Lulay, Chapdelaine and the offence ...

[WestCoastJoe]

Do we really have to talk about this? Yeah, well, I think so. The offence is not running like a highly tuned sports car. It is sputtering.

I supported Travis strongly last year. And this year also. Quarterbacks are not like your defensive tackle or offensive guard that a coach like Lombardi would ream out viciously in practice or in the film room. Bart Starr got the kid glove treatment, and IMO Lombardi filled him with confidence. Quarterbacks are more like a commander in the field, part of the brains of an organization, part of the executive. They get more respect. They get more tolerance. Kid glove treatment. They have all the pressure of the world on them. I agree with the notion of expressing patience with them. Not jerking them around. Not undermining them.

But I think it is fair to ask: Ummmm ... Has Travis Lulay regressed? Is he not seeing what is out there? Has he lost confidence? Is he forcing throws? Is the game too fast for him at this particular time? Trying to do stuff in the game plan that takes away instinctive play?

Or is it just that teams are putting up fantastic game plans against the 2011 MOP, who struck fear into all defences?

Have some adjustments by the defences, with excellent books now on Lulay, negated his skills to a large extent?

Does he have a physical problem causing inaccurate throws? If he does, one can understand the Lions not talking about it. But teams will figure it out anyway.

Is the offence once again predictable? Are the defences waiting, prepared, having very good anticipation of what is coming, both on the ground and in the air? If our offence is predictable, if our routes are predictable, if we do not cause uncertainty, then any QB would struggle with our offence.

Are we not game planning in ways that utilize Lulay's skills to best advantage? Are we forcing Lulay to be a pocket passer, and is that something that is just not a good fit? Is it unreasonable to expect Lulay to stand in the pocket like Ricky Ray and pick apart defences?

Was his great success in 2011 a one off? And now that teams have the book on him, is it unlikely for him to rack up 300 yard games, although they are still happening all over the league?

Is his seeming lack of accuracy the way he has always been, but we didn't really notice until Shi Zi Mi and some others started to focus on it? Did Travis take the league by storm, and now that teams have such a good book on him, is what we see what we are going to get? He won't be getting any MOP votes the way he has been playing, it seems to me.

Is the coach/player dynamic between JC and Lulay making him better? Worse? Is the influence of JC on Travis counterproductive? Dunno ...

But it seems Travis is not seeing the possibilities out there. He seems to be trying too hard. It is not instinctive.

I don't know the answers.

I think it is fair for fans to look and to ask, though.

My mind is open on all of these questions and issues. I am not jumping on Travis. I am not jumping on JC. I think we will see by years' end though. And maybe we have seen enough already. I don't know. Shouldn't we be able to crank up some 300 yard games? Shouldn't we be able to hit a good number of intermediate routes?

We won the game against the Stampeders. Is there even anything wrong?

On offence we're not hitting on all cylinders. No need to panic. But I think we need to have a smoothly running offence if we expect to challenge for the Cup.

Is there anything wrong with our offence? If there is, is it on Travis Lulay? Is it on Jacques Chapdelaine?

Will patience solve the problem? Will adjustments solve the problem?

Sputtering. Coughing. Two and outs. Errant throws. Harris making ground gains against gang tackling. Defences keying on Lulay, happy to see him in the pocket. Defences keying on Harris. Defences ready and waiting for long bombs to Manny. Receivers not running free in space.

Dunno, but it ain't pretty. Ricky Ray carved up the Eskimos. That was impressive. Mike Reilly carved up the Argonauts. That was impressive. Lamborghini passing games.

Ricky Ray ... 30/35, 413 yards, 3 TDs, no ints.

Mike Reilly ... 35/46, 511 yards, 3 TDs, no ints.

Henry Burris ... 22/36, 333 yards, 1 TD, no ints.

Play design, game planning, play calling? Schemes? (More on Jacques)

Or execution? (More on Travis)

[B.C.FAN]

Travis Lulay is a good, young quarterback who is still developing. Lulay has started 50 games in his career. Among CFL starters, only Mike Reilly and the Winnipeg starter-of-the-week have less experience.

