Old Bomber Fan

congrats to the Big Blue, they truly put on a show in terrible conditions last night. To me what they showed was a determination that frankly I haven't seen in some time although with that said they seem to be a determine bunch this year. I thought the defense played well however I will caution that by saying Ottawa's QB was not stellar by any means....many missed receivers, poor passing etc but notwithstanding they did hold them to 266 yards, their best effort to date. I liked the special team coverages and the offense save for one sequence where we put in our run QB to get a first down and then tried a hurry up offense with him on the field and throwing a long pass. My question was why have him try that in light of the weather and the cold....he has to warm up in those conditions and it showed. Other than that I thought they did a good job.
So here we are in second place and doing well. I will retract some statements from earlier in the season where I questioned MOS and LaPo.... I still do on occasion but not as much as before. This team has a legitimate chance to host a play off game however to advance they will need to shore up the defense. If they do this who know what will happen.
I will simply say it is nice to watch entertaining football once again but keep asking myself why is it I am on pins and needles with 8 mins to go in the 4th quarter when we have such a lead as last night? Congrats again.

Actually say what you want but it was not ILLEGAL...morally and ethically wrong yes but not illegal. So he used a "loophole" and exploited it. Again like it or not he was trying to find an edge and he obviously found one which we could not counter in any way. But really did it play a real outcome in the game....I think not. We were done after the first quarter. We garnered a lot of yards and managed to get back to what I TD down but in reality and hopefully this can be accepted by the fans on this site, the game was lost....oh yeah I get it ain't over til the fat lady signs but come on, really? 
Hopefully we will learn for this Saturday...Hopefully the CFL will learn and institute some harsher penalties like has been mentioned already....say out for 6 plays if injured on the field or perhaps a flag for diving similar to the NHL that can be applied once it is determined that the player was in fact faking. Hopefully Jones will learn that it is a detriment to the CFL for that kind of tactic. 
Bottom line though is we got beat....in the first quarter and in fact we only won 1 quarter the third where we scored 3 points to their 0 so I think it is sour grapes to focus in on this as the reason we lost.
Hopefully we will be prepared to play 60 mins of football in all three phases of the game from start to finish and let's hope the coaches will develop a game plan that suggests they know what they are doing and know how to prepare their team to play.

I don't believe I said I like the likes of Reibolt, Burke or the rest that were quoted. I do believe I said I endured their tenures as I have endured MOS's tenure. So let's be clear on that. As for band wagon jumping or whatever you want to call it, because someone choses not to go to football games to be  unentertained for many years.... yet still continues to cheer for the team while pointing out what he/she believes to be issues with the product on the field or in head office....does that make them non fans??? I think not. If someone was to simply turn their back on the team and not cheer or give a d... what happens to it, well then I guess you could call them band wagon jumping. Sorry there is a difference. I'm one of those people who used to go to the ball game to be entertained and cheer for my team, I was not entertained for many years and after a period of time enough is enough. Because I have a summer residents and spend 3 hours each game day to sit through a debacle it was not worth my time and effort to support in that manner. Also I am one of those who go there to get drunk and make beer snakes and be oblivious to the game itself. I'm not say any one who comments negatively to my posts are these individuals simply that those spectacles are not what I call football fans even though they may have season tickets or have purchased tickets to a game.  So the overall experience was one I decided to avoid BUT it doesn't take away my desire for the team to succeed. I guess the question I would ask is: are those who do not live close by or cannot attend a game for whatever reason still fans or are they less fans or even band wagon jumpers. 

I said that wrong and got roasted for it. I DON"T go to build beer snakes and get drunk, I go to watch and study the game. My bad. As for the negativity, my belief it is honest observation sorry I don't wear rose coloured glasses.

I don't believe I said I like the likes of Reibolt, Burke or the rest that were quoted. I do believe I said I endured their tenures as I have endured MOS's tenure. So let's be clear on that. As for band wagon jumping or whatever you want to call it, because someone choses not to go to football games to be  unentertained for many years.... yet still continues to cheer for the team while pointing out what he/she believes to be issues with the product on the field or in head office....does that make them non fans??? I think not. If someone was to simply turn their back on the team and not cheer or give a d... what happens to it, well then I guess you could call them band wagon jumping. Sorry there is a difference. I'm one of those people who used to go to the ball game to be entertained and cheer for my team, I was not entertained for many years and after a period of time enough is enough. Because I have a summer residents and spend 3 hours each game day to sit through a debacle it was not worth my time and effort to support in that manner. Also I am one of those who go there to get drunk and make beer snakes and be oblivious to the game itself. I'm not say any one who comments negatively to my posts are these individuals simply that those spectacles are not what I call football fans even though they may have season tickets or have purchased tickets to a game.  So the overall experience was one I decided to avoid BUT it doesn't take away my desire for the team to succeed. I guess the question I would ask is: are those who do not live close by or cannot attend a game for whatever reason still fans or are they less fans or even band wagon jumpers. 

