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Finally, while I'm probably going to get nailed for saying it I really don't think Miles has been on top of his game at free safety for a good chunk of this season.

I agree, he's been spotty for part of the year for sure. Looks like his timing's a bit off.
Didn't Miles get a concussion in one of the games in the first part of the season?
Maybe that, combined with all the juggling of positions, has him off his game a bit.

I forgot to add earlier, that I thought JJ made some nice plays. A few more grabs by the receivers and his stats would've been excellent.
He was very composed in the pocket, and made great decisions for the most part.
My only real criticism would've been on the interception he tossed. He had SO much time, he could've just pulled it down and run
for some positive yardage.

All in all, a very satisfying result. I thought this would be our toughest matchup of the remaining 6 games, so a win puts us in a good position to lock up first.
Ricky Ray's done, and watching the TO/EDM game today, the Evil Empire appears to be fading fast. Lumsden's done for the year in Hamilton, and Calgary's trying to
hang on in hopes of getting Burris back....but without him they're just ordinary.

I hope that you don't mind an Argos/Lions Grey Cup because that is more likely what you will get instead.

That's fine. Bring the same offense you brought to BC Place and there will definitely be no worries there.

A GAME BALL TO...

The training staff. This was easy weather to cramp up in, and was the first cold weather game of the year. Not a cramp to be found. Which tells me that, to the extent they were needed, the training staff ensured the players were prepared physically for the game.

THE GREEN ZONE

I'm interested if I'm the only one that notices this. When Mike Holmgren was the Head Coach in Green Bay, he took a different view of how the offense operated in opponents territory. He didn't really consider getting to the opponent's 20 the basis for a scoring offense, he considered the opponents 30 and less something he called The Green Zone, where he would typically take a shot at the end zone.

It seems we've adopted this philosophy a bit more recently, probably in an attempt to take advantage of Jarious' arm.

While I can dig this as an NFL philosophy (one shot to the end zone every three downs is reasonable) I'm not such a big fan of it as a CFL philosophy. For starters, it forces you to throw twice, and if you come up short on both attempts not only are you not eating a lot of time off the clock, but you're asking a bit more of your kicker than you might like.

Am I out to lunch on this? Is this a product of the offense, or a product of Jarious' decision making?

For sure, it's a minor quibble. But I think it's a trend, and I'm curious if anyone else noticed it and/or had thoughts on it?

I think there are a couple of factors that have influenced Miles play. The first was that with all of our injuries he started to play a conservative game and for that I don't blame him.

However, our style of pass defense has changed a bit this season. We're jumping routes more. For example, if a receiver is running a crossing pattern the linebacker anticipates the route if he can, get's in front of the reciever, and tries to force the pass over the top, to one of our defensive backs playing the intermediate zone areas.

On intermediate patterns our defensive backs are tryng to come underneath the route. If the ball is underthrown slightly we can get the pick. If the ball is overthrown slightly, it should go to a safety playing behind. However, Miles seems to be that split second late in many games, providing a bit too much of a cushion between the second and final layer of our pass defense. I understand that he has to be the final layer and can't gamble recklessly but he has such great anticipation skills and seems to be slightly hesitant at times.... and that's not the way he usually plays.

However, I'm predicting that Miles will probably get three picks next game because that's how it usually turns out with me. I say something about Williams and he has a monster game with 8 tackles the next time out! I say a few things about Geroy and he suddenly is back in the hunt for the best reciever in the league. I say that Kruck and Dorazio are not running the football outside enough and the next game they run the pitch toss series like crazy and introduce the option. If I was paranoid I would think this was a plot to embarass me!!

By the way, I thought Glatt looked a little quicker out there against Winnipeg than his previous game. Otis is not going to be 100% all season. We miss Jamal. Our defense has had to play with a lot of changing faces at different posiitons in the secondary until last night,,,,,, but really we've had to deal with even bigger obstacles at the linebacker position. We've had to play games with 2/3 of our starting linebackers out and when we've had two of the starting three in there... both have been hurting at various times!!

Pray to the footall gods for good health for our players the rest of the way....enough is enough!!

It's very simple..... your votes for outstanding lineman of the year should be going to #60!! He has played every snap of every game since coming into the league last year!! He is playing at such an incredible level this year, hard to beleive that he could play better than last season, but he has!! Jason just goes out there every game and plays at 150% - every snap!! Anyone notice him against Calgary still making cut blocks when we were up by 28 points? He IS the most outstanding lineman this season. And although all of our line has played very well this year, if you look at ALL of the intangibles...if you look at how much better he is than he was last year... if you notice that his penalties are way down from last year (didn't see him involved in that little altercation with Sask, did you?)...if you notice how consistent he has been with his blocking (and the grading of such)...if you consider his toughness and durability (he has not missed a single snap in his career with BC - 34 plus games)...if you have been watching ....you would know where your votes should go! The coaches in the league know (ok, maybe he won't get one from Popp!), the players in the league know (and Abdullah dosen't get a vote this year!), and I KNOW...that Jason Jimenez IS the best offensive lineman in the league this year!! SO IF YOU HAVEN'T VOTED YET....WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? G

cromartie wrote:THE GREEN ZONE

I'm interested if I'm the only one that notices this. When Mike Holmgren was the Head Coach in Green Bay, he took a different view of how the offense operated in opponents territory. He didn't really consider getting to the opponent's 20 the basis for a scoring offense, he considered the opponents 30 and less something he called The Green Zone, where he would typically take a shot at the end zone.

