Leos/Riders Post Game Thoughts

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Sir Purrcival
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Part of me wonders if there isn't a player on the roster who might be able to give the FG job a try? Iainuzzi for example. It could hardly be worse than it is now. Who is the backup kicker in the event of a Leone injury during a game?
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Sir Purrcival wrote:Part of me wonders if there isn't a player on the roster who might be able to give the FG job a try? Iainuzzi for example. It could hardly be worse than it is now. Who is the backup kicker in the event of a Leone injury during a game?
Bighill is the backup kicker. He hits one at the end of pregame warmups each week. I haven't seen him miss. Bighill said this week that he has hit from 50 yards out but he acknowledged having a problem with accuracy and consistency. In Leone's defence, he has been sick this week and there was some doubt that he could even play, so perhaps that affected his performance today.
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B.C.FAN wrote:
Sir Purrcival wrote:Part of me wonders if there isn't a player on the roster who might be able to give the FG job a try? Iainuzzi for example. It could hardly be worse than it is now. Who is the backup kicker in the event of a Leone injury during a game?
Bighill is the backup kicker. He hits one at the end of pregame warmups each week. I haven't seen him miss. Bighill said this week that he has hit from 50 yards out but he acknowledged having a problem with accuracy and consistency. In Leone's defence, he has been sick this week and there was some doubt that he could even play, so perhaps that affected his performance today.
On converts the solution has been there all along , and sometimes we use it . Why not just use it on all converts? And the solution is , and it has been said many times , go for 2 points every single time .You only have to be good 50% of the time to be as good as 100% on singles.
Maybe you are right BCfan , Maybe Leone was still sick . He played terrible , his worst game so far , missing all his kicks . Last game he kicked pretty good . A little late to make any changes now . Many teams use two kickers . Leone is a punter who was forced to be a place kicker as well .Other teams seem to not do that , using 2 instead , but it costs them a roster spot else where . Wally does not appear to be willing to give up that extra roster spot.
This was a game where a few others had sub-par games ,notably some receivers who dropped a few to many passes , the most surprising was Bryan Burnham dropping a few . But he has not had a bad game before for us and usually is making highlight reel catches look routine . Still he made 4 catches for 67 yds , only one yard less than Manny.
Manny made a sensational catch that was negated by an extremely lame penalty call against Rolly Lumbala , who happened to be lined up about 2 feet too far back from the line of scrimmage . Brutal call that should have never been made., with all the stuff refs do over look . Are some of these refs related to George Costanza ?
On the challenges Wally should not have made that one as , you knew they would not give it to him , since he was in fact stopped from making forward progress .(but it was a fumble i agree) But then Jones challenges on the same play , was even stupider . For one , the receiver ran straight into our DB which is what initiated the contact , but you could also hear the whistle plain as day on the replay going off before the contact was made , which the command center went by . They made the correct call but did not acknowledge the receiver initiating contact . And Glen Suiter made a point that in the off season that that situation has to be addressed . When a receiver initiates contact by running into a DB it should NOT be PI.
And of course this was agame that really was won by our Defense , a terrific game by our front seven with sacks by Brooks , Roe and Turner to go along with 4 sacks coming fro our LBs on blitzes . Nice to see Brooks have a great game applying pressure on many other plays as well through the middle . Rider QBs took a real beating in this one and the sack by Brooks basically ended the game for the other QB the Riders had rotating with Durant. What to expect from the Riders next week , who Knows ? They may want to protect Durant from a further beating in the last game that is completely meaningless for them , but but means a playoff position for BC.
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It was a huge crowd watching their hometown Riders play our B.C. Lions. The game wasnt just the Riders last home game of the 2106 season. It was the Riders last game in Mosaic, ever and a party and celebration was planned. Rider fans were amped, hoping that their hometown team would dial up a win.

But our Leos had other plans. A Rider victory to coincide with the last game played at Mosaic was not one of them. A home playoff game, potentially blown after two last minute losses to Winnipeg, was back huge on the radar screen and huge and destiny was in our own hands again.

