The Place for BC Lion Discussion. A forum for Lions fans to talk and chat about our team.
Discussion, News, Information and Speculation regarding the BC Lions and the CFL.
Prowl, Growl and Roar!
Yep, some similar gremlins making an appearance. Nichols had time to build a house on most plays while Reilly often was just getting ball off milliseconds before pocket collapse.
Receivers often not open. Bombers very close on coverages. BC, lets give the Bomber receivers 4-5 yards of space.
Front 4 pressure. Not so much. Need to do better than that or it will be a lot of challenge for the rest of year.
All in all a very substandard performance. Would like to chalk it up to a new team gelling. Clearly the Bombers were much more in synch.
Hey Wally, still think Harris is past is prime? Man to think we let him go.
Tell me how long must a fan be strong? Ans. Always.
Rich Stubler and DeVone Claybrooks were outcoached by Mike O'Shea and Paul LaPolice. I mentioned in the game thread at halftime that the B.C. defence was running too many three-man fronts and giving up easy yards to Andrew Harris. They continued to do the same thing in the second half, and the Bombers were able to move the ball on the ground and eat up the clock.
Stopping Harris has to be the primary goal when playing the Bombers. Putting five defenders in the box, with two linebackers who have little starting experience, is a recipe for disaster unless that front 5 can come off their blocks and make a solo tackle. It wasn't happening tonight. Harris often got four or five yards before contact and another four or five yards after contact. He had 16 carries for 148 yards, an average of 9.2 yards per carry. The only way to try to stop him tonight would have been to put seven or eight defenders in the box. The Lions didn't even try.
If the game were a passing duel between Matt Nichols and Mike Reilly, the Lions would have the edge. As it was, despite a good first half for Reilly with over 200 passing yards, the Bombers ran the ball down the Lions' throats in the second half and ate up the clock. In the final 25 minutes, the Bombers ran 31 offensive plays. The Lions ran 16. The Bombers had a 10-minute advantage in time of possession in the game. The B.C. offence didn't get any rhythm in the second half and suffered some miscommunication between Reilly and his receivers, resulting in two interceptions and too many missed opportunities.
It was the first game of the season, and it was against a good team with experienced players and coaches. The jury is still out on the new-look Lions, especially on defence. The coaches didn't give them much chance to succeed tonight.
Remember when people liked blaming Wally and coaching for everything? Well...they completely cleaned house both on the field and off. Maybe it wasn't 100% on the coaching at all.
I did like some things that I saw. Our passing attack looks dangerous, and Reilly looked good. I do think our receiver depth is questionable though. I don't see there being much trust between Reilly and Cottoy or Johnson just yet.
Our run game was nowhere to be found.
O-Line was okay on pass protection, but didn't accomplish much on the limited runs.
Special teams is ugly. We need a punter/kicker, and that blocked PAT was a game changer. We didn't score after that.
Run defense was bad, though they were playing against the best runningback in the game. Termansen got victimized several times in the pass attack, and Thompson looked like a guy who missed camp.
Yep, some similar gremlins making an appearance. Nichols had time to build a house on most plays while Reilly often was just getting ball off milliseconds before pocket collapse.
Receivers often not open. Bombers very close on coverages. BC, lets give the Bomber receivers 4-5 yards of space.
Front 4 pressure. Not so much. Need to do better than that or it will be a lot of challenge for the rest of year.
All in all a very substandard performance. Would like to chalk it up to a new team gelling. Clearly the Bombers were much more in synch.
Hey Wally, still think Harris is past is prime? Man to think we let him go.
I will keep reminding folks of this as long as it's warranted: well before free agency during the 2015 season, Andrew Harris was offered an extension by the Lions that would have made him the HIGHEST PAID Canadian in the league. He simply said no because he wanted to go home and be with his daughter. Don't think anyone can really fault him, or the Lions, for that. Besides the point, I don't think Wally or anyone else with the club ever indicated they thought he was past his prime.
Disappointed at the final score but not totally disheartened. The team will take a few games to jell with the new players they have. Having said that, the Lions need to have a much better pass rush, need to stop the running game. Conversely they need to establish and run the football consistently. 4 total yards for the night won't get it done. They need to find a punter. Sergio Castillo's average I believe was 30 yards. On one punt late in the game travelled 26 yards according to the radio broadcast. It was bouncing back towards the Lions. Instead of running down to recover the punt, Castillo was running off the field. He need to have better situational awareness of what is happening on the field.
All in all, I can't say I was surprised or disappointed in what I saw last night.
Mentioned this a few times already but this season is going to hang on the Lions ability to find solid defensive starters at league-entry salaries to off-set their top heavy free agent signings on offence.
Are Harris, Ketter and Boesen and Termansen adequate enough replacements for Awe, Foster, Lemon and Orange? If not the Lions will be looking hard at NFL cuts to step in immediately as upgrades come late August.
