Tackles can be read any way you want. Doesn't mean he was good but it also doesn't mean he was bad. Gotta look at it on a play-by-play basis to truly know.
Chip Cox racks up big tackle numbers at SAM every year and he's one of the best there is.
Everyone is saying that but I'm not sure I agree. The Als are gearing up against the run and daring the Bombers to pass it. So to me, trying to run it is a fool's errand. They need to execute in the passing game because that's where the opportunities will be. Until they can execute the passing game, it will be the same old story every week.
It's true, and it's going to be the exact same gameplan all year for teams facing the bombers. stop the run and laugh when Pierce thinks he can beat you with his arm. The qb position is such a liability for the bombers right now that it makes the offense much easier to defend. Pierce NEEDS to have success passing the ball if this team has a hope in hell of ever getting a consistent running game going. He had the receivers open to make plays passing last week, now he needs to actually hit his targets more consistently.
Everyone is saying that but I'm not sure I agree. The Als are gearing up against the run and daring the Bombers to pass it. So to me, trying to run it is a fool's errand. They need to execute in the passing game because that's where the opportunities will be. Until they can execute the passing game, it will be the same old story every week.
for me, the underlying thrust of the article was that the Bombers face a tough road ahead. i don't see a problem with someone suggesting that if the Bombers lose in Montreal that they will be putting themselves in a very tough spot... since they will be.
all points to the contrary (ie: the season is still young, the CFL is erratic and arbitrary) are also valid... but the writer was saying that if the Bombers (for some reason) weren't feeling pressure this weekend... they ought to be.
hell, if i was a Bomber i'd be telling everyone that it was a must-win... i'd tell them that every frickin week.
I didn't mind it. Silly article but it mainly just highlights that there is a tough road ahead, which is true. Best way to silence this type of article is to win some games.
And really, TSN has done a fantastic job in covering the CFL and helping bring the league back to what it is today. I have no problem with them having a say in when games are scheduled.
I can totally respect the opinions of people who don't like Mack for certain things, because at least they can justify their opinion whether I agree or not. It's the people who don't know football from a hole in the ground that hate Mack that I just don't get.
My family and friends chat me up all the time about the Bombers, even when they don't know much about our team, never mind Mack himself... they can't name any starters or prospects he's dug up, draft picks or trades he's made, anything to do with Mack at all... except they KNOW that Mack is a problem and has to go. Makes me shake my head, and reinforces my belief that the media in our city has a lot to do with the negativity displayed by the 'casual fan.' The win/loss record obviously has something to do with it, too, but that can't be completely pinned on an individual (imo).
I'll share my brief Mack moment. It was I think August or September 2011 and I find myself standing behind Joe Mack at Costco. After a short but pleasant chat he tells me that they (he and his staff) want to do something special for this city, and that big things are coming. Sure enough, that year we find ourselves at the top in the East and went to the GC. At no point in time did I get any sense of the terse or pugnacious attitude everyone seems to think he has. I think he was a bit surprised somebody even recognized him, and was happy to interact with a fan. Anyways, I can confirm that Joe Mack is in fact a human being; he does not have horns, a tail, or a pitchfork, and there was no lingering smell of brimstone or decay anywhere.
Here are my biased observations from the afternoon session:
QBs: I am not a Buck Pierce fan so take of this what you will but he did not look very good today. He was overthrowing quite a bit and didn't look quite right. He's usually better than this in TC though so I wouldn't read too far into it anyway. I really like Max Hall. He looks far more polished than any QB I can remember bringing in at their first TC. He's accurate, looks poised under pressure and has a good enough arm to get by. He had a pick in the last throw I saw him make but other than that, he looked real good. I really, really want Goltz to succeed because he seems like he has all the tools but he looks very middle of the road to me so far. He hit Simpson with a beautiful long bomb in a drill but then he throws behind a guy on the very next play. He's still rather raw it seems so I'll give him more time but it does feel like he's already lagging behind Hall, even if he is still getting backup reps. I'm not sure any better way of saying this but Clement looks downright awful. His arm is pretty weak, he doesn't hit receivers in stride and he made some atrocious reads in scrimmage today. I will concede that he looks comfortable at the line of scrimmage and seems to be a leadership type but I am really not impressed.
RBs: Garrett was not in pads for this session, don't know why. Simpson really does look tremendous. In one-on-ones he was up against Henoc twice and completely burnt him on both occasions. I really don't take a ton of stock into rushing drills in practice because the D can only do so much so even if he looked good in the first day of TC, I tempered my expectations because the defenders weren't going to hit him but today he looked elusive, was catching the ball well and I was just very impressed. Will Ford had a massive run through a huge hole that went for a TD in scrimmage that would have been an easy TD even in a game where there was hitting. He is a real blur. I'm not sure where to discuss Fitzgerald so I'll put him here. In one-on-ones, he absolutely broke Wendell Brown's ankles (not the hardest guy to beat but it was still pretty sick). The whole O went pretty nuts after that one.
