GDT -- The Playoffs Have Arrived - Leos vs Hamilton in East Semi-Final

[Blitz]

I like that we are going with Sutton and Johnson as our tailbacks for this game. Both tailbacks have different styles. While Sutton is a load inside Jeremiah Johnson is a excellent runner off-tackle and can make people miss. It will be a good one two punch, at least it should be.

Sutton is a very good blocker while Johnson is excellent as a receiver/safety valve out of the backfield.

We've mostly used Rainey to run inside, when he has been in the game at tailback. In fact, we've used Rainey more than any tailback on second and short, and running him up the gut, which was ridiculous. We had no clue how to use Rainey as a receiver, out of the backfield nor did we hardly ever use him in motion.

If we win, then we'll get to see them again, but if we lose, this is likely the last we'll see of Lulay, Jennings, Rainey, Johnson, Sol E. and I'm not sure if Hervey will try to sign Posey or Manny in the off-season. It would be great if he could sign both.

I'm still shaking my head over the talent on this Leos team and how good we should have been this season. While there are many members of our coaching staff that I would never like to see again on the sidelines, I can't think of a Leo player that I would not like to see back next year.

I still believe, as I did at the start of this season, that our Leos have a great chance to be playing in this year's Grey Cup game. We don't even need to outsmart the other East teams.

All our coaching staff needs to do is not handicap our Leo players in these playoffs. The last time our Leos were in the playoffs, our defense gave up 25 points in the first half to the Bombers and more than 30 points in the first half to Calgary.

Don't think that will happen this year but it shows how poorly our coaching staff has prepared for playoff games in the past 6 playoff games we';ve played in. We were 1-5 in those playoff games for good reasons.

Hopefully we have a better plan this season. Looks like we want to run the football and that is a good thing.

[SammyGreene]

Well the wait is soon over. The season marches on to the Eastern Final or it's the end of an era.
It's sports and anything can happen but still hard for me to believe the Ti-Cats are only 1.5 point favourites at home. Lions have struggled on the road all season and Masoli has lit up their defence in both starts. Only an improbable comeback at BC Place prevented a sweep.

I just keep thinking back to that horrible performance at Mosiac two weeks ago. Lions coming off a big win, seemingly have lots of momentum and still plenty to play for and lay an egg in a playoff type atmosphere.
Yes, Hamilton not exactly rolling into the post-season either but if they are anything close to their 35-31 loss in Ottawa 3 weeks ago that cost them 1st place then that will be more than enough points against Jarious Jackson's offence.

Now turn back the clock Travis , throw out the RPO and don't be passive on defence. Then maybe we have a shot.

[B.C.FAN]

Terrell Sinkfield and John White are scratched for the Ticats. That’s two dangerous weapons off the table.

[Blitz]

Well the wait is soon over. The season marches on to the Eastern Final or it's the end of an era.
It's sports and anything can happen but still hard for me to believe the Ti-Cats are only 1.5 point favourites at home. Lions have struggled on the road all season and Masoli has lit up their defence in both starts. Only an improbable comeback at BC Place prevented a sweep.

I just keep thinking back to that horrible performance at Mosiac two weeks ago. Lions coming off a big win, seemingly have lots of momentum and still plenty to play for and lay an egg in a playoff type atmosphere.
Yes, Hamilton not exactly rolling into the post-season either but if they are anything close to their 35-31 loss in Ottawa 3 weeks ago that cost them 1st place then that will be more than enough points against Jarious Jackson's offence.

Now turn back the clock Travis , throw out the RPO and don't be passive on defence. Then maybe we have a shot.

They say its going to be cold, windy, with a chance of snow flurries. The cold weather is a bonus for our Leos.

An element as cold weather, that takes away offence from both teams favors our Leos. As Willes writes " there will, however, be two teams slugging it out in the elements — which is the way Buono likes it".

If Wallly can get a game which is basically a defensive battle and a field postion battle, it favors his conservative football philosophy.

As Ed Willes wrote Buono seems energized by the frigid weather in Hamilton and "if he had to pick a day when he could go out on his shield, he’d pick a day like this: A day when football is reduced to its most primitive aspects".

No question about it - when the coaching aspects of the game are reduced by weather and a simpler game pan has to be utilized, it takes away some of the advantages that better coaching usually creates for the opposition.

What I am looking for early in this playoff game, is whether we will utililze pre-snap designed run plays or whether we go with RPO.

In Sutton's first start, we went with a lot of pre-snap designed run plays and I thought RPO was mostly over. But Jarious Jackson went back to RPO and both Saskatchewan and Calgary did a very good job on Sutton when we handed the football to him.

Our RPO offence has worked to a certain degree, when we've gotten good yardage on first down. But the short passing plays or the draw plays on second and long have not been very successful most of the time.

Our offence, for the most part, has only had good success in the passing game, when we've thrown deep. When we throw deep, its most often off non-RPO pass plays, with tradtional pass blocking. Lulay is the 11th rated CFL quarterback but he is 2nd among CFL quarterbacks in plays over 30 yards.

Its another good example of why we should not have used an RPO offence this season.

We implemented an RPO offence this season that focused on high percentage pass passing and it hasn't worked. Lulay's pass percentage is worst among CFL starters and our pass game is 7th in the CFL.

Yet Lulay has enjoyed his most success, by far, when not in that so called 'high percentage" passing RPO offence that has not turned out to be high percentage at all.

Lulay's best success has been when he has been given non-RPO plays and that additional time to throw the football has been a difference maker for those successful 30 yd. plus completions he has made.

Wally Buono, in an interview with Ed Willes this week said he saw greatness in this Leos team. As Willes wrote:

Maybe he only saw it sporadically in the 9-9 regular season, but he did see it, and he believes there is greatness in this team, his last team.
Wouldn’t it be something if they showed that greatness in his final act?

