the local TV numbers were strong, evidenced by the buzz around the team all week), be it important divisional match-ups in the regular season or "do or die" playoff games, we completely come off the rails. Getting exposed by superior coaching is a big part of it. I'd be interested if Steve Daniels keeps track of "busted coverages." If we haven't led the league in Mark Washington's tenure, we must be damn close.



Another post-game quote that infuriated me was Buono saying Travis "has to get rid of the ball quicker." Implying some or all those sacks were his fault, when he was running for his life! If this game was in less capable hands than our field general Lulay, it would have been a massive blow-out.....with a third of the Eskimo starters injured!


DH

..."has to get rid of the ball quicker." is the most depressing thing in the aftermath of that game. I'd like to see Wally try to perform as QB in the criminally short time TL and JJ10 have had in every game this season except vs WPG.

What I found very befuddling in the loss was the absence of the running game. Given the fact the Edmonton has such a stacked DLine, I assumed the Lions would have inserted more run plays to at least give the Esks something to think about. Give them a reason to NOT pin their ears back and think pass rush. In the end JJ24 had 5 rushes. Yes Rainey had some touches as well but the game plan did not appear to account for helping the Oline.

My puzzlement was further entrenched by the knowledge that the Leo's did have success against that same DLine in the first game of the year. JJ24 had almost 100 yards with a 6.6 rush average on 14 carries. This recent game was 5 carries for 30 yards.

IMO the OLine and Travis would have benefitted from having a more prominent run game.

It sure is frustrating David to see such a talented team overall be outcoached, the busted coverage69s, etc. In terms of the offensive and defensive line play in this game, here are a few thoughts.

1. Yes, we know that Edmonton has a very good defensive line. They sacked Jennings five times in the first game of the season and they sacked Lulay four times in our recent loss. Both quarterbacks were under severe duress in the two games played so far. In the first contest Jennings threw for 264 yds. and Lulay threw for 259 yds. in the most recent contest.

2. While Edmonton has a total of 12 quarterback sacks so far this season, 9 of those 12 sacks have been against our B.C. Lions. In Edmonton's three other games so far this season, they had 0 sacks against Montreal, 1 sack against Ottawa, and 2 sacks against Hamilton. So that 'formidable' Edmonton defensive line has averaged 1 sack per game so far this season against any team not named the B.C. Lions and an average of 4.5 sacks per game against the B.C. Lions.

So we obviously have an issue, in terms of pass protection. I see the issue as a two fold problem.

1. The Facault/Buono Issue

What is the difference between our 2016 B.C. Lions offensive line and this year's edition? So far this season, the only difference was that we had Steward playing left tackle and Facault starting at left guard. Husband, Fabian, and Johnson were our starters for the first four games and Palmer started in place of Johnson last game and was considered an upgrade at right tackle from training camp.

So, looking at Steward's play at left tackle, he has been incredible. B.C. Fan stated Steward has played better so far at left tackle than Olifioye did in that new position for him last season. I agree. Steward, in my opinion, is the best lineman in the CFL. So, in terms of personell, the only difference is Facault at left guard.

Why is Facault starting at left guard? Well, from the time we traded Olifioye for Facault, I said Facault would be starting here in 2017, whether he was good o r not good enough because Wally came under fire for the trade and he would want to make the ill advised trade look good. Montreal didn't project Facault as a starter this season and Facault would not sign in Montreal for anything less than a starter's salary and was not willing to report unless he felt assured he would start. Its why Montreal traded him.

Wally signed Facault for a starters salary and offerered assurances that he would get every opportunity to start. Wally never announced Steward as his starting left tackle for 2017 and I believe he initially planned to have Facault start at left tackle and planned to shift Steward back to left guard but it became obvious early in training camp that Facault would not be the answer at left tackle.

Therefore Plan B went into effect. At the start of training camp, Buono penciled Vaillencourt, a right side lineman all of his career at left guard and Fabian at right guard. The obvious would have been to have Fabian, who had already played a season as our starting left guard, at left guard and Vaillencourt penciled in at right guard, where he started the first two games for us last year. So, Facault was shifted to left guard. While the position would be new and different for Facault, it was less challenging than switching sides, as it was for Vaillencourt, because so much is different when a lineman switches sides of the offensive line.

Mission accomplished for Buono. The sly old fox had proven that he had traded an outstanding but expensive offensive lineman in Olifioye for a National starting offensive lineman in Facault. The trade now showed that The 'Legend' knows best.

Only one problem. Facault has had his shorts eaten by opposing defensive linemen. Jennings is hurt because Facault was badly beaten and the defender had a straight shot at Jennings. Lulay experienced the same scenario in the last game, as Facault never touched his man, let alone block him but Lulay remained in the game. We were fortunate not to be starting our third string quarterback next week.