It seems we've adopted this philosophy a bit more recently, probably in an attempt to take advantage of Jarious' arm.

While I can dig this as an NFL philosophy (one shot to the end zone every three downs is reasonable) I'm not such a big fan of it as a CFL philosophy. For starters, it forces you to throw twice, and if you come up short on both attempts not only are you not eating a lot of time off the clock, but you're asking a bit more of your kicker than you might like.

Am I out to lunch on this? Is this a product of the offense, or a product of Jarious' decision making?

For sure, it's a minor quibble. But I think it's a trend, and I'm curious if anyone else noticed it and/or had thoughts on it?

I hadn't really noticed it, but I agree with your take. When you've only got two downs it makes taking a shot to the end zone somewhat of a poor choice. The only time I could see it working is if you've got 2nd and short (ie 1 or 2 yards) and you're confident that if you don't get the TD on 2nd down that you can still pick up a 1st down on the next play to keep the drive going. If you don't have that scenario, I probably wouldn't try taking a shot that often unless a receiver was just so open that you couldn't pass up the chance to go to him.

While I can dig this as an NFL philosophy (one shot to the end zone every three downs is reasonable) I'm not such a big fan of it as a CFL philosophy. For starters, it forces you to throw twice, and if you come up short on both attempts not only are you not eating a lot of time off the clock, but you're asking a bit more of your kicker than you might like.

Am I out to lunch on this? Is this a product of the offense, or a product of Jarious' decision making?

For sure, it's a minor quibble. But I think it's a trend, and I'm curious if anyone else noticed it and/or had thoughts on it?

It's not an easy question with any clear cut answers cromartie. However, there are some factors to consider. When you get into the green zone and even more in the red zone defenses start to tighten up. However, it's a deep end zone in the CFL with lots of room to work with. So, sometimes it's a good strategy to go over the top with the football!

So. let's say Jarious takes a shot at the end zone on first down and it's unsuccessful. So, it's second and ten.

A second option is to run the football on first down. Last night we averaged less than 2 1/2 yards a carry for Joe Smith and we also took a couple of losses on those runs..rare for us but in this game we did. So now you could have second and eight or even second and ten, as above, or even second and longer.

The third option is to throw two intermediate passes. You try to throw for 10-12 yards on first down. Better chance of success than throwing in the end zone (maybe) but if teams are now tightening up and crowding the intermediate passes it still goes incomplete. Now you have second and ten again.

It's also why a running game is so important, especially if it's successful. If you gain 5 1/2 yards on first down on the run, you can run again, you can pass with more options because you can throw quite short to get the first down...so you look deeper for someone open on the first read and then come back shorter to try to pick up the first down. Or you can fake the run with play action, boot the quarterback and have a run/pass option. The running game going well makes all the difference.

However, it's not a bad strategy to take a shot into the end zone or at least a deep throw on that first down. The defense will be inclined to be looking for the run a little more, the defense is crowding the receivers more, and you have a quarterback that can throw the deep ball.

If it doesn't work you have a second chance to make the first down and you've also given the defense a message that you're not going to try to nickel and dime it in the red zone. Next time they'll give you more room and that will open up the underneath game the next time.

Of course, everything depends on how the defense is playing you! However, there is no question that today's CFL defenses, designed to stop the spread offence, are focused more on the pass and their major focus is stopping that intermediate pass. They zone with linebackers jumping in front of the crossing routes and the defensive back right behind, squeezing the space in the route. You have defensive backs like Phillips who jump the intermediate routes, forcing the purrfect pass over the top, with the safety looking to step in front of it.

Sometimes that deep ball can change a lot of things. It's why Jarious was so successful in overtime in Calgary and why he was able to complete the third down pass and come from behind winning touchdown to Geroy against the Riders. The safety was playing up, looking to close down the vertical seam. Hebert got burned by Jackson last night playing that way. The problem with the spread offence is that it's too much of a medium range passing offence and defenses know that and are designed to stop it.

Winnipeg was mostly successful last night going deeper on us because our defense attempts to do the same thing. Sometimes you have to scare the &@^# of a defense deep. Hit the pass and you have a touchdown and a big play that is demoralizing. Miss it and you've still accomplished something that you can take advantage of. Offences that don't threaten or can't complete the deep ball successfully run into problems eventually in their passing attack against smart defenses!!

Blue In BC wrote:Hebert did take a RP penalty on a hit to somebody and IIRC it was the hit being discussed.

Didn't notice the whistle on either of those two passes but Charlton should have been flagged for screening even if JC didn't make the catch.

He didn't on the hit I was talking about, Dale. It was in the late 2nd quarter and Smith got up slowly from that one.

Gerry wrote:

Blue In BC wrote:Hebert did take a RP penalty on a hit to somebody and IIRC it was the hit being discussed.

