Piggy 1

A non-fiction novel. 

"Let me tell you why you're Wrong."  TBurgess

Consequences: A Guide to Organizational Management by Kavis Reed.

Brought to you by:
Prairie Poutine - producing the pre-game meal of the next generation
 
A Hole in the Trenches by Doug Brown

Staying off the Injured List by Nik Lewis

Praise for the CFL by Joe Lobendahn

Coming out of Retirement by Matt Dunnigan 

The CFL Grind by Sean Millington & Wade Miller
Warmth in the Locker Room by Matt Coates & Jackson Jeffcoat

Hunny - I made the Team by Bear Woods

This Game was made for Me by Taylor Loffler

The Gift of Football by Adarius Bowman

A Stroll down Football Lane by Derrell Walker

Frozen at the Western Final by Glen January

Staying Loose by Poop Johnson & Wally Buono
At my Apex by Rod Hill
The Amazing Race to the Grey Cup by Moe Leggett

Secrets of the Game by Kevin Fogg

 
 

Well friends, it was another glorious late summer day here in Manitoba, and everyone was excited for the re-match between the Saskatchewan Roughriders and our own Winnipeg Blue Bombers. And everyone was curious to see how the Bombers would bounce back from that defeat last week in the annual Labour day classic. And everyone wanted to see how loud the fans could be, and if they could surpass the noise last week. And we even had a moose sighting today, which held things up a bit. So we certainly had a lot of excitement even before the opening kickoff. But once the game started the two teams got down to business and traded blows before the Bombers pulled away in the second half, or just before the second half, in fact, before a packed house, who all will be seen in a magnificent panoramic photo I'm told, to preserve this moment for posterity. In any event, the Bombers came out on top to maintain their grip on the second place position in the always tough Western division.
And there were many outstanding moments and performances in this game, to be sure. You had Clarence Denmark making a couple of big catches for touchdowns, one in each end zone so all the fans could see him up close. And then there was Matt Nicholls throwing for 3 touchdowns, and scampering for 41 yards on a quarterback run, although his coach may not like him going head first into that defender rather than  slide, and we'll pretend like we didn't notice that fumble at the end. But then we had Chris Randle, getting the ball right back after that play with an interception that salted the game away, certainly Happy Honker worthy. And Andrew Harris once again stepped up, especially in the fourth quarter with some solid running. And let's not forget Justin Medlock, who despite missing one of his two field goals, continues to be automatic on those new long converts, and added three singles on huge kickoffs and that one punt, which may or may not be a Bomber record [ED NOTE: it isn't - this went 85 yards and Bob Cameron and Jon Ryan each hit a 95 harder once in their careers).
And we saw some big hits, from Brandon Alexander on Saskatchewan returner Duron Carter, and what a great effort from that linebacker Jefferson, or Jackson Jeffcoat, running down the 'Rider QB, and then missing the sack, but showing true heart and perseverance in not giving up and turning the other way with a diving show string tackle for a sack that snuffed out the last 'Rider chance to get back in the game. And I would be remiss if I did not mention Maurice Leggett, who is becoming a bit of a Happy Honker staple with another great performance today, with a pair of touchdowns including a fantastic interception over the shoulder of the Saskatchewan receiver, then fighting off tackles to take it to the house some 54 yards later in what really was the deciding moment of the game. But I'm sure Knuckles will be bringing up his name when we discuss the player of the game later so I will leave him off my list here.
No, this is not the player of the game award but the Happy Honker award, who as you know, is not meant for the player of the game, but that unsung hero, that player or person who did that something a little extra special in the game. Well, we saw something special in the second quarter of today's contest. With the score tied at 7 and the Roughriders taking momentum after a long touchdown catch, the Bombers were looking to answer back. And it came in a most surprising way, so much so that the cameras and the Roughriders apparently as well did not see it. On a punt return, the ball bounced over to the far sideline near the Saskatchewan bench, but returner Kevin Fogg instead ran to the opposite side of the field to catch a punt that wasn't coming his way. For good measure, the Bomber blockers all pointed to Kevin and ran his way, with one exception. And while all the Saskatchewan players followed suit, Maurice Leggett, who I already mentioned before, ran down the ball before it went out of bounds, and after dodging one tackler who figured out the ruse a little too late, had nothing but daylight and a convoy of blockers to escort him 97 yards to the end zone for a big punt return touchdown, and a token effort at a tackle from the Saskatchewan punter did nothing to keep him from getting across that goal line . And we heard Mr. Leggett say afterwards that it wasn't planned and just a shanked punt, and head coach Mike O'Shea wouldn't tip his hand either way, but it was clear to the old observer that this play was set up by the coaching staff, and executed brilliantly, so  this week's Happy Honker award goes to special teams coach Paul Boudreau, who drew up this play, and also coached and great punt cover game that kept the 'Riders pinned deep all day, and recovered both a short onside punt and onside kick which led to Bomber points, so in honour of the special teams play today, the happy honker award goes to special teams coach Paul Boudreau. Way to go, Paul! Let's hear it for him! 

