Mike

Sears is just a lights out football player. One of my favorite Bombers.

http://www.oregonlive.com/vikings/index.ssf/2009/10/portland_state_football_energe.html
 
 
Good things to read about a new player.

I never thought I'd say this given his preseason but I'd take Dunn at LB and Sears at CB over Sears at LB and JJ at CB right now.

I never thought I'd say this given his preseason but I'd take Dunn at LB and Sears at CB over Sears at LB and JJ at CB right now.

The defense gave up 29 points, actually ... not 38. And on top of that, let's see just how Montreal scored those points.
 
7 points off a drive that started in field goal range after a Buck Pierce INT on the first offensive possession ... so the defense gets NO break after a tough stop to start the game.
3 points off another Buck Pierce INT that gave Montreal the ball starting in FG range
3 points on the NEXT drive (again no break) after a Chad Simpson fumble AGAIN giving Montreal a chance to start with the ball in field goal range.
 
There's your first half. 13 points off turnovers and realistically, the lowest they were going to give up was 9 considering Montreal started in field goal range on every one of those drives and had only two plays off in between possessions on two of those.
 
3 points off a 12 play, 85 yard drive.
7 points off ANOTHER drive starting in field goal range after Burke's awful decision to punt in the end zone.
3 points off a 10 play, 49 yard drive.
3 points off a 6 play, 38 yard drive.
 
So basically, what it boils down to is that they held Montreal to field goals every single time they had a whole field behind them and even when the offense / coaching staff set them up for failure, they still held all but twice.
 
So yes, I'd absolutely say it was a dominating performance that was robbed by the offense. 29 points allowed, 13 of which were off turnovers that gave Montreal the ball in FG territory and you can even tack on the other 7 that resulted in them starting in FG range because of a bad coaching call. That leaves 9 points that Montreal actually busted their ass to earn.

The defense gave up 29 points, actually ... not 38. And on top of that, let's see just how Montreal scored those points.
 
7 points off a drive that started in field goal range after a Buck Pierce INT on the first offensive possession ... so the defense gets NO break after a tough stop to start the game.
3 points off another Buck Pierce INT that gave Montreal the ball starting in FG range
3 points on the NEXT drive (again no break) after a Chad Simpson fumble AGAIN giving Montreal a chance to start with the ball in field goal range.
 
There's your first half. 13 points off turnovers and realistically, the lowest they were going to give up was 9 considering Montreal started in field goal range on every one of those drives and had only two plays off in between possessions on two of those.
 
3 points off a 12 play, 85 yard drive.
7 points off ANOTHER drive starting in field goal range after Burke's awful decision to punt in the end zone.
3 points off a 10 play, 49 yard drive.
3 points off a 6 play, 38 yard drive.
 
So basically, what it boils down to is that they held Montreal to field goals every single time they had a whole field behind them and even when the offense / coaching staff set them up for failure, they still held all but twice.
 
So yes, I'd absolutely say it was a dominating performance that was robbed by the offense. 29 points allowed, 13 of which were off turnovers that gave Montreal the ball in FG territory and you can even tack on the other 7 that resulted in them starting in FG range because of a bad coaching call. That leaves 9 points that Montreal actually busted their ass to earn.

I never thought I'd say this given his preseason but I'd take Dunn at LB and Sears at CB over Sears at LB and JJ at CB right now.

Give me a break, he's not satisfactory at all. We're winning in spite of him, not because of him.

People definitely underestimate our offensive line.

People definitely underestimate our offensive line.

I'd bring Carr back in place of Denmark, to be honest. But I love tall receivers.

It's funny how so often you see a team struggling because the talent surrounding their QB is adequate.
If this team had a QB that was even slightly above average, it could be special. Buck gifts the Als a 7 point lead, finishes the game by handing them the ball again. No drives, just a quick score generated by a huge Demond play and then one big play to Etienne to set up another score. Not going to cut it. What was our longest offensive possession tonight? 4 minutes?
If we're going to rely on playing aggressive with a long field, this offense is going to be atrocious. It literally seems as if Buck has lost almost all the ability to make an intermediate read. His passes were either short, deep or on a bailout. If this is the guy that is supposed to have an offense based on middle of the field quick hitters designed specifically for him then I hope he's just a slow learner.

