So, now what??

[Belize City Lion]

I no longer have any faith that things will sort themselves out and the Lions will be OK. If something drastic is not done soon I don't see this team doing much better than 4-14 in 2009.

Understandably some folks are calling for Wally's head. Personally, I'm not ready to go that far, especially because I think much of the problem rests with Wally's staff and there is no way you will find a new HC AND coordinators mid season. But I do think some major shock therapy is in order. So my "solution" would be:

1. get Dave Ritchie to come out of retirement and fire Benevides. Make Ritchie an associate head coach so he can stick his nose in where ever it's needed.
2. release Glatt. Let Shivers know that his future employment with the Lions depends on getting a real, effective, MLB.
2. unfortunately I don't think there is a decent OC candidate looking for work right now, so instead fire The Chap, demote Dorazio, and promote Kruck to OC.

what would you do?

[SammyGreene]

I no longer have any faith that things will sort themselves out and the Lions will be OK. If something drastic is not done soon I don't see this team doing much better than 4-14 in 2009.

Understandably some folks are calling for Wally's head. Personally, I'm not ready to go that far, especially because I think much of the problem rests with Wally's staff and there is no way you will find a new HC AND coordinators mid season. But I do think some major shock therapy is in order. So my "solution" would be:

1. get Dave Ritchie to come out of retirement and fire Benevides. Make Ritchie an associate head coach so he can stick his nose in where ever it's needed.
2. release Glatt. Let Shivers know that his future employment with the Lions depends on getting a real, effective, MLB.
2. unfortunately I don't think there is a decent OC candidate looking for work right now, so instead fire The Chap, demote Dorazio, and promote Kruck to OC.

what would you do?

I hear you about Glatt but our Canadian depth is woefully thin right now. What other Canadian starts in his place? It's more of a case of the Lions being more dependent on the play of their linebackers then ever before with the d-line getting dominated up front. A 37-year-old Tyrone Williams looks a lot better at defensive tackle right now than what Gibbs and Hunt are doing against the run.

So how can Wally/Benevides not find a place in their defence for what would be their most athletic and explosive defensive player in Jamal Johnson? Simply amazing and really a great concern they saw him as nothing more in him than a special teams player here. The fact that someone like Jerome Dennis, who indirectly lost his job to Darren Toney, is now rarely used in defensive situations, is invisible on special teams and is still here, tells you about the Lions overall talent level right now.

And shame on Wally for not properly addressing the departure of Rob Murphy in the off-season. The job was basically handed to Stith with token competition (Marquez) brought into camp late after Martin Bibla walked. Then Wally says after week two Stith is "not a good football player." Apparently it was something he didn't realize in the off-season. Now we have the son of Stef Kruk's neighbour as his replacement.
The o-line has been deplorable so far, often having trouble even with a 3-man rush.
But good news is on the way ... LU says the Lions have signed a new RB who will be at practice next week. Yep, Mallett has been such a problem so far.

[hwgill]

Chap doesn't need to be fired.IF HE IS ONLY THE RECEIVERS COACH!.

Kruck to OC would be the best move. Agree too with Glatt being released outright. But there is more to the problems, our O-line is a joke. How 5 guys can't stop three guys from getting to the QB is beyond me. Jiminez and Reid are the only two that are playing half-way decently. Valli should have been dumped years ago, and I think Stith was not as bad as the coaches made out. He played better than Murphy when Murphy came back last year. Who is sitting at right guard? That was one thing I missed, Valli was at left.

[Dan]

But good news is on the way ... LU says the Lions have signed a new RB who will be at practice next week. Yep, Mallett has been such a problem so far.

I actually heard it's a kick returner coming in next week. Been racking my brain trying to figure out who it might be and one name I thought of has been out of football for a little while but he did a hell of a job in Mtl. Remeber Ezra Landry, only 5'4 and 160 lbs but good wheels.

I know Glatt is Canadian, but come on, enough is enough. Juan Armour anyone.

[Rammer]

But good news is on the way ... LU says the Lions have signed a new RB who will be at practice next week. Yep, Mallett has been such a problem so far.

I actually heard it's a kick returner coming in next week. Been racking my brain trying to figure out who it might be and one name I thought of has been out of football for a little while but he did a hell of a job in Mtl. Remeber Ezra Landry, only 5'4 and 160 lbs but good wheels.

I know Glatt is Canadian, but come on, enough is enough. Juan Armour anyone.

The part that slays me on Glatt is the lack of wrapping up a ball carrier, it doesn't happen, how do you expose your D in the middle with a defender that can't tackle? Put him outside and bring in Armour, the D will take on a entirely new look.

[B.C.FAN]

I think the most likely change, and the easiest to make, is to replace Jeremy Gibbs with Jonathan Williams at defensive tackle. If Wally really wants to go against his nature, he could bring back Tyrone Williams. The Lions clearly have not found an adequate replacement for Tyrone as a run-stopper. Gibbs is being blown out of the hole and teams are running through him. He had no tackles last night and is on pace for 32 on the season. Despite his age and lack of mobility, Williams made 50 or 60 tackles a year, most of them made right at the line of scrimmage.

