Eskimos 27 - Lions 14, Post Game Stats and Comments

[WestCoastJoe]

http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/Play ... story.html

Big Play costly as Lions bow to Eskimos

By Mike Beamish, Vancouver Sun July 20, 2012 10:37 PM

VANCOUVER — The B.C. Lions are not losing big, they’re losing because they’re unwilling victims of the Big Play.

Last Saturday, it was a late-game 129-yard return from a missed Paul McCallum field goal attempt that was the difference in Saskatchewan’s 23-20 win over B.C.

On Friday night at BC Place, Edmonton Eskimos cornerback Joe Burnett did in the home team with a hush-inducing 108-yard interception return late in the fourth quarter as the Eskimos pulled away for a 27-14 win before 28,335 fans.

It was the second interception of the game for Burnett, who nearly picked off a third Travis Lulay pass attempt late in the game. Burnett also had a 43-yard kickoff return to start the second half that led to the Eskimos’ only offensive touchdown, on a five-yard run by Hugh Charles.

With the Eskimos in front 19-14, Lulay had the Lions on the doorstep of scoring territory -- and ready to take the lead -- at Edmonton’s five-yard line. But his pass for Geroy Simon deflected off the hands of the CFL’s all-time leading receiver and into Burnett’s arms. The second-year player from Central Florida took receipt of the gift and went 108 yards upfield for the clinching touchdown.

It also posed an interesting question: Would Simon have misplayed the pass had he not been playing with the handicap of a dislocated finger?

Yes, as I saw it, it deflected off Geroy's hands, and his dislocated finger may have hindered his ability to pull that one in.

The win lifted the 3-1 Eskimos into a first-place tie with the Roughriders in the CFL’s West Division while the Lions dropped to 2-2, as the colossus that was supposed to stride through the West took another stumble.

"Any time you play a game, win or lose, you've got to build on the things that were positive in the football game and you've got to try and get better at the
things you weren't good enough at," Lulay said.

"You've got to give them credit, right? That's a good defensive unit and, for us, as an offence, we just have to take it upon ourselves to shift the field a little bit."

Colossus? Well, talk of 18 - 0 tends to get the opponents jacked up. Plus it is just a closely competitive league. Wins depend on which team has the winning focus.

The Lions defence did the bend-but-not-break routine repeatedly throughout the game, stiffening their resolve when the Eskimos neared the end zone and forcing the Esks to settle for field goals.

Grant Shaw kicked four of them, the last from 27 yards out giving the Eskimos a 19-14 lead.

We usually get a few field goals from McCallum but the hitch in his swing has thrown our game off.

The Lions got two touchdowns -- on a five-yard pass from Lulay to Marco Iannuzzi and a two-yard run by Andrew Harris, the latter giving the Lions a 14-13 lead.

Despite the defeat, both Harris and Iannuzzi had outstanding games for the Lions, the zippy running back getting 20 touches and 185 yards, 120 of them coming on 11 receptions.

Iannuzzi had six catches for 77 yards and two rushes for another 10. His touchdown was the receiver’s second in two games, representing his career total.

Our talent is very good. Game focus, as in a winning attitude, nowhere near championship level yet.

But it was Burnett, who spent the 2011 season on Edmonton’s practice roster after joining the Eskimos last October, who truly was the game’s pivotal player.

Besides his two picks, Burnett’s 43-yard kickoff return gave a struggling Eskimos offence a short field to navigate on the opening series of the second half. Following an end-zone pass interference call against the Lions’ Korey Banks, Charles finished off a seven-play series to put Edmonton in front 13-7.

Lulay smartly answered on an ensuing 91-yard drive that ended with a two-yard run by Harris, giving the Lions a 14-13 lead.

I can't fault Lulay too much, although he is not championship sharp.

Jyles found Fred Stamps in the end zone, but a bone-jarring hit by Dante Marsh knocked the ball loose, and the Eskimos settled for a field goal from Shaw to cut the Lions lead to 7-6.

