Mr Dee

Why is a statement, that hasn't been made by rival GMs for a long, long time, fuel for nit-picking?

Bad decision to take the ball out of the end zone. Kenzel Doe. More like Kenzel D'Oh Beauty pass to Ellingson Good blocking by Jackson on the screen. His reward? A TD pass from Burris on the next play Bullshit call on Zach Evans RTP Still, Reilly is getting whacked. Seems to me the penalties are bordering on the weak side. Half time 10-6 in the battle of the most offence-driven teams in the league... Henry-Hank-Hank turn-a-rounder of 4 teams, and to those who are talking junk, we have to shove it... The TSN crew handled it just fine. Whoa Henry, that's not what they meant about an offensive output. Wouldn't mind having Zach Evans. If they reach 5 RTP penalties, do they get the next one free? Great catch by Walker....oops holding. By the way, Chris Greaves got pulled..and it wasn't for insulting Burris. A flag...for so many flags. Drew Willy just called Kyle Walters to talk no trade to Edmonton. Chris, did you not want to try and catch that ball? Reilly? What? An easy pick. Maybe he's too sore to throw it further. 25 penalties!! Reilly - no 300 yard game.

http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/video/must-see-burris-sounds-off-on-critics-at-tsn~925618 Whoa Henry, this is not the offensive explosion we were expecting..

?‍?The return of Jason Maas. The return of Henry....or Hank? The leading yardage passer - Mike Reilly 1926 yards. He's also #1 in completions (147) and attempts (207) and tied for first with 11 TD passes. - 383 yds against Ottawa in their first game. (Gord Holder - Ottawa Citizen) the score.com - Reilly has recorded eight straight 300-plus yard regular-season games, which is just one shy of the CFL record set by Sam Etcheverry in 1956 and Kent Austin in 1991. He is averaging 385 yards per game. He's on pace for 6,934 passing yards over the span of an 18-game season. To put that into perspective, only five times has a quarterback eclipsed 6,000 passing yards while only four different pivots have done it (Doug Flutie did it twice). The record is 6,619 set by Flutie in 1991, yet here’s Reilly flirting with the notion of 7,000. - CFL.ca Reilly needs to average 361 passing yards per game to reach Flutie’s record (he’s averaging 385 through five games) - P. Steinburg cfl.ca Reilly can sling it, whether it’s to Adarius Bowman or Derel Walker — both receivers on pace to eclipse 2,000 receiving yards. CFL.ca ?‍?The weapons/targets? Reilly’s principal weapons are wide receiver Derel Walker and slotback Adarius Bowman, who coming into this week’s games ranked first and third in receiving yards with 642 and 586 yards, respectively. The Redblacks’ Chris Williams was second with 625, while teammates Brad Sinopoli (491) and Greg Ellingson (487) were sixth and seventh. (Holder) The Ottawa Redblacks boast a league-leading 446 yards of net offence per game, while the Edmonton Eskimos are averaging a second-best 434 yards. - gerry moddejonge Edmonton journal “The improvement of the quarterbacks and the receivers and some of the rule changes have helped the offence.” - Mark Nelson ?‍?Ottawa won the first meeting, in overtime, 45-37. Burris - " I will give it my all." Reilly - "We know it will be a slugfest." - TSN So, who ya got?

Not so fast. I kind of like Demski, but he isn't exactly busting it open yet. As for Richards, there's no way I want to let him go without giving him every opportunity to prove the skeptics wrong..

