Lions 40 RedBlacks 7 Post Game Thread

[Hambone]

On another note I saw they finally gave a couple of reps to Richarte in the waning moments.

[pennw]

The reason Ottawa went away from tge run game is our defence adjusted so we didnt give them the rin as an option. Our defence was dictating what theiroffence could do which is what good defencess do. Bythe second quarter we took their offence out of the game. We had Hennings number and they knew it, nothing was working. Now to do it consistently and against a competent offence, thats the chalkenge but we are going in the right direction.

I totally agree with you on why Ottawa went away from the run . It did appear that they would just keep going with it and steam roll us. But then they got stuffed on 3rd and 1 to turn over the ball with nothing to show for that impressive opening drive . I shake my head at the calls for "keeping doing what was working" . Why ? Because it was doing just that that got them zero points for that effort . It got stuffed because they did the same thing too many times in a row . It's funny how so many say that 'why stop doing what has been working so far' and also say that there needs to be unpredictability in the play calling . You need to keep the Defense guessing . And you don't accomplish that by doing same thing repeatedly .

Only a really bad defense would not be able to stop the same play too many times in a row. And I have to give Stubler credit for making that adjustment (or was it Claybrooks?) after plenty of criticism this year. It is because Ottawa was unable to compliment their run game with a good passing attack that their offense went down the toilet , not because they stopped running the ball . They tried running the ball on their next series but got that stuffed too , because now BC was keying on stopping the run , they blew it that first series with being too predictable . They "went to the well once to often" . Their run game got stuffed pretty much the rest of the game when ever they tried it . And every time they tried it they ended up in second and long .

They should have included a pass game much sooner to keep BC on their heels and not allow BC to key on their run game . But by the time they got more opportunities it was too late because their confidence was gone , with Jennings at the helm. Their run game was no longer going to work the rest of the game no matter how hard they tried unless they were going to become dangerous with pass first and that was not going to happen with Jennings at QB. And they knew it .

BC basically was dictating after that , what the RedBlacks were going to be allowed to do . Yes Jennings threw some nice long balls later in the game , but I think BC was willing to allow them to try that because JJ has such a propensity for throw picks . That and he can't do it consistently enough to sustain drives .

Too bad for Jonathon Jennings , I think we may be seeing the last of his playing days in the CFL . Too bad , he seemed to have so much promise a few seasons ago .Ottawa seemed to switch QBs to give their next guy up some audition time after they had conceded the game .

[David]

Did you guys catch this last night?? Over and over I kept seeing a "down and distance" graphic for the Oakland Raiders and LA Rams, not the two teams playing. What was that about?

A bad look for TSN and kind of embarrassing for the CFL.




DH

[Hambone]

It's tough to get too excited about beating Ottawa. After starting out 2-0 versus Saskatchewan and Calgary they have turned into a tire fire going 1-10 since then. In their current 6 game skid they've been outscored 192-66. Lewis Ward has contributed 13 FGs for 39 points while their offense has mustered a mere 3 TDs for 18 points.

BC's 3 wins have come against Ottawa and Toronto. BC and Edmonton are a collective 7-2 against those teams and Montreal. They're a collective 2-15 against the rest of the CFL with the 2 wins being Edmonton over BC. Having said that sometimes all it takes for a team to gain much needed confidence is a big win against a bad team. I still believe they can take this new found confidence and ride it into Edmonton on Thanksgiving with there being more than just pride on the line.

[B.C.FAN]

I hope we can find out how they fare against the Bombers. That will mean BC made the playoffs and are in Calgary on November 24th.

That’s not happening. Montreal’s comeback victory against Winnipeg yesterday all but sealed the Lions’ fate. The only way they can make the playoffs now is if they win their final five games, Montreal fails to win any of their final six games and Edmonton wins no more than one of their final five games.

[Hambone]

The reason Ottawa went away from tge run game is our defence adjusted so we didnt give them the rin as an option. Our defence was dictating what theiroffence could do which is what good defencess do. Bythe second quarter we took their offence out of the game. We had Hennings number and they knew it, nothing was working. Now to do it consistently and against a competent offence, thats the chalkenge but we are going in the right direction.

Agreed. They ran the ball 8 times on the opening drive and also went 2 for 2 passing before they were stuffed on the 8th run play. After that early success they started meeting resistance. Their next 6 possessions leading to halftime resulted in 2 and outs. They ran the ball on 1st down on 3 of the next 4 possessions and wound up in 2nd and 6, 2nd and 11 and 2nd and 9 passing situations. It wasn't that they stopped running the ball, they just stopped having success. In that opening drive Madu chalked up 45 yards on 6 carries for a 7.5 average. He averaged only 2 yards per carry after that with 12 yards on 6 carries. Of course by the time they got their 1st possession in the 2nd half they trailed 27-2 which doesn't exactly encourage running the ball.

