Riders 38 - Lions 25 -- Post Game Comments

[WestCoastJoe]

I am thinking it is some kind of superstition that Reilly goes back in, leg hurting immensely, shook up, tears of pain in his eyes, but wanting to drag himself back in. It is not for the good of the team. He needs to be healthy. It hardly matters now. The team is a shambles. And pass pro is a mess.

The O game was better. Finally. Runs. Swing passes. Release passes. Good yardage. But it does not matter. It leaks out once again in the 4th.

''Safe'' defence was exploited once again.

STs? Tricked, but let off by penalty. Return TD. Awful.

I am surprised that Claybrooks had not asserted control, has not put his imprint on the team. He lets Reilly stay on the field, because Reilly seems to have some karmic need to be there. You sit Reilly down in TC, and say, ''Mike, we have invested our future in you. We will take you out in some situations.'' This notion is understood from Pop Warner level on up.

Morale? In the barf bag.

Leadership? Out to lunch.

As bad as the systems and personnel have been, these last two items, imo, are the most serious problem.

Just imo, as a long time CFL fan.

[JohnnyMusso]

The only good thing I can see is we have a president who may have more authority than Ed Hervey. If so I would seriously consider firing Ed Hervey now and replacing him with Geroy Simon. I never liked the way Hervey treated Rolly and Solly with the way he ran them out of the town. He created this mess and is so up against the cap, does he have money to make major changes. Making minor changes is not working.
If Lions lose next game and there is a good possibly of that, Lions season is basically over if it isn't already.

[KnowItAll]

I’m firing Hervey first.

is that a promise

[TheLionKing]

Claybrooks post game

https://www.bclions.com/2019/07/20/mike ... pect-that/

Would Reilly get more respect if he's injured the rest of the season ?

[TheLionKing]

Mike Reilly post game

https://www.bclions.com/2019/07/20/we-w ... -together/

[David]

Their defence is terrible and what is the point of spending $750,000 on a QB and surround him with a team that cannot compete for a full 60 minutes and a defence that is horrible and OL that cannot protect him.

This is what happens when your off-field decision making supersedes your on-field decision making. If we were drawing more people to the park, I don't think the club would be in this mess. Management clearly wanted to try and make a splash in the marketplace to bring in Reilly (name recogntion), Chungh (to appeal to Indo-Canadians), and Carter (to appeal to younger fans with father's NFL cred) and it has spectacularly backfired.

Don't get me wrong. Mike Reilly is my favourite CFL player, but I do think we overpaid to get him. Bad organizations overpay superstars. Chungh? Vastly overpaid at $250K/yr. Has not impressed me in pass pro. Carter? Not sure what he is making we're not but not getting production from that position (this may be a minority opinion but our O-line has been so bad to this point and the schemes so pedestrian that it is really hard to evaluate him. I mean, he is making catches. He is not dropping balls. But Mike just hasn't had the time to find him deep. I'd give him a B or B- right now).


DH

[B.C.FAN]

I am thinking it is some kind of superstition that Reilly goes back in, leg hurting immensely, shook up, tears of pain in his eyes, but wanting to drag himself back in. It is not for the good of the team. He needs to be healthy. It hardly matters now. The team is a shambles. And pass pro is a mess.

The O game was better. Finally. Runs. Swing passes. Release passes. Good yardage. But it does not matter. It leaks out once again in the 4th.

''Safe'' defence was exploited once again.

STs? Tricked, but let off by penalty. Return TD. Awful.

I am surprised that Claybrooks had not asserted control, has not put his imprint on the team. He lets Reilly stay on the field, because Reilly seems to have some karmic need to be there. You sit Reilly down in TC, and say, ''Mike, we have invested our future in you. We will take you out in some situations.'' This notion is understood from Pop Warner level on up.

Morale? In the barf bag.

Leadership? Out to lunch.

As bad as the systems and personnel have been, these last two items, imo, are the most serious problem.

Just imo, as a long time CFL fan.

Well said, Joe. I was going to cite a bunch of statistics to make the same points but I don’t have the energy and this sums it up succinctly.

This team lacks character and leadership from management right down through the coaching staff and the players.

When the going gets tough, the Lions get soft. When they need to make a play, they make a bad one. When the game is there for the taking, they let the opposition take it. That’s the most frustrating thing about them. They always seem to find a way to lose.

[Toppy Vann]

Sol E being let go was a huge error but either they had no money left or it was due to his injury last year.

Get to practice if you want to see which of these Lions - especially on DEF- are too cocky.

Knock Carter but he's not the problem here.

[TheLionKing]

Is there a defensive lineman on the Edmonton practice roster that Hervey can poach ?

[JohnnyMusso]

Why don't you enlighten us and tell us who some of the players are? The way the defence is playing none of them should be cocky and Claybrooks should start acting like a coach and get his players under control. Seems they run the asylum. He tries too much to be their friend and it is not working.

[David]

Is there a defensive lineman on the Edmonton practice roster that Hervey can poach ?

Not sure about Edmonton but Calgary currently has 4 defensive linemen on their 6-game list. They can't carry all of them when they come back.


DH

[Gridiron Ernie]

A lot of heartfelt yet levelheaded comments here. Appreciated. There's some small consolation in numbers - in company. I don't (well, rarely) drink so I can't even cry in my beer. But I may have to re-consider given the kind of football season the Leos are giving us.

