Leos/Tabbies Keys to the Game

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Blitz
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Our B.C. Lions, now 3-3 after a big win over the previously undefeated Stamps, in Calgary last week, play host to the visiting Hamilton Tiger Cats this Friday evening.

Its been a much more positive week in B.C. Lions land and even our sports reporters have rode the positive atmosphere - treating us to 'fluff' stories such as Mike Beamish's headline 'Lions Get Treated to Ice Cream' as the ice cream truck arrived again to treat our players to frozen treats at the end of practice and even Lowell Ullrich joined the bandwagon with his headline story "Benevides Played it Calm After Long Harris TD Called Back' and the nugget within, that when Harris came to the sidelines after the 75 yard run was called back due to penalty, Benevedes said to Harris ‘Don’t worry, let’s go". Wow - in-depth stuff.

A big win in Calgary, mainly due to an offensive explosion in the fourth quarter, following 7 quarters of offensive mediocrity, and all is well again - at least we hope, as we play the Tiger Cats, who have gotten off to a miserable start this season, in Kent Austin's second year as Head Coach in Hamilton.

The Tiger Cats have looked anything but Grey Cup finalists so far this summer. At 1-4, the Ticats have lost three games by four points or less, more than they did all of last season. Based on points for and against — Hamilton is, at this point, is the unluckiest team in the CFL and Winnipeg, who beat the Ticats in dramatic fashion last Thursday, is the luckiest.

The Ticats have lost by failing to execute on offence (a last-minute drive in Edmonton that was stopped just short of the end zone as time expired), on special teams (a botched field in goal in Calgary that would have tied the score late in the fourth) and defence (the 95-yard drive by the Bombers that won the game on the final play). Injuries have caused havoc to the Hamilton starting lineup, including the loss of Collarus the lineup in the early going and the Ticats are also tied for the league lead in penalty infractions, with 74 and untimely penalties have been costly.

Still, in would be unwise for our Leos to take the Tiger Cats for granted as they travel West to B.C. Place. Dan LeFevour's, who will start at quarterback again for Hamilton, has a 67.1 per cent completion percentage, an 8.2 yards-per-toss average, and 85.2 efficiency rating - all within striking distance of the league's best.

However, Hamilton's offence is rated 7th in the CFL in average yards per game, they are 6th in rushing, 6th in passing and they have given up the second most sacks in the CFL (21). Only our B.C. Lions have given up more quarterback sacks (22) this season. Our Leos defense has been excellent against the pass this season (best in the CFL) and the terrible against the run (worst in the CFL) and Hamilton's ineffective run game so far this season bodes well for our defense.

Offensively, our Leos have been plagues by our inability to protect the quarterback and lead the CFL in giving up the most quarterback sacks. We likely have also had our quarterback pressured and hit more often this season than any other CFL squad. However, good news going into this game is that we onluy gave up one sack to Calgary last weekend and Hamilton is terrible at getting to the quarterback. Hamilton only has 7 sacks this season (last in the CFL) while our Leos defense has 12 (seventh in the CFL). So Hamilton is mediocre at getting to the quarterback and protecting the quarterback and so are our Lions but we are improving in both areas while Hamilton has not shown signs of getting things turned around yet.

We're playing at home, against a struggling team on offence and defense. This game is an opportunity to finally get a winning record and solidify our positive direction. Here are my keys to the game. I look forward to reading yours.

1. THUNDER AND LIGHTNING

Andrew Harris leads the CFL in rushing and yards from scrimmage. He is second in CFL receiving. He is more than on a roll - he has been a man possessed ever since Stefan Logan showed up last season. He refuses to be tackled. Give him the rock. We win when we give him the football. We protect our quarterback so much better when we establish the run and play more aggressively. When Harris needs a breather to stay fresh, ensure Stefan Logan is involved. He stretches a defense, gives us a different style of run, and also helps tire a defense out.

With Hunter Stewart playing phenomenally for a rookie left offensive tackle (hard to believe we had him slated as a backup guard for the season) and Olofoye a strength at the right tackle position our running game should be attacking smaller defensive ends and giving Harris and Logan the option of cutting, off the blocks of these two mammoths.

My guess is that we will play Hardrick again, instead of Fabian, if he is able, but I would love to see us use the import position at safety, rather than guard, which is a luxuary in the longer term.

Both Harris and Logan are dangerous receivers. They need to be utilized more often in check downs, dump passes into underneath seams, and also sent downfield if they get a favorable matchup with a linebacker. They both need to be used on screen passes more often, because they are both so dangerous in space and know how to use blockers.

DO NOT line them up as stationary slotbacks, while going empty backfield. This is not their forte. Use them in motion instead to create favorable matchups and defensive assignment problems.

Our offence needs to be built around these two players. When it is, we win. When it isn't we don't. It's that simple.

2. SPREAD THE FOOTBALL IN THE PASSING ATTACK

Our passing attack has been far too slot back oriented this season. It's partly understandable due to the heavy pressure our quarterback has experienced and the quickest pass is to the inside slot back position. We've also thrown to Harris out of the backfield a lot and should continue to do so. However, we need to involve our outside recievers more and defense are cheating, knowing how often we look for Taylor and Arsenault.

We need to design more plays with our outside receivers (Earnest Jackson and Shawn Gore) as primary receivers. We can go maximum protection or keep the tailback in on the plays where are designated 'primary'. Its also time for us to rotate players like Haidara, when we go tight end set, rather than Gore, and Adekolu to get his chance in this lineup rather than Poblah and Iannuzzi, but I realize I am likely just barking at the moon. We see how well our rookies are playing on defense - as is Stewart on offence- wish we would give Adekolo the same opportunity.

When we offensive game plan and play call, with a run focus or short passes on first down, out ofpower formations, we set ourselves up for second and short, we give our offence a lot of options and put defenses into a bind. When we get stuck in second and 10, we create a lot of problems for ourselves. We could easily be 6-0 this season, had we done a better job of offensive game planning, play calling, and protecting our quarterback. We've won with a recipe, lost with a different recipe of passing too much out of the spread. The recipe for success is in front of our eyes, as it was in the 4th quarter against Calgary. Run the football, check down with the football, and use our outside receivers more often.

3. STOP THE RUN

Our defense plays its best football and shuts down offences when it stops the opposition from running effectively. There is no excuse for our Leos being the worst run defense in the CFL, with Mitchell and Taylor inside and league leading tacklers Sol E. and Bighill at linebacker.

This is a very fast, talented defense with some very aggressive players. Bazzie, Menard, Josh Johnson, Stefan Yell, and Torri Williams have been excellent additions. Bazzie leads our defense in sacks and is only two sacks off the CFL lead. Yell, J. Johnson, and Williams are very tough players who create turnovers.

We have an excellent pass defense, especially when Torri Williams is at safety, and we lead the league in lowest passing yards against per game, lowest average yards per catch, and lowest passes completed against. We are second to Edmonton in average yards of offence per game. All we need to do, to become the CFl's best defense is to get better against the run and improve our pass rush.

This is a game in which should be able to do both and get our defense on a roll in these two critical areas.

WRAP

We're playing at home and we have been very good in our 'house' for a long time, up to this season. Its' time to re-establish that we are a very tough team to play at home with our second home victory of the season. This is a game in which a Lion should be able to maul a Tiger Cat. The team that has the most predatory approach to this game will win!!
"When I went to Catholic high school in Philadelphia, we just had one coach for football and basketball. He took all of us who turned out and had us run through a forest. The ones who ran into the trees were on the football team". (George Raveling)
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WestCoastJoe
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Thanks for he preview, Blitz.

Our defence has been pretty good, it seems to me. Good DBs. Good DL. Excellent LBs. Seems more in step with Stubler than say C Jones. More of a contain D than attack.

