Head Coach - Lions announce Jeff Tedford as 2015 HC

[jcalhoun]

Hey all,

Thought I'd chime in with a couple of points about Tedford that may just be major considerations in his signing here, that I haven't seen mentioned much in this 26 page thread (though it's possible I missed them).

Tedford is married to a woman from Alberta, and has been for years. At the very least, he'll be able to qualify very quickly for permanent resident status and Canadian citizenship. A lot of you have mentioned his previous salaries; clearly, he's done well. But he has had health problems, and nothing can deplete an American's savings like on-going medical problems. A friend of my father's was quite comfortable in the way that Tedford appears to be now; emergency medical treatments over the course of a decade left him, more or less, a pauper when he could no longer be insured, and he was advised by his doctors to go home to Canada. Coming to the CFL will no doubt mean a pay cut for Tedford, but with it comes less media scrutiny, less pressure, etc, and if he sticks for a while, a zero-percent chance his entire life savings will be devoted to medical bills. That's gotta be a major consideration and both he and his wife get older.

I'll admit I had no idea who Tedford was until you lot started posting about him, but from what I've read, it appears he's a bit of an offensive innovator. What better place than the CFL to try a bunch of new ideas? If they don't work, he isn't going to be destroyed on talk radio and in the press, because let's face it, the CFL doesn't really get that much attention. If he's half the offensive mad-scientist some of you have suggested, then the CFL has got to look like one big petri dish...with unlimited motion. That's gotta be a plus.

Anyway, I'm keen to find out how this turns out. If he is hired, I hope the team produces some Tedford highlight videos, and that he is introduced, informally, at a Canucks game, just as Buono was with Ackles all those years ago.

Cheers,

James

[WestCoastJoe]

Nice post, James. Thank you.

[notahomer]

Happy for JC and looking forward to Tedford (if he's the choice)......

[Rammer]

Riders need a DC as well, perhaps they should call Bnevides.....that would make for some interest when the Riders come to town.

[WestCoastJoe]

https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/blogs/cfl-5 ... 16052.html

I have made no comment on any of the details in this article at this point. But it provides a cautionary note. There are not many sure things in hiring a football Head Coach.

Could Lions' HC target Jeff Tedford be a good CFL fit, or are health and recent performance concerns about him justified?

Andrew Bucholtz By Andrew Bucholtz
16 December, 2014 4:02 PM
55 Yard Line

The search for the B.C. Lions' new head coach has gone in a direction few would have predicted at the start, with prominent CFL names such as Paul LaPolice, Dave Dickenson and Orlondo Steinauer falling off the radar or turning down the job and former NCAA/NFL coach Jeff Tedford now looking like the team's primary target. Tedford, a former NCAA head coach at Cal, played in the CFL and briefly worked as a CFL coach alongside B.C. general manager Wally Buono, but hasn't coached north of the border since 1991, so he was off the radar for many. After Tedford parted ways with the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers this offseason, though, Buono demonstrated significant interest in bringing him to B.C., with Matthew Sekeres of TSN 1040 writing that the Lions are "on the verge of hiring" him. Tedford has interest, too, with Lowell Ullrich of The Province writing that Tedford flew in for interviews and meetings with Buono and the Lions' coaches this week, and that he seems set to take the job if the finances can be worked out:

There are certainly elements in Tedford's favour. His CFL experience came a long while ago, but at least he's aware of some of the nuances of the league, unlike most candidates from south of the border. He has a deserved reputation as an offensive innovator and quarterback-groomer (although that last one deserves some further examination, which we'll get to later.) His history with Buono could be a big plus, too. Having such an established general manager in place would likely scare off many, but the friendship and shared philosophies between the two could keep them on the same page. Hiring Tedford would be unusual by recent CFL standards, as most of the coaches picked in the last few years have come from the ranks of CFL coordinators, but some hires of guys who have been out of the league for some time (John Hufnagel, Kent Austin) or had no previous CFL experience (Marc Trestman) have worked out well. Others haven't at all, though; can anyone say "Bart Andrus"? Bringing Tedford in, especially with a league-leading or close-to-league-leading contract, would be risky, but there's definitely some potential for good results too.

