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I would rather be the worst 10-0 team, than to be the most mediocre 4-4 club ever. Just saying. If any of you Rider fans are lurking....10-0 doesn't happen by accident....neither does 4-4.

Migs just gave Fajardo's career the kiss of death by providing his latest glory hole report. Last time he did that was when Durant blew out his arm and couldn't throw anymore. It's bad juju when Migs makes a Rider QB evaluation based on his "observations". For sure. He's got an NFL level toolkit. He has NFL calibre arm....although probably mid tier....but the biggest factor is how young he is. Dude can go down and they can spend a couple years with him on a PR and he's still a very young QB.

I think he was just pointing out that we do not have the lowest points against overall with more games played. Not sure why he felt compelled to say it though, since our PPGA is the best in the league. Probably because that's a stat that illustrates we are better than the Lions.

If he's healthy you play him until 1st place is clinched. Every game could be the difference between 1st, 2nd or 3rd. Sure we are 9-0 right now and cruising to first, but until that is clinched mathematically you play all your horses when they are available. God forbid we have some misfortune with injuries, or illness in the 2nd half, we may need these 2 points for 1st. Never take anything for granted until it's signed, sealed, and delivered.

Which is a stupid metric that the media and fans fawn over and the coaches, players, and anyone who has a clue doesn't give a fig about. There is only one stat that matters at the end of any game, how many points surrendered and how many points scored. It is the bottom line. The rest is all white noise. If he's healthy let him play. My opinion is you don't hold a healthy, productive player out until you clinch 1st.

Lawler is once again having a great season. That being said, I don't believe ANY receiver is worth more than 200k let alone 300k. Just my opinion but I don't think anyone could argue that the 3 -200k+ receivers in this league are all playing below their paygrade and I am not sure they could play up to it. Each one is a terrible contract at this point.

There you go, we weren't even in the ballpark. Sometimes another team just blows it's brains out with an offer you would be stupid to match. Yep....and didn't miss a beat. Great roster management and constraint.

You can't blame ANY non-QB CFL player for taking a 300k payday. Its not like he left us for a similar offer. We were probably 70-80k less on any offer to him.

He is excellent and well ahead of the curve for his development. He has every throw in the book. I would be shocked if he is not in an NFL camp next year. That being said, he will have his highs and lows this year just like every other rookie starter does. He feasts on crap defenses but he has looked ordinary against stiffer defenses. To be expected though. The Lions will have to either break the bank to keep him, or he will undoubtedly test the NFL. At his age, and his toolbox, he could stick there for a few years and Tburg will go back to being a closet Lions fan. JK TB....sort of. I mean I can understand people thinking so since you have sent more compliments to the Lions in half a year than you have to the Bombers in 15 or so years on these forums. Part of that is because his early success wildly surpassed expectations for 8-9 games until the CFL came to the realization that as long as you keep him in the pocket he can't hit the broad side of a barn. Rider fans and the CFL press have been judging him on his first 8 starts where he was extremely successful playing essentially sandlot football. Like all one trick ponies he got figured out fast but the hype train had already left the station. For every QB that impresses early and builds a solid career (Collaros, BLM) there are QBs that have early success until glaring deficiencies are noticed in their game (Jon Jennings, Cody Faj). That's why I am really hesitant to call a QB a success or a bust until they have more than a full season under their belt. As unlikely as it seems it could even happen to Rourke in time although his arm strength and accuracy are top notch.

Cates is only being honest, and telling everyone what they should have already known. I think that a lot of Rider fans are starting to realize that Jesus Sprinkles are not enough of a toolbox for a pro QB. He's probably crying into a microphone somewhere in the big rectangle right now.

There is a difference between the edge Marino walks and the edge any coach would want you to walk. Football is a tough game, and I want 44 Jackson Jeffcoats, or Drew Desjarlais, on the field. Guys who play on the edge of dirtiness BUT don't cross that line intentionally. Guys like Marino or Lawrence cross that line with regularity and hurt their teams in the process. Every coach wants players who will beat their opponents to a pulp between the whistles, no coach wants d-bags that end up in the media and suspended because of it.

True....but even if disaster strikes we already have our 8th best win total of the last 20 years secured with only 3 wins needed to tie for our best. Hard to believe we have done this in half a season.

