Lionbackers.com

Might as well do this again. Same thing as last week.

What do you EXPECT to see (not HOPE) from the Lions against the Eskimos tomorrow in Commonwealth?

For me I'm going into this game with the lowest of low expectations. And that is saying something seeing as how I wasn't upset at the loss to Hamilton as I was expecting it. I didn't get upset or angry, I merely laughed it all off. It was quite good for my cholesterol and my heart!

Here we have a Lions team that has routinely been out coached and out played in several games going back to last year. Out-coaching was the one thing that Wally really could do something about. He made some changes in the off-season with player personnel to effectively force changes in the coaching style and gave some lip service to the fan base saying he was going to change things coaching-wise. 4 games later (including pre-season) we haven't seen a single item of those coaching changes. Instead it seems more like the old vanguard in BC is getting further and further behind in the evolution of coaching. Ever hear of dinosaurs?

So after two losses Buono's big decision to turn the ship around is to release the LT that he has had around watching and grooming for the past 2 years and put in a fairly new rookie onto that position. Oh yeah and let's not forget his decision to let our #1 draft pick walk out and sign with Hamilton and instead placing that great pass catcher from last year -Rufus Skillern back onto the field to join his brother-in-dropped-passes RGM. Hell, if he wanted someone out there to drop passes at least he could have given the job to a Canadian!!

The only positive we get out of this is Whyte gets his "kick" at the can finally. It wasn't enough that Whyte out kicked McCallum in TC (by all accounts) and in the pre-season, but Wally still stuck it out with McCallum through all of his missed kicks. I guess Carl Kidd didn't have anything left in the tank, but McCallum still has the ability to kick the team out of a jam?? Finally, through accident we get to let the kid have a chance. Sadly it's not by any great decision by Wally.

And therein lies the rationale for my negative prognostication for this week. Wally hasn't shown anything of his former coaching self of late. He's made too many mistakes and the things that have turned out well have happened more by accident than by any great design or coaching "plan".

The Eskies are at home. A tough place to play at the best of times. They are now coming off a spanking that was laid to them. They feel they are a better team than that. The Eskimo locker room, one look around it, and they will remember that the Eskimo Club means more than just the players that are on the team right now. They are going to come out hungry and looking to tear something apart.

Meanwhile the Lions will probably come out looking around rather than looking to win.

I EXPECT the Lions will once again be out-coached, out-played and in the end out-lasted.

But in the end I will cheer them on, and HOPE that I am flossing crow feathers out of my teeth come bed time on Thursday night.

GO Lions!

Gotta do both Expectations and Hopes
...................

Hopes

Buck plays well, makes plays, and avoids the big mistakes.

O Line protects, creates space for running game.

Receivers hold onto the ball and get great run after catch. (RAC, YAC ... Yuck, hate those terms for some reason).

Mallett continues to play well.

D Hmmmm

Good pass rush. C'mon defensive ends. Good run defence by the "jury is out" 4 - 2 D.

Special Teams

Improvement.
..................

Expectations

Ricky Ray seems to love playing against the Leos. Say no more.

Commonwealth Stadium is a skating rink in mid summer. Say no more.
.....................

Gonna toss a coin here ...

Heads ... we respond to the challenge

Tails ... the slide continues

And the result is ... (I'll toss the coin pre-game).

If anyone knows the 2006 Lion’s playbook on “Slap Chap” it is Ricky Ray and the Edmonton Eskimos.

I imagine they will be licking their lips in anticipation of have a nice fat meal, feasting on the Leos tomorrow night at Commonwealth Stadium.

There have been as few as possible alterations to his unimaginative predictable tendencies as he could avoid implementing, cause he just doesn’t get it. Is he just too thick to get it through his head everyone is on to him, or too arrogant to adapt to the fact?

Watching the Lions play Chap ball is like beating your head against the wall…
It feels good when you stop…

Now would someone please tell him to cease and desist, as he is obviously too retarded to figure it out himself?

I don't post here very often,,just "lurk". To start off with,I started watching the Lions in 1962. My sister babysat for Willie Fleming. That out of the way I agree with Pigskin. This years team is about 5-6 players short and an OC short of being a decent team. Maybe if the Lions lose again, Wally may wakeup from this nightmare. Does Dave Ritchey do consulting work?

I expect that the Lions will be in a close, and another mistake filled game. I think it is imperative that Buck Pierce establishes himself this time around. If he can't generate a consistent game then it is time to look at other options behind centre. I expect that our linebacking corps will take a beating by the running of McCarty........

I don't know, I don't have warm and fuzzy feelings about this club as it is assembled a the moment......

From us die hard fans who post and bleed orange, we expect the best game WB and his little protoge' can muster. Will he find Geroy this game. Maybe ignore Paris...Know this...when you keep losing, you lose potential fans. IMO,Buck isn't the answer. One more loss... should we be asking the same questions? With this recession going on, I'm keeping my money in my wallet.
Show me Lions.
Nice thread BTW

I expect the Lions to win easily.

