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Even more reason why Reilly should have been yanked after the Lions built up a commanding lead.
I had the exact same thought. Campbell saying that Reilly is his QB and it is Reilly's team may sound like a good thing to say in an interview but in the real world the Lions are playing with a banged up QB that it sounds like needs to get his elbow injected so he can play.
Not playing the backup QB when a 29 point lead could safely give the backup QB needed playing time, is proof that smart coaches say and do stupid things.
Even more reason why Reilly should have been yanked after the Lions built up a commanding lead.
I had the exact same thought. Campbell saying that Reilly is his QB and it is Reilly's team may sound like a good thing to say in an interview but in the real world the Lions are playing with a banged up QB that it sounds like needs to get his elbow injected so he can play.
Not playing the backup QB when a 29 point lead could safely give the backup QB needed playing time, is proof that smart coaches say and do stupid things.
Other than his elbow, is Reilly banged up? They already said that over use isn't an issue... and I don't mind keeping Reilly in. This offense needs as many reps as it can get together, especially with the injuries we have had in the receiving corp.
I do agree that I would like to see Rourke get some more reps in garbage time, just to continue his development because I think he might have a future... but I also think it is important to let our offense gain as much confidence together as early as possible. If this was game 8 or 9 and the offense had plenty of time to gel, I think we see Rourke, but it is still fairly early so I think Campbell was smart to keep the starters punching away and gaining confidence together.
Its time for Campbell to get Bourke some reps. Web know its likely that Reilly could be injured with his style of play and then we will expect Rourke to save our season with little game time experience. Reilly seems to have a lot of influence. . Maybe too much. Why not announce up front that
Rourke will start and play the first quarter and pull him if it falters cause Reilly has made it clear that he will not accept being pulled from a game even when we are miles ahead against an inept team. Hoiw come he gets that choice?
Are you suggesting we don't start the QB with the most passing yards in the league right now? And Campbell is a Grey Cup champion coach, I don't think Reilly has as much influence as posters on here think.
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.
Thanks for the link, Ernie. I agree with Abbott about the effectiveness of the makeshift receiving corps:
Uniformity can render a passing offence predictable and dull, but Lions have game breakers like Whitehead alongside bruisers like Cottoy. The result is a varied attack that is awfully hard to cover and, frankly, this group may have worked better together than with Durant and Rhymes in the mix. That’s not to say the team shouldn’t want either of those players back as soon as possible, but they won’t be missed nearly as much as they might have been in years past.
I've been hoping since the start of training camp that the coaching staff would realize the Lions are better with Cottoy on the field. No one else has his combination of size and skill. He has been used mainly as a blocker and checkdown receiver in the past two games, much as the Lions used Cory Watson as a bruising inside slot in 2018. Cottoy is taller and heavier than Watson and has excellent hands.
The Lions haven't tapped into Rhymes' potential, partly because Lucky Whitehead has staked a claim to the boundary wideout position, leaving Rhymes to play a lower profile role on the wide side of the field.
There is a way to get Cottoy more reps on offence without changing the ratio or dropping one of the starting receivers, and that's by using him in place of David Mackie on first down and short yardage as a blocking fullback and tight end. Both players are good blockers but Cottoy is a much better receiver. Cottoy doesn't have to be a ballcarrier to play fullback. Mackie has zero carries in his 3-year career, and just 9 receptions. He's not an offensive threat in the way that Cottoy is.
Cottoy has the body type of a NFL tight-end with the agility and speed of a receiver. He is going to be an absolute beast if he keeps working hard and developing.
I watched tge video of whitheads td return and hge got 3 great blocks first on was by Jordan Williams and tge Lokombo took out two red blacks in quick succession i thought he made a bloick and hit one defender into the second bone but No it was 2 separate blocks that reallygot us the TD.
I think some credit should go to the officiating crew last game. Only 10 penalties were called the whole game (that would basically be one quarter of work for Al Bradbury ) which appeared to speed up the game and was appreciated. They appeared to let some of the marginal "pass interference" stuff go that usually gets called....the type of call where the defender is going for the ball and his hand is on the receiver's hip.
I also looked for a flag on the field after Lucky's TD...out of habit!
When it comes to the debate over whether or not Reilly should have taken a seat earlier I think what one will find is that the Campbell did what all HCs do in that situation. An HC, CFL or NFL, will almost never pull his starter with over 7-1/2 minutes to go when the team, and in particular offense, is playing well and/or have a big lead. It sends the message to the rest of the team that "hey we have this one in the bag" which players on both sides of the ball can interpret as we can ease up now, game's over. You don't ever want the players to start thinking that way until victory formation time. In BC's case the offense wasn't playing particularly well in the second half with 3 two and outs out of their 4 second half possessions leading up to Reilly's final series.