Shaw’s first field goal came after Adam Bighill stopped Charles for no gain at the Lions’ seven-yard line.

Compared to the Edmonton kicker, it was a very silent night for McCallum. His first punt travelled just 14 yards, and the Lions appeared gun-shy about using him later on a field goal attempt, perhaps mindful of his misses last week against Saskatchewan.

Rather than have him attempt a kick, McCallum punted from the Saskatchewan 37-yard line on the Lions’ final possession of the first half.

McCallum has spoiled us since 2006. We do have Hugh O'Neill doing understudy work. Time for PMc to take a break and work on his swing? Dunno ... but it is certainly affecting our ability to put points on the board.

[notahomer]

Next home game is a Sunday afternoon tilt versus the Riders. I loved the long streak of wins at BC Place, so I was obviously sad to see that end tonight.

Two games in a row we probably end up having points on the board but the end of the play ends up in our endzone. Eskimos? Full value for the win but that offence needs some work too, IMO. The Esks D helped 'manufacture' quite a few of their points. Stamps dropped a couple balls I never thought I'd see him drop.

Iannuzi and Harris were fun to watch. Its the usual script. Those 4 or so plays that decide the game but what are they? No pick six, then this game is looking a lot closer. All I am trying to say is in the stadium anyway, it didn't seem to be a one-sided game until that INT. I'm betting Kavis chews out his player for showboating a bit too early too.

I'm going to have to start pvr'ing the games because I'm missing stuff in the stadium. Flags get thrown before a commercial break and I never heard a call and/or the Ref forgot to turn his mike on. A TD pass gets thrown, they decide to show a replay but its gotta be interupted to show a Safeway AD. I get it. Companies help the Lions make money and its a business.

Be interesting to see how this one gets broken down over the next few days.....

[TheLionKing]

Some impressions:
- that punt for 13 yards was totally inexcusable. McCallum had all the time in the world and he totally shanked it. Seems like he's good for at least one bad kick per game
- Nick Moore drops a key pass when he started running before securing the football
- we need a genuine middle linebacker. Bighill is doing his best but is overmatched. He may be more suited to the outside
- defence did their job tonight limiting the Esks to 20 points; offence needs to capitalize on their opportunities. 2 touchdowns don't win you many games in the CFL
- Lions once again lost the field position battle. Special teams continues to be a problem

[sj-roc]

Was in attendence and I have to say the most disappointing thing about tonight's game was the crowd. What is going on when not even 30,000 will show up for a Lions-Eskies tilt? And the energy was zilch; apathetic at best. Growing up watching the Lions, you brought your "animosity" out in full force when it came to the Eskies.

I gotta believe the guys will get back to winning ways; there is just too much talent on this club.

That wasn't even the smallest crowd so far this year; I'll refer you to this rather lengthy thread for some elaboration:

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=26091

If you don't care to read it all, then in short, we're witnessing an erosion of Ackles era attendance basically because of (a) ridiculously inflated ticket prices — I even wrote a post here last night showing just how insane the recent inflation of Lion ticket pricing is compared to that for other forms of ticketed entertainment — and (b) (IMHO) the fact that Ackles himself is no longer around to run the team with his high standards.

It's true that for the last five seasons of BCPI (2005-2009 inclusive), the Eskimos as an opponent drew 30k+ in 7 out of 8 regular season visits (the only one that failed was in 2006 and played on the Friday of the BC Day long weekend). They also drew over 50k+ for the BCPII opener, but the stadium was clearly the attraction that night, as they drew just under 30k in a return visit a month after that.

I'll make two other points:

(1) In the entire 42 regular season game history of EE visits to BCP, including tonight, the crowd has surpassed the 30k mark only 50% of the time (21 times). The first eight of those were in the 1980s when the dome was still a relative novelty and crowds below that threshold were a relative rarity for any opponent (albeit one that became more common as that decade drew to a close). The next two were in 1991 when Doug Flutie was the main draw (two EE visits in 1992, after he left, drew under 24k each). Three more came in the 1993-1995 era when Bill Comrie, Eric Tillman and Dave Ritchie brought some respectability back to the franchise after the sour ending of the Pezim chapter. That leaves eight games, the very eight I identified above that occurred beginning nearly a full decade later in the Ackles era or its immediate aftermath (before the effects of his absence were fully felt in the attendance figures), and including the BCP re-opening night last year. It seems 30k crowds for the Esks don't always happen by themselves; there's usually been some enhancing factor that seems to be absent right now.

