Rich

Based on what Ottawa was asking to move out of the first spot last year, I find it unlikely we would find common ground on a trade with them. Curious to see the scouting reports for next year's draft and how big of a drop there will be between first and third.

At the very least, Bucknor is the type of guy where even if his spot is upgraded and isn’t a starter next year, he has proven he is capable of stepping in. His presence on the roster allows for an injury replacement in game from a Canadian if a DB goes down. He isn’t a must sign, but it is guys like this that build the depth for a championship team. And this team really needs to keep all the NI depth it can. Special Teams wise, he only has 1 tackle on record. Have to admit though, I never really watched for him on special teams to assess his play.

Mike Kelly's 7 win season seemed worse then this last one for many reasons, some of which you state. But to me, the biggest reason is the team had had much more success in prior years and our expectation of the team was much higher. Prior to that season, our records was 8 -10, 10 - 7, 9 - 9, and had made the playoffs all 3 of those years. (Going to the Grey Cup in 2007). So 7 wins seemed bad in comparison to our expectations of previous years, where as this year, well everyone knows what our record has been the last couple of years. Mike Kelly's reign really marked the beginning of the current slide that we've been on for the last 6 years (2011 being an abnormally when we made it back to the Grey Cup and our only winning season since 2007) So just as the Mike Kelly 7 - 11 record marked the beginning of the trend of a bunch of bad years, hopefully this year's 7 -11 record marks the beginning of a trend of better and good years.

I believe it is a combination of scheme and players. Yes, we could get better play from our front 4. But a lot of Etch's schemes involve putting a large number of players on the LOS for confusion. Sometimes it is an all out blitz, sometimes they drop back in coverage. When we are blitzing, we need to get more pressure on the QB consistently. This wasn't always the case in the later half of the year. When we are dropping back into coverage, this is when we are more susceptible to the run, because if the RB makes it past the initial line of attack, we don't have linebackers in a more "classic" formation to cover the running back (because they were on the LOS and are retreating to get back into position), so the running gains tend to be bigger. Personally, I prefer a much more in your face, smash mouth, simple defense. We do what we do and we do it well. Something you can deliver like BC when you have players like Elimimian and Bighill to bring the hurt. I do realize those players don't come along every day, but I prefer that style to the disguise and confuse of Etch.

Curious on your reasoning for not wanting Brohm back. Wouldn't it make sense to have your QBs play a similar style in terms of developing plays / game plans / and prep for how you are going to attack an opponent? So that when the backup has to come in, they can essentially execute the same game plan that was planned for? Or do you look at having the different style as a change of pace QB. A 1a/b type situation where you can throw a guy in for a different look and have a few designed plays for him to execute. And this isn't meant as a shot against Marve or anything like that. I really like what I've seen from the guy and do want to see more. Just curious about your reasoning for dumping Brohm.

There is still a large difference between what organizations do internally and say externally to the media. Words are cheap, and in this day and age organizations keep things closer to their vest. I'd be willing to bet that O'Shea, Walters, and Miller aren't at all happy with the way this season has turned out, and are already planning on how to start addressing these things going forward. There are multiple reasons not to to divulge these things in the media, some of them including tipping your hate to the 8 other teams in the league as well as leaving your options open as your plan changes and evolves as you evaluate going forward. Actions will always speak louder then words. And we really won't know what the leaders of this organization think or where they see problems until training camp next year when we see who they kept, who they released, and where they brought in talent. Whatever is said now is really just lip service, whatever is said.

Happy to be of service.

What would be the point of them sticking around or even practicing?

Pick 'Ems need to be in by Friday @ 6:30 http://morningbigblue.com/community/index.php?app=pickems&do=games&pid=5&wid=66 Only a few weeks for regular season left before playoffs. Still quite a few bunched up top of the leaderboard who have a chance at winning!