WINNIPEG 1st possession 2nd half Andrew Harris rush for 4 yards to the Wpg45. Tackled by Drake Nevis. 2nd & 6 WPG45 Matt Nichols incomplete pass. WINNIPEG 1st & 10 WPG25 Matt Nichols incomplete pass intended for Thomas Mayo defensed by Quinton Pointer. 2nd & 10 WPG25 Matt Nichols pass to Clarence Denmark for 15 yards to the Wpg40. Tackled by Dominique Ellis. 1st & 10 WPG40 Andrew Harris rush for 9 yards to the Wpg49. Tackled by Courtney Stephen. 2nd & 1 WPG49 Andrew Harris rush for no gain to the Wpg49. Tackled by John Chick. 3rd & 1 WPG49 Matt Nichols rush for 2 yards to the Wpg51. Tackled by Simoni Lawrence. 1st & 10 WPG51 Andrew Harris rush for a loss of 3 yards to the Wpg48. Tackled by Travis Lee. 2nd & 13 WPG48 Matt Nichols incomplete pass intended for Rory Kohlert defensed by Travis Lee. WINNIPEG Matt Nichols pass to Clarence Denmark for 3 yards to the Wpg35. Tackled by Emanuel Davis. Penalty: Unnecessary Roughness on Winnipeg (Stanley Bryant) -15 yards. 2nd & 22 WPG20 Matt Nichols pass to Thomas Mayo for 5 yards to the Wpg25. Tackled by Dominique Ellis. WINNIPEG 1st & 10 WPG35 Matt Nichols pass to Jace Davis for 14 yards to the Wpg49. Tackled by Courtney Stephen. 1st & 10 WPG49 Andrew Harris rush for 3 yards to the Wpg52. Tackled by Delano Johnson. 2nd & 7 WPG52 Matt Nichols incomplete pass intended for Kris Adams. WINNIPEG Matt Nichols incomplete pass intended for Kris Adams defensed by Quinton Pointer. 2nd & 10 WPG6 Matt Nichols incomplete pass. WINNIPEG Matt Nichols pass to Clarence Denmark for 15 yards to the Ham41. Tackled by Simoni Lawrence. 1st & 10 HAM41 Penalty: Time Count on Winnipeg (Matt Nichols) -5 yards. 1st & 15 HAM46 Matt Nichols pass to Kris Adams for 32 yards to the Ham14. Tackled by Quinton Pointer. 1st & 10 HAM14 Andrew Harris rush for 5 yards to the Ham9. Tackled by Larry Dean. 2nd & 5 HAM9 Andrew Harris rush for a loss of 2 yards to the Ham11. Tackled by John Chick. 3rd & 7 HAM11 Justin Medlock 19 yard field goal attempt is GOOD. WINNIPEG Andrew Harris rush for 2 yards to the Wpg38. Tackled by Ted Laurent. 2nd & 8 WPG38 Andrew Harris rush for 2 yards to the Wpg40. Tackled by Ted Laurent. 7 Possessions Some runs, but still some passes mixed in. It seemed that a 34 point lead did somewhat temper the play calling and perhaps Hardrick's injury. There was also Bryant's roughing penalty that put us in a 'too long position', and a couple of drops, one being a long sideline pass that maybe should have had. I'm glad they did go back to it and it lead to a FG. I guess you could say, a little of everything in the ineffective offence, including urgency?

Drew Edwards End of Q1: #Ticats trail #Bombers 21-0. Matt Nichols efficiency: 182.92. Jeremiah Masoli: 18.23.

Something strange about the coin toss in the BC - Montreal game. It was held outside..

I just wish there was a boat positioned in the end zone for the Bombers to have jumped into for celebration. #stillremember

Im still thinking about that great ST call from MOS to have Derek Jones fake blocking, slide over and rush the punter for the block. Perfectly executed!

I have to give credit where credit is due. Props to P.Lop for going back to K. Adams after a couple of difficult non-catches by Adams. I think Adams should/could have had the 1st sideline catch, but we had to have proof that he could make those...and now we have it. Great to see.

I can just hear the commercials now. "We're monitors, we just monitor. We can't do anything about the problem, but we'll let you know that there is a problem."

Not necessarily the player of the game, but a player who has been our spark these last two games - Matt Nichols. The undervalued. We've watched a LOT of so-so games, and worse, from our QBs over these last few years, so a QB who is performing is refreshing. Matt has been playing on fire, with purpose, and it shows on the scorecard. Now, I'm not going to overstate the games Matt has played but, he has managed them well, and we sit in a much better position in the standings because he has done so. Of course, Lapo gets credit for the direction, but Matt, mostly, has done what he was supposed to do. So, to Matt - ?

Ah, the colours.... .........Coming on down on Hamilton

The Tigercats didn't want to win? Pig Wash! The Bombers simply would not let them. It reflects now, as our starting QB is not the same as was in that 1st game. If we had a more functional O that day, the word thrashing could have been used.