(2) The loss of animosity toward the Eskimos that you perceive probably stems greatly, IMHO, from the fact the Eskimos simply have not been a very good football team in recent years: last year was the first time since 2004 they finished better than 3rd in the West. I say this in comparison to the standard that they established in the 70s, 80s and 90s when such animosity to the double E was well-earned. When you're a poor opponent, you simply don't inspire that same level of hatred. I think that that hatred has more recently transferred itself to a new target: the Roughriders, as they have ascended into a period of relative prosperity (last year notwithstanding) that roughly coincided with the Esks' recent slide into mediocrity. Remember how it seemed they used to be the second favourite team of everyone outside SK? That outlook is less common nowadays.

[Blitz]

Not impressed with Geroy tonight or even this season. Deflection on a catchable ball. TD the other way. Yes the pass was off, but he has to catch that one. It looked like Lulay threw it to that side to be away from the inside defender. Geroy deflects it right to the other defender. (I know people don't want to criticize Geroy, but he sets the pace for this team.)

In my opinion, that pass is not on Geroy. Watch the replay. Geroy is bracket covered, with the halfback closing on the ball Ianuzzi runs the crossing route and, as he passes through Travis' peripheral vision, is wide open. But Travis never sees him, because he is full on bird dogging Geroy.

And because he's bird dogging Geroy, the halfback, whose responsibility is Ianuzzi, abandons Ianuzzi to break on the ball. Travis never looked away from Geroy.

Geroy isn't purrfect, but that play is not on him. It's on Travis and what Travis doesn't do with his head. And that's not the type of play one expects from a guy with 25 starts under his belt, you know?

My post game thoughts include:

THE PLAY

As soon as I saw Geroy go in motion I knew he would be the primary receiver. I didn't like the play call. Sometimes it works against zone by sliding the motion man (Simon) underneath the zone but running a stop route down there has its problems...the defensive end can disrupt the play, the linebackers are usually in tighter, and the play takes excellent timing. In some ways the play reminded me of the Dunnigan throw that cost us a Grey Cup when it was intercepted by Grey.

However, here is what went wrong. Lulay looked off the play for too long. The throw needed to be made quicker. Secondly, when Lulay took too long, he should have seen Geroy was in tight coverage and not thrown it. Finally he threw it hard behind Geroy. I don't blame Geroy at all for the play. Lulay should have gone with a different option or thrown it away.

TRAVIS LULAY

Travis Lulay started off last season very slowly. He caught on fire for the last 10 games of last season and the playoffs. Still he finished last season with a passing percentage of under 60%, even with that hot streak. He sometimes struggles with accuracy, often throwing behind receivers. He has not looked sharp this season as he did during our winning streak, last season asn that has been obvious since our first exhibition game.

Having been around this board a long time, I can remember posters here, folloiwng Printers MOP season in 2004, saying he couldn't read a defense, that defenses had cuaght up to his tendancies, and that he was a one year wonder. If we use the standard that Printers was judeged on in 2005, while playing with a badly injured rotator cuff, then Lulay can't read a defense either and is playing like a one year wonder. His passing percentage, quarterback efficiency, and touchdown/interception ratio so far this season is worse than Printers 2005 season.

I didn't believe those comments then and I don't how. Printers could read a defense and so can Lulay. However, Lulay's decision making and lack of accuracy at critical times are huriing us. On his first interception, he reverted back to his tendancy to run very wide and backwards to his right to avoid pressure and made a throw that he shoudn't have made and it was a duck to boot.

