Jeff Tedford Archives | BC Lions Football

Wally Buono Hopes to Bring the Roar Back to Lions

December 3, 2015 By Brian Wawryshyn

Wednesday’s announcement of the resignation of Jeff Tedford and Wally Buono assuming the BC Lions head coaching position was a shock, but also not surprising. On our Pawdcast a few weeks ago we asked Lowell Ullrich, who has his own thoughts on today’s events, whether or not Buono would return to the sidelines if Tedford didn’t survive.

At the time, I was confident Jeff Tedford would return as the Lions coach, at least to start the season. Whether he was influenced or not, Tedford exercised a resignation clause in his contract that clicked in on December 1^st.

Buono taking over was really the only option that the Lions had. The team has been in regression since winning the Grey Cup in 2011 and Buono accepted full responsibility for that during his press conference. He’s also prepared for the criticism and blame if this attempt to restore the roar in the Lions fails.

“What motivates me?” Buono said. “I hate to lose. If I’m in an organization, and I can’t help it to win, don’t you think that’s stressful? You’ve got to rise up to the challenge. I believe I’ve risen to the challenge many times. Why am I here? The single most important reason is, I want to put this organization back in the proper position. You can do that when you’re in control of everything that goes on in football matters. Now, there’s only one person to blame. That’s me.”

At 65 years of age Buono isn’t afraid of the long and rigorous regiment required of a professional football head coach. He’s not able to sit idly by while the team loses, it’s not in his DNA because the only thing that matters to him is winning. He freely admits that he does cast a shadow over any coach under him, but feels there isn’t much he can do about that.

And now he’s shifting all the focus and responsibility on himself.

Make no mistake, Buono has put himself in the hot seat here. But this was the right move at the time for the Lions. With sagging attendance, the brand is suffering and it must be stabilized despite the TV money the club receives that helps them turn a profit. Another reset at the coaching position would have been a hard sell to the Lions core fan, while Buono at least brings hope. He brings the resume to fix the product on the field and judging by his press conference the Lions will look to make some noise in free agency this year in what Buono referred to as a changing landscape.

His coaching staff will be different as well, with the retirement of George Cortez and the likely departure of special teams coach Chuck McMann. Who will Buono look to lead his offence? And what about the defence? Is there a possibility Mike Benevides would return as defensive coordinator if Buono wants a change there? Lowell Ullrich and Farhan Lalji have mentioned the name of Jarious Jackson as a possible offensive coordinator as well.

Off the field the Lions have their work cut out for them. But that can be made a little easier if the team returns to winning football and let’s face it, no one has won more games than Buono.

Whether this move works or not, Buono has to be respected for stepping up and putting his neck on the line. You never really did get the feeling he was comfortable on game days not being in the trenches, and now he’s back doing what he loves to do. You can’t take the game out of someone who has made it their life for so long, and Buono is no exception.

Instead of casting a shadow, Wally Buono is now firmly in the spotlight. And he’s okay with that.

A Few Reasons the BC Lions Will Make the Playoffs

October 25, 2015 By Brian Wawryshyn

Sports are full of examples of teams that have had that defining moment where the switch went on. Whether the BC Lions had that moment in a convincing 40-13 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats remains to be seen, but if this team get on a roll and makes the playoffs, you can certainly consider it one.

At the beginning of the year, we had former BC Lions offensive lineman Angus Reid on the Pawdcast who told us that he saw the BC Lions starting out slowly and getting better as the season went on. With 22 new faces and the youngest team in the league, it wasn’t hard to agree.

Over the past few weeks, the Lions have played some good football. A Winnipeg loss, combined with the Lions win on the weekend has put the Lions back in control of their own destiny. A win next week in Toronto would eliminate the Bombers, a Montreal loss combined with that win would see the Lions join the playoff dance for the 19^th straight season.

So there is work to be done, but in the spirit of looking at the positives, let’s take a look at some reasons the Lions will make the playoffs.

Jonathan Jennings

Cue the coronation, the Lions have found themselves a new quarterback. The poise and confidence that Jonathan Jennings displays at just 23 years old is impressive and has revived the Lions offence. As he continues to grow and get more experience, it should continue to improve not only in the passing game but in opening things up for Andrew Harris.

