CFL Obituaries: Were the Lions' 2015 struggles a step back or a building block?

Moving on with our CFL Obituaries series, here's a look at what went wrong for the B.C. Lions this season.

The B.C. Lions' season passed away Sunday with a 35-9 West semifinal loss to the Calgary Stampeders, but it had been in poor health for some time. The Lions posted a 7-11 regular-season record and barely made the playoffs, sneaking in thanks to two late wins and losses from Winnipeg and Montreal. They had plenty of struggles this season beyond the wins and losses, too, and they have lots of potential free agents who may take off this offseason. The key question for the survivors of this Lions' season is if this year's issues were just growing pains in new head coach Jeff Tedford's first season and staying the course will make things better, or if more radical moves are required to turn things around.

Oddly enough, Sunday's game can be seen as evidence for both points of view. B.C. got off to a great start on the road against the 14-4 Stampeders, forcing three straight two-and-outs and taking a 3-0 lead off a Richie Leone field goal. For a moment, there was potential belief that they were building to something. Then rookie quarterback Jonathon Jennings threw a pick-six to Calgary's Keon Raymond and left the game shortly thereafter with what proved to be a broken collarbone, the B.C. offence bogged down, and the Stampeders started to roll en route to a dominant victory. For those more cynical about the Lions' future, there was plenty of evidence there too. This follows a larger pattern seen all year long, where B.C. alternated great games or sometimes even quarters with terrible ones.

So, which was more reflective of this team overall? Well, the statistics they posted weren't good. As noted ahead of their postseason matchup with Calgary, B.C. was seventh, eighth or ninth in many key offensive categories, and seventh or eighth in many important defensive ones, looking especially vulnerable against the run. On the whole, a 7-11 record's probably about right for this team, and it may even be generous given their statistics. Their -49 point differential on the year wasn't terrible (and it was better than the 10-8 Argos' -61, but Toronto also fell at this point in the playoffs), but it doesn't suggest the Lions were good but unlucky. This was a generally-bad team; they had some talented players, as their eight divisional all-star nods show, but weren't able to come up with a consistent or cohesive whole. Where B.C. goes from here largely depends on if their ownership thinks those problems can be fixed with minimal changes, or if they decide on a more thorough restructuring.

At this point, it seems quite possible that both head coach Jeff Tedford and general manager Wally Buono will survive this season, and that may not be a bad outcome. For all the Lions' struggles, they did make some progress in developing young players. In particular, Jennings showed great potential down the stretch and likely will be this team's quarterback going forward; Travis Lulay is 32, has battled injuries recently, lost his job to Jennings, and is a pending free agent, so if he does come back, it's likely in a backup role. Plenty of first- and second-year defensive players like Mic'hael Brooks, Ronnie Yell, Steven Clarke, Boseko Lokombo and Alex Bazzie also looked good this year, and that's promising for the future. There is some talent on this team. The biggest question is if Tedford's the right guy to develop it.

Tedford does have a CFL background, but hadn't worked north of the border since 1991 before this season, which did lead to some concerns about the adjustment when he was hired. Some of those concerns proved to be valid, especially on the offensive side of the ball (which has typically been Tedford's speciality); the Lions had two solid offensive minds in Tedford and offensive coordinator George Cortez (who does have much more recent CFL experience), but especially early on, didn't necessarily produce an offence well-suited to this league. Many of the things Tedford tried, particularly the frequent usage of tight ends, didn't exactly work out, and he admitted Monday that "I learned a lot" and "it's a different game." Tedford does have another year on his contract, and it's looking for now like he'll get to fulfill that, which makes some sense; perhaps with a year of CFL experience under his belt, he'll be able to produce a better overall product. However, this year's showing isn't going to inspire confidence in everyone.

This is particularly true when you consider the losses the Lions might face this offseason. In particular, star Canadian running back Andrew Harris (second in the league this year with 1,039 rushing yards, a two-time divisional all-star and potentially a two-time league all-star if he gets a nod this year), left tackle Jovan Olafioye (a four-time league all-star who may add a fifth nomination there this year, plus the league's top offensive lineman in 2012 and a three-time divisional nominee for that award, including this year) and wide receiver Emmanuel Arceneaux (a two-time divisional all-star with NFL experience) may all hit the free agent market. Harris in particular looks set to leave, perhaps for his hometown of Winnipeg (but there will be plenty of bidders), and the others may follow. If the Lions can keep some or all of those veterans and potentially add others through free agency, skillful coaching from Tedford and his staff could combine with their rising young players to make them a contender in 2015. If they suffer significant losses, though, that further adds to the difficulty of making progress, something that's certainly not assured anyway.