Moe is literally...the defensive equivalent of the Swiss Army Knife.....

Just made it for kickoff......something about the Manitoba Moose....
Santos Knox picks off Glenn's first pass......
Medlock misses 48 yd FG attempt...
Carter with bad decision to run it out of end zone....
Good Fogg punt return has Blue set up deep....
Nichols still telegraphing some throws......
...but then looks off, and hits Denmark in middle of end zone...
DE Jeffcoat back to early season form....
Glenn finds wide open Cartier, who completes 85 yd pass and run TD....
Better push inside on DL.....Glenn sacked couple of times, already...
Fogg back to field punt, on one side....while Leggett suddenly appears on the other...
Rider punt  coverage pulled to wrong side....Moe beats one man....
.....and is off to the races 95 yds for punt return TD.   Some MOS trickery.
Medlock bombs punt over Carter's head for 85 yd single.....
Glenn has Roosevelt open past Heath, up the middle......
...Walker pinballs right off of the receiver.....who takes it the distance.....
The long pass plays given up on D.....continues.  15-13 Bombers.
Crapinga tries surprise short kickoff.....but Blue recover..
Nichols putting mustard on the passes, today.....
Matt then throws to corner of end zone......
Nothing wrong in the state of Denmark.   Denny has his 2nd TD.
Glenn completes 5 passes.....the last to Bagg, down to the 1.
Lafrance punches it in.......22-20 Bombers
In last minute....Adams falls down, untouched in end zone.....
.....and draws phantom "accidental" penalty......
No idea why Jones does not challenge that one.
29-20 Bombers at the end of a wacky first half....
A. Harris not a factor, at all.....so far...
Bomber D on pace to give up over 500 yds passing.....
Medlock pounds long kickoff single......
Rider ST unit, not having a good day....
Mr. Leggett outfights Holley for 50/50 ball......
....then breaks Roosevelt's tackle.....and takes it all the way.....
38-20......comfortable lead....but with our D, one never knows....
Glenn goes down......and comes up holding his throwing hand...
In goes Bridge.....who promptly hits a......you guessed it....
......yet another wide open receiver (Holley) for 6.
Bridge runs in 2 pt convert......38-28.....not cooled out, just yet...
JFG and Harris get first downs, into Rider territory....
Bombers hurry out of the huddle.....and Nichols puts it up...
....to a wide open (repetitive, I know) Lankford in the end zone....
Bridge looking a bit less of a comer, at this point....
Mike Miller does not take no for answer on special teams....
Bombers start to eat up clock , with Harris.....
Flanders catch/run to the 3....negated by penalty.
Medlock makes it 48-28.   Comfortable, at this point....
Nichols scrambles.....no slide....and keeps going for 40....
...until ball is punched out of his hands, for the turnover....
However, Randle picks off Bridge in next series.....
Harris pounds away, as the Blue kill the clock.
Nichols 3 TD/0 picks.....Blue special teams very good....
Blown coverages and 250 yds in YAC.....not what you want on D.
But Bombers now 8-3.   Riders pushed back to pretender status....
Another huge win, at IGF...
Another huge gin for DOD.....




 

The cherry on top is the Winnipeg fans winning the loudest stadium thing too. 
Face it Saskatchewan, the Bombers are a better team and Bomber fans are just better fans. 

HH to me for this:
Screw the riders and their arrogant fanbase. It couldn't have happened to a better group of rabbling knowledgeless inbreds.
Enjoy your one horse towns with nothing of any interest to do or see. You're in for a long life of Ukrainian dance contests and WHL for entertainment.
Oh and by the way, canada agrees that sask is the worst place in the nation:
http://globalnews.ca/news/1421594/saskatchewan-voted-least-beautiful-province-in-canada/

1 Mo. The mo-st out standing bomber today. 
2 Denmark. Caught every thing thrown near him, 2 big tds when the game was close.
3 Santos-knox. Some great kick cover, a few big tackles scraping to the ball. Great quality from a position thats been weak since wild went down. 
HH, Mo with the pick 6. 

How sweet is this Banjo Bowl.
We won the game and season series vs the Riders.
We won the loudest stadium/fans match up.
And we send back the Riders to the West basement. 

I'll say this much, Nichols is cementing a legacy in the Winnipeg legends showcase

Hurl still sucks.

Wouldn't need another starting NI.  Would need an import to play safety and honestly safety in the D schemes nowadays is basically another half with an extra read on some downs, most of the time where they are going is prescribed by the play call.
I don't doubt that we could fill that role fairly easily with Alexander who is comfortable being up in the box when needed too.

Move Loffler to LB.  He'd be a better WIL than anyone we have and his performance at safety is mediocre IMO.  He makes some hits but also makes some pretty big mistakes.  YAC against us is huge and he's a big part of it, mostly due to lack of footspeed and poor angles, he'd be better closer to the LOS IMO, and that's where he plays mostly anyway, where he tends to end up.  We are basically playing with a secondary short a player by Loffler's tendencies and our scheme.
Need more from a lot of guys.  To me Knox is off the roster, might be by injury anyway.  Hurl needs to play a role to fulfill the ratio but we can't have a useless WIL beside him too.
Scheme to hold guys in the middle of the field, always have guys playing a deep half from the seam out (meaning their priority is middle not sideline, more aggressive cover 2) and increase the difficulty of throws for opposing QB's.  The softest part of our coverage is smack dab down the seam right in front of QB's, way too easy.