But what was more gratifying about the win was the changes that I saw on both offence and defence. It felt surreal - almost as if our Leos coaches had been reading Lionbackers - because the scheme and play calling adjustments were almost as if written on this site. Perhaps the Football Gods played a visit to Khari Jones and Mark Washington and gave both some sage advice.

Here are some post game thoughts. I'll start with defence.

THE GOOD

DEFENCE

This was not the same defence we've been watching for the last number of weeks. That wasa defence that had 4 sacks in the last 4 games, that was predictable and so passive that it was usin Bighilll as both a deep deep safety and a three deep middle safety. It was a defence that was using Jason Aragki as a interior linebacker, in a 3-4 style, to provide underneath support against the run and pass, as Bighill dropped deep into coverage.

Before this game, I sarcastically posted that Mark Washington was probably trying to figure out how to use Bazzie to compliment Bighill as a two deep safety. Well, Washington did drop Bazzie and Menard into linebacking spots at times on zone blitzes, but that made good sense.

Well, Mark Washington got hit with a lighting bolt or the Football Gods came to his bed late at night and scared the living hell out of him. Washington had been coaching scared. Now the Football Gods had told him if you keep coaching scared, we're going to visit you every night and scare the hell out of you. It obviously worked, at least for this game.

Washington not only allowed Bighill to be a linebacker. Washington dialed up a lot of blitzes and not just the usual double Bighill/Sol E. A and B gap interior blitz. He blitzed inside and outside. He zone blitzed and dropped Menard and Bazzie. He was aggressive. Our blitzes were much better disguised. Washington also used a number of formations and mixed up our coverages.

By starting Menard at defensive end, with Brooks and Bryant Turner Jr. inside, we got penetration and we kept Roh fresher. Menard didn't have a sack but he forced a couple of them and played very well. When Roh came into the game, we used Forde or Menard inside. Roh looked so much better, being more fresh, when he came into the game. He also looked more motivated, with Menard now competing at his postion,

The result of the defensive line changes and blitzes and formation changes : 7 sacks. Count 'em. 7 sacks. Sol E. and Bighill had 2 sacks, Brooks, Turner, and Roh had one sack each. Yep, you read that right. Brooks got his first sack of the season and had his best game in a long time.

We also had 4 pass knockdowns as our pressure really worked.

Our defence held Durrant to a 53.6% completion rate and only 162 yds. passing. Waters added 40 yards but we held the Riders to 202 yds. passing. We also held the Riders offence to 53 yds. rushing, with 18 yds. comng off one Morris long run. All season numerous Lionbackers have appealed for Washington to use two International tackles. A few Lionbackers have also lobbied for more reps for Menard.

The decision by Washington to do both of these was not due to divine inspiration. It happened because of Westerman's injury.
But the results are obvious. When Westerman returns, the two International tackle concept needs to remain and Darius Allen needs to stay off the game day roster.

Chandler Fenner also knocked a football loose in this game and the ball was recovered by Anthony Gaitor. Our two rookie boundary defensive backs contributed with a turn over as well as having a solid game. Bighill was flying around, making big tackles and blitzing the quarterback with speed and determination. Sol E., having his buddy Bighill beside him, rather than playing safety, played with much more aggression.

OFFENCE

This was a game in which our offence rushed for 146 yds. Johnson had another excellent game, racking up 101 yds on the ground (6.3 yd. average) Jennings added 28 yds (9.3 yd. average) as he has ran the football more in our last two games. Jennings and Company passed for 241 yds but that low total for our offence is another story. It should have been much higher.

But what was inspiring in this game was the changes Khari Jones introduced in this game. He definitely had another visit from the Football Gods, as he did last week. Khari Jones used more two back formations than in any game this season. Lumbala played a lot. Jones also used split backs and empty backfields on occasion.

He used a ton more motion. He moved his receivers around, with Arseneaux and Burnham on the same side at times and Arseneaux and Sinkfield on the same side at times. Its been something I've been hoping for ..for weeks. Khari lined up Sinkfield in the tight slot at times and out wide. Jones also introduced way more crossing patterns against Man/Cover 2 and got receivers open that way. Its the way to attack man defense and force their safeties up, opening up the deep game again. Jones also used more bootleg action than I can recall him- the using. I couldn't have asked for much more out of Jones.

