blueandgoldguy

When the Bombers needed a two and out with two and half minutes left in the game, BC twice ran for 9 yards on first down, leading to easy second down conversions. This essentially ended the game as the Bombers only had 25 seconds to take the ball down the field for the win. As little as 3 years ago, the Bombers seemed capable of getting the 2 and outs whenever they needed them late in the game to at least give their offense a chance to tie or win the game on the subsequent drive. The offense, of course, did not always come through, but at least the defense gave them a chance! Too many times this year when the defense has needed to make a big stop, to keep the game to a 1-TD differential or less, they have crapped the bed - allowing precious time to burn off the clock as the opposing offenses churned out yards along the ground ultimately leading to additional points (FG or TD) and ultimately leaving the game out of reach.

I was at the game and there were a few instances where Willy could have thrown the ball away but for whatever reason he held on to the ball and tried to run or turn away from the d-lineman only to be sacked instead. Those are on him. On some plays he simply didn't have enough time to get rid of the ball - the O-line was incredibly porous on those plays, moreso than normal even for them. On that last second hail mary, I'm pretty sure Willy didn't have 4 seconds to get rid of the ball. More like 2 - 2.5 secs as the 4-man rush somehow beat our 5 linemen. Willy had to turn away and didn't have time to square himself for the throw downfield before he was sacked yet again. Line was bad, but Willy has to take his share of the blame. On that first interception, the receiver was already covered and the safety was already heading towards that side of the field (probably 10 yards from the receiver when Willy was just starting to make the throw) and yet Willy still makes the throw deep downfield anyways! Pretty much impossible odds for the receiver to come down cleanly with the catch when the second defensive back can clearly see what the Qb is going to do (Willy was running out of the pocket at this point and his eyes were clearly locked downfield on that one receiver) and moving in that direction, and on top of that, the receiver is already closely guarded by the assigned defensive back. Just a real dumb decision by Willy. Would have been fine if it was a last second hail mary, but it wasn't. It was a poorly thrown ball that the receiver had no chance on. Second interception was simply an inaccurate poorly thrown ball right at the defensive back. Neither of Willy's are what I would call a good interception like the ball thrown by Glenn right to Arcenaux where the defender stepped in front to make a last split-second INT. Rather they were poorly thrown balls the receivers with no chance for a reception. And those corner route calls in the endzone? GRRRR. Has Willy completed one of those in the second half of the season? Bellefool deserves some (or most?) of the blame for continually going back to this play when it clearly does not work, and Willy deserves some of the blame for displaying such poor accuracy on these particular throws. Seriously, you would think at this level he would place the passes at least within arms reach of the receiver, not 5 yards over their head..or even further as seems to be the case on some of these plays.

One thing that really strikes me about Willy is how poor his throws are on the corner routes. Has he completed one of those passes in the endzone in the second half of this season. His long passes are generally quite inaccurate as well. Glenn certainly throws a better long ball than Willy, that's for sure - 2 completions for ample yardage and another that would have been completed, but for pass interference. I certainly won't say Willy is the best QB we have had since Khari..not yet anyway. Glenn, as a Bomber, was a stepup.

Because he's shown to be highly capable, it's his first year as a starter and he's surrounded by (at most times) a pretty terrible supporting cast? In the first half of the season, certainly. Not so much in the second half. He was responsible for at least a few of those sacks - took too long to get rid of the ball. And some really poor throws - especially that first interception which was double coverage from the moment he released the ball. Not saying he can't be capable, but he has not proven he will be capable long term, not by a long shot

Minimum one of the two coordinators will be fired at season's end. Question is which one will it be? Personally I wouldn't mind if both are gone, but I can't help but feel one of them will be retained. Could actually see special teams coach get canned as well.

Yep, BC didn't cover our receivers or anything like that. There were instances where our receivers were open but Willy couldn't find them. Not sure if he couldn't see them or if he had a case of tunnel-vision. Both interceptions were poor passes more than good interceptions. First one was a poor decision from the get-go. Receiver was already in double-coverage when he tossed it downfield - very low percentage pass. Second one was inaccurate and behind the receiver - another poorly thrown ball. With some of the sacks, sure he couldn't do anything about them - not enough time to make a decision, but on others he had time to throw away the ball at the very least.

Taman wasn't a gm for ten years

He was ranked in the top 15 prospects by central scouting and was considered a decent steal in the 4th round. HEY NO FACTS! Every other GM in the history of sports has perfect draft picks except dirty mack! Mack's choices tended to bust more than others. It's the reason the Bombers are in the situation they are in - having the worst Canadian content in the league next to Ottawa. Those are the facts.

