johnzo

Emmanuel Arceneaux weighs in:

Reading Lionbackers the idea was that Akeem Foster wasn't going to be protected in the expansion draft -- he was their #4 NIMP receiver -- so he could be had for less than market value. It is a strange time right now in the CFL with teams positioning themselves for the Redblack draft, we might see more weird trades. Poblah, I think, is worth nothing even in these strange times. The Lionbackers are strangely positive about getting Pierce back. They have fond memories of him from back when he was good. Wouldn't it be something if Pierce went back to BC and lit it up? But with that screen door OL of theirs I'm guessing he'll just be turf pizza, if he even sees the field. Good luck to him anyway.

The last rev of the Calgary road jersey had two slightly different styles that they'd wear in a single game. The black stripes on the back of the jerseys were different for certain players. See how #28 has a long-sleeved jersey with a black stripe going straight down the sleeve, where #90 has a short-sleeved jersey with a fat arc going from the armpit to under the nameplate. I'm guessing the Stamps used different style jerseys to accommodate different styles of shoulder pads.

While I think the color is beautiful, I wish that they had gotten the number font right and I wish that the cool vintage W logo wasn't all squished onto the tiny sleeves of a modern football jersey.

Seriously, who do you think we could get for Poblah or Edwards? I love reading the trade proposals here where we trade rowboats for battleships.

Those tight red pants ... and tight red jerseys ... make it look like the Wildcats were wearing unitards.

During the first half, TSN showed how one enters the Taylor Field press box; they showed Duane Forde walking up the stairs in the stands, same as the fans use, and then climbing in through the window.

Also, lol at the Taylor Field pressbox. How does Terry Jones even get up there?

Goltz and company made some plays but our offence couldn't sustain drives without major penalty help from the Roughriders. The only reason we led at the half was because Jade Etienne nearly got beheaded and Dwight Anderson has self-control issues. What's with this team's second half woes? Goltz and Hall -- hell, even Buck -- have had decent first halves and then crapped the bed in the third quarter.

Buck's contract is guaranteed at this point, so they might as well keep him around for emergency purposes. Sorry Buck...it's just too much. By "Emergency" I mean something like "Goltz becomes a quadruple amputee, Max Hall quits the Bombers to commence astronaut training, and Jason Boltus is revealed to actually be a pair of clever dogs wearing a human suit. Also, Michael Bishop is unavailable."

Congratulations to Chad Simpson, tho!

Buck's contract is guaranteed at this point, so they might as well keep him around for emergency purposes.

Can you even challenge a penalty call or a penalty non-call?

What's the hold-up on Boltus? His signing hasn't been announced, he's not on the bluebombers.com roster. It's getting late in the work week to bring in a new QB. Anyone got a practice report to share? Who's getting the reps? I'm betting that Buck will be starting the LDC -- Hall's wrist looked super painful and that one practice toss he threw on the sidelines was real ugly. And Burke doesn't seem to want to play Goltz.

I don't care about 2013. 2013 is finished and dead, we're not getting better, we're not making the playoffs, we're certainly not winning a Grey Cup. The best I'm hoping for right now is that the Bombers stop embarrassing themselves and compete a little bit. The only thing that matters now is making the right hires for 2014. If the right coaching staff for 2014 is out there right now waiting to be hired, then by all means fire everyone and hire the new people in. I kinda doubt that's the case right now, though. On the other hand, if that coaching staff isn't out there right now, then we need to just leave Burke in there until the best possible replacements can be recruited. A panicky midseason coaching change is (part of) what got us into this shitshow to begin with.

How do you know this? I ask because I am super curious about why the Bombers gave up on Elliott and I want to know if I can take you seriously or not.

According to cfldb.com, contracts are guaranteed after the ninth game for 6-year veterans, after the tenth game for 5-year veterans, and after the eleventh game for 4-year veterans. One of the weird things about being such a young team is that this doesn't matter so much for us. We have a lot more freedom to cut players in the back half of the year. Buck's salary is guaranteed after next week's game, and since he's injured now and can't be cut, I suspect that he's going to be with us for the rest of the year. They're paying him, they might as well keep him around for when Goltz / Jyles / Boltus / whomever else gets smoked. Stewart, Morley, and Johnson all have 7+ years so they the Bombers have to make decisions with those guys this week. Suber is a four-year guy so the latest they can cut him is the week after the Banjo Bowl. Boatman, Denmark, and Palardy are only three-year players so the guaranteed contract date won't force the Bombers' hand on them.

Me too. Their 80s unis as a whole are pretty sweet looking.

It'll be interesting to see if Neiswander can make chicken salad with a full week of starter reps -- he looked pretty terrible last week. With all those injuries and coaching upheavals to boot, I don't like his chances.

Mike Reilly would have been as good a QB for the 2013 Bombers as Dieter Brock was for the 1984 Bombers.

How do you know this?

I think Hall's struggles in the second half were more about Hall being beat to crap and less about the Ticats' adjustments. Remember he took that hellacious Pierce-like blindside hit and also that heavy shot to the ribs in the third quarter. He said he was having trouble breathing. I'm eager to see Hall get some more time, I think he's got some promise, but I don't hold out much hope for his success if our OL can't keep him clean and he can't elude the rush.

If I had a sig this would be it.

He reminds me of Chris Brazzell. Great speed, deep threat, but not much of a receiver otherwise.

I feel bad for Rob Bagg. You've got to admire all the comebacks he's made, and each time he's come back he's played at a high level. Saskatchewan 2013 looks like Blue Bombers 2011 -- they started like a house on fire, but they have some structural deficiencies.