Why is Facault still starting at left guard? It certainly is inconsistent with last season, when Steward was benched, while playing well, for not making a run block late in a game. Facault has had a ton more licence? Why? Its a good question to ask. To me the answer is simple. Facault is going to get every opportunity that no other lineman would get because Wally traded a popular and outstanding offensive lineman for him.

When we traded Olifioye I was incensed. Many other Lionbackers expressed great displeasure at the time. Lowell Ullrich expressed dismay in his LU way. But others bought into Wally's thinking on the topic. We didn't need to trade Olifioye based upon the SMS. We had accommodated Olifioye's salary in 2016 and the signing of Chris Williams, didnt' push us against the SMS either, with the higher end salaries of vets such as Bighill, Bazzie, Phillips, Westerman, and Brandon Stewart no longer being paid. Buono chose to go in a direction that would push us against the SMS and therefore want to shed Olifioye's salary.

The wise thing would have been to keep Olifioye and make different decisions, including some of our free agent decisions. I said at the time, as did other Lionbackers, that championship teams are developed on the offensive and defensive lines. Olifioye should be starting at right tackle and Steward at left tackle. Or Olifioye should be starting at left tackle and Steward at left guard. Either way, we would be a hell of a lot better than we are today. Our offensive line last season was championship material except for right tackle.

Our offensive line is worse, not better this season and Buono is the most responsible for that happening. He can *beeotch* and point fingers about our offensive line play against Edmonton but he is the driving force and the decision maker for our inability to have the right personnel in there in the first place.

From a personnel perspective, the best thing we could do right now is move Fabian to left guard and Vaillencourt to right guard.

2. The Dorazio Issue

I've posted this stat a few times on Lionbackers in the past. The CFL team that gave up the most sacks in the CFL for the ten year period in which Dan Dorazio was our offensive line coach before he was let go by Jeff Tedford was our B.C Lions. Even in our 2006 Grey Cup winning season we gave up the most sacks in the CFL. That should never have happened. Our personell was better than that. We had many quarterbacks from Printers, Pierce, Jackson, and Lulay who had very good escapability. Numerous other CFL teams were lousy during that time period, experienced many coaching changes, including new offensive line coaches each season.

Dorazio is back, Buono is back, and the old scenario is back. Our staring quarterback is injured. Our quarterback is under heat and duress. Wally is *beeotch* our quarterback is not getting rid of the football fast enough. We're giving up the most quarterback sacks in the CFL. The trend is your friend and in this case, the trend is your enemy.

Yes, Cardiac Kid, you are so right...we should have run the football more, if for no other reason than to stop the Eskimos defensive line from teeing off against Lulay. But Lulay will take the heat from Buono, as did Jennings last year for throwing interceptions (and Lulay, who is usually very good at not turning the football is doing it too). Is it their fault? Not to me. The heat should be on Buono and Dorazio. They are the ones who should be most accountable for the personell decisions we've made, the trade we decided upon, the starters who are playing, and the play of our offensive line. This has happened way too many times to just blame our offensive linemen.

The press and media may buy into Wally's blame game but not those on Lionbackers who see past the spin and blame game.

[South Pender]

I don't blame Wally as much as some on this forum. He is generally blamed for poor game planning, but, in my view, this should more properly be laid at the feet of the coordinators. Wally is the CEO, and he has hired coordinators Khari Jones and Mark Washington to do the more detailed planning and game management. Wally is the guy who gets the players here and motivates them and his assistants to do their job well. He's not calling the plays; that's left up to the coordinators. If we have come with a poor offensive game plan, blame Jones, not Wally. Unless it's true that Wally forces (or at least influences) his coordinators in certain sub-optimal directions--which I tend to doubt. And some of the blame that is being leveled at the coaches belongs more properly to individual players. Who should be blamed for blown coverages? In most cases, I'd say, the player who didn't carry out his assignment the way he was coached. And if Wally points to poor player execution in such cases, he's right. If the players are unmotivated and are failing to give their best shot, then certainly some blame should be aimed at Wally, but much of the accountability for poor game planning and execution of the game plan belongs elsewhere in my opinion.

At the beginning of the season, many on this forum were seeing Wally's accumulation of talent very positively. Some were questioning the acquisition of David Foucault (and I too was alarmed to see Olafioye go), but the general consensus was that Wally had carried out at least his GM function well. Now he seems to be getting some of the blame for Foucault's poor play--or at least for the fact that he's starting at LG. In my view, the blame goes to Foucault and to Jones and Dorazio. Perhaps most of the blame lies with Jones and Dorazio for not working better with the talent they have. Wally put together the best team he could, and now it's time for his coaching brain trust and the players to step up. In my opinion, the fact that the coordinators and coaches haven't adapted and made necessary changes to this point lies more with them than with Wally.

Just my opinion. Others will disagree....