RedBlacks 29 - Lions 25, Post-Game Stats and Comments

[CardiacKid]

Well....a loss is a loss but the team did a hell of a better job acquitting themselves in comparison to the losses to Winnipeg and Edmonton. Some frustrating mistakes and some plays that could have turned the game for the Leo’s. But still, I think it shows the team overall has advanced in comparison to just a couple of weeks ago.

The loss of Routley was the turning point for me.

Herdman did not look like a 2nd year player that was drafted in the 7th round. Excellent game from him; a total keeper for a long time by the looks of it. Orange looked good in coverage and made some nice plays on the ball. Overall the offensive line looked very good, even with Jovan’s injury. Knevel looked solid. Collins contributed as well; he gives me the impression as a receiver who needs to be kept somewhat busy lest he loses focus.

Unfortunately the defence called by Washington at the end was not the right one for stopping a RedBlacks style offence.

[David]

Rainey's wife just tweeted out that it's a torn ACL for Rutley.

Doctor said it is but he needs an mri. I talked to his fiancé

Travon Van off the suspended list?

DH

[TheLionKing]

Our defense was non existent on that winning drive. Seriously awful defense, just let them waltz down the field. Tough loss. Needed a td after that great Manny reception.

We've seen that horror show before. Different players over the years, the only constant is Mark Washington.

[TheLionKing]

When did Buono brought back JR Larose to play safety ?

[TheLionKing]

Rainey's wife just tweeted out that it's a torn ACL for Rutley.

Doctor said it is but he needs an mri. I talked to his fiancé

Travon Van off the suspended list?

DH

Devastating news

[B.C.FAN]

The Lions let a winnable game get away from them, blowing a 10-point second-half lead. Here's how:

- They lost the turnover battle 4-1, including a Bryan Burnham fumble in field goal range in the fourth quarter and a Ty Long turnover on downs that set up another fourth-quarter Ottawa field goal.
- They took an early objectionable conduct penalty on Odell Willis that turned a 2-and-out into a 13-play Ottawa drive that resulted in a field goal.
- They took a crucial delay-of-game penalty in the dying minutes that turned a potential touchdown into a field goal and gave the Redblacks momentum to set up their game-winning drive.
- They dropped three potential interceptions, two by Anthony Thompson (who still had a strong game) and one by Winston Rose.
- They dropped several passes that could have given them first downs in Ottawa territory.

The crucial mistakes overshadowed many positives:

- Jordan Herdman was a force on defence, making 12 tackles and holding William Powell to 50 yards rushing on 14 carries, an average of 3.6 yards.
- The defence as a whole held Ottawa to six 2-and-outs in the second half but the Lions were outscored 20-11 in the half, due to fumbles and penalties.
- Already without Jeremiah Johnson and Solomon Elimimian heading into the game, they lost Jovan Olafioye, Chris Rainey, Brandon Rutley and Garry Peters to injuries in the game, but others stepped up, notably David Knevel, who was solid at right tackle in place of Olafioye.
- Travis Lulay passed for over 300 yards for the second straight game after his 10-month layoff, and shook off last week's rust by showing excellent touch on his long balls, completing 4 passes of over 30 yards. It's nice to have a QB who can throw the long ball.
- Manny Arceneaux had 5 catches for 152 yards, including a 35-yarder on the first play of the game and a 78-yarder that set up a go-ahead field goal after the time count penalty.

It would have given this team a big lift to go into their bye week on a two-game win streak. Instead they get an extra week to lick their wounds, and they're still in a dogfight for playoff positions. It could be worse.

[Toppy Vann]

Overall on def, the Lions were a lot better than I thought they'd be and on OFF they were fine except for a drop here and there and screwing up at the end after the long pass and run to #84.

Herdman was more than acceptable in the middle and I liked how the DBs were knocking the passes out of RedBlk receivers - something it looked like they must have focused on in practice.