The Lions offence is no longer one dimensional, and Jennings has his receivers making plays for them by simply trusting in them to do so and getting the ball to them quickly and accurately. The resurgence of Manny Arceneaux and the contributions from Bryan Burnham, Lavelle Hawkins and Shawn Gore over the past few weeks have been key.

Jennings is going to make the odd rookie mistake, but the good far outweighs the bad and for the Lions and their fan base there is a lot to get excited about.

The Defence

The Lions defence was scorched by opposing defences early and often in 2015. It’s no coincidence that with more success on the offensive side of the ball, the defence has improved as well. In too many games this season they were on the field way too long.

The secondary is starting to gel under the leadership of Ryan Phillips as well as the strong showings of players like TJ Lee and Ronnie Yell who is starting to look more and more like long time Lion Dante Marsh every game.

The defensive line has found its groove led by newcomers Mic’hael Brooks, Zac Minter and Craig Roh. The Lions are rotating players in throughout the game and national David Menard continues to impress, while the Lions have moved up the sack total ladder in recent weeks, boding well for the team down the stretch.

Coaching

Some of you may disagree with this, but I think Jeff Tedford is on track to getting this team playing the way he wants them to play. There have been plenty of examples to dispute this theory, but in the end hindsight is 20/20 in the coaching profession.

But consider the fact that Tedford has been able to keep this team together through some very tough losses. There has been no finger pointing, no visible discord in the locker room and Friday’s performance against the Ticats showed that the players are behind their coaches.

Just as the start of the year was a learning curve for the new players, it was also the same for their new coach. The offence has become more aggressive under Jennings, and Tedford was brought in with the reputation of being a fast tempo, aggressive offensive coach. We’re now starting to see that as Jennings is able to go down field.

The Schedule

The Lions best chance to qualify for the post season is this week. The win against Hamilton was key, especially since the Alouettes won. Montreal now travels to Edmonton where the Eskimos are looking to clinch the CFL West and will be amped to do so at Commonwealth Stadium. The Lions travel to Toronto to take on an Argonauts team that is coming off back to back losses, but will be playing just their 4^th game of the year at home and will have Ricky Ray at quarterback. If the Lions win and Edmonton wins, the Lions are in.

The Lions made their own bed, but they still have a chance to make it to the dance. Ryan Phillips told his teammates after last week’s game that he’s never missed the playoffs in his career, and he doesn’t plan to start now.

If they do get in, you would think both Calgary and Edmonton, teams they played tough this season will be in for a tough fight in the Western Semi. The Lions are starting to roar, whether they get to eat or not, will be decided in the next two weeks.

Simply Not Good Enough

September 14, 2015 By Brian Wawryshyn

Let’s get something clear right off the top; I’m a BC Lions fan. Before being a blogger or podcaster, I’m a fan of this team to my core.

Which is why it pains me to write this piece here on 3DownNation.com. I don’t want to rip my team, even though there are many times in my 8 years of blogging about the team that I’ve felt like doing so. Usually after a loss I wait until the next day to write to let a cooler head prevail, but this one burned.

In the end, I pay my money just like you do, and after what I sat through Sunday afternoon at BC Place, it’s time to vent. It was embarrassing for the fans, it was embarrassing for the organization, and if you aren’t embarrassed and pissed off, then there is something wrong. In the almost 40 years I’ve followed this team I have never left a game feeling so frustrated.

The Lions held the ball for just 18:15. No, that’s not one of my famous Twitter typos…18:15. The offence was unimaginative, couldn’t execute the original game plan, and were unable to execute any adjustments that were made. More than that, it was lifeless, with guys moping their way off the field and moping around on the sidelines.

Andrew Harris had 4 carries for 3 yards. He left the building without showering or speaking with reporters.

How can you blame Harris for blowing off steam? In a game where you start your backup QB, starting his first CFL game, you completely abandon your biggest (and at many times this season only) offensive weapon? It hasn’t just been this game either, the run blocking has been horrible for at least 3 games. They aren’t being nearly physical enough on the line, or they simply aren’t capable of doing it.

On one play in the 3^rd quarter Harris released out of the backfield and was wide open 15 yards downfield with no one around him and John Beck didn’t even look at him.

Emmanuel Arceneaux who got into it on Twitter with Jovon Johnson of the Redblacks earlier in the week, had another ball thrown his way intercepted simply because he didn’t put up a fight for the ball. You’re familiar with walking the walk, right?

