Lions 36 - Alouettes 14 Post Game Stats and Comments

[Sir Purrcival]

Ok, was at the game today and this was my impression.

Left way too many points on the field. After two possessions in the first Q. both starting with excellent field possession, we had a grand total of 5 points.

Paris Jackson, big thumbs down today. Normally love the guy but takes an Offside penalty on an Als punt, gives them a first down. Continues a drive that result ins TD
Later gets an objectionable conduct call away from the play when we are trying to play a ball control game.

Dante Marsh. Makes a nice interception and runs it down to the end zone but ends up stepping out without help on the three. Instead of the TD, we now get to bring the O back in because he couldn't keep awareness of where he was on the field. Guess who gets sacked for a big play on first down and then gets hurt running to get the TD on 2nd down. 2 plays and 2 hits that shouldn't have happened and depending on how bad Travis may be hurt, could be far more costly.

This game should have been a gimme and over by the end of the third. We had ball possession twice as much as the Als by the end of the first half. We were facing a team without

starting QB
starting RB
#1 receiver
their best Olineman

I will give some credit for the poor offensive showing by the Als to our D. They did show a noticeable improvement in pressuring the opposing QB. But it is also true that the opposition was horrible on O. The Als had a grand total of 2 yards offence at the half. Should be a blow out right. Nope, we had something like 47. Travis is throwing balls that should not be thrown. Mostly into coverage. We had some costly picks today and then tossed in some fumbles to boot. Against better opposition, this would not be the same outcome.

All in all the D played pretty well but there was some incredibly lame tacking on the London TD.

If I had to call it right now, this team would be a pretender, not a contender. They have some decent talent. Taylor played quite will today but I also noticed that he got more action after DeMarco came in. Travis seems to prefer throwing to Arcenaux.

As for the game planning it was a toss up. There was a decent anti blitz package but there were also a lot of passes along the line of scrimmage that resulted in little gain or a loss.

Kudos to DeMarco for stepping in and handling the situation well. Best I have seen him play thus far. He impressed me with his on field presence. The O looked better with him at the helm than it did with Travis. Can't say why that is but he is certainly struggling.

This was not a pretty game to watch. Looked more like a preseason game at points. The Als have traditionally struggled here even under the best of circumstances so for them to continue that tradition playing with "Team Training Camp" is no surprise. That the Lions seems to be struggling as bad in some areas was hard to sit through. They are running out of time to figure it out and they won't prevail in the post season playing like this especially if they are in hostile territory which seems probable.

[David]

One of the coolest, most bizarre things happened in the 4th quarter. With the Lions well in command, the defense feeling pretty good about themselves, and the crowd jacked-up during a commercial timeout, the in-house DJ (who'd been playing AWESOME party tunes all afternoon - kudos! ) lays down this track called "Cupid Shuffle" (that was a dance craze down south several years ago). Well, the players start feeling the vibe, the crowds all clapping in unison getting hyped by the players, and suddenly the whole defense (i.e. Dante, Ryan, and Korey) are bustin' out their dance moves. Hilarious!!

[video][/video]


DH

[MexicoLionFan]

Well, as Joe said, it just goes to show everyone that Chapdelaine can design and call an effective game if he wants to or has to...why it has taken so long to develop an effective anti blitz package, I will never understand, but at least it arrived...however, Lulay didn't play his best game, and was far to inconsistent with his throws...coming into the home stretch our offence is still just trying to find its identity and some consistentcy...Lulay had a great 2nd quarter, but struggled in the 1st, 3rd and 4th...so much more work to do before this group challenges anyone...

Defensively, Stuber knew this was a must win game so he came with stunts and pressure early...after that, he tended to lay back, and Montreal's two awful QBs began to make plays...and this has to be disconcerting for Lion's fans as every time ANY QB we face gets time to throw, they light us up...

STs were better, Tim Brown was dangerous all night, and coverage was good for the most part...but too many penalties...against better teams these will cost us...

So, while we won, and we finally showed some effective schemes and plays to defeat the blitz, that effort won't beat ANY decent CFL team...the Lions have continued to show themselves as a group of underachievers that are ultimately playing pretty average football.