Statistically, through six games, Lulay's numbers were roughly equal to last year, and the team's record was the same. I thought Lulay played some outstanding football in recent weeks. While not the most accurate passer, his completion percentage, QB rating, 2nd down efficiency and big-play stats were among the league leaders. On Saturday, his performance slipped. Was it just inconsistency that one should expect with a developing quarterback? Was it something specific that Calgary, one of the league's top teams, did to slow him down, as Winnipeg did the previous week by spying him with a linebacker? Possibly.

Before jumping to conclusions, I would like to kow whether he in fact is suffering from an injury like the shoulder problem that hampered him last year. He has shunned the run in the past three games and he has at times badly underthrown receivers on deep routes. (He has also overthrown some open receivers.) A healthy Lulay needs to be able to run the football and throw the deep ball for the offence to be at its peak. Teams are often reluctant to disclose nagging injuries that aren't severe enough to sideline a player. Still, Lulay's health will continue to be a topic of speculation as long as his performance is uneven.

[MexicoLionFan]

There is something VERY wrong with this offence...and its not just Travis regressing or having a bad season...there's more to it than that...

I will repeat this again...when Chaps went to EDM as the OC and Asst. HC, he was run out of town very quickly...and one of the reasons that he didn't even last a season was that the players and media alike became public about their concerns...sophmoric schemes and telegraphing of plays before the snap. These were and are the same conerns that have followed Chapdelaine in BC as well...and until his job was on the line after week 7 in 2011, nothing had changed since his return here. There are deep, systemic issues with this offence...

Now, add to that Lulay's regression in his mechanics and his overall skill set, and BC's offence has real problems...teams are keying on Harris, so every yard he gains seems to be a struggle...its on Travis and Chapdelaine right now to figure out ways to get the ball to all of their receivers in space and allow them to make plays. And let's face it, if 7 step drops aren't getting it done, then we have to change...we changed on the first drive to a no huddle offence with lots of moton...the result was an unstoppable drive and a TD...we never used this scheme again the entire game, and we never generated another TD drive that came without the aid of turnovers and penalties...

So it seems to me that the talent and schemes are there to be successful, but are not being utilized on any consistent basis...there are so many things that Chapdelaine can do to make Lulay's reads a lot esier, which will pay huge dividends to our offence...but they have to be used.

Thanks for all your thoughts and insights Joe...

[WestCoastJoe]

Thanks, BCFAN and MLF. I always look forward to your comments.

I will have some more comments later. For now, for the serious reader, here is the url of an article I read way back in 1982, when I subscribed to Sports Illustrated. I was a huge NFL fan at the time. I loved the 49ers of Bill Walsh and Joe Montana.

The article is about the creativity of Bill Walsh, planning his revolutionary offence, which came to be known as the West Coast Offence. I think Walsh was also what they would call nowadays a Quarterback Whisperer. He could get many different QBs to function extremely well in his offence. Get them to understand it, and its subtlety. Utilize their unique talents.

The title of the article is "To Baffle and Amaze." If your offence can do that, I think it is fair to say that it is subtle, deceptive, creative and surprising for the defence. The defence cannot adequately defend everything. And they cannot anticipate what is about to come at them.

Kenny Moore is a terrific writer. This was one of his best articles. It no doubt contributed to the legend of Bill Walsh.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/ ... /index.htm

[TheLionKing]

There is no doubt that the offence is having trouble finding it's groove. They've consistently struggled early in games. They've had trouble converting in the red zone. In the Calgary game Lulay overthrew a receiver who had his man beat deep. He badly underthrew Andrew Harris on a swing pass. I suspect that he may not have fully recovered from his shoulder injury. That's pure speculation on my part. Alot of the blame has to rest on the shoulder of the Offensive Coordinator.

[MexicoLionFan]

There is no doubt that the offence is having trouble finding it's groove. They've consistently struggled early in games. They've had trouble converting in the red zone. In the Calgary game Lulay overthrew a receiver who had his man beat deep. He badly underthrew Andrew Harris on a swing pass. I suspect that he may not have fully recovered from his shoulder injury. That's pure speculation on my part. Alot of the blame has to rest on the shoulder of the Offensive Coordinator.

