O2L

Our defence gave up a ton of passing yards and yet only about 10-15 of those yards wound up being a touchdown. Their defence gave up few passing yards and yet those few yards accounted for four touchdowns (yes, I’m counting the Strev one since that ball was on the one yard line thanks to the Woli catch). Where the yards happen on the field matters.

Yeah I think the Riders D will keep most games close but their O needs to produce. They'll win some games in similar fashion to how BC scored 23 last night (with a kick return or pick 6 etc to keep the score manageable), but they're also going to have games where they score sub-20 points. I do think that Bennett would give them the best chance right now, but will take them time to get him up to speed. He has a strong, accurate arm, but his fault is that he'll make some poor decisions.

I'm not sure what game those of you saying our d-line was underwhelming watched. We collapsed the pocket on nearly every play, manhandling their O-line, with Reilly constantly throwing under duress, and held them to four yards rushing. Good d-line play doesn't just boil down to sacks...

The beauty of having a team not be built around a “guy that's going to take over a game and win it for you” is that if that player gets injured, the drop off shouldn’t be too substantial. Nichols is still our best QB, but if he goes down it’s not game over for the Bombers. If Reilly goes down in BC? Yikes. And he didn’t even win yesterday. Not to mention the other benefit that people often forget is that unlike BC and Calgary, we haven’t dedicated the majority of our salary cap to one player. The reason our team is well rounded is because we can afford to have it that way. Thank you Kyle Walters.

1. Winnipeg Blue Bombers The only team to play well on both O and D. Despite giving up yardage, held Reilly to one TD and two INTs. 0 turnovers. One botched kick return made this game look closer than it was. 2. Ottawa REDBLACKS Four interceptions and a QB that is keying in on guys and having trouble reading defences isn’t a good sign, but Ottawa looks to have a strong D and anytime you can go into Calgary, in week one no less, and win, that’s saying something. Credit where credit is due. 3. Edmonton Eskimos This team, much like in previous years, will live and die on the arm of its QB. No D to speak of, nearly let a backup to the league’s worst starter of a team that changed head coaches a week ago back into the game. I think as the season progresses both Calgary and B.C. will prove to be better teams, but unlike those teams, Edmonton still came out with the W this week. 4. Calgary Stampeders Four takeaways and a 15-point lead and they still lost. This is not the Calgary of old, but I also don’t see them losing two in a row. I expect some anger next game. This team took their opponents for granted and the results speak for themselves. Mitchell missing some passes that he’ll make in the future, sure, but maybe, just maybe, the mighty have finally fallen. 5. BC Lions Eight offensive points from a Mike Reilly-led team does not instil a lot of confidence, but maybe that’s more a testament to the Bombers’ D (who had their share of mistakes, but tightened up when they needed to). The Lions D gave up three wide-open TDs, which is a concern, but I think Claybrooks will get them sorted out once they have some time to gel. I expect BC to be battling it out in the west all season. 6. Hamilton Tiger-Cats Easily the worst looking team to come out of week one with a W. Had they played anyone other than Sask (including Montreal), they lose this game. Two question: Can Masoli regain his 2018 form? Can their defence play well without playing dirty? 7. Montreal Alouettes The jury is still out on the defence. Sure, they gave up a stupid amount of yards, but their starting QB had less than 60 yards of production in three quarters, so hard to fault them for being on the field the whole game. A pending QB controversy that we haven’t seen since the likes of Brink v. Goltz, Montreal looks to be the enigma of 2019 - they’ll upset teams that they shouldn’t beat and then lose games they should win. 6-12 finish unless one of these QBs can step up and give them an offence. 8. Saskatchewan Roughriders They were already going to be a bad team with Collaros at QB, they’re worse without him. The problem with this offence is the coordinator and as long as McAdoo has a job, there won’t be much to cheer for on the offensive side of the ball in Saskatchewan. Did Harker look better than Fjardo? Sure, but that’s because Fjardo has more reps in the offence and was trying to execute the patented check—downs that his coordinator is famous for. Harker is young and came off the bench hungry so made decisions that were more instinct than play-call. They do seem to still have a good defence though, but one of their leading scorers, Willie Jefferson, no longer wears green. Combine all the above with a head coach that looked lost and, may I introduce you to the residents of the western basement. TBD. Toronto Argonauts No game this week so unfair to put them on the list aside for getting a few laughs, but I expect Toronto to be top two in the east if Franklin stays healthy. He’s better than he showed last year and we’ll see that this year, and Chamblin is a solid coach that’ll right that ship.