part of putting your opinion out there is subjecting it to the judgement of the masses. Not every opinion is valid or good and if you can't handle people judging your opinions then lurking is the best place for someone to be. As for homers. gloomers or whatever else, it's not about being negative, it's just that some people do fall into these categories. I can think of some people who always say positive things about the team, and I can think of people who do massively under rate things about this team. This isn't about disagreeing with opinions, it's about some people always acting in the same way. I like to think that I am a positive person in general with regards to the Bombers, but I can point out when something isn't good enough without resorting to the hyperbole that some people seem to need to do. Flaws can be pointed out without the doom and gloom. Positives can be pointed out without being a kool aid drinker. A lot of people here don't seem to get that though. Then judge people's opinions, I have no issues with that. Calling someone stupid, dumb, or any personal insult is what I have issue with. That includes calling someone's opinion stupid. If you feel that passionately about what someone typed to actually respond to it, then tell them why you disagree with it, not simply that it is a dumb opinion. I've seen message boards were new people posting are jumped on by multiple different people when they post. Haven't really seen it happen here, but that pack mentality is bad for message boards. I am sorry but some opinions are stupid and deserve to be called so. To not do it is to do a disservice to people. They will go on continuing to think just because it's their opinion that it's valid and right because everyone is entitled to their opinions. That is not true at all. If you give someone constructive criticism, then you have given them the exact reason why what they said is wrong. Words like stupid, other than the fact that they are insulting, are too vague. They don't explain why they're wrong. Also, if you bash someone's opinion more (insulting more than constructive), then the other person may be even more defiant and get defensive and continue to back up their incorrect opinion. My $.02. That is what separates the people who just want to hear themselves ***** and moan and vent and the people who actually have some solid reasoning behind their opinions. If you can't defend your opinion it's probably invalid. If you can defend it though then you're ahead of the game. It's kind of amazing that a 14 year old kid gets it better than a grown adult. In any intelligent discussion .. if you have to resort to base name calling .. regardless of the opinion, subject matter or how you feel about a given topic. You've lost. Lack of civility almost always derails any rational exchange; it resuls in polarization and limits the ability to find a middle ground. If anything, people who resort to name calling are the ones, ".. who just want to hear themselves ***** and moan .." because they show themselves unwilling to participate in thoughtful conversation. /shrug. At any rate, I hope we can return to discussing football .. the end of this season and what's on the horizon for next year .. I hate having to lock topics. No that's flawed because middle ground doesn't exist in a lot of cases and there's no need to meet there. This isn't a negotiation. And given some of the people around here it's not intelligent discussion either. All that 14 year old kid gets is his feelings hurt when people don't like him. Some opinions are crap and deserve to be treated like it. I'll participate in thoughtful discussion, but a lot of times there's no thought put in by people and I'm not going to pretend that there is. Too many overly sensitive types around here. And if you don't like the discussion, don't partake in it, walk away, don't post, don't reply. You only shed light on, amplify, and acknowledge what you deem as thoughtless opinions. Hate to break it to you, but you aren't the "intelligent police".

Many people would be correct. Such richness coming from these clowns. They trip over each other to distance themselves from the PST hike now but where were they a year ago? More to the point why did they continue to support these NDP budgets that put the province in the position of "needing" a tax hike. And why didnt they come out sooner and accuse Selinger of lying? And he absolutely lied. He campaigned on no tax increase. He deserves what he gets. These things can go either way. A party in peril changes leaders and just keeps going under. One can hope. Here's an article from Gordon Sinclair about how there was internal NDP dissent & anger over the PST 16 months ago. I'm curious as to why he hadn't mentioned anything about this prior to now. http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/columnists/oswalds-stabbing-words-280887752.html?cx_navSource=d-tiles-4 I'm certainly no fan of the NDP or the PST hike, but after reading Sinclair articles in which I am familiar with the story and background and seeing how he twists it to suit whatever agenda or story telling he wants to present, I put zero faith and credibility into anything he writes.

This is probably the largest thing I do in terms of moderating on the board. Edit portions of posts that do this or delete them entirely. I know stuff slips through that we miss, but hey these aren't paid positions where we are on the lookout 24 / 7 If we do miss them and others see it, then click the Report link that is on the bottom of every post. It flags it so that a moderator can take a look at it. As a reminder, from the code of conduct:

part of putting your opinion out there is subjecting it to the judgement of the masses. Not every opinion is valid or good and if you can't handle people judging your opinions then lurking is the best place for someone to be. As for homers. gloomers or whatever else, it's not about being negative, it's just that some people do fall into these categories. I can think of some people who always say positive things about the team, and I can think of people who do massively under rate things about this team. This isn't about disagreeing with opinions, it's about some people always acting in the same way. I like to think that I am a positive person in general with regards to the Bombers, but I can point out when something isn't good enough without resorting to the hyperbole that some people seem to need to do. Flaws can be pointed out without the doom and gloom. Positives can be pointed out without being a kool aid drinker. A lot of people here don't seem to get that though. Then judge people's opinions, I have no issues with that. Calling someone stupid, dumb, or any personal insult is what I have issue with. That includes calling someone's opinion stupid. If you feel that passionately about what someone typed to actually respond to it, then tell them why you disagree with it, not simply that it is a dumb opinion. I've seen message boards were new people posting are jumped on by multiple different people when they post. Haven't really seen it happen here, but that pack mentality is bad for message boards.

I certainly agree that calling out other posters, calling them names, and labels, etc is one of the things I hate the most. Why? Because there is a large contingent of people / lurkers who see and feel that if they post their opinion and are going to get personally attacked for it, they won’t do it. And when that happens we get the same people posting the same things and things start to become stale. New people, points of view, opinions, and personalities are very much welcomed and wanted. Now having said that, to respond to your post, it is human nature to “group up” with the people who think the same way as you, and “not like” people who post opposing opinions. Why? Because we all like to feel validated in the way that we feel and think, and we get that validation when people post or agree and the opposite when they don’t. You are correct, that we should have a greater appreciation for opposing viewpoints, and keep the discussion on topic, not insults on each other. Personally, I would probably label myself as falling more into the homer category, though try to keep an open and objective point of view. Why am I like that? Because I am an eternal optimistic fan. If I didn’t feel that way, if I felt the way some of the “negatron” and “gloomers” appear to feel, I would cease investing my time and money in this board and following the team. Not saying everyone has to be that way to be a fan of the team, just the reason I am the way I am. Heck, I actually “liked” one of TBURGESS’ posts today, maybe I’m going to the other side…