It's funny how so often you see a team struggling because the talent surrounding their QB is adequate.
If this team had a QB that was even slightly above average, it could be special. Buck gifts the Als a 7 point lead, finishes the game by handing them the ball again. No drives, just a quick score generated by a huge Demond play and then one big play to Etienne to set up another score. Not going to cut it. What was our longest offensive possession tonight? 4 minutes?
If we're going to rely on playing aggressive with a long field, this offense is going to be atrocious. It literally seems as if Buck has lost almost all the ability to make an intermediate read. His passes were either short, deep or on a bailout. If this is the guy that is supposed to have an offense based on middle of the field quick hitters designed specifically for him then I hope he's just a slow learner.

It's funny how so often you see a team struggling because the talent surrounding their QB is adequate.
If this team had a QB that was even slightly above average, it could be special. Buck gifts the Als a 7 point lead, finishes the game by handing them the ball again. No drives, just a quick score generated by a huge Demond play and then one big play to Etienne to set up another score. Not going to cut it. What was our longest offensive possession tonight? 4 minutes?
If we're going to rely on playing aggressive with a long field, this offense is going to be atrocious. It literally seems as if Buck has lost almost all the ability to make an intermediate read. His passes were either short, deep or on a bailout. If this is the guy that is supposed to have an offense based on middle of the field quick hitters designed specifically for him then I hope he's just a slow learner.

It's funny how so often you see a team struggling because the talent surrounding their QB is adequate.
If this team had a QB that was even slightly above average, it could be special. Buck gifts the Als a 7 point lead, finishes the game by handing them the ball again. No drives, just a quick score generated by a huge Demond play and then one big play to Etienne to set up another score. Not going to cut it. What was our longest offensive possession tonight? 4 minutes?
If we're going to rely on playing aggressive with a long field, this offense is going to be atrocious. It literally seems as if Buck has lost almost all the ability to make an intermediate read. His passes were either short, deep or on a bailout. If this is the guy that is supposed to have an offense based on middle of the field quick hitters designed specifically for him then I hope he's just a slow learner.

It's funny how so often you see a team struggling because the talent surrounding their QB is adequate.
If this team had a QB that was even slightly above average, it could be special. Buck gifts the Als a 7 point lead, finishes the game by handing them the ball again. No drives, just a quick score generated by a huge Demond play and then one big play to Etienne to set up another score. Not going to cut it. What was our longest offensive possession tonight? 4 minutes?
If we're going to rely on playing aggressive with a long field, this offense is going to be atrocious. It literally seems as if Buck has lost almost all the ability to make an intermediate read. His passes were either short, deep or on a bailout. If this is the guy that is supposed to have an offense based on middle of the field quick hitters designed specifically for him then I hope he's just a slow learner.

Buck played good for all of about 3 minutes in this game. That period was the only series in the game where he strung together consecutive good throws. Other than that, he threw WAY too many balls to areas where it was up for grabs and he paid for it. It's also becoming painfully obvious that if you're down in the fourth quarter and Buck Pierce is your QB, you will not win. The guy just disappears when it matters.
 
Dunn was awesome, for as much hassle as I gave him in the preseason.
 
Simpson needs more touches.
 
Etienne put a cheesy smile on my face, I love seeing him succeed.
 
Washington is just such an electric player to watch.
 
Good pressure on Calvillo but when Buck stepped down, AC stepped up.
 
Thought Crowton called a decent game. Impossible to say though, considering he's not calling execution, he's calling formations and options. I didn't really have too many "wtf are we doing" moments compared to the amount of "why didn't we make that play" moments.
 
Oh, and I thought our trenches were pretty awesome tonight. Hope Gilmore isn't out too long, he's ferocious out there.

When Mike laughed at us, I knew we'd get it done, if only because I was so desperate to tell him to go **** himself.

