DanoT wrote: ↑Tue Jun 19, 2018 7:28 am
Maybe Wally's taking risks is mostly about the people around him and what they will be allowed to do.
Wally's hiring of GM Ed Hervey was a pleasant surprise and lead to way more off season activity than ever before for the Lions, so it was a big departure from the normal, safe, Wally Way.
Allowing OC and DC more freedom and creativity, which is what Wally seems to be doing this year, is also not the safe, play the percentages Wally Way.
Hiring Jeff Reinbold as ST coach, nothing safe or predictable about him except expect the unexpected.
You're right Dano T - Wally did not specify what taking more risk meant and we also have to be cognizant that we are also discussing a person who has been very, very, very risk averse.
One can only wonder what this 2018 Leos team would look like if Wally had remained GM. Certainly the trades Ed Hervey has made and the free agents he has signed is very different than how Wally operated as GM in the past.
A good example was going into the 2017 season. Coming off a 2016 season in which we were 11-7 and had the second best record in the CFL, Wally knew what we needed. On the offensive line, in 2016, Wally had switched Olifioye to left tackle, moved Steward to left guard, signed Levy Adcock to right tackle, and drafted James Vaillencourt to challenge Kirby Fabian at right guard. Levy Adcock was injured and then a bust and Antonio Johnson had played most of the season at right tackle.
All Wally needed to do, on offence was either sign or trade for an International offensive tackle. He could either traded for or signed a free agent left tackle and move Olifioye back to right tackle or sign a right tackle and leave Olifioye at left tackle.
Instead he signed Chris Williams, ended up trading Olifioye and we spend most of the season struggling at both offensive tackle positions. We ended the 2017 season giving up the most sacks and the most pressures.
Wally also attempted to begin the season with Foucault as starting left guard and when that turned into a disaster, he moved Steward back to left guard and moved Johnson, who was not even starting at the time at right tackle, to left tackle.
Our passing attack struggled, Jennings was injured twice, took too many hits, and ended up losing his confidence. Williams was still recovering from his knee injury and when he did enter the lineup, Jones, (we have now learned) was not allowed to integrate him into the offence the way he felt was best.
Sustained pressure, lack of time to throw, pressures, hits, sacks breaks down quarterbacks. We have seen quarterbacks, time and again in pro football, play successfully with reasonable protection and struggle without it. They may play well for a few games, as Lulay did last season, but sustaining a high level of play or remaining uninjured, without adequate protection, for a length of time is almost impossible.
On defense, going into 2017, Buono knew that two key players were going to try the NFL. Alex Bazzie had been our leading sacker in 2016 and we needed an edge pass rusher. Buono also knew that he needed to replace Bighill, who was able to get his NFL shot as a condition of agreeding to Wally's demand that he take a wage cut the season before.
Wally was also aware that we needed to upgrade our interior defensive line play.
So, what did he do? He signed Dequin Evans as our rush end, while also choosing not to sign Jabar Westerman, a National and the only defensive tackle who got decent penetration in 2016 and had 5 sacks. Worse, he signed free agent Tony Burnett to fill Bighill's shoes.
In the off-season, prior to the 2017 season, a decision had been made to go with an International safety and a National field corner. But just days week before our first game of the season, with no practice time during training camp, Purifoy was moved to safety, with Washington stating that Purifoy was "a special athlete with NFL talent, size and speed", and the defensive secondary shuffle began and continued unabated.
Thompson struggled at corner and was then moved to halfback and then back to safety. Gainer was moved from halfback to corner and eventually benched while Purifoy was moved to halfback, although he did play one game at corner.
No wonder our Leos finished last in the West in points scored and had the most points scored against in 2017. We couldn't protect our quarterback, we couldn't get pressure on opposition quarterbacks, and our defensive secondary spent most of the season confused.
For a GM with Wally's experience, he should have known better and done better. But somehow the disastrous 2017 season has mostly been laid on the feet or arm or head of Jonathan Jennings, as well as Khari Jones, who was sent packing. Somehow, Sol E. and Mark Washington avoided the same scrutiny or the same fate.
And as usual, when things went wrong, Wally avoided most of the heat for a team that ended the 2016 season with such promise and ended the 2017 season as a 'bag over the head' exercise, as we lost 6 of our last 7 games.
Jonathan Jennings stats had rivaled Bo Levi Mitchell's stats in 2016, with less time to throw the football. We had led the league in rushing and finished tied for 3rd in protecting our quarterback. On defense, in 2016, we had tied for being the best in the CFL in sacks, with 52 on the season.
Chris Rainey had led the CFL in punt return average in 2016. In 2017, he looked like a shell of his former self, with no space to run to. On offence, the results were similar. In 2016, Rainey was being compared to one time great Willie Fleming. In 2017, the comparison was never mentioned.
There are no excuses this season. We have excellent offensive line talent and depth. We have talent and depth at tailback and fullback. We have a good receiving crew and we also have depth there.
On defense, we have a very good defensive line and lots of depth at the National positions. Otha Foster brings talent and aggression to the nickel back position and we have experience in the secondary. Long gives us excellent punting and field goal kicking and Rainey is still a very, very dangerous return man.
Just as we dropped from being the second best CFL team in 2016 to the 8th best CFL team and missed the playoffs in 2017, a team can also return to success in a hurry in the CFL. Toronto more than proved that last season.
The CFL power rankings still have us in 8th place, after our first game of the season. Its where we deserve to be, until we prove otherwise and one win does not do that. But we are now considered a 'dark horse' in the West.
Our next game is against Edmonton and its on the road. That game will give us a much better indication of how far we have come this season (or not) and what our potential is for this season.
"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)