TLK you may very well be right...I think BCFAN mentioned it as well, but since his shoulder injury in the Hamilton game, Lulay hasn't been the same QB, and if his shoulder is still hurting, and there is a lot of residual scar tissue building up, then it can and will alter his mechanics, especially if he has, or is, playing through pain...

Playing with pain is an admireable trait, but sometimes it can backfire, and this may be the case here with Lulay...how the human shoulder works in the first place is quite a remarkable thing, and when you learn about the mechanics of throwing a football, you are amazed to learn how streamlined the process is...any scar tissue in the shoulder can significantly effect this motion.

[JohnHenry]

Do we really have to talk about this? Yeah, well, I think so. The offence is not running like a highly tuned sports car. It is sputtering.

I supported Travis strongly last year. And this year also. Quarterbacks are not like your defensive tackle or offensive guard that a coach like Lombardi would ream out viciously in practice or in the film room. Bart Starr got the kid glove treatment, and IMO Lombardi filled him with confidence. Quarterbacks are more like a commander in the field, part of the brains of an organization, part of the executive. They get more respect. They get more tolerance. Kid glove treatment. They have all the pressure of the world on them. I agree with the notion of expressing patience with them. Not jerking them around. Not undermining them.

But I think it is fair to ask: Ummmm ... Has Travis Lulay regressed? Is he not seeing what is out there? Has he lost confidence? Is he forcing throws? Is the game too fast for him at this particular time? Trying to do stuff in the game plan that take away instinctive play?

Or is it just that teams are putting up fantastic game plans against the 2011 MOP, who struck fear into all defences?

Have some adjustments by the defences, with excellent books now on Lulay, negated his skills to a large extent?

Does he have a physical problem causing inaccurate throws? If he does, one can understand the Lions not talking about it. But teams will figure it out anyway.

Is the offence once again predictable? Are the defences waiting, prepared, having very good anticipation of what is coming, both on the ground and in the air? If our offence is predictable, if our routes are predictable, if we do not cause uncertainty, then any QB would struggle with our offence.

Are we not game planning in ways that utilize Lulay's skills to best advantage? Are we forcing Lulay to be a pocket passer, and is that something that is just not a good fit? Is it unreasonable to expect Lulay to stand in the pocket like Ricky Ray and pick apart defences?

Was his great success in 2011 a one off? And now that teams have the book on him, is it unlikely for him to rack up 300 yard games, although they are still happening all over the league?

Is his seeming lack of accuracy the way he has always been, but we didn't really notice until Shi Zi Mi and some others started to focus on it? Did Travis take the league by storm, and now that teams have such a good book on him, is what we see what we are going to get? He won't be getting any MOP votes the way he has been playing, it seems to me.

Is the coach/player dynamic between JC and Lulay making him better? Worse? Dunno ...

But it seems Travis is not seeing the possibilities out there. He seems to be trying too hard. It is not instinctive.

I don't know the answers.

I think it is fair for fans to look and to ask, though.

My mind is open on all of these questions and issues. I am not jumping on Travis. I am not jumping on JC. I think we will see by years' end though. And maybe we have seen enough already. I don't know. Shouldn't we be able to crank up some 300 yard games? Shouldn't we be able to hit a good number of intermediate routes?

We won the game against the Stampeders. Is there even anything wrong?

On offence we're not hitting on all cylinders. No need to panic. But I think we need to have a smoothly running offence if we expect to challenge for the Cup.

Is there anything wrong with our offence? If there is, is it on Travis Lulay? Is it on Jacques Chapdelaine?

Will patience solve the problem? Will adjustments solve the problem?

Sputtering. Coughing. Two and outs. Errant throws. Harris making ground gains against gang tackling. Defences keying on Lulay, happy to see him in the pocket. Defences keying on Harris. Defences ready and waiting for long bombs to Manny. Receivers not running free in space.

Dunno, but it ain't pretty. Ricky Ray carved up the Eskimos. That was impressive. Reilly carved up the Argonauts. That was impressive. Lamborghini passing games.