Glad to see Leo Lewis was chosen as the top running back in Bomber history. Well deserved! http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/football/bombers/All-Time-Blue-Bombers-Team-sees-Leo-Lewis-cloned-to-play-2-positions-280354052.html?cx_navSource=d-tiles-1

But they did want a stadium representative of Regina, didn't they? http://youtu.be/ljegAo3Sq5E The sad thing is, it could be better than the Cowboys stadium and I will NEVER go. I can not stand that city. Don't even like to drive through it. Too bad that you have so much hate. Winnipeg is a great city, always have a great time when we go there. Well, he's obviously teasing you and the others from Saskatchewan that come to this site. Then again, maybe not.

Ok. I was under the impression that the event was media invite only. Glad the public could partake.

or do some research on guys, I think JBR was saying Neufeld was an injury concern when the trade happened, if a poster here can see it why can't the GM? It doesn't matter. 2013 season was going nowhere. We would have lost Hall in the off-season anyways for NFL tryouts.

I'm sure it's a great honour for Bud Grant and truly deserved. I wonder why there wasn't a presentation during the game instead of some closed presentation available only to the media? If it's because of his age (must be late 87-89 years old by now) I can understand. But if Grant was willing to do this - have the presentation available to the general public or at halftime during the game, then it's disappointing that the Bombers didn't follow through. The team needs all the good publicity it can get after the past 7 seasons. Having a ceremony that excludes the public looks terrible. Is Bud in the running for best CFL coach ever? I would think so. Didn't put up as many wins as Buono or Matthews did (only because he went to the Vikings), but his winning percentage is one of the best ever and he won 4 Grey Cups in 10 years.

Yet another huge offensive lineman drafted by Mack who turned out to be useless.

To be honest I don't know if he was good or lucky on that completion he made on that "Houdini" play. If I had my druthers I would have been very happy with him throwing the ball out of bounds on that kind of play because typically that throw would end up as a pick. Many of the best Qbs in CFl history made a living of "Houdini" plays instead of throwing the ball out of bounds. Flutie and Allen come to mind.

It's early, actually very early, but it appears that Brohm and Marve are a step up from Hall and Goltz. Brohm threw a nice deep ball, albeit on a trick play to Denmark. Right on the money.

Didn't really see much difference in the play in the line. Still pretty bad. Goosen looked awful in particular. Brohm got rid of the ball quickly and Marve evaded a few sacks. That one play where he evaded the D-lineman , ran towards the sideline and threw the pass along the sideline to the receiver for the first down just before he ran out of bounds was a thing of beauty!

And that's what it's all about - Progress. Whether the absent minded want to believe it or not, we made great strides this year considering where we were at this time last year. No reason to believe we won't do the same again next season. Exactly.. We HAVE improved at some key spots... QB looks very promising, Lirim is getting better and better and our secondary is mean.. Do we have a lot of work ahead still? Yup. Doesn't mean we have to fold tents and start lighting torches as some here want to do.. The problem with you Spudsy is you fail to cast a critical eye at any of the area of the Bomber team whether it be a position on defense, offense or special teams, or a position in coaching or upper management. It's all sunshine and rainbows with you. For whatever reason you don't seem capable of offering even constructive criticism of the team, even when it is warranted. And you like to dump all over people who remain skeptical about this organization's ability to improve over the long term...even after the debacle that was Joe Mack - 1 season of improvement followed by 2 seasons of regression worse than the Kelly year. I guess lesson not learned. The team has improved in some spots - starting Qb, backup QB (although limited sample size there), kicker/punter, and secondary. However, the team has become WORSE at other areas - defensive line, linebackers, special teams, O-line, Canadian depth. That last one hurts because we do not have one impact Canadian on this team. Watson is another year older, none of our Canadian o-lineman are good or even above average when compared to others around the league and the one dominant Canadian we did have last year went to the NFL. When you don't have at least one impact Canadian on your team you will probably not make the playoffs let alone compete for the Grey Cup. You tend to only highlight the positives of this team and ignore the negatives and that's your prerogative, but don't expect everyone to follow your line of thinking. All the comments about how things will get better are rather eyeroll-inducing, especially when you constantly stick to the same refrain over and over. Keep doing that and next thing you know you will become this forum's version of Aardvaark. I'm sure you don't want that do you?

2nd Dark Cloud - it's the CFL Draft. Very few players ever make a huge impact, let alone a significant one in their first year. The CFl Draft is nothing like the NHL, NBA, NFL or even the MLB Draft.

