The look on Wally's visage with trois seconds remaining said it all: he looked confused and he was confused. The guy is totally lost when a key decision is required on the field and that was clearly evident last night as the BC Lions failed on three separate attempts, from the Montreal one yard line, to punch the ball in for the winning touchdown. Instead the Als line held on all three mediocre calls by the visitors to come away with a 30-25 victory at Molson Stadium.
On the first attempt, quarterback Buck Pierce attempted to either hurdle the line or run through it, but his attempt resembled that of a five-year-old jumping to the next square in a game of hopscotch on the outdoor playground. Fortunately for Pierce and his team, the Als were called for offside on the play and BC was given another game winning opportunity to punch the ball ahead for one yard and the win.
Here was where Buono looked like a 'bonehead'. Short yardage fullback, Rolly Lumbala, who wasn't on the field for the first botched attempt, came out for this one and it remained no secret to anyone in the stadium or at home as to who was going to get the fucking ball on this attempt.
So the proper play here would have been to fake to Lumbala and have Pierce bootleg around the end for either a run or a short pass to Simon or Jackson in the endzone.
Right?
Wrong!
Wally Buono lacks this coaching quality and always has during his entire tenure as a head coach. The ability to use his imagination and catch the opponent off guard---the guy simply doesn't have it and had he possessed it tonight, the Lions would be flying home on the heels of a last second road win.
As it turned out, Lumbala's attempt was snuffed out for a negative two yards but alas, Montreal once again played good samaritan and were called offside once more. On the ensuing attempt from the one, their third in succession, the Lions QB fumbled the snap from center and that was all she wrote.
Listen, the BC Lions played a very poor and sloppy football game and turned the ball over far too many times to have even had an opportunity to escape with a victory last night.
However the fact is that it (the win) was there for the taking and they (BC) decided to leave it (the win) in Montreal. Just call it a goodwill gesture on the part of the entire team and the coaching staff included, particularly the head coach.
ope:
On the first attempt, quarterback Buck Pierce attempted to either hurdle the line or run through it, but his attempt resembled that of a five-year-old jumping to the next square in a game of hopscotch on the outdoor playground. Fortunately for Pierce and his team, the Als were called for offside on the play and BC was given another game winning opportunity to punch the ball ahead for one yard and the win.
Here was where Buono looked like a 'bonehead'. Short yardage fullback, Rolly Lumbala, who wasn't on the field for the first botched attempt, came out for this one and it remained no secret to anyone in the stadium or at home as to who was going to get the fucking ball on this attempt.
So the proper play here would have been to fake to Lumbala and have Pierce bootleg around the end for either a run or a short pass to Simon or Jackson in the endzone.
Right?
Wrong!
Wally Buono lacks this coaching quality and always has during his entire tenure as a head coach. The ability to use his imagination and catch the opponent off guard---the guy simply doesn't have it and had he possessed it tonight, the Lions would be flying home on the heels of a last second road win.
As it turned out, Lumbala's attempt was snuffed out for a negative two yards but alas, Montreal once again played good samaritan and were called offside once more. On the ensuing attempt from the one, their third in succession, the Lions QB fumbled the snap from center and that was all she wrote.
Listen, the BC Lions played a very poor and sloppy football game and turned the ball over far too many times to have even had an opportunity to escape with a victory last night.
However the fact is that it (the win) was there for the taking and they (BC) decided to leave it (the win) in Montreal. Just call it a goodwill gesture on the part of the entire team and the coaching staff included, particularly the head coach.
ope:
