TBURGESS

That's the first time this year that we've looked like the dominant team we've been for the last couple of years. Shredding BC's defence by simply using an extra O lineman and going deep all the time. Who'd have thunk it? They dominated the first game. We dominated the second game. I can't wait to see the third game.

We'll need to play the best game we've played so far this year to beat BC.

Wolitarski

BC's on a short week, we're coming off a bye. BC's on their 2nd string QB, we're the healthiest we've been all season. We've got home field advantage. If we don't win this one, then we have to admit that BC's the better team and that the road to the Grey Cup goes through Vancouver in the west.

BC has one of, if not the best, defence in the league. Toronto's the only team that's been able to score big points against them and that was mostly due to VAJ turning the ball over and over and over again.

Lapo's pretty good... RIGHT. He has an interesting take... RIGHT. He knows what he's talking about... RIGHT. It's incredibly annoying to hear right at the end of each sentence... RIGHT.

Bo's body is telling him to retire. I hope he listens.

Strev wasn't healthy. No vet QB was available other than Collaros. The last 3 games of 2019, the defence gave up 24, 37, & 28 points respectively. In the playoffs they gave up 14, 13 & 12. You think they'd do that with a rookie QB. To use the stats from the games that Collaros started, you need to make the following assumptions: 1. Rookie QB can win the last game of the season like Collars did, otherwise we don't play Calgary in the cold in the first round. 2. Rookie QB makes some plays that gives the team the unwavering belief that they can win, like Collaros' spinarrama TD. 3. (The worst one and why it's not valid at all) The games would look exactly the same and have the same stats no matter if Collaros or Rookie QB play.

You admit that we wouldn't win with a rookie QB starting, but foolishly won't admit that Collaros was the difference maker. Riddle me this... Why did the defence which had won 1 of the last 5 games of the year without Collaros, suddenly went on a 4 game winning streak as we started Collaros?

Bull stuff. The CFL is a QB driven league and Collaros is the best QB in the league. Without Collaros the Bomber O doesn't put up 20 points and the defense is on the field a lot longer & we don't win any games.

The whole argument is hypothetical on both sides. Stats don't tell the whole story. For example a 5 yard offensive play is a nothing burger stats wise, but it may be a TD or continue a drive at a major point in the game or extend a drive or help to drain the clock. Maybe it's a QB threading the needle. Maybe it's a receiver making a spectacular catch. Maybe it's a tipped ball at the LOS that still gets caught. All things being equal, a great defensive game will be over shadowed by bad QB play. For example: The Dinwiddie GC.

You're arguing that the defense was a larger factor while agreeing the No Collaros = No playoff wins. Therefore: Without Collaros how good the defense was doesn't matter. A feeling that the Bombers got when Collaros made that amazing TD throw in the last game of the season. Streveler wasn't starting because he was injured. If we had to go with Strev and only Strev, he wouldn't have lasted the first game, let alone a second or a third. You want the difference to be the defence, but without Collaros it would have been a wasted effort.

Collaros was THE difference maker in 2019 and going forward. Without him we're back to being just another mid-tier team with a punchers chance in the playoffs. They don't get past the first round of the playoffs without Collaros. That would be Regina if they don't win the last game of the season and they don't win that one without Collaros. Anyone arguing that Collaros wasn't THE difference maker is arguing that a rookie QB would have won, because not having Collaros = Rookie QB. I'm not pretending anything. I'm saying outright that Collaros was the only available vet QB at the time we got him. Which other vet QB do you think was available at or slightly past the trade deadline? I'm not basing things on feelings either. Even you admit that a rookie QB wouldn't have won, so it's a fact that No Collaros = No playoff wins in 2019.

Rookie QB isn't likely to win in either Regina or Calgary, but the Regina crowd would have made it even harder. Rookie QB isn't winning no matter how good the defense played. Your 'argument' that we'd have signed a different vet QB is bunk. We got Collaros at the very last minute we were allowed to make a trade. There wasn't any other available vet QB to get. The Collaros TD play in the last game of the year changed the mind set from "here we go again" to "Now we've got hope". No Collaros = No hope.

My original post states that we were 3rd with or without Collaros in 2019. The 2019 Bombers didn't have Collaros until the last game of the year. We went on the road to CGY only because we won the last game WITH Collaros. Without him, we don't win that game so we go to Regina, not Calgary. We didn't have a healthy Nichols or a healthy Strev, so we'd be starting a rookie QB in his 2nd career start in a playoff game in Regina. We barely beat Regina in the playoffs that year WITH Collaros, the chances of winning with a rookie QB are almost zero.

2019 - No Collaros = Not winning our last game = 10-7 = 3rd place = going into Regina with our backup QB starting his 2nd game not Calgary in the bitter cold = no playoff wins = no Grey Cup for 20+ years in a row. Without Collaros, we were 3rd in the west, 4th in the league = Mid-Tier. We won 2 games in our last 6 and would have only won 1 game out of the last 6 without Collaros. You don't have to agree with me, but you're wrong if you think we were top tier in 2019 or that we'd have won the GC without him.

2109 we were a mid tier team. Collaros was the difference in the playoffs & has been the difference since then.

MOS replaced the unknown Pigrome with the known quantity Prukop, likely at a higher cost. Why would you assume that there were any other factors?

Lawler - Didn't expect much his first game back, but wow he was great Demski - Turned the game in our favour Jeffcoat - Pressure + knockdowns HH - Cadwallader - Big hits

I'll take the win, ugly as it was, but boy did we ever try to give it away in the first half. Got our first TD partly cuz we got lucky that the refs on the field didn't see the ball hit the ground on Lawler's big 'catch'. Gave the ball away 3 times in the first half, but Edmonton couldn't capitalize. We couldn't run the ball until the 4th when Edmonton's D finally wore down. Edmonton would become instantly better if they had a QB.

Dobson for Gray or Neuf is one of the changes I was hoping to see this week.

I'm agreeing with what most folks are saying, but it's the freakin' Elks.

We're playing the Elks folks. Expectation should be a big win. I don't like our front 7, but I expect a big win. I think we should change out either Grey or Neuf, but I expect a big win. I don't like our roster management, but I expect a big win. Elks haven't won this year, so I expect a big win. We're playing the freakin Elks, so I expect a big win.

Looking at the line up it looks like we aren't taking Edmonton seriously. That's probably OK cuz it's Edmonton but a loss would put us behind the 8 ball for first in the west this year.

The Pros are 20 somethings and amazingly athletic. It's like watching really good table tennis players compared to duffers at home in their basement.