1st this week, it was QB Brandon Bridge...asked to take a salary cut, now the high priced? Vaughn Martin. Popp started the year trying to fit his team's 500 hundred pound roster salary into a 400 pound SMS suit. But it wasn't the end for Popp. He wanted everybody he couldn't afford, and he's been literally paying for it ever since. Roster salary-related slashes and the asking of Wal-Mart type rollbacks of salaries alienated a lot of players, but he can't stop. Obviously, the Alouettes are still over the cap. I think he should have hired Jones as his HC/roster manager. ✂️

After week 6 Bye - Hamilton ?‍?Irony. BC's DL Mic'hael Brooks, he who was fined for a low hit on DDurant, suffered a lower body injury in the BC Calgary game. Regarding the Hardy neg. list fiasco. Jones says the matter is over. The CFL says it's an organizational issue. Jones says “We decided we weren’t going to go there, exactly like I said yesterday, and that’s the end of discussion. I don’t want to answer another question, OK?” - CFLNews ?‍?-I don't know who's right, but i do know Jones is involved again. ?‍?From my last year's notes....Sounds familiar.. 1)"Not getting that one new receiver. The game buster, so to speak." 2)"No excitement on Offence, no running game." 3)Ottawa have no-huddle offences, Winnipeg have no offence huddles. Gary Lawless says the Winnipeg Blue Bombers are looking to build a team under Mike O’Shea’s leadership, and that O’Shea’s job isn’t in jeopardy. Lawless also says that newly-named starting quarterback Matt Nichols has management’s support heading into Edmonton. Listen to the explanation offered by Gary Lawless and his "sources". ?‍?He talks Drew and Nichols and such. Interesting.. link... http://www.tsn.ca/radio/winnipeg-1290/lawless-bombers-have-faith-in-nichols-o-shea-1.532602 as per TSN’s Derek Taylor, Willy has connected on just 7 of 22 deep balls this season. Worse - Willy has thrown as many late-game interceptions over the past two weeks (3) as deep air-yard completions in his last three games (3). Player Drives Touchdowns Percentage Mike Reilly, EDM 54 13 24% Trevor Harris, OTT 48 11 23% Bo Levi Mitchell, CGY 56 11 20% Jonathon Jennings, B.C. 53 9 17% Jeremiah Masoli, HAM 70 10 14% Ricky Ray, TOR 56 8 14% Darian Durant, SSK 36 5 14% Drew Willy, WPG 68 6 9% Tuesday, July 26, 2016 — TORONTO (July 26, 2016) – Jeremiah Masoli, Naaman Roosevelt and Mike Reilly were named the Shaw CFL Top Performers of the Week for Week 5 of the CFL’s 2016 season Ed Tait reminds us that Matt Nichols' record of 2-5 with the Bombers could be better if our kicker last year had made a few of his kicks... Blue Bomber Talk If you take away Maurice Leggett's pick-six, WPG's offence has scored just 14 points on 13 turnovers. That's truly abysmal. #Bombers #CFL ?‍?It's no longer cliche answers when the Bomber players are asked cliched questions, and the players want to say the right things, they are now called cli'shea'd answers. "One of the most exciting receivers in the CFL is Roughriders’ Naaman Roosevelt, who caught 8 passes for 182 yards and a touchdown last week in Saskatchewan’s first win".- Curtis Rush, the star.com ?‍?By contrast The Bombers use 8 receivers to get 182 yards.. Through four games in 2016, the Lions defence has allowed 18.25 points per game, good for top spot in the CFL. - Matt Baker BC lions.com That will have to be re-configured after the Calgary game. 44 points!! CFL News #CFL personnel people and coaches: lack of Cdn talent across the league playing role in the number of injured QBs - @PentonKirk As pointed out by herb Zerkowsky. Not all is bad from Montreal's loss to the Argos - they did increase their average point total from 14 to 15! ?‍?Then Saskatchewan came along... CFL News reports RT .@DidierRDS The three kickers who worked out for the Alouettes were Hugh O'Neill, Brett Lauther and Drew Basil. @CFL #AlsMTL #CFL #LCF ?‍?Montreal's version of "Don't trust anybody with Bede eyes" Chris O'Leary - the star.com -Argos head coach Scott Milanovich said Wednesday that the team has had a discussion with the league about the hit in Monday’s game that put Ricky Ray on the sidelines for three to six weeks with a sprained left knee. “There was a discussion. I don’t know (if anything will come from it),” Milanovich said. “I’m not going to speculate on it. It’s in the league’s hands.” ?