Even last year, it wasn't until Lemon's arrival when the Lions found a consistent pass rush and leaned heavily on the defence the rest of the season.
Termansen was benched for Tucker after being beaten again by Drew Wolitarsky for another TD. Seemed too good to be true that part-time special teams player from North Van had transformed into a ratio breaking starting field side corner. Maybe the Lions give him another shot at starting but I have my doubts.
The fact Termansen won the job out of training camp is a credit to him but did the club do a good enough job in finding quality American talent for those vacant positions?
Given the amount of off season coach and player changes that the Lions went thru vs the very few changes that the Bombers went thru, the final score is about what I expected.
However I didn't expect 4 YARDS RUSHING ON 4 ATTEMPTS. That is a coaching embarrassment stat for a pro team.
I also didn't expect a 3 man Dline vs Andrew Harris, so another coaching embarrassment.
All in all, a horrid game plan on both sides of the ball.
Our new look B.C. Lions really could have used a big win for their season opener at home to excite fans about this 2019 Leos edition but it was not to be.
Certainly, there is no need to panic or get too down over last nights loss to Winnipeg. The Bombers are a very good football team, that is well coached, especially on offence and special teams.
Our Leos have 16 new starters this season and almost an entirely new coaching staff. It will take time for Mike Reilly to fully familiarize himself with his receivers. Its a tall, big, talented group of receivers, with Internationals Burnham and Carter complimented by Nationals Lemar Durrant, Shaq Johnson, and impressive rookie Cottoy.
Our receiving core has the size, speed, and talent to get the job done. I might have been more tempted to have signed Arseneaux for another season than go with Carter, but Carter is younger. I love our National receiving talent.
There were many games last season that we never came close to having 300 yds. passing in a game. Considering the pressure and duress that Reilly was under for most of last nights contest, certainly,if given time to throw the football, we can become a dangerous passing offence.
But overall, Reilly's 56% completion rate and two interceptions reflected an offence that lacked balance between run and pass, poor pass protection, and passing play design that often lacked imagination. Four carries by John White, for 4 yards, is not what we anticipated for our running attack, when Hervey stated his goal for 2019 was to have a big, very aggressive offensive line,
Bryan Burnham uncharacteristically dropped a couple of passes. Still he led our receivers with
The offensive line oozes size and talent too but they also need time to gel. Steward is playing center for the first time, Foucault has switched to left guard from right guard, and Boyko is playing in the CFL for the first time.
In the off-season, Ed Hervey loaded up our offence with expensive free agent signings in not just Mike Reilly. He also gave a mind blowing $250,000 contract for a guard in Sukh Chung, as well as paying higher dollars than his competition for Duron Carter and Lamar Durant.
Our only big signing on defense was Aaron Grymes. Hervey then had to go cheap on defense. After getting Mike Reilly signed, our priority should have been to sign Shawn Lemon. Last season both he and Odell Willis finished tied for 3rd in the CFL in sacks. Odell is a year older and our defense really needed him to have a complimentary bookend defensive end with the talent of Shawn Lemon. Last nights game showed the difference in our pass rush with Lemon gone.
We also lost Bo Lokombo in the off-season when he also should have been a priority signing. A B.C. product, Lokombo is almost a physical freak in terms of athleticism and he had a great season last year, leading our team in tackles. He is also an excellent special teamer too. Instead we ended up signing the oft-injured Adam Konar to a big contract to play backup at this point anyway.
Another player lost on defense for 2019, who should have been signed is Winston Rose. He was an excellent rookie starting cornerback for our Leos last season.
Finally, in this off-season, somehow, after jettisoning National free safety Anthony Thompson, we were unable to replace Rose or Thompso with an International defensive back, when we had the ability to go International at both spots. all the talent that is available at the International defensive back position this turn of events is more than surprising.
Termason was able to beat out the competion at corner but even more surprising is that, with the ability to play an International at safety, we had to sign Thompson at the 11th hour and then start him in our season opener.
So there was a lot of off-season excitement about Hervey's free agent signings and no question, he brought in some talented players but we also have lost some talent at key positions. Whether Sol E. and Rolly Lumbala were past their best due date or not, Hervey could not afford to keep them, based upon his choices of free agent signings for 2019.
Defensive end, perhaps more than any other position is where we have paid the price and last nights weak pass rush proved what we all know - without pressure on the quarterback, life can be tough for any defensive unit. If I had the choice, I would have signed Lemon again over paying massive dollars for a guard, in Sukh Chungh, especially knowing how good our offensive line talent already was.
So, last night's contest reflected both the excitement and concerns I felt this off-season.
