Redblacks vs. Lions Sept. 11, 2021

[SammyGreene]

Refreshing to see the explosive start and a lot of big plays lead the Lions to victory, especially at home and after a dud of a performance 2 weeks earlier against Edmonton.
Perhaps an asterisk is required given it was the RedBlacks but this is what the Lions should be capable of doing on a more regular basis. A good chunk of their salary cap has been spent on the offensive side of the ball and the games need to reflect that.

-Lucky Whitehead has been a great find. About time they started using him on returns too but I understand the wear and tear it can be. But a game-breaking talent, with a marketable name and personality.

-Not a huge fan of Shaq Cooper and the fact Rainey is a clone of him. Just wonder what a bigger and more punishing back like a Joe Smith or Calgary's Ka'Deem Carey or Edmonton's James Wilder would look like. Cooper opting to step out of bounds 2 yards short of the marker was not impressive.

-I actually went into the season thinking we may need to win games 35-30 based on a lot of question marks on defence, especially the front 7. That unit has performed better than expected and, looking at the rest of the league, the Lions could be on their way to their best season in years.

-Still would like to see a more consistent pass rush and not sure what is going on with the ratio since they had to activate 2 American kickers. Starting 8 nationals is great but is Thompson only there because they want the added depth on the d-line? Not sure if SAM is the most ideal spot to be utilizing Sayles either. Maybe Cottoy for Hatcher if Durant returns next week to get an American back at safety? Are the Lions a better team with Cottoy or Thompson starting?
Just think it might come back to bite them with these tougher games coming up not having your best starting 12 on the field.

Hladik and Konar are sure seeing more playing time to spell off Williams and Lokombo than 2019 starter Guzylak-Messam.

Going to be a fun stretch with the trip to Montreal then 3 huge home games. Too bad the limited capacity will be in effect for each of them.

Would sure like Blitz's take on this year's Leos especially with many new coaches, coordinators and players.

[DanoT]

I think it has taken a while for the new coaching staff to realize how impactful Cottoy can be and I agree that once Durant is back, Cottoy should be moved over to Hatcher's spot. Hatcher though, had a very good first game and actually did more in one game than Rhymes has been able to do all season.

What can be said about Lucky Whitehead, other than he is THE off season CFL free agent signing.

Another great game from Lokombo. And Jordon Williams, though not quite as noticeable in this game, are there any other better rookie seasons going on elsewhere in the CFL?

[Hambone]

Up by 29 points to start the 4th quarter and they don't put in the backup QB?? Complete nonsense. I started cheering for Reilly to take a pounding, I was so pissed off.

I thought he might come out one series earlier. Then I noticed he was something like 13 yards shy of 300 on the night so wondered if they'd give him a chance to get that. 300 yds passing has become a QB game milestone similar to 100 yds rushing for a RB or 100 yards receiving for a receiver.

[Dusty]

I was very impressed by Cottoy last season and it is great that he is making it tough to come off the field this year. He is a great talent.

On Hatcher, it was an impressive debut, but I wonder if he had come back for the ball on the goal line, it would not have been intercepted. He played that pass (and to be truthful, it was a soft throw from Reilly) similar to his TD pass.... run as step or two over the goal line, turn and wait for the ball to come to him. Worked once, but not the second time.

[BC 1988]

I agree with other posters Rick Campbell's decision to leave Mike Reilly in til 2 minutes remaining in the game is absurd. Someone should tell Campbell that the Lions were up 29 points and in no jeopardy of losing this game. If ever there is a time to give your backup some quality playing time, it's this game. To put Rourke in for 2 handoffs is ridiculous.

How much of a lead do the Lions need to rest a QB who is too injured to do full practice since before TC? Do they have to have a 39 or 49 or 59 point lead? I wish Campbell would give us a number or a decent reason for his bizarre coaching decision.

Campbell was quoted about Rourke on Halford & Brough (and they reminded him of that a following week) that "I hope he never sees the field this season" because "Michael is our guy".

So it will take a real mobility limiting injury (or a broken wrist like 2019) to do that. I haven't re-watched it on the pvr yet (I was at the game last night) but there was something alluded to in the highlights that the elbow put Reilly starting in doubt at game time. He looked vintage 2015 to start, but started deteriorating later on--the end zone pick was a bad decision, and a couple of times he tried desperation running with no safe sliding and wasn't even close to getting the first down.

[DanoT]

Campbell sounds like a coach, just thinking about the current season, but he is a Co-Gm now and needs to start thinking about developing the next "He's our guy at QB" because Reilly is nearing the end of his career.