I don't believe I said I like the likes of Reibolt, Burke or the rest that were quoted. I do believe I said I endured their tenures as I have endured MOS's tenure. So let's be clear on that. As for band wagon jumping or whatever you want to call it, because someone choses not to go to football games to be  unentertained for many years.... yet still continues to cheer for the team while pointing out what he/she believes to be issues with the product on the field or in head office....does that make them non fans??? I think not. If someone was to simply turn their back on the team and not cheer or give a d... what happens to it, well then I guess you could call them band wagon jumping. Sorry there is a difference. I'm one of those people who used to go to the ball game to be entertained and cheer for my team, I was not entertained for many years and after a period of time enough is enough. Because I have a summer residents and spend 3 hours each game day to sit through a debacle it was not worth my time and effort to support in that manner. Also I am one of those who go there to get drunk and make beer snakes and be oblivious to the game itself. I'm not say any one who comments negatively to my posts are these individuals simply that those spectacles are not what I call football fans even though they may have season tickets or have purchased tickets to a game.  So the overall experience was one I decided to avoid BUT it doesn't take away my desire for the team to succeed. I guess the question I would ask is: are those who do not live close by or cannot attend a game for whatever reason still fans or are they less fans or even band wagon jumpers. 

Goalie; guess you don't know what jumping off the band wagon truly is so that is about as far as I'll go in responding to you. Shallow, and non respective of others opinions....sad

Goalie; guess you don't know what jumping off the band wagon truly is so that is about as far as I'll go in responding to you. Shallow, and non respective of others opinions....sad

Goalie; guess you don't know what jumping off the band wagon truly is so that is about as far as I'll go in responding to you. Shallow, and non respective of others opinions....sad

Let me be the first to congratulate the Big Blue on their win in Ottawa. Like so many others it was nip and tuck til the final whistle and I guess that is what MOS is preaching. It would be nice to be able to sew up a victory prior to the last play but hey as many have said a win is a win. What I did like about this game and I believe noted several times is it was the most complete game to date. I especially appreciated seeing the offense do something that they don't do often....throw downfield. While the completion rate wasn't that good ( I don't have a stat just an observation) it nonetheless kept the defense honest and did open up some stuff underneath. I also appreciated seeing the 2 back system. Why waste a valuable asset on the bench when he is much more valuable on the field and I don't think Harris minds in the least.
Still not totally sold on the secondary and very unsure of Carmichael at all. Let's see what happens this weekend against the worst team in the league standing wise. Ottawa was the second worst in records so we have beaten all eastern teams we have played, just one more to go. Should we win then we will have beaten every team below us in the standings and lost to everyone who is above us. I'm thinking that will have to change if we want to progress beyond the first switchover playoff game as if it doesn't we won't get any further. I'm still not convinced we will end up better than 11-7 but for the time being they have won more than they have lost and that can't be bad. Good on them.

Well sorry for going against the flow on this one....I think he hit it on the head. I have never liked MOS's attitude from the get go. He is far too stubborn to be a head coach responsible for making decisions that will help the team win be it either during the game and game decisions or manpower decisions. The points that were made were spot on regarding his unwillingness to sit Willy, sit other starters who were underperforming etc. It was only when he was told to give Nichols a shot after a terrible 1-4 start and then by luck inserted a few rookies due to injury namely Loffler and Fogg that the team started to move. I believe there was also a move to insert Bond on the OL line but I may be wrong with that one. Point is he cannot make a manpower decision effectively and his game decisions are terrible.
He is one of the reasons I did not keep my season tickets after many years.....it was obvious what the outcome was going to be and I didn't want to spend 1 1/2 hours driving into the city to watch what I KNEW was going to be another loss and not a close one at that.....then if by luck it was a close one to be lost with a bone head decision by the head coach, only to have to wait over 1/2 hour to leave and face another 1 1/2 hour drive back home. And to top it all off I couldn't leave early because the shuttle bus didn't leave until it was full near the end of the game. I won't mention IGF which is another story of its own. Suffice to say, Mr MOS was a huge reason why I stopped going. Do I follow them on TV, yes I do but I have the privilege to turn it off when I chose. Do I wish them well, certainly do and will always but reality is they will never win a Grey Cup or get to it with MOS as head coach......so the article is bang on....at least in my opinion