On O, as Matt Dunigan and Jon Cornish and Angus Reid have said, without Harris we are nowhere. We have no wins. We need to give him more help. Manny, Shawn, EJ, Stefan. Kevin Glenn needs to up his game, in admittedly difficult circumstances.

Good productivity from our OL last game. No one expects us to abandon the zone blocking in the run game. But we kept it simpler, and the guys made excellent contact with the defenders. Using our size and strength. Our pass blocking was also good. Again, we had our guys focused and productive. Stubler helped us in that he does not run crazy stunts and movement like Etcheverry, or bring the house like Thorpe.

Are the TiCats missing Burris? Too much uncertainty with the stadium? Teams more ready for Kent Austin? Whatever, I expect Austin's team to be competitive this year. They played the Stampeders tough in Calgary.

Looking forward to a good game. We have lots of leaders. Eric Taylor. Biggie and Solo. Marsh, Phillips, Parks. Harris. Glenn. Logan. Manny. Lulay from the sideline.
John Madden's Team Policies: Be on time. Pay attention. Play like hell on game day.

Jimmy Johnson's Game Keys: Protect the ball. Make plays.

Walter Payton's Advice to Kids: Play hard. Play fair. Have fun.
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cromartie
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Ahem. For you guys that like to talk about coaching demeanor, I present you this (anonymous, of course) nugget from Kirk Penton's column in the Winnipeg Sun:
(Kent) Austin’s act is getting old. It’s embarrassing. *beeotch* at his players, screaming at the officials every series. Same crap in league meetings. Rolling his eyes, pissed off when we don’t do things his way. I didn’t say anything but I probably wasn’t the only person in the room thinking hope this guy leaves the CFL again.
If you're going to slag Benny, you'll note that at least most of his act consists of positive reinforcement. Now, that can be overdone, of course, but at least it has a longer shelf life than stuff like this.

As for actual Xs and Os, Hamilton's offense to this point is pretty much like playing our offense, something the Lions D should be familiar with. This is likely to be low scoring, but the Lions should win easily, though not easy enough that I'd lay the 12 points, unless they can't contain LeFevour in the pocket.
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B.C.FAN
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Good breakdown, Blitz. I won't repeat your points. I'll just add two off my own.

1. Don't let Dan LeFevour run the ball.
That means keeping Elimimian or Bighill in the middle to spy on him and not sending them both out in man coverage or blitzing both of them from the same side of centre, as happened in Calgary before the Lions simplified things last week. LeFevour is primarily a running quarterback, and has been used effectively by Austin in that role. Last year he threw 62 passes and rushed 54 times. Six times last year he had at least 40 yards rushing as a backup QB. He's starting now, so the Lions have to key on him all game long. QB rushes can be back-breakers, as the Lions found out last year in the WSF. Make LeFevour pass. His completion percentage is good but he throws more interceptions than touchdowns.

2. (You know it's coming) Win the turnover battle.
Last week the Lions won the turnover battle against Calgary, a team that led the league in turnover margin and hadn't given up an interception through the first four games of this year. Without Ronnie Yell's pick-six and forced fumble, the Lions would not have beaten the Stamps. Teams winning the turnover battle are 21-3 this year. This relates to the first point above. Make LeFevour throw the ball and chances are better the Lions can make him pay.
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WestCoastJoe
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cromartie wrote:Ahem. For you guys that like to talk about coaching demeanor, I present you this (anonymous, of course) nugget from Kirk Penton's column in the Winnipeg Sun:
(Kent) Austin’s act is getting old. It’s embarrassing. *beeotch* at his players, screaming at the officials every series. Same crap in league meetings. Rolling his eyes, pissed off when we don’t do things his way. I didn’t say anything but I probably wasn’t the only person in the room thinking hope this guy leaves the CFL again.
If you're going to slag Benny, you'll note that at least most of his act consists of positive reinforcement. Now, that can be overdone, of course, but at least it has a longer shelf life than stuff like this.