[CrazyCanuck89]

Refreshing to see the explosive start and a lot of big plays lead the Lions to victory, especially at home and after a dud of a performance 2 weeks earlier against Edmonton.
Perhaps an asterisk is required given it was the RedBlacks but this is what the Lions should be capable of doing on a more regular basis. A good chunk of their salary cap has been spent on the offensive side of the ball and the games need to reflect that.

-Lucky Whitehead has been a great find. About time they started using him on returns too but I understand the wear and tear it can be. But a game-breaking talent, with a marketable name and personality.

-Not a huge fan of Shaq Cooper and the fact Rainey is a clone of him. Just wonder what a bigger and more punishing back like a Joe Smith or Calgary's Ka'Deem Carey or Edmonton's James Wilder would look like. Cooper opting to step out of bounds 2 yards short of the marker was not impressive.

-I actually went into the season thinking we may need to win games 35-30 based on a lot of question marks on defence, especially the front 7. That unit has performed better than expected and, looking at the rest of the league, the Lions could be on their way to their best season in years.

-Still would like to see a more consistent pass rush and not sure what is going on with the ratio since they had to activate 2 American kickers. Starting 8 nationals is great but is Thompson only there because they want the added depth on the d-line? Not sure if SAM is the most ideal spot to be utilizing Sayles either. Maybe Cottoy for Hatcher if Durant returns next week to get an American back at safety? Are the Lions a better team with Cottoy or Thompson starting?
Just think it might come back to bite them with these tougher games coming up not having your best starting 12 on the field.

Hladik and Konar are sure seeing more playing time to spell off Williams and Lokombo than 2019 starter Guzylak-Messam.

Going to be a fun stretch with the trip to Montreal then 3 huge home games. Too bad the limited capacity will be in effect for each of them.

Would sure like Blitz's take on this year's Leos especially with many new coaches, coordinators and players.

Thompson can stay at safety, remember just cause you can play an American at Safety, doesn't mean you have to.

[Sir Purrcival]

I echo the sentiments re: Cottoy. He needs to stay in the line up for two reasons.
He is a huge target.
He can be a punishing after catch runner. At his size and weight he could literally run over some DB's.

It also occurs to me that if put in the right position, he could be held in for extra pass protection when pressure is expected. He is big and strong enough to act in the capacity of a full back when the situation arises and lord knows when Reilly is sitting back in the pocket taking 5 steamboats looking for that long route, he could use some extra protection.

With regards to the pass rush, the RB's were getting rid of the ball pretty quickly for the most part. Because of that, the Lions went to the 3 man rush a lot of the time to shore up the secondary cover. They still didn't do a great job IMO of making that coverage effective. I'm not sure if it was just a case of letting up with a big score or something more problematic but the RB's had struggled most of the night and to let them march up and down a couple of times near the end was a bit silly. Would much rather use some of that time helping to develop our backup QB by having him run the O for a few downs. We may need him if Reilly continues to take the unnecessary hits he took last night. Also we need a more effective run game as has been mentioned. A good pound up the middle back is lacking right now and in tight games, that is essential.

[B.C.FAN]

Sayles was impressive last night at nickelback. He had 5 tackles, a sack, a forced fumble and a knockdown that Ottawa unsuccessfully challenged for pass interference. One of his tackles forced a turnover on downs. I’m surprised by Cioffi’s apparent fall from grace. He started all 18 games at nickel for Rick Campbell in 2019 and held the position from the opening of training camp until being benched and then scratched in the past two games against his old team.

[David]

[*]Best home game to attend in years. Sure, only 12, 000 and change on hand (no reason we should not be able to open the entire lower bowl if vaccine passports are being implemented ) but the building was rocking and the Leos seemed to feed off the energy in the stadium. Awesome intro video before the Leos take the field. The stadium goes dark and the excitement builds with the rush of players running out of the tunnel.

[*]Huge upgrades to this team since 2019. Far more explosive. When was the last time we played without our starting wideout and slotback and not missed a beat (some might argue actually improved?). It's been said before but Lucky Whitehead was a stroke of genius signing. Not sure why WPG let him walk. Among our MVP finalists so far this season.

[*] Run blocking needs some work. Pass protection was stellar, giving Reilly lots of time to find an open receiver, but we're just not clearing big enough holes (zone blocking) for Cooper and Rainey. Would welcome back Wayne Moore and his punishing style of running. Also, seeing what FB David Mackie can do (like Calgary's balanced attack with Milanovic-Litre)

[*] I still think we're one disruptive defensive tackle/end away from being a dominant team. D-line shows flashes, but I've seen QBs have far too much time to set up and find an open receiver this season. We're very solid at linebacker and (thankfully) in the defensive backfield. Too many first downs from 2nd and long last night.