‍?I'd like to know too.. Kirk Penton Through 20 games, CFL kickers have made a measly 74.4% of their field goal attempts. Last year at this juncture of the season the placekickers were connecting at an 84.2% clip. At least the kickers are better at converts this year. They're at 88% right now, while last year, at this point they were 80%. Lions defensive end Alex Bazzie, who was on the outs last season in Vancouver, co-leads the league with four sacks through five weeks. Hamilton's John Chick is the other with four quarterback drops, but he's played one more game 8 – Sacks allowed by the Stampeders in five games. 7 were from BC.. CFL News Unreal. Reminiscent of #AlsMTL last year early on. RT .@TShireGlobal The #Riders currently have 20 players on the 6-game injured list. #CFL ?‍?(Boy, do I see more roster moves in the future for Sask.) Derek Taylor - SportsCentre (before the Bomber game) 143 - Passing yards dropped by Eskimos receivers this season. They have a league-high nine drops so far this season. 53 - Passes Drew Willy has thrown at or behind the line of scrimmage - by far the most in the league. Toronto’s Ricky Ray is next on the list with 40. 4 - Missed tackles by Ticats defensive back Travis Lee against the Eskimos. That total was matched by Chip Cox and Billy Parker of the Alouettes in Week 5. 4 - The number of holding calls drawn this season by Argos defensive end Justin Hickman - the most in the league. That includes two in Monday’s win over the Alouettes. The Argos play 3 of their next 4 games, at home, on the weekend. That should improve attendance. - Anthony Ciardulli - Argo fan site. ?‍?A good story that put things into perspective regarding Adarius Bowman, and the Bombers... “It was me,” Bowman said Wednesday morning. “I had dug a huge hole for myself. Why? It's hard to even imagine it now, but it was totally me. It wasn't anything that one coach did to me. It was nothing that happened off the field. It was a journey that Adarius had to go through. http://m.winnipegsun.com/2016/07/27/fresh-starts-theme-of-thursdays-bombers-eskimos-tilt ?‍?The Riders are looking for their first rushing touchdown this season. They are the only CFL team without a rushing TD. "It’s probably been a year and some months since I’ve played in an actual game,” said Blue Bomber DB Terrence Frederick ?‍?The most impressive stat was the 20 rushing yards the Bombers allowed. BomberBuzz Free-agent acquisition Euclid Cummings finally notched his first sack of the season with a beautiful speed rush around the edge on a play that’s designed to simply open-up the B-Gap for the defensive end to twist inside and press. Cummings, who notched 8 sacks in his first full season with the Argonauts last year, is only on pace for 3 sacks, but he’s been anything but a bust this season. The sacks will come from his pass-rushing, 3-technique position, as he graded as the Bombers’ best defensive lineman in three games so far this season. ?‍?From the "look who's under the microscope file" -Brendon Morgan has taken countless, unnecessary no-yards penalties, missed countless tackles, lost contain too times and has struggled to get off blocks downfield blocks in about one-and-one-third seasons in the CFL. ?‍?From the "something to talk about file" -Although he isn’t a pending free agent, if the Bombers’ brass believe he can be a franchise quarterback, they won’t hesitate to organize a deal with Eric Tillman in the off-season. But that only happens if Masoli continues to play at a high level while Zach Collaros is still sidelined Edmonton Sun - terry.jones@sunmedia.ca The loss ended a nine-game winning streak against Western Conference opposition for the Eskimos and concluded almost two full seasons without losing back-to-back games. Darrin Bauming The Canadian receiver getting close, catching balls and practicing fully after breaking his hand in the preseason. (Addison Richards) ?‍?Bombers. Too many penalties 10- 125 yds ?‍?Names that stood out (never mind the stats) Bombers - Matt Nichols *** Andrew Harris *** Euclid Cummings *** Terrence Frederick ***Taylor Loffler *** Ian Wild *** Kevin Fogg *** Weston Dressler *** Darvin Adams *** Bruce Johnson *** Richie Hall Harris - 1st TD as a Bomber (that doesn't seem right) ?