Captain Blue

I think Streveler is so far coming along just fine. We knew there were going to be more ups and downs than with Nichols. Whereas Nichols is consistently mediocre, Streveler right now fluctuates more between good and bad. I think when he's given time in the pocket, he does just fine passing the ball - we need to give him a better chance to succeed. Our protection has become a major issue lately. I honestly think if Nichols had played we would have been blown out. Sure he won't throw the interceptions, but he will also take way more sacks. Streveler is easily the best chance we have right now of developing a good QB. I'm more than willing to see how this plays out. Also: LaPo gotta go. Watching literally every other CFL team have more pass success despite worse talent, its hard not to think we could sub in Generic CFL Playbook and get more production than from LaPolice's gameplan.

First down, run up the middle with a RB that is better in space...short gain. Killed me every time (though they did get some nice gains). Follow that up with a Streveler rollout that cuts the field, giving him 1-2 reads only, leading to a throwaway or QB pressure. Classic.

Our coaches realized too late that Saskatchewan was (a) gaining yards easily and (b) running enough clock out to kill us.

We treat first down plays like they're free downs, like they're not concerned with making plays. Happy for a few yards and 2nd and 6 each time.

I hope LaPolice leaves after this season because he called a freaking brutal game today. Completely embarrassing for the defense to get torn up right at the end of the game. Barely made them work for it.

I never expect us to win this game any season, but after this week its even harder to predict a Bombers' win. Hope I'm wrong and we get a surprise W.

I wouldn't believe his excuse if any other player said it, so I don't believe Harris. Sucks for the Bombers, especially going into Labour Day. Lot more pressure on Streveler and that Sunday match up looks pretty bleak. Harris deserves his suspension.

My favourite Suitor moment from last night was listening to him go on about how Maas will be sure to speak to his team about discipline. I figured Maas was much more likely to just whine and complain after the game. This morning I woke up and saw his post game interview. Nailed it.

I think we are being way too hard on Streveler. I don't think it was a very good game but I think a lot of factors went into it: heavy rain, a few WR drops, and up against one of the best teams in the league with a DL that took advantage of the weak spots on our OL. The completion percentage looks worse because of a few throwaways too, whereas Nichols is much more likely to take sacks. I thought when Streveler took off from the pocket, the reads were either covered or the protection broke down (this happened a lot). On several plays you could see his head swivel, progressing through his options. Thought his deep ball was really poor tonight, but the mid-game was solid.

Good team win. Pretty much the same formula as the past few wins. Good defense and/or special teams, with just enough offense. Streveler was a roller coaster. Effective runner with limited passing tonight, but most of that was by design - particularly with the weather. LaPo called a ton of designed runs (too many in my opinion). Hopefully we can get the pass game on track next week. Can certainly build your run and pass game off all the play action and zone reads. Hoping to see that develop further. Jefferson was amazing.

Agreed. Also, the Bombers are about to hit a more difficult stretch in their schedule, so it is reasonable to expect a couple more losses along the way here. You have to evaluate HOW the QB is playing, not just the result after 60 minutes. Streveler's first three games are at Edm, at Sask for the LDC, and then home for the Banjo Bowl. A much more difficult task than some of the early matchups Nichols had this season.

Six weeks seems to work out pretty good. Either Streveler does well or Nichols gets to step in as the potential hero to a team on a skid.

That Glenn news likely means Nichols is out long term. Sucks for both him and the team. Nobody wants to see someone's career change like that. I prefer to look on the bright side that at least now the Bombers know you have to do everything possible to see Streveler succeed. This isn't a one or two game thing - give him the keys to the kingdom and see if he can thrive. One way or the other the Bombers are going to know what their QB situation will look like in the future.

I accept. Someone tell LaPo I am ready to go.

Nichols' averages 215 yards/game currently, and a lot of that is based off short throwing. If Streveler can't replace that, then he isn't the QB we hoped for. I think we should still be cautiously optimistic. We have all had complaints about a Nichols-led offense. What changes things for me was losing Nichols to injury eliminates him as a back up. Streveler getting a shot at starter may turn out to be a good thing, but it would have been nice to have Nichols as the security blanket. Now we're one hit away from McGuire. Hopefully we can stop designed runs for Streveler up the middle of the field.

My biggest fear with LaPo now crafting an offense for Streveler is that he doesn't seem to know the difference between a mobile QB and a running QB. There is a big difference between a QB that can run, compared to one that needs to. LaPo has really seemed to go all in on Streveler as a running QB gimmick this season. You can give him a bunch of zone reads and option plays, but give him a good chance to throw too in this offense. I do think he should be able to provide more production in the current system than Nichols. We just may have to live with some more variance in his game - more highs and lows.

Good team win. As much as I wanted Streveler in the game, I have no idea why THIS was the time to give him a series. Nichols was playing well finally. After that it was more of the same unfortunately. Defense and special teams were great. We will see how LaPo designs the offense next week if Nichols is out. Hopefully Harris is alright too.

I love the CFL but I was pretty embarrassed to hear the game was called. If your team is playing with a potential of a storm nearby, do you now change your strategy to try to constantly be aggressive and in the lead? Montreal had a lot of time left on the clock to work their way back and never saw that chance. What a ripoff. The league should be ashamed.

Great! That doesn't mean that the best way to win is by counting on tremendous special teams performances.

I get your point, but respectfully think its misguided. You want to put yourself in the best position to win continually. You can do that without great QB performances, but I think everyone here realizes that its more difficult that way. We won a game yesterday with two special teams touchdowns - I highly doubt teams are suddenly going to bank on that becoming a key to success. We know QB play and pass game success is strongly linked to winning. We want to excel at things that are strongly linked to winning, not attempt to be the exception.

LaPo builds his offenses with a lot of check downs, but it is Nichols that shows a willingness to hit them so frequently and so quickly. Every coach and player worries about turnovers. The goal should be to strike the right balance between aggressive and careless.

Until Nichols either starts pushing the ball downfield or is replaced, this team is always going to be good but not great. He sure looks content hitting his short throws and check downs. Plenty of other teams are using backup quarterbacks and/or have less offensive weapons than Winnipeg, but are still able to find more passing success than the Bombers. LaPolice should be getting blamed too, because the offense seems to be more conservative every game.

I don't know how anyone can defend Nichols at this point. He will always be our limiting player.

Plenty of people here - myself included - have praised Nichols for the past several weeks. Tonight, he deserves a lot of blame. Of course the reactions are going to be different when his play is so different. Its okay to call out poor play but understand that this team is still really good and in great position.

Defense did all we could ask of them tonight. Unless you're expecting nonstop turnovers, holding the Cats to FGs after we kept giving them great field position is as good as it gets.