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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 3rd 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 3rd 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 2nd and long continued and when Mic’hael Brooks left the game the seas parted in the Lions defensive line.

Change is Needed

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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.

Filed Under: BC Lions Den, Featured Tagged With: Andrew Harris, BC Lions, BC Lions Den, CFL, David Braley, Dennis Skulsky, Emmanuel Arceneaux, George Cortez, Jeff Tedford, Ottawa, Redblacks, Wally Buono

The BC Lions Den Pawdcast: Episode 62

September 10, 2015 By Brian Wawryshyn

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One of our favourite episodes yet because there is nothing better than talking CFL football with other passionate fans. After getting caught up on some Lions news, Brian and Mojo welcome Jeannine Ritchot and Mike Smith of the Bleed Redblacks Podcast for some discussion on football in the Nation’s capital and the upcoming game between the Lions and Redblacks, as well as a few other CFL topics.

Follow our guests::

Jeannine Ritchot: @OttawaJay

Mike Smith: @ProjectSmith

Bleed Redblacks: www.bleedredblacks.ca

This show was recorded on September 8th, 2015.

Never miss a show! Subscribe to the BC Lions Den Pawdcast on iTunes.

Filed Under: BC Lions Den, Featured Tagged With: BC Lions, BC Lions Den, BleedRedblacks Podcast, Brian Wawryshyn, CFL, Jeannine Ritchot, Mike Smith, Mojo Kemp, Ottawa, Podcast, Redblacks

All Three Phases: What to watch as the BC Lions open in Ottawa

July 4, 2015 By Brian Wawryshyn

The start of the 2015 season for the BC Lions begins today in Ottawa against the 1-0 Redblacks. It’s anyone’s guess as to what we will see from the Lions and with a new head coach and no fewer than 22 newcomers, the Lions are now the youngest team in the Canadian Football League.

Let’s take a look at what to watch in all three phases.

When BC Has the Ball

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The return of Travis Lulay and Andrew Harris provide a big boost to the Lions offence. But the key to any success for both players is going to be the play of a new offensive line.

Only Jovan Olafioye remains from 2014’s group of starters and two other imports, have been added in Centre Jason Foster and Left Tackle, Tommie Draheim. Kirby Fabien and 2nd year national T-Dre Player fill out the starting five that will hope to protect Lulay and open holes for Harris.

Helping to provide protection will be the dependable Rolly Lumbala, who shed some weight in the off-season to also play a bigger role in the offence. The Lions also signed too big bodied tight ends in Cam Morrah and A.C. Leonard, who both have good speed and hands.

The Lions intend to run a high paced offence, but that doesn’t mean rushing to the line and getting off the next snap. Watch for the Lions to quickly get to the line and send receivers to stop and look for tells from the RedBlacks defence. The receivers will reset and if they like what they saw they will run the same play, and if not they will switch to a different option.

Harris has lead the league in combined yards in the past for a reason and the Lions will look to get him into open space out of the backfield. When he comes out look for Shaquille Murray-Lawrence to switch up the pace as the smaller scat back type of runner.

arceneaux

With the extra practice time the Lions got in with their bye week, Travis Lulay will have had more time to establish timing with his receivers and the Lions have some solid for him to utilize. Manny Arceneaux had a very strong preseason and will be counted on as a deep threat. The Lions went out and signed former NFL receiver Austin Collie who is an excellent route runner and should provide reliable hands, while national Marco Iannuzzi looks to be primed for a more prominent role in the offence.

The Lions will be without Courtney Taylor who will be replaced by the promising Bryan Burnham, and it will be interesting to see if the Lions can find a way to get Shawn Gore more involved in the attack.

When Ottawa Has the Ball

If the preseason was any indication, the Lions defence is in pretty good shape, with the one question mark being the defensive line. They weren’t very effective getting to the quarterback or plugging holes against the run and the interior of the line is of particular concern. Jabar Westerman will be counted on to take his game to another level off the right side while Khreem Smith returns on the left. In the middle the Lions will start two new additions in Michael Brooks and Craig Roh.

burris

Pressure on Henry Burris will be critical if the Lions hope to stop the veteran pivot from utilizing his improved crop of receivers led by former Lions Ernest Jackson. When Burris gets rattled that’s when he starts to commit mistakes. The task will not be easy against a much improved Redblacks offensive line led by tackle Sir Vincent Rogers.

But the line will also have to do a good job plugging the run, especially with the always dangerous Chevon Walker in the lineup for the Redblacks. If they can slow him up, that should leave the cleanup work for Solomon Elimimian and Adam Bighill.

In the secondary the Lions will have their hands full with an improved crop of Redblacks receivers. Ronnie Yell and TJ Lee had strong preseasons and will have to contain Jackson and Chris Williams. While on the other side, Cord Parks will work against Greg Ellingson.

Special Teams

The kicking game will be a big factor with the always dangerous Williams returning, and that’s where the Lions will look to take advantage of the leg of new international kicker Richie Leone. With new rules regarding lineman downfield this should be an asset to the Lions and it showed in the preseason.

Where things get iffy are field goals, as Leone is a punter first. He’s shown he has the ability to do the job, but his consistency is the concern, along with not experiencing some of the elements the CFL game can bring.

As for returners, it’s a work in progress after the release of Tim Brown. Marco Iannuzzi is likely to get the call at least to start the game but also watch for Murray-Lawrence and Alex Tillman.

Coaching

Jeff Tedford comes with an impressive resume. He’s been away from the Canadian game for a long time, but has solid CFL experience surrounding him on his staff. While Tedford gets his team finely tuned on offence, the defence should be able to keep the Lions in games. It’s just a matter of if that will happen and how long it will take.