Well sorry for going against the flow on this one....I think he hit it on the head. I have never liked MOS's attitude from the get go. He is far too stubborn to be a head coach responsible for making decisions that will help the team win be it either during the game and game decisions or manpower decisions. The points that were made were spot on regarding his unwillingness to sit Willy, sit other starters who were underperforming etc. It was only when he was told to give Nichols a shot after a terrible 1-4 start and then by luck inserted a few rookies due to injury namely Loffler and Fogg that the team started to move. I believe there was also a move to insert Bond on the OL line but I may be wrong with that one. Point is he cannot make a manpower decision effectively and his game decisions are terrible.
He is one of the reasons I did not keep my season tickets after many years.....it was obvious what the outcome was going to be and I didn't want to spend 1 1/2 hours driving into the city to watch what I KNEW was going to be another loss and not a close one at that.....then if by luck it was a close one to be lost with a bone head decision by the head coach, only to have to wait over 1/2 hour to leave and face another 1 1/2 hour drive back home. And to top it all off I couldn't leave early because the shuttle bus didn't leave until it was full near the end of the game. I won't mention IGF which is another story of its own. Suffice to say, Mr MOS was a huge reason why I stopped going. Do I follow them on TV, yes I do but I have the privilege to turn it off when I chose. Do I wish them well, certainly do and will always but reality is they will never win a Grey Cup or get to it with MOS as head coach......so the article is bang on....at least in my opinion

Well sorry for going against the flow on this one....I think he hit it on the head. I have never liked MOS's attitude from the get go. He is far too stubborn to be a head coach responsible for making decisions that will help the team win be it either during the game and game decisions or manpower decisions. The points that were made were spot on regarding his unwillingness to sit Willy, sit other starters who were underperforming etc. It was only when he was told to give Nichols a shot after a terrible 1-4 start and then by luck inserted a few rookies due to injury namely Loffler and Fogg that the team started to move. I believe there was also a move to insert Bond on the OL line but I may be wrong with that one. Point is he cannot make a manpower decision effectively and his game decisions are terrible.
He is one of the reasons I did not keep my season tickets after many years.....it was obvious what the outcome was going to be and I didn't want to spend 1 1/2 hours driving into the city to watch what I KNEW was going to be another loss and not a close one at that.....then if by luck it was a close one to be lost with a bone head decision by the head coach, only to have to wait over 1/2 hour to leave and face another 1 1/2 hour drive back home. And to top it all off I couldn't leave early because the shuttle bus didn't leave until it was full near the end of the game. I won't mention IGF which is another story of its own. Suffice to say, Mr MOS was a huge reason why I stopped going. Do I follow them on TV, yes I do but I have the privilege to turn it off when I chose. Do I wish them well, certainly do and will always but reality is they will never win a Grey Cup or get to it with MOS as head coach......so the article is bang on....at least in my opinion

Well sorry for going against the flow on this one....I think he hit it on the head. I have never liked MOS's attitude from the get go. He is far too stubborn to be a head coach responsible for making decisions that will help the team win be it either during the game and game decisions or manpower decisions. The points that were made were spot on regarding his unwillingness to sit Willy, sit other starters who were underperforming etc. It was only when he was told to give Nichols a shot after a terrible 1-4 start and then by luck inserted a few rookies due to injury namely Loffler and Fogg that the team started to move. I believe there was also a move to insert Bond on the OL line but I may be wrong with that one. Point is he cannot make a manpower decision effectively and his game decisions are terrible.
He is one of the reasons I did not keep my season tickets after many years.....it was obvious what the outcome was going to be and I didn't want to spend 1 1/2 hours driving into the city to watch what I KNEW was going to be another loss and not a close one at that.....then if by luck it was a close one to be lost with a bone head decision by the head coach, only to have to wait over 1/2 hour to leave and face another 1 1/2 hour drive back home. And to top it all off I couldn't leave early because the shuttle bus didn't leave until it was full near the end of the game. I won't mention IGF which is another story of its own. Suffice to say, Mr MOS was a huge reason why I stopped going. Do I follow them on TV, yes I do but I have the privilege to turn it off when I chose. Do I wish them well, certainly do and will always but reality is they will never win a Grey Cup or get to it with MOS as head coach......so the article is bang on....at least in my opinion

