TiCats 40 - Lions 10, Post-Game Stats and Comments

[WestCoastJoe]

We got drubbed.

Burris said when he saw the Lions dance on the TiCats logo, he knew the TiCats would win.

We were out-coached once again, with zero chance from the get-go.

Jones beat Washington big time, from the first series.

Glanville beat Jackson big time, from the get-go. JJ7 in over his head as OC. RPO was a disaster all year. It was a naive decision to attempt to implement an offence ill-suited to the CFL.

Wally let his players get their heads in the clouds.

Our pass blocking was non-existent. Our pass rush was missing in action. Our coaches and players looked like dead men walking. Rainey was sulking still, maybe even more than before. He could be benched again. A personnel move or two could be Wally's 'answer.'

It was a shameful loss.

Will Braley sell his beloved Lions? Will he set them free? Will he ask Wally to stay one more year? If that were to happen, Hervey might walk. Or he might demand they follow the plan we were sold. One can only hope.

Will Wally realize that his time is over? Right now he cannot coach his way out of a paper bag.

''Garbage time,'' says Duane Forde. ''One team was much better prepared to play.''

''Let's go, Guys,'' says Wally, with 1:31 left. Who gets punished for this debacle? Could blame the coordinators. Could say just burn the tape. Could blame the players. The guy in the mirror? ''You want me to be accountable? You want to blame me for putting the players on the field?''

[Bosco]

The first rule of team sports is never give your opponent bulletin board material that they can rally behind and exact revenge against you. Yesterday, the Lions apparently thought it was cute to dance on the Hamilton Tiger Cats center field logo. This was a stupid and wreckless move on their part and it makes me wonder where the coaches or so called team leaders were when this was taking place? The Lions aren't that good that they can choose to disrespect and taunt their opponent. The resulting ass kicking BY the Ticats was well deserved.

[WestCoastJoe]

Hamilton minus 3 DL. No matter.

''Video study allows the defence to step in front of passes,'' says Dunigan. Oh yeah. Planning in detail.

Wally might have to delegate the post-game talk to Rolly. The players mailed this one in. Wally has lost the room. But we saw that last year. The players' spirit rises intermittently, as with some of the new veterans, demanding pressure defence.

[B.C.FAN]

The Lions are two different teams. They're now 5-1 at home and 1-6 on the road. I don't know why.

Offensively and defensively, the Lions came out flat. The Ticats found ways to neutralize the B.C. pass rush and run the ball successfully with John White and pass to Brandon Banks, who made a big difference on his return to the lineup.

When the Ticats scored on their opening drive and Jennings served up a pick-six on his first pass, the rout was on. The Ticats scored 17 points off their three interceptions, effectively eliminating any chance of a comeback.

The B.C. offence had no variety, and the Ticats were ready for everything the Lions tried. The Lions offered nothing but short slants and ins and swing passes to the backs. When they went deep, their only option was a 50-50 go route to Posey or Shaq Johnson. The Ticats jumped everything short and didn't let the B.C. receivers get open deep. As I said in the game thread, it's not Jennings' fault that his receivers weren't open. That's on Jarious Jackson, but Jennings had no business throwing his three INTs directly into coverage. At least Fajardo used his feet a few times to improvise when the offence broke down.

Jeremiah Masoli went into the back-to-back series having thrown the most interceptions in the league but he didn't throw any in either game. The ball that went through Anthony Orange's hands and into the hands of Mike Jones in the second to set up the TD that made it 27-3 was probably the last realistic chance for the Lions to turn the game around.

Neither team generated much offence. The Ticats didn't need to. Their 110 rushing yards and the 17 points they scored off B.C. turnovers were more than enough to win the game.

I hope Hunter Steward's injury isn't serious. I thought David Knevel played well at left guard when Greaves was moved to centre after Godber gave up back-to-back sacks. The Ticats sacked B.C. QBs six times, while the Lions managed only one sack after recording 18 in their previous three games. The Ticats made good adjustments after last week's game. The Lions didn't.