I WANT GAME

Hamilton:
 
Is Kent Austin a proven HC? I suppose to some he is and to some he isn't. He won a Grey Cup as we all know but that season as a whole was fairly average and they did run into some favourable circumstances. His NCAA career was fairly lacklustre but that probably has little to do with how successful he will be in the CFL. In my heart, I believe he will be an upgrade over Cortez (but how could he not be?) but I also thought Cortez would be a good fit last year. They have a rookie DC in Orlondo Steinauer and as terrible as Cortez was last year, the one thing no one can dispute is that he ran a great offense. It is probably a good thing for the Ti-Cats that he is gone, but they will be implementing a new offense which could easily not be as potent as it was last year, especially considering the fact that their offensive personell is not nearly as good as people make it out to be.
 
I'll start with Hank Burris. No one can dispute the career year he put up last year but that's the thing, it was his best statistical year in his career at age 37. The years prior to his change of scenery had been a steady decline and he is only becoming less and less mobile with age. People talk all the time about Calvillo being primed for a down year but I have heard little speculation that Burris will struggle. Frankly, a mobile QB at that age who had a "resurgance" after a few bumpy seasons is a prime candidate to disappoint. Of course I could be way off here but all those facts combined with the loss of Chris Williams and Avon Cobourne (who as underwhelming as he was as a runner, was a great blocker and an above average receiver out of the backfield) leads me to this possible conclusion.
 
I am also not even remotely sold on Chevon Walker as an every down RB. He had a sensational start to the season using his premiere speed but between getting hurt and becoming VERY underwhelming after the first few games, leads me to believe he isn't the second coming that TSN wanted us to believe. When compared to Cobourne, his blocking is atrocious and he isn't the between the tackles runner that is generally successful in the CFL. He does have great speed and is a good receiver out of the backfield but in my mind he is in a race with Hugh Charles for the worst starting tailback in the CFL and it's not really close.
 
At receiver, without Chris Williams these guys are not scary. I'd like to remind everyone that their number one import receiver is Bakari Grant. He's solid as a number two or three I suppose, but does he compare to Edwards or Matthews? He may even be just barely on par with Denmark. Fantuz was a sure-handed but slow SB who wasn't so sure-handed last year. Signs do point to a bounce back from him, but as of now he is not the dominant SB he was in his one great season. Giguere is no better than Poblah at this point in his career and Onrea Jones is the epitome of painfully average import receiver. Greg Ellingson had a good pre-season but does that mean anything at this point? Questions galore here.
 
I won't go into too much detail about the O-line. The interior should be good with Hage, Wojt and Dyakowski backed up by Husband and O'Neill but import tackles Marc Dile and Brian Simmons have been average for the couple years they have been around.
 
All I've been hearing is how much the defense has been improved this offseason. Sure, they couldn't get much worse than they were last year but other than McCollough, I don't really see it. They added Shomari Williams and Brian Bulcke to the defensive line. How those additions get anyone enthused will be an eternal mystery to me. As of right now, as far as I can tell the starting ends will be Greg Peach and Brandon Boudreaux. Both are decent if unspectacular players but both were also the ends for most of last year's debaucle on defense. Williams and Bulcke should sub-in at some points but as of right now, they are both overpaid NI spot starters. Terrence Moore looked good in spurts at tackle last season but the season before, so did Robert Rose and he washed out of the league last year after the obligatory couple of games for Saskatchewan. Torrey Davis is starting the year on the injured list but he will also be in the mix at tackle.
 
I have an immense amount of respect for Jamal Johnson at linebacker and he is really one of only a few really solid spots on this defense. Markieth Knowlton was once the premiere SAM in the CFL and was a deserving defensive player of the year a few years back. The last two seasons have been rough on him, however and he is at this point merely average at his position. The good thing about this group is that they no longer employ the abomination that was Kevin Eiben, but the third LB spot will either be Simoni Lawrence and MLB or if Johnson plays MLB, Ricardo Coclough at SAM and Knowlton at WIL. Both of them are former Eskimoes and had some success last season but neither are the big name free agents that everyone always hopes Joe Mack brings in.
 
