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The BC Lions Den Pawdcast: Episode 88

November 3, 2016 By Brian Wawryshyn

Will the Lions treat their fans to a playoff game? - Photo: BCLions.com
Will the Lions treat their fans to a playoff game? – Photo: BCLions.com

It’s win and they host for the BC Lions this weekend as they play the final home game of the regular season against the Saskatchewan Roughriders. A home playoff game for the first time since 2012 is in the sights of Wally Buono’s squad. We look back a little at the final game at Mosaic Stadium, and chat with a couple of long time Lions fans, when listeners Chris Allan and Chris Jones join the show for a new Lions roundtable segment.

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Chris Allan
Twitter: @ChrisAllanSC

Chris Jones
Twitter: @CJones2451

This show was recorded on November 2nd, 2016.

Filed Under: 2016, 2016, 2016 Game Recaps, BC Lions Den, BCLionsDen.ca Pawdcast, CFL/League, Featured, Game Recaps, Interviews, Podcasts Tagged With: BC Lions, BCLionsDen.ca, Brian Wawryshyn, CFL, Chris Allan, Chris Jones, Fan Round Table, Game Recaps, Mojo Kemp, Podcast, Saskatchewan Roughriders

The BC Lions Den Pawdcast: Episode 86

October 13, 2016 By Brian Wawryshyn

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The Lions dropped a 37-35 decision to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and now must win this week to stay in the drivers seat for a home playoff game in the West. We look back at the game, the Andrew Harris fumble and look forward to this week with John Hodge of the The Blue Bomber Talk Podcast and 3DownNation.com.

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John Hodge
Twitter: BluebomberTalk

3DownNation.com

This show was recorded on october 12th, 2016.

Filed Under: 2016, 2016 Game Recaps, BC Lions Den, BCLionsDen.ca Pawdcast, CFL/League, Featured, Interviews, Podcasts Tagged With: BC Lions, BCLionsDen.ca, Blue Bomber Talk Podcast, Brian Wawryshyn, CFL, Game Recaps, John Hodge, Mojo Kemp, Podcast, Winnipeg Blue Bombers

Lights Out Performance? Not Quite, But a Good Start For the BC Lions

June 12, 2016 By Brian Wawryshyn

The BC Lions opened their preseason in Regina on Saturday night in a game that saw a delay of over an hour thanks to an outage that knocked out power to most of the city. It wasn’t a masterpiece, but the Lions showed some promising signs in a typical preseason game that saw penalties and mistakes dominate the play. The Lions came away with a 28-16 victory over the Saskatchewan Roughriders and we take a look at a few things that stood out for us.

Jennings Picks Up Where He Left Off

RIDERS
Keith Price tries to evade pressure.

In limited action, Jonathon Jennings picked up where he left off last season showing the ability to escape pressure and deliver laser beams to his receivers. Jennings connected with Manny Arceneaux for 46 yards before firing a dart to Shawn Gore for a touchdown. Jennings has outstanding timing on seam routes and delivers the ball where it needs to be quickly.

Travis Lulay started slowly, mainly due to some drops by receivers in bad field position. But Lulay settled in and had some good success as well. His best effort coming on a called back touchdown pass to Bryan Burnham. Even though the score didn’t count, the ball was thrown brilliantly and displayed that Lulay is feeling just fine and able to make throws he may have missed in the last couple of years.

Keith Price started the game for the Lions, and didn’t do much to separate himself from Greg McGhee who got mop up time in the fourth quarter and will likely get a chance to state his case in the home preseason game.

Leone On the Mark

Richie Leone showed the work he’s done in the off-season has paid off. His punting continues to be excellent, but Lions fans were anxious to see his place kicking. Leone showed well going 4-4 on field goals with a long of 48 yards. He also punted a 65-yard single while averaging 42.7 yards per punt.

The Running Game

Jeremiah Johnson got the bulk of the work in this one, compiling 45 yards on 7 carries. His longest play from scrimmage was 21 yards. Johnson also dropped a check down pass from Lulay that stalled a drive. He also fumbled (recovered it) but did punch the ball in on a 2-point convert attempt. In my opinion left the door open for Anthony Allen to make his case next week versus the Stampeders.

Newcomer JC Coleman only saw action late in the fourth quarter but showed explosiveness and speed with his 7 carries for 32 yards. Regardless of what the Lions do with Allen and Johnson, I hope they can find a way to keep Coleman.

