CFL/BC Lions Thread

[Brad Marchand]

I don't even know where to start on this one.

What was the point of putting Lulay in the line up? Mind games? I'm now convinced even more that Benevides has something against Beck. Hell, Partridge should have started. Also, why wait so long to sit Glenn, pretty obvious early that he wasn't gonna get it done. Hell, I knew it before the game. Coach dropped the ball once again with his QB coaching decisions.

Again penalties play a role, some just laughable. That call against Iannuzzi, WTF!

Brutal when a team scores 50 points with under 300 yards offense. Lions btw had 159.

Time for McCallum to call it quits, we need a kicker that can pull double duty, waste of a roster spot carrying 2 kickers.

Wally has a lot of work to do in the off season. I think lulay is done, hopefully Rodgers sticks with the team and shows us something in the preseason.

Benevides needs to go. Maybe Wally should step back to coaching and light a fire under this teams ass. Coach B has never been a good fit and I don't think the players generally respect him as a head coach. Watching him march up and down the sidelines like some tyrant just doesn't work.

I want Benevides fired too, but Beck didn't dress because he had concussion symptoms.

[Grapefruits]

I want Benevides fired too, but Beck didn't dress because he had concussion symptoms.

Wasn't aware of that, must of missed it somehow. Well that explains this game, still doesn't explain the rest of the season. Should have started at least a few games, it was obvious to pretty much everyone that Glenn wasn't the answer.

Gonna be a looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong off season.

[g_bassi13]

Funny game, that one. At least it was enough of a blowout that it will force Buono's hand. At least, this really, really should force his hand.

I really don't care if Mike Benvides' contract extension kicks in starting now. I questioned the extension then, and after this season, I totally oppose his employment. They had zero reason to extend him before they played a game. I know they didn't want his future hanging over the team's head for a season, but he did little to earn it, and proved it was a mistake now.

With Kevin Glenn, it seemed that Benevides was prepared to ride his own future on him, for some asinine reason. The biggest problem in trading for him was not even that we gave up a first rounder for him, but that because of his status as a "veteran quarterback", someone there felt obliged to give him the start again, and agian, and again. He proved he was incapable early in the season, but pretty much punctuated it halfway through the season with his short passes, and tunnel vision and lack of awareness.

The other options weren't exactly glowing, but what does it take to force a coach's hand? If we had no Glenn in the first place, there would have been no choice but to play around with the backups until something was found. But with him, the coach should have been game enough to realize that status quo was not working, and make a change for the sake of making a change. Give someone a start, see what they can do. What we got instead was a season of more 2 and outs than first downs, and the same picture of Kevin Glenn frustratingly removing the straps from his helmet after he failed to make or see a simple pass.

No excuse for the coaching staff, and the changes have to start there.

Completely revamp the O-Line. Outside of Olafioye, no one has earned their keep. I understand it's hard to protect a QB who needs a 10 count before he makes a move, but they would've been a hamstring to even a MVP quarterback.

On defence, you have many solid roster players, and some coordination that was keeping the team going strong for a long while. I don't know what easy moves there are to make here outside of a move for another elite safety.

With McCallum, why randomly trust him to start punting again in the biggest game of the season? Didn't the entirety of last year teach you anything? If there's an insistence to keep him as a kicker, there's a need for a designated punter alongside him. Was not worth the import player trade off for Mitchell.

What is it with the teams's complete lack of discipline? Especially towards the end of the year, there was just a parade of flags going against them, for the most needless of plays. At what point did the coaching staff not iterate there would be consequences? There has to be consequences after even one game. Consequences.

Were they instead focusing their disciplinary action on ostracising long time veterans for basic off field conduct on a public stage? I'm sure the morale and stability of the defence was not impacted in these last 3 games, right?

Start with the coach and work your way down, Buono.

[J529]

Funny game, that one. At least it was enough of a blowout that it will force Buono's hand. At least, this really, really should force his hand.

I really don't care if Mike Benvides' contract extension kicks in starting now. I questioned the extension then, and after this season, I totally oppose his employment. They had zero reason to extend him before they played a game. I know they didn't want his future hanging over the team's head for a season, but he did little to earn it, and proved it was a mistake now.

With Kevin Glenn, it seemed that Benevides was prepared to ride his own future on him, for some asinine reason. The biggest problem in trading for him was not even that we gave up a first rounder for him, but that because of his status as a "veteran quarterback", someone there felt obliged to give him the start again, and agian, and again. He proved he was incapable early in the season, but pretty much punctuated it halfway through the season with his short passes, and tunnel vision and lack of awareness.

The other options weren't exactly glowing, but what does it take to force a coach's hand? If we had no Glenn in the first place, there would have been no choice but to play around with the backups until something was found. But with him, the coach should have been game enough to realize that status quo was not working, and make a change for the sake of making a change. Give someone a start, see what they can do. What we got instead was a season of more 2 and outs than first downs, and the same picture of Kevin Glenn frustratingly removing the straps from his helmet after he failed to make or see a simple pass.

No excuse for the coaching staff, and the changes have to start there.

