Doublezero

Ottawa has a good team, well coached. Honestly, I'm not sure about our team yet. Another convincing win will make me feel better about the Bombers. A beat-down will confirm my fears. A close win will make me happy - especially if Bombers D plays like they did last week. Is Harris 100%? Can Nichols put together some drives, protect the ball, and quit throwing picks? Will we see the same supreme effort from our D as we did vs Esks? Those questions loom. But let's take advantage of Bolduc at safety. And let's Blitz! If we knock their QB down a few times and force him to have his head on a swivel - we can win. Let's not lose due to a pick-six or bonehead coaching error (or combination of the two).

Very happy for the win vs Esks, Great effort by the D. But Matt Nichols looks like a liability who could undermine Bombers success going forward. A grand total of 12 TD passes in 11 games. Terrible efficiency rating, worst INT % among starting QBs in the CFL. He is in the Collaros, Jennings, Franklin, Bethel-Thompson club - and way below the Reilly, Masoli, Mitchell, Harris club.

And how'd that work for us? Another brilliant scheme that got us all the way up to our own 25 yard line on most returns. But yeah, let's wait til the off-season to fix it. If things continue on this trajectory then, obviously, chances are good that it won't be O'Shea who'll be doing the off-season fixing.

Ya O'Shea appears not to care about the return game. I felt ripped off when I saw Demski and Wild paired as returners vs Alouettes. I guess that's why they have a couple of returners in tryouts right now. Sign them in the off-season and look to next year. Seems like its always next year around here. Lots of season tix holders I know are not renewing next year however.

In this interview between the 1 minute mark and 1 min 52 O'Shea is asked why Kevin Fogg hasn't been effective returning the football. The coach says "there are reasons" the return game hasn't been effective and that they are constantly working on things, but, "the things that have gone on" that have limited the return game can't be corrected during the playing season. This kind of non-answer leads to speculation. Is he taking about firing ST Coach Paul Boudreau? Is he talking about an injury to Fogg that will have to be re-habbed (in which case why are you playing him)? Or is he talking about something else entirely? Why should the media and fans have to speculate at all? It's this kind of BS that leads people to conclude that the more they put O'Shea out there in front of the media - the more it hurts the Winnipeg Football Club. https://www.bluebombers.com/2018/09/27/coach-oshea-september-27-2/

If Harris can't go they should play Augustine. In fact, they should play Augustine instead of Lafrance.

Unreal. What a great finish! What was June Jones thinking?

Nic Demski and Ian Wild paired on kickoff returns. I thought this was supposed to be a professional football team.

Turn the sound off so you don't have to listen to the BS. Just watch the body language. If you step back and actually look, he comes across as more defeated in yesterday's news conf than ever before. It's obvious the writing is on the wall and he knows it.

"You stick with the plan that got you to where you're at," Coach Mike O'Shea says at the 1 min 35 secs mark of the news conference. "Iceburg? That's no iceburg," said Capt Edward J Smith of the RMS Titanic.

No sugar coating it. That was such a piss-off. Sunk lower and lower after that.

Powell is hands-down the best tailback in the CFL. Refs really tried to give the game to SK in the final 6 mins. SK isn't very good but Bombers are worse.

It was remarkable to see O'Shea beaking angrily at players and getting in their grill several times during the Sask game. Haven't seen that before. The heat is on. Changes coming, no doubt. Too little too late though. One constant with this leadership over the past 5 years (Miller ex D + ST player, Walters ex D + ST player, O'Shea ex D/ST player) is that they have had no clue how to manage the QB position which is the most important position on any football team. Look at the CFL teams that have had success in the same period and notice the QB specialists and former QBs among them. There's your Achilles heel, right there.

That was so crazy yesterday 8 Canadians on offence. Don't think I've seen that before - ever. I don't agree that makes Lapo look bad however. The planning, lack of adjustment, situational play-calling, hasn't been very good. And, obviously execution at QB position has been inferior.

OK and what about the QB coach - does Buck Pierce wear any of that?

I said this on the other forum, seems apprporiate to say it here: MOS has made lots of mistakes and his seeming arrogance and stubbornness could well cost him his job here. But what we mainly have had this season is a problem with underproduction at the QB position. For several years the problem was on defence - giving up too many yards, points and explosion plays. That meant the O had to score a gazillion points for the Bombers to win because the D surrendered so many to the opponent. Now that the D has tightened up a bit but the O can't produce. Obviously there is a problem with Nichols (he is likely done) but I think they also need to take a look at how that QB situation was managed. That means taking a look at Lapo and - sorry to say it but - QB coach Buck Pierce.

OK. If that is so then just to add to the intrigue and slather on some conspiracy for good measure - is Lapo purposely trying to deep six MOS? I guess MOS is smart enough to see if that is the case. And Lapo will be gone sooner rather than later.

I agree with this. Also, pulling Streveler out when we were knocking on the door 1st and goal from Riders 9 - only to replace him with Nichols who immediately shuffled it for a pick-6 - that too ranks up there as a seriously bad coaching move. I know it's hindsight but I was there in the stands and shook my head at the time and even before the snap wondered WTF - why is he pulling Streveler?

The smell of manure was wafting strongly into the stadium grandstands today, which appropriately added to the overall ambience. At first we thought it was just the Sask fans who brought it with them but no, it was permeating around the Bombers. One highlight was that some of the Jets were there: Nik Ehlers, Adam Lowry and Andrew Copp. After Nichols threw his second I/C (or was it his fifth?) a few of my seatmates were calling for Copp to go in as QB - apparently he was a hell of a high school quarterback at Michigan. It was fun to see Ehlers throwing those little souvenir smurf footballs into the stands to fans however. I guess at $6M/year he earns more than the entire Blue Bombers roster

Here is a rundown of how BB board of directors is constituted and how members are appointed. https://www.bluebombers.com/board-of-directors/ If you mean that a board can't move as nimbly as a single private owner then that is true. But they can fire Wade anytime. Would firing Wade demonstrate the club is all-in? What moves would be necessary to demonstrate all-in?

I've been saying this for weeks now. Imagine a formation with Harris Demski Flanders Streveler that's bent on running the football with some hand-off misdirection/play option at the core. That's gotta be hard to defend.

Stamps = horseshoes.

Darby picks up a Green fumble and runs for a TD but Masoli chases him 40 yards and tries to cut him off to prevent the score. Love to see that in a QB.

Amen.

They just keep finding ways to disappoint.