Lionbackers.com

First, thanks to everyone for making such in depth and passionate comments. The life blood of any professional team are the fans, and this particular site possesses many who understand the game very well.

Second, as Joe, Blitz, Sammy, TLK, etc, have said ad nauseam the problems are FAR BEYOND a 34 year old back up QB with no CFL experience leading a 4-6 team, Manny being asked to play in the Ranger spot while spewing forth bulletin board material each week, or Westerman and Roh being reversed on the DLine and allowed to under achieve out of position for half the season...

These are important items, but they are only the SYMPTOMS of a much, much greater problem. Normally, that problem would land solely or largely on the doorstep of the HC and his staff, but in BC we really don't know who that is, so it takes on much darker and sinister tones! Because this team, over a 4 year period, has played essentially the same antiquated system with a variety of HC's and assistants, it calls into question the role and the power of the GM (who was the HC) because this antiquated system IS HIS!!!

There are a number of BC fans that are beginning to question Tedford's abilities as a HC, surmising that perhaps his "legend" was somewhat misleading...it's not, I assure you. JT is a SMART, INNOVATIVE, ADAPTIVE and CLEVER HC, he's just none of these things for the Lions. So what gives? Is it his health? I have held back on this, but since Joe brought it up this week, we have to consider it. Is JT healthy enough to exert his will on a team festering with poor coaching, slack players and a culture of losing boring football games? And I mean what I say about "exerting" because that is exactly what it takes to CHANGE a malignant presence in any organism. Does JT possess the WILL to change this current Lions culture, which to a lot of guys on the team (like Manny) is nothing more than a joke, a way to keep playing to make some decent coin??? To be honest, it doesn't look like he does...so is it his health and will that is suffering or has he been "cut off" at the knees (or somewhere a little higher) by someone else within the organization???

George Cortez is lost as an OC. He is running an antiquated system without the necessary personnel to run it effectively...and he has ZERO answers to the same problems presented to him each week, that's the SAD part. The same can be said of "young" Mark Washington who is clearly in over his head with the responsibility of the position. And if any of you will remember, we have been harping on the SAME MESSAGE for almost a decade now, through a variety of coaches...why are the Lion's coaches the WORST in the league at making adjustments, and seemingly always losing the 2nd half of the game because of the opposition's adjustments??? I attacked Chaps and even Stubler for being so stubborn and slow to adjust to what was clearly going on around them...but the fact is, that now that they are gone, their replacements have been FAR WORSE at this crucial aspect to coaching. So yet again, WHAT GIVES???

The answer to all these questions CLEARLY leads directly back to Wally Buono, he is the heart of the problems for the Lions and has been for a LONG TIME! We had a good year and a half run through 2011-12 (due to Stubler coming on board and taking over the defence from Benevides, Chaps drastically overhauling his offence, Lulay coming into his own, Harris breaking out, and Khalif Mitchell dominating at DT), but since 2008 this franchise has been in a steady decline in ALL ASPECTS of the game! We have been ATROCIOUS at drafting for a decade until such time that Kelly Bates came along and did a wonderful job, and for his efforts he was "let go". This year's draft was even worse than the Benevides years, which is hard to even imagine. Roy Shivers hasn't been good at his job since BEFORE the days of Bob O'Billivich, and yet he is still part of a "holy trinity" that seems to bring in only "camp fodder" every year. Attendance yesterday was below the Mendoza line. Players are laughing and joking in the locker room after loses, which is so troubling that even the local scribes have been writing about it. JT finally did something about the Manny Arceneaux "Tweet Show" but only at the end of this past week, and after almost 3 months of this crap was allowed to exist. This team has become a JOKE, and not just to me, but to a city of well over a MILLION PEOPLE who don't actually have a lot of other sporting options.

The CFL is a GREAT GAME. I watched the HAM-TOR game this week, and that was better football than anything the NFL can deliver. It is a fast game played on a large field where pre-snap motion is allowed, and points are scored in abundance. The 12 men on offence are given so many advantages over the defence, it isn't even funny, and yet since 2008, largely, we have played some of the most BORING, predictable football that has ever been witnessed. Now was that on Chaps? Nope, he is proving his abilities away from Wally under dire circumstances in SSK. Was that on Khari Jones? His offence in HAM had success both running the football and throwing from play action, but not here. I wrote about the year Doug and Darren Flutie played here, and win or lose, a market completely turned off of the Lion's "joke of a franchise", came out until near the end of the season we had almost 50,000 in the stands. Football is a great spectator game, because its supposed to be fun to watch, and there are few games more fun and exciting than Canadian football, just not here in Vancouver!