[*] It seemed to be a younger crowd in attendance last night. Plenty in the 20-30-year old age range and many young kids as well. DJ played lots of 90s party tunes and got everyone fired up (Whoomp There It Is, California Love, Strike It Up, What Is Love etc). Jump Around works really well as our touchdown song. DJ did a great 2-part Bohemian Rhapsody sing-a-long around consecutive huddles that jacked up the crowd. They need to introduce "Roar You Lions, Roar" though. Al Wilson (and his grandkids?) sang it which was good, but they just went right to it on the Jumbotron. It needed some MC work.


DH

[B.C.FAN]

I echo the sentiments re: Cottoy. He needs to stay in the line up for two reasons.
He is a huge target.
He can be a punishing after catch runner. At his size and weight he could literally run over some DB's.

It also occurs to me that if put in the right position, he could be held in for extra pass protection when pressure is expected. He is big and strong enough to act in the capacity of a full back when the situation arises and lord knows when Reilly is sitting back in the pocket taking 5 steamboats looking for that long route, he could use some extra protection.

I watched Cottoy for most of the game. His TD was a difficult backside catch where he had to switch from his right shoulder to his left at the last minute. Reilly described it on the postgame show as the pivotal play they wanted to run with the right matchup. Other than that, Cottoy was used largely as a checkdown receiver in the first half. He was kept in tight and used almost entirely as a blocker in the second half, helping protect Reilly and seal the backside on running plays. The Lions still haven’t used him to his full potential.

[TheLionKing]

That PA announcer sure loves hearing his own voice. 2nd and looooooooooooooong

[Dusty]

That PA announcer sure loves hearing his own voice. 2nd and looooooooooooooong

That means that the backfield will drop back far enough for the PA to announce First Down XXX.....

[BC 1988]

[*]Best home game to attend in years. Sure, only 12, 000 and change on hand (no reason we should not be able to open the entire lower bowl if vaccine passports are being implemented ) but the building was rocking and the Leos seemed to feed off the energy in the stadium. Awesome intro video before the Leos take the field. The stadium goes dark and the excitement builds with the rush of players running out of the tunnel.
[*] It seemed to be a younger crowd in attendance last night. Plenty in the 20-30-year old age range and many young kids as well. DJ played lots of 90s party tunes and got everyone fired up (Whoomp There It Is, California Love, Strike It Up, What Is Love etc). Jump Around works really well as our touchdown song. DJ did a great 2-part Bohemian Rhapsody sing-a-long around consecutive huddles that jacked up the crowd. They need to introduce "Roar You Lions, Roar" though. Al Wilson (and his grandkids?) sang it which was good, but they just went right to it on the Jumbotron. It needed some MC work.
DH

Yes the stadium experience was very good. The tiny London Drugs cowbells was a nice touch. Amazing how much noise you can make with those. I grabbed a 2nd one from the stack on the table when I was leaving the game (my friend will probably go to a future game with me later in the season). The only thing is that sometimes the "clapper" would lodge in the crimp and have to be freed up. Seems you have to hold the bell in a couple of precise ways to avoid that happening. They even worked "more cowbell" into the "make some noise" graphic.

I see the Lions Dance Team is now called something else and they are (due to COVID) confined to a catwalk area off the field.

It was funny watching the finger pointing selector spinning over the various options-- "Kiss Cam". etc--and you knew full well it was never going to stop on that (again due to COVID).

I agree Jump Around is a great TD song--and there were plenty of opportunities to hear it. (Macho Man) Camacho was only called upon to kick one FG--good for us, but not for the charity that it said on the scoreboard would receive $1000 per FG.

I saw the new owner in the Lions bench area watching a bit of the warmup--nice to see him take a few minutes before embarking on his busy schedule. He later reappeared during the Happy Birthday Geroy segment.

[Gridiron Ernie]

Have enjoyed all you guys' comments on the Leos' entertaining game last night. JC Abbot has chimed in nicely with his take on things as well, over at 3DownN. https://3downnation.com/2021/09/12/luck ... of-ottawa/ I agree with the general consensus, that young Mr. Rourke should be given game-time experience in situations such as last night. Reilly's rationalizing (citing Montreal/Vernon Adams) was weak. Not convincing at all. And neither, as many have mentioned, is the Lions' ground game convincing so far this season. We all know how important that can be on the long run, down the stretch. But hats off to the coaches and players for an entertaining night! I almost feel guilty registering complaints. But, yeah, more Cottoy downfield would seem a no-brainer ongoing.