As for actual Xs and Os, Hamilton's offense to this point is pretty much like playing our offense, something the Lions D should be familiar with. This is likely to be low scoring, but the Lions should win easily, though not easy enough that I'd lay the 12 points, unless they can't contain LeFevour in the pocket.
Austin comes across as very cranky, and arrogant. He pretty much sneers at some questions from reporters. When he smiles it is not a nice smile, kind of forced. But he knows football. He may well have a fast burnout quotient, both with players and with himself. He has not had to deal with tons of losses as a HC in the CFL. He might not handle it too well.
John Madden's Team Policies: Be on time. Pay attention. Play like hell on game day.

Jimmy Johnson's Game Keys: Protect the ball. Make plays.

Walter Payton's Advice to Kids: Play hard. Play fair. Have fun.
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Shi Zi Mi
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I, for one, can't fault Austin in regards to the media.....he's a person who doesn't suffer fools gladly and it absolutely amazes me that he can keep his cool with the incredibly stupid questions that the media deliver. Media: "so, Kent, the Tiger Cats are now 1 and 4, are you happy with the team's performance to date?"........
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notahomer
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B.C.FAN wrote:.....

2. (You know it's coming) Win the turnover battle.
Last week the Lions won the turnover battle against Calgary, a team that led the league in turnover margin and hadn't given up an interception through the first four games of this year. Without Ronnie Yell's pick-six and forced fumble, the Lions would not have beaten the Stamps. Teams winning the turnover battle are 21-3 this year. This relates to the first point above. Make LeFevour throw the ball and chances are better the Lions can make him pay.
Its always a great point you make too. I know its happened but when was the last time the Lions lost a game but won the turnover battle OR the Lions won a game but lost the turnover battle? Turnovers usually seem so DEFLATING to whatever team gives them up. You'll see a strong DEFENCE play well but then the offence coughs up a turnover and that same strong DEFENCE gets shredded for a TD. Not always but its seems to be a regular happening......

Flipside, what felt better last game that watching Yell stride on in with a picksix? Actually lots of things but Yell was one of the highlights for me. For one thing it seemed to let a little pressure off of the offence and added pressure to the Stamps...
TheLionKing
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Ti-Cats have two inexperienced quarterback. Bring pressure to disrupt their comfort zone. No stupid penalties and win the turnover battle.
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Rammer
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TheLionKing wrote:Ti-Cats have two inexperienced quarterback. Bring pressure to disrupt their comfort zone. No stupid penalties and win the turnover battle.
Sounds like the same recipe to beat the Als, hopefully with a better result than the first time vs the Als though.

One thing about Hamilton, out of all the Eastern teams they seem to better in BC Place than any of the others, even with subpar teams in the recent past.
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TheLionKing
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Rammer wrote:
TheLionKing wrote:Ti-Cats have two inexperienced quarterback. Bring pressure to disrupt their comfort zone. No stupid penalties and win the turnover battle.
Sounds like the same recipe to beat the Als, hopefully with a better result than the first time vs the Als though.

One thing about Hamilton, out of all the Eastern teams they seem to better in BC Place than any of the others, even with subpar teams in the recent past.
Lions should win if they play up to their potential. Don't beat yourself with stupid penalties and turnovers.
Blitz
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It's an usual situation so far this season for our Leos...you don't often see an offence that is second in the CFL in yardage per game that is giving up the most sacks in the league and the most interceptions...and most times punted too (our offence has had the most opportunities in the CFL...you don't usually see a defense that is second ranked in the CFL, while being last against the run and seventh in quarterback sacks.

Just think how good our Leos can be, if we can protect our quarterback on offence and give our quarterback time to throw and just think how good we could be if we can get much better against the run (and there is no reason why we shouldn't with our personnel) and can get better heat on opposition quarterbacks.

Our stats are similar to Hamilton in these areas and the Tabbies and the Tabbies are 1-4, with their only win over Ottawa.

