blueandgoldguy

Lawless brought this up in the preseason. He stated word from the locker room is that some or most of the players were losing confidence in Willy. That would appear to be accurate up to this point. Time is running out for Willy - he needs to step it up soon, but I'm not sure if he is capable of it. Let's face it, he was the third choice of the Qbs available in 2014 and he is, by far, the third best of that group. After a solid start in 2014, Willy was middling and inconsistent for the remainder of the year throwing more INTs than TDs boosting his passer rating and completion percentage with short, low-risk passes. Particularly painful was the Banjo Bowl in which the Bomber had a late lead and Willy had one of the biggest brain farts of all-time throwing a high risk pass to the far sidelines only to have it intercepted and returned for a TD. Game over and as it turned out, season over. That game played the biggest role in the Bombers not making the playoffs that year. Fast forward to 2015, and we continue to see mostly inconsistent Willy with 3 or 4 extremely poor games from him (as proven in detail by another poster in a different thread). No progression in his game, in fact, there might be some regression. Passing stats once again boosted by short, high percentage passes which result in several 2 and outs. We are seeing more of the same from Willy this year unfortunately. Unable to nail long or intermediate passes, incapable of managing the clock, unable to maintain composure and look for more than one option on the field despite an improved o-line and less hurried compared to last year. He has this season to prove himself but time is running out for Willy. Meanwhile Burris was MOP last year and led his team to the Grey Cup while Collaros has had 2 excellent seasons in Hamilton that were both cut short by injury. In particular, last year, in which he led the league with 25 TDs in 12 games and was the clear frontrunner for MOP before an injury ended his season.

Not saying he might not be a part of the problem, but what alternatives can you name? Up-and-coming coordinators? Lapo seemed to do well as the coordinator in Saskatchewan.

Well if you think we have the talent then you must believe the problems lie with the coaching staff.

lol. The good old appeal to authority. So this must be true because a whopping 2 supposed "authorities" agree with it. Well Goalie as Carl Sagan once wrote, "One of the great commandments of science is, 'Mistrust arguments from authority.' Too many arguments have proved too painfully wrong. Authorities must prove their contentions like everybody else."

The difference in the 2 teams' records going back to last year cannot solely be explained by one team having to pay for fired coaches while the other did not. Regardless, Mack and company were paid off long ago. Any spending discrepancies on all players may also be quickly dismissed with the salary cap.

Most contracts being 2 years or less renders your point irrelevant not to mention contracts are not guaranteed.

Weird of them to say that. Ottawa started from scratch barely over 2 seasons ago and they went to the Grey Cup last year and are off to a strong start this year. Proof that in the CFL you can build a competitive playoff team within a few seasons.

I think we take this game provided Willy and the Bombers keep the turnovers to 2 or less. Of course, turnovers are the key to pretty well any football game. Make the Stamps earn their points by marching the ball down the field and I think we can keep them below 20 points. Not a very impressive O-line over there with some losses over the past few years. Same thing with their receivers - the depth is not as noticeable as it was 2 seasons ago. I think we will see a lot more pressure on Mitchell than against Glenn last week. Mitchell is more evasive but lacks Glenn's quick release. 3 QB sacks and several hurries resulting in some inaccurate throws and an INT for Mitchell. Bomber offense will continue to struggle with just over 300 yards total offense and one TD but will benefit from good field position thanks to a couple of good kick returns, one excellent punt return and a couple turnovers by Calgary at their end of the field. Bombers - 25 Stamps - 18

Any word on how Waggoner did? I can't recall hearing his name during the broadcast?

