Finally in a Class by Themselves

BC Lions
1

Well, who would have thunk it? The way Saskatchewan came out of the gate against Edmonton yesterday I was looking for a blow-out for sure. But The Esks had other plans of course. What a game!

With the Eskies' win it leaves the Lions in a class all by themselves. They have the dubious distinction of now being lone cellar dwellers- at least for the time being. Bottom of the pile, cellar dwellers, bottom feeders, dead last, last place, the abyss.

I remember just a couple of years ago looking at the standings in the newspaper while on the throne and smiling as I saw the Lions sitting at 18 or 20 points and the lowly Ti-Cats or Argos sitting at only 2. "Awww, so sad" I sarcastically thought. "They must feel really terrible with only 2 points" I would say. I used to watch the Ti-Cats get chewed up alive on the field though they always tried their best and would always root for them, hoping they would win.

Those sure were the "good old days".

Oh what to do, what to do?

It strikes me that with the Lions it boils down to 3 things:

Limited talent on the O line, poor play calling from the bench and superior opposition. The Lions are simply being beaten by better teams.

Full credit to the Lions for coming out game after game giving their all. After all that is what they're paid to do- to entertain us. It's gotta be real tough playing your hearts out only to get throttled each time. Should we be surprised when fights break out on the field because of shear frustration.

Unless the Lions can bring in better players to plug up some of those gaping holes on the Offensive line I cannot see this team winning more than one or two more games at best. And if there are any more wins those will likely come against teams that already have a playoff spot sewn up.

One more game and half the season is over. The O line has played together long enough to have gelled . It isn't happening. All 3 QBs have strengths but they're all inconsistent. The D is now beginning to show cracks. I've always touted that they are solid but let's face it, when you get scored 48 points against, it isn't like they're made of titanium. The D can only be out on the field for so long before getting worn down.

The Lions have been to the top of the mountain before and one day they'll be there again. It is just not going to be this year given what we've seen so far.

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Beaglehound says about the Lions,.........."it boils down to 3 things".
Sorry to disagree with you......But.....It Boils down to only ONE Thing.
And that is Coaching......or.....should I say, the lack of it!
The coaching, is really pretty Pathetic, to say the least!

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there's got to be a little rain sometime. I've always given a lot of credit to the fans & teams like Sask and Hamilton for hanging in there when things were tough. now its our turn - everyone can be happy when things are tikkyboo - now we'll get to be tested a bit.

4

I agree: The coaching is not what it should be - especially Chapdelaine; they should replace him NOW. They should contact Danny Mac to see if he's available to call plays. Their defensive zone-coverage is a joke; they should adopt a Calgary-style man-on-man backfield. They also need to replace Roy Shivers and find another Bob Obillovich-type that can recruit better players. No wonder Sask dropped him. Wally should decide between coach and/or GM, and make his mind up quick. I also think Casey's used up his chips; he's done. I think Travis should be given full reign through to the end of the season, and let him gain valuable experience to help build this team back up, establish some leadership, and regain the team confidence they need. Then again, who am I to suggest anything? I'm just a fan. Do we really think anyone in the Lions organization reads Fanzone at all, or values anything we have to say? Perhaps heeding the consituancy isn't such a bad thing - even more, actually acknowledging that value from time to time. Imagine that ever happening?

5

OK so a few things.. first this new system of getting on the forum SUCKS... I had my ID messed up and this is totally a mess.

NOW down to business...

1> So all you Casey Printers loving fans... I told you this before as ID LeoFan... This was the worst thing the lions could have done. Wally gave into your ranting and brought him back. So tell me how did any team under Casey Printers fair... well now you know cause he is doing it here. I said I would wait to see and then state my views... the worst thing was getting rid of Buck.. yeah ok so you are going to say look at the Bombers... well I think Buck would have done better here. So Casey has got to go as well at the OC MR. JC.

  1. I am sick and tired of the Vancouver sports writer, Beamish et al... they constantly are so negative. I really don't see the value in reading an article by over the hill guys who are over weight and sit around on their sofa's sucking back beer, eating fattening food and probably would have a heart attack if they had to run to the fridge. YOU GUYS totally SUCK. Go watch the Canucks and their crappy LOU!

3> Yeah there are lots of rookies on the team, but I have gone to every game and yes those guys are out there busting their behinds, ... good example is Joe Henderson, ok so he made a few errors but this guy gives more than a lot of the vets. Just cause Wally calls him out on the 2 facemask penelties the press gets on him. (back to the press the only face masking they do is to get to bag of potato chips if someone gets in their way!)

