Lions vs. Roughriders June 16, 2017

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Gridiron Ernie
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If Will Shakespeare was a time-traveling sportswriter he might declare the Gang Green organization and their prospects for success this season to be "in a pickle" (see "The Tempest"). But, Belize City Lion, you too should take to the stage! Lol -- you're a stand-up comedian. Well done! Thanks for the hearty chuckle. And are we not lucky to be 'sitting pretty' as it seems we are (regards our roster and its depth of talent and experience)!
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Belize City Lion wrote:
Sat Jun 17, 2017 1:58 pm
Desperate to get "Rider Nation" off his back, Jones announces that Vince Young will start game number 6 against BC. The extra buzz for the game boosts ticket sales and a lively crowd of close to 40,000 show up at BC Place. Young, looking very confused by everything takes 3 time count violations in the first half alone. The BC defence is extra motivated to show Young that the CFL is no easy place to play and registers 5 sacks on the former NFL star. Glenn comes off the bench to take over in the fourth quarter, but the Riders have already quit and the Lions win a blow out.

Week 8 the Lions play in Regina. Young starts and plays a bit better, but regardless "Rider Nation" boos him off the field late in the game when it clear the Riders are going to go 0-7.

Week 10 Jones releases Vince Young. The Riders finally win a game when Bridge relieves Glenn and leads a comeback over the Eskimos. Jones says Bridge is his "QB of the future" and makes some insulting comments about "Rider Nation" not being nearly as smart as he is, and that they don't appreciate how long it takes to rebuild a team. Meanwhile, in Montreal, Darian Durant receives his second "player of the week" award.
Jones released Vince Young today. :wink:
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Coast Mountain Lion
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TheLionKing wrote:
Sat Jun 17, 2017 8:08 pm
Belize City Lion wrote:
Sat Jun 17, 2017 1:58 pm
Desperate to get "Rider Nation" off his back, Jones announces that Vince Young will start game number 6 against BC. The extra buzz for the game boosts ticket sales and a lively crowd of close to 40,000 show up at BC Place. Young, looking very confused by everything takes 3 time count violations in the first half alone. The BC defence is extra motivated to show Young that the CFL is no easy place to play and registers 5 sacks on the former NFL star. Glenn comes off the bench to take over in the fourth quarter, but the Riders have already quit and the Lions win a blow out.

Week 8 the Lions play in Regina. Young starts and plays a bit better, but regardless "Rider Nation" boos him off the field late in the game when it clear the Riders are going to go 0-7.

Week 10 Jones releases Vince Young. The Riders finally win a game when Bridge relieves Glenn and leads a comeback over the Eskimos. Jones says Bridge is his "QB of the future" and makes some insulting comments about "Rider Nation" not being nearly as smart as he is, and that they don't appreciate how long it takes to rebuild a team. Meanwhile, in Montreal, Darian Durant receives his second "player of the week" award.
Jones released Vince Young today. :wink:
Drew Willy and Mitchell Gale are both available now. Either of them might look good in green. Oh wait...
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David
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So the trade shakes down as this: QB Drew Willy (currently looking for a team) for DL Faith Ekakitie (the #1 pick in the 2017 CFL draft) and DB T.J. Heath, who was a CFL All-Star last season and tied for the league lead in INTs with 7. Sounds fair. :roll:

Oh yea, the Bombers also get the Argos' 3rd round pick in the 2018 draft.

Unbelievable. Is it any wonder Jim Barker is no longer the Argos' GM? I wouldn't allow him within 2 area codes of my football team.


DH :cool:
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Belize City Lion
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David wrote:
Sat Jun 17, 2017 11:24 pm
So the trade shakes down as this: QB Drew Willy (currently looking for a team) for DL Faith Ekakitie (the #1 pick in the 2017 CFL draft) and DB T.J. Heath, who was a CFL All-Star last season and tied for the league lead in INTs with 7. Sounds fair. :roll:

Oh yea, the Bombers also get the Argos' 3rd round pick in the 2018 draft.

Unbelievable. Is it any wonder Jim Barker is no longer the Argos' GM? I wouldn't allow him within 2 area codes of my football team.


DH :cool:
Please repost this in about 6 months, if Wally retires.
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Our Leos released WR Brett Blaszko, WR Douglas McNeil, WR R.J. Harris, DB Mondo Williams, FB Nate O’Halloran, OL Aaron Epps, OL Nate Isles.

