TheSource

..If he can stay healthy AND keep performing at the current level...

This is all true; he may be contributing in other ways. To me, I just don't think he has been targeted that much - in this game I only think they threw the ball his way once in the end zone, and he was open but Nichols overthrew him. Still think the Bombers need to distribute the ball more evenly. It seemed they were targeting Demski disproportionately and really, he was not gaining all that much.

Well deserved win for the Bombers. All facets of the team played better than BC and the score fully reflected this fact. Harris is always a star for the Bombers, but this is the first game where I thought Bighill exceeded expectations. This is the first game where I thought both Jeffcoat and Poop played like they were last year - need to see more of that next game.

This is the truth. In particular, there were 2 big explosion plays that BC missed where the BC receiver was wide open, both of which would have resulted in Lions TDs. Bombers were also still soft in some pass coverage, although that is to be expected somewhat with the lead, and Jennings was not accurate enough for it to matter much. It was a much better game for the Bomber D, and the turnovers and good pressure up front sure helped, but many of the old tendencies are still there.

Better than all but Edmonton at the moment.

Yes, OLine was excellent against a BC DLine that is supposed to be better this year. Surprisingly, playing Neufeld continues to be a non-issue. Last year the sample size was too small, but he is making a case now for belonging on the starting OLine.

That is still a problem. BC is not that good, but to beat the top teams all Bomber receivers will need to be involved. Not sure why he is not being targeted in the Bomber O. Defense was solid, but like Montreal, the BC offence is putrid, so it is hard to see if that means anything.

Great half by the Bomber O. Nichols continues to grow as a starting QB in the league and is now to be considered every bit as dangerous as Reilly and Mitchell. Although Lapo is sometimes too conservative, I think he is a great teacher and is doing an excellent job developing both Nichols and Streveler.

Here. We. Go.

I think this is a huge key. Do that and the O will be on the field longer and the defense less.

Don't forget Mike Kelly!

He's pretty bad. Als offence stinks, which is what everyone expected before the season started.

That was a great article. Very informative and leads one to agree with the tribal knowledge that removing Hall would be the best course of action to improve the defense. It is a true shame that it would take an Act of God for Hall to be removed from his tenure.

Yes, the pressure will be on not to end up alone in last place in the West. Actually, if Montreal manages to win again this week, it would be last place in the league.

This is great news. On offence Bombers look pretty good with Nichols and Streveler as a backup. I actually like that better now than if they had Durant. The only thing they need to do is go deeper down the field now and get both Adams and Bowman involved. If they can do that they should have an offence that is hard to stop like last year.

And defense wins playoff games and championships.

Estimate how many points the Bomber offense must secure to overcome what the defense gives up to BC:

This is what I think it will come down to: Bomber D has to play better than last game. Nichols will have to shake off some rust if he does play, so that may be a factor. Bomber D does not match up well to what Hamilton normally does, but I think they will match up better to the O that BC runs, which means it should be a closer game.

I don't buy that philosophy (obviously). In fact, I think it is part of the problem in Winnipeg. Unlike CFL markets like, Toronto, Ottawa, BC, and Hamilton, leaders of the Bomber administration like Miller knows that he really doesn't have to spend the farm to win because the fans will turn out and support a loser year after embarrassing year. That has a trickle down effect, and from the behavior of Walters in free agency through to Oshea with tolerating Hall and sub-par player performances, there is just no sense of urgency with this team. They behave exactly like the fans are telling them - that it is OK to lose (or tread water) year after year, after year. Toronto Maple Leafs are the version of the Bombers that exists in the NHL. Their fans just don't care if the team wins, so the team doesn't need to ever be competitive in that market to do well.