Completely revamp the O-Line. Outside of Olafioye, no one has earned their keep. I understand it's hard to protect a QB who needs a 10 count before he makes a move, but they would've been a hamstring to even a MVP quarterback.

On defence, you have many solid roster players, and some coordination that was keeping the team going strong for a long while. I don't know what easy moves there are to make here outside of a move for another elite safety.

With McCallum, why randomly trust him to start punting again in the biggest game of the season? Didn't the entirety of last year teach you anything? If there's an insistence to keep him as a kicker, there's a need for a designated punter alongside him. Was not worth the import player trade off for Mitchell.

What is it with the teams's complete lack of discipline? Especially towards the end of the year, there was just a parade of flags going against them, for the most needless of plays. At what point did the coaching staff not iterate there would be consequences? There has to be consequences after even one game. Consequences.

Were they instead focusing their disciplinary action on ostracising long time veterans for basic off field conduct on a public stage? I'm sure the morale and stability of the defence was not impacted in these last 3 games, right?

Start with the coach and work your way down, Buono.

Wally is past his expiry date and he should go too. He assembled this team along with extending Benevides. Entire coaching staff should be dimissed.

LaPolice is out there and would be obvious candidate for coach. Remember the Lions talked to him about OC position. Dickenson is another name that would be interesting.

[Lui's Knob]

What an embarrassing team coaching down. Glenn was terrible. Lulay I think is done as a Lion.

Youth movement next year? Does Buono Fire the coach or does the org Fire Buono? Oh and the 80's called; they want Paopao back

[Tiger-Hearted]

Dickinson, Pierce, and now Lulay. When was the last time a Lions QB wasn't injury-prone? Damon Allen, perhaps?

Vancouver is actually a QB graveyard, not a goalie graveyard.

[Grapefruits]

Dickinson, Pierce, and now Lulay. When was the last time a Lions QB wasn't injury-prone? Damon Allen, perhaps?

Vancouver is actually a QB graveyard, not a goalie graveyard.

At least BC's "graveyard" has been known to win the big game and show up when it matters the most...

Edited November 17, 2014 by Grapefruits

[RUPERTKBD]

Personally, I give this year's team a mulligan.

I don't expect any team to challenge for the Grey Cup when spending the entire season without their #1 QB and significant time without starting receivers and their best running back.

I think the defense ran out of gas and it showed in the 2nd half of the season. Remember when Bazzie and Yell both looked like sure fire all-stars? The only member of the D who maintained his play all year was Sol.

If the Leos can't turn it around with a healthy squad next season, then decisions might be needed on Wally and Benny...

[King Heffy]

I think the defense ran out of gas and it showed in the 2nd half of the season. Remember when Bazzie and Yell both looked like sure fire all-stars? The only member of the D who maintained his play all year was Sol.

If the Leos can't turn it around with a healthy squad next season, then decisions might be needed on Wally and Benny...

And the reason the D ran out of gas was because we had a QB who was simply incapable of keeping them off the field, a head coach too stubborn to staple Glenn's rear to the bench, and an OC who insisted on running the offense the same way as he was when we actually had a CFL quality QB. Even in the CFL, we needed to be running the ball much more in the absence of Lulay. Jones didn't utilize our strengths well enough and did nothing to compensate for his QB playing like garbage.

Our offense needs to be blown up. We need at least one more quality receiver; Taylor had too many drops for my liking, although I do like Manny. O-line needs serious improvement, and Glenn simply can't come back in ANY capacity. I'd rather bring Dickinson out of retirement than let Glenn take another snap in a Lions jersey. Hopefully Rodgers can be the answer; if he plays anything like his brother Lulay will be a good mentor for him.

As for the defense, I think a lot can be solved with the addition of another top pass rusher to help Bazzie out. The secondary isn't the problem and Sol El and Bighill combine to make our linebackers the best in the league. The D isn't the problem here and is the biggest reason we even made the playoffs at all.

[RUPERTKBD]

I'm wondering if you even read my post, Heffy.

I'm cutting Wally and Benny some slack, because they had to try and win with KG behind center. Yes, maybe they should have given Beck or Partridge more of a look, but that guarantees nothing. It could easily have been worse.

I'm cutting the offense some slack because they had to deal with injuries to so many starters. Harris especially.

I'm not blaming the defense for running out of gas. I realize it's because they spent so much time on the field.

Sure, there's always room for improvement. But unlike some, I'm not ready to crucify a team that played the entire season without their #1 QB.

[Grapefruits]

Personally, I give this year's team a mulligan.

I don't expect any team to challenge for the Grey Cup when spending the entire season without their #1 QB and significant time without starting receivers and their best running back.

I think the defense ran out of gas and it showed in the 2nd half of the season. Remember when Bazzie and Yell both looked like sure fire all-stars? The only member of the D who maintained his play all year was Sol.

If the Leos can't turn it around with a healthy squad next season, then decisions might be needed on Wally and Benny...

Benevides has had 2 seasons now. 0-3 when it matters, and I've seen him make far too many boneheaded mistakes. For some reason he refused to look beyond Glenn as our starter. I really don't think he has the respect of the players, something just isn't right.