In the secondary, I'd first like to discuss their starting safety James Patrick. I realize this guy is a "big name" and that gets people all hot and bothered but I can't stress enough how atrocious this guy was last year in Saskatchewan. He was never a strong tackler and made his money on turnovers much like Jovon Johnson. When the INTs stopped, the poor tackling became a bigger issue and his cover skills are in decline. He is most certainly a shaky part of this secondary. Evan McCollough and Dee Webb are both good players and should be solid parts of the secondary for the new few years. I imagine Ryan Hinds will probably start at corner and two years ago when he was a regular starter, he was a real nice place to attack every game. Based on what I read on the roster, the other starter at DB will be Delvin Breaux. I'm not saying this guy is not going to be good, but how in the hell would we know at this point? At least Demond Washington has some CFL experience.
 
I didn't even realize how many potential problems the Ti-Cats will have until I went through in all in my head. This is a team that many people have fighting for first place in the division (as per usual). I personally just don't see it. I realize that some of these questionable spots will probably work out for them but looking at the big picture, other than QB and mayyyyybe LB (but that's questionable) where are these guys better than the Bombers? And don't say Punter even if it's true.
 
Riders next.

Alright, moving on to Toronto.
 
I know everyone is talking about how good these guys are and all that and I recognize they are the defending champs so they've earned the benefit of the doubt to some degree. That being said, I can't think of a team with more question marks on defence than these guys. I will get to that later though.
 
On offense, Ray is obviously a top-tier QB so there is no qualm there. Again, as Mike mentioned earlier, that main thing that separates the Bombers from every other tea, in the league is obviously quarterbacking. I do agree that at every other position, they at the very least stack up to most other teams but Pierce is at the very best an average QB, if even that. But this is supposed to be about the Argos and I have digressed. I should also mention, that Harris and Collaros are both impressive at backup QB and I actually like their QBs 1-3 more than anyone else's in the league by far. Your third string QB can of course only get you so far but it's worth mentioning. Kackert is a dynamic and effective RB so again they have no real question mark here and although their receivers aren't as good as Montreal's are, it isn't a real position of concern. I still don't think Owens is that great of a receiver and Durie is a good receiver buoyed by his NI status but they are a serviceable 1-2. The real key here is Inman who in my mind is a tremendous talent who should only get better in his second season. Barnes and what's left of Romby Bryant are average enough 4th and 5th options. At OL, they are good but not great. I will be honest in saying that I don't really know who is going to start in this group, perhaps bluto can enlighten us, but Eppele and Reinders are good prospects at the very least. I imagine Tony Washington will start who is certainly not dominant for an import OT but at least decent. Van Zeyl, Keeping, Parenteau and Wayne Smith are also in the picture in some capacity and all are average to good NI starters. This is a good group nonetheless. 
 
I didn't discuss special teams much with the Als because Sean Whyte is solid but I would like to discuss the kicking game of the Argos. To me, this is a question mark. As of now, their kicker and punter is Swayze Waters, an import. I am not a huge fan of this guy personally as he has a strong leg but his accuracy is very questionable. They also recently signed Noel Prefontaine, which isn't a ringing endorsement of Waters as well in my eyes.
 
The defence is a huge question mark outside the outside linebackers. I know some will say that they were in a similar situation last year and brought in guys like Pacino Horne, Pat Watkins, Ahmad Carroll (who himself wasn't all that good but that's another story), Marcus Ball, among others and will lightning strike twice? Perhaps. Chris Jones does know what he is doing, there's no doubt but no matter what his track record is, doesn't take away the fact that there will be many new faces and CFL rookies on the Toronto D this year.
 