On the practice roster are: FB Dakota Brush, DB Nate Hamlin, DB Tevin McDonald, DL Luther Maddy, DL Ken Boatright, RB Tyler Davis, WR Maurice Morgan.

What does it mean? It means our Leos will go with Nick Moore as our third International receiver until Chris Williams is ready. Maurice Morgan's outstanding training camp only got him a practice roster spot. Looks like Adekolu is on the roster at this point.

With regard to special teams there is no question, in losing Ontco and Aragki, and Lokombo, our top 3 special team downfield tacklers last season, we'll need other players, including new players to step up. Ainsworth was signed mostly for his special teams abilities and that is not looking good.

Tony Burnett was an excellent special teams tackler last season with the Bombers and should provide us with good play on special teams. Awe looked very good against the Riders.
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In terms of discussing the Riders, Chris Jones bashing has been a bit of sport on Lionbackers but it may not be wise at this point - its way too early yet to do that.

The 2016 season in Regina was a transitional year for the Riders. When the Riders hired Jones, he had just won a Grey Cup in Edmonton in short order. Jones’ first major move was to hire player-personnel guru John Murphy away from the perennial powerhouse Calgary Stampeders.

Neither one of them has likely fallen off the turnip truck, in terms of understanding the CFL game. Jones didn't completely turn over the roster last year in Regina. In fairness to Jones, the 2016 Roughriders weren’t entirely his team, and he was continually sifting through players in search of keepers.

Yes, there were a lot of losses in Regina in 2016 for most of last season and too many league fines, and controversy.

For this season in Regina, the Riders have some excellent receivers, their offensive line is improved, and their defense looks like it will have a good pass rush.

Should the Riders have jettisoned Darian Durrant?

Kevin Glenn does not look like the future in Regina but contract talks with Durrant were futile. He and Jones also did not see eye to eye and Durrant was an often injured quarterback who did not fit McAdoo's style of offence, which is a very structured type of offence that prefers quick throws and emphasizes precision and timing.

The Riders will be better this season but the West is also a tough conference so being better may not translate into a playoff berth for the Riders this season.

Whether Jones is the answer or not, huge changes needed to be made in Regina last year. Not bringing back Durrant may also have been a culture change that was required. Durrant had way too much power in Regina, even being part of the interview process for a new offensive coordinator in 2015.

The Riders did not look good in their exhibition game against us but I will wait to see how this season unfolds before I judge Jones work in Regina.
"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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Blitz wrote:
Mon Jun 19, 2017 6:36 am
In terms of discussing the Riders, Chris Jones bashing has been a bit of sport on Lionbackers but it may not be wise at this point - its way too early yet to do that.
...

Yes, there were a lot of losses in Regina in 2016 for most of last season and too many league fines, and controversy.
Blitz,

Never too early to bash Chris Jones. Ha ha

Not wise? As I see it, he has a track record that attracts negative reaction. And, of course, he might turn the Riders around. But there is little to show so far since he took control in 2016. In my opinion his ultimate success or failure will come down to his personnel judgment, his systems, and his overall leadership.

This fan actually likes the way Jones has run his defence in his time in the CFL. And his independence, his thinking outside the box. He has credited Don Matthews as a mentor and for his development as a coach. :thup:


On the other hand, he sure dumped Edmonton in a hurry, after they gave him his shot at Head Coach. Other issues rankled some fans.

When an opposing coach has an in your face approach, it is also easy to start to root against him.

We will see how his season goes. He certainly has not repeated the rapid success he had in Edmonton.

The sport of bashing? Yeah, this fan kind of roots lightly against Chris Jones. Lightly. I liked reading about his early morning, supportive phone calls to his cousin, who had a developing health issue. :thup: I expect Chris Jones can also be a loyal friend.

This fan kind of roots lightly against the Riders. And Jones now is the Riders.

Other teams? I like what Ottawa has done under Desjardins and Campbell. I support Jacques Chapdelaine and root for him. I support Marc Trestman and root for him. I respect Hufnagel and Dickenson, but root against them. Go figure.

This fan has been surprised at the futility of the Riders under Jones. We will see how they do this year. If they succeed, fine. It won't bother this CFL fan. I will probably still root lightly (not passionately) against them.

