17to85

This is one time where I hope Etch gets in the way of a player coming here. I too hate having players among the best at their position in the team. Bring back Tim Burke so we can suck again.

well I am saying this with all due respect, but you're out of your mind. This team NEEDS help on the d-line. Last couple games we have absolutely sucked getting pressure on qbs from the DL. Getting a top teir pass rusher would do all kinds of good for this team. The penalties aren't worth it. Hall is overrated. The penalty problems are what is overrated, Hall would be a huge upgrade no questions asked.

BUt Desjardins is an idiot. He'll be back to being an assistant GM before too long.

I am sorry but this is a stupid ******* statement to make. Just because there are other issues doesn't mean we can't take steps to fix one of the problems... that being Grigsby. He's not good enough as he is now regardless of what we have at OL. If he wants to start running harder then by all means he can stay, but he's gotta show that for more than just the 4th quarter. Give Cotton a chance see if it improves (and no 4 carries in the 3rd quarter against montreal don't count as a chance). It might help even with those other problem areas. You can work on more than one area at a time you know. It's easier to replace one player than 5.

well I am saying this with all due respect, but you're out of your mind. This team NEEDS help on the d-line. Last couple games we have absolutely sucked getting pressure on qbs from the DL. Getting a top teir pass rusher would do all kinds of good for this team.

I think there's less difference than you think there is. Both the Esks and Stamps have escaped by the skin of their teeth a few times. Obviously they're at the top right now, but that could change by the end of the season.

Thumbed their noses at us? Or maybe they just said "sorry, Winnipeg, we appreciate your offer but we've opted to choose a different one. Thank you" Then what? Pretty obvious to me that coaches & players didn't want to come here. It was more than a polite, "Thank you but we've opted for something elsewhere". More like,"Yeah,right". It's true, we're stuck with the coordinators we are because no one else wanted to come here and that's due to the constant firing of coaches that goes on around here. Thankfully O'Shea seems to be putting some stability in place here so that should help in the future.

Speaking of reality...we have two separate camps as usual. 1. It's Grigsby 2. It's the OL Both need to improve...going forward... That's not entirely true. I'm not absolving the OL, sometimes they just don't do enough, my reasons for not liking Grigsby are pretty straightforward and not based on his numbers or lack there of... it's because he runs east/west too much, he stops before he hits the line too much, he doesn't run with any kind of power or authority, he sucks at breaking tackles, he's good at running into people and I don't think he is very good at making people miss. He is just frustrating to watch.

I just can't figure this out. Here we have a guy that is leading the league and a 4.7 yd average but many are still not satisfied. I must be missing something obviously. Of course our Oline has nothing to do with this. Why is it that Willy is also ineffective at the same time? Might it be the line is not protecting Willy just like it is not opening holes. so you like a runningback who plays like he's afraid of getting hit?

The biggest change in the Esks I can see is Jones & coaching staff ... not sure what all has changed personnel wise ... its been quite a turn around and I don't understand why As we discovered with the Bombers a lot of the pieces were already in place, sometimes it's just a matter of a few key players and coaches to turn a team of losers into winners. Only 2 things really matter in the CFL, coaching and quarterbacking.

Iso is most likely referring specifically to Collaros who once signed in Hamilton I believe made some comments about how Tim Hortons field will be better than IGF or something, plus he was raving about the situation he was going to as well. So this post from him makes sense when you remember all the things that were said and posters reactions to them in the offseason.

Don't know that I agree with that. He's got plenty of competition from the rest of the defense. Washington gets a mention, Leggett probably deserves a mention, a healthy Sears might get a mention too. Wild for my money is just a damned solid football player too. This D has a lot of talent on it. Say what you will about Mack but the man knew how to find americans who could play in this league. Not so good at picking coaches, but as a talent finder he brought a lot of good pieces to this team.

How? Suicide pass by Ray.

Weren't you the one who lost it when I said that we were a well-coached .500 team and Esks were 'for real'...? I called you out on the stupid comment about the Bombers.

if you look up ****** bag in the dictionary they got his picture

when were they not legit? Seems to me everyone knew they had a tough defense. I still don't see much out of the offense other than the couple big plays. But it works for them for now.

He doesn't look that impressive either. Couple big runs from Edmonton players and a defensive TD. That team is a pretty lucky team in that they just seem to make a lot of big plays. They really are the 2011 Bombers come again. Defense that gets turnovers and a couple big plays out of the offense.

Did you see the play early in the game where Grigsby stopped before he hit the line of scrimmage and was tackled for a loss? That was absolutely embarassing. At least Cotton was running forward. Hell the play he got dropped hard by Hebert at least he picked up 8 yards first. If that was Grigsby he would have got maybe 3 or 4 cause a guy would have got a hand on him coming through the initial hole. Grigsby went back in during the 4th quarter and actually stopped ******* around going sideways and running tentative. He actually started to make a decision and commit to it and ran with more authority and go figure he made some plays. I question whether he can do that all the time or not, but if he can then good, but if not I like the way Cotton runs better. Overall I think the biggest issue with the running game last night was the play calling. They did very little to actually give the backs a chance until late in the game, but I can not stand a running back who is seemingly afraid of contact. Of course I saw it. They've both been guilty of it. Cotton's stood out more though considering the down and distance and how he attacked it. As time goes on, it seems more and more like we have B level running backs, though giving credit where it's due Grigsby cut out the east/west garbage in the fourth quarter and was key in pulling out the win. That 2nd and 2 though I have a hard time really saying that Cotton didn't put the effort in, He got to the line and had a guy on his ankle and more coming in, he wasn't going to get much out of that one anyway. I just want to see the guy get a proper workload so we can actually see what he can do. 2 big runs from Grigsby in the 4th quarter doesn't make him any better than he has been and 4 carries in the game for cotton doesn't tell us much of anything about his ability either.

