17to85

That's because of the limitations of the esks offense. Reilly isn't really sharp enough to run a lot of variations in the passing game.

Injuries all around please.

This is really the thing for me.....we've had some of the league's all-time worst teams over the last decade, and the fans STILL sell the place out. The Riders would be lucky to get 20k with those teams. The difference between Bombers fans and Riders fans, is we have more "die hards", but less "casuals". The Riders have WAY MORE casual fans than any other franchise and maybe even more than some NHL franchises in Canada. They're the ones who buy the merch because it's "cool" to do so right now. They badly need another extended run of Al Ford years to thin out their ranks a little and shut them up but good...Wrong. With a good football team, how many sellouts have you had this season when the Riders weren't in town? Zip.With a bad football team, many sellouts did the Riders have in 2011 when we went 5-13? 5 is the correct answer. That said, no question the Bombers have thousands of diehard fans. The numbers however suggest otherwise when comparing how many of each franchise. Take for example last season, the top 12 attended games throughout the entire season all involved the Riders. This year we have soldout the past 3 home games, were at 99% capacity for game 2 & 3 had had 31K sold for our home opener which took place during a severe flood. Add to that the Riders have helped give Wpg, Vancouver, Edmonton, & soon to be Calgary their biggest home crowds this season. It's ok for you to claim the Bombers have more diehard fans however even though the Numbers aren't in your favour. Cheers. you are using one poor year amongst a group of years where the Riders went on long playoff runs? Come on, use some common sense (asking a lot I know) How many times were the Riders selling out the building in the 90s and early 2000s? That's what people are talking about. One year where there was a power struggle with the ex coach and current coach doesn't represent much of anything. We all know what the Bombers have for attendance now, but we also know how crappy the team has been for the last stretch, that's entirely the point, even during a real ugly stretch the bombers could still fill their stadium. This year obviously they haven't but you aren't taking into account how brutal last year was. Even the die hards had a hard time watching the team last year it was THAT bad. It takes time for the faith to be rebuilt. The RIders on the other hand have been more or less solid - good for the past 10-15 years, go look how many people they would get before that though and you'll see that this massive support you think they have is just a phenomenon that is tied to their recent success.

McKinnon and Thompson for sure. I'm not 100% sold on the other two though. "What's up with that" was good stuff. This year is Thompson's last. apparently those reports weren't true and he might not leave.

and since he hurricanes got to the finals he hasn't accomplished much, that was a long time ago. You can be hopeful that he simply had a bad run, but you also have to admit that he's not a slam dunk either. The Jets are basically relying on Scheifele being a #1 defenceman and Trouba being a top pairing defenseman, that is asking a lot of players so young. If they can handle it then the team should be fine if they can't...

you keep using that word but I don't think you know what it means. Being relied on and being reliable are not the same thing. No one is saying he's not putting up good numbers and no one is taking away from him the things he can do, but the fact is he's also going to drop passes on you that should be caught. That flaw in his game is why he has bounced around several teams. If he keeps gassing easy passes at bad times I have no doubts that Edmonton will get tired of it too.

Don't forget this now : Which was in response to the Riders putting up billboards in Winnipeg....

you going to argue the points I bring up or just try and snipe at me again?

but again you are missing the big picture in favour of stats. Coaches above all else want players they can rely on. A guy who might piss away the biggest play of the game is not someone you can rely on. It's that talent that has gotten more chances than a lesser player would have ever gotten with the problems he has catching, but eventually every coach gets tires of not being able to rely on a player. It's working out for him this year, but will it last? Somehow I doubt that.

So start talking some football. I can't think of a single insightful comment you have ever made.

but if you can't rely on a player what good is he? Yeah he might get you a lot of yards but if you go to him in a key moment and he drops the pass and you lose the game does it really matter that he already had 7 catches and 100 yards?

That's the problem I had with that sketch. Not familiar with the source material so the song parody falls flat because of it. I enjoyed it on some levels because of the government shut down, but song parodies work so much better when you actually know the song that is being parodied.

Riders have had very good late round draft picks the last couple years. Steinheurer, Vonk, Anthony, Moore, Webster, Etc. Those aren't exactly "very good" picks. for NI depth they are, they all made the roster of a 9-3 team coming off a championship.

There's always some worthwhile stuff and a lot of crap, but this past season had a very low good to crap ratio.

Oh course he's a pens fan, he's a young guy and Crosby is the bestest player so obvs he totes cheers for the pens.

Merchandising sales, ticket sales, tv numbers etc say they are great fans. Hell, the fact there is still a team in Saskatchewan after how long they sucked is testament to being great fans. Think you guys have had a dry spell? The Riders up to 1966 sucked, from 1976 to 1989 and then from 1992 until around 2003. Some of the worst teams of all times. Good fans? I'd say. yeah except most of the so called fans that are around only jumped on board in 2003. The ones who went through those shitty spells I have no problems with them for the most part, it's the ones that decided "oh yeah I've always been a diehard rider fan" in the mid 2000s that I have a very big disdain for. Are you really blind to the fact that the bandwagon swelled to huge numbers of these supposed die hards compared to what used to be there in the lean years? How can you not notice it?

Completely off-topic (obviously) but Andy Samberg's impression of Nick Cage is probably the best thing to come out of SNL over the past 10-15 years! Not to derail the thread but this is massively false... Exactly. Nothing good has come out of SNL in the past 10-15 years. speaking of things that are massively false.... This past season sucked hard, but prior to that the cast was pretty ******* good and did a lot of really funny sketches. Said no one ever. Really!?!

no it's clearly the Rider fans that are the problem. Coming in and posting in every thread acting superior like only rider fans can. If it were my call you'd all be hit with the ban hammer. And that is precisely why you aren't a mod. You would be that type like M_I_B from the Pens board who willy-nilly bans people just because he doesn't like them, not that they actually broke any rules. People like that don't deserve to be moderators. I have never once had any desire to moderate so it all works out doesn't it? You're all still dragging this place down and need to go.

Completely off-topic (obviously) but Andy Samberg's impression of Nick Cage is probably the best thing to come out of SNL over the past 10-15 years! Not to derail the thread but this is massively false... Exactly. Nothing good has come out of SNL in the past 10-15 years. speaking of things that are massively false.... This past season sucked hard, but prior to that the cast was pretty ******* good and did a lot of really funny sketches.

It is definitely possible. And if they do, then the Jets will struggle mightily this year. They've both worked themselves into pretty prominent roles in the lineup. I'm hoping Maurice's influence on the team last year and during the off season offset any chance at the dreaded sophomore slump. I would be more worried about the fact that Maurice is pretty much the definition of an average at best coach and that the better performance last year was simply new coach syndrome.

I would give this 1000 likes if I could.... Completely off-topic (obviously) but Andy Samberg's impression of Nick Cage is probably the best thing to come out of SNL over the past 10-15 years! Confession time, I saw someone else post it in a thread a while back and shamelessly stole it.

Riders have had very good late round draft picks the last couple years. Steinheurer, Vonk, Anthony, Moore, Webster, Etc. Those aren't exactly "very good" picks. for NI depth they are, they all made the roster of a 9-3 team coming off a championship. You know I was going to make a mocking post about how being on the riders added to their awesomeness as player, obviously, but then you went and made a serious comment stating essentially the same thing so I got nothing. Oh you Rider fans, you are joke.

With most of these lists it's tough to make a poor choice. yep, unlike the Riders the Bombers have a rich history

no it's clearly the Rider fans that are the problem. Coming in and posting in every thread acting superior like only rider fans can. If it were my call you'd all be hit with the ban hammer.