I am really annoyed at people dumping on the lions... there are lots of bright spots, and so what we had a good run.. now there is a rebuilding and everyone starts dumping on them. The lions will rule the CFL again, maybe not this year but we will return. I will be at every game and renew my seasons tix for 2011. I stand by WALLY... and don't blame him for not reading the PRESS .. cause they SUCK big time.4

SO YOU WANT TO WIN.... CASEY PRINTERS HAS GOT TO GO HE IS NOT A LEADER!!

Agree or not I don''t care. I waited half a season to say my thoughts and don't give me oh but Casey was out for 5 weeks, the guy cannot and will not be a leader in a position that needs it. And you Overweight, Over the hill Vancouver Sports writers.. go find another job.

Really annoyed at the lack of support for our TEAM.

6

Welcome back LeoFan. The Lions are doing what all teams in the CFL eventually do- they're paying their dues. They rocked for about a 5 year stretch, winning a Grey Cup along the way. If I'm not mistaken there was a period in time when Hamilton appeared in 5 consecutive Grey Cups. And then just a couple of years ago they were lucky to win 2 or 3 games a season. And there is Edmonton. They won 5 consecutive Grey Cups in the franchise history. Five!! Now look at them. Let's just hope it doesn't take the Lions too many seasons to regroup.

As far as the quarterbacking goes I think Pierce's days were numbered with the Lions and are numbered in Winnipeg. In fact I think his days as a player are numbered. I think it would have been suicide to have Buck Pierce try to quarterback a team [the Lions] with such a weak offensive line. At times there has been virtually zero protection. He would have been seriously injured. They could have Houdini at the QB position and in my opinion it would not help. We have 3 QBs. Some will say that each has been given a chance to prove himself and show what he's got. I don't agree. Well, maybe in Printers case. But I can't see how any QB can do much when he's given only milliseconds to execute a play once the ball is snapped.

The players are giving their best- no one should try and take that away from them. But I honestly and seriously believe that the Lions could make 10 coaching changes and it will not help. The current roster has only got so much talent. It is what the coaching staff has to work with this year- and they know it. Yes, there are some bright spots. Yonus Davis comes to mind. This is one slippery and fast dude. I think he will do a lot for the team. McCallum appears to have returned from the Twilight Zone and is contributing a lot to the team. There are other quality players as well.

The Lions deserve an A for effort but unfortunately this will likely not translate into a successful season. To have that, the talent has to be there as well.

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Like I've been posting in the Edmonton forum, tearing down a franchise doesn't happen overnight, and neither does rebuilding it. It will be a few years before the Lions are ready to challenge for top spot in the West again.

Wally needs to remove himself from the HC spot and let someone else take over so he can concentrate on bringing in the best talent possible, particularly at the O-line position. It should be painfully obvious at this point that it doesn't matter who takes snaps from the center if the line can't provide adequate pass protection. Step two is firing Chapdelaine and bringing in someone who understands how to run a dynamic offense in today's CFL. Step three is firing Benevides and replacing him with Rich Stubler.

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There certainly have been some bonehead plays called from the bench. Some of which were called in the last few minutes of a game which had my head shaking. The Lions should be 4-4 and not 1-7 but I would not say THE sole reason is because of poor coaching.

I believe it has a lot to do with an O line that is unable to handle the speed and strength of the opposing defenses. Even Kapp, Flutie, and Moon needed a couple of seconds to get set up. If the O line cannot open holes for the run, if it cannot provide some pass protection for the QB, then as far as I’m concerned it doesn’t matter how creative the coaches are in trying to adapt to what the opposition is showing, the Lions will just keep spinning their wheels.

If will be interesting to see that if there are some coaching changes made and the personnel on the field remains the same if this will make much of a difference to the win column. Personally I doubt it but I’d love to be proven wrong.

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We could have Doug Flutie in his prime right now and it wouldn't mean a damn thing if he doesn't get any help.

I'm just glad our special teams are still doing great.

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Yup, I remember those posts too. Casey was supposed to be our savior :roll: :roll: :roll: He had one good year. Look at the all star receivers here in 2004! I could play QB with those receivers.

The other thing is to get rid of Chapdelaine too. Predictable offense!

Welcome back Leofan! (The Casey Lovers wont be harrassing you much these days!)