So things have to change right? Fraser and Minter (absolute no-brainer changes) have made a big difference since added to the lineup, cut Arceneaux (I recommended this over a month ago)...fire the S Ts coordinator who is so bad at his job that the HC had to turn his focus away from the entire team to this one unit that plays the fewest snaps in the game...fire an OC that simply displays no originality, no ability to adapt and clearly no ability to TEACH. Fire the DC who finally learned in week 11 that perhaps to get pressure on the QB he might have to blitz from the HB or CB position, heck, maybe even from the safety position. Rare, bizarre, wild ideas right? Some fans didn't want to blame the Defence for their part in that horrid loss yesterday because they spent far too much time on the field...and you think this is solely because of the Offence? Maybe one of the reasons that our offence is always so COLD and out of synch is because they RARELY GET ON THE FIELD, NO??? MW plays a style of defence that gives the opposition confidence and leaves our offence cold, bored and uninspired! Don't any of you remember playing football? It is incredibly BORING standing on the sidelines watching your defence consistently make rookie QBs look like Joe Montana. We don't pressure the QB...getting two QB sacks by surprising offences with a "trick" move (because you haven't used it in over a year) isn't getting pressure! Championships are WON by controlling the LOS, both on offence and defence. We are constantly losing these battles, and NOTHING is being done to help give our guys an advantage. Our coaches are simply asking the same players to run the same plays in the same situations game after game expecting them to suddenly EXECUTE properly, like this is on the players...now that's the definition of insanity!

All of the things listed above will help, a little, but without a coaching staff that is allowed to create their own innovative systems, bring in the players that they want and position them where they need to be, then it doesn't matter who is coaching, NOTHING WILL CHANGE! I mean how else do you explain this BIZARRE season from Jeff Tedford, the man "dead" on his own two feet...or are they his own two feet??? We can continue to complain all we want, but until Wally truly hands over the reigns to someone with a plan to compete with Hufnagel and Austin, then what's the point of any of this? It would be one thing if we played exciting football, but we don't! All three aspects of our team STINK and play boring, boring, preventative football, designed not to lose, instead of trying to win!!! So all of this is on US...WE are the passionate fans that take the time to go to games and then even "call in" or "write up" our thoughts. If we don't stand united in our message that Wally has to go and press the issue, then this mess will simply continue, and as I promised a month ago, this thing is still FAR from hitting bottom, it can and will get a lot worse unless wholesale changes are made! I honestly recommend, that whether you have tickets purchased or not, DON'T GO to the home games until Wally steps down, its the greatest single power that we fans possess and is the fastest way to effect change!

MLF

Blitz wrote:

Solar Max wrote:I think it goes deeper than OC and DC.

Wally still calls the shots on the field imo, and it cost Benevides. Now it's Tedford's turn, and unless Wally lets Tedford's bring in his own people (goodbye Chuck McMann) then nothing changes with Wally calling the shots.

Wally has been surpassed by modern coaches like Jones, Milanovitch, Austin. Campbell. There is no room for " playing not to lose " 1995 coaching imo. Either be the GM only or step aside completely. It's time.

I couldn't agree more Solar Max.

Our Leos team had continued to slide from our Grey Cup victory in 2006 and got off to another terrible start in 2011. But desperate, Wally allowed Chap to do more of his own thing rather than force him to stick with the old Calgary playbook and allowed Benevedes to go with a rotation on the defensive line - those changes plus the trade for Arland Bruce and the insertion of Harris, who had languished on the bench under Wally but got a chance due to an injury, got things changed around. Of course we had a lot of talent too but it was being misused. But Wally was viewed as genius again as he retired from the sidelines.

But Buono valued control over wisdom. He hired Benevedes, who had been 'mentored' by Buono for years for the top job. It was obviously a terrible job of mentoring. But with two experienced coordinators in Stubler and Chap, good player leadership, and good talent, our Leos played very well in 2012. But Benevedes was losing the team and should have been jettisoned at the end of 2013. Instead Wally chose to make Stubler and Chap the scapegoats. Instead we got Mark Washington and Khari Jones.

During this off-season, Buono thought he had gotten lucky by hiring Tedford. Tedford had experience in running a big program, had developed many future NFL stars, had a rep as a quarterback coaching geru, and he had also been hired as an offensive coordinator for an NFL team - and NFL teams do a lot of due diligence before hiring an offensive coordinator - they have a wide array of candidates.