Yeah I still think BC will be one of the top teams, definitely expect them to turn it around by mid-season and I see their défense getting much much better. Their head coach is arguably (or maybe just straight up?) the best defensive coordinator in the league - I don’t see him putting up with last night’s effort for long. Glad we got them when we did.

I have no doubt that he will.

Here’s a hot take after week one: the best team in the east is Toronto. I think if Masoli can’t get back to 2018 form, Franklin will be the top QB in the east. My money is on TO winning the east.

Please don’t. 😆

Yep they were great in run and pass blocking. Both sacks were coverage sacks when Nichols had to step forward and almost through the pocket. Also of note to add to the Burnham/Adams debate from earlier today: Burnham was the most targeted receiver in the first week of play, and had less receptions than Adams, who wasn’t event top ten most targeted.

BC @ EDM next week. That’s gonna be a whooooole lot of deep passes and no defence. Would be great if B.C. wins that one so that we come out of our bye alone in first place.

Wait, what burger? Can you please tell me more about this burger?

Jefferson player well, got pressure often, dropped into coverage several times, and pulled White down for a loss with one hand. Unlike Sask last year, we happen to have other good D lineman so gotta spread the wealth. Faulting Jefferson for not having flashy numbers after one game is silly - Jeffcoat didn’t either, and that doesn’t change how good he is. Defence held BC to one touchdown. Take that kick return TD away and this is a 17 point blowout that B.C. was never in. Hecht’s second pick was an incredibly read by him, and an even more incredible catch. He hits hard, plays nasty, and trash talked Duron Carter. I’m happy to have him out there. Nichols and the Blue 100% in the red zone. He’ll be credited with three TDs on the statsheet but he orchestrated four (Woli inches shy of a hat trick). If this is what our O can do right now, i can’t wait to have Matthews out there. Always early to get excited, but we’re the only team that played this week that actually looked good on both sides of the ball. And unlike in year’s past, we protected a fourth quarter lead instead of folding and giving it up. Looks like the “experts” might actually be right about the Bombers. 1-0 this week, let’s go 1-0 again on June 27. Go Blue!

So with that, are we about to watch the two best teams in the league play?

Assuming this was on the first two point convert, I saw the same thing. Literally screamed “throw it!” at my TV.

Riders sign Bennett.

Not sure about the unofficial ones, but if you’re in Canada most service providers offer an app or website (Shaw FreeRange, for example). I spend a lot of time in the US and have an ESPN+ membership, $10/month and I’ve watched a ton of Bomber games that way.

Looks quite beautiful to me. Got my 33 Sellers on, hoping to see some big plays from another 33 tonight! Simonise on the B.C. roster, anyone think he might be giving Claybrooks some state secrets?

Yeah the only way Ottawa makes a game of this is if Davis really has turned the corner and surprises us all.

I wouldn’t write off Montreal’s D yet. Pipkin has 57 yards passing over three quarters before Adams came in, so the Edmonton yards being skewed as heavily as they were isn’t that surprising when Montreal was nothing but two and outs.

Yeah I’ll take last night and tonight’s games over no games/offseason anyway. Next up: Winnipeg @ BC!!!

FINALLLLY! Here we go!

Pipkin held onto the ball way too long. Huge difference when Adams came in. I don’t fault Adams for the late pick, in one quarter he did a game’s worth of work digging the team out of a hole. Of the teams that have played, best to worst: Edmonton Hamilton Montreal Saskatchewan Ill give the TiCats a pass because Sask *should have a good défense. Had Adams started for Montreal and played the full game the way he played that fourth quarter, I’d swap Montreal and Hamilton. Montreal’s defence gave up way too much, though. Without a couple bad turnovers by Edmonton, this game would’ve been a blowout.

Yeah exactly. @JCon, how much did they charge for yours?

Edmonton really does look like the new Ottawa. No défense, an offence that puts up more stats than points. They’ll be .500 at best.