There are some massive risks here, though. For one thing, Tedford hasn't done a lot lately. Yes, he generally did an impressive job as the head coach at Cal, where he remains the school's all-time winningest coach (even edging famed former Lion Joe Kapp!). In 2002, he inherited a program that went 1-10 the previous year and hadn't recorded a winning season since 1993; he took them to 7-5 that year, notched a couple of 10-win seasons (including one that tied for first in the then-Pac-10 in 2006), and went 82-57 overall. However, his final three seasons (2010-2012) saw the Golden Bears go 5-7, 7-6 and 3-9. Beyond that, the Golden Bears' cupboard was somewhat bare from a recruiting standpoint near the end of Tedford's career, and it's notable that they went 1-11 under new coach Sonny Dykes in 2013 (largely with Tedford's players) before improving to 5-7 this year as Dykes' recruits started to blossom. Tedford doesn't deserve full blame for what happened after he was fired, especially considering the massive schematic changes from his more pro-style attack to Dykes' Air Raid offence, but it's notable that things didn't look good on a variety of fronts near the end of his tenure.

Moreover, since being fired after the 2012 season, Tedford sat out 2013, and while he was hired as Tampa Bay's offensive coordinator ahead of the 2014 season, he wound up missing the entire regular season thanks to heart problems and attempts to come back too early. That wasn't the first time health concerns popped up; after he was fired from Cal, it was reported that he'd developed walking pneumonia and other health issues during the last years of his tenure there.He says he's fully healthy now, and heart issues haven't stopped Buono (amongst others) from being an effective coach, but health is certainly a concern here. Tedford is only 53, so he could be a CFL coach for a while if things work out, but his past health problems are a mark against him.

Tedford's reputation as a quarterback guru also deserves further examination. He has one absolutely unqualified success on his resume in Aaron Rodgers, and during his career at Fresno State, Oregon and Cal, he developed several others who were good college quarterbacks, including first-round NFL picks Trent Dilfer, Akili Smith, David Carr and Joey Harrington. None of those guys wound up finding huge success in the NFL, though, and while that isn't necessarily Tedford's fault (he wasn't coaching them by then), it's context that should be considered. Beyond that, as this 2012 Sporting News piece by Steve Greenberg illustrates, Tedford never really developed a good quarterback after Rodgers left for the 2005 NFL draft. That adds to his problematic recent history, and shows part of why Cal elected to part ways with him.

Even beyond that, though, the Lions would be buying Tedford's coaching stock at a low point. While that's good on some levels (there's no way he'd come north if he was being offered good college or NFL head coach or likely even offensive coordinator roles, as those typically pay much more), the rest of the coaching world not having a ton of interest in Tedford could be a cautionary sign.

Yes, at one point, Tedford was absolutely good at developing NCAA quarterbacks at the least, and he struck NCAA/NFL gold with Rodgers (whose brother Jordan signed with B.C. in October, oddly enough). Whether he still has what it takes to develop top quarterbacks, and whether his NCAA skills can transfer to the CFL, is much more of an undecided question. (As is if B.C. even really needs to develop a top quarterback; Travis Lulay missed most of this season with health issues, but is just 31 and is an elite talent when healthy. If he can rebound, developing young quarterbacks could still matter for the Lions' depth, but it won't be their biggest issue.) Tedford's successes with quarterbacks certainly count in his favour, but the other side of the ledger has some notable entries too.

