MC

If you can't tell how much better the offense is since Nichols came back using the eyeball test, then I can't help you. Especially after he just picked apart a very good Argos defensive backfield. He had a bad half of football against the Lions. Other than that, he has played very well.

Right. Because that is the way it always works. Like the Riders-Ticats game last week, and the last two Grey Cup games. I don't know why they even play these games. It would be so much easier on the players' bodies if they only played games where both teams were deemed by "the experts" to be exactly the same caliber.

After being called out all week for lack of effort, I expect the Lions will be much better in the home half of this series.

I beg to differ. If that was the case, then every time a team loses they would immediately be dropped to the bottom 4 in those power rankings. It should be that with the information known at the time, who do you believe are the best teams/QB's in the league. Every QB has tougher games and you don't drop Mitchell or Reilly because of that.

Reminder: The team is 1 and 1. If they read this forum, the rest of the league would just fold and award the Grey Cup to the Bombers today. Things look good after blowing out the worst team in the league. But the Eskimos beat us and then lost to a team everyone thought they would blow out. Crazy things happen every week of the season. I am not ready to buy into anything until I see more evidence.

The QB rankings look about right to me. Every year some young gun comes out and looks like the second coming of (fill in the blank with a HOF player) for a few games and then DC's figure them out. While he has played well in two starts, there is no reason to consider him ahead of players who have done it over the long term.

Most likely cutting a cost, a potential liability and making the CFLPA happy in the process. They cost a fair amount of money in travel costs for the players and coaches. There might be some liability involved. I know in the NFL they have players sign waivers to attend because the rookies are not signed yet. They may have been served with the odd Statement of Claim because a player was hurt and, as a result, has lost income. And the established players (i.e. dues paying members) of the CFLPA have everything to lose with these mini-camps. If it was up to them, they would likely want to stop the rookie camp too. But that won't happen.

Just waded through 6 pages of crazy trade discussions. Even if it is longer than expected and none of the in-house options pan out, I hope the Bombers do not trade for a QB in-season. The cost is insane. Remember what Barker paid us for Willy? Also, the ransom that someone (Montreal?) paid for Adams. Any of the high profile QB trades that did not require a king's ransom were in the offseason - usually right before the draft, when a GM is lathered up to take a certain prospect..

I was skeptical when the NFL got rid of the force out rule, but it has worked very well. They have other problems with their catch rules, but this is not one of them. I have thought many times since then that the CFL should make the same change. Having to decide whether a receiver would have gotten his right pinky inside the line is foolish. Glad they changed it.

Good on Shayne. He should be able to get something good from Bighill for it. Think of Bighill's salary and job security compared to Gauthier's. Whether it dinner at 529 or whatever.

The Bombers will only get credit for developing their own QB if one of their employees gives birth to him; he attends school in the Pinnacle room, is coached by Mike O'Shea from crunchers level through the Rifles, is picked as a territorial exemption by the Bombers and has never left IGF from birth to his first away game in the CFL.

I never felt Bryan Randall was given a chance to succeed here. Nobody in that offence was given a chance to succeed except for the running backs. The only possible explanation for the playbook was that someone thought, "it's so crazy it just might work."

I think you can make that case if you assume that someone's career isn't really over after football. Give it 20 years and then see whether this was a bad career decision or not.

Taking the signing bonus and then retiring before even coming to training camp is a classless move for a player. Cutting a player right before a signing bonus is classless, and doing it after free agency has already started is disgraceful. Teams still do it on a regular basis. They would say that they just needed to keep their options open. Fan bases are savage when their team does what would be called ethical in all other workplaces. Salary caps force teams to behave this way. You cannot have competitive balance and a functioning CFL without it. One year you see a player play through major injuries because the team indicates that they will remember the dedication when they negotiate the next contract immediately following the season. His play was negatively impacted because of the injury. The fanbase calls for the player's head and then the team cuts him or doesn't re-sign him. Because of the recent film on the player, the rest of the league passes on him and the player retires. The number of times this happens is crazy, and yet teams do it all the time. Two wrongs don't make a right, but you understand why ex-players aren't being critical of Durant.

I will believe it when I see it. This hype sounds like the guys that come into the league every but when the bullets fly, someone will resurrect the old saying, "looks like Tarzan, plays like ___".

I don't put any stock in a GM saying the team has no money to pay anybody else. What do you expect him to say? He cant publicly say the team has lots of room on the SMS and then tell every agent that there are no more cookies in the jar. He sees an opportunity to support publicly what he says privately and takes it.

You have a problem with cheerleaders?

I hope they continue to draft linemen. You can never have too many quality Canadians on the lines. The worth of these players is hard to quantify. Every team is looking for them.

Hi Ed. Thanks for all you do for the Bombers in this town.

None of the cuts bother me. If they brought in others who they think are better, that is positive. None were proven veterans.

I have seen Cierre Wood play several times and always thought he would play in the NFL. If he comes up with the right attitude and isn't nicked up, then he could be a player.

Going to be interesting to see what the Stampeders do with this one.

McDuffie is a better kick returner than anyone the Bombers fielded last year. I wouldn't mind the Bombers inviting him into camp if the price is right.

That is just the way drafts go. The NFL draft is the biggest sports related event in April again this year, and mock-drafts are an industry. They will be starting the 4th round and there will still be players available from everyone's "top 50 players". Agents, colleges and players put out all kinds of information leading up the draft, some of it may even be true. Teams will "leak" inside information that is meant to be complete smoke screens. It is crazy how many of the players drafted will say that their new team showed no interest in them leading up to the draft. Another problem with the CFL draft is the wildcard about NFL interest. That speculation will move players up and down entire rounds. No way do the Bombers take Faith last year if that wasn't a concern with other eligible players. That said, mock drafts are fun to read and discuss.

Several of the rule changes make it easier to officiate. They are about eliminating judgement calls. Eliminating the force out play means that official just has to watch whether a foot is in-bounds or not. The illegal pass definition means that the official just has to look where the back foot is when the QB releases the ball; not try to figure out where his arm is in relation to the field. Eliminating blindside blocks and most low blocks are significant changes that are long overdue for player safety, but it are both pretty straight forward. Spearing is also now a simpler call. The sleeper play is not a common occurrence, but the clarification is fine. Not sure what is going to make it more complicated or difficult to officiate.