5 random questions to ponder/debate

[David]

1) Who is the Lions' emerging star? Gore? Harris? Brown? Or maybe Mike Reilly?

2) Dan Dorazio. Mad Man or Genius? Or coated in more teflon than a DuPont factory?

3) Who is Wally Buono's biggest regret - the player cut, traded or not re-signed that has flourished with another CFL team? (for me, it's Jamall Johnson, hands down)

4) With an 0-4 record on a warm sunny Friday, would Hamilton have drawn 24,000+ at the old BC Place? How about 25,000+ against the Riders at 0-5? Again, back-to-back 8-10 seasons, a winless record, and finally a taste of summer. Would people have gone back indoors to watch bad football?

5) Avid tweeter, columnist, and radio host. Angus Reid....media savvy or overexposed?


DH

[West Coast Blue Fan]

1. Has to be Gore currently, in the long run though, I love the potential Andrew Harris has

2. Teflon....has had more talent than any other OL coach throughout the years and has always led them to mediocrity

3. Drafting Jay Pottinger ahead of Andy Fantuz in 2006....and then trading him to TO for what turned out to be James Yurichuck via draft pick.

4. I guess we'll see. Weather last 2 games certainly has helped

5. Savvy, look for him on Team1040 full time when he retires.

[WestCoastJoe]

1) Who is the Lions' emerging star? Gore? Harris? Brown? Or maybe Mike Reilly?

2) Dan Dorazio. Mad Man or Genius? Or coated in more teflon than a DuPont factory?

3) Who is Wally Buono's biggest regret - the player cut, traded or not re-signed that has flourished with another CFL team? (for me, it's Jamall Johnson, hands down)

4) With an 0-4 record on a warm sunny Friday, would Hamilton have drawn 24,000+ at the old BC Place? How about 25,000+ against the Riders at 0-5? Again, back-to-back 8-10 seasons, a winless record, and finally a taste of summer. Would people have gone back indoors to watch bad football?

5) Avid tweeter, columnist, and radio host. Angus Reid....media savvy or overexposed?

1 Gore.

2 Mad man. Needs star talent to make it work. Failed miserably with countless projects.

3 Jamall Johnson.

4 BC Place may have the best of both worlds. Outdoor feel indoors.

5 Angus Reid. Apple polisher. Players Council Vice President. Wally's mouthpiece to the media, supposedly from the players.

IMO ...

[Rammer]

1) Who is the Lions' emerging star? Gore? Harris? Brown? Or maybe Mike Reilly? Gore was a project for the future at the beginning of the season, but he emerged showing his talent vs the Riders. I would still like to see Reilly, his height combined with his speed make him a very interesting addition when the time is right

2) Dan Dorazio. Mad Man or Genius? Or coated in more teflon than a DuPont factory?Mad Man, he hasn't shown me one OL that was brought in by the Lions that he has improved over time.

3) Who is Wally Buono's biggest regret - the player cut, traded or not re-signed that has flourished with another CFL team? (for me, it's Jamall Johnson, hands down)Knowlton also falls into this category, as he was DPOY last season and is what the Lions kept on trying to find, but JJ is the long term player that he never gave an opportunity to.

4) With an 0-4 record on a warm sunny Friday, would Hamilton have drawn 24,000+ at the old BC Place? How about 25,000+ against the Riders at 0-5? Again, back-to-back 8-10 seasons, a winless record, and finally a taste of summer. Would people have gone back indoors to watch bad football? Not sure that the actual attendance hit that for Hamilton, but as we all have seen the weather in Vancouver is too unpredictable. Imagine if the rain had stayed mainly ... for the Tiger-Cat game, what would the attendance have been then. Bottom line the 'New BC Place' will suit everyone's preferences, and the important factor on attendance is the ST base in the end.

5) Avid tweeter, columnist, and radio host. Angus Reid....media savvy or overexposed?Angus is a good speaker, not as good as he will be once he cuts the cord with the Lions as a player though. His current interest in the media bodes well for him making the move to the media sooner than later.