‍?Speaking of Adams. He could be out for awhile. His year so far? 38 receptions for 503 yards and three TDs, through 6 games... Edmonton - Derek Walker Chris Rainey BC- 4 punt return TDs in his career. All against Calgary... Bassie BC - sacking, I mean Sack King -1 sack in each of the last 5 games. Saskatchewan - ? ?‍?It's not so much Montreal did well, but rather there was nothing to be reGale'ing about in that Sask performance...at all. Montreal - self-proclaimed best receiver in the CFL and *** Kevin Glenn I suppose*** BC - J. Jennings (26-41, 374 YDS, 3 TD) (oh yeah, and 2 Ints) *** B. Burnham (9 REC, 139 YDS, 1 TD) *** Arceneaux 6-128 yds Calgary - B. Mitchell (29-44, 364 YDS, 3 TD) *** Greg Wilson is fast Toronto - Kenny Shaw *** A. Jefferson 2 ints ?‍?Hajrullahu 5-5, now making FGs to help win games as opposed to missing FGs to help lose games. (sounds like I'm still bitter) Ed Tait reports - On Further Review Consider these first-down numbers from the first half in Edmonton: Winnipeg ran 23 first-down plays, with Nichols being sacked on two of them. But of note, there were also no penalties on first down. Nichols was 7-10 for 91 yards on first down plays in the first half, while the club averaged 8.2 yards (10 carries for 82) per rush. Remember, these are numbers piled up all before the intermission. On Bond: That’s a lot of weight over there,” said Bryant with a grin. “He helped me out a lot. He did a great job of communicating. We played well together with this being his first career start in the CFL. I’m happy for him. He looked good. “You know what? That’s a great effort by the O-line. Coach O’Shea has been preaching all week that from the handshake we had to be physical. We did that. I’m just glad we got Andrew the ball and we were able to open some holes for him so he was able to do what he does.” Added Harris when asked about running behind Bond: “He’s aggressive, he’s intense and he’s a monster. You combine those three things… the mistakes that someone might make because they’re earlier on in their games or coming into an offence, they don’t highlight as much because he’s so big and he plays so aggressive. As long as those guys are getting up field, it makes my job easier.” Gary Lawless will Henoc Muamba's gamble with @dallascowboys #nfl pay off?. set big asking price in #cfl which no one would meet. worth it if he sticks Darrin Bauming Clarence Denmark flew to Winnipeg on Friday — says things happened quickly. He followed the #Bombers while a free agent. "They're my team." -Addison Richards, who broke his hand in preseason, will come off the 6-Game IL this week. He tells me he's beyond motivated in his 2nd year. ?‍?Teams and Injuries and how they compare - with notables... Calgary - 7 on the one game list - 4 on the six game list - Joe West, Federkeil, Boudreaux BC - 4 one game 1 on six. ONE!?!? - Levy Adcock Edmonton - 1 one game 11 - six game - Coehorn, Sorensen, Groulx Winnipeg - 0 one game 15 - six game - Randle, Dressler, Adams Sask - 1 one game 20 - six game - LaBatte, Best, Clarke Ottawa - 4 one game - 12 six game - Travon Van, Gascon-Nadon, Trevor Harris Hamilton - 5 one game - 9 six game - Demond Washington, Collaros, Butler Toronto - 1 one game - 14 six game - Owusu-Ansah, Gurley, RRay Montreal - 0 one game - 9 six game - SJ Green Kenny Stafford, Brodeur-Jourdain, Luc ?‍?Nobody's asked, but why isn't Ottawa thrashing Toronto? Booing in Ottawa? Heads up play by Medeiros, leads to a TD. Looks like both teams are doing just enough... to stay close. ?‍?Boy, has the waiting for the throw taken on a different meaning this year. Used to be about waiting for the QB to make the throw. Now it's about waiting for the throw..of the challenge flag from the HC. The MMG: Like it or not, the Riders are right on schedule at 1-4 rodpedersen.com "The win over Ottawa was just a teaser to keep you interested, and maybe a sign of what's to come when this club gets all the kinks worked out. But that's not likely to happen consistently until the leaves change colour." "Until then they are right on pace. Whether you like it or not." - Rod 'twilight zone' Pedersen.. Week 7 Bye - Toronto