I feel bad for us fans of course, and feel bad for the team of course, but honestly there's few Lions players I'm emotionally invested in. This is uncommon for me. I don't know if I've ever felt so indifferent re the roster.

In all honesty I don't really identify with more than three players on the team as is: Burnham, Hunter Steward and TJ Lee. I admire and support Reilly as well and he's close to being a fourth to add to the short list, because he's such a fighter, but he just doesn't yet feel like a Lion for me, hasn't been here long enough (though he might well be thinking he's already been here too long!)

So, here I sit these days, seeing Solly take the field with another team, Manny, Biggie, and a good handful of others as well, who I'd identify with on an emotional level. I'm a CFL fan so I still wish them well and all the best, but it's a miserable feeling because I want their new teams to lose more often than not. That said, I'm getting close to the point of indifference with the Lions as they are, and if this poor play (and poor coaching and managing) continues I may put my emotional support elsewhere. After all, I want to enjoy myself and you only live once. I lived through the dry seasons of yore - a good part of the 1960s the 1970s and the like, and I prefer not to do that again.

Here's hoping the Lions can turn things around and be a decent team for the rest of the season but I'm not convinced it's possible the way things are currently arranged. The OC (for one) is looking stubbornly foolish, and it is bloody exasperating. I look at him and wish he would either wake up or go away, and that's putting it politely.

[WestCoastJoe]

I am thinking it is some kind of superstition that Reilly goes back in, leg hurting immensely, shook up, tears of pain in his eyes, but wanting to drag himself back in. It is not for the good of the team. He needs to be healthy. It hardly matters now. The team is a shambles. And pass pro is a mess.

The O game was better. Finally. Runs. Swing passes. Release passes. Good yardage. But it does not matter. It leaks out once again in the 4th.

''Safe'' defence was exploited once again.

STs? Tricked, but let off by penalty. Return TD. Awful.

I am surprised that Claybrooks had not asserted control, has not put his imprint on the team. He lets Reilly stay on the field, because Reilly seems to have some karmic need to be there. You sit Reilly down in TC, and say, ''Mike, we have invested our future in you. We will take you out in some situations.'' This notion is understood from Pop Warner level on up.

Morale? In the barf bag.

Leadership? Out to lunch.

As bad as the systems and personnel have been, these last two items, imo, are the most serious problem.

Just imo, as a long time CFL fan.

Well said, Joe. I was going to cite a bunch of statistics to make the same points but I don’t have the energy and this sums it up succinctly.

This team lacks character and leadership from management right down through the coaching staff and the players.

When the going gets tough, the Lions get soft. When they need to make a play, they make a bad one. When the game is there for the taking, they let the opposition take it. That’s the most frustrating thing about them. They always seem to find a way to lose.

Thanks, BCFAN.

There were clues all along, but, as fans, we go with the hope. Claybrooks to me seemed like a breath of fresh air. But he mouthes a bunch of cliche baloney. Dropping all those good players was a head shaker. All the rookie coaches was surprising. Keeping Jarious was jarring.

For this fan, bringing in Carter was a head shaker. Some coaches do not want even sensational talents, with baggage, like Randy Moss or Terrell Owens on their team. And Duron is nowhere near their talent level. Part of it too might be that defences have figured out how to minimize his production. He is no burner, although athletic. He does not get separation. It seems he will have to win contested balls, or receive short passes. I expect he can be good with run after catch. He can be elusive. One wonders if all those coaches and teams that parted ways with him, were relieved when he left. 7 for 65 yards. He is not the problem with this team. He was OK this game. But he is far from all-star level, imo, for the hype and salary.

Coaches too green

Players not good enough

Systems not good enough

Morale at the lowest possible level

Leadership absent

It is a rudderless ship. Hervey seems like Captain Ahab, sacrificing everything to get revenge on the Eskimos for firing him.

It is still somewhat shocking that the team is so bad. However, we see that well organized teams like the Eskimos and RedBlacks can also lose.

A thousand bad decisions were made to get us into this mess. Hervey made more of those than anybody else.

One stat. Sacks. 0 by us, no pressure on Fajardo. 4 by the Riders, with maybe 15 hits on Reilly. One would think it is possible to protect the QB. Other teams do it.

[DanoT]

Where is Charles Vaillencourt? Is he playing for another team? The Lions have passed on him yet the current group of O linemen are playing like garbage.

Jackson's play calling was somewhat improved but one of his stupid RPO plays almost cost the Lions a TD late in the second half but they managed to recover after the failed RPO play and get the TD.

When the Oline is struggling to protect their QB isn't it then time to move the pocket around, like away from where Hughes is lining up?

Between the inexperienced coaching staff, dozen plus new starters, playing more NATS than the minimum because they don't have any talented American players(????), it is already evident that the Lions are basement dwellers and our best hope is some respectability by the END of the season. It is already "wait until next year" for me. I'm just not sure what I am waiting for as 2020 could just be more of the same.

[SammyGreene]

Saddest thing for me is who is going to fix this mess? Rick LeLacheur have any say in the football operations? Does he recognize Hervey and the scouts inability to recruit quality American prospects in the last 2 years?

What is Hervey's contract situation beyond this season? You could replace at least 7 starters on defence with an airlift of NFL cuts in September and for me, that would be Hervey's final chance to keep his job and salvage some hope moving forward. Add an offensive tackle and receivers to the list as well.

Claybrooks got a 3-year deal so that's a lot of money to eat.