Shaq Murray-Lawrence could be in tough. He only had 1 carry for -3 yards and doesn’t seem to have the same shiftiness that Coleman possesses.

The Secondary

This could be the best unit on this year’s team when all is said and done. The Lions have stockpiled some options here and the likes of Ronnie Yell (pick 6) and TJ Lee (INT) looked to be in mid-season form.

Newcomer Anthony Thompson also had a nice game with a special team’s tackle and an interception. Mike Edem had four tackles for the Lions, while Keynan Parker will wish he had done better on a late Rider touchdown where he ended up behind the receiver and the ball and allowed the score.

The Offensive Line

Once the starters came in I thought the protection was pretty good for the QB’s. They were forced to scramble at times but there were no glaring protection errors. Jovan Olafiyoe still looks like an all-star at left tackle and the young guys all had decent games. There is definite room for improvement, especially with run blocking, but there were several occasions where the line gave enough time to the QB to at least find a check down option late in the play, when nothing was open downfield.

Special Teams

Chris Rainey still looks dangerous as a returner and despite not breaking a big one, there were a couple returns where you thought he might. Coverage on punts and kickoffs was solid, with Davarus Shores picking two special teams tackles, one of the spectacular shoestring variety.

The Uniforms

Ok, everyone can take a deep breath and relax. The general consensus on social media was that people either loved or hated the Lions new look, there really was no in between. Most of the comments were about the orange helmets and the white logo, something I had concerns about when the uniforms were released back in May.

If you haven’t already read, the Lions were wearing road helmets with their home uniforms. The club stated they wanted to save the blacks for a home crowd debut, so keep that in mind when commenting in the combination they wore in Regina.

That said the helmets appear to be a different shade of orange than the home jersey, so let’s hope when they are paired with the road jersey, that isn’t the case. Still, it’s confusing to me why a team would have two different shades of orange as a primary colour, if that is indeed the case. Sometimes things look different on television than they do live.

That said, I think some fans who didn’t like the look on Saturday will be relieved when they see the proper black helmet on those home jerseys because I have seen them in person and they are outstanding.

Random Stuff

  • It was great to see Wally Buono back on the sidelines again and he looked very comfortable during the game. Even joking around with the players a bit at times. Something seems different about Buono this time around, and I think this team is going to love playing for him. This could turn out to be Buono’s biggest accomplishment of his career if he can turn this thing around.
  • Buono spoke of wanting to win both pre-season games to establish that culture again in the Lions room. A big part of winning is attitude, and believing you’re going to win every time you step on the field. That was a staple of Buono teams in the past, and they took a step towards that in Regina.
  • Buono won’t be pleased with 17 penalties on the night to the tune of 126 yards. Hopefully they got those out of their system and will be much cleaner next week against the Stampeders.
  • Kudos to Sask Power for getting the power restored relatively quickly last night. That situation had the potential to ruin the chances for some players who might have only gotten this chance to show what they could do. I hope they find the confetti cannon bandits that were responsible and hand them the bill for the repairs.
  • This week on the Pawdcast we’ll be joined by former BC Lions QB and TSN 1040 colour man Giulio Caravatta to get his thoughts on the game and where he thinks the toughest cuts will be when the dust settles on the preseason.

 

Filed Under: 2016, 2016 Game Recaps, BC Lions Den, Featured, Game Recaps Tagged With: BC Lions, BCLionsDen.ca, Brian Wawryshyn, CFL, Game Recaps, Preseason, Saskatchewan Roughriders

From the Couch – Lions 17 Alouettes 50

November 20, 2014 By Brian Wawryshyn

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Even if you had the slightest glimmer of hope that the Lions offence would be able to come together for the playoffs, there certainly can’t be anyone that is surprised at what unfolded in Montreal. In reality it was a snapshot of the Lions season, one that was filled with frustration and inconsistencies.

We could talk about the game, but you’ve probably already had enough about that. So let’s look at what the Lions have facing them over the next six and a half months, because there are plenty of areas on this football team that need to be addressed. Here are a few of my thoughts for the final time this season, From the Couch.

The Coaching

13-5, 11-7, 9-9…see a trend here? The BC Lions have gotten progressively worse in the three years that Mike Benevides has been at the helm. They have yet to win a playoff game over that span, and had a losing record at home this season. This team seems to have a problem being ready to play games and whether or not that is game planning or execution of the players, it’s the coaches’ job to ensure that it happens.

