Stampeders 42 - Lions 15, WDF Post Game Comments

[WestCoastJoe]

With deference to Blitz, who is writing his detailed analysis, I will start the post game comments.

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Not really a surprise with the results.

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Space Age vs Old School.

Dynamic philosophy vs conservative philosophy.

Play to win vs play to not lose.

Sophisticated, detailed game planning vs bread and butter, base level, generic for any opponent, game planning.

Seemed like professional vs amateur.

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This fan thinks our talent is very competitive. Exception -- not top level in International D Line, and a couple of other spots.
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Credit to the staff and players for a fun, exciting year.

Just IMO ...

[Sir Purrcival]

That pretty much says is all WCJ.

Trying to move forward by looking backwards seldom results in anything good.

Ottawa is in tough for the Grey Cup methinks.

[louharris74]

Bottom line: Calgary has better and more talent than any other team in the league by far. All the X's and O's in the world wouldn't change that, although they are better in that dept. as well. They have lost one game since early July, a mean nothing last game of the regular season.

By far the biggest upgrades required for the Lions are clearly on defense. I believe 0 sacks 2 weeks in a row, minimal ability to pressure the QB without blitzing, and even then. Rebuilt secondary has been exposed more than a few times this year. Improve the defense, keep the offense in tact, and we compete for the Cup next year.

[almo89]

Watching Mitchell slice and dice through our defense reminds me of Dickenson in his prime.

[Dusty]

It was a very disappointing start to the game and became very painful to watch as the game progressed. BC seemed tentative and reactive on defence which means we were always at least one one play behind... While this seasons highlights were much better than I had imagined at the start of the season, to go out this way, essentially not even being competitive against Calgary, does indeed hurt.

Message for the team to adopt... "We have work to do!!!"

[B.C.FAN]

The better team won. There's no doubt about that. The Stamps were fresh and sharp from the outset and controlled the line of scrimmage and the flow of the game.

The B.C. offence converted over 50% of second-down opportunities in the regular season but was just 2 of their first 8 in the first half. Calgary stacked the box to take away the Lions' inside run game in second and short and nothing else worked. The Stamps did a good job of keeping the Lions from stretching the field wide. That meant too many drives stalled, which was costly when Calgary was executing so well on offence.

The Achilles heel of the B.C. defence all year was its tendency to give up big pass plays and that was the case again today. The Stamps beat Stewart deep twice and Edem once in the first half, giving them three easy TDs. Stewart and Edem have been the weak links in the secondary all year.

Jonathon Jennings' last-minute pick-six sealed the defeat before halftime. Teams have come back from 25-point deficits before but not 32-point deficits.

It was a disappointing end to a successful season. The Lions improved from a 7-11 season in 2915 to 12-6 this year and won their first olayoff game in five seasons. They have a young and exciting roster with few weaknesses. The future is bright.

[WestCoastJoe]

Some people make things happen.

Some people watch what happens.

Some people wonder what happened.

..........

Our fans, players and coaches are doing quite a bit of the latter. This game was a mismatch before the kickoff.

Game 1 vs Calgary. We win.

Game 2 vs Calgary. We blow a lead and lose in overtime.

Game 3. They blow us out.

Game 4, playoff game. They blow us out.

Connect the dots.

Many observers, looking at this trend, would point to coaching, despite the successful history of years past.

Our team next year should be exciting once again. But ...

This fan hopes we will consider more detailed, sophisticated, dynamic game planning, focusing on specific vulnerabilities and tendencies. One can't help but think that we rely on execution of largely generic game plans. One gets the impression that we roll out pretty much the same plan each week, without fresh details for the tendencies of the opponent. Way off base? Dunno, but it sure looks like it, and we hear some comments here and there from players and coaches. Example: stay with what got us here (no changes) vs we felt we had a good game plan (detailed for a specific opponent).

And then there is the philosophy. Passive zone defence. Play it safe decisions. Seemingly predictable calls that the opponent is waiting for. Stacking vs runs. Jumping pass routes. Hitting soft spots in the zone. Planning against our tendencies.

Were we outcoached? This fan thinks so. What if the players just showed up and played sandlot ball (or grass field, fully equipped) the way a lot of us did in our youth? I think our talent would do very well. The difference then, in a game like this? Coaching. Planning. Leading. Attitude. Details. Tendencies. Vulnerabilities.

