B.C. Lions at Calgary Sept. 18 - Game Day thread

[Toppy Vann]

If there is any upside to the Lions to break them out of the staleness and paucity of offensive and defensive schemes it has to be the players.

The new guys Fraser, Rainey, and Inanuzzi into the line up etc could give them the spark that ignite them as the vets like bighill and Ryan Phillips should be re-kindled this game.

BUT if it starts badly for them - YIKES...

They must start fast and move the football smartly. IF they're backed up and waste chances like a 6o yard opener etc, then Calgary better get more than one horse galloping on the sidelines or the SPCA will be on them for cruelty.

[aklawitter]

ED Willes on Hufnagel -can't post whole story due to copyright laws but here's the link below. Some funny openings with Jon H. as Lion guest coach and how Dickinson ended up in Calgary:

There’s a team loyalty,” said Cornish. “We don’t have a lot of guys who stay for a few years, then go rolling out. (Hufnagel’s) stayed away from free agents for that reason. Any time you start bringing in some random dudes, they aren’t going to buy in. We’ve got guys who’ve been here forever because they believe in the power of teamwork.”

Loyalty, in fact, is the term you hear over and over again when Hufnagel’s name comes up. The Stamps have 16 players who have been with the team for at least five years, including most of the core group. In his eight years, Hufnagel has never fired an assistant coach. Some have moved on to other jobs — like Chris Jones, the current Eskimos head coach, and Corey Chamblin, the recently deposed Roughriders’ head coach. Some have moved on to other staffs.

But Hufnagel has never let any of his guys go.

“To me he breeds loyalty,” said Dickenson. “If you’re loyal to him, he’s loyal to you.”

http://www.theprovince.com/sports/wille ... story.html

Hufnagel popped up as the head coach and general manager of the Calgary Stampeders in 2008 and signed Dickenson as a player.

And he thought it was really funny when Dickenson became the Stampeders’ running back coach in 2009 and their offensive co-ordinator two years later. And he absolutely howled when Hufnagel announced after last year’s Grey Cup win that Dickenson would succeed him as the Stamps’ head coach in 2016.

“Biggest mistake I ever made,” Buono said, laughing,

We all saw that coming, guess who didn't (or did and refused to act)...

[TheLionKing]

I'm not sure why the Lions defense is getting a pass after last game, where they gave up over 300 yards passing, 150 yards rushing, and 463 total yards against an average offensive team. If Cornish is 100% and gets the carries, it's scary to think what he could do against our depleted Dline this week. 200+ yards? Or they could focus on demolishing our awful pass defense instead.

On offense, our QB is a one-trick pony who could get shut down even worse this week than last. Assuming CGY will take away the short pass, if Beck can't get some longer completions and stretch the field early on, we're in big trouble.

I've been optimistic about the Lions this year, but this game could get ugly fast.

I hope to see Jennings and McGhee get in some plays. And looking forward to Rainey spelling off Harris and hopefully reinvigorating the run game.

You never say never in the CFL, but a win would be a miracle at this point.

Careful what you wish for. I predict Jennings will see the field but it will be in garbage time once the game is out of reach, you know, in the last 15-20min.

Or the first 15 minutes.

[Blitz]

How good is John Hufnagel?

Based on a Province article The Stamps, remarkably, haven't lost back-to-back outings in 62 games. The Stamps have been hit hard with injuries this season but they’re still a division-leading 8-3.

They win without Jon Cornish, they win with a first year starter at quarterback, and they win with an injury depleted lineup. They draft very well, they recruit well, and they know what they want. It took Hufnagel all of 10 seconds to pick up Stubler when we unceremoniously dumped him.

This will be a tough game to win, in Calgary, with a fresh Cornish and the Stamps coming off a rare loss.

The good news is that Rainey looks like the real deal and will get some backfield reps as well. We need to stretch the field horizontally with our run game.

Calgary is only 5th in net offence this season, with Cornish hurt but they are second in scoring points. Defensively, the Stamps giver up an average of 92 yards less offence per game than our defense does. Statistically the Stamps offence and the Stamps defence is much better than our Leos.

Our Lions net offence and net defense are both the worst in the CFL. Both offensively and defensively, we'll need to be a heck of a lot better if we want to win this game and we'll likely need a turnover or two and and come up with a big punt or kick return as well to pull off an upset victory.

[TheLionKing]

Going to be a long night...

[dupsdell1]

Going to be a long night...

Maybe the lions will surprise us I hope so

[David]

Going to be a long night...

Don't you mean a short one?

watch the game
open a bottle of Jack Daniels to help deaden the pain
/pass out




DH

[KnowItAll]

tonights game is going to be better than last weeks game. You can take that to the bank.

[WestCoastJoe]

What are we going to get?

a Good adjustments

b Dynamic passing game

c Dynamic running game

d Good pass protection

e Stout run defence

f Air tight pass defence

g Effective pass rush

h Solid ST play

i None of the above

j All of the above

k Some of the above
................

Have we had games with none of the above, a through h?

[WestCoastJoe]

Calg 42-12, says Dunnigan

[VictoriaFan]

I'd go with a solid K as long as they execute

[Toppy Vann]

Listening to John Beck talk...uninspiring , no fire

[sj-roc]

Underway with the Leone kickoff. Have to rekick on the offside call.

[WestCoastJoe]

Dave D, Ronnie "Opie" Howard on the sidelines

[sj-roc]

Could be a long night if we keep letting them have 2nd & short.