But Buono saddled Tedford with a roster devoid of player leadership and had weaknesses in a number of positions that were not addressed in the off-season.

I#m guessing that Tedford assumed the CFL would be a less stressful and less challenging gig. Kown for working horrendous hours, Tedford thought he could hand over the reins of the offence to experienced coordinator George Cortez and continue letting Mark Washington ('a brilliant guy according to Buono) run the defense while super special teams coordinator Chuck McMann ran special teams. Tedford's role would be to guide the team with his experience, do some quarterback whispering, and lean on Wally's sage advice from time to time.

Well, it hasn't worked out that way. Cortez has been stuck in his boring spread offence for a long time and has never adapted, Washington is a Wally clone who thinks you can play defense like it was played in the 1990's, and Chuck McMann has always been mediocre.

Tedford has had an awakening. The CFL is not the CFL that Tedford coached in the 1990's. The spread offence in Calgary in those days was very innovative and defenses were slow to adjust. Today's CFL, as WCJ and others point out, has a lot of very good coaches and its sophisticated. Defenses know how to stop a simple spread offence. Defenses don't sit back and play passive zone defense like they did in the 90's.

We have an antiquated GM who can't sign free agents or bring in talent to key positions and whose fingerprints are still all over this team from assistant coaches to players. We have an antiquated offensive coordinator running an antiquated offensive scheme and a young defensive coordinator who runs an antiquated defensive scheme. We have a special teams coach who constantly looks confused.

We don't have an impact rush end or an impact offensive receiver. We have a starting quarterback with a history of shoulder problerms and a 34 year old backup. We are not developing quarterbacks anymore, as we did in the days of Chapdelaine. We don't have player leaders who can help set a winning attitude and help create team chemistry.

We are losing fans in droves. Buono is past his due date. Complacency has set in and he is living off his rep while still wanting to command and control the ship. But the ship is hitting icebergs and he won't change course - too set in his ways. He has let vet coaches go and let vet players go without considering the ramifications. Its like he thinks he can do anything and all will be fine because he is Wally Buono. That kind of thinking only leads to disaster.

Yes, I agree completely. I have NEVER agreed with Wally in the way that he unceremoniously dumped his veterans ("successful" at it or not), because football is about FAMILY! The teams that win championships come together as a family. That's what you got with Geroy Simon, Korey Banks, Dante Marsh, Travis Lulay, Brent Johnson, Jason Clermont, Larry Crawford, and Nick Hebeler. These guys should NEVER have left the Lions. Sure sometimes you can make the mistake of having them stay one season too long, but what's the benefit of this system??? Its a culture of winning, leadership and commitment that never goes away. Wally has single-handedly gutted the BC Lions of the 2000's. Geroy Simon should have gone directly to work for us either as a coach or a GM in training. Banks and Marsh should have both been asked if they wanted to segue into coaching or community affairs. Where is Brent Johnson? You don't think he had the potential to make a good GM?

Religious person or not, professionally Wally is one cold, cold back stabber. He has consistently re-nigged on promises, coldly cut players without even a word of thanks, and has always asked "well paid" players to take salary cuts IMMEDIATELY if their play has fallen off, except Wally doesn't apply that same principle to himself or his friends. He has played "favourites" throughout his career with coaches, even to the extent of firing guys that have succeeded simply because they don't "do things" the way Wally wants, to the detriment of the franchise. Anyone could see that Kelly Bates was a guy with promise, and "out of position" he really helped this team as both our RB Coach and our Draft Coordinator...where is he now? Again, where is Geroy? Where is Jason Clermont? Where is Korey Banks? Where is Brent Johnson? This is how you create a family, and families learn to overcome obstacles, stick together, and get better. The BC Lions football club is ANYTHING but a family, it has become the private circus for a very clouded, private individual!

Arny wrote:

SammyGreene wrote:An absolute mess.
Dated and ineffective schemes, inferior talent, suspect drafting, veterans cut with no legit replacements, inability to land key free agents in clear areas of need (Westerman, Lorenz) and questionable recruiting.

Then there's the business side of the Lions operations. Don't think it was even 19,000 yesterday. Skulsky's business plan now has attendance 7,000 to 8,000 below 3 or 4 years ago never mind the resurgent under Bob Ackles from 2004-2008.

There use to always be the valid point the Lions/CFL at least played a more wide open entertaining brand of football compared to so many snore fest NFL games. Now that arguement doesn't even fly anymore.

