Captain Blue

I think the Riders-LaFrance pairing is going to be a good one for both sides. Probably ended up too expensive for us. Personally I think the Bombers have had an outstanding free agency, when you account for the re-signings and and other signings prior to the official FA start. We're finally in a place with the roster where we don't need massive upgrades at every single position. We addressed a few big weaknesses already.

People complain that the Bombers don't develop their own quarterbacks. People complain when the Bombers think they may have developed a backup quarterback. Conclusion: Wiecek just likes to complain. Promoting Davis is no doubt a risk, but the whole point of letting the third QB develop is so he can work his way up the depth chart. At some point every team at QB or any other position makes the decision to promote players up the depth chart. This isn't unusual. Clearly the Bombers feel he's ready for the job. Or maybe they just feel that he's better than the soon-to-be 38 year old Kevin Glenn (and that doesn't seem unreasonable, either). I don't know. I'm not particularly a Dom Davis fan, but I don't think this is far and away a terrible decision. Maybe it blows up in their face but then we can argue that for any other position too. This just happens to be the QB spot, which of course is going to draw the most attention.

I feel like football people love Kavis Reed despite not having much success. This arranged marriage seems doomed to fail, but both have been around long enough that maybe they figure it out.

Excellent news.

How big is this difference? It was good enough to scare the hell out of Calgary and beat the rest of the top teams in the league.

I fully expect Osh back, and his whole staff. And I am totally fine with that. First time in a long time where I think we are building something really special here. Hate on LaPo and Hall or whoever all you want, but again these were probably the best offense and defense we've seen in years.

Crappy way to lose. I would have gone for the third down gamble personally. All in all, these three BC games were very close and all could have gone either way. The Bombers had a really solid season. Its been a long time since the arrow was pointing up for this team. Seriously, when was the last time we thought this team was going in the right direction? Not since LaPolice was head coach and even that was brief. We're on the right track, in my opinion. This loss hurts like crazy but I take solace in the fact we're on the upswing.

It's time for one division. Playoff seeding already proved that, but all these awards reinforce it. This is nonsense.

Meh. This was a really ugly let down game. It happens. Defense was bad at the start, offense was bad the whole way. Nichols was just awful. They need to regroup and get ready for next week and the playoff run. Still think this team is headed in the right direction overall. Get back to playing like we did before the bye and we'll be fine.

I really do think Harris fumbled, but that is all irrelevant because the whistle blew BEFORE that. So honestly, I don't care. There was a play earlier on in the second half when the referees also blew the whistle really early in a play, when I thought Harris was still moving forward a bit. These types of plays happen, and they're judgement calls by the official. Whistle blows, play is over. BC definitely missed out on a turnover due to the quick whistle, but such is life. The judgement call was made, what happened after didn't matter. Also I don't want to hear any stuff about how BC got ripped off. These refs were atrocious all game for both sides. BC got handed soft PI call after soft PI call, and got at least an additional 7 points off those calls. Yet when Dressler has a DB on his back before the ball is there, there was no call. If the refs don't give them the PI calls they likely weren't within one score for their last drive. You can make the "could have, should have" argument to say either team was screwed by the refs.

Leggett-O'Shea-LaPolice. Outstanding job all around by those guys.

I like it.

This team just needs to get back to playing their best for the full game. Turned it on too late again.

I expect a close game. I think the Bombers will bounce back because Osh never let's them get too high or too low. Edmonton is a good opponent. Could see this coming down to a late field goal for either team.

There are two ways to approach this sentence. First, that we need to shift credit to Richie Hall, or second, and this would be my preferred option - this coaching staff deserves a helluva lot of credit. That's Osh to coordinators to assistants.

I thought this group was done at 1-4. They've completely changed how I view them. It's not just that they've won 7 games in a row. That streak will end at some point, maybe even this weekend. What they have shown is that the culture did in fact change here. That there is some resiliency to come back from losses. These are the Winnipeg Blue Bombers that O'Shea has led. Credit to Walters for how he has constructed the roster, but O'Shea has done a good job with those players. I'm looking around the league and now think we have one of the best young coaches right now who continues to improve. These guys are all getting re-signed and I'm pumped.

I think everyone understands Pederson's firing. He went full on crazy--drunk-uncle this year. Firing Dunk was a mistake. It's not like CFL.ca provides a lot of great content. You've got team puff pieces and then scouting content. Now all you've got is puff pieces. Dunk also was a good reporter. The CFL made a mistake on this one.

They've won six games in a row with Nichols, who is still putting up solid numbers as well. This isn't even a debate.

I love these moves. Win win for the Bombers.

Even though it ended up irrelevant, that tackle by Nichols to prevent the return TD was impressive. That was all about effort. That's a leader to rally around.

I wouldn't underestimate the Riders this week, because again I think its a game where they should be able to elevate their play. We've seen plenty of times where the inferior team (be it the Riders or Bombers in the past) were able to make it a really close game. I expect Jones to rile them up some more with his "us vs the world" mentality. I'm just hoping it backfires because they seem to be focusing so much on the refs and the league rather than the football games.

Really entertaining game today and was thrilled to get a win. The Riders are and were a bad team, but Labour Day always brings out the best. They hung in there and then pounced when the Bombers couldn't put the game away. Its concerning that they still can't find ways to end drives in touchdowns. Some of that is playcalling but we also did just get unlucky a couple of times. If Sheppard hangs onto that ball at the end of the first half maybe that would have been the spark. That flag on the game-winning drive is getting a lot of attention. Thought it was a pretty weak call for sure. If Jones hadn't wasted his second challenge for the fun of it, I think they would overturn the call. We've been screwed plenty by the refs in the past - and given their inconsistencies, will be in the future once again - so it happens. Hopefully the Riders' Labour Day "boost" wears off for Saturday.

That is like the exact opposite of Lawless' career.

Nichols struggled early on and this was definitely his worst of the three starts. I think people are underestimating his effect on this offense and team though. I definitely think other moves have played a big role in this streak (the biggest likely being Neufeld getting hurt and moving us to another American) but Nichols has really, really helped this team. To me, this argument is put to rest until Nichols plays poorly for a prolonged stretch. I don't see why Nichols should get a shorter leash than Willy, especially when the results have been so different.

Don't know if people have seen this link about Popp ripping into his players yet: http://montrealgazette.com/sports/football/cfl/montreal-alouettes/jim-popp-tore-into-alouettes-players-after-loss-sources "Several sources have told the Montreal Gazette veteran defensive-back Billy Parker challenged and took offence with some of Popp’s comments, especially how they would be perceived by a segment of the dressing room who have families. Popp immediately apologized and explained what he meant. Popp then asked the players if they understood the tone and were able to move on. The players remained silent." Saskatchewan and Montreal drawing a lot of negative attention. Excuse me while I get my popcorn.