It`s not all bad, Streveler is still a bright spot and he did well against a very good D, particularly when his receivers were getting blanket coverage because the Bomber O does not ever seem to be capable of developing any kind of a deep threat beyond 10 yards down field. The O line protection was decent but they did not open holes for Harris and without Harris being effective, that LaPolice offense is just not very good. The defense is what it is. Whether it is personnel or coaching they are just a bottom third tier defence in the league as they have been now for the last 3 years or more. The front 7 is not bad, but not as good as some had hoped. In this game you cant blame them for not getting pressure because that is to be expected when constantly going up against a max protect scheme of 7 blockers. To beat Hamilton, you have to put tight coverage on the limited number of receivers they send out and then stick with those guys when the QB starts to scramble. Unfortunately, Bombers do not match up well with Hamilton because their secondary and linebacking corps are pretty atrocious at establishing any kind of tight coverage, even when the dbs and lbs outnumber the receivers by 2 to 1. It was pretty disappointing to watch all those passes being completed with 3 or 4 Bombers standing around the behind receivers over and over. When you let a team do that repeatedly and control the clock, it is very difficult for your offense to get going when they do not see the ball for every 7 to 10 minutes of game time. The easy answer is to blame this totally on Hall, because in theory, that would be a quick fix to make the team competitive, however, I think it will take more than that to right the ship. Hall, Oshea, and Walters also have their fingerprints all over the mix of personnel they have selected on the defense. If you don't trust Halls judgement on the defensive scheme and playcalling, why would you trust his judgement on the selection of starting personnel? I really think it is a bit of both, and if the team makes the decision to move away from Hall then there is at least 3 more years of rebuilding ahead to get the right defensive personnel in place to go with a better coaching scheme.

In hindsight last game was not much of a test for the Bomber defense, but this week the performance of the defense is what is going to determine whether they can keep it close or even win. Last week they still gave up a few explosion plays, but the rest of the Montreal O is so terrible, even with those plays Montreal was going nowhere. This week if they give up explosion plays to Banks and Timmis, they will not win, so they need to be better in that regard to have a chance in my opinion. Streveler will have ups and downs, and I would not be disappointed or surprised if he has a little more trouble moving the ball this week. The Hamilton D is good, but in general I am not that worried about the offence - I think on most days with either Nichols or Streveler they will score enough points to win a game if the team has solid defense, and I do not think this game will be an exception to that.

Not going to rain on your parade, and all the points you make are valid. That said, there is still much room for improvement on the Bomber defense. That is the area I think still needs some work and if there are improvements made there you may have the makings of a team that can be in the hunt for multiple years like the Bombers of the 80's. The Montreal game did not test the defense very much, but I think the upcoming Hamilton game will be a good measure of whether further improvement is warranted.

He adds experience and depth, and as a vet, knows how to get open in zone defense. Having him doesn't hurt when you have a young QB, but in my opinion there are better options for the money they are paying him, so I could see him being traded. Also his durability is questionable at this stage, although I noticed that he was playing smart against Montreal in getting down before taking big hits when he was not going to make much more yardage. If he plays smart like that, he could stay healthy and be a contributor until Nichols returns. They need to get Bowman involved more. After only 2 games I don't think he has seen enough balls.

I have maintained all along that Streveler is not the biggest problem for the Bombers. The kid will have ups and downs, but a performance like last night is excellent and goes a long way in both his development and reassurance to the organization and fans that he is the future. Pretty sure that he will solve the problem of having a reliable backup long term - probably much better than Durant would have, and pretty sure he is going to be a successful starer in the CFL very soon. As commented by the TSN panel, he plays like a young Matt Dunigan clone and has fire, leadership ability, and physical talent. With the quick release and his intelligence he also fits very well into a Paul LaPolice offence, very similar to Nichols. Good to see that OShea and LaPolice have allowed the kid to use his legs, which I think was a big missing when they started young QBs in the past - this can only help the kids confidence.

I don't see anything wrong with a wide variety of diverse opinions. This is what separates human beings from fascists, racists, extremests, rednecks, etc. You also have a very good point about Nichols. Great QB, but he is developing a history of being injury prone, which may prevent him from ever leading a team to a Grey Cup. Needs to stay healthy for several whole season in a row for a team to make a cup run.