Filed Under: BC Lions Den, Featured Tagged With: Andrew Harris, BC Lions, BC Lions Den, CFL, Ottawa, Redblacks, Richie Leone, Travis Lulay

Off-season Musings: Arceneaux and Ottawa Expansion

January 20, 2011 By Brian Wawryshyn

It’s been a while Lions fans! I hope you’ve all been having a great off-season. If you’re like me, it’s already too long. I miss my Friday Night Football, tailgating and all the good times that come from being a CFL fan.

That said there have been some interesting things going on around the league so I thought it would be a good time to touch on a couple that will have an affect on the BC Lions.

Bye Bye Mannie

If you follow Emmanuel Arceneaux on Twitter you probably know by know that the Lions receiver is not likely returning to the team in 2011. Arceneaux has been actively tweeting about his NFL tryouts, and has stated he’s close to signing with an NFL club. His agent confirmed those statements in a recent articleby Matt Sekeres of the Globe and Mail.

Bardia Ghahremani, told the Globe that five NFL teams have shown interest and Arceneaux could make more in signing bonus money than he would on a new deal with the Lions. He also doesn’t think there will be an NFL lockout, which may be wishful thinking on his part. If there is a lockout and Arceneaux is under contract to an NFL team, he won’t be able to return the CFL, and could miss a year of football. A year he could be honing his skills in the CFL in preparation for even a bigger pay day, similar to the one Cam Wake received from Miami (A 1 million dollar signing bonus).

The Lions had an offer on the table for Arceneaux, and Wally Buono felt a deal was doable.

“The numbers [Arceneaux] put forward to us, we felt were doable,” Buono said. “They just felt that maybe it was best to see what the NFL would offer.”

Buono told Arceneaux to make it wothwhile if he decided to bolt for the NFL.

Of course every player deserves to chase his dreams, and we wish Mannie all the best, whatever decision he makes. The departure will leave a hole in the Lions receiving corps but should allow for Steven Black, Andrew Harris and Jamal Lee to assume larger roles. No doubt the club will be looking for more replacements in their upcoming free agent camps as well.

Ottawa Expansion

The guidelines for the expansion draft that will bring Ottawa back into the league were announced recently. You can find the full details on BCLions.com but here are some of the key points unveiled by the league:

  • If everything proceeds as planned, the Ottawa team could take the field for the 2013 season. In that case, the expansion draft would be conducted on or about Thursday, December 13, 2012. It will consist of three rounds: one for imports, and two for non-imports.
  • Ottawa will be able to select a total of eight imports and 16 non-imports, including two quarterbacks, from existing teams.
  • If the team is ready to start play in 2013, Ottawa will pick first in all six rounds of the 2013 CFL Canadian Draft, after picking as many as four underclassmen from the NCAA in the 2012 CFL Canadian Draft.
  • Ottawa will have the ability to select not more than two quarterbacks and not more than one kicker or punter (for clarity, Ottawa may not select a kicker and a punter). A Member Club cannot have both a quarterback and a kicker or punter selected from its roster. A Member Club cannot have more than one quarterback selected from its roster.

Round by round here are the rules that Ottawa and the member clubs will follow in the three round draft:

Round One:

  • Member Clubs may protect one quarterback, and ten additional Import players.
  • Ottawa will select one Import player from each Member Club.
  • Import quarterbacks, kickers, and punters are eligible for selection (and protection), provided that: 
  • Each Member Club may protect a maximum of one quarterback in the Import Draft.
  • All other quarterbacks on a Member Club’s roster at the time of the draft are eligible for selection in this section.
  • Ottawa will only be able to select two quarterbacks in the Expansion Draft.
  • If a quarterback is selected from a Member Club in the Import Draft, such Member Club will be able to protect the names of an additional two Non-Import players in the first round of the Non-Import Draft.
  • If a kicker or punter is selected from a Member Club in the Import Draft, such Member Club will be able to protect one additional Non-Import player in the first round of the Non-Import Draft.

Round Two:

  • Each Member Club will protect six Non-Import players.

Non-Import quarterbacks, kickers, and punters are eligible for selection (and protection), provided that:

  • If a Member Club had a quarterback selected from its roster in the Import draft, it will be permitted to protect eight Non-Import players in the first round of the Non-Import Draft (instead of six); and
  • Ottawa will be prevented from also selecting a kicker or punter from that Member Club.
  • If a Member Club had a kicker or punter selected from its roster in the Import Draft.
  • That Member Club will be permitted to protect seven Non-Import players in the Non-Import Draft (instead of six); and
  • Ottawa will be prevented from also selecting a quarterback from that Member Club.

Any kicker or punter selected in the Non-Import Draft must be selected in the first round. If a Member Club had a kicker or punter selected from its roster in the Non-Import Draft, such Member Club would be eligible to protect eight Non-Import players in the second round of the Non-Import Draft, instead of six.

Ottawa will then select one non-import player from each Member Club.

Round Three:

  • Member Clubs will then submit a second list of an additional six Non-Import players for protection.
  • If a Member Club lost a Non-Import kicker or punter in the first round of the Non-Import Draft, such Member Club would submit two additional Non-Import player names for protection.
  • Ottawa will then select one non-import player from each Member Club.
  • The Commissioner will resolve any dispute related to player eligibility for the Expansion Draft process.

Not a bad deal for Ottawa if they should get some good football people in place and draft wisely. It will no doubt hit some of the Member clubs hard depending on the players they lose. The idea will be to have Ottawa competiive right out of the gate to ensure the public support the club. Several member teams, including the Lions benefited greatly through the dispersal draft the last time Ottawa folded.

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Filed Under: CFL/League, Drafts/Prospects, Featured, News, Uncategorized Tagged With: BC Lions, CFL, Emmanuel Arceneaux, Expansion Draft, Ottawa

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