Throughout the game, he once again mostly ignored Arland Bruce and Akeem Foster doesnt' seem to exist to Lulay (and yet the wideside outide receiver is usually open in the flat against zone because that is the pass the defense gives up), Lulay never challenged the Edmonton zone deep all game, forcing the zone to loosen up and open up seams. He also didn't look for the intermediate routes often enough either and threw short, underneath far too often. He has struggled with accuracy at times in the past with our Leos, and especially while throwing on the run. This seaon he has thrown into coverage far too often, made bad reads, had players wide open deep and not got the football to them, and also missed a lot of throws at critical times.

I put a lot of our early season struggles on Lulay so far. I don't put it on Chap and agree with cromartie that the offensive plays and play calling are even better than last season. Chap called another excellent game overall. Harris was incredible. Ianuzzi and Moore each dropped a pass but both ran good routes and were our top receivers, outside of Harris (I can see Iannuzi replacing Foster in the starting lineup in the future) and I still stand by my thoughts that Paris Jackson, a big target could be rotated in for Foster and even Bruce on occasion. Lulay seems to like throwing to him when he is in there.

Lulay needs to be better in order for our offence to get turned around. In the game last night, by the fourth quarter, I found myself hoping that Lulay would get slightly nicked for a few plays just to get Reilley in there and hopefully give our offence a spark. I really like Travis Lulay and he brings a lot to the table in terms of leadership, poise, work ethic, along with his mobility. However, he needs to find his game again, as he did for the last 2/3 of last season and the playoffs.

DEFENSE

Offences have shown a definite strategy against us so far and that is to get the football out quickly and not allow our ability to get quarterback pressure disrupt their offence. That strategy has reduced our defenses ability to make big plays. We are not getting the sacks, pessures, and interceptions, due to that strategy. The opportunites are not there for our defense in the same way.

Sometimes frustrated by that offensive strategy, some of our defensive players are not playing disciplined. Marsch took a chance on an interception that resulted in a big play. We had three players on the right side of our defense who all took an inside rush in the fourth quarter when we needed to stop Edmonton and Charles bounced it to the outside. Stubler keeps bringing the blitz when its obvious that the opposition is throwing the football quickly. Instead, when an offence is playing that way, its sometimes wise to rush only four or even three and play press coverage with zone over the top and start taking away those short routes more often rather than weaken ourselves with a blitz that is not going to get there when the quarterback is throwing in less than two seconds. And too often wev'e been burned with our blitzes, which are well designed but can't be effective against offences that are strategizing against us in that way. For example, we got cuaght in man coverage due to a blitz last night and Edmonton lined up Charles outside and we had to vacate the middle and had Bighill covering Charles as an outside wide receiver - not wise.

Still our defense only gave up one touchdown last night and is at the top of the league statistically. In most games they have given our offence the opportunity to win.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Our special teams continue to hurt us. McCallum shanked a couple of punts last night. We once again gave up too much yardage on returns and lost the field position game due to it. LaRose has played awful on special tema this year. Peguuse, who was inserted into the defensive rotation for last nights game did nothing and hurt us with a roughing the kicker calll, when he was supposed to give us improved special teams play. Brown does not have the explosive speed to be a breakaway punt returner and his one big game this season obscures that fact. Our blocking on special teams is also not up to par.

Once again, McMann is not getting the job done and hasn't for far too long. Even with the emphasis on special teams this past two weeks, while under the glare of the spotlight and making adjustments, our execution on special teams is not acceptable.

WRAP

Its still early in the season. Our running game, using quick sweeps, shovel passes, Wildcat plays, and reverses, is dynanic and Harris is a breakaway tailback who runs fast and hard and can bounce off people. Our passing attack is well designed.
However, we need to start making the plays on offence when they are there. Lulay need to start hitting some deep throws, be more accurate, make better reads, and not throw into coverage. He espcially needs to stop throwing behind receivers. He needs better distrubition with this throws and he needs to make a number of throws a split second faster, as the receiver makes his break. He needs to be able to finish drives for touchdowns and become more consistent.

If we can get better play at critcial times from the quarterback position and we can get our special teams up to par, this is still a championship calibre team with loads of talent. We also need to make some adjustments defensively due to the offensive strategy being employed to negate our pass rush, defensive line rotation strategy, and blitzing strategy. There is no need to overreact but thre is work to do.

[MikeAK]

The morning after and the loss still stings. I believe the Lions are a much better team then we've been seeing. Still though, 2-2 isn't all that bad and I expect to be at the top of the charts when all is said and done. Go Lions!

[cromartie]

THE PLAY

As soon as I saw Geroy go in motion I knew he would be the primary receiver. I didn't like the play call. Sometimes it works against zone by sliding the motion man (Simon) underneath the zone but running a stop route down there has its problems...the defensive end can disrupt the play, the linebackers are usually in tighter, and the play takes excellent timing. In some ways the play reminded me of the Dunnigan throw that cost us a Grey Cup when it was intercepted by Grey.

However, here is what went wrong. Lulay looked off the play for too long. The throw needed to be made quicker. Secondly, when Lulay took too long, he should have seen Geroy was in tight coverage and not thrown it. Finally he threw it hard behind Geroy. I don't blame Geroy at all for the play. Lulay should have gone with a different option or thrown it away.

I'm down with everything you said except for not liking the play call. The play works, if it is intended for Iannuzzi (or whoever runs the pattern underneath Geroy) instead of Geroy. The trick is to make the halfback bite and back off Iannuzzi when Geroy turns for the ball. That worked and if Lulay, who had time, had cocked his head and taken the different open passing lane to hit Iannuzzi instead of trying to force the ball to a covered Geroy while a second defender broke on the ball, it's a TD and we're having a 'dodge the bullet and picked up a lucky win against an out manned EE team' this morning instead of the one we're having.

You're much nicer about ST coverage than I am. It isn't hurting us, it's killing us. We can't cover kicks, we can't set up returns, we can't cover punts, we can't set up punt returns. There is a complete breakdown in kick return lane discipline and a lack of contain enabling returners to break to the wide side of the return formation consistently.

The offense, despite Lulay's troubles which you summarize wonderfully, can't overcome consistently poor field position, and the defense is doing yeoman's work in only giving up two TDs in two games despite starting most drives at the opponent's low 40s. McCallum isn't helping matters but, last week notwithstanding, isn't killing us (I'm not going to kill him over one terrible punt). This is a serious problem that got worse off of a Sas game that was bad and a Hamilton game that was worse than that.

[DanoT]

Last year Lulay seemed to throw the ball away more and this season he seems to throw in to coverage instead which is ok only if the throw is very accurate. Lions moved the ball well against Esks but when you have a Stubler bend but don't break D which tends to give up yardage but not TDs and combined with poor special teams, Lions had a long field all night and Esks had a short field.

[notahomer]

...
(2) The loss of animosity toward the Eskimos that you perceive probably stems greatly, IMHO, from the fact the Eskimos simply have not been a very good football team in recent years...
When you're a poor opponent, you simply don't inspire that same level of hatred. I think that that hatred has more recently transferred itself to a new target: the Roughriders...
Remember how it seemed they used to be the second favourite team of everyone outside SK? That outlook is less common nowadays.

Thats my general outlook on things too sj-roc! I used to hate the Eskimos, probably in large part due to championship after championship, so many years making the playoffs etc....

I'm emberassed to admit it but.... The Riders USED to be my second favourite team. It isn't the team or organization that has changed, its just the 'homerism' of a small minority of fans. For e.g. a friend tried to chat up a Riderfan on the bus the other day. He could care less about the CFL, all that matters is the Riders. Okay, man, thats how you see things. I don't know who your beloved Riders are suppossed to play without the other teams. And if those other teams are a bunch of garbage nobodies, then your beloved Riders haven't done much by beating them. Nowdays, I can't really say I have a second favourite team. I think I used to cheer for the Riders (except during Lions games) because they were so bad. Cheer on the underdog. Their organization has improved on the field a lot, so I guess they lost that underdog quality. I like the rivalry some of these teams bring. At one time, for me, it was the BlueBombers. They were a team that seemed to cause us problems with making the playoffs etc... Now they've been an eastern team for so long, its hard to remember those divisional battles....