In the end, if the Lions wind up hiring Tedford, his success or failure will likely come from his ability or lack thereof to adapt to the CFL and its differences. Tedford did good CFL work decades ago, and the "six-pack" innovation he helped develop remains important today (in fact, it should likely be used more than it currently is), so it's certainly possible that he could figure out how to run a promising offence in this league again. It would have to be a drastic change from most of the offences he's run in the NCAA over the last decades, though; the pro-style looks that worked for Dilfer, Rodgers and Carr aren't going to fly in three-down football. Being a head coach is about more than just developing an offence, too, and Tedford would have to work well with Washington (who showed promise as a first-year DC this past season), with Buono and with the rest of the coaching staff. Hiring him could be an intriuging gamble, and one that could pay off big. It also has the chance to be a massive bust, though. This wouldn't be a safe move at all, but a high-risk, high-reward one. We'll see if the Lions elect to roll the dice.

Reference is made to the article by Lowell Ullrich ...

http://www.theprovince.com/sports/footb ... story.html

[TheLionKing]

Mixed reaction in Riderville

http://www.riderfans.com/forum/showthre ... -ordinator

[Blitz]

The Riders want to get better, so they dump Cortez and hire Chadelaine.

A lot of Rider fans wanted LaPolice, who wanted to get back into coaching but all indications are that Chamblin will choose Chap over LaPolice.

Chamblin said that coaching against Chap's two back set and motion in the 2013 playoff game was the toughest game to coach against for his defence he had experienced. It may have been a factor in his hiring of Chap.

If I was choosing between LaPolice, Cortez, or Chapdelaine, I would take Chap for his scheme. He has married the pro offence with the spread, with the pro offence as his base and he uses motion and misdirection better than any offensive coordinator now. He is ahead of the curve. The key is to give him a good offensive line coach and a decent offensive line and his offence will do good things.

In the meantime, there are some posters who are all excited about Cortez, more of a spread coordinator who will have pissed everyone off by the end of two seasons and enough players by the end of his first season. If Tedford is signed I sure don;t want Cortez without Tedford, who moved to the pro offence, with some elements of West Coast and spread in California.

In the meantime smiling LaPolice will likely stay with TSN. I'm not sure he would come to B.C. if Tedford doesn;t sign a contract and I'm not sure why there was so much fuss at one time to hire LaPolice other than he had one HC experience and he has a good tv presence as a smilin nice guy on TSN.

Yes, there are some cautions with Tedford but he still is the most qualified guy and obviously Tampa Bay courted and hired him as a OC, after he was let go in California, so its not as if they thought he had lost the magic.

Former B.C. Lions offensive guru rumoured on way to Saskatchewan Roughriders

Jacques Chapdelaine bids adieu to SFU after 10-month tenure

The Jacques Chapdelaine era atop Burnaby Mountain has turned out to be a short one.

Simon Fraser University officially announced Wednesday what had been rumoured since early Monday, that the former B.C. Lions offensive co-ordinator, who just 10 months ago was introduced as the Clan’s head football coach, had resigned his position.

The school’s press release did not indicate where Chapdelaine was headed. However, every rumour circulating has him slated to become the new offensive co-ordinator of the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders.

“I am disappointed that he left, but I am happy where we’re at,” said Clan athletic director Milt Richards. “Jacques put us in a good place, and I think that we can continue to recruit.”

When reached by phone Wednesday, Chapdelaine would not discuss his future landing spot, but coming off a 2-4 conference season (2-9 overall), good enough for fifth in the seven-team Great Northwest Athletic Conference, the former Clan football great felt he was leaving the program in a good place.

“It was very important to me to see continuity in what has been done, and I believe the people around the program share that same feeling,” said Chapdelaine who stressed issues regarding off-season conditioning, speed and agility work, and spring football had already been addressed with the players and the rest of the coaching staff.

“It was never interrupted, and I am very confident that the athletic department under Milt Richards, with a football staff that is already in place, will continue to provide a mechanism for these young people,” he continued.

“I wanted to make sure there would be a transitional phase for the players, so in all of my discussions with Milt and the staff, I was very transparent. The guys were all well aware of what was going on.”

Where it goes now is anyone’s guess.

Richards is expected to announce shortly an interim head coach who will handle team affairs while yet another coaching search begins.