OTOH, I expect to win $32M on the 649 in about 40 minutes.

Which has longer odds?

Here's what I'd like to see:

* Establish the run early. Get Mallet to eat up chunks of yardage and then use play action.

* Buck to not throw the out route unless a receiver is completely free. Too risky.

* Defense to wrap up. Tackle hard. Play aggressively.

* Spy Ray. He's too dangerous on his feet. Though he doesn't possess great speed, he has proven to be a Lion tamer once he steps outside the pocket. Leos must contain, and then take away his passing options as he is the best QB in the league a finding a receiver while on the run (or on a broken play).

* Watch the dump pass to McCarty and/or Whitaker.

* Be careful of receiver Maurice Mann. This guy has been their game breaker this year.

* Pay extra attention on Special Teams to Tristan Jackson. He's a threat to take one to the house every time he touches the ball. We've been very disorganized on our cover teams thus far.

* Establish Whyte's confidence early. Don't make him try 45 yard field goals. Get in nice and close so he can nail a 20-yarder in his first pro regular season game.


GO LEOS!!


DH

David wrote:Here's what I'd like to see:

* Establish the run early. Get Mallet to eat up chunks of yardage and then use play action.

I am pretty sure that the Esks don't require a spy in order to read our running plays, as Ebelle has said, they are the same as Chaps ran in Edmonton while on his mission to pass along our O.

David wrote: * Buck to not throw the out route unless a receiver is completely free. Too risky.

I can think of two that would seem to suggest that is the smart call, but I won't count on it, as it would now be a surprise to any D for us to use it.

David wrote: * Defense to wrap up. Tackle hard. Play aggressively.

If that happens, I will be the first to congratulate the conversion that Benevides was able to transform, but then ask why hasn't it been there since Ritchie left.

David wrote: * Spy Ray. He's too dangerous on his feet. Though he doesn't possess great speed, he has proven to be a Lion tamer once he steps outside the pocket. Leos must contain, and then take away his passing options as he is the best QB in the league a finding a receiver while on the run (or on a broken play).

Man has he hurt us with that division between our rush and our linebackers. Calgary was the first expose his arm, with tight underneath coverage and a zone blanket on anything deep.
[qutoe="David"]
* Watch the dump pass to McCarty and/or Whitaker.

* Be careful of receiver Maurice Mann. This guy has been their game breaker this year.[/quote]

Watch the dump pass to McCarty, lets not worry about Whitaker until he shows he can hang onto the ball.

David wrote: * Pay extra attention on Special Teams to Tristan Jackson. He's a threat to take one to the house every time he touches the ball. We've been very disorganized on our cover teams thus far.

If I was Jackson, I would be so looking forward to this game, a rookie P/K and a young Lions ST that hasn't shown very good coverage aside from their arrow.

David wrote: * Establish Whyte's confidence early. Don't make him try 45 yard field goals. Get in nice and close so he can nail a 20-yarder in his first pro regular season game.


GO LEOS!!


DH

Not to worry the Lions HC is the king of conservative, that we be even more evident on Thursday night with Whyte, IMO.

If you heard the Skillern interview with Pratt today, he thinks that they have found some vulnerable spots on the Esks, hope it all works out, but given the Esks are at home, it will a difficult task.

VICTORY

- I expect the Chap to abandon the running game and go to the crossing game over the middle.

- I don't expect to see vertical passing attack until we're trailing by 3 touchdowns.

- I expect Javier Glatt to miss a couple of easy tackles

- I expect to see an adventure on 3rd and short

- I expect the Lions to surrender a couple of 2nd and long

Edmonton has been a tough place for the Lions to play. The slippery turf always becomes a psychological factor. Richie Hall, while in Saskatchewan, usually defended well against the B.C. offence unless his team lost the turnover battle.

For as many mistakes as the Lions have made in the first two games, they've played a lot better than the Eskimos and were two plays away from being 2-0. Edmonton was one play away from going into overtime in the season opener, and possibly starting 0-2. Ricky Ray in particular has looked brutal, thanks in part to the drops of Whitlock. Edmonton's offence is last in the league in scoring and TDs and their defence is second last.

Both teams are better on paper than they've shown and are due for a breakout game. B.C. probably needs this one more. As usual, turnovers and special teams will make the difference. I expect a hard-fought game, with B.C.'s defence making the difference.

Being the diehard fan I am and the start the Lions have had I know exactly what the Esks will be doing........I have made some notes and filmed the Esks practice if any of the Lions coaching staff are interested?? And in other groundbreaking news the field will be in awful shape, i know shocking, even worse after some cowboy concert that took place at Commonwealth recently

I expect:

RGM to drop two, then Jackson to start getting the ball.

Javy to have a GOOD game;

Barron Miles to make two great open field tackles...by wrapping his arms around the ball carrier and then falling down.




Ok..so I expect RGM to drop at least two. Ya got me.