Just IMO ...

[PigSkin_53]

Alway just content to be a bride's maid...that's is who we are!

[Dusty]

.

This fan hopes we will consider more detailed, sophisticated, dynamic game planning, focusing on specific vulnerabilities and tendencies. One can't help but think that we rely on execution of generic game plans. One gets the impression that we roll out pretty much the same plan each week, without fresh details.

Just IMO ...

Very wise words!!!

The game has passed by the "Being the best at what we do - aka - Execute the game plan" philosophy. Each week, the game plan must be different based on what is expected from opposing lineup and even within a game, the drives must adapt to conditions on the field. Today, we looked surprised and reactive on defence and even more importantly, we did not create uncertainty by our offensive play-calling.

Will we learn?? I dunno....

[B.C.FAN]

I don't think either team did anything surprising today. The Stamps executed better and made no big mistakes until the second half when the game was well in hand. The Lions killed themselves with major mistakes that gave Calgary four first-half touchdowns.

Ed Willes summed it up well, with postgame quotes from Wally.

You’ve got to,” Lions head coach Wally Buono answered when asked if his overall takeaway from this season would be positive. “We’ve made a lot of strides in our market and in our organization.

“But if you’re going to measure yourself against the Stampeders, we have a ways to go. I’ve been here before. When you win, it feels good. When you lose you understand how far you have to go.”

“Did I feel the energy we wanted (before the game)?” he asked rhetorically. “No. I didn’t feel the energy. That’s not necessarily who our team is.”

He continued: “They were the much better team. Three times we couldn’t convert on second and two (in the first half). All of a sudden you’re punting, you’re punting, you’re punting and your defence is exposed, exposed, exposed. The last thing you want to do is be exposed to Bo Levi because he’s going to hurt you.”

Ed Willes: Lions are way behind the Stamps

[TheLionKing]

I didn't expect the Lions to win and they lived up to my expectation. Where was the aggressive defence promised by Washington prior to this season and last season ? All talk. He will probably promise it again for next year if he returns. Lions have made strides from last year's squad but they are not a championship calibre team. Changes need to be made.

[aklawitter]

path...

[aklawitter]

...etic

[CardiacKid]

Well, anyone know who the upcoming free agents are on the team? There is a very nice core here and I hope we won't see too many departures. Of course there will be some but hopefully nothing too devastating.

I would expect the secondary would benefit immensely from Lee and Yell returning but keep Fenner and Gaitor; I expect Stewart will not be back and Purifoy I believe is to pursue a return to the NFL. Sinkfield I expect will be gone but he didn't impact very much while he was here.

I hope a defensive end with impact is on Wally's shopping list, the kind that demands double-team attention from opponents. And a place kicker is a must; let Leone concentrate on punting.

Well, the wife and I are off to Grey Cup in a couple of days. I wouldn't have been able to describe how ecstatic we would have been if the Lions prevailed today. As it is we have loved following the guys this year and I will pull out my RedBlacks \ Renegades \ Rough Riders gear out of storage and cheer on Ottawa.

Love the 2016 edition of the Leo's and hope like hell the RedBlacks get a measure of revenge.

[B.C.FAN]

Well, anyone know who the upcoming free agents are on the team? There is a very nice core here and I hope we won't see too many departures. Of course there will be some but hopefully nothing too devastating.

I would expect the secondary would benefit immensely from Lee and Yell returning but keep Fenner and Gaitor; I expect Stewart will not be back and Purifoy I believe is to pursue a return to the NFL. Sinkfield I expect will be gone but he didn't impact very much while he was here.

I hope a defensive end with impact is on Wally's shopping list, the kind that demands double-team attention from opponents. And a place kicker is a must; let Leone concentrate on punting.

Well, the wife and I are off to Grey Cup in a couple of days. I wouldn't have been able to describe how ecstatic we would have been if the Lions prevailed today. As it is we have loved following the guys this year and I will pull out my RedBlacks \ Renegades \ Rough Riders gear out of storage and cheer on Ottawa.

Love the 2016 edition of the Leo's and hope like hell the RedBlacks get a measure of revenge.

Stewart and Phillips are signed through 2017 but they can still be released or retire in the offseason. If the injured young DBs come back healthy, I'd rather play them than the two vets. Parker is also the best national DB. If he plays field corner, the Lions can start an international safety.