Calgary 26 - BC 9, Post-Game Stats and Comments

[JohnnyMusso]

There is no guarantee Jarious Jackson will be fired. He signed a 2 year contract. It is possible Mark Washington could be hired as Lions new coach and all the coaches stay, even Dorazio, who could be lured back for one more year if Washington wants him back.

This could be Lions' fans worse fear, but it could happen. In CFL, owners do not like biting the bullet on salaries, which is why I think Maas could return in Edmonton, even though the TSN panel thinks he will be fired.

[Belize City Lion]

Ed wants Reilly and even the TSN panel feels he may be in BC next year. The problem is the CFL will not let them include signing bonuses in any contracts due to the CBA being up soon. Reilly has said he will not sign any contract without one and he could be a free agent come May, if the CFL does not change that policy. Many players may refuse to sign.

I think Jennings is a goner. No way he is back after Hervey bad mouthed him. Lulay who knows. It really depends upon whether they can lure Reilly here.

If the Lions sign Reilly, Lulay will be gone if for no other reason than salary cap. Unless Lulay wants to sign for less than $100K. Sol -E is probably gone too for the same reason.

[Toppy Vann]

I doubt Hervey hires his HC from within as none are ready or top choices and he will want to put his own stamp on the organization as hiring his HC is the most critical decision he gets to make. He's failed sorta in hiring Wally - but likely he had little choice so he should get a Mulligan there.

Jarius is not yet fully ready for OC but he deserves a chance if a new HC wants to grow the guy.

But he's up against a challenge as Argos are already in the market and who knows maybe Eskimos as well.

If he saw some of the confusion and meetings going on as Washington tinkered with his defensive alignments last night that alone would be a negative. Washington is too much in the mold of younger Benevides - seems to want to be the show and that seems to be how Wally lets his coordinators work.

Having said that, my sense is that a HC who is not also trying to double as his own OC or DC or ST coach (O'Shea model) is superior to those trying both.

It's worked in Calgary and only some times not - like losing a GC two years in a row has it possibly got in their way. Dave D has lost 2 GCs in a row. OTT came back with Burris on fire and he sat BLM for the same old play at the goal line by the back up.

Last year the Stamps lost to Argos who prepped their players for the East Final and GC while Dave said it's just another game. Had he just been HC might he have not focused just on game planning and thought about the GC week?

[WestCoastJoe]

Did something happen to Sutton? He didn't accomplish much in the first half, was replaced by Rainey who was ineffective then injured, ending up with Moore who looked good or at least was working hard.

Related: why do we carry five RBs on the roster (plus JJ24 who was once again a healthy scratch) if we don't use them?

Tyrell Sutton was one of several players injured in the game (not sure of his specific injury) but he says he should be fine next week.



I thought Wayne Moore ran the ball well. He didn't have any bigger holes than Rainey or Sutton but he showed the same toughness as Sutton by taking several big hits and still fighting for yards. He averaged 5.0 yards on 4 carries. Sutton averaged only 3.0 yards on 5 carries, while Rainey averaged 0.5 yards on 2 carries.

Moore, Rolly Lumbala and David Mackie are sometimes used as tight ends or lead blockers in running situations, and occasionally as receivers, but they're primarily special teamers. That's where they earn their paycheques.

Lumbala and Mackie cannot be expected to run the ball. Moore can. Good NAT RB backup.

When Rolly's ST days are over, his time is up. Mackie can receive, block like hell, and do STs. He might be able to run a bit as RB.

[Blitz]

Lumbala and Mackie cannot be expected to run the ball. Moore can. Good NAT RB backup.

When Rolly's ST days are over, his time is up. Mackie can receive, block like hell, and do STs. He might be able to run a bit as RB. WCJ

I really like Mackie. He could be used as a pass receiving tight end and H back if we had an imaginative offensive coordinator. The days of the 'bulldozer' fullback who can be used as a tight end in mainly a blocking role only are just about over.