If coaches are going to pull the starter while holding a big lead they will wait until inside of 3 or 4 minutes. If the opposite is true and his team is trailing big it's quite a different story. Teams don't get into that situation because their QB and offense has been playing well all game long which in turn makes it much easier to justify making the switch a lot earlier than if they were leading big.
As Saturday unfolded there was 7:39 to go when Reilly started what I think would have been his final series regardless of what transpired. Had it been a relatively short possession the next time BC got the ball back would have been with more like 3 or 4 minutes left. As it turned out he engineered a nice clock consuming 4-1/2 minute drive (just what the doc ordered) for a short FG leaving not a lot left for Rourke once he got in. It could also be that given BC had only 2 minutes of possession over the previous 13 minutes of play Campbell wanted to see if the offense couldn't spring back to life for one more series.
You're as old as you've ever been and as young as you're ever going to be.
When it comes to the debate over whether or not Reilly should have taken a seat earlier I think what one will find is that the Campbell did what all HCs do in that situation. An HC, CFL or NFL, will almost never pull his starter with over 7-1/2 minutes to go when the team, and in particular offense, is playing well and/or have a big lead. It sends the message to the rest of the team that "hey we have this one in the bag" which players on both sides of the ball can interpret as we can ease up now, game's over. You don't ever want the players to start thinking that way until victory formation time. In BC's case the offense wasn't playing particularly well in the second half with 3 two and outs out of their 4 second half possessions leading up to Reilly's final series.
If coaches are going to pull the starter while holding a big lead they will wait until inside of 3 or 4 minutes. If the opposite is true and his team is trailing big it's quite a different story. Teams don't get into that situation because their QB and offense has been playing well all game long which in turn makes it much easier to justify making the switch a lot earlier than if they were leading big.
As Saturday unfolded there was 7:39 to go when Reilly started what I think would have been his final series regardless of what transpired. Had it been a relatively short possession the next time BC got the ball back would have been with more like 3 or 4 minutes left. As it turned out he engineered a nice clock consuming 4-1/2 minute drive (just what the doc ordered) for a short FG leaving not a lot left for Rourke once he got in. It could also be that given BC had only 2 minutes of possession over the previous 13 minutes of play Campbell wanted to see if the offense couldn't spring back to life for one more series.
While I tend to agree with the interpretation.of what transpired, I can't think that finding out if the Offense can get it in gear again is really worth risking our sometimes fragile QB who doesn't really seem to grasp the concept of how to avoid taking that unnecessary hit. This is the big money guy. If the team. Is to be successful, his ongoing health is paramount. Risking flushing your season down the drain over a game whose outcome is not in doubt seems like a poor gamble. This isn't new for Reilly either. Throughout his career his style has been "play till bitter end".
He ain't 27 anymore, injuries come easier, take longer to heal and so on.
It seems to be a natural law that in games where one team gets a huge lead, the foot comes off the pedal somewhat. It is a good policy to bring your new guy along because you never know when you are going to need him. Think Hamilton or maybe the Riders.
Tell me how long must a fan be strong? Ans. Always.
Jim Morris has written a nice feature on Jevon Cottoy after his second straight impressive performance as an injury replacement. It appears that Rick Campbell is starting to realize that Cottoy deserves more playing time but not necessarily as a starter.
I have a difficult time thinking of Reilly as fragile. He and Mitchell have been the CFL's most durable QBs over the past decade. Prior to breaking his wrist last year he had suited up for 85 consecutive regular season and playoff games, starting 84. Until the wrist the only start he missed going back to the 2015 LDC was when he was given the night off for a meaningless season finale in 2016.
You're as old as you've ever been and as young as you're ever going to be.
Maybe fragile is a bit too strong a word but he plays a smash mouth kind of game and often gets bruised and battered. His ability to play through pain isn't really in question but the wisdom of it certainly is especially at this age. He isn't likely to change his ways now therefore his coach should be making decisions likely to reduce his chances getting even more nicked.
Tell me how long must a fan be strong? Ans. Always.
) which appeared to speed up the game and was appreciated. They appeared to let some of the marginal "pass interference" stuff go that usually gets called....the type of call where the defender is going for the ball and his hand is on the receiver's hip. 
