Calgary at BC Nov 12 2021

[Luck1sOnOurSid3]

When your short, you need every inch. He tucked it and came up short might just as well fumble it. At least you have a chance of your guy falling on it.

And some how a player should know that while running with it? How does he extend with his shoulder down into a defender? Reaching it out would lose leverage and we would have been even more short.

From a seasoned QB with Reilly's exp. Absolutely he should know exactly where the ball needs to be in a situation like that. He took too long deciding to run for it and when he did, he came up short. We can dance around it all night and in the end this one play doesn't really matter. It has been a whole season of missed opportunities, bad decisions and while that isn't all on Reilly, he is top guy on this team and as previously mentioned 9-20 over the last 2 seasons. I like the person but I can't see how we bring him back at that level of pay. His age, his wear and tear simply don't support that decision.

Disagree completely. He literally was looking for someone to get a pass off to to get the yardage needed and tucked it when no one was open. If your season relies on your QB rushing over ten yards on the last play, your receivers have let the team down not getting open. And I keep hearing about his level of pay. He took a pay cut. Who are you going to get for his level play for 80% completion and 340 yards for less money?

[Luck1sOnOurSid3]

Reilly is a good QB. His stats are actually quite stellar. But it just doesn't seem to be working here.
His time here reminds me of Messier as a Canuck. Good player, but team as a whole is broken and, alas, neither has played a playoff game. If I was Doman, Campbell would be gone tomorrow (he is a hesitant coach, deer in headlights much of the time, passive and, most egregiously, son of Hugh Campbell, Lime and Mustard mortal enemy of the Leos), Reilly contract would be renegotiated so he becomes A1/A2 QB/co-coach and mentors Rourke, who is groomed for starter position next year because the kid is good.
I find a dependable kicker and pay well. I revamp O-Line and hire a new OC, and Travis Lulay comes to mind (if he can break away from his family's financial services firm in Oregon), as does Geroy.
The past decade has been a test of a fan and, quite frankly, we should all be sick to death of this *poop*. There are nine teams in the league. It needn't be this hard.
I like what I hear from Doman. Let's see some bold moves and innovative change.

So you fire Campbell and have to pay him and Claybrooks and still find a new coach while staying under cap? Try to renegotiate Reilly who already took a pay cut and still might lead the league in passing yards?

That leaves us with a sophomore QB, a low paid HC because of our cap, and zero money to actually fix this team. We need to fix the offensive line where we have so much money tied up in with zero rushing game and a defensive line that doesn’t allow QBs to pick apart our decent secondary.

[Sir Purrcival]

You don't get points for trying. I'm not putting all the blame on Reilly but when you get paid top dollar, you are expected to make miracles happen now and again. There are six other QB's (loosely speaking) who are currently going on to the playoffs who get paid less than him. Your right, one play to make or break your season is a failure not only on Reilly's part but it has hardly been about 1 play, 1 game or even 1 season. You start somewhere after this dog's breakfast. The GM, Coach and player personnel are all under scrutiny. Reilly has to be in those sights. His position on the team and in the hierarchy demand it. The experiment of paying for a top tier QB has to this point been an abject failure. We could hardly do worse. I'm not saying set him loose but I am saying we can't afford to pay him what he is getting paid for the results. It makes no sense fiscally or for the long term popularity of this team. Wins and competitiveness are the things that really sell and we have shown neither.

[Alputt]

So, they screw up the kick off, do a good job of stopping Calgary, take the ensuing punt to the end zone, lose that on a pair of penalties, end up on their own 7 yard line, go two and out and give Calgary the ball on our 50. How can a team take a great TD and turn it into such a comedy of screw up? They looked to have a real chance and they have pissed it away again.

It's our whole season boiled down to under a minute of football...

[TheLionKing]

Most teams have a designated player on special teams who does a head count prior to a play. Used to be Jason Akragi. Current Lions team don't appear to have one.

[Luck1sOnOurSid3]

You don't get points for trying. I'm not putting all the blame on Reilly but when you get paid top dollar, you are expected to make miracles happen now and again. There are six other QB's (loosely speaking) who are currently going on to the playoffs who get paid less than him. Your right, one play to make or break your season is a failure not only on Reilly's part but it has hardly been about 1 play, 1 game or even 1 season. You start somewhere after this dog's breakfast. The GM, Coach and player personnel are all under scrutiny. Reilly has to be in those sights. His position on the team and in the hierarchy demand it. The experiment of paying for a top tier QB has to this point been an abject failure. We could hardly do worse. I'm not saying set him loose but I am saying we can't afford to pay him what he is getting paid for the results. It makes no sense fiscally or for the long term popularity of this team. Wins and competitiveness are the things that really sell and we have shown neither.

Like I said, it seems weird to point fingers at the QB position when our guy is leading the league in yards. It’s literally the only position on this team that is leading the league where we are sitting right now. With a kicking game that isn’t amateur at best and we have a winning record.

Let’s say Reilly didn’t play, do you really think Rourke would be leading the league in passing? Do you think the contract Rourke will have next year and Reilly’s current renegotiated contract difference will be enough to fix an offensive line with trash protection and zero rushing on top of a defensive line with zero pressure?

If anything we got a home town discount on Reilly because he wanted to be close to family on Washington and renegotiated. There isn’t another QB in the league that could be leading in passing yards on this team. Maybe if we could bring Flutie or Moon in their primes.

With a half decent kicking game we might be hosting a playoff game. Instead we are missing out again. Reilly doesn’t even break the top 5 reasons this team is garbage. I don’t think we win a single game this season without him at the helm.