Richards wants to hire the new head coach quickly, and that might play a role in who gets hired. A Canadian, or someone authorized to work in this country, can be hired in 60 to 90 days. Hiring a U.S. coach would mean a window of at least 120 days. The latter scenario would mean the new hire wouldn’t be able to put his stamp on the program until late February, even later than when Chapdelaine got his already-late start last season.

“Jacques put together a great staff here, but the new coach will have the opportunity to select their staff,” said Richards.

“We do have (football assistants) under contract, and I could see a lot of them staying with the new coach.”

htsumura@theprovince.com

[Blitz]

Tedford did good CFL work decades ago, and the "six-pack" innovation he helped develop remains important today (in fact, it should likely be used more than it currently is), so it's certainly possible that he could figure out how to run a promising offence in this league again. It would have to be a drastic change from most of the offences he's run in the NCAA over the last decades, though; the pro-style looks that worked for Dilfer, Rodgers and Carr aren't going to fly in three-down football.

Andrew Bucholtz wrote the article that WCJ posted above. Bucholtz is an idiot when it comes to strategy. The spread if past its due date, the no huddle offence gives offences advantages in terms of preventing the defense from changing its personell (eg: from a run prevent defense with 3 linebackers to nickel backs, dime backs or vice versa), and the pro offence is exactly what is needed in the CFL right now.

As for the return of the 'six pack' we saw how that worked this season in B.C. under Jones against blitzing defenses. The pro offence has returned in New England, Seattle, and other NFL franchises who have seen the writing on the wall with regard to the "Chuck and Duck" spread offence and NFL teams are also moving away from drafting quarterbacks who are "zone read" type of quarterbacks using the zone read play out of the spread formation as the base of their offence...San Francisco and Washington are learning that the hard way.

New England and Seattle, with their two back sets, tight end sets, and with their quarterbacks taking the snap directly under center on most plays except for longer passing downs and have made the transition. Hufnagel was the first to realize it was time to return to the running game, instead of "air raid" football, Chap was the first to return to a lot of power pro sets in 2011, and Trestman in Montreal was the HC who went multi-formational rather than spread. Hopefully, Tedford will come to B.C. and use the pro set, incorporate elements of West Coast and spread. Tedford had 16 pages of screen plays in his play book in California....he obviously saw the direction of blitzing defenses and the CFL is blitz crazy these days (except in B.C.)

[SammyGreene]

The Riders want to get better, so they dump Cortez and hire Chadelaine.

A lot of Rider fans wanted LaPolice, who wanted to get back into coaching but all indications are that Chamblin will choose Chap over LaPolice.

Chamblin said that coaching against Chap's two back set and motion in the 2013 playoff game was the toughest game to coach against for his defence he had experienced. It may have been a factor in his hiring of Chap.

If I was choosing between LaPolice, Cortez, or Chapdelaine, I would take Chap for his scheme. He has married the pro offence with the spread, with the pro offence as his base and he uses motion and misdirection better than any offensive coordinator now. He is ahead of the curve. The key is to give him a good offensive line coach and a decent offensive line and his offence will do good things.

Well said Blitz. Kind of ironic the season Chapdelaine was probably appreciated here the most was the one just completed as we watched the Lions struggle mightily on offence without him. Ironically some of Chaps best work was in 2013 as the Lions still made a run for first place with basically a rookie QB in Demarco until his inexperience caught up with him.

As a defensive coach, Chamblin apparently has a ton of respect having to scheme against JC over the years and as you mentioned was extremely impressed with the Lions game plan for the 2013 Western semi-final that should have been a BC win.

[WestCoastJoe]

1130 Sports ...

[WestCoastJoe]

By Andrew Bucholtz
16 December, 2014 4:02 PM
55 Yard Line

He (Tedford) has a deserved reputation as an offensive innovator and quarterback-groomer

Having such an established general manager in place (WB) would likely scare off many, but the friendship and shared philosophies between the two could keep them on the same page.