[David]

I would love to know the stats over say, the past 10 years, which team leads the league in blow-out losses (20 points or more) and busted coverages. I am willing to bet it's the B.C. Lions.

They just seem to go into too many of these battles completely ill-prepared. Afternoon games particularly seem to be our death knell.


DH

[JohnnyMusso]

I only watched the first half and that was enough. It was a terrible game and Lions looked not ready to play and not competitive at all. Lions road record now 1 and 6 and if they miss the playoffs they can look to the record. Probably worst road record since the early 70's.

What was Buono thinking when he let the Lions dance on the Tiger Cats logo yesterday? It got the Tiger Cats angry and they put a beating on the Lions. Maybe their worst loss of the year. They are lucky the dreadful Argos roll into town next week, but who know if Lions can win that for already lost to the Argos once this year.

Not one player looks good today. It was an embarrassing loss and unacceptable when Lions battling for a playoff spot.

[Toppy Vann]

When I saw the dancing on the logo my thoughts were:

1. Where is the leadership in this group of players?

2. Where is the understanding that the home team having blown the game at the end last week vs you is not going to lie down and let you walk over them.

Leaders in a team and coaches would not tolerate disrespect for your opponent ahead of a game. That's nuts.

[aklawitter]

I think the only way Jennings makes another QB start in Pro Football is because of injury or he goes to an Arena League.

[WestCoastJoe]

https://www.cfl.ca/games/2524/bc-lions- ... iger-cats/

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats opened up the scoring on their first offensive drive that covered 88 yards in eight plays. Luke Tasker caught the 13-yard pass from Jeremiah Masoli, putting the Tabbies up with a route over the middle of the end zone.
...
Hamilton continued to pile on the points in the first quarter, further extending their lead to 20-0 after a seven play drive, capped off with a seven-yard touchdown to Brandon Banks, who was playing his first game since September 8 due to a groin injury that forced him out of the Tabbies last two games.
...

As the first quarter wrapped up, the Ticats had inserted their dominance on the ground over the course of the first 15 minutes. Hamilton running back John White closed out the quarter with 81 yards on the ground with six carries. White would finish the game eclipsing the century mark by rushing the ball.

[WestCoastJoe]

Against a team noted for vulnerable run defense, Rainey and Johnson were called on for 7 runs, gaining 19 yards.

[TheLionKing]

Lions weren't ready to play from the get go. They surrendered a touchdown on Hamilton's first drive. On the Lions' first play they gave up a quick six. Jennings looked tentative, afraid to make another mistake.

[WestCoastJoe]

We got our penchant for penalties from last game under control. Ha ha 10 for Hamilton. Just 3 for us.

6 sacks given up.

Burn the tape? We are in bad shape. The coordinators, with Wally's input, will put together a game plan and practice plans. The players will put their bodies on the line. We might win some games. But this is a sick mountain lion.

Are the players starting to believe, as Wally suggested after last week? There is no doubt that these results are tough on Wally. Waddayagonna do? But he is a pro football coach. And he has stayed past his time. And then there is the absentee ownership situation.

Just IMO ...

[Blitz]

I can't believe how bad the coaching is on our Leos team. Its not bad - its very, very, very, very, very bad.

West Coast Joe referred to it as a 'shambles'. I considered it a horrendous mess.

Its impossible to accurately assess our players in this game, when they are playing in schemes and game plans that are so deficient, where does one even start?

Lion Guy said "Why are we running fade routes in the end zone? The reality is that on most plays, I ask why are we running that play, in that way at at all or why did we call that play in the first place. I do this time and again.

Stupid is as stupid does. This is a stupidly coached team that has a lot of talent.

It was stupid and cocky for our Leo players to dance on the Tiger Cats logo.

But it was incredibly stupid, ludicrous and idiotic was for a Head Coach with almost 25 years of experience to allow it. All Buono needed to say was "Move down about 20 yards guys and show your opponent some respect".