I will refresh everyone's memory about LaPolice; he came here as OC when Worman was fired because Charles Roberts, a second year player rebelled against Worman and it was either him or Worman to leave. The offense was good that year and LaPolice took over that offense and did little to change it. When he tried the subsequent year after his hiring the offense went down the tubes. He did win a Grey Cup with Saskatchewan however.
For those of you who suggest we just lost to a top tier team, you are correct. Regardless of score. We had to go into overtime to win our first game against Saskatchewan because of stupid coaching decisions in the 4th quarter; we lost to Calgary plain and simple; we nearly lost to Toronto in the 4th quarter and only Heath's INT prevented that from happening as Toronto was doing exactly what BC did except they didn't quite make it. In BC again up by 2 TDs and look what happened; we were fighting for our lives because we couldn't move the ball and we couldn't stop them from moving the ball. It seems pretty clear to me....we don't play football in the 4th quarter....our coaches are afraid to lose.....not try to win. It is a mentality that will quickly if not already slip into the players minds.
I will say I was pleased with the penalty count for us....not sure how many but they were nonfactors for a change which was great. Lots of work to do mostly by the coaches and GM

I think Mr Noeller you are being paid by the Blue and Gold to monitor this site and present as positive a position that you can. Even Ed Tait who is a paid employee tells it more like it is. Of course you have to tell it like it is....if not, you lie right off the bat and where do you go from there? By at least being honest with players and fans alike everyone gets the true picture and then can make a somewhat educated decision going forward.
I akin this to the constant before season hype from the Bombers year in and year out....first it was rebuilding so don't expect a lot. Then when that slant didn't work it was all about the quality of players that the scouts have brought it... a huge improvement that will create good competition at training camp....yet we see the same players and most if not all the recruits either on the PR or cut. An improvement? Then we heard we signed all the coaching staff because it created continuity and that is always good....and referencing teams like Calgary and Edmonton. Well Edmonton changed coaches, not by choice but nonetheless did and in the first year made the playoffs while losing many of their starters and much of the coaching staff the year previous. Calgary only seems to find quality players whether it be from the PR or scouting.....year in and year out. We don't do that!
We simply rely on the old lines of much improved this year. Then as the year progresses it is an injury issue as if no other team in the league has injuries and finally at the end of the year it comes down to a few plays here and there that caused us to miss the playoffs again.....all the while our coach talks about how great the players are and how hard they work.
No one is saying they don't play hard, no one is saying they are not talented. Perhaps what they are saying is these players are not being put in a position to win....not being put in a position to display their skills....not being coached according to their skills versus what the coaches think they should able to do. I realize there is a give and take here but let's be realistic.....this is a team that, at least in my opinion, is underperforming in several areas and these areas are consistent year in and year out. Bad coaching decisions by the head coach, an ineffective offense hell bent on dink and dunk where every team in the league knows it and doesn't even plan for the maybe one or two times we may get lucky downfield, and an ineffective defense that cannot seem to cover receivers period. Yes we do stop the run most games but the pass.....well that is simply another story. Are they coached properly....well whenever I see a DB trying to defend a pass and he is neither looking at the receivers eyes to see when the ball is coming or looking for the ball but simply flaying away at the air, then I see poor coaching or poor individual habits. Can it be taught, certainly but these guys are not rookies coming direct from college....most have played professional football somewhere so is it that they haven't learned, won't learn, or can't learn......or is it the coaches can't teach it.
I guess what I am trying to say is while I understand that you want to put a positive spin on everything, this does not mean you are a better bomber fan than those who talk about their shortcomings and who are frankly finished with the BS that keeps coming forth from this organization. We all want them to win and again frankly no one more so than myself. I haven't invested over 63 years watching and listening to this team so I can be fed total nonsense. When Bud Grant was the coach or Cal Murphy, there was no mincing words on the quality of product on the field. They expected to win and were coached that way. It was unacceptable to be substandard and while that did not always translate to winning, it nonetheless led to competitive, aggressive football that was both entertaining and rewarding to the players and fans. What we see today is neither.
So because people speak about what they perceive to be issues with this team....they do so as a fan and someone who expects more.

