It’s after midnight and I am sitting at my desk contemplating another disappointing Lions game. The season is now over and the Leos are eliminated from the CFL playoffs.
After the game I was listening to the TSN 1410 post game show and the amount of callers that wanted head coach Mike Benevides to be fired was unreal. I agree he should be fired, but not for the reasons everyone else is claiming. Their biggest concern was that he left Kevin Glenn in for too much of the game. Most fans wanted to see a quarterback change with Travis Partridge entering the game a lot sooner. The same was true of John Beck in the Calgary game late in the year.
I am sure the coaching staff felt that Kevin Glenn was the Lions best hope for success in the playoffs. Giving John Beck or Travis Partridge a shot at starting during the playoffs is ridiculous. They should have been given some serious playing time three or four weeks ago, not now. Since they have not been given any playing time I can only surmise that the coaches have seen nothing in them that would indicate that they are capable of playing at a high enough level for the CFL, never mind for the playoffs. If this is the case, why are they still on the team? Partridge is young and still growing into the position but what is Beck’s excuse?
End Game – A Disappointing Season for the BC Lions
There are going to be some sweeping changes in the Lions organization. Owner David Braley is not happy with the embarrassment in Montreal and if Wally Buono is not willing to make those changes, they may start with him. I do not expect that to happen. Buono has already tossed his coach under the bus after a loss against the Edmonton Eskimos earlier this year when he said, “We lost because Mike did not coach well.” If you follow the Lions you would know that Wally Buono hardly ever says anything bad about a particular person in the media. This was a sign of things to come and it did not get any better with Calgary and then Montreal.
I foresee a huge turn over in the coaching staff in BC. Mostly on offense, Mark Washington acquitted himself well in his rookie season as defensive coordinator, and is more than qualified to return next year. So did the rest of the defensive staff, but offense is a whole different story. Expect Mike Benevides, Khari Jones, Joe Paopao & Dan Dorazio to be given their walking papers. I personally do not think any of this was Khari Jones’s fault. From what I hear Benevides did not allow him to run his offence. Overriding his play calling and micro managing his offense, something an ex-defensive coordinator is not qualified to do. Jones will find another coaching job very quickly. Ottawa is looking for an offensive coordinator, Winnipeg maybe and I would wager the Saskatchewan Roughriders will be as well.
Plain and Simple the coaches did not have their players prepared to play. There was confusion at times, disorganization and far too many undisciplined penalties. That is the coaches responsibility. Talking with a few players, this is what was said about Coach Bene. “He’s confusing at times one minute he’s try to be like Wally, the next min he’s a player’s coach.”
Not all of this season’s woos can be blamed on coaching. What can one really expect when your star quarterback plays only three quarters in one game of an 18-game schedule? The league’s leading rusher Andrew Harris goes down for two-thirds of the season as did Stefan Logan & Tim Brown. Moving onto the receivers, Manny Arceneaux missed training camp and the first two games of the year, as did Marco Iannuzzi. Bryan Burnam wass hurt in preseason and Courtney Taylor goes down at the mid-point. Now we get to the revolving door on the offensive line for the first half or more of the season. I think there were only two players on the offense that played every game, fullback Rolly Lumbala and right tackle Jovan Olafioye.
This team was a disappointment, this season was a disappointment. Anything short of a Grey Cup is a disappointment especially when the big game is at home.
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