Hiring Tedford would be unusual by recent CFL standards, as most of the coaches picked in the last few years have come from the ranks of CFL coordinators, but some hires of guys who have been out of the league for some time (John Hufnagel, Kent Austin) or had no previous CFL experience (Marc Trestman) have worked out well.

Bringing Tedford in, especially with a league-leading or close-to-league-leading contract, would be risky, but there's definitely some potential for good results too.

There are some massive risks here, though. For one thing, Tedford hasn't done a lot lately.

Yes, he generally did an impressive job as the head coach at Cal, where he remains the school's all-time winningest coach (even edging famed former Lion Joe Kapp!) ...

However, his final three seasons (2010-2012) saw the Golden Bears go 5-7, 7-6 and 3-9.

Moreover, since being fired after the 2012 season, Tedford sat out 2013, and while he was hired as Tampa Bay's offensive coordinator ahead of the 2014 season, he wound up missing the entire regular season thanks to heart problems and attempts to come back too early. That wasn't the first time health concerns popped up; after he was fired from Cal, it was reported that he'd developed walking pneumonia and other health issues during the last years of his tenure there.

He says he's fully healthy now, and heart issues haven't stopped Buono (amongst others) from being an effective coach, but health is certainly a concern here. Tedford is only 53, so he could be a CFL coach for a while if things work out, but his past health problems are a mark against him.

Bucholtz raises a number of issues. Recent record. Health. As noted there are few sure things in the hiring of a football Head Coach. We hope for the best.

In regards to strategy (6-pack, pro style, et cetera), I will defer to Blitz.

Being a head coach is about more than just developing an offence, too, and Tedford would have to work well with Washington (who showed promise as a first-year DC this past season), with Buono and with the rest of the coaching staff. Hiring him could be an intriuging gamble, and one that could pay off big. It also has the chance to be a massive bust, though. This wouldn't be a safe move at all, but a high-risk, high-reward one. We'll see if the Lions elect to roll the dice.

We will see which assistant coaches are kept on by Tedford.

High risk, high reward? I expect Wally Buono sees Tedford as a relatively safe hire. Tedford is vastly experienced, with much success in his background. He has vast contacts. He has spent years recruiting athletes, identifying potential in quarterbacks. He is an Xs and Os offensive master, with all that he has done in his career.

No guarantees. No guarantee that he will be a rip roaring success as a Head Coach in the CFL. We can only hope ...

[Blitz]

The Riders want to get better, so they dump Cortez and hire Chadelaine.

A lot of Rider fans wanted LaPolice, who wanted to get back into coaching but all indications are that Chamblin will choose Chap over LaPolice.

Chamblin said that coaching against Chap's two back set and motion in the 2013 playoff game was the toughest game to coach against for his defence he had experienced. It may have been a factor in his hiring of Chap.

If I was choosing between LaPolice, Cortez, or Chapdelaine, I would take Chap for his scheme. He has married the pro offence with the spread, with the pro offence as his base and he uses motion and misdirection better than any offensive coordinator now. He is ahead of the curve. The key is to give him a good offensive line coach and a decent offensive line and his offence will do good things.

Well said Blitz. Kind of ironic the season Chapdelaine was probably appreciated here the most was the one just completed as we watched the Lions struggle mightily on offence without him. Ironically some of Chaps best work was in 2013 as the Lions still made a run for first place with basically a rookie QB in Demarco until his inexperience caught up with him.

As a defensive coach, Chamblin apparently has a ton of respect having to scheme against JC over the years and as you mentioned was extremely impressed with the Lions game plan for the 2013 Western semi-final that should have been a BC win.

Couldn't agree more Sammy. Of course, as you know there was a time when I was very frustrated with Chap. He, like most CFL offensive coordinators was a spread (Chuck and Duck) spread offence devotee. Problems was that he had Dorazio as his offensive line coach to boot.