Receivers: I absolutely love both Doug Pierce and Isaac Anderson. Anderson runs crisp routes, has great speed and insane hands. I know Edwards isn't going to lose his job due to injury but I wouldn't really be opposed to it. This guy is THAT good in my eyes right now. Pierce uses his size incredibly well and though he is slight, looks like a real good fit at the WR position. I know they both can't start and at most only one will make the active roster to start the season but they will both do good things for us if given the chance. I think Kurt Adams has almost finished his stay with us. For a guy who has been with the team for parts of three seasons, you would think he would get better than 3rd team reps but I guess our receiving core is deep and I personally haven't seen anything that separates him from the pack. Matthews is exactly who we expect him to be and Watson also looks great. I'm not too enthused by Poblah since to me he has always been a sensational practice player and that hasn't translated to any in-season success and this TC he hasn't really stood out at all but it's still early I suppose. In one-on-ones, the DBs were definitely getting the better of the WRs but to me it was mostly poor throws by each of the quarterbacks. Anderson was the best one out there though and made some real slick catches. The Rifles guy Carter doesn't look out of place at all which is nice. I've never had much to say about Etienne good or bad but it's pretty obvious that he is lightyears ahead of where he has been in seasons past. He has sure hands and good speed and is not noticeably small out there. As for the other new guys, I am aware it sounds like a broken record but Massey won't make this team as a receiver as he seems to have trouble catching the ball clean. I figure he has to impress greatly returning to have a shot. McCree and Kennedy sort of blend in to me. They really don't stand out in any way other than Kennedy's speed.
OL: Not much to say about them other than Swiston was earning the praise of DelMonaco during OL drills. Sorenson was steady on shotgun snaps aside from one horrendous one to Goltz. I'm a little higher on our OL than most and I figure they will build on the success they were having at the end of last season but in drills, the DL was generally getting the better of the OL. Not sure if that's a statement about the DL or the OL or both but it's just my observation. The pressure was generally coming from the left side fwiw. I do like the looks of this giant new guy Simmons but it's hard to get excited about a new import OL when so many like him have gone and gone.
DL: It's hard to tell who is doing well because from my angle, it was tough to see numbers but the best pressure from the new guys seemed to be from Dexter Davis. Gilmore and Turner will be more than solid this year and the push up the middle was impressive from both of these guys. No one else was particularly noticeable.
LB: I absolutely love Terrell Parker for the WILL position. This guy can flat out cover. RBs, receivers, whatever. He has great speed and he absolutely deserves the spot if he wins it. I'm not nearly as worried about the WILL position as I was a few weeks earlier. Even then, Ian Wild also looks real good. He was getting good pressure on the QBs and although he is a lot smaller than I thought he would be, he's fast and I'm high on him as well. Henoc was getting burnt bad by Simpson but he's a tough cover for anyone. I'm not concerned. McGee was at SAM but I highly doubt that lasts. Wendell Brown is as good as gone. He's not impressing in the least.
DBs: The DBs were all fairly good. In one-on-ones, they were all playing far more physically than I've ever seen in drills like this. I don't want to say that Coach Burke's words fired them up but it's a possibility. Hefney in particular was playing real tight on everyone. In scrimmage a Kennedy was sorta being mauled by Hefney and called it PI and they were jawing back and forth afterwards. It's that kind of stuff I really like to see. Pendleton and Markett both had picks (I think one was Hall and one was Buck) and those are the two new DBs that have shown the most. I really hope that at least one of them makes the active roster. I know people have been saying that Jovon looks stronger and better than last TC but I just don't see it. If he were a new guy on the roster this year, he wouldn't stand out one bit. Cauchy looks good. Far better than Logan ever did at least and I figure that with his better cover skills, it will have a ripple effect on the rest of the secondary.
P: There was a 20 minute drill on punting and punt coverage and only Pavlopolous and Hutchison were punting. I have no clue why Cameron or Renaud didn't do anything but it was probably just to judge which one of those other two would get cut first. Pavlopolous was frankly awful. His first punt was a beauty but he essentially shanked the rest. I like Hutchison a lot more but to me it seems like he always gives a half punt and doesn't extend his leg all the way. I figure it comes down to not being used to playing this style of football but I can't deny that his leg is huge and in terms of pure leg strength, his is probably the best.
This was a lot longer than anticipated but meh, I like to hear myself type.
Atomic got a reaction from Mr Dee in Wiecek Article
Atomic got a reaction from johnzo in Game Day Thread
Atomic reacted to 17to85 in Game Day Thread
Atomic got a reaction from Fraser in Game Day Thread