Kathleen Lindsay would be proud of this. You need to take this to Harlequin Romance.

Andrew Harris takes pass for good gain, on first offensive play.....
T. J. Thorpe still forcing his way to the marker....
Medlock hammers 47 yarder....for 3.
Hurl finally gets in on blitz....but gases tackle on Durant....
Durant throws INT straight to Randle on sideline.....giveaway..
End around to Lankford on 2nd and short....nice gain..
JFG catches one up the middle.....next play, Nichols....
....hits Denmark deep in the end zone for the TD.  10-0.
Slow starts.....what slow starts?
Logan busts kickoff return....Lankford makes saving tackle...
....that effort turns out to be huge.....because.....
....Durant hit/stripped by Moe  Leggett.....Jeffcoat recovers....
Next series, Durant completes a few.....
....and Willy is unsheathed, for short yardage thrust.....
Hurl is having some struggles out there.....
Bombers still getting good pressure on Durant....
Bede short FG gets Als, on the board.....
Rod Black occasionally interrupting the Nik Lewis Show.....
....to bring the fans..... some actual play by play. 
Blue pass rush still coming.....but pass coverage starting to go.
Jeffcoat has been a nice addition at DE......
Couple of passes to Adams, into Montreal territory....
....but Thorpe makes his first mistake as Bomber....fumbles..
....big turnover.....Als were on the ropes.....
Bombers O becoming  static and predictable on 2nd downs...
Medlock getting a lot more practice with the punting......
Durant has Als moving.....hits Johnson for wide open 40 yd TD...
Knox having a better game early.....not so much now....
Montreal tries short snap and run on punt attempt..
....snuffed out....turnover......Bombers take it and run.....
...or in this case, throw.....TSN signal goes out.....
have to watch sideline bomb to Adams....
....and Nichols hitting JFG for the TD......on replays....17-10
At least we didn't miss any commercials....
Bombers take back to back PI calls....but  Als can't punch it in..
Nichols scrambles twice,  The Fever scrambles some more...
Pass to Adams....but drive stalls.....in comes Medlock.....
Out comes Medlock......as MOS is challenging for IC on Denmark...
....and gets it.... Bombers throw 2 passes for 6 yards.....11 yd FG.
What happens to ground and pound in the red zone?
FD's from Fever, Denmark circus catch, and Harris to set up.....
...yup another Medlock FG.  23-13 Blue.... 
Some sloppy tackling by Blue....lots of holding by Als......
Durant loops one up to Jackson...who undercuts or pushes off Alexander....
...and catches it for 35 yd TD.    Cushion is gone.  
Bomber drive snuffed out by 19287th hands to face call, this year....
Knox takes 15 no yards....guy takes more penalties, than makes plays...
3rd and 3 at 45.....Als go for it....and convert to Thick Nik.....
You think that Lewis might get some special attention on D?  By now?
Not enamored with Loffler, tonight.....
Bombers "almost" making plays on D, at this point.....
Bede tries 48 yd FG...it bounces in off the post.....23-23.
Bombers try lateral on KR, then the ole quick kick.....
....that leads to crazy exchange of kicks, to get us to overtime....
Bombers O methodically mix run and pass.......
....Denmark caps it, with slant TD catch from Nichols....
Huge 2 pt covert.....pass to Adams....
But Durant throws TD pass to Cunningham, past Alexander.....
.....and they get that 2 pointer over Hurl....
Some lousy D, in crunch time.....by Bombers tonite....
....but they go back to what they do best.....
....as Randle jumps pattern to pick off Durant.....takeaway.
O positions ball for Medlock.    Forget stats....he is not missing this one...
....and does not.....36 yd walk off, game winning kick...in overtime.
34-31.  Not an artistic one...., blown leads in 4th and the overtime...
But, another road win.  5th win in a row.  Closing in on first.
.....could go on with this particular theme....all nite.
.....could go on with this particular gin.....all nite
 

 

Best coach we've had for this team in a long time.  Say what you will about Berry or Lapo .. but Mike has grown into the role and we are seeing why he was so highly regarded.
He, Walters and Miller have really helped change the culture of this organization. We are only now just reaping the benefits.

Just hearing on 1290 Poop Johnson out, OKP in

Bandwagon jumpers......

They were all levelled? What does that mean? 

Not sure what he was thinking positioning himself behind Stafford in the end-zone, generally the throw doesn't  come from that direction.

Hey, Ripper can be annoying but at least he's still here sharing his thoughts, we used to get more of that. For the record, I prefer bacon and eggs. As for Matt Nichols, he's eggs & ribeye. 

At work, and can't even get any hair....