His game plan had almost everything I have been asking for. He even called the jet sweep for Sinkfield this game, after not calling it last game -the previous game - the first time we ran the play this season, Sinkifield ran it for 22 yards. This time Sinkfield ran it for 16 yds

Jones also got our tailback better involved in the passing attack. Its also the way to beat man defence, because the middle linebacker is on an island. Johnson had 36 yds receiving (18.0 average). It was a very good game plan by Khari Jones and deserves positive recognition.

On special teams Iannuzzi had a 50 yard return and Rainey had a 32 yard return. More on this topic later.

THE BAD

Jonathan Jennings went 19/32 in this game (59.4% average). His passing percentage has usually been impressive, for a number of games, even with the high range of difficulty his passes often have. But we had way too many drops and most of those drops were easy catches to make. I counted 8 dropped passes.

Going from memory, Burnham dropped two passes, including one that would have gone for a long reception. Burnham can be forgiven, based upon the number of great catches he's made this season. This game was an anomaly for him. Gore dropped 3 passes. Sinkfield dropped 3 passes. Iannuzzi dropped an easy one. Arseneaux also had a fantastic long fingertip catch nullified by penalty.

We could easily have scored twice as many points as we did in this game, if our receivers had held onto the football. Some of the
drops would have been huge gains. Both Gore and Burnham dropped deep balls that likely would have been converted into a touchdown. The crossing pattern drops were so disappointing because a coupe of them could have gone for big gains, especially Sinkfield's crossing pattern drop against man coverage because the defender was in the trail position and Sinkfield had tons of space to run upfield.

Antonio Johnson has struggled his last couple of games. He needs to get his game back on track.

We had this game wrapped up, later in the 4th quarter. It was a time to give Lulay some game reps, just in case. We didn't. It wasn't smart.

Jennings threw an interception, escaping the rush and running hard to the sidelines before throwing upfield. It was an excellent play by the Riders defensive back who came over from the backside of the play and Jennings never saw him. But time had run out on Jennings. He's thrown this type of interception before. He needs to either bullet a throw into a receiver who is closer to the football or throw it away, with this circumstance. The interception didn't cost us any points and Jennings needs to learn from it.

It was a shame, that a really excellent Khari Jones offensive game plan was seriously hampered by those factors.

THE UGLY

It can't get any uglier than Leone's field goal kicking in this game. I recall the heated discussion a number of games back about Leone. I, and others were concerned that Leone was not getting better but that he was going to cost us games and playoff games. Leone has already cost us games. Had he hit easy to make field goals in the Winnipeg games, as well as the Edmonton game, we would not have been in the late game situations that we were in. The late game scenarios would have been very different.

I pointed out a number of examples this week so won't repeat except for two. Rainey would not have been carrying the football on third and one in Winnipeg if Leone had hit a very makeable field goal in that game. We would have been kicking for the winning field goal. If Leone had hit a 30 yarder in our home game against Winnipeg, we would have been tied at the end of the Bomber game at home.

Leone missed from 30 yds. and 45 yds. He missed two converts. I don't buy illness as an excuse. His kicks had distance. Its a swing of the leg. Wally would not even attempt a field goal later in the game, from 46 yds. out. Of course Wally is known for punting from that range anyway, even with a third and less than one. But he allowed Leone to attempt a 45 yarder in the game earlier and he has to have lost confidence in Leone.

But I blame Wally for Leone anyway. Wally should know better. He tried to convert O'Mahoney, a punter, into a field goal kicker. Converting a punter into a field goal kicker at the pro level rarely ever works. The past is a teacher. Wally should have brought in a National field goal kicker half way through this season. If Leone costs us a playoff game I'm really going to be pissed. If Leone was on any other CFL team, he would have been dismissed from field goal kicking and replace in that department a number of games ago. Leone costs us an International position as well.

Leone averaged 44.4 yds. per punt. The Riders Bartell averaged 46.3 yds. per punt in this game. Leone's punting usually only gives us a 15-25 yard advantage for the entire game, in most games.

