The Lions’ offence faced major pressure throughout the first half, with quarterback Jonathan Jennings struggling to find time to throw the ball against the Bombers’ stout defensive front. Running back Jeremiah Johnson ran the ball well in the first half with 56 yards on the ground, but BC’s passing game had a difficult time getting the team into scoring position. The Lions were forced to punt the ball away on their first six drives of the game. (cfl.ca)
Jennings continued to face heavy pressure every time he dropped back to make a play. With his passing pocket collapsing and defenders clogging his throwing lanes.... (cfl.ca)
Well, guys, guys, you know, you know, we just didn't execute, you know, you know.
Prior to this game, Wally Buono said the theme remained the same. Our Leos needed to 'execute". Manny Arseneaux said exactly the same thing.
Sometimes, I feel like, instead of being a regular football fan, I'm in a 'church of football' , with the same ritualistic sayings repeated as if they are gospel.
Our defense had a very good game overall. They held Matt Nichols to 172 yards passing. We finally covered Andrew Harris out of the backfield and held him to 33 yards in pass reception yardage.
But, as with most of our losses (7 losses out of the last 8 games), if one unit has a decent game, you can be sure the other two units will not. Over the past two games our offence put up 720 yds. of passing but our defense failed us. In this game our offence and special teams failed us.
But overall this is a poorly coached football team. The lack of discipline, the penalties, the incredibly poor pass blocking, the design of many passing plays, the special teams breakdowns and poor blocking is a reflection of our coaching staff.
The jumped route interception on the throw to Manny Arseneaux was an excellent example of how poorly our offensive passing design is, combined with our predictability. Rather than running a crisp sideline pattern, Manny ran a route or was given a route that gave the defensive back an outstanding angle to jump the route. The Bombers knew Jennings was having to throw quickly and predicted the type of route Manny would run.
We did the same thing a few plays later. A Bomber defender jumped the same terrible route, only this time it was Chris Williams running the route. It looked like a sure interception but Jennings gunned the football in there so hard that the Bombers back just missed it.
When Jonathan Jennings walked away from this game, at the final whistle he should have thrown up a white flag and surrendered. What punishment he took. The hits that he took in this game were incredible. It's shocking that he was able to walk away from this game let alone lead us on some late game drives. When Jennings, being tackled in the pocket in the fourth quarter, he threw the football towards a Bombers lineman, I guessed that he might be punch drunk at the time.
We should sit Jennings down for a couple of games and let him physically and mentally heal. He has elite tools but right now he looks like a classic case of PTSD. Its been a tough season and the physical and mental wear and tear of such poor pass protection, hits, sacks, and pressures could result in us destroying his confidence to the point that he won't recover. And as Leos fans we need him to recover.
Andrew Harris said the Bombers have better coaching. I agree with him totally.
I agree with him of course, as my posts often have focused on our coaching.
I watched Hamilton lose a heart breaker to Calgary last night. But Hamilton, under Jones, was one pass interference call away from defeating a Calgary team they lost to 60-1 earlier this season. Hamilton is a different team under June Jones than Kent Austin.
Amazing how the Tabbies started 'executing' so much better under a new coach.
As I watched the game, as happens often when I observe other teams coaching staffs, I felt embarrassed by our coaching. I watch other CFL Head Coaches, with their head sets on, communicating with their offensive and defensive coordinators and looking at their game plans on a plastic coated sheet and its so much different than watching Wallly standing with his arms crossed, biting his lip, standing alone and detached, and then yelling at a player when he comes to the sideline. Its basically all he does except for saying "Count 'em up' on special teams.
I watch opposing Head Coaches talking to their quarterback on the sideline at times while Wally doesn't communicate with ours. In the Hamilton/Calgary game last night, I watched the special teams group around their coach, as he held up a sheet above their heads, showing them the type of return that he wanted them to block and run and realize that there is not that type of strategy going on with our coaching staff.