They are getting ready for the Ernest Monias concert at Fisher RIver Treaty days this week.....clearly... Why is that corny? Savor it. We hate on the Riders because it's in our DNA as Bomber fans. It's not personal and we appreciate good football discussion even from a Rider fan. lol

Also, some receivers (Derel Walker I'm looking at you) will run half arsed routes if they know they are not the primary or second reads and end up not getting the touches they might if they worked a little harder. Also, film room work....knowing not only the defence you are playing but the strength and weaknesses of the personell week to week. I guess that's kind of covered under work ethic as well but more of a preparation work ethic. I remember buying Fun Zone tix at 7/11 when I was a teenager. Can't remember how much they were but my allowance covered it and the bus back and forth. Must have been super cheap because I didn't get much for an allowance.

Quite the leap of logic you are taking there. I am not unhappy with Ellingson in any way, shape, or form. Just playing devil's advocate to spark intelligent conversation about where fans draw the line on value of a signing or contract. Apparently, that was a failed idea. Agreed. Just seeing where everyone sat on when a good signing becomes a bust. I'm certainly not even remotely there with Ellingson and probably wouldn't be even if it turned out he couldn't come back this year. If that happened, I would re-sign him next year with a lower base and higher bonus prove it kind of contract. Agreed. One would have to be oblivious of reality to think that a rookie or young player has a much better chance of returning as a highly productive player than a player in his mid-thirties with the same injury. It's not an apt comparison at all.

Just to play devil's advocate, if Ellingson is in and out of the lineup and misses 50% of the games from here on out, do we still feel awesome about his signing? I love what he's done so far, but when you are signing a player that is getting up there you need to also get value out of his contract from being on the field. Look at Nick Moore as an example. Guy was an elite receiver but no one shed a tear when he left because he was in the tub more than he was on the field. I'm not saying that's going to happen with Ellingson, but at what point do we become concerned about the amount of time he is missing? Just an honest question, not passing judgement on the guy. I love what he has done so far. Just saying that if we found out tomorrow he is done for the year, how does everyone here feel about potentially bringing him back next year for the same contract?

Saskatchewan ruined Manny, glad he was able to rebound.

Timing, and pace of the route are essential, as is making the right read of the route tree. Receivers have options on most plays based on the D they are facing. They must make the right read, beat their defender who is trying to throw off their route, and run it at the correct distance and pace. Also being on the same page as your QB is ultra important. We saw Zac and Shoen's convo the other night as they sorted out the route after his TD pass so that they would always be on the same page in that particular play call. You gotta have all that and the physical ability to go with it. It may seem like Dressler was open more than others and he probably was, but a lot of it was just recognizing the defence and knowing where the open area is, going there, and knowing where your QB thinks you will go.

I always looked at Janarion as a burner, but I could be wrong. But yea, something like what you suggested would work just fine. Putting a tiny receiver that runs sloppy, telegraphed routes doesn't help at all. Just saying, there's gotta be a better way to use him as he just essentially a decoy anyway.

Agreed. A stat that is impossible to quantify is how many times QBs are forced into bad throws trying to throw around him. I would guess, based on the number of knockdowns he gets, that it is a lot. We will know the answer if he becomes available. If he chooses to go back to that toxic locker room then it says a lot about him too. Meh on Lenius. His measurables got him an NFL look but he was pretty underwhelming in the CFL.

He can still draw coverage away from other routes by taking the top off. I mean they can't let him just go without someone at least covering him. Not suggesting we actually throw him the ball. Sitting down in curl routes does nothing to help our offence at all. Trevor Harris was a good QB at one point, now he fears contact so the question is moot. Trevor Harris can only beat us if his OL has the game of their lives because once we hit him it's game over.

LOL....fell right into my trap. Disagree on Manny Arceneaux and Duron Carter...they are great for the league in the opposite way Burnham is bad for the league. There I have given my first clue about what my previous post meant.....mwahahaha

If we are going to play him at least let him take the top off the defence every 2nd or 3rd play. Even if we never throw him the ball it would at least be useful.

Bryan Burnham coming back is bad for the league. There I repeated it....but what did I mean by that? Let the great debate rage on. Was I being literal, or was I talking about being bad for other teams who have to face him? Who knows? Only me.....mwahahaha...let the fireworks continue.

Yea...he has literally said that every week this year. Poor guy.