A second ugly in this game was Lulay's quarterback sneaks. I wonder what he is thinking. He doesn't seem to be thinking. For the second game in a row, on his first quarterback sneak of the game, he went right behind Cody Husband. The center has to snap the football as well as make his block. Husband is 307 pounds. On the left side Hunter Steward is over 330 pounds. Olifioye is 325 pounds. They are also our two best run blockers. Our running attack was revitalized after we got Steward back starting.

Of course Lulay was stopped short on his quarterback sneak. So what does he do on third down and less than one on the next play. He tries to run the quarterback sneak behind Fabian and Johnson. He was stopped short but fortunately a Rider penalty gave us a first down or it would have been a turnover.

Another 'ugly' in this game was the penalty call on Olifoye. We were assessed a penalty for not having 7 players at the line of scrimmage, as Olifioye lined up just a little less than one yard back off the football, trying to advantage his pass block.

So, on the next play, he lined up back even more, and no penalty was called. Now that's reefing consistency. :thdn:

The last ugly is the quick swing pass to Rainey, a pre-determined play call at the snap of the football. It didn't work this game and had its problems last game too. We're not getting the blocks on the play and the defense knows its coming when Rainey enters the game and we call a pass play. Rainey had 5 receptions for a 4.6 average per reception. He is too good for that result.

Khari Jones needs to decoy Rainey first. Have Jennings fake the swing pass and throw downfield. He also needs to delay Rainey and then have him run the swing play. A screen would be a better play. We also need to use Rainey less on the swing and have him run a short underneath route at times.

ADJUSTMENTS NEEDED

Most of the adjustments our Leos needed to make, both strategy wise or personell wise. But there are a few things we still need to do, on top of changing the swing pass plays for Rainey. These are:

1. Field Side Wide Receiver

Marco Iannuzzi had one catch for 6 yards and an easy drop. We have a 6'4" 220 pound receiver in Adekolu who has not only looked great in practices and exhibition games but also looked at ease and very good in his only start this season. We've been starting Iannuzzi since 2011. He isn't getting better and Wally's maxim of "You have to get better" is b.s. when it comes to this position. Adekulo deserves reps. He need to change his first name to Mario or something to push Wally to get some game time reps.

Put Iannuzzi on the field goal return team, as well as the punt team. Get Adekolu into our offence. Move him around so he lines up at times in the tight slot and use him as a possession big target on second downs. He's also a tall target who can high point the football, which is purrfect for Jennings, who can throw the purrfect football for one on one jump balls with a shorter defender...plus Adekolu has great hands and leaping ability.

2. The Fullback Screen

We really, really should introduce this play. It was a play that worked so well for Sean Millington when he played fullback. With defences Rainey centric when Rainey comes into a game, all we need to do is send Rainey on a swing to the wide side and have Jennings semi-boot and look to that side. The throw back screen to Lumbala on the boundary side, after Lumbala chip blocks, would be so wide open, it would be stunning.

3. What to Do About Sinkfield?

Before this game, I wrote that we would be better off with Boldewijn. Sinkfield had dropped too many passes and run too many bad routes. He had another poor game, outside of his nice catch on his 16 yard touchdown reception. Sinkfield has ran the jet sweep twice for good gains. He's had one good game. He is terribly inconsistent and he has had way too many drops. Jennings is obviously frustrated with him and Jennings doesn't get frustrated easily.

Sinkfield's speed is real asset but he could cost us a game - a playoff game - with his drops. Right now I'm more comfortable with Boldewijn and all we can do is hope Sinkfield can get his act together before the playoffs.

4. The Inside Read Option

We should wait for the playoffs but we really need to run this play, especially against man defence. Whenver we hand the football off on the inside zone read, the defense tries to swarm Johnson. Jennings hands the football off and then fake bootlegs every play after the handoff. There are no defenders near him. Jennings could run for a long way. It would also help open up the inside zone read for Johnson if we did both.

WRAP

Excellent scheme adjustments on both sides of the football bodes well going into the playoffs. More aggressive defense. Smarter offence. A huge win.

We win next week and its second place and a home playoff game. :thup: :thup: :thup: :thup: :thup: :thup: :roar: :roar:
"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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Lion Guy
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Always nice to beat "Canada's Team". Lol!