[KnowItAll]

Darn. I cant stop pondering long enough to debate.

[David]

3) I 'll throw out another name to chew on....Barrin Simpson. Doesn't have great cover ability but dang.....one of the best pure tacklers in this league in the past 20 years. Likely headed for HOF.


DH

[KnowItAll]

3) I still agree with the cut, but from purely football aspect, it may be Messam

[WestCoastJoe]

3) I 'll throw out another name to chew on....Barrin Simpson. Doesn't have great cover ability but dang.....one of the best pure tacklers in this league in the past 20 years. Likely headed for HOF.


DH

He was too expensive for Wally.

Plus he didn't like the new schemes being introduced, with a suggestion he would be subbed out for passing plays.

You challenge Wally and you are gone.

[joe kapp22]

1) Who is the Lions' emerging star? Gore? Harris? Brown? Or maybe Mike Reilly?

2) Dan Dorazio. Mad Man or Genius? Or coated in more teflon than a DuPont factory?

3) Who is Wally Buono's biggest regret - the player cut, traded or not re-signed that has flourished with another CFL team? (for me, it's Jamall Johnson, hands down)

4) With an 0-4 record on a warm sunny Friday, would Hamilton have drawn 24,000+ at the old BC Place? How about 25,000+ against the Riders at 0-5? Again, back-to-back 8-10 seasons, a winless record, and finally a taste of summer. Would people have gone back indoors to watch bad football?

5) Avid tweeter, columnist, and radio host. Angus Reid....media savvy or overexposed?


DH

!. Emerging Star: Travis Lulay
2. Dan Doraazio: average wheels, he has a stacked Oline with Vets or guys they think will head South
4) N/A
5) Angus has the gift of gab, he will be in the media soon enough, now who will be better, Brent Johnson or Angus?

3) At this moment in time, how about..Rick Foley?

[SammyGreene]

1. Gore. Rarely do you see such an inexperienced Canadian in this league have such a leading role. His potential is huge.

2. Mad Man. As pointed out, needs high priced import talent to make it work (Murphy and now Archibald). The factwe have had to play 2 Americans on the line for much of his time here is also a mark against him.

3. Jamal Johnson is the first name that comes to mind but I agree with JK22 and will go with Foley. Sure, he screwed Wally with his last minute decision to sign in TO but this should have been a slam dunk no brainer decision where he was "over paid" like Clermont's contract to stay on the west coast. Wally should of had a better grasp of his non-import situation having let two longtime starters go (Clermont and Glatt) in as many seasons. Now guys like Brent Johnson are being asked to do a lot at this stage of his career. Simply put ....  The Lions could not afford to let him play elsewhere.

4. outdoor football has definitely helped their cause the last two home games. That said BC Place will be the best of both in a world class facility in a far better location (at least for me). Can't wait.

5. Reid's an amazing story given he was basically being sent out to pasture at the start of last season. Now front and centre with a lot of Lions stuff. Definitely media savvy.

[B.C.FAN]

1) Gore has emerged as a star already. Harris, Brown and Foster have great potential. I love this offence.

2) Dorazio's blocking schemes are much more complex this year than at any time in recent years. The short-yardage offence is great, the pass protection is solid, the running attack is varied. Kudos to him for making changes.

3) I don't think Wally looks back and regrets any decisions he has made. He might win some and lose some, but most decisions are made for business reasons or to give a player a chance to fit in better than he could here. I suspect he's happy to see players such as Knowlton, Johnson, Pottinger, Murphy, Jimenez and Messam succeed. I never was a big Jamall Johnson fan. He was always too raw and too hurt as a Lion. He is a better player than he was then. Still, I watched him closely in the Calgary game on the weekend and couldn't believe the number of times he overpursued and was easily eliminated from the play.