An offence needs a flexible player who is big, can block, and can catch the football too for that role. It makes it so much tougher on the defense when he can.

One consolation at least. Like Lion Guy said, one more game I suspect then house cleaning. Long overdue. We may come to hate what comes next but if we turn out to continue to be awful, at least it will be new awful. Sir Percival

I've been kinda chucking all day about Wally's comments about 'like and respect when he said

“I don’t care what the players think of me. There’s a point and time they’re all going to be upset with you,” he says. “But I do care that they respect you. Respect doesn’t mean they like you. It doesn’t mean they like you at all. If you want to be liked, you will not be respected.”

I almost got the feeling that Wally had watched too many episodes of the Sopranos with Tony saying to his men "I don't care if 'you'se' guys like me but 'you'se guys will RESPECT me".

But instead of 'bumping somone off' to send a message of fear, as Tony did, Wally phoned up a reporter instead, for a 'walk around the field'.

The next day a Leo player would see his name in the sports section of the newspaper and it would not be flattering.

All kinds of ways of getting RESPECT.

[Lion Guy]

There is no guarantee Jarious Jackson will be fired. He signed a 2 year contract. It is possible Mark Washington could be hired as Lions new coach and all the coaches stay, even Dorazio, who could be lured back for one more year if Washington wants him back.

This could be Lions' fans worse fear, but it could happen. In CFL, owners do not like biting the bullet on salaries, which is why I think Maas could return in Edmonton, even though the TSN panel thinks he will be fired.

Fair enough. But if these coaches are back I won't be.

[SammyGreene]

There is no guarantee Jarious Jackson will be fired. He signed a 2 year contract. It is possible Mark Washington could be hired as Lions new coach and all the coaches stay, even Dorazio, who could be lured back for one more year if Washington wants him back.

This could be Lions' fans worse fear, but it could happen. In CFL, owners do not like biting the bullet on salaries, which is why I think Maas could return in Edmonton, even though the TSN panel thinks he will be fired.

Definitely Johnny.
So many different scenarios can unfold. And if Jason Mass is let go in Edmonton he can't be ruled out either given it was Hervey who hired him in the first place. Especially if he thinks the team is need of a younger offensive oriented coach.

Although he and general manager Ed Hervey were teammates on the Eskimos and remain good friends, Hervey said that wasn't a big factor in his decision.

"The process was very thorough. Many may feel that because we've had an existing relationship with each other that it was a slam dunk decision," he said.

"There were many qualified candidates out there but I felt that where our organization is moving forward, this is a seamless transition for us.

"Some may question if there's experience there but I take a look at his background, not only how he prepared as a player, how he prepared as a position coach, but the excellent job he did as offensive co-ordinator in his recent position."

[WestCoastJoe]

For those questioning Travis Lulay right now, as our starting quarterback, going into the playoffs, I will say the same thing as I said early this season about Jonathan Jennings. Its not Travis Lulay’s fault.

Travis Lulay’s throwing shoulder is stronger than its ever been. He can throw the long wide side out with velocity and accuracy, for example. Travis Lulay is well-recognized by opposing defensive coordinators as one of the CFL’s best at reading defenses. So why does he look so awful at times?

Well, lets take a look back. Jonathan Jennings, in his first game of this season completed 20/24 passes for for an 83.3% completion rate.

Jennings threw two touchdown passes, with no interceptions, completed his first 10 throws of the game, led our team in rushing during that game and his quarterback efficiency in this game was off the map, with a 131. 08 quarterback efficiency rating.

As stated on here a number of times, we see this the same way, Blitz.

The answer is NO to all of the above. Travis Lulay is a talented quarterback. He is a very smart quarterback. He’s a dedicated quarterback. He’s a courageous quarterback. Jonathan Jennings is a talented quarterback. He's a smart quarterback. He is also a dedicated quarterback. Both can handle pressure.

Lulay has proven, many times that he can lead his offence under pressure situations. Jennings has an impressive resume of game winning drives, including his 2016 West-Semi Final final touchdown drive and his miracle comeback drive against Hamilton this season.