Oh well, a late summer Sunday match-up cheering on the Lions versus the Riders sounds like an awesome way to spend an afternoon to me.....

[SammyGreene]

Some outstanding analysis here as usual. Blitz, WC Joe, Cro and company ... you guys are bang on with your assessments.
I'll just add some random thoughts.

• Weird game. Statistically the Lions were the superior team but were only close on the scoreboard due to the Eskimos lack of success in the red zone. Shaw made 4 FGs with the farthest being from 28 yards. The kid showed a tremendous leg on kickoffs.

• Our special teams unit is a disaster and was dominated last night, leaving the Lions with poor field position throughout. BC is getting little from three Canadian veterans whose primary roles are to be productive on special teams — Arkagi, Yurichuk and Larose. The latter lost his starting position from last season, took two costly penalties last night and had no tackles. He's lucky to still even be on the roster.
And Benevides, you are only pouring gas on the fire by electing not to try a 44-yard FG in an 7-6 game just before halftime. You're showing no confidence in your kicker and, of course, your coverage team. The bigger picture says it's only week 4 so why not face your demons now rather than hide it for another game. Unless, suddenly 40-plus yard FGs are no longer an option which would be absolutely ridiculous.

• Couldn't Paris Jackson done exactly what Nick Moore accomplished last night and perhaps even more? Instead #19 rarely saw the field. If Taylor or Jackson have more speed to be vertical threats then get them in the line-up because god knows the Lions need it. But if Gore is back to full speed next week then the Lions only need to dress two American receivers. I would actually use my mandatory 7 Canadian starters on offence and go with Shell or Phillips at safety over Muamba.
Their lack of quick strike ability has become apparent although some guy named Arland Bruce showed he is capable of it last year if Lulay happened to look his way now and again. Some goes for Foster.

[Blitz]

THE PLAY

As soon as I saw Geroy go in motion I knew he would be the primary receiver. I didn't like the play call. Sometimes it works against zone by sliding the motion man (Simon) underneath the zone but running a stop route down there has its problems...the defensive end can disrupt the play, the linebackers are usually in tighter, and the play takes excellent timing. In some ways the play reminded me of the Dunnigan throw that cost us a Grey Cup when it was intercepted by Grey.

However, here is what went wrong. Lulay looked off the play for too long. The throw needed to be made quicker. Secondly, when Lulay took too long, he should have seen Geroy was in tight coverage and not thrown it. Finally he threw it hard behind Geroy. I don't blame Geroy at all for the play. Lulay should have gone with a different option or thrown it away.

I'm down with everything you said except for not liking the play call. The play works, if it is intended for Iannuzzi (or whoever runs the pattern underneath Geroy) instead of Geroy. The trick is to make the halfback bite and back off Iannuzzi when Geroy turns for the ball. That worked and if Lulay, who had time, had cocked his head and taken the different open passing lane to hit Iannuzzi instead of trying to force the ball to a covered Geroy while a second defender broke on the ball, it's a TD and we're having a 'dodge the bullet and picked up a lucky win against an out manned EE team' this morning instead of the one we're having.

You're much nicer about ST coverage than I am. It isn't hurting us, it's killing us. We can't cover kicks, we can't set up returns, we can't cover punts, we can't set up punt returns. There is a complete breakdown in kick return lane discipline and a lack of contain enabling returners to break to the wide side of the return formation consistently.

The offense, despite Lulay's troubles which you summarize wonderfully, can't overcome consistently poor field position, and the defense is doing yeoman's work in only giving up two TDs in two games despite starting most drives at the opponent's low 40s. McCallum isn't helping matters but, last week notwithstanding, isn't killing us (I'm not going to kill him over one terrible punt). This is a serious problem that got worse off of a Sas game that was bad and a Hamilton game that was worse than that.