4) More should be made of the fact the Lions attendance has been rising through a five-game losing streak. Rider fans accounted for some of that attendance on Friday, but Hamilton is traditionally the Lions' worst draw and attendance was almost as high for that game. By comparison, the Whitecaps had their worst crowd of the season, 18,000-plus, on a sunny Sunday afternoon as they snapped their six-game winless streak. To me, the biggest lesson is that Lions' fans love the product and aren't as jaded as some of us who are keen to find fault with the organization and coaching staff, and even talk about boycotting games or wearing paper bags. The average fan is still passionate about the team, still proudly wears team colours, makes noise and is being entertained by the on-field product.

5) I may be somewhat biased because I went to the same high school as Angus Reid and work for the paper that publishes his column (although I didn't have anything to do with him writing it) but I love his positive attitude and candid takes on football, fitness and food. I follow him on Twitter and appreciate his advice on good places to eat around the Lower Mainland and across the country.

[TheLionKing]

Speaking of Reid, is Kristen Reid Global part time sports reporter his wife ? I recall Angus proposing to his wife on television ? (CKVU when they had Sports Page)

[Blitz]

1. Gore has a lot of talent and should continue to get better. Hopefully, if Bruce is in the lineup, along with Simon, that Gore will still get lots of balls thrown to him.

2. Dorazio has had a lot of talent to work with over the years and he has undwhelmed as an offensive line coach. Kelly Bates is here as a second offensive line coach for a reason.

3. It broke my heart to see Jamal Johnson on the bench when he was here and it broke my heart even more when Jamal wanted to return here after his NFL tryout and only still be offered a backup role. However, Markeith Knowlton was also another player who flourished just as much away from Wally;s World

4. Watching a football game outside, in summer and fall, still has tremendous appeal. At the same time, renovated B.C. Place stadium will be an outstanding facility to watch a football game.

5. Angus Reid has always been a guy the media looked to for a quote and Angus never left them wanting. He's very media savvy, a brown noser to Wally, and he's had a second life, going from backup center to begin last season to a new contract, a return to his starting job, and even greater media exposure. He's definitely the Comeback Kid. The media attention on Printers, when he was here, drove guys like Reid and Brent Johnson crazy but they are now back now on comfortable turf now, receiving the media attention they prefer for themselves.

[MacNews]

1) Who is the Lions' emerging star? Gore? Harris? Brown? Or maybe Mike Reilly?

2) Dan Dorazio. Mad Man or Genius? Or coated in more teflon than a DuPont factory?

3) Who is Wally Buono's biggest regret - the player cut, traded or not re-signed that has flourished with another CFL team? (for me, it's Jamall Johnson, hands down)

4) With an 0-4 record on a warm sunny Friday, would Hamilton have drawn 24,000+ at the old BC Place? How about 25,000+ against the Riders at 0-5? Again, back-to-back 8-10 seasons, a winless record, and finally a taste of summer. Would people have gone back indoors to watch bad football?

5) Avid tweeter, columnist, and radio host. Angus Reid....media savvy or overexposed?


DH

1. Gore will be Fred Stamps in one or two years, as both Gore and Lulay mature. Over 600 yards in 6 games for Stamps, I see the same potential in Gore.

2. I thought he was a good coach, but now I am having my doubts. Even with 'good' to 'great' talent, we still can't produce 'great' results on the O-Line. As others have said, when the players change and the results are the same, it points to the coaches.

3. Look at how bad the defence was with Glatt at MLB, and that shows you how important a position it is. Losing Jamall to Hamilton, only to constantly change schemes to account for this hole, has to hurt for Wally.

4. You are bang on David, no way we'd get over 24,000 for a stuffy hot day at BC Place, with an 0-4 record. No way. But as Phil said, if it had rained then that number would have been 20,000 or less, outdoor is a double-edged sword.

5. A bit of both, but given that he is a Lions player, I hope he is as over-exposed as possible.

Rammer: The attendance was not announced at the Hamilton game (The calculator must have ran out of battery), but according to the Lions website it was 24,117. About as good as you'll get for an 0-4 football team.