OldSchoolBlue

I've been watching the Bombers for 30 years ... even in the Reinbold years there was some hope or positivity or something. You always felt the Bombers COULD win a game, if they got some bounces or played above their heads or whatever. This year has just been .... despair I guess. No hope. Certainly a lot of anger. The Bombers have been a terrible organization for several years - somewhere something went sideways on us, even before Mack showed up. Just the way the organization is run, the politics, the poor communications, the horrific marketing, the lousy management choices. Yes we've won some games and made it to the Grey Cup. In hindsight we were stupidly lucky and had no business being there. I'm not sure how they proceed from here. A lot of damage has been done. Only the hardcore fans are left, Nobody else really cares about the Bombers any more. They are going to have a heck of a time selling tickets, and I don't even feel bad for them.

Thoughts on this guy? I know he hasn't blown the doors off yet, but man does he have some tools. And judging from the limited interviews I've seen of him, it looks like he has a good head on his shoulders as well. I know the Bombers have a hard on for Collaros, but I wouldn't mind at all if he ended up in Blue and Gold at some point - or does Mtl protect him in the expansion draft?

Troy Smith has an arm on him. Holy crap.

How about Collaros AND Burris. That I could get behind.

The linked article says otherwise.

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/sports/football/calgary-stampeders/Point+After+Edmonton+treatment/9008908/story.html I was under the impression that Glenn was a FA after this year ..... anyone know if this is true or not?

Yeah this trade sucks for the bombers. Losing that pick hurts.

This isn't the first time. That's the cold hard truth. It's been a long time since things have been this bad though. Mike Kelly era wasn't that long ago. This is Mike Kelly x 100. And Mike Kelly was one of the worst periods in Bomber history.

Kate Upton for Chairperson!

Yep. Just don't **** up the first hire, then stay the hell out of his way.

Dubnyk was crap last night but if you don't shoot you can't score. Trouba is going to be a monster.

Well who would Higgins attract as far as current QB's go? The guy's been out of the GM/coaching loop for too long now. I'd rather go with someone currently with an organization and hope that he can bring at least one QB with him. Because that worked out great when we got Kelly/LeFors and MB/Boltus right .... ? Completely bassakwards. Hire the best GM available. Give him an attractive budget to work with. Hire a HC with proven HC experience. Let them hire their staff/do their jobs without everybody else in the organization stepping on their toes/meddling. Get a franchise QB or three. Go through growing pains. Work through it. Get better. Fans come back. Just win baby. Plan parade route. Start dynasty. Easy peasy.

Phenomenal is a bit of a stretch.

Same old problem for the Bombers, no experience in the bull pen, needs to stop at some point and might as well be now. There are no long term solutions available right now. The shot we had at securing a Collaros or Willy or whoever is long gone now.There is no point in bringing in any retreads. TB is right, with 5 games to go, we're going to have to suck it up and ride this thing in. The fact that Burke is still employed as HC here tells me we are hanging on until the offseason when the real purge will begin. I just hope that the Bombers haven't burned up every scrap of goodwill by then. It is going to take some monumental changes/promises to get the fans back now.

uh huh.

Yeah well how about you stop presenting your 'common sense' as fact.

If Burke ISN'T making these decisions then he should be fired for not doing his job. The only guy who could potentially be dictating to Burke is Miller, and if that is happening we are well and truly ******.

Source?

I'm done expecting us to win, I simply hope for some guys to step up and show us they want to be here. I'm completely disappointed in the depth chart though, this is an opportunity to see what some guys can do, and we aren't taking advantage of it.

Agreed, except that the drop off in talent when 'you just slot another NI in somewhere else and play an American at MLB' can pretty steep. Not so much when you go from NI OG to NI OG, if you've been drafting and developing NI OGs.

Fight to keep him, yes. But again, if he doesn't want to be here well we need to move on. We have to focus on the future. Would I like him to be in our future, yes. If Muamba's agent holds the Bombers up for ranson or as leverage to get more money off another team then let him go. We can easily replace a Canadian MLB with an American without missing a beat. On the OL, losing a Canadian like Labatte hurts a lot more than if we lost Muamba as the OL is considered a Canadian position & MLB an American one. You build your Canadian talent from the OL out... See, this is a theory that will soon get debunked. There is some great Canadian talent out there in every position. It doesn't matter if it's o-line, receiver, linebacker. You build your Canadian talent by finding quality Canadians at any position. Saying the MLB position is an American position is like saying the RB is an Amercian position. It's an old-fashioned way of thinking in my mind. Now If you had said the word "primarily" I could have accepted that. Well yes and no. It's great to have a young NI starter like Muamba at a position typically taken by an import. The problem arises when he gets hurt, or needs to be spelled. There is a SIGNIFICANT dropoff between him and his backup. You have no depth at that position, and the opposition takes great advantage of that. It's much easier to replace a NI OG with another in the hopper - the dropoff in talent is not nearly as bad. Ideally, we should be drafting Offensive linemen, receivers and special teams/safeties/DTs. With some luck you find a couple decent NI OT and start 4 NI on the Oline. Add 2 receivers and you have only one spot to fill. It's not 'old fashioned' it's smart.

Um, so far its only Crowton, Garber and Mack who have lost their jobs... but they all sucked. Cutting Hef - that was ridiculous... aside from that, who has really been turfed because of Burke? Arguably Buchko.

Huh? He's the only person on the panel not making excuses for Burke and his downright poor decisions. Everything that happened after Edmonton's FG was crazy. Taking a kickoff makes zero sense. Edmonton isn't going to kick a ball that will be returnable, they aren't that stupid. All that is going to do is waste time, and possibly lead to a scramble for the ball with (shaky) Ford back there. Exact same thing I said about Palardy, I'll say about Goltz now. If you don't have any confidence in him to make a throw and play quarterback, cut him and put someone else in there. 23 seconds and 1 timeout= 3 plays and a kick attempt. Crime against humanity to take knees there. If they want a season ticket base above 15,000 next season, Burke can't be back. Ironically, I think Tim Burke would agree with you. Well maybe not the crime against humanity part. I really do believe in watching him he knows he's done, he wants to be done but can't bring himself to resign. Probably a mixture of his pride, management won't do it and a coach resigning during the season generally doesn't happen in the CFL so I'll hang on to the end of the year type mentaility. Pretty sure you forfeit your contract if you resign... as opposed to getting paid not to coach. Not much of a decision there This. I'm not making accusations or anything, but its crosses my mind that perhaps Burke knows he's a goner and has to a certain degree checked out, but wouldn't resign as it would let the Bombers off the hook for paying him. If they are going to let him go, I say demote him if possible, and if he doesn't want to do it, he can quit. At least then we aren't paying yet another coach to sit at home. Yeah that's not legal.

Garrett should be a starter. He's solid.

Given that he's a FA after this season that would be a rather *ahem* high price. Maybe pull an Eskie move and deal a 3rd or similar for the exclusive right to talk to him? But obviously that doesn't guarantee anything, and given the Ottawa complications he may be smart just to wait it out and hope for a bidding war to develop.