Why I didn't like the play call is that, when we put Geroy in motion, down on the goal line, as the inside receiver to the left side, is the predictability that he would be primary. I called the throw to Simon as soon as he went in motion on the play and that's where it went and I don't like the seam of the play due to the defense end location on the play. That aside, the play would still have worked fine if Lulay would have thrown it earlier. Geroy was open quickly but Lulay took too long to throw it and then threw it behind him to boot. As you point out, if he had gone to his second read, once he realized that Geroy was covered due to being late in looking at him and instead hit Iannuzzi it would have been a touchdown. However, its also not surprising because Lulay has locked in on recievers too often this season in tight coverage and too many of his passes have been behind receivers..he is lucky he hasn't had more picks.

You are right cro....I was being too kind...field position is killing us and putting tremendous pressure on our defense. Our offence going two and out in bad field postion at times doesn't help.

However, I don't see the point in blitzing on second down, when its second and short. What opposition offences are doing is trying to avoid second and long against us. They are using quick throws and dink and dunk stuff on first down and avoiding second and long. When we bring the blitz on second down, we are putting a lot of pressure on our defensive backs who have a lot of field to cover due to our blitzing linebackers and the occasional blitz by a defensive back. They have to avoid the long ball on those occasions and it opens up stuff underneath and in the seams. Still, our defense has played well, considering the terrible field position they so often begin with.

For all those who critizied Tillman the Eskimos are 3-1 and in first place. Chambers gives them a deep threat and an exploseive receiver and Shaw gives them the reliable kicking game they did not have with Prefontaine. Thye were also able to sign players on defnese they would have had to release if they had kept Ricky Ray. They used Jyles last night effectively by giving him quick throws and high percentage passes and didn't ask him to do too much and the strennth of their defense gives them opportunities to win. Everyone knows how bad our special teams coverage is...we won't even attempt a 45 yard field goal and Edmonton activated a shifty returner from their practice roster to take advantage of our poor speical teams downfield units.

[KnowItAll]

Mitchell should be banned from the CFL. Lions have no class or integrity if they ever put him on the field again.

[Blitz]

Some outstanding analysis here as usual. Blitz, WC Joe, Cro and company ... you guys are bang on with your assessments.
I'll just add some random thoughts.

• Weird game. Statistically the Lions were the superior team but were only close on the scoreboard due to the Eskimos lack of success in the red zone. Shaw made 4 FGs with the farthest being from 28 yards. The kid showed a tremendous leg on kickoffs.

• Our special teams unit is a disaster and was dominated last night, leaving the Lions with poor field position throughout. BC is getting little from three Canadian veterans whose primary roles are to be productive on special teams — Arkagi, Yurichuk and Larose. The latter lost his starting position from last season, took two costly penalties last night and had no tackles. He's lucky to still even be on the roster.
And Benevides, you are only pouring gas on the fire by electing not to try a 44-yard FG in an 7-6 game just before halftime. You're showing no confidence in your kicker and, of course, your coverage team. The bigger picture says it's only week 4 so why not face your demons now rather than hide it for another game. Unless, suddenly 40-plus yard FGs are no longer an option which would be absolutely ridiculous.

• Couldn't Paris Jackson done exactly what Nick Moore accomplished last night and perhaps even more? Instead #19 rarely saw the field. If Taylor or Jackson have more speed to be vertical threats then get them in the line-up because god knows the Lions need it. But if Gore is back to full speed next week then the Lions only need to dress two American receivers. I would actually use my mandatory 7 Canadian starters on offence and go with Shell or Phillips at safety over Muamba.
Their lack of quick strike ability has become apparent although some guy named Arland Bruce showed he is capable of it last year if Lulay happened to look his way now and again. Some goes for Foster.