The excitement was seeing Mike Reilly back in black and orange and he made some throws last night that reflected his elite status as a quarterback. Duron Carter showed his talents and Lemar Durant's play demonstrated that he is a big, strong, tough receiver who can go deep or make plays over the middle. Aaron Grymes showed that he is not only an elite defender but also can come up and make plays quickly,
However, last nights game also brought forward the concerns I had in the off-season too (and these are concerns that other Lionbacker's have mentioned too).
These concerns can be lumped into the following categories 1) Jarious offensive system 2) ) running attack 3) kicking game 4) the gold and green syndrome 5) pass rush and 6) defensive talent.
I've already mentioned the cost of our free agent signing decisions in terms of our talent. The result of our 2018 off-season free agency is that we were forced to go cheap in other areas and especially on defense. The area most impacted is not having at impactful book end defensive end pass rusher and secondly, our defensive secondary has been impacted.
We also have not been able to go out and get a top notch kicker/punter. Castillo went 3/3 in the field goal department last night but he only averaged 36 yds. per punt and does not inspire confidence in that important area of special teams.
First, lets look at running back, Last season, we had Jeremiah Johnson, a quality, proven running back who averaged 5.3 yds. per carry while also catching 40 of 42 passes out of the backfield. But Hervey and Buono decided that Johnson was not good enough, for some unknown reason and Hervey traded a second rounder to Montreal to get Sutton. Hervey and Buono raved about Sutton as a north-south runner.
Then inexplicably, in the off-season, not only was Johnson gone but Sutton too and instead we signed ex-Eskimo - the often injured John White. White only played 2 games in his last season with Edmonton and 7 games with Hamilton in 2018. White also missed 9 games, in his first season as a starterwith Edmonton in 2014. As a starting tailback, White has been injured for more games than he has been declared healthy to play. Yet Hervey signed him as our starter over more durable proven tailbacks as Johnson or Sutton.
But than again I should not have been surprised. Hervey has done an incredible job in terms of signing free agents and making some very good trades. But he also seems to have a weakness and that is almost a pathology of coveting any player who has ever worn the gold and green of Edmonton.
Finally, last nights game brought forth all the worries about Jarious Jackson's offensive system. Reilly struggled with the RPO offence of McAdoo and Jarious Jackson in Edmonton and only became a MOP elite quarterback when Maas arrived and took over control of the offence there.
From what I understand, 60% of this year's offence is Jarious offence of last season, which was a combination of RPO, West Coast, and Spread. Another 20% of this year's offensive system is made up of plays that Jarious never ran last season because Wally wanted a simplified offence and 'execution' as per usual. Finally 20% of the offence is made up of plays due to input from Mike Reilly and his teammates.
Last night, even with our Leos leading 17-14 at half time and only down by less than a converted touchdown at the end of the third quarter, Jarious Jackson refused to run the football. Four rushes for 4 yards (1 yard average) is obviously worrysome but its also a small body of rushing attempts
You still have to run the football to slow down the opposing pass rush. You also have to diversify the running game rather than just use one type of running play. We could have called a quarterback draw or a fly sweep or a shovel pass play or a misdirection pitch. Its just plain bad offensive coordination and bad play calling to only call four running plays in a game - that is a terrible lack of balance that leads to negative results.
Its also still frustrating to watch Andrew Harris chew up our defense, as he has time and time again, since he joined the Bombers. As for the comment that Harris wanted to go to Winnipeg, below is what was written at the time,
Andrew Harris Contract
Buono: BC Lions Won’t be Offering Andrew Harris a Contract
The Lion is out of the bag regarding the status running back Andrew Harris.
BC Lions General Manager and Head Coach Wally Buono told the TEAM 1040 Tuesday afternoon that the Lions would not be making an offer to the 8-year Lion and pending free agent.
“At this point, I’m not saying we’re going to make him an offer. I don’t believe that we will. I think that at this point, it’s time for the club to look at doing things differently.” When you look at the eight years he’s had here – he’s had eight great years. There’s times that you say, ‘okay, we’re going to go in a new direction.
We appreciate all an individual has done, and sometimes it’s just good to find a new place to go.” – Wally Buono on Andrew Harris.
Andrew Harris
✔
@andrewharris33
Well I guess that's it BC Lions fans. Thanks for all the love and support throughout my journey here in BC!
https://
twitter.com/tsn1040/status
/694697827801395209
…
TSN Radio Vancouver
It didn’t take long for the popular player to acknowledge that his time in BC was done as he took to Twitter to thank the fans, his teammates and like the classy person he is, he thanked Wally Buono and Neil McEvoy for giving him a chance.
Andrew Harris
✔
@andrewharris33
Gonna miss my @BCLions #teammates most of all.. You all know who you are.. When you shed blood, sweat and tears.. That's BROTHERHOOD!
Our Leos play the Eskimos on Friday night. Ricky Collins had 175 yds on 9 catches in his first game in green and gold. Not confined to Jarious offence, he shone.
We have a short week to get it more together. Go Leos.
"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)