Ricky Ray ... 30/35, 413 yards, 3 TDs, no ints.

Mike Reilly ... 35/46, 511 yards, 3 TDs, no ints.

Henry Burris ... 22/36, 333 yards, 1 TD, no ints.

Play design, game planning, play calling? Schemes? (More on Jacques)

Or execution? (More on Travis)

I think Travis has played consistently very well since mid-way the 2011 season. While Travis' stats didn't look good vs the Stamps, we shouldn't fall into the trap of questioning his ability. Calgary also has a high-powered offence but looked very pedestrian against the Lions...so the opponent is a major factor in offensive success. One of Travis' picks vs Cal. came on a meaningless play via a Hail Mary to end the half.

The Lions offence is most productive when Travis scrambles and he's only rushed twice in each of the past 3 games...after rushing 13 times in the 2 back-to-back wins vs Edm. This could indicate that Travis might be nicked up a bit or perhaps it's a conscious decision by the offence to "save" Travis until later in the season and limit the number of hits he is taking. When Travis doesn't scramble, the Lions offence is fairly mediocre.

I believe Travis' success is limited more by the offensive schemes, play calling and pass protection, than his physical abilities. When he can set his feet and follow-through with the passing motion, he's very accurate, even on the long balls. But when he tries to throw side-arm or "flick" the pass (due to pass pressure or inattention) his accuracy suffers.

Since the start of 2012 the Lions offence has become more conservative with the focus on shorter passes to Harris and ball control (Travis' average completion dropped by nearly 2 yds last year). There also could be an effort by the offence to spread the responsibility and not have the Lions success resting solely on his shoulders. Perhaps the Lions realize that Travis just can't continue to play his "riverboat gambler" style which exposes himself to injury, because he just won't last the season.

So is there something wrong with Travis? I don't think so. He's the least of the Lions problems. I believe he's been asked to execute the offence rather than win it on his own, do less freelancing and preserve himself for the huge games later in the season.

[WestCoastJoe]

Do we really have to talk about this? Yeah, well, I think so. The offence is not running like a highly tuned sports car. It is sputtering.

I supported Travis strongly last year. And this year also. Quarterbacks are not like your defensive tackle or offensive guard that a coach like Lombardi would ream out viciously in practice or in the film room. Bart Starr got the kid glove treatment, and IMO Lombardi filled him with confidence. Quarterbacks are more like a commander in the field, part of the brains of an organization, part of the executive. They get more respect. They get more tolerance. Kid glove treatment. They have all the pressure of the world on them. I agree with the notion of expressing patience with them. Not jerking them around. Not undermining them.

But I think it is fair to ask: Ummmm ... Has Travis Lulay regressed? Is he not seeing what is out there? Has he lost confidence? Is he forcing throws? Is the game too fast for him at this particular time? Trying to do stuff in the game plan that take away instinctive play?

Or is it just that teams are putting up fantastic game plans against the 2011 MOP, who struck fear into all defences?

Have some adjustments by the defences, with excellent books now on Lulay, negated his skills to a large extent?

Does he have a physical problem causing inaccurate throws? If he does, one can understand the Lions not talking about it. But teams will figure it out anyway.

Is the offence once again predictable? Are the defences waiting, prepared, having very good anticipation of what is coming, both on the ground and in the air? If our offence is predictable, if our routes are predictable, if we do not cause uncertainty, then any QB would struggle with our offence.

Are we not game planning in ways that utilize Lulay's skills to best advantage? Are we forcing Lulay to be a pocket passer, and is that something that is just not a good fit? Is it unreasonable to expect Lulay to stand in the pocket like Ricky Ray and pick apart defences?

Was his great success in 2011 a one off? And now that teams have the book on him, is it unlikely for him to rack up 300 yard games, although they are still happening all over the league?

Is his seeming lack of accuracy the way he has always been, but we didn't really notice until Shi Zi Mi and some others started to focus on it? Did Travis take the league by storm, and now that teams have such a good book on him, is what we see what we are going to get? He won't be getting any MOP votes the way he has been playing, it seems to me.