Bit of a controversy in Hamilton right now. There was a 4th quarter offside call on a goal line stand against the Tiger Cats in the Toronto game. You can see the Hamilton players hand clearly over the goal line which means he was offside and in the neutral zone. You can also see Barker behind the ref. This is against league rules in that he can't be standing there, that far away from the Toronto bench. There is concern that there was "coaching" going on, that he was talking to the ref, pointing out the offside, etc. Otherwise it might not have been called as it is very marginal. http://scratchingpost.thespec.com/2014/10/ticats-owner-cfl-officiating-not-good-enough.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+thespec%2FDRCe+%28The+Scratching+Post%29 Here was Bob Young's post in the Ticat forum. The officiating in the CFL is not good enough. But he shouldn't be spouting off publicly about it. I hope he is fined for doing it (not that it will matter to him, he can easily cover the fine). This stuff needs to stay behind closed doors. Calling out your officials publicly won't fix the problem. It makes it worse. Officiating is already a hard, thankless job. Don't need this stuff piled on top of it. Barker should be fined too. It is ridiculous he is way down ther eon the field. In the BC game last weekend, Benevides was always running out onto the field, 10 - 20 yards in looking and talking to the officials. He should be fined or assessed a penalty for this too. Stay on your side line on off the field of play. CFL needs to tighten up on stuff like this.

You're right -- taking the contrarian point of view toward every decision the club makes is a real fan. Fans come in all types from Kool aid chuggers who can't ever see anything bad to those who can't see anything good and everywhere in between. From those who can't afford season tickets to those who can afford to go to games even in other cities. From those who vote with their wallets to those to show their displeasure to those who buy anything Bombers including pigeon poop jersey's. From the sunshine, lollipops, rainbows and unicorn set who 'feel sorry for people who can't see just how good we will someday be' to the pessimistic Eyeore's who can't understand how we will ever win another game. All are fans. In a perfect world, they'd all be treated with the same respect. I am curious, which of those groups do you see yourself in?

Doesn't matter whose fault they are, he still took them and and that takes a toll. Wasn't until later in the year that the sacks were on him more then on the O-Line. I don't think anyone would deny that his play has been bad the last 3 - 4 games. But there is a cumulative effect from the punishment he took.

Actually, no. His bad play started when he was taking a beating. Especially when he took that hit to his throwing hand on an opposing players helmet back in mid summer. He has been taking a beating all year.

The Bombers have only given up a record 70 sacks to date. Calgary has only given up 24 and the league average is 45.3. Taking all those hits, you are right he probably isn't hurt, he is just playing like crap.

Pav always starts slow(bad) and finishes slow(bad). But how does he do in the middle?

Kind of concerns me that their trying to insure themselves against this. Just commit to improving the team and there would be no need to do this. A smart business doesn't put all of their eggs in one basket. It's not like they are thinking ... we are going to fool all these suckers into committing long term so we can take the winter off and spend it in Florida. They are still going to do everything they can to upgrade the team and field a winner. Reality is, it is very unlikely the Bombers are contending for the Grey Cup next year.

To a point, yes. No one is happy with the record or how the team played this year, and no one should be. Not the fans, not the management. But this group is not responsible for 25 years of futility and shouldn't be blamed for that. The question in my mind comes down to this. Did they do enough this year to keep their jobs. In that, you have to take into account the team / players they were given and where they are now. Personally, I'm dissapointed with the lack of new impact imports that were not brought in. Fixing the Canadian talent on this team is going to take time, and I can accept that. Recruiting imports should be where the staff is making their bread and butter. That area should be fixable in a shorter time period. I will give this group (Walters / O'Shea) at least one more season before I start calling for the winds of change.

Not sure how I feel about this. Willy is still a young QB and can use the reps to continue growth. However after seeing him play last game, he is either still too injured or seriously shell shocked from the season. If injuries are still hampering him, then go with Marve. If his injuries are "acceptable", then I like him getting to play to try and take the bad taste of the last game out of his mouth. That would be a horrible way to end his season. If the time is split between the QBs as is mentioned in the above post, I would be able to take that. Going to be a boring game. Calgary has nothing to play for, already having 1st place wrapped up. Winnipeg has nothing to play for being out of the playoffs. Hopefully Winnipeg comes out flying for this game. Our players should be playing for their jobs next season. Tough choice for Calgary on how much they play their starters this late in the season. Always tough to balance keeping your players in game shape / condition and worrying about injuries. They have this week, next week, then a bye before their playoffs start. A long time to not really be playing for anything. Wonder if the rust is going to hurt them come playoffs.

The question is what is the commitment for those years. Do you have to pay in full up front, put a deposit down, or just agree you are going to pay (and what happens if you agree you are going to pay then you don't)

With the Bombers record and their play the last few years, I don't think many of the fan base will be thinking that the Bombers have much of a chance of playing in the Grey Cup next year. This is a good way to get a chunk of the season ticket base to buy a Grey Cup ticket anyway.