I think Mr Noeller you are being paid by the Blue and Gold to monitor this site and present as positive a position that you can. Even Ed Tait who is a paid employee tells it more like it is. Of course you have to tell it like it is....if not, you lie right off the bat and where do you go from there? By at least being honest with players and fans alike everyone gets the true picture and then can make a somewhat educated decision going forward.
I akin this to the constant before season hype from the Bombers year in and year out....first it was rebuilding so don't expect a lot. Then when that slant didn't work it was all about the quality of players that the scouts have brought it... a huge improvement that will create good competition at training camp....yet we see the same players and most if not all the recruits either on the PR or cut. An improvement? Then we heard we signed all the coaching staff because it created continuity and that is always good....and referencing teams like Calgary and Edmonton. Well Edmonton changed coaches, not by choice but nonetheless did and in the first year made the playoffs while losing many of their starters and much of the coaching staff the year previous. Calgary only seems to find quality players whether it be from the PR or scouting.....year in and year out. We don't do that!
We simply rely on the old lines of much improved this year. Then as the year progresses it is an injury issue as if no other team in the league has injuries and finally at the end of the year it comes down to a few plays here and there that caused us to miss the playoffs again.....all the while our coach talks about how great the players are and how hard they work.
No one is saying they don't play hard, no one is saying they are not talented. Perhaps what they are saying is these players are not being put in a position to win....not being put in a position to display their skills....not being coached according to their skills versus what the coaches think they should able to do. I realize there is a give and take here but let's be realistic.....this is a team that, at least in my opinion, is underperforming in several areas and these areas are consistent year in and year out. Bad coaching decisions by the head coach, an ineffective offense hell bent on dink and dunk where every team in the league knows it and doesn't even plan for the maybe one or two times we may get lucky downfield, and an ineffective defense that cannot seem to cover receivers period. Yes we do stop the run most games but the pass.....well that is simply another story. Are they coached properly....well whenever I see a DB trying to defend a pass and he is neither looking at the receivers eyes to see when the ball is coming or looking for the ball but simply flaying away at the air, then I see poor coaching or poor individual habits. Can it be taught, certainly but these guys are not rookies coming direct from college....most have played professional football somewhere so is it that they haven't learned, won't learn, or can't learn......or is it the coaches can't teach it.
I guess what I am trying to say is while I understand that you want to put a positive spin on everything, this does not mean you are a better bomber fan than those who talk about their shortcomings and who are frankly finished with the BS that keeps coming forth from this organization. We all want them to win and again frankly no one more so than myself. I haven't invested over 63 years watching and listening to this team so I can be fed total nonsense. When Bud Grant was the coach or Cal Murphy, there was no mincing words on the quality of product on the field. They expected to win and were coached that way. It was unacceptable to be substandard and while that did not always translate to winning, it nonetheless led to competitive, aggressive football that was both entertaining and rewarding to the players and fans. What we see today is neither.
So because people speak about what they perceive to be issues with this team....they do so as a fan and someone who expects more.

gee wiz other teams start rookies in their line up and they don't choke in the 4th quarter. We don't have the depth of other teams I agree but its the play calling that sends our offense off the field when we should be trying to keep it on the field. As I said 3 - 5 yard passes ain't going to do it sorry.

Cant kill the clock or get a first down with 3-5 yd passes. Way to go lapolice

Cant kill the clock or get a first down with 3-5 yd passes. Way to go lapolice

Cant kill the clock or get a first down with 3-5 yd passes. Way to go lapolice

Cant kill the clock or get a first down with 3-5 yd passes. Way to go lapolice

Cant kill the clock or get a first down with 3-5 yd passes. Way to go lapolice

Sorry guys but I am a Denmark fan. He seldom gets the ball thrown to him and when he does he is gold...seldom drops it if it is catchable. Not sure why they don't use him more. I get the fact they go to Dressler a lot which is fine but Denmark is money when given the chance, Yes he is small similar to Dressler but he gets open as much but isn't considered. Not sure why. The other two referred to are only average if that in the big picture. We need someone like Green or Bowman (I know we had him before) or Arsenault but I guess they are hard to come by.

Not sure why everyone is so disappointed. We lost to a superior team, we won last week over an inferior team that frankly the scores form both games indicate what type of team we have. Agree Carmichael can't play in this league Hurl was exposed for what he is and why he lost his job last year and our coaching staff again gets out coached. When folks stop listening to the garbage MOS delivers weekbinnand week out and take off their rose coloured glasses then you will see the true blue bombers; some quality players being coached by inept coaches. I figure we hopefully will still get 11 wins but that's the limit.