[pennw]

I think the most likely change, and the easiest to make, is to replace Jeremy Gibbs with Jonathan Williams at defensive tackle. If Wally really wants to go against his nature, he could bring back Tyrone Williams. The Lions clearly have not found an adequate replacement for Tyrone as a run-stopper. Gibbs is being blown out of the hole and teams are running through him. He had no tackles last night and is on pace for 32 on the season. Despite his age and lack of mobility, Williams made 50 or 60 tackles a year, most of them made right at the line of scrimmage.

That may be a way to go for this season , Big T is available , couldn't be worse than what is happening now .
However much of what happened in yesterdays game looked like bad defensive scheming . At the half that bit the panel showed on the bad defensive alignment was interesting . i believe it was Climie who showed it , where both DT's got sandwiched into one gap , then he showed the clip again and after the DT's had been surrounded and cut off , Glatt dives right into the sandwich voluntarily and gets sucked up too so all the defenders are contained in one ball . This allows Cobb to run around the whole pile of them for another big gain . Now who was to blame for that? D-C ? Of course Glatt did his part to eliminate himself when it was already obvious what was happening as he was standing free 5 yds back of the scrum and just ran into it . But the rest , they all got contained easily . That never happens to opposing D's against us , why does something so stupid happen to BC's D?

[Solar Max]

Chap doesn't need to be fired.IF HE IS ONLY THE RECEIVERS COACH!.

AS exhibit #1 Your Honour, I give you Ryan Grice-Mullen and Rufus Skillern, both awesomely adept at catching the football, anywhere on the field.

As I said before, you and I do the same type of job that the "Receivers Coach" does, and we're at the Food Bank. Luckily, at Wally's Country Club, life is good for non-performing coaches.

[WestCoastJoe]

However much of what happened in yesterdays game looked like bad defensive scheming . At the half that bit the panel showed on the bad defensive alignment was interesting . i believe it was Climie who showed it , where both DT's got sandwiched into one gap , then he showed the clip again and after the DT's had been surrounded and cut off , Glatt dives right into the sandwich voluntarily and gets sucked up too so all the defenders are contained in one ball . This allows Cobb to run around the whole pile of them for another big gain . Now who was to blame for that? D-C ? Of course Glatt did his part to eliminate himself when it was already obvious what was happening as he was standing free 5 yds back of the scrum and just ran into it . But the rest , they all got contained easily . That never happens to opposing D's against us , why does something so stupid happen to BC's D?

To me it is a head shaker when Glatt voluntarily goes and ties himself up with a blocker, as you pointed out above. Playing like a robot, as in: "I am supposed to cancel the gap, no matter that the play is going outside right and I am in the middle. So I will go into the scrum and get swallowed up by the black hole in there."

The guys on both O and D are playing like robots. Their heads are full of assignments, and they are not able to just play. They are pre-occupied and uptight.

And as I have harped on incessantly, the opponents have us precisely game-planned. Our habits are completely engrained. Our tendencies are thoroughly well-known, and we do not deviate from our tendencies. We would not look so bad if teams did not know what we are going to do on O and D.

People call for the heads of Jacques Chapdelaine and Mike Benevides. But they are just doing what Wally wants. Does anyone really think JChap wants to run Jarious on the goal-line plunge? Does anyone really think Benevides wants to run the 3-man prevent? Does anyone think the Lions' blitz tendencies are anything but what Wally wants? After all their years working with Wally, these coaches might prefer his ways anyway, but for now, it is all about what Wally wants.

Does anyone think the personnel decisions are anything but Wally's choices? Does anyone think having Javy in the middle is anything but Wally's decision? Barron Miles (past his time)? Gary Butler? Jamall Johnson? Tyler Ebell? Joe Smith? Kelly Bates? Et cetera, et cetera. The 4 - 2 defence? All Wally's decisions. What worked for 20 years has reached its "best before" date. Wally's schemes are outdated. His personnel decisions, which have been masterful over the years, now reflect shaky judgment, stubborness and some favoritism.

Despite Wally's grreat strengths, his weaknesses have always been there. They have been hidden by the superior personnel on the team and by schemes that were once dominant. Sad to say, like so many great athletes, coaches can stay too long also.

[West Coast Blue Fan]

I can't see Pasquale bringing back Ty Williams, although a great guy for leadership, his best before date for playing as come and gone......add to that equation that it makes Buono look like he is second guessing himself.

Glatt on the other hand is simply out of position. He is valuable in terms that he is a ratio buster, but MLB is just not suited for him. Switching from the now infamous 4-2-6 to a more standard for 4-3 seems to be the easiest adjustment. Move him to the SAM position, sign Armour or Hunt for MLB and have McKenzie at the WIL. Banks can still be brought in for dime coverage.