No matter ho w it's done. Good solid win.

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Lionsfan65
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A good win, but really should have been a blowout.

With regards to Leone, I know kickers are often very superstitious, and don't like to break their routine. That being said, I notice that whenever Leone kicks a field goal he sets up 8 yards behind the line of scrimmage. In my experience playing, and watching every other team in the CFL, and NFL the kicker usually lines up at 7. I don't know if this is Leone's choice or by coaching design, but either way that could be a factor affecting his kicking, just having to kick that 1 extra yard.
Blitz
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Anyone out there who wants to be too tough on Jennings should have watched the Calgary game. Montreal just beat them with Drew Tate leading the Stamps. I wouldn't want Jennings out of our lineup. The result could be very similar to Calgary's result today.
"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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Sir Purrcival
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That is what happens when you don't play your backup at all. Just like Montreal when Calvillo was QB. Coaches need to pull QB's even if they don't want to be pulled once in awhile. Starter QB's should also stop being selfish in that regard. Leaving your 2nd stringer off the field is not a smart move long term and both coaches and QB's should be aware of this.
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WestCoastJoe
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Just watched the highlights.

Amazing aggressive defensive pressure. This fan has to wonder about the dynamics between Wally and Mark W. LOL Talk aggressive defence. Do not deliver it. Repeat. Go aggressive D. Go back to ultra passive D. And then, last night ... ultra aggressive D. :dizzy: Whatever. Keep with the aggressive D. For one thing, it is a crowd pleaser. And, by the way, the players love playing it that way. :thup:

JJ super mobile. Accurate. This fan can gladly live with a few growing pains. And those are very few. :thup:

Manny the Monster. :thup:

I love the way JJ24 runs. :thup:

Get a new FG kicker. There is just enough time. I expect Leone would breathe a sigh of relief.
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Blitz, always good to read your assessments. Sinkfield is playing the coach killer role right now. Thankfully the Lions have enough quality receivers to keep the ball moving the yardsticks. If Sinkfield could live up to his 1000 yard receiving season, the pressure our opposition D's would open up for our top three receivers.

JJ was let down by those three vs the Riders, thankfully the Riders decided to tank this game. I suspect it was best for Jones to offer up this game as an audition for next year's players, that way the outcome should not be held on him by the Rider management. If the Riders offered up this effort before the Riders final home game at Mosaic, I can't see them giving anymore at BC Place. If I am the Bombers mgt, I am not very happy with the Riders effort to win, but that of course is more on them for losing their game yesterday.
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TheLionKing
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Impressed with the changes Washington and Jones made this week. One has to ask the question: where was this all year ??
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I'm thinking a lot of expats will show up for the rematch. The wretches don't know any better. Bb
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TheLionKing wrote:Impressed with the changes Washington and Jones made this week. One has to ask the question: where was this all year ??
Rope-a-dope....
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aklawitter wrote:
CardiacKid wrote:I suspect Chris Jones will be pilloried by some in Riderville for not playing the game like a must win and giving Mosiac a fitting send off. The manner in which he swapped Durant and Waters back and forth was puzzling; why not let each QB play successive series? There is such a thing as getting in a rhythm.
But regardless of what his logic was, I don't think he made many fans amongst the Rider faithful tonight.
do you really think that classless assclown cares what the fans think?
No but if there is any fan base in the league that can get a guy or a regime canned, it is the legions of Riderville. His questionable decisions and actions this year can be sugar-coated for the faithful as being done for them and screw the rest of the league. But that exhibition of exhibition football could easily be interpreted and sold as being completely disrespectful to current fans and past memories.

Hey, Jones can be hoisted on his own petard for all I care...
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File under things that make you go "hmmmmmm".....or not.

I mostly posted this for sh*ts and giggles but also for the notion of how much should we rely on individual stats?

Ese Mrabure has better stats than Mich'ael Brooks. Both have 1 sack but Mrabure has 21 defensive tackles to Brooks 16. Of course there is more to consider about their contributions but I just happened to find that intriguing. Should Mrabure have been offered a spot on the game day roster and not the PR?
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