No, the problem is not Lulay or Jennings.

We only went 2-4 with Lulay and his play declined. In the second half of the season, Lulay got hurt in both of our next games and Jennings came in fresh and helped us win both and then led us to an almost impossible victory at home against Hamilton. But in Hamilton the wheels came off offensively and defensively, and Jennings was thrown under the bus again.

It ain't the QBs. Play book. Game plans. Play calls. Sacks. Hits. Pressures. Defences knowing our simple game plans and plays. Focus on execution not deception. Not doing detailed adjustments for each game and opponent.

Our QBs tend to play well after time on the bench, after getting the piano off their backs.
With time on the bench, away from the incredible pressure of trying to run a dysfunctional offense, they relax, recharge and enter with resolve. That dissipates soon enough.

All we needed was a good north-south runner was the Kool Aid and Sutton was hyped. Sutton is a bruising tough inside runner. But in his last two games, Sutton has dealt with the same challenges that Johnson and Rainey have had to deal with.

Sutton only averaged 4.2 yds. per carry and only gained 50 yds. against the Riders. Last night against Calgary, Sutton had a 3 yd average and rushed for 15 yds.

Even crazier, on second and short, we took Sutton out of the game and handed the football to Rainey for an ‘up the gut’ plunge that went nowhere.

Wally only had one season as a defensive coordinator before he became a Head Coach and coaching defense was simple in those days. There was rare defensive play calling. It was vanilla defense in those days.

Wally is a very fear based conservative coach who likes to use what he understands. Basic rush four, zone defense is what he understands.

On offence, Wally is not an x and o’s guy, as Travis Lulay said in his interview before this game. Until this season he has been stuck into a simplified, vanilla, version of the old Calgary spread offence. Wally would say to Travis “Just throw it to the open reciever’.

Calgary was jumping our routes last night, just as the Riders did. We were fortunate that Jennings was able to really zip some throws in there because a few of them were close to being intercepted.

B.C. Fan provided an excellent summary of our defensive problems last night. Why we tried to zone Calgary for most of the first half is beyond me. We suck at zone defense due to the deficiencies in Washington's scheme as well as Wally's penchant to always play our safety so deep, due to his paranoia.

And there was the botched FG lineup, no time out taken, and subsequent punt in the first quarter. (Sad but familiar.)

And the "trick play" fake punt late in the game. (Sad and strange.) A trick play is intended for a key moment in a game. It is intended to catch the opponent off guard. Best to not use it in a mean-nothing game, with the outcome already decided, where it is on tape for all to see and review. IMO it does not need to be "tested" as the test ruins any surprise effect. Wally is well known for not liking trick plays throughout his career, as only "bad" teams use them, he said. This year he announced that he would be more risk accepting in his philosophy. LOL Well this play might fit that statement, but the use of it in this game amounts to nothing gained, and it is no longer a secret. Just imo.

From previous games, Wally's use of the Super I also makes little sense, imo. It does nothing to affect the defence. After the I lineup, the players go to their real lineup, prior to the snap of the ball, wherein we run a plunge from tight formation. Even if some players split out wide, it would not put the defence at disadvantage. The defence is not influenced or lead astray in any way. Just imo.

I commend Wally for saying he would take more risks this year. But we saw little of it on offence. RPO was a very large conservative step backward. We saw some risk taking on defence, with more pressure, blitzing and man to man, but we still keep our Safety way back in no man's land. On STs we saw perhaps even more conservatism, with the KR seemingly forced to run it up the middle, when most would say some outside returns provide more chances to break it long. Field goals? Maybe a bit more of a tendency to try some longer FGs. Maybe, but the decision making seemed sketchy. See above in this game.

Geroy Simon laughed, when asked what would be different with Buono retiring, Simon said each one of them would have more control.

Hamilton is very beatable. So is Ottawa. We only need to win two games and we will be playing in the Big Dance. We have enough talent on defense and enough dangerous weapons on offence to do so.