The offence of George Cortez was putrid. Granted there were times when the players on the field were responsible, but by and large this offence has fans thinking life with Jacques Chapdelaine, heck even Khari Jones wasn’t so bad after all.

Jeff Tedford was brought here with the reputation of being an offensive football innovator. If that’s the case it’s time that he display some of that, whether that means he takes over the offence or not. But Cortez doesn’t have the attention of the players, and last year in Saskatchewan his offence was horrible after Darian Durant went down, even though he had two great running backs at his disposal.

Defensively you can’t be too hard on the Lions who didn’t allow a Redblacks touchdown in until the 3^rd quarter. But being on the field for 41:45 of the game was simply too much and Burris picked them apart in the fourth quarter. However, the penchant for giving up first downs on 2^nd and long continued and when Mic’hael Brooks left the game the seas parted in the Lions defensive line.

Change is Needed

Wally Buono is facing the biggest issues this club has had during his tenure. Have he and his scouting staff done a good enough job scouting players? The Lions used to regularly find diamonds in the rough, but the pickings have been slim the last few seasons. They haven’t built up the Canadian depth on the offensive line, they draft players they never see, and they can’t seem to find dominant defensive linemen despite other teams doing so on a regular basis.

Buono has earned the right to ride this out and certainly can’t be a happy man after what he saw Sunday. In the past he hasn’t been afraid to make a bold move to shake up his locker room and you have to wonder if he’s reached that point now. Whether he makes a change in the coaching staff or cuts a veteran, something needs to be done to send a message to the players and the fan base, that the current results aren’t nearly good enough.

With the Lions dressing the youngest team in the league, many playing the CFL game for the first time, no one was expecting them to dominate. But they did expect there would be progress, growth and at the very least a team that played hard. That has hardly been the case so far, and with two games coming up in Alberta, the Lions season could be on life support in two weeks.

As I wrote a couple weeks ago, it may be time for David Braley to sell the BC Lions. The Lions will tell you that Braley gives them what they need, which sounds fine, but we need an owner that will give them more than they need. At this stage in his life Mr. Braley isn’t likely to invest a large sum of money in something he doesn’t plan to own much longer. His investment in marketing has been poor based on the numbers.

The same face painted fans are plastered on posters on repeat, season ticket prices keep going up for less perks and a subpar product on the field. Sunday’s crowd of 19,833 (not a chance that many were there) is a clear sign that off the field, the Lions have a huge task staring them in the face. It’s something they should have seen happening 4 years ago.

All of the work that Bob Ackles did to bring back fans has been eroded. Many of those fans that came back were long time Lions fans and since then, the team has done little to engage millennials. They refuse to or are unwilling to fight for tailgating, something that young fans would be interested in, even though they have lots around the stadium if they chose to put in the work to secure them for such a purpose. But it’s too much hassle, and they would rather take the easy way out and promote their street party as the place to be.

Under Dennis Skulsky the Lions fan base is dwindling, the numbers don’t lie and many fans feel alienated from the team. Other team’s host fan forums with their season ticket holders. A no-holds barred, tell us what you’re thinking event. The Lions don’t seem to feel the need to give their ticket holders the same courtesy (except ones that don’t renew) and I’ve sent e-mails that don’t even get the courtesy of a reply.

And so this is where we find ourselves. A once perennially competitive CFL franchise that is struggling on and off the field. Every team rebuilds and I’ll be here to ride this one out and all Lions fans should be too. But I would be lying if I said I wasn’t worried about this team, not only now but in the future unless some important changes are made.

You and the Lions should be too.

Lions fall to Argos as discipline, decisions and execution falter.

July 25, 2015 By Brian Wawryshyn

Andrew Harris' first half performance wasn't enough to defeat the Argos. Photo: BCLions.com — Andrew Harris’ first half performance wasn’t enough to defeat the Argos. Photo: BCLions.com

You would think after 7 years of doing this social media thing and covering the BC Lions I would know better than to tweet something out of frustration walking out of BC Place stadium Friday evening, following the BC Lions 30-27 loss to the Toronto Argonauts.