Their D-line is all new faces and should end up being 75% rookies. We all know Khalif Mitchell is a great talent and frankly, I don't care one bit that he's a nutjob since his play hasn't really declined in his three years in the league. He should be a standout on the line. The other tackle position will be filled in part my Jermaine Reid or newcomer Kiante Tripp. Reid has been a serviceable NI spot stater in the league and Tripp is completely green. There should be some growing pains there. At end, Flemons and Foley are gone (not that they were world beaters anyway but they were veterans who could play). In their place should be a combination of newcomer imports Johnathan Williams and Nekos Brown and NIs Cleyon Laing and David Lee. The two NIs are talent players, no doubt but they are in their first and second seasons respectively and have little to no in game experience. At LB, Marcus Ball is already one of the best WIL LBers in the CFL, if not THE best and Brandon Isaac parlayed a reasonably successful career as a HB into a very good season at SAM. Both are very solid. The MLB position however, should be an adventure. As of right now, I assume the 35 year old Robert McCune will start the year there, but I could be mistaken. Don't get me wrong, he's a serviceable and respectable player but even at a younger age, he wasn't among the top LBers in the league and at 35 one can only imagine that he doesn't have a ton left in the tank. NI Jason Pottinger has played the position in the past as well but his best days are behind him. 
 
The secondary, outside of Watkins will be entirely new as well. Watkins had a sensational year last year and for my money is a top 3 CB in the league if not better. I have an immense amount of respect for him as a player. On the other hand, the Argos will really miss Horne and especially Evan McCollough, a player I really thought the Bombers should have signed. He is probably the most underrated DB in the entire league and is not even remotely easily replaced. Of course there are some promising new faces that are going to try to fill the void but they are just that, promising. Who's to say that their new faces at crucial positions are any better prepared than the Bombers'? The names Jalil Carter, Jermaine Gabriel, Joshua Gatlin, Shane Herbert and Jamie Robinson don't mean much at the moment and any one or few of these guys may end up being as good as McCollough but as of now, they are question marks. Very similarly to the Als, the safety position is the one of most concern. Jordan Younger was not a spectacular athlete in his older age but he did do a very nice job of quarterbacking the defence. As of now, NI Matt Black is the new safety and how he does is very up in the air. I'm not going to write the guy off, but he always seemed like a career special teamer to me thrust into a starting job because the Younger retirement took the team by surprise. 
 
The Argos have many excellent players and that pains me to the bone to say but there are holes in the lineup. Could they find more Marcus Balls and Pacino Hornes? I'm sure some newcomers have what it takes but the fact remains that there will be at least 8 new starters on this defence and that could certainly lead to some problems.
 
Hamilton next.

The one thing I notice about our team and the way it is viewed in the media is that everyone seems to think our entire roster sucks when our roster outside of the QB spot is one of the better ones in the league.
 
Take out the QB spot from the Eastern Division and honestly, who is impressive as us on paper? We have the strongest RB, a very strong set of healthy receivers, a couple all-stars on the DL and a very tough secondary.
 
Unfortunately, that's why the games are played. Our individual talent across the board (outside of QB) is strong but until we can get a general to piece it all together, I doubt it matters.

The one thing I notice about our team and the way it is viewed in the media is that everyone seems to think our entire roster sucks when our roster outside of the QB spot is one of the better ones in the league.
 
Take out the QB spot from the Eastern Division and honestly, who is impressive as us on paper? We have the strongest RB, a very strong set of healthy receivers, a couple all-stars on the DL and a very tough secondary.
 
Unfortunately, that's why the games are played. Our individual talent across the board (outside of QB) is strong but until we can get a general to piece it all together, I doubt it matters.

The one thing I notice about our team and the way it is viewed in the media is that everyone seems to think our entire roster sucks when our roster outside of the QB spot is one of the better ones in the league.
 
Take out the QB spot from the Eastern Division and honestly, who is impressive as us on paper? We have the strongest RB, a very strong set of healthy receivers, a couple all-stars on the DL and a very tough secondary.
 
Unfortunately, that's why the games are played. Our individual talent across the board (outside of QB) is strong but until we can get a general to piece it all together, I doubt it matters.

I don't hold it against Hefney.  I highly doubt it was ever put to him that "You have to play SAM or be released."  He probably thought there was no chance they would release him so he was free to stay at halfback.  I'm sure reality set in after he was released and he realized he was going to have to accept the change.