Is the coach/player dynamic between JC and Lulay making him better? Worse? Dunno ...

But it seems Travis is not seeing the possibilities out there. He seems to be trying too hard. It is not instinctive.

I don't know the answers.

I think it is fair for fans to look and to ask, though.

My mind is open on all of these questions and issues. I am not jumping on Travis. I am not jumping on JC. I think we will see by years' end though. And maybe we have seen enough already. I don't know. Shouldn't we be able to crank up some 300 yard games? Shouldn't we be able to hit a good number of intermediate routes?

We won the game against the Stampeders. Is there even anything wrong?

On offence we're not hitting on all cylinders. No need to panic. But I think we need to have a smoothly running offence if we expect to challenge for the Cup.

Is there anything wrong with our offence? If there is, is it on Travis Lulay? Is it on Jacques Chapdelaine?

Will patience solve the problem? Will adjustments solve the problem?

Sputtering. Coughing. Two and outs. Errant throws. Harris making ground gains against gang tackling. Defences keying on Lulay, happy to see him in the pocket. Defences keying on Harris. Defences ready and waiting for long bombs to Manny. Receivers not running free in space.

Dunno, but it ain't pretty. Ricky Ray carved up the Eskimos. That was impressive. Reilly carved up the Argonauts. That was impressive. Lamborghini passing games.

Ricky Ray ... 30/35, 413 yards, 3 TDs, no ints.

Mike Reilly ... 35/46, 511 yards, 3 TDs, no ints.

Henry Burris ... 22/36, 333 yards, 1 TD, no ints.

Play design, game planning, play calling? Schemes? (More on Jacques)

Or execution? (More on Travis)

I think Travis has played consistently very well since mid-way the 2011 season. While Travis' stats didn't look good vs the Stamps, we shouldn't fall into the trap of questioning his ability. Calgary also has a high-powered offence but looked very pedestrian against the Lions...so the opponent is a major factor in offensive success. One of Travis' picks vs Cal. came on a meaningless play via a Hail Mary to end the half.

The Lions offence is most productive when Travis scrambles and he's only rushed twice in each of the past 3 games...after rushing 13 times in the 2 back-to-back wins vs Edm. This could indicate that Travis might be nicked up a bit or perhaps it's a conscious decision by the offence to "save" Travis until later in the season and limit the number of hits he is taking. When Travis doesn't scramble, the Lions offence is fairly mediocre.

I believe Travis' success is limited more by the offensive schemes, play calling and pass protection, than his physical abilities. When he can set his feet and follow-through with the passing motion, he's very accurate, even on the long balls. But when he tries to throw side-arm or "flick" the pass (due to pass pressure or inattention) his accuracy suffers.

Since the start of 2012 the Lions offence has become more conservative with the focus on shorter passes to Harris and ball control (Travis' average completion dropped by nearly 2 yds last year). There also could be an effort by the offence to spread the responsibility and not have the Lions success resting solely on his shoulders. Perhaps the Lions realize that Travis just can't continue to play his "riverboat gambler" style which exposes himself to injury, because he just won't last the season.

So is there something wrong with Travis? I don't think so. He's the least of the Lions problems. I believe he's been asked to execute the offence rather than win it on his own, do less freelancing and preserve himself for the huge games later in the season.

Good points, JohnHenry.

He does execute the offence, as he is asked to do. And it does make sense to save him during a long season. A question for me, though, is why we are not hitting those intermediate routes that can quickly add up to 300+ per game. DBs sitting on the routes? And I wonder if Travis has tried to change his game, being the good, coachable athlete that he is. He doesn't look comfortable. Too much stuff in his head, taking away from instinctive play?

[Sir Purrcival]

A couple of thoughts here.

1. No Simon in the receiver corp or Bruce for that matter. Past their prime or no, those two receivers have a knack for making the big catch and other teams have a healthy respect for them often devoting extra coverage to them. In 2011 particularly, Bruce was outstanding. Receivers like that can make a QB look good, perhaps better than he actually is and now with those two gone, Travis is looking a little more mortal. His receivers although good haven't yet found that knack of finding the open space and sitting in it. They always seem to be covered tightly.