[B.C.FAN]

That was an entertaining, hard-fought game. Both offences moved the ball well all night. The stadium atmosphere was great and the young crowd was energetic. But as was the case most of the year, the B.C. defence just couldn't get stops when it needed them.

Bo Levi Mitchell attacked Marcus Sayles relentlessly in man coverage from the first play of the game and had lots of time to find holes across the middle in the Lions' soft zone. The Lions turned up the pressure in the fourth quarter and appeared to take the lead on an 86-yard punt return TD by Lucky Whitehead but two penalties on the return put the Lions back at their own 7 yard line and after a rare 2-and-out, the Lions punted for only the second time in the game and Calgary went 50 yards in 3 plays for the insurance TD. In a game where B.C. kicker Nick Vogel went 3 for 3 on field goals, special teams again ended up playing a key role in the Lions' defeat.

The B.C. offence outgained Calgary 473 yards to 373, outgaining the Stamps in the air and on the ground and holding a 3-minute advantage in time of possession. Michael Reilly completed 30 of 37 passes for 340 yards and a TD. With Bryan Burnham limited by a hand injury, Dominique Rhymes became Reilly's go-to receiver on first down, with a season-best 6 catches for 111 yards, and Jevon Cottoy was his prime target on second down, with 6 catches for 70 yards and a beautiful 16-yard fourth quarter TD to bring the Lions within 3 points. James Butler had his best game as a Lion with 125 yards from scrimmage on 18 touches. The offensive line had its best game blocking ad didn't lose a beat when David Knevel replaced an injured Joel Figueroa in the third quarter. But two fumbles by Reilly gave the Stamps a 3-1 edge in turnovers and contributed to the defeat.

Inexperience and mistakes on defence and special teams and the coaching staff hurt the Lions all year. There are holes to fill but the offence is strong and the young defence will get better with experience. There is a good core on which to build a competitive, entertaining team. We got a good indication of that tonight.

[TheLionKing]

Statistics are for losers. Lions don't have a running game. Reilly have no choice but to pass. Add in the fact that the Lions are trailing in most of the games. ..... again they have no option but to pass to try to get back into the game.

[B.C.FAN]

JJ. Adams’ postgame story sums up the game and the season nicely. He also notes that Reilly
attempted only two throws of over 25 yards on Friday. I had been wondering how much his arm is still bothering him. Reilly took only limited reps in pregame warmups and did not attempt any throws over 20 yards. Rourke handled all the throwing drills with another passer in street clothes. I couldn’t tell if it was Jordan Maksymic or practice roster QB Kevin Thomson.

Stampeders 33, Lions 23: Playoffs now out of reach after another late loss

[Hambone]

So they give up the lead at the half because they can't make a change to punt formation cleanly.

Jumping in late on this one as I just got out of the stadium. I need to see a replay of that again. I watched 2 Lions sprint to the sidelines directly towards me. Looked to me like they got to the sidelines in time. How the 2 zebras down near the goal line 60 yards away as the crow flies could determine they didn't get off in time is beyond me.

And the question was raised why didn't Campbell call a time out? Maybe it was a weak call, we didn't really see it on the screen but there were a few weak calls that even commentators seemingly thought were questionable this game. But it was what it was, another mismanaged moment that later came back to kick us in the butt. The outcome might have been the same but bad enough defeating the other team, even worse defeating yourself which the Lions did all too much of today.

When Al Bradbury's crew is working a game weak calls and over-officiating are to be expected.

[Hambone]

His time here reminds me of Messier as a Canuck. Good player, but team as a whole is broken and, alas, neither has played a playoff game. If I was Doman, Campbell would be gone tomorrow (he is a hesitant coach, deer in headlights much of the time, passive and, most egregiously, son of Hugh Campbell, Lime and Mustard mortal enemy of the Leos), Reilly contract would be renegotiated so he becomes A1/A2 QB/co-coach and mentors Rourke, who is groomed for starter position next year because the kid is good.
I find a dependable kicker and pay well. I revamp O-Line and hire a new OC, and Travis Lulay comes to mind (if he can break away from his family's financial services firm in Oregon), as does Geroy.
The past decade has been a test of a fan and, quite frankly, we should all be sick to death of this *poop*. There are nine teams in the league. It needn't be this hard.
I like what I hear from Doman. Let's see some bold moves and innovative change.

On shear principle I bristle at any reference to Messier who as a leader was a failure for the last decade of his career. Despite going on to play 10 more years including the 3 in Vancouver the last playoff game a Messier team played was Game 7 of the 1994 Stanley Cup Finals.

IMO it's unlikely Reilly agrees to another salary cut unless the CFL further reduces the SMS. He would also scoff at the idea of a reduced role. As is often recognized by literally everybody here there are multiple things that need to be fixed. Gaining an extra $100K cap space will not upgrade all the OL, pass rush, tailback and kicking woes.

As for Lulay I'd say not a chance of luring him out of his new career in the family business. The pay cut would be massive with job security being minimal. Unless a coach gets himself into a solid, constantly winning organization they become vagabonds who are constantly changing addresses. Lulay is in a sweet spot in his life. He lives in the community he grew up in. Getting to come home to his wife and little girls every night has to be gold for an obviously devoted family man..

Interesting read on 3D yesterday where Craig Dickenson talked about how difficult the FOPs cap is making it for hiring, developing abd retaining good coaches. In it he mentioned how at $35K it's tough to get anybody to listen. At $50K you can at least start a conversation. Kind of gives a sense of the peanuts position coaches make.