As TLK said, now the fun begins...this is when we find out how good or bad we truly are...as for Lulay's shoulder, it doesn't look good...as I said earlier this week, the Buck signing was a good move...nice to get a win.

[Upper Bowl]

One of the coolest, most bizarre things happened in the 4th quarter. With the Lions well in command, the defense feeling pretty good about themselves, and the crowd jacked-up during a commercial timeout, the in-house DJ (who'd been playing AWESOME party tunes all afternoon - kudos! ) lays down this track called "Cupid Shuffle" (that was a dance craze down south several years ago). Well, the players start feeling the vibe, the crowds all clapping in unison getting hyped by the players, and suddenly the whole defense (i.e. Dante, Ryan, and Korey) are bustin' out their dance moves. Hilarious!!

[video][/video]


DH

That was a very cool moment that connected the fans and the players and engaged the crowd in the game. I suppose it could be seen as clowning around, but I think defensive players especially feed off that type of energy. And I agree about the music choices. They've never been better.


Another tidbit that wasn't picked up on the TV broadcast was an altercation between Moore and Chapdelaine in the first quarter. As Moore was coming back to the sideline, Jaques frustratingly clapped his hands and appeared to be scolding Nick for not making that TD grab in the end zone, which forced the Lions to settle for a field goal, making it 5-0.

Moore angrily fired back at Chaps, and it appeared to be over, but then he started walking in Jaques' direction and a couple players had to intervene.

I was surprised to see Chaps do that. Sure, maybe Moore could have gone up and made that catch, but it's not like it was a flat-out drop (like the ball he dropped late in the fourth). I guess it just underscores the urgency, and maybe pressure, Jaques was feeling at the beginning of the game.

On the radio, Moj said the Lions coaches were noticeably getting on the players a lot more than usual on the sideline. Maybe the staff agreed to take Wally's cue to start lighting fires under the players' butts.

[TheLionKing]

One of the coolest, most bizarre things happened in the 4th quarter. With the Lions well in command, the defense feeling pretty good about themselves, and the crowd jacked-up during a commercial timeout, the in-house DJ (who'd been playing AWESOME party tunes all afternoon - kudos! ) lays down this track called "Cupid Shuffle" (that was a dance craze down south several years ago). Well, the players start feeling the vibe, the crowds all clapping in unison getting hyped by the players, and suddenly the whole defense (i.e. Dante, Ryan, and Korey) are bustin' out their dance moves. Hilarious!!

[video][/video]


DH

I noticed that too. There are a couple of good dancers with good moves on that defence.

[TheLionKing]

Well, as Joe said, it just goes to show everyone that Chapdelaine can design and call an effective game if he wants to or has to...why it has taken so long to develop an effective anti blitz package,

That's why it so frustrating. It seems Chapdelaine adapts only when the heat is really on. Gradually he falls into his old routine of the same old, same old.

[thelloyds@rogers.com]

Good Morning Lionbackers,

Major improvement over last week, Chapdelaine really responded well, 2 weeks too late mind you. I like double tight ends move, slide-blocking and quick hitters, it opens up deeper stuff with a better chance to complete that pass. Is anybody seeing Lulay losing his ability to protect the ball? Bad decisions to throw off the run and trying to run when he should be getting the ball to those guys in the flat and let them take the punishment. I'm concerned that he's hurt but he's got the poster boy for poor judgement and taking too many hits back on the sidelines with him, and he tries to pound that ball into the endzone like he's Rollie Lumbala? Not smart,courageous maybe but dumb play. D was great, all around, liked seeing Anton Mckenzie out there again, highly under-rated line backer, he's always played well for them. Rotating in new faces and old ones on the D-line kept them fresh and hungry. Happy for DeMarco, crisp passer, playing the system smartly, as long as they keep the system within his capabilities they will do alright. Montreal really has to get their QB situation straightened out, that interception to Bighill was really bad, he was so surprised the ball was underthrown so badly. Turnovers and ball protection, big issue, best ball protector and most consistent carrier of the ball, Tim Brown, that guy could catch a ball in a hurricane he just is such a huge factor for them I hope Wally sees that. Good win to start a trend now they have to win on the road!