I agree with the D being gassed. They were on the field far too much this season. The unnecessary penalties need to be cleaned up as well. I'd also like to see the head of officiating smacked upside the head as well.

[King Heffy]

I'm wondering if you even read my post, Heffy.

I'm cutting Wally and Benny some slack, because they had to try and win with KG behind center. Yes, maybe they should have given Beck or Partridge more of a look, but that guarantees nothing. It could easily have been worse.

I'm cutting the offense some slack because they had to deal with injuries to so many starters. Harris especially.

I'm not blaming the defense for running out of gas. I realize it's because they spent so much time on the field.

Sure, there's always room for improvement. But unlike some, I'm not ready to crucify a team that played the entire season without their #1 QB.

I think we're pretty much in agreement actually. My entire post wasn't really in response to you, I wanted to expand on that point a bit and then I just kept going. My main frustration was that the coaching staff didn't really seem to adapt much to the QB situation, calling plays pretty much the same way the entire season. If you're going to try to win with Kevin Glenn at QB, the playbook should probably be tailored to suit his style at least a little. I didn't get the impression that that was done. Honestly, I'm not sure how Beck or Partidge could have been much worse, but I would have liked to see one of them get a shot at least during the last game of the regular season, which was meaningless for us.

I like this team and think with a few additions in certain positions we are in a good position to compete next year.

[Tambellini's Wrist Shot]

At least you guys don't have the Bombers to cheer for .

[RUPERTKBD]

I think we're pretty much in agreement actually. My entire post wasn't really in response to you, I wanted to expand on that point a bit and then I just kept going. My main frustration was that the coaching staff didn't really seem to adapt much to the QB situation, calling plays pretty much the same way the entire season. If you're going to try to win with Kevin Glenn at QB, the playbook should probably be tailored to suit his style at least a little. I didn't get the impression that that was done. Honestly, I'm not sure how Beck or Partidge could have been much worse, but I would have liked to see one of them get a shot at least during the last game of the regular season, which was meaningless for us.

I like this team and think with a few additions in certain positions we are in a good position to compete next year.

Generally, I agree with you and Grapefruits. Benny and Jones made many mistakes this season. However, I would give them one more shot with a healthy lineup. Especially at QB.

Cleaning house at this point seems unfair to me. YMMV.

[Grapefruits]

Letter I received this morning:

Dear XXXX , Account ID: XXXXXXX

Today is a tough day. Unfortunately, after yesterday's loss in Montreal, we are now officially out of the running to participate in the 2014 Grey Cup game here at home on November 30th. As an organization we are all disappointed, and we know we let you - our tremendous fans – down as our goal to play in another Grey Cup Championship at BC Place fell short.

Each season we strive to play an energetic, hard hitting, entertaining brand of football. Clearly our record and the type of football we played wasn't acceptable or good enough. Further to that, we need to be better at home. Winning at home over the past number of years was a big part of our success, and we owe it to our loyal fans to regain our home field advantage at BC Place.

You need to know we truly do appreciate the outstanding support you, our most loyal fans, have provided our team. It’s comforting to know we have that kind of support and encouragement during these difficult times. I promise you we do not take that for granted and never will.

This morning, we immediately began to review this past season and where we need to improve. Rest assured, we will keep you informed as we roll out these plans.

Thanks again for being the best fans in the Canadian Football League.

With my best regards,

Dennis Skulsky
President & CEO
BC Lions Football Club

[THERETOOL]

lions and the cfl look shaky .. ughh

[Grapefruits]

lions and the cfl look shaky .. ughh

Yep, and the timing couldn't be worse. I've said it a few times this season. The Lions had a real chance of getting more fans after the Canucks missed the playoffs. What happened? They lost 5 at home this season. Trust me, it was extremely painful to be a season ticket holder this year and sit through those games.

For the rest of the league, record TV deal, new team. It looked like the CFL was about to turn the corner. The officiating needs to be looked at as well. It was garbage league wide and it killed the flow of a lot of the games.

I'm hoping its just a bump in the road because of the expansion and the watered down talent pool.

I fired off a rather long letter to my account rep this morning regarding the season, doubt it will do anything, but I feel a little better. LOL!

Edited November 18, 2014 by Grapefruits

[Guest]

Yep, and the timing couldn't be worse. I've said it a few times this season. The Lions had a real chance of getting more fans after the Canucks missed the playoffs. What happened? They lost 5 at home this season. Trust me, it was extremely painful to be a season ticket holder this year and sit through those games.

For the rest of the league, record TV deal, new team. It looked like the CFL was about to turn the corner. The officiating needs to be looked at as well. It was garbage league wide and it killed the flow of a lot of the games.

I'm hoping its just a bump in the road because of the expansion and the watered down talent pool.

I fired off a rather long letter to my account rep this morning regarding the season, doubt it will do anything, but I feel a little better. LOL!

It's always going to be an uphill battle with the import rule.

[Amish Rake Fighter]

Benny's gone, just confirmed

[-DLC-]

Yep, just saw it....good move.