It starts at the top. Perhaps the faithful can get a "Fire Wally" chant going at the next home game. It sure worked for the Canucks faithful with Gillis.

When Bobby Ackles took over this Leos squad, it was in a sorry state. Its hard to believe that Buono has returned it to an even worse state than when Ackles took over. Buono should have retired as both Head Coach and General Manager in 2011.

Its pathetic that Ottawa, a second year CFL squad, comprised of CFL castoffs, free agents, and the recruiting of Internationals is a better team than our Leos. Wally looks very lacking in comparison with how the Ottawa franchise is being lead.

Time for fans stop to going to games and those who still want to make signs saying Fire Wally!!!! ...get David B attention time for the owner to step in ...I believe he is the only one who can get the change starting. Wally needs to go !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I will not go through another season of this its getting tiring and frustrating to watch..hear..and experience.
If we dont do something as fans. There might not be football here much longer. What investors would want to invest in this dis organization and franchise. Just to watch there money to go to waist. David B needs a wake up call. Skulsky needs to go along with Wally McMann and Washington. Right now cut the head off the snake. Wally is the cancer no one else. LETS COME TOGETHER AND GET THIS DONE> Whos in?????? We are Wallys Boss ..NO Fans No Wally.

The win/loss record decides everything in the long run.

The gate, the attendance, reflects the win/loss record and the entertainment factor.

At this time, those are not good with the Lions.

As the song went in the old movie: Que sera, sera, whatever will be, will be.

Hard times are here for a while.

How did it get to this place? Lots of reasons. All noted on this site.

If you look at the offensive playcalling in the early stages of the game, there were a variety of plays called, including various running plays, longer throws and short patterns. Ott was clearly focussed on shutting down the run and Harris went nowhere. The longer passes failed for one reason: every throw was inaccurate and uncatchable. Eventually Cortez went exclusively to shorter patterns which were consistently working, until he went away from it for one play--the interception in the endzone, another misthrown pass.

Don't understand how folks can continue to blame Cortez. He mostly called plays that gave the quarterback the best chance to succeed. It must be frustrating for him to be stuck with QBs who can't make passes. Happened with Sunseri last year and Lulay and Beck this year.

I would have liked to see McGhee in for an option play or two.

As for Chaps, check the Riders offensive numbers against the Bombers last game. They had some success early in the year but have been stuck in the mud for awhile now.

maxlion wrote:If you look at the offensive playcalling in the early stages of the game, there were a variety of plays called, including various running plays, longer throws and short patterns. Ott was clearly focussed on shutting down the run and Harris went nowhere. The longer passes failed for one reason: every throw was inaccurate and uncatchable. Eventually Cortez went exclusively to shorter patterns which were consistently working, until he went away from it for one play--the interception in the endzone, another misthrown pass.

Don't understand how folks can continue to blame Cortez. He mostly called plays that gave the quarterback the best chance to succeed. It must be frustrating for him to be stuck with QBs who can't make passes. Happened with Sunseri last year and Lulay and Beck this year.

I would have liked to see McGhee in for an option play or two.

As for Chaps, check the Riders offensive numbers against the Bombers last game. They had some success early in the year but have been stuck in the mud for awhile now.

Points well made, maxlion.

The right QB makes a world of differnce. Beck has options on the plays. He seems to play it safe. Career backup. I have to wonder how he sold himself to the Lions. Who bought the package? He was out of football. But then he got the chance here. He is obviously not the answer now, nor ever.

I kept my mind open on Beck. But he showed pretty much nothing in that game. Safe, little five yard passes. That is it.

Cortez? Dunno ... Without a passing game, any defence can load up the LOS to stop the running game.

There are woes all over the place with this team. Holes all over the place. Plug a hole. Ten more to fill. More coming.

maxlion wrote:If you look at the offensive playcalling in the early stages of the game, there were a variety of plays called, including various running plays, longer throws and short patterns. Ott was clearly focussed on shutting down the run and Harris went nowhere. The longer passes failed for one reason: every throw was inaccurate and uncatchable. Eventually Cortez went exclusively to shorter patterns which were consistently working, until he went away from it for one play--the interception in the endzone, another misthrown pass.

Don't understand how folks can continue to blame Cortez. He mostly called plays that gave the quarterback the best chance to succeed. It must be frustrating for him to be stuck with QBs who can't make passes. Happened with Sunseri last year and Lulay and Beck this year.

I would have liked to see McGhee in for an option play or two.