Didn't notice the whistle on either of those two passes but Charlton should have been flagged for screening even if JC didn't make the catch.

He didn't on the hit I was talking about, Dale. It was in the late 2nd quarter and Smith got up slowly from that one.

Ah. I'll take note when I watch the DVD later.

There were a few big instances where there should have clearly been penalties that weren't called. The Charlton screen and face mask on Roberts for example. OTOH, they did catch less obvious calls such as the Koch hold and the Murphy leg whip. I know they are looking for some specific things, but the two I mentioned ( one by each team ) was blatant. How can you miss those.

While the Charlton screen didn't have an impact since JS scored, the Roberts face mask not being called, or a late hit can be game changing ref screw ups.

I guess I could add the AJIII missed punt return.

I don't know whether he touched it or not, but that could have been a game changing situation for either team. It goes from fumble to no yards.

My point is that the refs have to get the right call on these plays whether it goes in favor of my team or not.

I'm not saying we lost because of calls that didn't go in Bombers favor. That didn't happen. I'm just saying it's annoying as a fan to see plays made for any team when there should have been a penalty.

It degrades the game.

Should a replay be allowed to challenge a missed penalty?

EDIT: I want to add in quick or late whistles on plays. I'll use the Roberts stripped ball on Friday. Some felt it was a late whistle and his forward progress was stopped and should have been blown dead.

My initial feeling was that it was a legit fumble and still a live play. The point is that we've seen the same play whistled dead and other times it not whistled dead.

It's the lack of consitency that is the problem.

The coaches in the league know (ok, maybe he won't get one from Popp!), the players in the league know (and Abdullah dosen't get a vote this year!), and I KNOW...that Jason Jimenez IS the best offensive lineman in the league this year!! SO IF YOU HAVEN'T VOTED YET....WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? G

When you have such a good offensive line...it's not easy to pick one of them as our best offensive lineman. Angus Reid is having an all-star season. Kelly Bates has done a great job run blocking this season. Sherko has proven that we made the right choice in going with him over Bobby Singh. He's a huge offensive guard who can really move people and has done an excellent job of pass blocking. Murphy is still a tough hombre at left tackle,

However, my vote would go to Jiminez! First of all, he's done a great job of blocking for the stretch run by Smith to the right side. Secondly, his pass blocking has been excellent and he's taken on the best defensive ends in the league this season and dominated!!

However, I'm not voting for him until I get my t-shirt LionFan60!!!

"This team is by no means going to dominate and have every game wrapped up by the first quarter. So when you go into someone else's ballpark and play in conditions you're not accustomed to and win, it's big" -- Lions head coach Wally Buono

Big win.

Over a very good team that played very well.

A tough game.

In their house.

A win to savour.

A win to savour.

Jarious converted 7/10 second downs... for first downs in the first half of the Winnipeg game!

I really thought that when we scored with a few minutes left in the first half and then Jarious took the football with less than two minutes remaining and drove it all the way downfield in the air, with that final pass to Clermont in the end zone, it was one of the two keys to winning this game!!

I'm no psychic, but I have the sneaky suspicion that these posts "pro Jiminez" are from his family members. How big of a standout can you be if you have to start hitting up fans to vote. Nonetheless peddling t-shirts. Just seems a little shady to me. I think players actions on the field should speak loud enough. As good as he may be , he is nowhere near being offensive lineman of the year.

CFLFAN wrote: I'm no psychic, but I have the sneaky suspicion that these posts "pro Jiminez" are from his family members. How big of a standout can you be if you have to start hitting up fans to vote. Nonetheless peddling t-shirts. Just seems a little shady to me. I think players actions on the field should speak loud enough. As good as he may be , he is nowhere near being offensive lineman of the year.

That's funny. I actually don't know Jiminez, I wish I did.

Blitz, I agree with you, Reid and the other guys also deserve their share of appreciation. Its the whole line not just the tackles that have had an outstanding season.

I'm no psychic, but I have the sneaky suspicion that these posts "pro Jiminez" are from his family members. How big of a standout can you be if you have to start hitting up fans to vote. Nonetheless peddling t-shirts. Just seems a little shady to me. I think players actions on the field should speak loud enough. As good as he may be , he is nowhere near being offensive lineman of the year.

I think you have special powers CFL fan and yet you haven't invited any of us to your seances.

Whether it's a family member or not...wouldn't effect my choice! I still believe that Jiminez has been our best offensive lineman this season to date. As for the t-shirts...they are not being peddled.

lionfan 60 made up a few earlier in the season at his own expense to give out to a few Lionbackers. They were called The Wrecking Crew...a nickname I gave them and lionfan60 promised me an autographed one!

If I don't get it soon I'm going to start a campaign to have the vote stacked for Andrew Jones to become our top offensive lineman candidate. Jones has worked very hard on the practice roster and deserves some recognition!!

Chris Shultz went on and on about the play, like he was reading a prepared script. It was not a vicious leg whip. It was not an attempt to injure

Yeah, that ticked me off... like every other OL in the league are paragons of virtue Is Shultz rooming with Tillman these days or something??

Loved Clermont's catch, thought JJ had a darn good game too.