2. I don't think that if the Lions has any serious concerns about the shoulder, they would have been willing to let Reilly go. It would make absolutely no sense to not sign Reilly as a safety net if there was a chance Travis was seriously impaired.

3. Oline - not the best in the league as we all know. They haven't been as bad as some were expecting, rather the opposite but nevertheless, we have a number of young inexperienced and older past their prime individuals up front. Pass protection has been decent, not great but decent. The Oline is also responsible to large degree in the success of the running game. We have had comments about how Andrew Harris is fighting for every yard. If the Oline can't open holes for the run, it is pretty safe to assume that they aren't doing the best job in protecting the passer.

4. OC - Mad Jacques the Chap. No surprises here and a continuation of a long running story. The Chap is well known in the league as is his play book but the worst tendency is for him to try and remake QB's rather than going with their strengths. Travis is a mobile QB, he is more effective in motion than as a drop back, especially with a patchwork Oline. He has nervous feet, not a lot of time, receivers who aren't getting open lots and Mad Jacques has him dropping back far too much with some slow developing plays. He needs more quick hitters much like they had in the first drive against Calgary. Short passes, quick developing plays and so on. 4 or 5 steam boats isn't great for this team right now.

5. Jarious influence? A lot of Travis' passes seem to be on the rope variety especially on the longer passes. Remind you of anyone? You have to put some air under those throws to give the receiver a chance to get under them. Less chance of hitting the defender in the back as well. In short, his receivers are talented but they aren't doing a great job of making Travis look good. Gore seems to have fallen off the planet. Ianuzzi is sparingly used, Arecenaux may be knicked, he isn't leaving defenders in the dust in any case and Taylor isn't turning heads a whole lot either. The most dangerous receiver out there seems to be their running back.

[MexicoLionFan]

IMO there isn't a problem with our receivers...they run good routes, they get open, they catch the ball, and if you give them a chance in space, they make plays...our WRs are the least of our problems...and after how well the defence played versus Calgary, and even our STs returned a kick for a TD, Travis and Chapdelaine ARE OUR biggest concerns...Lulay isn't a rookie or a kid anymore...he's won a GC...he's been the league MVP...he's the first or second highest paid player in the league...and he has been average or below average for a while...

The problem with the offence isn't the OLine...its not the receivers...its not the running backs..WHAT'S LEFT??? You have the QB and the coaches...and as Sir P said, they don't look to be on the same page...Lulay looks like there is too much going on inside of his head...too much thinking and too much time...shorter drops, quicker reads/throws, and more mobility is what Lulay needs.

[David]

Guys, we can rationalize Lulay's inconsistency all we want (residual effects of injury, Chapdelaine's offense, "saving" him for later in the season, no Geroy or Arland blah, blah), but the fact is, Travis is not making sound decisions right now. He's locking in on receivers, not stepping up in the pocket, under or over-throwing (i.e. the pass attempt to Courtney Taylor in the flat in the 1st quarter that sailed over his head), not pulling the ball down when receivers are covered and there's an open running lane. I certainly don't want to imply that he's making bad decisions all the time. He's not. But it's happening in an alarming number of areas with greater frequency IMO. We shouldn't have to rely on trickery and misdirection just to complete a pass.

Again, we can justify things by saying "that's a good defense we just played," but other QBs are spraying the ball all over the field against those same defenses (i.e. Burris against Winnipeg). Yesterday's Argo/Esks game was a thing of beauty (perhaps not for defensive coordinators). Long passes were hitting receivers in stride, they were threading the needle on intermediate routes, balls were being caught at the back of the endzone.....

I really like Travis and I want him to succeed. But at the same time, we can't bury our head in the sand and pretend that after 7 games there aren't quarterbacking issues.


DH

[JohnHenry]

He does execute the offence, as he is asked to do. And it does make sense to save him during a long season. A question for me, though, is why we are not hitting those intermediate routes that can quickly add up to 300+ per game. DBs sitting on the routes? And I wonder if Travis has tried to change his game, being the good, coachable athlete that he is. He doesn't look comfortable. Too much stuff in his head, taking away from instinctive play?