Its a sad thought that I have but a true one, that I believe, hypothetically, that if every CFL coach was not allowed to have any assistant coaches and had to coach their teams all by themselves, Buono would be lucky to win a game and it wouldn't matter which team you gave him to coach. I truly believe all the other CFL coaches, with perhaps the exception of Kavis Reed, are so much more knowledgeable than Buono and have the expertise to guide their teams to victory whereas Buono would be lost.
They say that a leader has five bases of power 1) the power of positive reinforcement 2) the power of negative reinforcement 3) the formal authority of their position 4) the power of expertise and knowledge and 5) the power of their personality (without the authority of their position).
The big question is always "Would that person who is the boss be considered a leader, without the authority of his position. Would others want to follow him, without his formal authority.
They say that a true leader doesn't operate mostly from the power of negative reinforcement or consequences and also doesn't operate mostly from the power of his formal authority (position).
Great leaders operate from the power of positive reinforcement, from expertise and knowledge, and from the power of their personality. They use negative reinforcement and their positional power rarely and effectively.
Buono mainly functions from the power bases of negative reinformcment and consequences and the power of his positions in the organization. His long record helps him but the past is often forgotten in the day to day and game to game focus that is football.
Usually we look up to a leader who knows more than we do. Knowledge and expertise are power. We admire and respect a person who can teach us and role model for us as an example. Often you can't even get a straight answer from Buono. Dickenson said that too, when he was playing here. Buono often likes to play games with words.
I recognize Buono's long record, including his successful times in Calgary and his early success here in B.C. I also recognize his unsuccessful times and the things that surrounded him when he was successful and when he wasn't.
This Lions season is inexcusable. We really should have a Head Coach in here for our Leos who understands how the CFL game has changed and how to get the most potential out of our talent. That is definitely not happening.
Buono had years and years to mentor his successor, as well as be a role model for him. Hufnagel did that successfully in Calgary but we got Mike Benevedes shouting at assistant coaches and players on the sidelines and screaming at officials. But I also believe that Benevedes would have done a better job without Wally's meddling.
Wallly could have helped Tedford more but instead became a hindrance who undermined him. But Wally also could have hired a new Head Coach, instead of returning to the sidelines. But the problem was that Buono believed that he was a much smarter Head Coach than anyone and all he needed to do was return to the sidelines, let everyone know who was boss, kick some butt on occasion, and the outcome would be another Grey Cup.
It hasn't worked out that way and Buono is likely confused and doesn't understand why we are having a losing season, other than for some unknown reason, the players are 'not executing', or 'not making plays' as if they can be willed, or are 'not angry enough'.
What the players need are better strategies but instead they just get blame.
Our Leos, with a few strategy changes, could have defeated the Bombers today. But we had no answers for the Bombers pressure. Jennings when he had time on rare occasions and a receiver open, he made completions.
We started this season with a winning record and were 5-2 at one point. But we stayed simple, as other teams added to their repetoirs, as what usually happens with a Buono coached team. We get easier and easier to scout as a season continues because we continue to do the same stuff while other teams become more difficult to scout.
But hope is eternal and I like most of the players on this Leos team. They are fast, athletic, and talented. I just can't give up hope because I appreciate the talent and just can't give up on it and try to keep optimistic that these players will find a way to overcome the chains that bind them from the coaching staff and win a game or two before this sorry season ends.
The vets on our Leos football team have said this is their most frustrating season ever in their careers. Good reason for that - they know how much talent is on this Leos team.
But one series of plays reflected all that is wrong with our Leos. We stopped the Bombers but Bazzie took an unsportsmanlike penalty that gave the Bombers a first down. Then the Bombers fumbled but Awe was back on the field when he had not stayed out for 3 plays after being injured. That fumble could have been a possible momentum changer.
This Leos team has tuned out Buono. They are undisciplined at times. They are confused at times. They are also completely frustrated. You can not only see that on Chris Rainey's face but also on Jonathan Jennings face and Bryan Burnham's face.
They never quit today. They played hard. But they are a team of players who are looking for answers and strategic help from a coaching staff who thinks the answer is to keep telling them to 'execute' to 'make plays', to play 'angry' and to play with 'pride'.
Well, guys, guys, you know, you know....they need more than that you know, you know.