Our offensive line showed very good improvement last week in Calgary. Our defensive pressure was better. Good signs. Hamilton is not running the football well at all this season - so this should be a game in which there should be no excuses for our run defense.
"When I went to Catholic high school in Philadelphia, we just had one coach for football and basketball. He took all of us who turned out and had us run through a forest. The ones who ran into the trees were on the football team". (George Raveling)
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There are two Keys to the game on friday,One keep doing what they did against Calgary and two don't get fat heads. I am always nervouse when the talk is how mutch we should win by.

The Leo's are three and 0ne in there last 4 games.Including wins overer Sask and Calgary at there place.Both tough hard places to play,and the Leo's should be given full credit for the wins.If they play the same way this week as last , we will walk away winners on on Friday (REMEMBER NO FAT HEADS ).

Depending on what happens on Thurs. the Leo's have a good chance to cement the GOPHER DUDES in the celler. This mess with TAJ SMITH (and his perferd player status) is not going to quitly go away.

Lets hope things go according to plan,and it will ICE CREAM FOR EVERYONE FRIDAY NIGHT
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B.C.FAN
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notahomer wrote:I know its happened but when was the last time the Lions lost a game but won the turnover battle OR the Lions won a game but lost the turnover battle?
Both situations happened twice last year, which is more often than for most teams. The last time was in the final game of the regular season against Calgary when the Lions lost the turnover battle 1-0 on a Buck Pierce interception but won the game 26-7.

Of all stats, winning or losing the turnover battle correlates most strongly with winning or losing games. And teams with the best turnover ratio usually have the most success. Saskatchewan had the league's best turnover ratio last year and won the Grey Cup. Toronto had the best ratio in 2012 and won the Grey Cup. The Lions were third in turnover ratio for the full 2011 season but they were a league-best +14 after their 0-5 start, in which their turnover ratio was minus-4. That turnover turnaround helped them win the Grey Cup.
Blitz
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B.C.FAN wrote:
notahomer wrote:I know its happened but when was the last time the Lions lost a game but won the turnover battle OR the Lions won a game but lost the turnover battle?
Both situations happened twice last year, which is more often than for most teams. The last time was in the final game of the regular season against Calgary when the Lions lost the turnover battle 1-0 on a Buck Pierce interception but won the game 26-7.

Of all stats, winning or losing the turnover battle correlates most strongly with winning or losing games. And teams with the best turnover ratio usually have the most success. Saskatchewan had the league's best turnover ratio last year and won the Grey Cup. Toronto had the best ratio in 2012 and won the Grey Cup. The Lions were third in turnover ratio for the full 2011 season but they were a league-best +14 after their 0-5 start, in which their turnover ratio was minus-4. That turnover turnaround helped them win the Grey Cup.
Below are the standings for turnovers so far this season. Our Lions have caused 15 takeaways this season - 2nd most in the CFL. However, we have also turned the football over 16 times, tied with Toronto for worst in the CFL.


GIVEAWAYS-TAKEAWAYS

CAL + 6
EDM + 6
SSK + 3
WP -1
OTT -1
BC -1
HAM -3
MTL -4
TOR -5
"When I went to Catholic high school in Philadelphia, we just had one coach for football and basketball. He took all of us who turned out and had us run through a forest. The ones who ran into the trees were on the football team". (George Raveling)
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cromartie
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Shi Zi Mi wrote:I, for one, can't fault Austin in regards to the media.....he's a person who doesn't suffer fools gladly and it absolutely amazes me that he can keep his cool with the incredibly stupid questions that the media deliver. Media: "so, Kent, the Tiger Cats are now 1 and 4, are you happy with the team's performance to date?"........
I'm too lazy to pick up my copy of 'End Zones and Border Wars', but IIRC in there some where is a note about how teammates on the 1994 Lions preferred Danny Mac over Austin? So this might go back to his playing days, you know?
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