These interviews and player homages are fine in context if they're done professionally and kept short. Unfortunately, on TSN, they are not. You can never rely on a good interview 'live', during a game. It just doesn't work. Therefore, you're actually doing a disservice to the player/honouree, and you're pissing off viewers. I want to watch the game. I don't mind the detours for sideline information, but as much as I enjoyed the players when they played, say hello and a short little pat on the back and move on. Maybe I'm wrong about this topic, but I just can't see the value of trying to mix the sport with those lame interviews...

The two aren't related. Haj was done here and it had nothing to do with talent assessment. He had to go elsewhere, both for himself and Winnipeg's sake. The fans would have been horrendous on him for each miss. And Winnipeg needed better at kicking, so they got the best. Had to. Losing 2-3 games through kicking can't be tolerated. We all know that. It wasn't the fact if Haj could rebound or not, he simply had a target on his back, and that was extra pressure he didn't need. The wolves wre howling...and rightly so.

I get irritated when I'm watching all these interviews with different guests on TSN, and they keep breaking away to show snippets of a football game. What's up with that?

Thank you. He should have just said that.

OK, I give up. I don't get what you mean..Willy defenders are to suggest Nichols? will yet turn his career around. Is this code?

This could very well be the basis for an argument for any football team. The components of the team are offence, defence and special teams. If 2 out of those 3 components win the battle, you have a decent chance to win the game. So, does it really matter which components actually win the game for you?

Craig Smith - (14th year looking for talent at NFL camps.) And now, as a national scout for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, I have been assigned nine teams to scout. My trip will take me as far west as Denver and as far east as Spartanburg, SC where the defending-NFC champs, the Carolina Panthers, have their camp. Our team covers all 32 teams – not all teams do – and the result of what many personnel people in the Canadian Football League call ‘The Grind’ will be a database with reports on several hundred players. We talk with the pro personnel people with the NFL clubs we visit to find out who we should look at first. Then it’s time to eyeball our possible prospects on the field in practice and, if the NFL team allows it, in the video room in their offices. We also attend NFL preseason games to see players in the heat of the battle. We take all those notes and then create a report for our database. We marry up what we see on the field with what we see in his testing results and then find out about a player’s character. Every player is given a grade which is outlined in the Bombers’ own scale. Careful consideration of all the information gathered goes into a grade for a player and it means that at the click of a button, we can have loads of information on a particular player. Craig Smith, a native Winnipegger and lifelong Bomber fan who has worked in the CFL with the B.C. Lions, Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Saskatchewan Roughriders, is the club’s new National Scout. He will be filing reports from his visits to NFL camps regularly to bluebombers.com over the next few weeks. 1st Report - from Green Bay "Season tickets for the club have been sold out since 1960, which is astonishing for a city with a metropolitan area of approximately 306,000 people. Lambeau Field, which holds 80,735, is always sold out. It doesn’t matter if it’s cold, raining, windy, or sunny." "Most importantly, we are looking for players that will fit into the Canadian game. The fundamentals that every player learns from a young age are the same, but in our league, an athlete that may not necessarily fit the typical NFL mold can still have success." "As an example; the men in the trenches do not have to be as gargantuan as they are in the NFL. We can recruit undersized running backs, and linebackers in the CFL can also be considered undersized for the NFL. CFL quarterbacks can be six-feet tall or shorter – and you’d like to have a guy that has mobility – but in any league accuracy is critical." "While scouting practice, I watch the third and fourth-team players, and the odd second-stringer." "I have included a Scouting Checklist that we refer to when scouting the offensive and defensive Lines. It is essentially a position-specific list regarding the guys in the trenches." To see this list, and more go to: http://www.bluebombers.com/2016/07/30/letters-from-camp-july-30th/

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