I have believed in the greatness of this Leos team's potential since the start of the season. What separates me from Willes is that he sees greatness in Wally's coaching this season too and I definitely don't.

Willes at least admitted to the following:

"OK, maybe we’re guilty of trying to fit this storyline into Buono’s last go-round as a CFL coach".

No kidding. In fact, that is what Willes almost always seems to be doing.

But then Willes comes back with the following in his article and the Kool Aid is flowing:

But even if you think the Lions’ turnaround had more to do with personnel changes made by GM Ed Hervey than Buono’s coaching, something happened to the Lions a couple of months ago that enabled them to salvage this season.

Buono says it’s simple. When the Lions were 3-6, they were discovering new and innovative ways to lose. When they went on their 6-1 run they found ways to win, and there’s something to that.

The Lions, in complete candor, haven’t had the look of a well-coached team for stretches of this season. A lot of that has to do with below-average play from the quarterback position; but there have been issues with team discipline, with consistency, with stretches when they appear to go brain dead.

Buono said a lot of those problems were created by a lineup that features 16 new starters.

“Coaching most of the time is about finding out who your players are,” he explained. “Because we brought in a lot of veteran players, a lot of the guys were set in their ways. It’s a little more difficult to mould them into what you want them to be.”

“When they’ve been in the right state, they’ve been a very physical team.
“Is that a reflection of me? I’d like our teams to be physical every game.”

So, to summarize the article:

The reasons for our poor play in the first half of the season was due to:

1. Our Leo players finding ways to lose
2. Our players being 'brain dead' at times
3. Below average play from our quarterbacks
4. Taking 16 new starters who were 'set in their ways' and molding them to into what Wally 'wanted them to be'.

The article also leads us to another concept: Our poor play over the past two games, was due to this statement in the Ed Willes article:

"Buono is sticking to the party line the ‘Riders and Stampeders had something to play for and the Lions didn’t."

Of course, no mention why our Leos did not have something to play for in Regina, like a shot at second place in the West or did not have something to play for on Wally Buono Night, like being motivated to give their all for their ' beloved' coach.

The Ed Willes article leads to the following conclusions.

When we won in the second half of this season, it was due to:

1. Our new Leo players findin ways to win by cutting down on 'their mistakes'.
2. Playing with physicality when in the 'right state' to be a reflection of Wally
3. Wally being 'steadfast in the face of adversity" in the first half of the season and 'sticking with it'.

Well, here is one Lionbacker who is not beng indoctrinated, is not drinking the Kool Aid, and is not buying into the religion of the Wally Way.

Instead, these are my conclusions:

1. This season turned around when our defensive players requested to play man defense, as part of the accountability theme at the half way point of this season.

Buono did not 'mould' his defensive players into 'what he wanted them to be'. Instead of the defensive players being 'set in their ways' Buono was set in his ways and his defensive veterans got Buono and Washinton to change.

When we have gone back to the Wally Way and played zone defense at times in the second half of this season, such as the two Hamilton games and the first halves of the Edmonton and Calgary games, or at times when we;ve had the lead, our defense has still sucked.

2. We've had better than average quarterbacking in a very below average offensive scheme.

When our quarterbacks have not been hampered by that scheme, they have experienced excellent success. Trouble is they haven't had enough opportunity to NOT be in RPO.

The wins against Hamilton and Edmonton at home were very important to securing a playoff spot, when we needed those wins and our offensive success in those two games were due to opening up our offence in the 2nd half, due to abandoning our RPO in the second half on those two occasions.

4. Except for those two victories, the only reason we secured a playoff spot was due to 1) Edmonton's second half collapse and 2) because our defense, made up mostly of Ed Hervey signings, pushed our coaching staff to play the style of defense in the second half they were meant to play.

That style was aggressive in your face defense and not Buono's panty waist zone defensive scheme.

5.

We didn't turn things around because Wally was steadfast. We turned our defense around because he was not steadfast. We didn't mostly get our offence turned aournd because Wally and Jarious continued to be 'steadfast' or 'stuck' is the way I look at things

.

Whether you agree with me or not, at least its an alternative version than the one that keeps being hammered, over and over again so that it looks like Wally walks on water, that when we don;t win its the players fault and when we do win, its all because of Wally.

Dispite the constant Kool Aid, they have not made me a BELIEVER yet. I still don't have that glazed look in my eyes, thankfully.

But it certainly makes me understand how a person can become a 'convert' becuase the message is relentless.

[TheLionKing]

2 and long and the TiCats capitalize

[B.C.FAN]

The Ticats are doing a great job of capitalizing on the B.C. blitz.

[The_Pauser]

There’s no way that should count. First, his elbow was down. Second, that looked like a forward pass.

[SammyGreene]

Washington’s defence in typical playoff form. Pathetic!!

[TheLionKing]

Big break for Hamilton. Leads 7-0

[Blitz]

Washington’s defence in typical playoff form. Pathetic!!

Not a good start for our defense.

The play was a legitimate touchdown and really a dum play by Hamilton's quarterback that worked out.

[B.C.FAN]

The Lions did a good job against the run on the opening drive. The Ticats just executed some good screens against he blitz. If the Lions keep pressuring the line of scrimmage, it should pay off in the end.

[Lion Guy]

Looking good so far.

[TheLionKing]

Typical Lion choke in the playoffs. My worst nightmare is already coming true

[SammyGreene]

Really Travis? What a joke. And his god awful play of late continues. The leash needs to be very short

[B.C.FAN]

Protect he ball is the most important key to the game. Lulay didn’t do that. Early turnovers have been fatal for the Lions this year.