As for Chaps, check the Riders offensive numbers against the Bombers last game. They had some success early in the year but have been stuck in the mud for awhile now.

You can't compare what is happening in SSK, Chaps is brand new there and their offence has gone through a rash of injuries including their top 2 QBs...and they are still #1 overall on a 1-10 team!

If you make excuses for this crap, then you will only get more of the same. Whether the offensive problems are all on Cortez or not doesn't really matter, what's important to note is that BC fans, including you, DESERVE BETTER than this...and that goes through the HC straight to the GM and Owner!

WestCoastJoe wrote:

maxlion wrote:If you look at the offensive playcalling in the early stages of the game, there were a variety of plays called, including various running plays, longer throws and short patterns. Ott was clearly focussed on shutting down the run and Harris went nowhere. The longer passes failed for one reason: every throw was inaccurate and uncatchable. Eventually Cortez went exclusively to shorter patterns which were consistently working, until he went away from it for one play--the interception in the endzone, another misthrown pass.

Don't understand how folks can continue to blame Cortez. He mostly called plays that gave the quarterback the best chance to succeed. It must be frustrating for him to be stuck with QBs who can't make passes. Happened with Sunseri last year and Lulay and Beck this year.

I would have liked to see McGhee in for an option play or two.

As for Chaps, check the Riders offensive numbers against the Bombers last game. They had some success early in the year but have been stuck in the mud for awhile now.

Points well made, maxlion.

The right QB makes a world of differnce. Beck has options on the plays. He seems to play it safe. Career backup. I have to wonder how he sold himself to the Lions. Who bought the package? He was out of football. But then he got the chance here. He is obviously not the answer now, nor ever.

I kept my mind open on Beck. But he showed pretty much nothing in that game. Safe, little five yard passes. That is it.

Cortez? Dunno ... Without a passing game, any defence can load up the LOS to stop the running game.

There are woes all over the place with this team. Holes all over the place. Plug a hole. Ten more to fill. More coming.

I understand that you know these things Joe, but I will list them out for others...

These same things were happening to Travis Lulay, who is paid to be a top QB in this league. During the EDM game (in which we actually, somehow, won) Lulay missed NINE wide open receivers down field that would have either resulted in TDs or FGs. You can argue that this is execution and all on the QB, but Lulay has always had this problem, and as such, why is our offensive system geared towards these throws with a collection of smurfs (at the time) at receiver???

If this is the system that you have decided to run, fine, then either "coach up" Lulay to make those throws, or find another QB who has PROVEN that he can make them. Or, design a system that plays to Lulay's natural talents and doesn't leave him consistently as a target to be hit. Synchronicity is a key component to success.

I"m gonna echo WCJ. While I don't disagree with the Wally Buono part in this mess, Chaps hasn't really accomplished anything on the Riders thus far and even the Stubler touch on D in Calgary hasn't looked stellar this year. They are near the top of the league but have looked anything but world beaters.

As for the not going to games. That will take care of itself as people get disgusted with the product and stop buying tickets. I don't think it is realistic to get a mass movement going for those who already have tickets and get them not to attend. That vice will exert pressure when the next year season ticket campaign starts to ramp up. They are going to have trouble giving tickets away.

As tragic as it is, many of these posts echo things from 6-8 years ago. Only at that time we were questioning Wally's onfield decisions such as short kicksoffs, or refusing to let McCallum try FG's over 40 yards (he kicked a 52 yarder last weekend). Or there was the Casey Printers on the bench issue, or Andrew Harris languishing without even being given a fair shot at RB until the situation was forced on him. It goes on and on. These items of questionable judgement are not new. They appear more glaring now but Wally has been a hard-headed, self-righteous, do no wrong guy forever. When Ackles was around, some of his worst characteristics were kept somewhat in check. With him gone and Wally largely left to his own devices, his worst elements have been allowed to fester and spread with the results that we see now.

I think this is going to get a lot worse before it gets better. I hope Braley is paying attention already but I'm not so sure. He is the only one who can put this train on the track. Wally should be moved on I think. The question is who would you get to replace him? At any rate, it will take a while with the problem at the top is gone to fix the issues. I only hope that somehow we can bring back some of the former players who once made this team great give them some opportunity to make this franchise a spirited winning entity as managers.