Not sure what happened at the end with Washington's DEF collapsing in panic given how well they had performed sending OTT off the field with a lot of 2 and outs. Overall he seemed to have a decent game plan but somehow his lack of confidence as a coach spilled over and they let OTT complete passes that earlier on would not have been completed in this game.

Odell got sat and came out and got a sack - then fell back to same old pressure. Not sure what value he's given them on the rest of the downs.

DBs got to practice catching INTs as making two INTS that looked catchable might have been game changers.

Lulay was pretty good and his RECs didn't make every catch and reliable players like Burnham can't start running with a unwrapped up ball with a DEF on him. These plays are killers.

There was far more to be positive about re the DEF and the run blocking with a make shift O-line. But when you're 2 and 3 and Rutley's ripping off long yards, don't try to go downfield. If you're gonna run come up with something that they 're not waiting for.

Overall it was a bad game to lose as Ottawa was beatable but there were lots of positives too.

I watched live until the half, then recorded as I had to cook for wife. TWO games this year same huge TSN f....up. It cuts off at 2 hrs 23 min so I saw the great bomb to Manny and hi-lites on TSN from there. What's with those idiots at TSN? I'll have to remember to record Sportscentre post games.

[B.C.FAN]

I watched live until the half, then recorded as I had to cook for wife. TWO games this year same huge TSN f....up. It cuts off at 2 hrs 23 min so I saw the great bomb to Manny and hi-lites on TSN from there. What's with those idiots at TSN? I'll have to remember to record Sportscentre post games.

I haven’t had any problems with TSN. I programmed my PVR to record the scheduled three-hour game plus an extra 15 minutes and that's what I got.

[Toppy Vann]

I watched live until the half, then recorded as I had to cook for wife. TWO games this year same huge TSN f....up. It cuts off at 2 hrs 23 min so I saw the great bomb to Manny and hi-lites on TSN from there. What's with those idiots at TSN? I'll have to remember to record Sportscentre post games.

I haven’t had any problems with TSN. I programmed my PVR to record the scheduled three-hour game plus an extra 15 minutes and that's what I got.

I admit I'm not the most careful person when it comes to recording. I get caught as I tried to cook in the half time but wife called to say she was a bit late so my trick was to record the balance of the game having forgotten that it had cut off one earlier time before the game was over.

I should have realized that it showed that same 2:23 before when I missed the last part of the game when I came to watch it before it was over. My error.

I'll do what you do next time.

[hunsperger]

huge BC Lions fan, but with all due respect, a 2-3 record flatters this team...

[WestCoastJoe]

Wally commented, not happily, on the Time Count Violation. Travis did not dodge it, but it sounded like the play call came in late too. Should have had two plays called, or just have the next play ready to send in very fast in that key situation. Was that situation game planned, on the notes, or was the call dug out, searched out, from the play list, on the spot? Wally does not know the play call, unless he asks the coordinators. I did not see the sideline on that call.

Good effort overall. One thing I recall from his Calgary days, Wally's teams always played hard. It was always tough and physical playing Calgary. I think that has not changed. Teams always reflect the coach.

Ottawa hits hard. Hebert can be dirty. Hard fought game. In war, you want guys like Hebert and Purifoy on your side. Not so sure you want them on your football team.

Some guys were not sharp. Long. Odell. Drops ... Thompson. Watson. Burnham. It seemed like Washington had Thompson closer to the LOS, more involved in the play.

OL did well. Solid run blocking and pass blocking. None of that stupid (in my opinion) cut blocking that Dorazio loves so much. Knevel stepping in for Jovan. Bonus this year, Knevel and Godber drafted. Zero sacks given up. Dan D must be keeping things simpler.

The ''good'' Odell, and the "bad'' Odell showed up. I think Hervey knows how to handle him. Willis does not get normal treatment. He needs very skilled leadership, in my opinion.

Orange played well.

Long was brain dead. Flopping around like Neymar from Brazil. Dropped snap. D'oh.