[Hambone]

I hope we can find out how they fare against the Bombers. That will mean BC made the playoffs and are in Calgary on November 24th.

That’s not happening. Montreal’s comeback victory against Winnipeg yesterday all but sealed the Lions’ fate. The only way they can make the playoffs now is if they win their final five games, Montreal fails to win any of their final six games and Edmonton wins no more than one of their final five games.

Montreal is irrelevant in that regard. Only the 4th place team in one division can crossover if they have more points than the 3rd place team in the other division. 5th place teams cannot crossover. BC's only option is to catch Edmonton.

[B.C.FAN]

Montreal is irrelevant in that regard. Only the 4th place team in one division can crossover if they have more points than the 3rd place team in the other division. 5th place teams cannot crossover. BC's only option is to catch Edmonton.

You're right. The Lions have to pass Edmonton (which means the Esks can win no more than one more game) and finish ahead of the third place team in the East. Montreal will likely finish second.

[David]

That’s not happening. Montreal’s comeback victory against Winnipeg yesterday all but sealed the Lions’ fate. The only way they can make the playoffs now is if they win their final five games, Montreal fails to win any of their final six games and Edmonton wins no more than one of their final five games.

Are you sure, B.C.FAN? I think it's assumed Montreal will take 2nd place in the East (hell, I wouldn't rule out first but 2nd is a safe bet). Therefore, we would have to overtake the Esks of course, then the only cross-over criteria becomes having more points than either the Argos and Redblacks. At least, that's how I understand the cross-over.


DH

[Hambone]

If 5th place could cross over Edmonton would have made the playoffs last year. BC and EE both finished 9-9 to Hamilton's 8-10. BC went to Hamilton and the Esks cleaned out their locker.

[B.C.FAN]

We’re on the same page. Montreal hasn't officially locked up second in the East but it’s a safe bet the Als will make the playoffs for the first time since 2014.

[Toppy Vann]

On another note I saw they finally gave a couple of reps to Richarte in the waning moments.

Claybrook was saying the players wanted a pass to Richarte late in that game but the HC blamed the long runs by Jamel Lyles for putting them too close to the goal line so they took a knee instead and ran out the clock. He did say maybe a short out pattern earlier might have worked but for Lyle's runs lol

[Dusty]

It's tough to get too excited about beating Ottawa. After starting out 2-0 versus Saskatchewan and Calgary they have turned into a tire fire going 1-10 since then.

All I can say is "a win is a win".... Yes, our wins have been against the bottom teams.... on the other hand, I'm glad that now the Lions are doing some "bottom feeding".... instead of being the "feed" . I'm expecting another win next week.

[David]

Yup, you can only play the team that is on the schedule. I laugh when I read, "yea but it was only Ottawa" in some places. It's like the club is a no-win situation. Win, and 'ho-hum you're supposed to.' Lose and it's 'let's blow this whole thing up.' That's what fans do. The reactionary ones anyway.

I like the direction this team is headed. We're finally seeing more creativity on offence and guys are buying in on defence. STs could be better but at least we've moved past all the brain-dead no yards and holding penalties.


DH

[Toppy Vann]

There's never dismissing a win.

Heard someone (Angus Reid?) on TSN say that football is about confidence and momentum and if that win gives them some of both - it's a good thing.

DEFENSIVE PLAYERS SAY FINALLY HAVE THE SYSTEM

The DEF is finally sounding like they understand their roles and ideally the HC is putting in more of his input. I can see that Stubler is likely not the teacher but more of the schemer than a teacher.

OFFENSIVE PASSING NEEDS STRUCTURE CHANGES

I don't see the Lions REC coach actually getting the OC to restructure some of the pass routes and turns to the ball that keep REC like Carter as decoys versus primary targets.

Of the OFF assistants Nik Lewis is the best teacher and he should be the REC coach as well as RB coach as he excelled at both positions.

One major criticism of the structure of the Lions pass routes is that players like Carter run the EXACT routes as in practice with nothing ever said only to find that in games they're not yet open when the QB needs to throw.

My take is if you as a coach can't put a talent like Duron Carter where they can get involved and have room (not all the stuff to close to the LOS like the sweep as the DEF knows that's coming). Move him to the slot and also have him break off routes to get in front of coverage downfield. QB high point the ball to this guy as he can catch.

Carter knows the roles and it's the same in game as in practice.