I do agree that we our simply getting outplayed at the OL and DL positions. Gibbs doesn't seem to be able to get the job done at tackle, so Hunt is being double teamed. Foley is certainly doing his best, but just doesn't have the same speed and force that Cam Wake did.....does anyone for that matter? Brent Johnston seems to be fading quickly and the subs of NML and Gary Butler have been totally ineffective. The pressure we had last season on the opposition isn't there....at all, and it places a lot more heat on our LB's and secondary to come up with something extraordinary. And to this point, we just haven't seen it. The OL has been something of an enigma. From the very beginning with guys leaving training camp, to Bates being moved, to the Stith experiment, it seems nothing has gone right. It doesn;t matter who's under center when defences know what play is coming and our guys can't block them. Kudos to Angus Reid and Jason Jimenez.....they have been the only bright spots here so far.

IMHO, I can't see us making wholesale changes for at least another 3-4 weeks. If and when that time rolls around and we find ourself 2-7 or shudder 1-8, I could see us making some outight releases and perhaps putting Glatt on the trading block in some sort of deal. I'm sure many teams would covet him....even though he seems mismatched here in Lotus land. It's also time for Roy Shivers to step up....enough with bringing in RB's. It's time to get some quality hogs for the D line and O line, not just bodies.

Replacing the OC or trying to bring back Dave Ritchie seems a little far fetched. Ritchie ain't comin back....and especially not for an assistants postion and pay. Papa Dave is probably more than happy sitting on his patio sipping a cool one than trying to turn this boat around, and I'm sure Mrs. Ritchie, one of the nicest coaches wives ever, wouldn't be too thrilled either.
Perhaps changing the playbook around from our 2006 version would be more helpful. It's been reported numerous times from players and scribes that teams simply know what we're doing in advance. Me thinks its time for Dorazio or Jchap or Pasquale to upgrade that ol' laptop that gets left behind and see something fresh by bringing in someone from outside the organization as a "consultant". Seems to have done well in Montreal and Toronto. The difficult part of this is, we're already 1/4 of the way in and again iMHO, Pasquale is too set in his ways.

Could make for a long season, but will certainly keep us all busy trying to come up with our solutions.

[pennw]

People call for the heads of Jacques Chapdelaine and Mike Benevides. But they are just doing what Wally wants. Does anyone really think JChap wants to run Jarious on the goal-line plunge? Does anyone really think Benevides wants to run the 3-man prevent? Does anyone think the Lions' blitz tendencies are anything but what Wally wants? After all their years working with Wally, these coaches might prefer his ways anyway, but for now, it is all about what Wally wants.

Exactly , couldn't agree more . Many like to point out JC's short coming , but I think much of that has to do with being JC WB's yes man . Ditto MB . There is no way those first and goal plays are JC's call , nor is the prevent D's style anything other than WB going into "safe" mode .
Perhaps WB needs to stop making any play calling decisions himself for a start , because he seems to have lost the nerve to 'play for the win' years ago already.

[TheLionKing]

People call for the heads of Jacques Chapdelaine and Mike Benevides. But they are just doing what Wally wants. Does anyone really think JChap wants to run Jarious on the goal-line plunge? Does anyone really think Benevides wants to run the 3-man prevent? Does anyone think the Lions' blitz tendencies are anything but what Wally wants? After all their years working with Wally, these coaches might prefer his ways anyway, but for now, it is all about what Wally wants.

Chapdelaine was the Associate coach with the Eskimos and was calling their offensive plays. It was an unmitigated disaster and the Esks had the good sense to fire his sorry ass in the off season. Look how well Edmonton's offence has improved with his departure. When questioned by reporters about Chap's possible return to the Lions, Buono stated that there were "no vacancy". It was only after some lobbying by some players that Chap returned as "receiver coach"

[WestCoastJoe]

I would keep starting Buck, as long as we win. If we lose, then start Jarius the next game and play him until he loses. So either the QB wins, or he's on the bench. Also try to get Lulay some playing time as he could No. 2 next season.

I like this. Merit pay. And time for Lulay to get some reps.

On defence we should bring in a new MLB with Javy and McKenzie on the outside. Move Banks to Nickle, (then possibly to Safety for next season).

I like this too. Hmmm I wonder if we could trade with Hamilton and get Jamall Johnson. I hear he is fast, with great instincts, hitting ability and tackling ability.

Go back to the 4 - 3 D, with McKenzie and Glatt on the outside. I agree. These 2 guys are being asked to play a formation that cannot stop the running game, and they need the support of a top notch middle linebacker type. Not easy to find. Give Nande a shot at it. He has the physical tools. See if he has the instincts and skills.

As for coaches, I put it on Wally, as I have said before. His coaches do what he wants. He can be a dominating figure in that respect. If any coaching changes are to be made, I would start at the top. They are implementing his philosophy, which is very, very conservative.

[TheLionKing]

I would keep starting Buck, as long as we win. If we lose, then start Jarius the next game and play him until he loses. So either the QB wins, or he's on the bench. Also try to get Lulay some playing time as he could No. 2 next season.

I would stick with Buck Pierce win or lose. There would be less continuity with the offence if we keep switching back and forth. If Buono thinks Pierce is the future quarterback with the Lions play him. He can only improve by playing, not holding the clipboard.