Sorry yes the defence was horrible in the 2nd half. But this loss is on Tedford. Momentum shifted on the dumb 3rd down gamble. #BCLions

— BC Lions Den (@BCLionsDen) July 25, 2015

I am a blogger, podcaster, and CFL social media enthusiast, but I am also a huge fan, not only of my Lions but also of the league as a whole, and sometimes the fan part of me takes over my emotions. Usually after a loss I wait 24 hours to let my thoughts process before I blog or tweet much, but Friday was one of those nights where frustration got the better of me.

I stand by my tweet that the 3^rd down gamble by Jeff Tedford was a mistake. There was no need for such a gamble up by 11 points, regardless of whether or not you wanted to spark your offence. To say that if it had been successful it would have been genius is something we can’t know for sure. What we do know is it gave the Argos half a field to work with and they made the Lions pay.

Where that tweet went wrong was saying the loss was on Tedford, because when you break down the game, there was plenty of blame to go around and yes, you win as a team and you lose as a team.

Dumb penalties that continued Argos drives played a huge part and it seems to be some of the same culprits. Alex Bazzie’s roughing the passer call allowed the Argos to spark their offence and give QB Trevor Harris the confidence he needed after throwing two interceptions earlier. Josh Johnson took a bad face masking penalty in the 4^th quarter that combined with an illegal contact penalty to put the Argos instant field goal position.

The offence, which looked so lethal in the first quarter simply dried up in the second half. Unable to react to the adjustments made by the Argos at half time, the Lions simply couldn’t get into a rhythm. The Argos brought a lot of players up to the line of scrimmage to focus on Andrew Harris and no one else stepped up to counter it.

For whatever the reason, perhaps the Argos record against the pass so far this season, the Lions decided the deep ball was their only option in the second half. Lulay is still struggling to find the right touch and over threw receivers at critical times.

Manny Arceneaux had a drop, Austin Collie had a drop and has anyone seen Shawn Gore? You may as well have put his picture on a milk carton the last two weeks. The bottom line is this team needs players other than Andrew Harris to step up when opponents focus on shutting him down. They have to be made to pay for that approach.

Defensively it was a nightmare for the Lions in the second half. No matter what happened on first down, Harris and the Argos found answers on 2^nd down to keep drives alive. Every receiver seemed open when they needed him to be and Harris delivered balls on target as he was pressured little by the Lions front four.

This is a young team, and let’s hope they learned some valuable lessons against the Boatmen. A 21 point lead early in a CFL game is nothing, and the young Leos learned that the hard way.

Let’s also give some credit to the Argos here. Their half-time adjustments were outstanding and went unanswered by the Lions. Trevor Harris showed why he had the highest rating of any QB heading into the game and collected himself nicely after the two early turnovers. The Argos have weathered the storm on their extended road trip to start the season and have now set themselves up nicely in the CFL East.

Where are the fans?

Just 20,085 fans were in attendance Friday and that has to be concerning for the Lions. It’s a good thing the upper bowl was closed or the optics would have been horrible. Traditionally the Lions always seem to start slowly attendance wise and build as the season goes on and Toronto has never really been a big draw.

That said, the Riders game should have been a sell-out based on previous years, and it seems that the Lions are receiving very little in walk up numbers, leaving just the hard core fans in the building.

Everyone knows the impact that HDTV has had on live sporting events and there seems to be something to the theory that the success of the Seattle Seahawks have carved a place into some of the Lions’ fan base.

Beyond the obvious, the Lions need to engage the younger fan. Look around the league in places like Ottawa, where football is seen to be “cool” again. So many young people there are getting hooked on the Redblacks. Their marketing is outstanding and they make their fans feel part of the big picture. Yes, the Redblacks are the new cool thing in town, but you have to admire the ways they are getting to the younger demographic.

You can’t roll out ads every year with the same face painted fans and expect to make progress. Reward the loyalty of your season ticket holders. Hand out pins for 5-10-15 years of support. Create a “Wall of Fans” where long time season ticket holders have their name engraved on a plaque and added to it. Make your fans and their families feel part of something special.

A competitive winning product would help of course, and the last two seasons at BC Place haven’t always provided that. But something needs to change, because whatever the Lions are doing doesn’t seem to be working.

The Lions Notebook: Training Camp Edition – June 6th

June 7, 2015 By Brian Wawryshyn

I have a confession to make; I’m a bit of a freak when it comes to the BC Lions. That probably explains why on four hours sleep, I got up at 4:00am to make the three and a half hour trip for our annual pilgrimage to Lions training camp. Why is it so easy to get up for football, but it feels like waking the living dead to go to work?

