Edmonton had the worst run defence in the league coming in to the game.
Hamilton had the number one rusher coming in....
Easy, simple game plan, right?
Apparently not.
I don't want to hear about how Edmonton was keying on him ---- every team will!!
If Edmonton eliminates him from the game--fine---but they didn't have to---The Cats did it for them!!
absolutely rediculous. yea Gass got him twice with shoestring tackles and they stop going to him prety much until the game is more thn half over. Could we not have figured out a way to eliminate Gass. Ever heard of pounding for yards Taaffe and Working. i would rather have Lumsden carrying the ball than Maas getting sacked and losing yardage. And Lumsden can catch the ball too out of the backfield. I saw him going out for passes but the ball never got to him. Early in the game when they weren’t giving the ball to Lumsden, Maas was not even bothering to fake it to Lumsden. Lumsden was pass blocking. No play action no nothing. Totally unimaginative offensive calls.
Good teams use their best players, we leave them on the bench or don’t bother to use them until the game is out of reach.
Did you notice how often Edmonton went to their running back… either on the ground or through the air…
I dont like to sound like a coaching 2nd guesser...but man....it was clear that the strategy in the first half was to use Lumsden as a decoy on almost every play.
After seeing how well he ran in the 2nd half (with the few carries they gave him), I hope the Ticat's play callers re-think the decoy strategy.
Unless you have weapons equally or more effective than Lumsden, its irrational to use him as a decoy.
They were behind for most of the second half after a first half where Edmonton did everything in their power to stop Jesse.
I know you don't want to hear about how the Eskimos keyed on him, but it is the truth. The offensive line was getting out-played, Charlie said that himself.
This is the CFL, there are always going to be times, especially when you are trailing by 3+ points where you aren't going to be able to run the football as much as you would like.
Jesse is great and is going to have a long career, but there are going to be games where he doesn't get a lot of carries. And that is where his value as a receiver and blocker come shining through!
You know I would not even have as much of a problem if they did use him as a decoy but I don't think they even did that very effectively. Rarely in the first half, with the exception of a few plays (the Brock end around) did they even fake the handoff to Lumsden to draw the defence in. i knew Lumsden was not getting the ball every time he moved up to pass block, no decoy there...
Maas didn't really start having any success until they went to play action and began actually using Lumsden as a decoy
Sorry–I don’t buy it. There hasn’t been a game this year where he has had what would be considered a lot of carries.
Football can be and is analysed and over-analysed but it is just a game and it comes down to man against man.
You have to believe your guy…in this case Lumsden…can beat their guy…I believe he can.
Wayne Gretzky wasn’t benched because they shadowed him.
Not to belabour the point but there are times where you have to wear down the defence by punching them with a hard-running game. They were down three points not thirty points so there was no reason to panic and go to an aerial attack. Figure out ways to spring Lumsden. Don’t give up after they stop him a few times… I’m not saying give the ball to Lumsden every time but use your best weapon, eventually he’ll pay off especially against the leagues weakest run defence.
[Wayne Gretzky wasn't benched because they shadowed him.
[/quote]
Exactly, I have news for the Cat coaches. The opposition will be keying on him EVERY game. You have to figure a way around it.
He did have like 110 yards last night, which is a solid noght for a RB. But it was obvious when he was and was not getting the ball in the first half, he should NEVER go in forward motion, period.
I was glad to see the sweep, and was hoping to see more of it, but that was also the drive where he got knicked up. He is certainly the only guy who breaks tackles and gets yards after contact.
"I know you don't want to hear about how the Eskimos keyed on him, but it is the truth. The offensive line was getting out-played, Charlie said that himself"
If they would have used jessie more in the first half they would have started to wear down the defense, and eventually he would have broken a few.
Also if they run Jessie and they are keying in on him by say using their middle linebacker to follow him, then we could have made plays like a quick dump pass in the middle to counteract. Not using your best player because thet are keying in on him is just palin dumb. We played right into Edomontons game plan.
If Lumsden is your best player, and everyone knows it, then you have to get him the ball. He's fast enough to do anything, even as a deep threat, particularly if he's covered man-to-man by a linebacker. So if he's stopped going "up the gut", move him around, to find out what works in a particular game.
I actually think you just might have hit the nail on the head. I didn’t think about that, but this way the 'Cats can solidfy themselves for next season WITH Lumsden, rather then push this season and go next season and possibly more WITHOUT Lumsden.
I think you need to look at the big picture here. Instead of looking at the number of CARRIES Jesse has, we should be looking at the number of TOUCHES he gets. It was obvious in the first half we could not establish the run. Edmonton consistenly had 7 or 8 in the box almost impossible to run against that. In the second half we got Jesse in space and he ripped off a couple of big plays. THAT'S GOOD COACHING.
Todd you can't always run into a brick wall! If they are going to put 7 or 8 in the box you have man to man with your receivers you take that everytime! until they start dropping guys into coverage. Then you can run the ball. Edmonton was determined not to let Lumsden beat them on the ground. You've got to give them credit they did a good job of that however we were just as effective throwing the ball to Jesse. The key with him is get him into space and to the second level where he can run over guys and use his speed.
This game is not the only example of Jesse being under used as a ball carrier. Look at every game.
When he runs he is successful. A couple of poor running plays and we abandon the run…yet, incompletion after incompletion and we continue to pass…???
why arn't THEY using Corey HOLMES?
ARE THEY NUTS?
Even Suitor said that Holmes gives them another dimension and THE defence must defend differently,instead of coming right at Lumsden. They must be hesitant against Holmes or he will go right around them. They would be a great tandem, but Lumsden by himself can't do it. Holmes can play....
And they are PRO COACHES?