Was it satisfying putting a drubbing on them in the preseason game? Absolutely.

Just batting the ball around about Chris Jones on a quiet monday morning.
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.

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DanoT
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WCJ, I agree 100% with what you have written about Jones and the Riders.

I too only mildly want to see hm fail and mostly to enjoy the meltdown at Riderfans that it will create.

I think for this season the Riders will still be trying to recover from the complete gutting of the team, especially on defense, that Jones did when he first took over. He just cut too much too deep and created the equivalent of an expansion team but without the benefit of an expansion draft.

Jones, imo has spent too much time evaluating too big a volume of players without giving guys the time to develop and gel before he goes on to the next tryout guy.
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WestCoastJoe
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Good points about gutting the Riders, et cetera, Dano. Too much, too soon.

Also, as a CFL fan, one has respect for Durant and Dressler, etc. They got shuffled off with some fans wondering about that and other releases. Players do develop fan loyalty. Fans wonder ... WTF?

Plus the Riders have had good success in the league since 2007. Finalists in 2009 and 2010. Champions in 2007 and 2013. Surprising how low they have fallen. They have had lots of talent.

And, once again, as noted, it looks good on them. Lightly. No big hate on, from this CFL fan.
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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Sir Purrcival
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Whatever one thinks of Jones, the truth is that the Rider fanbase will not tolerate another season like the Riders had last year. They will need to make some appreciable strides this season or Jones may find himself looking for work. They have pretty much turned over their team in the last year but the Durant thing was still a head scratcher. Glenn is not a step up and the fall off after him is pretty huge. The rest of your team can be brilliant but if your pivot isn't up to the job, big trouble. They still have secondary problems, not sure what their run game is going to be either. Their linebacking core looks to be light on experience too. A lot of problems there right now.
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B.C.FAN wrote:
Fri Jun 16, 2017 11:18 pm
CardiacKid wrote:
Fri Jun 16, 2017 8:57 pm
TheLionKing wrote:
Fri Jun 16, 2017 8:25 pm
Can't believe Craig got penalized for that celebration
All the more puzzling when you consider he did the exact same celebration all last year with no infractions. Has the league altered what constitutes unsportsmanlike?
Apparently. Wally took the blame after the game for not communicating it to the players, but he didn't understand himself that Roh's traditional sack dance is now outlawed because it simulates a weapon. Even without a warning from Wally, I thought Roh should have learned from the first penalty and not done the same move on the next play, right in the face of the referee. That's like taunting an official to call a penalty, which he did.
TV and IIRC later Moj, Burns, Farhan (?), Lowell (?) said that Roh might not have known that that was what the first penalty call was for.

I found it strange that if the officials discussed this prior to the game (Roh celebration) you'd think they'd have spoken to him prior to the game.
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DanoT
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Re Roh's penalty:
If a player is being penalized for a celebration, then the ref needs to make sure the player knows exactly what he is being flagged for, so it doesn't happen again.
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Rigarmortis needs to set in on Craig "Death' Roh's right hand sword thrust celebration. It looks dum anyway.

As for Jones not signing Durrant, when I look at Durrant's play over the last 3 seasons, its nothing to write home about. In 2014, he missed 8 games due to injury, he only threw 8 touchdown passes (5 interceptions) and his quarterback efficiency rating of 87.8 was unimpressive.

Durrant was injured for almost all of the 2015 season, getting hurt in his first game. He had only started 11 of 36 games prior to Jones taking over in Regina last season. He's had multiple injuries.

Durrant started 15 games for the Riders last year. He has the lowest quarterback efficiency rating amongst all starting CFL quarterbacks in 2016. In 15 starts, he only threw 14 touchdown passes. The Riders three the least touchdown passes in the CFL last year, by a wide margin. The Riders finished last in the CFL in points scored - even the Als, with all of their quarterback challenges last year scored more often.

Certainly, the Riders woeful offence in 2016 can't all be laid on the arm and back of Darian Durrant. The Riders offensive line gave up a lot of sacks and there is lots of blame to share around regarding their offensive woes.

Chris Jones is certainly not the first HC to want to go in a different direction away from a veteran quarterback who was often injured. Right here in B. C. our Leos did not sign Dave Dickenson after the 2007 season nor did we sign Buck Pierce after 2009 and we have gone in a different direction than starting a veteran quarterback in Lulay.