But I digress.

Today was the first day of our five day visit to the tournament capital of Canada, Kamloops, BC, and the best word I can describe what I saw on day one is, impressive. Here are some thoughts, in a special training camp edition of the Lions Notebook.

Tedford’s Way

We’ve all heard a lot about the “Tedford Tempo” but until you see it live, you can’t begin to understand how different this camp is from any other BC Lions camp you’ve seen. Everything is timed and organized down to the second. As this photo of the segment clock that Jeff Tedford brought in shows.

There is a much more business like feel to this camp, than any other camp I’ve attended. Coaches where headsets to communicate, there is less chatting and joking around by the players. You can tell they are here to work, and I haven’t always felt that way watching a Lions practice.

On the Short Side

One of the big questions at this camp is who will replace 11-year Lion Dante Marsh on the short side corner. During this session that player was Ronnie Yell, who looks more than ready to take on the challenge. Yell was one of the most impressive players I saw on the field today, and he had some aggressive battles with Emmanuel Arceneaux.

Behind Centre

Jonathan Jennings is making an impression at camp and you could see why. He throws a very nice ball and was by far the best QB on the field in the morning session. Travis Lulay continues to pace himself, and didn’t attempt many deep throws. Travis Partridge I thought had a bit of a shaky session, while Greg McGhee had some nice completions as well, but doesn’t look as polished as Jennings. John Beck has made his way to Kamloops (18 pounds lighter) and will undergo more tests here before being given the green light to practice.

The Offensive Line

This seems to be a constant concern for the Lions and for once it would be to come to a camp and not have to talk about it. The injury to Hunter Steward certainly muddied the waters for the team but there were also some interesting observations to be made during Saturday’s sessions.

For one, Kirby Fabien is not in the first unit, replaced instead by Matt Norman at left guard, while Dean Valli is on the left. This is concerning simply for the fact that the Lions (or at least their fans) have been hoping that Fabien would return to the form he showed prior to his knee injury in 2013. Has Fabien fallen from grace that far, or are the Lions simply getting Norman work at guard to see where he fits into their plans after removing him from the centre spot?

Paul McCallum

I’ve seen a lot of reaction to the Paul McCallum release that was announced today. Some fans are mad at the way it was handled by the Lions, some are miffed to why McCallum was released at all without a proven field goal kicker on the roster and others are wondering why McCallum was even brought to camp if they had other plans, only to be asked to retire after five days.

It’s my personal belief that the Lions tried to do the right thing and let McCallum call it a day without being officially cut. They brought him to camp, because until recently they only had McCallum on the roster. When Richie Leone was released by the club and the Lions came to terms with Anthony Fera, the picture changed, but the Lions still needed to see how they performed.

At 44 years of age, even Paul McCallum admits that his best days are behind him. He’s still a very reliable field goal kicker from inside 45 yards, and his experience with every stadium in the league is second to no one in his position. But his punt average is dropping, the Lions are leaving points on the field because of his limited range, and they have two guys in camp that have looked very good.

There will be some growing pains with whoever handles the kicking duties, but it you can’t wait forever to make the switch, and the Lions feel they have two very promising kickers to choose from and may indeed keep both of them on the roster.

Only Wally Buono and Paul McCallum really know how all of this went down and in time we will all hear the story. In the meantime, the McCallum era in BC is definitely over and we wish Paul well. He’s been a great BC Lion and he’s had a hall of fame career.

Keeping it Light

At the end of the morning session, Tedford gathered his players around and told them it was time to kick field goals. Both Leone and Fera would each kick two field goals. For everyone they missed the whole team would have to do “gassers” or wind sprints for those of you unfamiliar with the term.

But there was a catch, the rest of the team was told to make as much noise as possible to try and distract the two kickers. Thankfully for them, all four field goals were made and the two kickers instantly became the most popular guys on the field.

Hot as…

The Lions practiced Saturday under baking hot conditions Saturday in Kamloops. Jeff Tedford chose to make the afternoon session a walk through, and it lasted just over an hour, which was no doubt just fine with the players.

Sunday is supposed to be even hotter, and the Lions will have another light day, as the club’s annual Fan Fest takes place at Hillside Stadium. It’s free for all and the gates open at 12:30. We’ll have photos and other tidbits from the event here on 3DownNation.com.