MexicoLionFan wrote:

WestCoastJoe wrote:

maxlion wrote:If you look at the offensive playcalling in the early stages of the game, there were a variety of plays called, including various running plays, longer throws and short patterns. Ott was clearly focussed on shutting down the run and Harris went nowhere. The longer passes failed for one reason: every throw was inaccurate and uncatchable. Eventually Cortez went exclusively to shorter patterns which were consistently working, until he went away from it for one play--the interception in the endzone, another misthrown pass.

Don't understand how folks can continue to blame Cortez. He mostly called plays that gave the quarterback the best chance to succeed. It must be frustrating for him to be stuck with QBs who can't make passes. Happened with Sunseri last year and Lulay and Beck this year.

I would have liked to see McGhee in for an option play or two.

As for Chaps, check the Riders offensive numbers against the Bombers last game. They had some success early in the year but have been stuck in the mud for awhile now.

Points well made, maxlion.

The right QB makes a world of differnce. Beck has options on the plays. He seems to play it safe. Career backup. I have to wonder how he sold himself to the Lions. Who bought the package? He was out of football. But then he got the chance here. He is obviously not the answer now, nor ever.

I kept my mind open on Beck. But he showed pretty much nothing in that game. Safe, little five yard passes. That is it.

Cortez? Dunno ... Without a passing game, any defence can load up the LOS to stop the running game.

There are woes all over the place with this team. Holes all over the place. Plug a hole. Ten more to fill. More coming.

I understand that you know these things Joe, but I will list them out for others...

These same things were happening to Travis Lulay, who is paid to be a top QB in this league. During the EDM game (in which we actually, somehow, won) Lulay missed NINE wide open receivers down field that would have either resulted in TDs or FGs. You can argue that this is execution and all on the QB, but Lulay has always had this problem, and as such, why is our offensive system geared towards these throws with a collection of smurfs (at the time) at receiver???

If this is the system that you have decided to run, fine, then either "coach up" Lulay to make those throws, or find another QB who has PROVEN that he can make them. Or, design a system that plays to Lulay's natural talents and doesn't leave him consistently as a target to be hit. Synchronicity is a key component to success.

We see problems all over the place, MLF.

Beck is probably one of them. What is he doing here? Who chose to bring him in? Not Tedford. Benny? Wally? Did Wally sell himself on John Beck? Based on a good arm, and a whim and a prayer? Beck was a so called safe choice, in a rough situation. Lulay hurt. Need a backup. Go with the experienced guy. Nice young man. No fire in the belly. No killer athletic instincts. Good arm though.

Beck is a fine young man. But he has never been a quality pro QB. And it seems evident that he never will be.

And yet here he is. Ahead of youngsters who might have promise.

It's not the front of the house it's the back of the house that needs realignment

B.C. running back Andrew Harris was held to a season-low three yards rushing on a mere four carries. The Province

Anything wrong with the play calling from the above stat?

Blitz wrote:B.C. running back Andrew Harris was held to a season-low three yards rushing on a mere four carries. The Province

Anything wrong with the play calling from the above stat?

IMO it was a smart move by Harris leave the building promptly after the game without taking a shower or presumably talking to anyone, least he say something that he would later regret and yet it does sort of make a statement.

I would like to see Cortez gone at season's end (or sooner) but the list of replacement candidates is short, weak, and lacks experience.

When Dave Dickenson becomes the Stamps HC next year, he will be looking to hire a OC, so might some other teams, making the pickings even slimmer.

Lots of blame to go around.

Lots to fix.

Very tough for a new staff to turn it around.

Might be impossible for this group, as they are part of the problem.

Running game? Teams have us scouted and well schemed. Load up the LOS. Blitz the gaps. Key Andrew. Stuffed.

Any look in passes? To the disinterested Manny? OK. Problem there.

Go deep? Can't hit it. OK.

Tight end? Heckuva good idea. What happened to using it?

Mixture of backs? Uh oh ... Our ratio severly limits us there.

It is a schmozzle. I see no easy solution. Just drastic measures.

There are holes everywhere.

Defence? Somewhat easier. If, if, they would consider not playing "safe." That takes an all in commitment, against the preference we have seen.

No healthy Lulay to save the season. No philosophy changes on the horizon.

Hope for the best. Plan for the worst. Batten down the hatches. Get the storm windows up.

I suspect anything we suggest at this point is pi** ing in the wind.

A faint hope ... Tedford seemed to rally the troops on STs somewhat. More involvement with the O? Some chats with Mark W about attacking the LOS? But we can't do that ... Yes, we can, and we must. Or we are all out of here.

Big issue. The rot in player attitudes snowballed under Benny. Tough to change that culture.

(From the iPad. Caught some typos.)