[WestCoastJoe]

Good Morning Lionbackers,

Major improvement over last week, Chapdelaine really responded well, 2 weeks too late mind you. I like double tight ends move, slide-blocking and quick hitters, it opens up deeper stuff with a better chance to complete that pass. Is anybody seeing Lulay losing his ability to protect the ball? Bad decisions to throw off the run and trying to run when he should be getting the ball to those guys in the flat and let them take the punishment. I'm concerned that he's hurt but he's got the poster boy for poor judgement and taking too many hits back on the sidelines with him, and he tries to pound that ball into the endzone like he's Rollie Lumbala? Not smart,courageous maybe but dumb play. D was great, all around, liked seeing Anton Mckenzie out there again, highly under-rated line backer, he's always played well for them. Rotating in new faces and old ones on the D-line kept them fresh and hungry. Happy for DeMarco, crisp passer, playing the system smartly, as long as they keep the system within his capabilities they will do alright. Montreal really has to get their QB situation straightened out, that interception to Bighill was really bad, he was so surprised the ball was underthrown so badly. Turnovers and ball protection, big issue, best ball protector and most consistent carrier of the ball, Tim Brown, that guy could catch a ball in a hurricane he just is such a huge factor for them I hope Wally sees that. Good win to start a trend now they have to win on the road!

Welcome to the site.

Noticed your contributions last week as well.

[WestCoastJoe]

Another tidbit that wasn't picked up on the TV broadcast was an altercation between Moore and Chapdelaine in the first quarter. As Moore was coming back to the sideline, Jaques frustratingly clapped his hands and appeared to be scolding Nick for not making that TD grab in the end zone, which forced the Lions to settle for a field goal, making it 5-0.

Moore angrily fired back at Chaps, and it appeared to be over, but then he started walking in Jaques' direction and a couple players had to intervene.

I was surprised to see Chaps do that. Sure, maybe Moore could have gone up and made that catch, but it's not like it was a flat-out drop (like the ball he dropped late in the fourth). I guess it just underscores the urgency, and maybe pressure, Jaques was feeling at the beginning of the game.

Well, imagine Jacques getting after a receiver for a dropped pass.

That business between JC and Moore does not good. Sounds like Moore was about to do something damaging to his career. You are not going to win a disagreement with a coach. Good thing his teammates got in the way.

Not surprised Korey and Dante and Ryan have dance moves.

[Toppy Vann]

This from the Beamish column is what I could not disagree with Buck Pierce about any more than I do:

“That’s not true of every quarterback,” he said. “It’s true of Travis. That’s the way he plays, and why he is who he is. People told me not to do that for years and years. But we needed a touchdown right there. He’s done it a bunch of times, and nothing happens. It’s football. It’s the way things are, and the way things go. I hope he’s OK.”

Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/foot ... z2f3ydGXqp

Lulay is the QB of a 12 man offense. He has other weapons and if it comes down to the last play of the game to win or tie or near the last play - then do it. But the Lions were up and nicely in hand.

Lulay and Buck need to trust their team to score from the 5 or where ever Lulay should have gone out.

With Buck getting hurt so much, it frustrates me that he is not understanding that as you get a bit older you can't take those huge hits the way you do in college.

It is no different than the guy driving the police car to the scene of a serious crime in progress or the ambulance driving to save a heart attack or a fire truck racing to fire with victims in the house. Their most important job on the way is one thing drilled into them before they ever drive Code 3 with lights and sirens. Their first job - GET THERE SAFELY. They teach you that if you crash you put a lot of lives at risk so get to the place you are going - not take dumb risks.

I worked in a saw mill before and during university. We had jam ups in the saw mill and in 1968 if our head rig was not cutting logs we were losing $600 a minute BUT our rule was safety first despite that.

Lulay hurt for the balance of the year helps no one.

If Buck comes in and does the dumb thing - quite frankly he'll be out of playing chances. How do they not get this??? It is frustrating.

[Blitz]

Lulay had passed for -1 yard in the second half of the game up to that point and had thrown two interceptions in the second half. He probably would have made the attempt to score the touchdown anyway, rather than go out of bounds, but I wonder if he wasn't extra motivated to score by his three interceptions and fumble in this game.

