Continuing on with this trend example, here are the statistics of two other Lions who first lost and then won the Grey Cup - Roy Dewalt and Dave Dickenson.Robbie wrote: ↑Wed Nov 08, 2023 1:02 pmIn the 1963 Grey Cup in which the Lions lost 21-10, Joe Kapp went 17-34 for 254 yards and 1 TD pass and 1 interception.
Whereas in the 1964 Grey Cup in which the Lions won 34-24, Joe Kapp actually performed worse with 10-21 for 144 yards with 0 TD passes and 1 interception.
So this goes to show having better QB stats in terms of more completions and passing yards doesn't mean that the team will score more points or win the game.
In the 1983 Grey Cup, Roy Dewalt's passing was 28-47 for 325 YDS, 2 TD, and 1 INT and his offence put on 17 points in the first half but was completely shut out in the second half in a 18-17 loss. And as explained, in the 1985 Grey Cup Roy Dewalk was 14-28 for 394 yards, 3 TD's, and 0 interceptions for a 37-24 win. So even though Dewalt made twice a many completions in the 1983 GC with 28 compared to just 14 in the 1985 GC, no doubt overall his 1985 performance was a huge improvement.
Dave Dickenson started off strong in the 2004 GC for several completions for a quick TD on the first drive of the game and ended up with 18-27 for 201 YDS, 1 TD, 0 INT and also ran for 8/36 YDS and 1 TD but we all know that Lions lost 27-19. Redeeming himself two years later in the 2006 GC, Dickenson was 18-29 for 184 YDS, 0 TD, 0 INT and ran for 6/53 YDS and 0 TD's. So comparing 2004 with 2006, the completions are the same at 18 but in 2004 he passed slightly more at 201 yards to 184 yards, and also threw a touchdown and rushed for another one while in 2006 GC 25-14 win, 19 points came off of Paul McCallum and the single Lions TD by Ian Smart was on a lateral pass that was actually thrown by Buck Pierce. But nevertheless Dickenson was commended with game MVP honours.
So in each of these three cases, there were better statistics by the QB the first time round but the team lost while in his second time round, there were stats that were worse than his first time but the team won and in the case with Dewalt and Dickenson, won MVP. I suppose had there was GC MVP in the 1964, Joe Kapp would have own it despite mediocre stats.
In the 1994 WDF, most Lions fans would remember Danny McManus over Kent Austin simply because McManus engineered the final drive and the final TD. But let's not forget that Kent Austin wasn't too bad either as the starter and put on 21 points on the board before he went down with an injury.
That said, in the memorable 2004 WDF in which the Lions prevailed 27-25 in OT, which Lions QB do you attribute more to the win - Casey Printers or Dave Dickenson? Printers was 19/27, 242 YDS, 2 TD, 1 INT and ran once for 18 yards while Dickenson was 9/11, 155 YDS, 1 TD, 0 INT. So overall, Printers had more completions, more yards, and more TD passes but I have a feeling Dickenson received more credit for the win so that's why Buono selected him to start the 2004 GC over the 2004 MOP.
And quarterbacking the 1991 GC, Matt Dunigan was only 12-29 for 142 yards and the Argonauts only had 7 first downs but was he did complete 2 TD's and 0 interceptions and ran 7 times for 44 yards. Overall, Danny Barrett appeared to have better statistics with 34-56 for 377 YDS, 1 TD, albeit 3 interceptions and he also ran for 9 times for 14 YDS and 1 touchdown while his Stampeders offence produced four times as many first downs at 28. But nevertheless the Argonauts prevailed convincingly 36-21 so in many cases, better stats don't result in wins.Robbie wrote: ↑Wed Nov 08, 2023 1:02 pmYou forgot to mention Matt Dunigan.
In his only playoff run in 1988 as a Lion, he performed well in both the WDSF and WDF by putting a lot of points in the respective 42-18 and 37-19 wins on the road. But in the 1988 GC, he only went 14-32 and threw two costly interceptions.