You can't place the blame on this loss on any one player. Most of our players played poorly. We had won our last 3 games, with Jennings coming in off the bench for two of them and then starting the last one and coming through incredibly in the fourth quarter.

But as I wrote in a previous thread, Leo fans had to know the decline for Jennings would happen, just as it did for Lulay after his first two starts of this season. No quarterback can play well for too long behind a Dorazio coached offensive line and being coached by a Buono disciple.

A quarterback cannot consistently throw purrfect passes, while under pressure, to well covered receivers. He may get hot and do it for a game or two but its impossible to keep on doing it. Jennings couldn't this season and then Lulay couldn't and now Jennings can't again.

Lulay could come back early and he will play likely play well for a couple of games and then the slide will be on for him once again too.

Its not possible to play quarterback well for any length of time with this simple, poorly designed scheme and play calling. Hamilton knew what we were going to do before we took each snap plus they payed special attention to Burnham, as we knew they would.

Six sacks for Hamilton. 7 carries for 19 yds. rushing for us. It was not just our quarterback play. It was our play everywhere, on offence and defense and reflected not only how poorly this Leos team is coached but also how much smarter opposition coaches are in back to back games with us.

I blame this loss on our coaching staff, by far, more than the players. Its embarrassing coaching they are getting for the professional level. Its incompetent, inept, mediocre, deficient, and just plain horrible. Its so bad its even starting to affect Reinebold.

There is confusion on the sidelines, a lack of leadership, and its a down the rabbit hole Alice in Wonderland world, under Wally.

Hervey has brought in some outstanding talent and depth, somehow got it under the SMS, and Wally is pissing it away.

Washington and Jarious have to share some accountability but how much? The reality is that Buono does not like coordinators with previous experience. He got rid of Burratto, drove Ritchie crazy, and got rid of Stubler.

Wally likes his Chapdelaines, his Benevedes, his Khari Jones, his Mark Washington's and his Jarious Jackson's so he can 'mentor them up', when beginning as rookie coordinators in the 'Wally Way'. He also restricts what they can do and he leads them to failure.

Lion Guy sums it up with his comment of absolute frustration with our coaching:

The day after this season is done I want the entire coaching staff fired.

In this game, we had an offensive line that couldn't block end/tackle stunts, right from the start of the game, against a Hamilton line missing 3 starters and an offensive game plan and scheme that was terrible.

Our receivers are not open, except those running a check down and even they are reasonably covered. Our offensive lineman do not know who to block unless its a straight up pass rush.

Every throw downfield at 10 yards or more is a 50/50 ball. If the quarterback checks down, we don't get first downs. If he throws anything other than a 5 yard pass, its a risky throw. He is dammed either way. It all has to do with the route combinations that we run as well as the fact that our quarterback is under duress way too much.

Cody Fajardo came in and threw the same pass that Jennings threw for a pick six and it almost happened to Fajardo. Why? The safety knows what we are going to do as soon as the football is snapped. He is racing to jump the route.

Cody Fajardo's touchdown pass showed the only way we can be successful offensively. The quarterback and players have to ignore the scheme and play call, the quarterback needs to scramble like hell, and then buy time for a receiver to get open, and the receivers need to freelance. If not our scheme and pass protection scheme both kill us.

Plus we can't run the football either. Rainey looks very discouraged and his play is showing it.

Two games ago, Mark Washington was being touted for our future Head Coach again, as Wally got the Kool Aid going again, because Washington's defense played two good games.

How does he look for future HC now. Of course he should be our future HC because the great legendary Wally Buono has mentored him. Our defense was as poorly coached as our offence today.

June Jones and Jerry Glanville schooled Wally and Mark. Glanville stuck Washington in a garbage can, put the lid on, and rolled him down a hill. It was embarrassing.

Ed keeps brining in the talent and Wally keeps blowing games while other teams coaches win with much less.