You know what a screen pass is right? Every time you were bitching about that in the chat room it was on a play where the als were letting guys get in the backfield then dumping the ball in behind them. That's no on Dunn, that's on Montreal taking advantage of the blitz with a play designed to exploit it. Not much Dunn can do but stop and get his hands up. He's not getting to the qb so try and disrupt the throw any way possible. You don't like it take it up with Etch. That's my point. When you send your LB, he needs to get to the the QB fast otherwise you get victimized by the screen... Wild was good at that when he was OLB, Sherman is pretty good at it, Dunn is not. He ends up too deep for contain but doesn't get any real pressure either. you can't get to the qb fast when he's just back pedalling to set up that very play. The problem here isn't Dunn, it's that the other team sees the play coming a mile away and has a play called to counter it. I know you're not a fan of Etch's schemes - but when executing that play, you need Brandon Isaac or a Craig Butler type, someone who can come in like a bullet and commit to pursuit. Dunn runs, pauses, runs, pauses... the Grigsby of linebackers. I'm just not a fan of the way he plays, would way rather see Wild-Kromah-Sherman(Sears) on the field for the whole game and there's the crux of the issue, you just don't like the guy for some unknown reason. He's a fine player. The problem is that play is designed to put the blitzing linebacker in a no win situation. He keeps after the qb the ball is dumped behind him, he backs off the qb keeps it himself. There's not much you can do when the offense has the right play called to counter the defense you have.

Did you see the play early in the game where Grigsby stopped before he hit the line of scrimmage and was tackled for a loss? That was absolutely embarassing. At least Cotton was running forward. Hell the play he got dropped hard by Hebert at least he picked up 8 yards first. If that was Grigsby he would have got maybe 3 or 4 cause a guy would have got a hand on him coming through the initial hole. Grigsby went back in during the 4th quarter and actually stopped ******* around going sideways and running tentative. He actually started to make a decision and commit to it and ran with more authority and go figure he made some plays. I question whether he can do that all the time or not, but if he can then good, but if not I like the way Cotton runs better. Overall I think the biggest issue with the running game last night was the play calling. They did very little to actually give the backs a chance until late in the game, but I can not stand a running back who is seemingly afraid of contact. Cotton got flipped back a few times...looked nasty. It seems we still have two distinct 'camps' on this issue. Should be another good week of back and forth entertainment. If you watched Montreal's run game, it was basically the same as ours. Watch any team's running game, no matter who they are. It's mostly straight up, make a block, hit the hole. I'm just tired of seeing Grigsby run like a sissy. Yeah the blocking isn't great, but I'll give you an example: montreal had a play where things were stacked up pretty good in the middle and Whitaker just put his shoulders down and ran into the pile hard and managed to push it for the 2 yards needed. Grigsby in that same situation tends to either stop and look for a hole or run sideways trying to get all the way outside. If he'd just put the shoulder down and run forward I'd be on board with him continuing, but he plays like he's afraid of contact and I can't accept that from a runningback.

You know what a screen pass is right? Every time you were bitching about that in the chat room it was on a play where the als were letting guys get in the backfield then dumping the ball in behind them. That's no on Dunn, that's on Montreal taking advantage of the blitz with a play designed to exploit it. Not much Dunn can do but stop and get his hands up. He's not getting to the qb so try and disrupt the throw any way possible. You don't like it take it up with Etch. That's my point. When you send your LB, he needs to get to the the QB fast otherwise you get victimized by the screen... Wild was good at that when he was OLB, Sherman is pretty good at it, Dunn is not. He ends up too deep for contain but doesn't get any real pressure either. you can't get to the qb fast when he's just back pedalling to set up that very play. The problem here isn't Dunn, it's that the other team sees the play coming a mile away and has a play called to counter it.

all of the west teams inflated their record vs. the east. We haven't been run off the field in any of the western losses. 5 turnovers to none and still had a chance to beat the riders, worst offensive performance of the year and were still right there in the esks game until the 4th quarter... The west teams aren't super human, this team can beat them. Their records are based on dominating the east as well, same as ours. The next 2 weeks are going to see significant change in the standings. calgary/edmonton labour day series will give those teams a loss or two, same with ours vs. the riders.

Don't turn the ball over 5 times to none and the riders are beatable.

call me crazy, but I wouldn't be surprised to see the Als wind up 2nd in the east. Hamilton doesn't impress me, especially with all their qbs out and in a contest between a team with a very tough defense and no offense vs. and all around bad team like Ottawa give me the team that at least has the D.

You know what a screen pass is right? Every time you were bitching about that in the chat room it was on a play where the als were letting guys get in the backfield then dumping the ball in behind them. That's no on Dunn, that's on Montreal taking advantage of the blitz with a play designed to exploit it. Not much Dunn can do but stop and get his hands up. He's not getting to the qb so try and disrupt the throw any way possible. You don't like it take it up with Etch.