The notion that conservatives are better at balancing budgets is pure bunk. http://www.progressive-economics.ca/2011/04/29/fiscal-record-of-canadian-political-parties/ You should refrain from making baseless accusations about people (re: NDP puppet). She leans left - that doesn't make her a "puppet" The Filmon government did balance the budget with several surpluses during their reign..all in the face of decreasing federal transfers. The NDP government (moreso under Selinger) has run deficits for several years even with improved federal transfers (compared to the Filmon government) and a provincial economy that has not been in a recession for 5 years. That's what so disappointing about the current government - running massive deficits at a time of prosperity. They should be running surpluses to pay down the provincial debt during the good times. Only when times are bad (recession)should the government be running deficits to stimulate the economy.

Time for a little positivity in this forum..even if it relates to a someone who played for this team 20 years ago. Greg Battle is the Free Press pick as the best all-time linebacker in Bombers history. http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/football/bombers/Battle-emerges-victorious-in-race-for-All-Time-Bomber-linebacker-278067292.html?cx_navSource=d-popular-views Next up, the kickers.

Tom Clements should be the picked over Ploen imo. He won multiple Grey Cups albeit only one with the Bombers, 2 -time CFL all-star with the Bombers, league MVP with the Bombers, 1984 Grey Cup MVP - all in 4.5 years with the Bombers, and less than that if you factor in half a missed season back in '86. Compared to the peers of his era in the 80s, Clements is looked upon more favorably than Ploen, when he is compared to his peers in the 50s and 60s. That should play a factor in deciding who was the better QB for the Bombers - how the player compared to their peers. Clements wins this hands down. Also, Ploen's accomplishments on the defensive side of the ball should be a non-starter. It's best QUARTERBACK in Bomber history, not BEST PLAYER.

Enjoy Edmonds so I'm happy with this move. so ummmmmm, what did Nate do to get the boot his time?

It will be nearly 3.5 years from the moment they started digging the bowl for the new Regina stadium to the moment it officially opens for the first Rider game. That is more than enough time for a 33,000 seat, 525,000 square foot facility to be built. Something would have to be seriously wrong if it is not completed by that date. First soft opening in Sept 2016 might be tight as that is only 2.5 years away, but still very doable. Just for a reference, the 63,000 seat Metrodome has been torn down and a new 66,000 seat, 1.75 million square foot, billion dollar stadium is currently being constructed in the same spot all within a 2.5 year period. The amount of work already completed is incredible! http://www.vikings.com/stadium/new-stadium/webcam.html

Would have been better if it was a three-day two-night trip. Have it so you can have a shuttle take you to and from the Mall for 1/2 day of shopping and then on the night the football game isn't on, have the option to go to a concert (if one is happening) or to a nightclub or sports bar. Add $75 per person for the extra night stay at the hotel and they might actually get more people going on this trip. One-night, 2 days just doesn't seem worth it for one event. Haven't been to Edmonton in awhile, but it did like a decent city to me. Have the nice River Park winding around and below downtown which I think is the city's greatest feature. Now that the airport near downtown is closed we will see a more impressive skyline develop over the coming decades - the 70 story Stantec tower will be the first of many hopefully. I think it's a city with a few more things to do than Winnipeg. I've never understood why so many Calgarians like to put down Edmonton. I get that Calgary is the wealthiest city on the prairies, has the most corporate head offices west of Toronto, has the most impressive skyline in Canada next to Toronto..everything is shiny and new. 40,000 or so people (mostly young) added to the population every year. City with the largest percentage of young people (under 35) in Canada. But outside the Stampede, a 2-week affair, I really don't think Calgary offers more entertainment-wise than Edmonton. I won't count Banff as that is well outside the city. Same with Drumheller. I guess Calgary has the better zoo, but do they have a park that matches the beauty of the River Park in Edmonton. The only memorable park I can recall in Calgary is that big hill on the north side of city desolate of any trees. ACtually not that memorable now that I think about it. In terms of arts and concerts, I'm pretty sure Edmonton surpasses Calgary. It's already well-known that Edmonton gets more concerts that Calgary, probably double the amount, and with the recent build of the new art gallery and the soon-to-be-built history museum, Edmonton will surpass Calgary (if it hasn't already) in that regard. Same with sports venues - Calgary has an old out-of-date Saddledome while Edmonton is building one of the best arenas in North America, Commonwealth is a fantastic, well-maintained stadium while McMahon is simply old and dated. I could be wrong, maybe someone here can fill me in on what Calgary offers for entertainment that surpasses Edmonton. For myself, looking from the outside, I'm not seeing it.