Our defence caved at the end. Gave up a ton of passing yardage. Herdman was very impressive. Great instincts. Finds the RB. Gets there. Makes the tackle. Sounds easy? Ha ha. He can play. No sacks, little pressure perceived by this fan, from recollection.

As noted, we played hard. But does it seem that we match up well in the coaching? Not to this fan. Reinebold has improved the STs. Defence still gets shredded, no matter how animated Mark W is on the sideline. I fully expect Wally to recommend him as the next Head Coach.

I think Jarious focusing more on tried and true CFL passing game is better, less RPO. Travis throwing deep into single coverage worked well. Routes looked well game planned. Manny was a beast. This fan likes Ricky Collins.

Just enough little things to cost us the game. IMO overall sharpness or the opposite reflects on the coaches. Teams at the top are sharper. Teams at the bottom do not have their heads into the game to the same extent.

Others will see that differently.

Personnel. Blame or praise the GM and the Head Coach.

Systems. Blame or praise the coordinators.

Execution. Blame the players? Blame the coaches? This sports fan would note how well the players execute for top coaches.

[Rocky Bridges, baseball manager, many years ago: "I coached them good, but, Boy, did they play bad.'']

Just IMO, of course.

[DanoT]

I'm most disappointed by the fact that this game was very win-able if not for dropped passes/interceptions, preventable mistakes (time to start looking for a DE to replace Willis who has not provided leadership and is only OK but nothing special on the field), and the usual frustrating coaching deficiencies.

The good: The rookies and 1st time starters.

Herdman seemed to be everywhere making plays.

Knevel, when called upon to play for injured Olafioye played very well and didn't look out of place at all.

Also Godber didn't jump out as having any problems when he went in to replace Greaves. Typical TSN didn't bother to keep track or bother to tell us when Greaves came back in.

Rutley played great until injured. Was he in concussion protocol?

I didn't really see how well Julien Laurent did but the lack of a Redblack running game is probably a good measuring stick.

[Ballistic Bob]

I've seen worse time count violations not called. It sure looked like Lulay got the play off after a second and third look
BB

[SammyGreene]

Was last night the sneak peak of two ratio changers who will eventually replace a couple of the greatest players in club history?

There was little to no drop off with Herdman which also might be an indication of what type of season the usually rock solid #56 was having prior to getting hurt. Have to love the CFL Draft. 2017 7th Round pick a potential hidden gem while your No. 3 overall pick can't even get a sniff of the field and is not included in any kind of offensive package.

Knevel could be a ratio changer as well but continues to be listed as a guard even though he played tackle at Nebraska. Wasn't that how Steward got moved to his natural tackle position a few years ago when there was an injury to an international?
Always got the idea Dorazio was just more comfortable going with international tackles.

The future seems bright with these young nationals. Now who exactly is coaching all of them beyond this season?

[maxlion]

The biggest factor in the loss was injuries. Even then, we had a chance to win, but key mistakes cost us.

On offense, the injuries to Rutley, Rainey and the oline eliminated the run as an option late in the game when we really could have used it.

Special teams suffered without Rainey returning kicks.

On D, Herdman performed admirably, but he lacks Elimimian's mobility. Hard to replace the best defensive player in the league.

Other notes:
Lulay was excellent. I agree that the time count penalty was marginal. Tough call to make at that point in the game.

The oline suddenly looks pretty good with Lulay at QB, even with the key injuries. No credit to Dorazio of course.

Secondary is looking much better with Rose in for Young. Otha Foster seems to be an excellent addition, and Orange is holding his own.

Long looks like a fool flopping around, and it's not the first time his poor play has cost us. He needs to be more consistent and efficient, and stop being the centre of attention. Just get the job done.

Rutley is a good RB, but I think Johnson brings a bit more to the table. A bit stronger, a bit better nose for the holes. But it's close.

I've been impressed with the team discipline this year. Fewer costly penalties at key moments (Willis's brain cramp aside).

Ottawa is a pretty good team. Talented, well coached. It was a fun game to watch despite the loss.