What a game! Full marks and a tip of the hat to the Als for winning a game that most figured was in the bag for the Lions [myself included!].
A team decimated by injuries and without their starting QB, the Als deserve all the credit for knocking off the BC Lions. It's funny but sometime during the 3rd quarter I told my wife, " I bet I know what is going to happen. It's going to go down to a last second, last play of the game field goal!" Ouch! A tough loss for the Lions but the better team won.
This was a game the Lions needed to win for those "rainy" days. [no pun intended]. They did not do what they needed to do. Congrats to Marsh [Als' QB] stepping in at the QB position and playing with the composure of a veteran. Congrats to the Als D for constantly putting pressure on Lulay. Congrats to the Lions D for keeping the Lions in the game almost to the very end.
The Lions' O coordinator is going to have to makes some serious adjustments to Lulay's game and the entire O line if the Lions are going to be contenders.
If the Als as beaten up as they are were able to beat the Lions just imagine what they would have done to the Lions if they were healthy.
Congrats to both teams for a hard fought game. :thup:
Why the Lions traded my favorite player Arland Bruce I'll never know. Like a case of bad heartburn he burned the Lions time and again! Good for Arland Bruce. This guy was solid gold when he played for the Lions. He is solid gold for the Als!
Classy post, beagle, but I don't share your optimism. Yes, the win was great, but Marsh threw four picks, fumbled once, and generally didn't show himself capable of anything but scrambling and chucking the ball down field and hoping for the best. As a short-term shot in the arm, great, but long term? Kid has no accuracy on his passes...
The Lions had an off-night. I don't think that comeback happens nine out of ten times but it did tonight. I'll take it, but I won't read more into it than statistical anomaly + luck. I mean, when Eric Deslauriers of all people is coming up with clutch catches, you know it's not something you should bank on happening very often...
I’m curious to see what he does after a week of 1st team reps. 2 of his picks were not his fault (player falls and another misses the ball completely). I’ll be optimistic for now.
I just don’t see very much from him. He can run, and chuck the ball down the field with not much accuracy. That basically makes him Michael Bishop, who was also good coming off the bench but not great as a starter. His accuracy even on short passes is really poor.
The important thing D&P is that the Als pulled off a victory few expected. I agree, Marsh had his problems, but Calvillo will be back. What I was seeing is an Als D literally destroy a Lions O line. I'm not so sure the Lions were having an off night. Lulay cannot handle the blitzes and the Als knew this. Lulay did very little running of his own. He is not playing with the same spark Lions fans are accustom to seeing. Harris, one of our best players was shut down tonight. Most of our points came off of our FG kicker's foot along with Tim Brown's awesome 120 yard run back. Lulay [Lions' QB] is playing tentatively and appears unsure of himself. He was sacked numerous times as if the Lions' O line was porous. It was!
The Als were heavily penalized in this game and still won the game. Frequently, the Lions lost yardage on 1st and 10 thanks the Als' D.
The Als almost beat the best team in the CFL last week. I think your team is much better than many fans give them credit for. Wait until the starters get back in the line-up. The Als just might make a run at the GC in November.
Beagle, I agree that the D turned in a generally strong performance. Thorpe's blitz packages were keeping Lulay and the O-line off-balance. OTOH, I've seen other QBs slice through them, so maybe it's just some film work that Travis needs to do. Crowd noise also forced him into some timecounts, I think.
In terms of the outcome, it is highly unusual for a team to turn the ball over six times and still win the game. I'll take it, but as I said, I'll avoid reading too much into it. We still have our annual loss scheduled at BC Place later in the season...
Classy first post Beagle. Tough loss for you guys but you will bounce back.
In relation to Lulay, I think defenses have picked up on his tendencies such as escaping on his right as soon as he feels pressure. As opposed to a Ricky Ray or AC, he also seems to have a little bit of difficulty going thru his progressions quickly once his first read is covered. External factors have also affected him. He lost his safety blanket in Geroy Simon, he’s not being helped by your porous o-line, the big contract has created fan and media pressure. Basically, he’s he’s lost his mojo/moxie.
Defensively, I hope Benevides tightens up the tackling in the secondary. I thought getting rid of Cauchy Mumba was a good move but you’ve got to replace him with someone better than J.R Larose. Unloading Geoff Tisdale was also wise but Ryan Phillips looked like a bullfighter on a few plays tonight.
Our defense is excellent. When your defense is this tough (counted 22 hits on Lulay) your going to be in most/every game. We should have won last week.
Difference is Bishop was a veteran guy that never got past the throw the ball really far step of playing QB. Marsh on the other hand is a rookie in his first game in the league so it’s only natural he will rely heavily on his best assets in this case arm strength and scrambling. If the coaches and Calvillo work with him on his accuracy he could be a good QB in time.
Obviously this result isn’t something Id expect regularly (deslauriers is probably the least reliable receiver in the league) but Ill gladly take the win in a supposed to lose game anytime
Calvillo is toast
Face it
Let’s look to the future
If it’s Marsh then great
But for God’s sake…give the kid his due
With basically the same team…albeit riddled with injuries…he TOTALLY OUTPLAYED Anthony Calvillo And sent chills up the spine of many an Alouettes fan
Obvious conclusion: Calvillo WAS the problem ooops…apologies to Dan Hawkins
Whether Marsh is the solution
Or someone else…
At least we’ve defined what needs to be done…
Now who’s gonna tell AC?
Popp is in a bit of a pickle... He needs to get this team a home playoff game to keep his "cred" with the owner so he'll have to decide if he goes down with AC or goes with on of the younger guys.
Did anyone see Berry's face tonight. He was like a kid out there. Its TIME !
[i]Really?! He forced a few passes, but looked calm and composed. He ran when the defense gave him the lanes; the smart thing to do. Johnny actually thinks he can throw a good and accurate deep ball. Sure, he tossed up a couple, but he was pretty accurate hitting his receivers. He throws a nice tight spiral, he can put air under the ball, and has nice touch.
He is a work in progress, but he showed good things, including accuracy. :thup: [/i]
Yup, that was fun to see! They need to design a playbook around this guy Marsh. Neiswander looked tight and afraid to make a mistake. He was throwing not to lose. Marsh was throwing to win.
Look, I like Marsh, and I'm happy we got the win. I'm just not ready to start proclaiming the Tanner Marsh Era in Montreal after a single, desperation win in which he accounted for all six of the team's turnovers. I want to see a progression from him before getting really excited. Having said that, he showed, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that he should pass Neiswander on the depth chart, and I really hope Marsh starts next game...
Can we stop for a second and give some credit to Mark Nelson? The guy has our linebackers playing like beast-men. Even with Hebert, our best defensive player, out of the lineup, we were flat-out terrorizing BC at the LOS.
Our struggles this year have also overshadowed the fine rookie season Mike Edem is having. He looks like a seasoned vet at safety.
Lastly, please release D.L. Moore. Guy has shown zero, absolutely nothing, since he got the opportunity. I'd rather dress an extra Canadian receiver and sign an import kicker than keep Moore around...