Assuming David Braley doesn’t hold Wally Buono responsible, and I don’t think he will, the general manager has a tough decision to make that will be made tougher by the fact he just signed his coach to a two year extension this season. But can this team sell another year under Benevides to their fans? Will the injuries the team endured give him a pass?

There could be some quality candidates out there as well. How long does Marc Trestman have in the NFL with the Bears floundering? Would Dave Dickenson leave Calgary for a head coaching gig if John Hufnagel coaches another year?

Regardless, Buono first has to make the call to part ways with his protégé, even if doing so would be an admission that an extension for his head coach this year may not have been the best idea.

Khari Jones had some nice games as OC but he wasn’t able to get any sort of consistent production from his players. The offence faced many challenges this season, especially with injuries. The Lions no doubt spent the off-season under the assumption that they would have Travis Lulay, and likely designed an offence with that in mind. Kevin Glenn, while experienced, isn’t the same type of QB and the Lions were unable to find ways for him to succeed. But the challenges aside, Jones’ offence simply hasn’t been good enough and a change should be considered.

Mark Washington had the Lions among the league’s best defensively but in the final three games this year that fell apart as well. That said, for his first year as a coordinator he did enough to come back in the same role.

Change is Needed

The biggest question surrounding the team besides coaching will be what to do with Travis Lulay. Clearly the Lions need a plan B and in my opinion there is no way Kevin Glenn can be part of that plan. John Beck doesn’t have a big enough body of work in the CFL and isn’t getting any younger, and we don’t know what the future holds for Travis Partridge.

Putting all their eggs in Lulay’s basket once again would be a mistake with the nature of his shoulder. But from all accounts it appears that Lulay wants to keep playing, so the question is what role would he do so under, and can the Lions find someone for that Plan B.

The Canadian receivers on this team have to be seriously looked at, as none of them had great years and that was a big part of an underachieving offence. Shawn Gore was looked on to step up this season, as were Marco Iannuzzi and SJ Haidara. The Kito Poblah experiment was a bust.

The offensive line was an issue for the Lions all season. They did play better once they could settle on a group, and they do have some promising pieces in the fold with Kirby Fabian and Hunter Steward. But the Lions must draft better in this area and do whatever they can to upgrade this group. And if that means getting rid of Dan Dorazio, perhaps it’s time for that as well. Dorazio is a coaching genius but even Angus Reid has suggested that sometimes his teachings may be too complex for young lineman. The Lions also have a built in replacement with Kelly Bates.

Defensively the Lions have decisions to make as well. They have found some nice talent in the secondary and the annual review of older players like Dante Marsh and Ryan Phillips will once again take place. Matt McGarva will be looked on to get healthy and challenge for the safety spot of JR LaRose. The defensive line, whose best player was 35 year of Khreem Smith, needs to be more aggressive and effective at pressuring the quarterback. Can you see Khalif Mitchell coming back?

The Culture

Is it just me or have things really started going downhill since Geroy Simon left the organization? The core of this team’s success over the past 5-7 years is dwindling and getting older. Do the right thing and find a spot for Simon in the organization and bring him home where he belongs. The whole thing left a sour taste in the mouth of the fan base and it still does every time I see Simon in Rider colours. He has a lot to offer as a mentor, as an alumni and as a football man.

Benevides is labelled as a player’s coach, but it seemed like he lost his team on too many occasions. The team is going to need to get younger and some of that transition is already taking place. Perhaps this group needs more of a disciplinarian as a coach, but at the same time someone that can convince this team to buy in, and to play with discipline and focus.

“It’s all about winning.”

The bottom line is football is about winning, and the Lions aren’t doing enough of it. You hear the coaches say all the time “Your job is to win, and if you can’t we’ll find someone that will”. That applies to them too and the Lions will have a tough time convincing their fans that the status quo will turn it around. Tough choices face this organization and whatever they decide those choices must get this team back to being a contender.

Thank you

Thanks to Lowell Ullrich and you the reader. It’s been a pleasure writing these pieces for TheProvince.com again this year, and I hope you’ve enjoyed them. As always, I welcome your comments whether you agree with my views or not. We’ll be continuing our Lions coverage on BCLionsDen.ca and our Pawdcasts, as well as our social media channels.

Until then, we have some Grey Cup partying to do in a couple weeks, even if the team we love isn’t in the game. Roar you Lions Roar.