I was not against the spread offence when it was new and innovative. Problem was that defenses adjusted and offensive coordinators kept trying to do the same thing ("air raid" with 5 or 6 receivers) when defenses had seen it so often and were getting better and better at defending it.

How did they defend it? They went with huge defensive tackles to shut down the inside run (its hard for the spread offence to run outside with a single tailback and five blockers (except for the fly sweep with a receiver running it). They went with quick, ligher pass rushing defensive ends. They replaced a third linebacker with a tweener who could cover. They went with speed on defense to quickly close down seams in zones on pass defense. They blitzed the hell out of the quarterback and covered the tailback out of the backfield with a nickel back who was often faster than the tailback. When they blitzed, they stunted as well, often getting to the quarterback quickly. It led to quarterbacks sustaining tons of pressure, hits, and sacks (and injuries). They zone blitzed to take away the deep ball and disguise. Or they faked the blitz and dropped nine into coverage agaisnt 5 receivers. Coordinators like Chris Jones blitzed and played press man coverage so that the reciever was blanketed early so a quick pass was negated.

Coordinators like Richie and Stubler mixed it up while others like Thorpe just brought it on each and every play, using the blitz to shut down the run and the pass.

So what are most offensive coordinators still doing? They are still trying to run inside with the spread formation agaisnt huge tackles using blocking schemes that don't create angles or double teams. They are still trying to play chuck and duck against defenses who know the spread offence inside and out and how to defend it. They force quarterbacks to consistently make excellent quick reads and throw very accurately under great pressure.

Hugnagel understood how defenses had changed in the CFL. As our consultant in 2007, he advocated Kruck and Dorazio run the football, often using two back sets. We led the CFL in scoring in 2007, Joe Smith ran powerfully, our red zone offence was excellent, and we won 9/11 games with third string Jarious, who had not started a game prior to that season.

But Dickenson didn't like the offence nor did Simon or Clermont. They wanted "chuck and duck" back because it was a lot more fun than handing the football off or blocking for the run. Chap was brought back at the urging of receivers like Simon and Clermont and we returned to ChapBall (spread offence)

But partway through 2011 we abandoned the spread as our base offence and went pro offence instead. Chap began using a lot of one and two tight end sets on first down and using Lumbala as well as Harris in the backfield. He began using a lot of misdirection and getting Harris outside in the run game, as well as fly sweeps. He began using a lot of misdirection play action and he could get the mobile Lulay outside. Play action bought Lulay time to throw. Chap still went spread on certain passing downs but it was not our base formation any more and we also went multi-formational and used a ton of motion.

I don't blame Chap for running the spread offence for the years that he did. It was the playbook that Wally wanted Chap to run..the old Calgary offence. If you don't believe that, look at how much we went back to the spread offence this season with Chap gone.

So, the answer to offence today, against CFL defenses, is a base pro offence, a multi-formational approach, a lot of motion to get players into space and create matchups, and the use of tight ends and two back sets. The screen game, almost abandoned, needs to return in a big way against today's blitzing defenses.

What do I believe a 2015 offence needs?

1. Quit trying to run inside all the time against huge defensive tackles. You need to get the tailback off-tackle against lighter defensive ends or outside against smaller nickel backs. You can also block those types of personell easier with tight ends and fullbacks.

2. You need to return to trap blocking against big defensive tackles, start pulling guards again and get tailbacks and mobile quarterbacks into space and not keep quarterbacks in the pocket all the time (which the spread forces and the blitz takes away by running a spread attack.

3. Quarterbacks are expensive and critical to an offence. They get hit more and pounded more in the spread. The pro offence protects them better.

4. The spread offence was desinged to match up the fifth and sixth receiver against a slow linebacker and against a five man defensive backfield with a four man rush. That advantage is gone. Now five recievers are either being matched up against nine defenders or that extra receiver or two is almost useless because he is out wide and the quarterback doesn't have the time to get the football to him or the iive man offensive line is matched up against at least six rushers.

