JuranBoldenRules

Hall mostly plays match coverages (meaning matching coverage to routes) so basically everyone but DL ends up covering man, especially when he's blitzing a bunch. So if both slots run vertical like that one post and corner, Bighill can't just sit, neither can Alexander. Alexander sitting on a route that isn't there is the bust on that play. The offense dictates matchups based on alignment and motion. There's only so much the D can do before the snap and then they gotta roll with it.

Where do you prioritize him around Jefferson, Jeffcoat, Schoen, Oliviera, the entire OL, Wolitarsky, Lawson, Walker? There's a strong possibility he's asked to take a pay cut again and says no.

Could very easily be cut. Already a guy who has taken pay cuts.

The only way Bighill should be back is if he's going to gain about 10 pounds and play nose at a 50% pay cut. Will be disappointed if we give up a great player or two in their prime to keep him around. Looks more like Alexander to me. Holm is playing corner there and jumps the outside breaking route. Alexander is at no depth to cover curls but also doesn't track the vertical. That's the drive when Alexander dropped down to half and Hallett came in at safety because Parker got bopped on the kickoff cover. The drive where we really could have used a backup DB.

Competition doesn't only take place in the games broadcast on TSN.

It was Cover 2, basically what Tampa 2 looks like in Canada. They flooded the deep so Lawler had a bit of time to the flag, but the corner at curl/out depth also has time to bail out on a corner route. The corner who made the pick was reading the QB and covering zone. I personally think the pass to Demski would have been a pick six should Collaros have thrown it, by the same DB. That DB is baiting that throw. At best Demski would have got lit up. If Lawler times up a jump for that ball it's a easy TD. The best play likely would have been to back them off with a pump and take it to the endzone himself.

At that point the Bombers were actively running out the clock, running it down inside 5 each play.

Pigrome was awful for Ottawa. Don't really see him as a prospect in this league at all. If anything might have conditioned Dru Brown more to that short yardage role so you could use his arm to having an actual threat on the field.

Ultimately all the teams we compete against are going through the same issue so there's no advantage to anyone. They are all mining the same talent pool of guys willing to come up. Feel that this year there was very little effort paid to development which bites short and long-term in this sport. That churn needs to be continuous. Saw several circumstances this year where there simply was no one ready to replace an injured player so we didn't replace them. Like when Grant was out and we had no one that could reasonably even catch a punt safely.

No we don't. Look at the depth charts. Everyone dresses an assload of LB/DB/RB's to cover kicks. We actually were dressing less because we had 8 OL, Jackson (who by game 15 was off cover teams) and often up to 3 backup receivers including Grant, we also had a bunch of games with 8 OL and Schmekel on too who couldn't cover kicks.

Who do you think covers kicks?

The O was going to be a slog to play ball control. The D was inexcusable. Fajardo has the ability to do exactly one thing as a passer which is to get the ball out quick/toss up those 50/50 balls. You can't leave yourself exposed to giving receivers chances to make plays on inaccurate tosses by running so much cover 0/1, basically man coverage the entire game. Further, there's not even a point of rushing 6-7 guys if they are always in max protect. Sure if they are going to only leave 5 in you might be able to disrupt timing but they clearly were going to hunker down.

Think of who free agents are though. They want job security not competition. Funny because there was a time here when FIFO was real. Look at Korey Banks. Winning kind of softened it for the guys who MOS won with.

I see Hansen as a guy being mentioned who maybe could have got more run, but when he did play this season he was a total non-factor. First year back off achilles but another guy who is getting up there and might never what he was in his prime. There's a lot of guys who count as Internationals out there and I hope we don't hamstring ourselves there either. The problem with believing in those guys who were too busted up to even chance aggravating the injury in warm-up is what are you communicating to the other half of the team? We better not hear "next man up" or the like coming out of that locker room because it's not a philosophy they are following when it actually matters.

Played with the intensity of a Week 7 game in mid November. Honestly never thought I’d see this out of a MOS team because even when he had a **** sandwich of a team on the field the guys always worked their bags off.

It’s honestly like how they’ve played the first half against most of these type of QBs but there was no adjustment. And just running a blitz into max protect when they show you 2nd down after each that’s what they will do just turns the advantage over to the O.

I think you’re underestimating how tight the margin is in these games. Like say Jeffcoat/Jefferson each get 15 snaps off due to Haba or Garbutt being dressed. They have way more juice for the the 2nd and 18, 3rd and 5 or whatever it would have been if they made the 2nd down play in the final minute. How does that not have an impact on winning? That’s the exact formula this group was using in 19 and 21….remember the Cheetah package they’d roll a bunch to keep everyone fresh and opposition off balance? It’s cliche to say “ok get the next play” because everything that happens is cumulative and there’s no way to just suck it up and have that energy difference present itself on that play as it would if you have 15 less snaps on your punchcard. That’s why it matters.

Nah Montreal would have played zone blitz all night and he probably turns it over 3-4 times.

The head coach always balances the roster out. If I coach special teams and I want this guy on but you’re the DC and want this other player as a 4th LB because you have a couple sets you want to use him for in the next game the head coach decides who gets what they want or how the game roster looks. Then we’re gonna go with the slot who has a bum ankle so we better have a plan to fill in for him in the likely event he can’t play the whole game so maybe my special teamer gets bumped off for that extra receiver and now I have to shuffle my plan. I mean you know from the look of the roster that every position doesn’t have backups and there’s much different utility for guys related to special teams.

Yeah we also have the fewest number of DB/LBs dressed I’ve ever seen at the 46 man roster number. So basically all those guys are on cover team and starting. We often had 8 OL and some games had 4 DTs dressed plus 2 backup receivers who don’t play teams. BOLO had at times but not often.

That whole Argo organization had a core of Canadians, linemen, defenders who played together from Flutie well through Pinball coaching. They pulled another one off in 04 but we mostly right around .500 the whole time and gave people tough games if they had a half decent QB or whatever you could call Damon Allen in the 2000s. It's almost exactly what MOS has constructed here. Now we just need to hope he can move on from some guys when the time is right and not only if they piss on his thought on work ethic like Harris.

This 2nd half was a lot like the Ottawa game. It was like this game was happening to them but they weren't really a part of it. Like in 21 they could stop the bleeding now they are just watching the play roll by.

Yeah big danger in waiting to NEED to make the changes too. We were basically a mash unit the past couple years by November. Like a Jeffcoat. Great player once a month or so now. West Final was his game this month.

It's the culture he came through in Toronto too. Remember Keith Stokes turning him inside out when he was years past his prime on a punt return to run the Bombers into a Grey Cup. Here's the leagues all time tackler and a punt returner the league quit on two years before just made him look like a rented mule in the biggest game. Seems to be an issue with telling guys when time is up...as long as they are willing to sweat in the gym I guess...seemed to be the issue for Harris.

Yeah we have a pile of depth guys over 30 too who might want to move into their next chapter instead of training 12 months a year to play 8. Neufeld, Bryant, Hardrick have been in the "one more year" phase for the last 3 basically.