We can win it if we mostly play man defense and blitz some. We gave up 347 yards in total offence over the first 30 minutes against Calgary so there are things to fix, scheme wise.

On offence, we can’t be abysmal in the first half and get too far behind. We have to get a lead or stay close and establish the running game.

If we can do that and get our of RPO so much and also get out of the short predictable passing attack, we can get it done offensively. We don’t need to use so many quick slant patterns off RPO and see the football being batted back into our quarterback’s face.

Every time this season, we’ve been behind and opened up our offence to a vertical, layered type of offensive passing game our offence has exploded. We need to do that from the opening whistle.

Your post was very detailed, Blitz, and pertinent. I appreciate the research you do, and your perspective. As with any situation in life, people see things differently, and it is like that on here. Some of us, as with you and I, are more critical in looking at our team. Others are more supportive of the staff. My tendency is to support the players, as I feel we do not give them all the weapons that are available when they go into battle, risking their health and football careers on every play. And our staff deserves credtit also, for their hard work, long hours and dedication, but it is pro sports, and the competition takes advantage of everything that is out there. We tend not to do that.

For a regular season game, and the final home game of Wally's coaching career, it was a sad way to go out. Dickenson and Claybrooks ran circles around us. We were flat and unprepared. Our game plans were ineffective.

And yet, we do have a good chance against Hamilton. It seems to me that they do not have an overwhelming amount of talent. It seems to me that they are well coached in the Xs and Os, and in overall team attitude. Jones and Glanville have been around the block thousands of times. They can certainly coach. Play books. Game plans. Game preparation. But if we prepare well, we can beat them. We have the talent.

If we beat Hamilton, we might get fired up to play Ottawa. Who knows?

[TheLionKing]

Makes no sense to me that the Lions reveal their trick play late in the game when the result is no longer in doubt. Why not save it for the next game ?

[Lion Guy]

Makes no sense to me that the Lions reveal their trick play late in the game when the result is no longer in doubt. Why not save it for the next game ?

A lot of our coaching decisions fall into that category

[B.C.FAN]

Makes no sense to me that the Lions reveal their trick play late in the game when the result is no longer in doubt. Why not save it for the next game ?

I think It was Farhan who speculated on the radio postgame show that Reinebold ran the trick play then because he knew Wally would never allow him to do it in the playoffs.

[DanoT]

Makes no sense to me that the Lions reveal their trick play late in the game when the result is no longer in doubt. Why not save it for the next game ?

I think It was Farhan who speculated on the radio postgame show that Reinebold ran the trick play then because he knew Wally would never allow him to do it in the playoffs.

It gives the TiCats something to spend time on planing how to defend against and yet we all know Wally will never allow the play to be run in a game that counts.

[The_Pauser]

Makes no sense to me that the Lions reveal their trick play late in the game when the result is no longer in doubt. Why not save it for the next game ?

I don't get this...do you really think the Lions were ever going to run that play in the playoffs? Like some others have mentioned, maybe this gives Hamilton something else to think about? It's also good in-game practice to see if it would work.

[Figaro]

On the clever ST play - I think it was run out of frustration on the part of Reinbold. All year his style has been shelved in favor of Mr. Buono's run it up the gut school of special teams. I am sure he has other schemes as well. Last play of the season, try and show the boss what could take place if he would just let go of the shackles for a game. Would love to see some clever play designs against Hamilton. They have a better chance of working than what has been used all season. The players love it as well. Go Leos.

[Toppy Vann]

On the clever ST play - I think it was run out of frustration on the part of Reinbold. All year his style has been shelved in favor of Mr. Buono's run it up the gut school of special teams. I am sure he has other schemes as well. Last play of the season, try and show the boss what could take place if he would just let go of the shackles for a game. Would love to see some clever play designs against Hamilton. They have a better chance of working than what has been used all season. The players love it as well. Go Leos.

I walked out a few minutes earlier - the FIRST time ever I have left a Lions (or any other sporting event early). Oh well.