5. The no huddle offence can be used at times to prevent defenses from switching personell. We signed Jamal Johnson for one reason this year - to use him on first down defense to stop Cornish. If we defended the run well on first down, in came Josh Johnson as a pass defender and Jamal Johnson was back on the sidelines. That's what CFL defenses do. How to take advantage - go no huddle- if they use a third linebacker, you use motion and get a good matchup against him and go pass. If they use a nickel back, you run against him. Defenses can't change personell with the no huddle. Changing personell has been a real plus for defenses in the last number of seasons to play the spread offence.

6. Going pro offence provides so much better blocking for the run and the pass. It doesn't allow a defense to just key the tailback if you have two backs but you have to use the fullback, not only as a blocker but also as a runner and pass reciever. Going pro offence you really have to use a tight end and not a depth offensive lineman for that position. The tight end has to be able to run patterns and catch as well as block. The screen game works so much better in the pro offence and the screen game is really needed against blitzing defenses who have learned to cover the tailback out of the backfield..at least most have.

7. Going pro offence allows the offence to run quick dive plays and quick hitters in the run game, which are often the best running play against a blitzing defense if you can hit it right. The pro offence also provides lead blocking and enables double team blocking, fold blocking, etc.

8. A pro offence system provides the best possible scenario for the best balance ofsuccesful run and pass and therefore the best set up for play action, which puts defense in the greatest bind, while proving enough blocking against the blitz. the ability to check down with numerous options, protect the quarterback and provide him time to throw, to run the football effectively inside and out, and to get a mobile quarterback out of the pocket with protectors.

Tedford was a spead guy in Calgary and Oregaon but he saw the writing on the wall in California. Hufnagel saw that the running game needed to return to the CFL, Trestman saw opportunities to go mult-formational, Chap saw the advantages of power sets. . Dickenson had to be directed by Huf early to run the football more and stop playing chuck and duck. He was an old spread quarterback but he has learned and learned well rrom Hufnagel. But this season we were back stuck in the spread like we have never beenIts results were dismal.

Its time for Wally to realize the advantages of the spread offence of the 90's are gone. I think he has finally realized that. I sure hope so.

[South Pender]

The Riders want to get better, so they dump Cortez and hire Chadelaine.

There's irony there. We're considering Cortez, and Chap was seen as a bum by many after the 2013 season. But, as ironic as it is, this kind of musical chairs is not unusual at all in professional sports, where we see previously-unsuccessful HCs recycled with new teams and experience success--Bill Belichick, Pete Carroll, etc., and a number of NHL coaches.

There's been some excellent discussion on this forum lately about offensive schemes, and I think Blitz has nailed the essential characteristics of the various alternatives. What I would like to see is some discussion of innovation in defensive strategy. It has seemed that the most successful defensive teams have been ones where several schemes are used in a single game--and not just adding a 6th DB. We see "wide 9" layouts where the pass rush is enhanced with a 9-tech rusher, clever LB - DL exchanges, where blitzes are faked, DT stunts, zone blitzes, different coverage shells, etc., etc., all aimed at keeping the offenses guessing (and guessing wrong) with opportunities to blow up offensive plays. Maybe this is getting at what many on this forum have hoped for in "attacking" defenses. So, I share some of MLF's concerns about whether Mark Washington can be sufficiently innovative as to come up with some creative defensive schemes. I'm not suggesting that he can't; I just don't know.

[Coast Mountain Lion]

Riders need a DC as well, perhaps they should call Bnevides.....that would make for some interest when the Riders come to town.

I think I read somewhere (in this forum maybe) about Benny being courted by the Bombers? Or I hear there's a head coach opening at SFU...

The discussion on riderfans is flaming enough already with the talk about Chap. It'll go nuclear if the hire both Chap and Benny.

[DanoT]

Chaps going to the Riders has a Geroy influence all over it. He should do well there with a good experienced O line, but the Riders are thin on receivers so they really need to resign Dressler.