Buono not only does not prepare our players for upcoming games but he also brags about it - "We just focus on ourselves'. Makes me almost crazy. Leo fans pay their hard earned money and he doesn't even think its necessary to prepare our players well.

But then again, he is a Legend, so why should he need to do that anyway.

But what is even more embarrassing is listening to anything Buono says on the sidelines. I don't like the live mike TSN concept but one good thing about it is that it has helped, at least in some small ways, for fans to hear the legendary Buono coaching on the sidelines.

I didn't notice any signs in Hamilton for the Wally Farewell Tour, in which he only has won one game and lost 6. No "Thanks for the Memories" or "Goodbye to a Legend". Guess Wally will be asking Ed to make some of those signs up for our next road game.

Time for me to write a guide for die hard Leo fans too, with a subtitle - How Not to Go Crazy Cheering for a Buono lead Leos team.

I'll leave the final words to swervyn merv who said it well during the game thread when they wrote:

Ed Hervey is doing his job and getting Wally the players he needs in his last season.

Are Wally and his coaches doing their part?

All year we have not started games well. Bone head plays, penalties etc.

To me a team dancing on the opposition logo reaks of a coach who has lost his team. Don’t give your opposition anything to rally around, especially when you stole one from them last week.

[Gridiron Ernie]

All you fellows decrying the Lions' mind-boggling logo-dancing episode -- I loudly echo your concerns! Where was the leadership (coaches AND veteran players)? One of those two parties had to quickly step up and nip such nonsense in the bud, pronto! From the Ti-Cats perspective it had to have been sorta' like me in some theatre-of-the-absurd seeing my neighbour swaggering across our back alley to piss on my garden. It would be stunning behaviour and would be asking for trouble. Are they all pea-brained?

And speaking of lacking in comprehension -- I've never uttered a negative word concerning Jarious J., but I'm beginning to wonder if his grasp of effective offence schemes and the skill-sets and strengths of his star players goes no further than him trotting out the right words (see his recent couple of false hope-inspiring media interviews) and not at all in fact being able to assist the players in properly implementing and bringing those schemes and skills to life on the playing field. I realize he's a rookie OC, but he's not been walking his talk. I had high hopes for him. I've not let go of those hopes, but my grip has been loosened.

And I feel like we're fumbling our opportunity to make a move in the standings. I can't imagine that Jonathan Jennings can be in a very happy place in his mind. It's 50/50 game to game regards which Lions team we'll see. And this blow-out late in the season -- not good! Most of our losses had at least been close so far. Which brings me to another critical aspect of our losing ways -- as others have asked -- where is our run game? I've not looked at the game-stats yet, but neither Jeremiah J. nor Rainey were really part of the equation in this game, and too many other games. T. Sutton's presence in the line-up isn't likely to make a ground-game suddenly materialize, just because he's in instead of another back. Ah, well. The future is unwritten, but I see the Bombers in the current game vs Edmonton are making a valiant effort to make the story about them.

[firstandgoal]

Wow...

Congratulations to the Ti-Cats.... they thoroughly kicked our ass.

Couldn’t watch the game live so I recorded it with eager anticipation to watch it when I got home.... thank gawd for the FF button on the PVR.

How could a “veteran laiden” squad server up a complete no show? I say it speaks to a lack of quality leadership - especially when you dance a jig on your opponents logo the night before.... nothing like adding a little canon fodder to your opponents fire. Did they really think that was a good idea?

Same familiar sad story.... no point reiterating the obvious shortcomings of this organization. Nothing short of a complete house cleaning..... save Ed Hervey - will do. This organization needs a major adjustment.

To David Braley - PLEASE sell the team.

I’ll always be a fan - but just feeling sad and resigned at our current state of affairs. We may win a few games here and there but this kind of stinker will keep appearing under this regime.

Not seeing a lot of light at the end of this tunnel

Oh well, once you hit bottom ther is nothing but up!