Thanks Sammy....some thoughts on your comments

I totally agree with you that not attempting a 44 or 45 yard field goal, at that juncture of the game, due to the ineffectiveness of our downfield coverage on a missed field goal attempt is not the way to build a championship team. It only displays our weakness. LaRose was horrible on special teams coverage last night and Arakgi and Yarichuk need to be much better. There are also huge gaps in covering punts and kick returns which really shows a lack of discipline in our players stying in lanes and that comes down to McMann. Its not just missed tackles but poor execution. They just seem to be doing what they want. I certainly didn't like McMann giving a tap of encouragement after Peguese after he cost us dearly with his roughing the kicker call...at least Benevedes showed he was pissed at him.

I didn't have a problem with us starting Nick Moore...he ran some very good routes and its easy to focus on his missed catch. Iannuzzi missed one too but Geroy has dropped a number this season. However I do understand that we could have a changed lineup if we started Paris at that spot. We could use an import safety but I don't see the problems others are with Muamba. If Dante Marsh is hurt I hope we use Bell in his spot...Phillips went to the shortside corner spot and Shell went into Phillops spot after Dante's injury but I like Shell as the dime back although I would prefer Shell as the wideside halfback and Phillips being used at the dimeback due to Phillops good coverage skills but weak tackling ability at times.

I understand our Leos wanting to use Iannuzzi in Gore's spot due to his speed on crossing patterns, his abiltity to stretch a defense deep, and his ability to run the reverse. However, surely Paris Jackson can be used to give Foster a break or to come in to the game to run certain routes that enable his size, ability to find a seam in a zone, and the fact that he is a big target. Use Paris in certain situations more, especially on second down, where hs can provide a big target..and is excellent at finding a seam...and Lulay has confidence in him...and Paris has exceellent hands and leaping ability for those clutch situations.

I have no idea why Lulay ignores Bruce so much...the guy comes up with almost everything thrown his way. But what is more confounding and really hurts us is that he does not involve Foster as you note Sammy. As I wrote earlier zone defenses give up the flat to the wideside outside receiver. The corner drops off to help out on the slotbacks. Foster is open out there and if Lulay hits him early in the game the wideside corner won't cheat. It also provides the opportunity, if the corner starts to play up, to throw to Foster deep..he can get behind defenses..he proved that last season. However, Lulay, by ignoring him, is allowing double teams on our other receivers.

[David]

After 4 games, the following is a list of players that have improved over 2011, and others who have disappointed thus far:

PLAYERS WHO HAVE IMPROVED:
Andrew Harris - love his speed, versatility, footwork, hustle....and productivity.
Marco Iannuzzi- has surprised me with his speed, hands, and play-making ability.
Adam Bighill - overmatched at times, but still getting lots of tackles. Great hustle.
Cauchy Muamba- wasn't a liability last year but more confident this year. Has adapted quickly to the position, neither picked on nor victimized.

PLAYERS WHO HAVE DISAPPOINTED:
Travis Lulay - a lot was expected of the MOP and it may just be a case of trying too hard after all that Grey Cup glory. Tendency to lock in on primary receiver as well as throw into tight coverage instead of throwing away. TD to interception ratio (and by extension his QB rating) needs to be improved.
Paul McCallum - not sure where his head is this year. The misses, the shanked punts, and the bizarre decision in Regina to attempt a fake in the endzone that resulted in a short punt....
Korey Banks - used to be dominant but has looked rather ordinary 4 games in.
Eric Taylor - should be taking better advantage of the Mitchell double team. Doesn't seem to shed blocks or make plays. Needs to improve.
Lin-J Shell - has been used sparingly as a dimeback but I guess I just expected more from this FA signing who was 3rd in the league in tackles in 2011 (just 4 behind Solly!).
JR LaRose - lost his starting safety job but not contributing much on special teams. Would almost rather activate Steve Doege for special teams, then use Arakgi or an import if Muamba gets nicked.

I'll give passes to Arland Bruce and Akeem Foster, both of whose production is down but haven't been thrown to nearly as much in 2012.


DH

[TheLionKing]

Tim Brown does not impress me as a threat as a kick returner. Lacks breakaway speed characteristic of great returners. Benevides' decision to take the ball on the 35 yard line instead of having Eskies kick off speak volumes