Whatever.....all we can hope for is that its not a serious injury. In the meantime, DeMarco came in and looked very good against the full out blitz (Montreal brought in against him) and made good reads and good throws to lead us on our only offensive drive in the second half. At least that brief performance eases a bit of anxiety and the comments from DeMarco's teammates after the game (he got a game ball) show they have a lot of confidence in him.

If Lulay cannot go next week then the decision to trade for Buck looks even wiser.

Playing the Riders next Sunday, in their back yard will be the toughest challenge we have faced this season. We really do not want to go into that game with such an inexperienced quarterback as DeMarco. Its just not the right situation for him for him to get his first start. Nor would it be for Buck, who is still learning our offence and the misdirection aspects that were not here when Buck played for our Leos the first time.

Lulay did not believe his shoulder was seriously hurt but its also his throwing shoulder. I guess we'll all have to wait to find out what Lulay's prognosis is today or tomorrow.

[Big Time]

One of the coolest, most bizarre things happened in the 4th quarter. With the Lions well in command, the defense feeling pretty good about themselves, and the crowd jacked-up during a commercial timeout, the in-house DJ (who'd been playing AWESOME party tunes all afternoon - kudos! ) lays down this track called "Cupid Shuffle" (that was a dance craze down south several years ago). Well, the players start feeling the vibe, the crowds all clapping in unison getting hyped by the players, and suddenly the whole defense (i.e. Dante, Ryan, and Korey) are bustin' out their dance moves. Hilarious!!

[video][/video]


DH

Really glad you mentioned this. I thought it was an incredible moment, and I don't know if it got caught on camera. It was during the review after a Lions interception at the 5 yard line. You know the defense is playing loose and with attitude when they break out the dance moves during the stoppages in play. Last night the Lions defense played with a huge attitude. There was no way they were going to lose yesterday.

Last time I saw that was in the Grey Cup game in 2011 after Arland Bruce scored a TD to put the Lions up for good. The team was dancing and having a good time on the field. When I see those things, i think to myself that if the offense could ever get on track, this team could do something special.

[DanoT]

The dance moves where not shown on TV (or i somehow missed it) but the TSN crew mentioned it with a big

As far as DeMarco goes: he is not very big, not very fast and does not have an overly strong arm, but I am pretty sure that he is an accurate passer which along with reading D (not sure about that ability) is the #1 trait that a QB needs.

I thought DeMarco made a great move in the open field on a would be tackler that got him a first down by running and extended his touchdown drive. This guy is a scrapper and over achiever who no doubt has been told throughout his career that he is not big enough or good enough. Apparently it just motivates him to prove his critics are wrong. I like this guy.

[274always]

This was actually the Als' best performance at new BC place since their first 43-1 pasting there and that they managed to keep at 15-7 late in the third was quite the feat.

[notahomer]

Watched the replay on TSN2 last night.....

#59 that I complained about was Bourke. I still do not know why he did not get a flag for head-butting that one play but I didn't see it caught on camera, I only noticed it in the stadium. Watching on TV, I could see why he did some of the things he did, I'm sure he's loved by the QBs and RBs on the Als. Nasty but does his job.

IMO, the defence won us this game. Yes, they did not actually score us any points (I know their excellent work helped cause a safety, but that was conceded). In spite of that two interceptions were returned inside of the 5 yard line. Big plays when they were needed.

Even in the stadium I thought the Tisdale throw would be a pick. That replay screen is awesome. Watching again at home, I got lots of looks and it was the play of the day on either team, IMO.

I just really liked seeing the run game involved. BC FAN rightly links most football wins/losses to the turnover battle. For me when a team is getting its tail kicked, the lack of run seems to be involved. Either it never seem to be tried (Lions) or a team claims it had to go away from it due to early failure. IMO, one dimensional teams are the ones who struggle. There were times the Al's stacked that line but Harris (courtesy that Oline) seemed have success anyways. I realize its not that simple but having a team 'force' you to do something (or in this case, not do something) is a warning sign.