Maybe it's time the Bombers take a chance and look at Franklin as a legitimate option for the backup role in Winnipeg if Willy continues to struggle. He was excellent when he started or relieved the starter last season with the Esks. He played better than Nicholls and was the reason they traded Nicholls to the Bombers during the season - they knew they had a good backup to Rielly in Franlin. Nicholls is an OK backup but has the potential to be nothing more than a low-end starter. We already know this. Franklin has the potential to be one of the best starters in the league and is probably the 2nd best backup in the league after Harris. Waiting until the end of the season with hopes of getting Franklin in free agency is foolish...unless Willy turns things around of course. If he doesn't the Bombers shouldn't hesitate to give up a pick for Franklin as there is no doubt in my mind that some other team will outbid the Bombers in the 2017 off-season if it comes to that...probably Saskatchewan. Trade for him and sign him to an extension tout suite.

First game of the doubleheader tonight was impressive to say the least! Ottawa wins in OT.

Anyone else notice the major blunder by Rod Black with 11 seconds left on the clock. He said this is the final play and I was thinking, um, there are 11 seconds left Rod. That is enough time for 2 plays. Then Willy scrambles for the first down with a few seconds still on the clock and Rod said, "That's it." before finally cluing in to the fact that there was indeed time still on the clock. Typical.

Who? Some GM and coach in the 80s? I know from 1989 - 1999 Al Ford was the GM but his early teams made the playoffs and a Grey Cup. He also went through several head coaches none of whom lasted over 3 consecutive years without a playoff appearance.

Both can be considered below average

I really think we have a good chance against Calgary. They lost quite a bit of depth this off-season and their o-line which was a big concern last season will remain on ongoing one this year. I think our front 7 can make life interesting for Mitchell next week. With that said, even if the team does go 0-5 to start the season, the club should stay with O'Shea until the bitter end of 2016. The off-season is when the best candidates are available. When the Bombers fired Ritchie mid-season in 2004 they did not make the playoffs that season and missed the playoffs the following year wasting a year and a half on Jim Daley. Then the Bombers fired Lapo mid-season in 2012 and the team did not make the playoffs that year or the following one wasting a year and a half on Tim Burke. Firing a coach mid-season has never turned around a Bomber season and there is no reason to think it would if the Bombers can O'Shea in August or September. A mid-season firing of O'Shea probably means this organization will waste a year and a half with Paul Lapolice as coach with no playoffs to show for it.

name a franchise in the history of the CFL that has kept both their GM and head coach after 3 consecutive seasons out of the playoffs. That is, of course, assuming the team finishes below .500 and out of the playoffs this year.

The defense was bad. There were many long drives by the Als in the first half and the time of possession was nearly 2:1 in favor of the Als. Very few, if any, 2 and outs. The defense also surrendered 300 or more yards in that first half. They were lucky that turnovers and a penalty and a play away from the play kept the score at a respectable level going into halftime. Irving commented on the poor performance by the D in the post-game show.

Possibly tired to covering the bad news Bombers. They wanted to cover the good news story of the day with the Jets' draft.

I sure hope you aren't insinuating that Willy was not at fault in parts of this game. The poor throw to Smith in the end zone and the fumbled snap on third down while the game was still in reach - albeit a long shot even then - had nothing to do with a porous offensive line.

If he has done a good job, we need to see major improvements in all areas - national and international depth. Another year without the playoffs means he will have done a worse job than Mack.

Andrew Harris came as advertised. I'm looking forward to more of that this season.

If the Bomber fail to make the playoffs, they will probably fire O'Shea and Walters and promote Lapo "righting a wrong" from 4 years ago when he was fired by Joe Mack. I doubt they fire the person who hired Walters and himself after doing an "extensive search" for the right candidates.

Is management capable of finding a a few good international offensive lineman.

that was a poor throw by willy, behind the receiver. Willy was awful when it counted when there was still a reasonable amount of time on the clock. First, on that poor throw to Smith and second, on that fumble on the snap. I getting a little tired waiting for a legit #1 QB to emerge on this team.

If Willy has another shaky season the Bombers should be aggressive in their pursuit of Franklin. I was very impressed with his showing last year. Looked much better and was more productive than Nicholls and may be the primary reason Edmonton got rid of him. Franklin has greater upside. Of course, that's assuming the Riders don't trade for him during the season.