I agree Travis seems a little unsettled back there. It could be opposing defences have a "book" on our offence. They seem to stack the box to take away our running game (with only a superhuman effort by Harris to generate yardage) and they seemingly can slip through our pass protection easily, while our receivers seemed to be covered like a blanket with very little YAC. Something is not right there. When I watch other teams the QB's often have multiple open receivers and can post spectacular completion percentages. This boils down to a stale offensive system, receivers who lack breakaway speed and pass protection which breaks down or is undermanned.

Moore and Taylor seem more like possession receivers and have shown excellent hands. Arsenaux, who had "4.5" speed a couple years ago, often does not get much separation on the outside. While Gore posted a "4.3" during the combine, he seems to the lack body control to adjust to the ball or keep his balance after a reception. Iannuzzi has also been under-utilized and doesn't seem that open. One option could be to insert a speed-burner like K. Williams to clear some real estate.

I also believe our pass blocking schemes leaves much to be desired. While our OL has played OK, our backs haven't been getting the job done over the past couple of seasons. Defenders who slip through the line are often completely ignored or only partially blocked, forcing Travis to sprint out and/or run for his life. He seems like a QB who doesn't completely trust his blockers and must devote more of his awareness on dodging the pass rushers rather than picking out his receivers down-field. This may account for his "nervous-feet".

I won't condemn Lumbala who many regard as a great pass blocker but Harris will often leave his block early to go into his pass pattern, which is probably by design. On many pass plays the Lions seem to have an empty backfield, with 6 receivers and Travis left to fend for himself. In that case he should get rid of the ball quickly but that option doesn't seem readily available.

As far as our intermediate passing attack, our QB mostly doesn't have the time to wait for receivers to get open, unless he takes off and throws on the dead run...which will affect his accuracy and the purrfect spirals everyone is expecting.

[ducepot]

Lions have the personal...unfortunately they have Chapdelaine as the OC,nothing will change until Chaps is gone!

[cromartie]

The top 82 reasons, in order:

1-79) Scheme. There appears to be an over-reliance on receivers winning one on one battles as a part of this scheme, and an under reliance on scheming being used to get guys open. Guys not named Moore and Arceneaux aren't doing enough to get themselves open in this scheme. But the scheme, particularly inside the numbers, isn't giving them nearly enough help getting open. Also, you have a QB who throws better on the run, so roll him out already.

80) Travis' decision making. He does miss some open opportunities, but not enough for it to be a primary part of the problem.

81) O Line. They do lose their share of battles, but we've made a Grey Cup with significantly less talent on the O Line than we have now.

82) Deep Accuracy. Not Travis' strong suit. But, again, this would be less critical with a better scheme.

[South Pender]

The top 82 reasons, in order:

1-79) Scheme. There appears to be an over-reliance on receivers winning one on one battles as a part of this scheme, and an under reliance on scheming being used to get guys open. Guys not named Moore and Arceneaux aren't doing enough to get themselves open in this scheme. But the scheme, particularly inside the numbers, isn't giving them nearly enough help getting open. Also, you have a QB who throws better on the run, so roll him out already.

80) Travis' decision making. He does miss some open opportunities, but not enough for it to be a primary part of the problem.

81) O Line. They do lose their share of battles, but we've made a Grey Cup with significantly less talent on the O Line than we have now.

82) Deep Accuracy. Not Travis' strong suit. But, again, this would be less critical with a better scheme.

I agree with most of this. However, I think that a little more of the problem lies with the receivers not getting sufficient separation from the DBs or finding the seams in the zone. With a QB like Ray, who can throw into a tight window, this would be less serious, but with Travis's lack of this level of precision, we're not getting completions that extend drives. I think we all believed that Nick Moore and Courtney Taylor would get open the way that Geroy and Arland Bruce did, but they often can't seem to get separation. I fully agree that Travis is not playing well, but put some of that on our young receiving corps.