The Riders present offensive philosophy under MacAdoo and Jackson was also not a good fit with Durrant. Should the Riders have signed Durrant again? Durrant wanted a lot of money and he wanted a long term contract.

I think Durrant going to Montreal will work out well for both parties. Durrant is a big Chapdelaine fan, in terms of offensive philosophy and strategy and he will have some good weapons to throw to in Montreal.

Kevin Glenn may not create a lot of excitement but he may be a good transitional quarterback for the Riders for this season, as they develop their next starting quarterback for the future. That quarterback could be Brandon Bridge.

Glenn is very professional and also very coachable. Durrant was not the easiest quarterback to work with and that was the case before Jones arrived. Glenn and Durrant had similar quarterback efficiency ratings last season and Glenn completed 70.4% of his passes to Durrant's 66.5% completion average. If Glenn could ever throw less interceptions in a season, his quarterback efficiency average would skyrocket.

Chris Jones was hired in Saskatchewan to rebuild a team that was floundering badly. He had the opportunity to get a good look at Durrant last year and he obviously he wasn’t enamoured with having an expensive, injured, and aging legend as the quarterback of a team he was trying to rebuild.

The problem was that Jones did not have a succession plan for the quarterback position. Durrant knew that and he would not sign in Riderville for a reduced salary.

The Riders made two contract offers and were optimistic in November that Durant would re-sign. But Durant turned down the offers and the Riders they were going to lose the quarterback to free agency. That was why they traded him.


As for Chris Jones, he is definitely a different duck. He is not someone I would want in the combined GM/HC role leading a team that I was a fan of. But I sure wouldn't mind him coaching the defense - his record as a DC speaks for itself and if he had good talent I think he would do a very good job as HC, at least in terms of the actual coaching aspect.

I don't think he was ready to be "Mr. Everything' in Regina. He only had two years of experience as a HC with one team.

But I certainly don't blame Jones for taking the jobs offered to him in Regina. It was a huge step up in terms of both salary and opportunity. Jones certainly has loyalty from his assistant coaches, who followed him to Regina and most of the players who have played for him are loyal to him as well.

There is no question that Jones will be in the hot seat in Regina this season if the team does not improve significantly and Jones is in tough with very talented teams in Calgary and B.C. and very solid squads in both Edmonton and Winnipeg. His job this season is not an easy one and it could end up being his last season in Regina.

Jones went into a tough situation. At times he made that tough situation much tougher on himself due to some of his decision making.

It will be interesting to see how things turn out.
"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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CardiacKid
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Sir Purrcival wrote:
Mon Jun 19, 2017 5:39 pm
Whatever one thinks of Jones, the truth is that the Rider fanbase will not tolerate another season like the Riders had last year. They will need to make some appreciable strides this season or Jones may find himself looking for work. They have pretty much turned over their team in the last year but the Durant thing was still a head scratcher. Glenn is not a step up and the fall off after him is pretty huge. The rest of your team can be brilliant but if your pivot isn't up to the job, big trouble. They still have secondary problems, not sure what their run game is going to be either. Their linebacking core looks to be light on experience too. A lot of problems there right now.
I think we all agree you are only as good as your starting quarterback. And given the unlikelihood of a QB starting every game, you are only as good as your QB depth. You aren't going to be successful without a reliable and smart 2nd string Quarterback.
But it really does seem Jones has not done his homework with his stable of QBs. I like Kevin Glenn but the guy is 38 years and his decided lack of mobility behind that reworked Rider Oline makes me fear for his health. Bridge has shown flashes but looks super-raw.
Ever since Jones arrived, there have been question marks surrounding the Rider's quarterback position. Was Durant his guy? Did they see eye to eye? With Durant's departure and how it transpired, makes me think Jones was never truly sold on DD.
When Ed Hervey was fired in Edmonton, did Jones think James Franklin was going to be easy pickings? Riderville seemed to think it was a fait accompli that Franklin would end up in green and white. Maybe Jones too. This business with Vince Young always seemed like a distraction to me and a waste of time. A "name QB" like Young was never going to be 3rd or 4th string but how realistic he was going to overcome a 5-year layoff and never playing a down in Canada to become the starter or backup?

I expect the Riders will be more competitive this year but enough to leapfrog any other team in the West? A long shot at best IMO.
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