Filed Under: 2014 Game Recaps, CFL/League, Den Talk, Featured, From The Couch, Game Recaps Tagged With: BC Lions, Brian Wawryshyn, CFL, From The Couch, Game Recaps, Mike Benevides, Montreal Alouettes, The Fifth Quarter, Wally Buono

From the Stands – Lions 16 Stampeders 33

November 12, 2014 By Brian Wawryshyn

glenn-stamps_740x300

With two tune up games against West Division contenders to end the season, the BC Lions still have knock, pings and stalls in the engine that need to be addressed. The final game of the regular season saw the Lions drop a 33-16 decision to the first place Calgary Stampeders and here are my thoughts, From the Stands.

The Plain Truth

This team just can’t seem to put together a complete game this season. If one part is going well, two other parts breakdown. The way the Stampeders so easily picked apart the Lions defence Friday was impressive if you’re a Stamps fan, depressing if you cheer for the orange and black.

Whether it was Drew Tate or Bo Mitchell, the results were the same for Calgary, while Kevin Glenn and the Lions couldn’t translate yards into points to keep pace with the Stamps.

Glenn, who had another two drive killing interceptions, took a lot of heat in the section I was sitting in and once again I sat and wondered why John Beck was not given a chance later in the game. This is a guy you may need to use in Montreal and you give him zero time in a game you clearly were not going to win?

Unless Mike Benevides knows something he’s not sharing about Travis Lulay, this approach makes no sense. I get that you want Glenn to get on a roll and get some confidence with the offence, but at the same time, his play has dictated you may have to go to another option when you’re playing for your season next week.

On a good note Stefan Logan showed what he might be able to provide next week and Shawn Gore and Manny Arceneaux looked more involved in the offence but again, those performances didn’t result in enough points.

The defence was solid against the run yet brutal defending the pass. Calgary’s aerial attack routinely found wide open receivers over the middle of the field, partially due to the fact that the new look defensive line the Lions fielded was nowhere near Tate or Mitchell all night long.

After impressing with a solid run of not allowing touchdowns the defence has now allowed 70 points in two games, not exactly the stat you want to see heading into the playoffs, nor are the 19 points for either.

Right Where They Belong

So the Lions now head to Montreal to take on the Alouettes in the East Division semifinal and really they ended up where they belong. Unable to advance themselves any further up the West ladder, the Lions showed the differences between themselves and the contenders in their division. Edmonton and Calgary disposed of them easily, leaving the progress we saw down the stretch against Ottawa and Winnipeg with a solid asterisk.

But this is football, and on any given day in this league, anyone can beat anyone. Let’s not be fooled to think the East is an easy route to take to the Grey Cup. Don’t let anyone tell you that the Lions have simply been playing possum these final two weeks because if they were they deserve an Academy Award.

The same issues that have plagued the Lions all year still remain, and then comes this little gem via Lowell Ullrich from Paul McCallum following Friday’s game.

“We lack a lot of mental focus. We’re not organized. In the real world, there’d be a lot of fired people.”

The concerning part to me in that quote is the “we’re not organized” part. The job of organization belongs to the coaches. This is a 22-year veteran who would seem to be more than qualified to have such an opinion about his organization. Another veteran, Dante Marsh also made reference earlier in the week to the fact that there were bigger problems on this team than what he found himself in the doghouse over.

It doesn’t exactly sound like the Lions are one for all and all for one heading into the playoffs. And unless they can sort some of this stuff out, their season is likely to end in Montreal next week.

Some Positive Stuff

Those that mocked Dennis Skulsky for his guaranteed win night proclamation should now be able to see that the result were larger crowds down the stretch. In the four games prior to the guarantee the Lions averaged 24786 fans per game, versus 30,591 over their final five at BC Place. Many of them were freebies because of the promotion, but the hope is that some of those folks will come back next season.

As always, I would love to hear your thoughts on the game. Post a comment, or hit me up on Twitter @BCLionsDen. Make sure to check out BCLionsDen.ca for all of our Lions coverage and our weekly Pawdcast as well. This week Lowell Ullrich of The Province will join us along with Jamie Pitblado, chair for the 2014 Grey Cup Committee.

Filed Under: 2014 Game Recaps, CFL/League, Den Talk, Featured, From The Stands, Game Recaps Tagged With: BC Lions, BCLionsDen.ca, Brian Wawryshyn, Calgary Stampeders, CFL, CFL Playoffs, Eastern Semi-Final, Game Recaps, The Fifth Quarter

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