blueandgoldguy

It's short sighted and doesn't take into account the starting point, and it's part of the reason why we've had this 25 year drought. Too many people have been fired because the instant results weren't there, or the team took a slight step back. All these knee jerk reactions because people only looked at wins and losses has done more damage to this team than anything.This.. Omg so much this.. If previous regimes hadn't mortgaged the future so often to try and appease the filthy unwashed masses,.maybe the drought would have ended years ago... But because they got so caught up on wins and losses, draft picks a plenty were traded or burned... QBs crushed without getting ample time to acclimate...A rebuild will never take a season or two... Especially after the destruction of our core like we have seen over and over again. It HAS happened before, yes... But that's the exception, not the norm.. That excuse is getting almost as old as the original sin and this draft thing is also getting well worn. How many of the Oline guys do we have left from our first choices? The fans had nothing to do with the choice of Etienne. But I guess it much easier to blame the fans instead of the very poor choice of managers we hired. We didn't trade or burn our choices, we wasted them because we picked the wrong guys. Further we did not pick up vets that could have helped us but choose to go with raw US rookies in previous years or in this year for that matter. How are the fans to blame for that? We let an all star guard go because we wanted to make him a center and he said no. (His words).However, after the results of this year it will be very hard to blame the fans again. Going into next year with this team will get MOS in a very bad position comes LDC. One thing you must agree with, the fans will not wait another 2 or 3 years to get results and they shouldn't. Hamilton were 6-12 in 2012 and Grey Cup participants the next. By the way MOS keeps saying he has a very good team, so much for the destruction of the core. The previous regimes panicked over and over again when the losses piled up and the fanbase got up in arms.. Deny it all you want but why else would they throw away first rounders on bum QBs or go for boom or bust draft picks who were expected to wow from the start? Frankly, i dont care if you agree with me or not.. Im confident that miller wont sway from his path, nor walters or O'shea.. i believe they understand what needs to be done to finish this process and know just how brutal this teams non imp and imp depth was.. Oh and for the record... That core we have.. Its pretty small. How much of it was carried over from 2-3 seasons ago? Thats not destruction, thats rebuilding.. That was not panicking because of the fanbase being up in arms though. That was an inexperienced GM making a short-sighted decision. He didn't feel draft picks had much value..not because of the fans, but because that is how he truly felt. Not sure which boom or bust draft picks you are talking about either? Etienne? He was known to be a long term project who would most likely not start for 2 seasons - that's the exact opposite of drafting to appease the fans RIGHT NOW. Same with Pencer - guy with a lot of raw athletic potential who had a history of injury concerns, but was thought to be a project that would take a couple years to develop into anything. Mack reached on Etienne when he could have had a solid contributor almost immediately in Coehorne and when he got schooled by Wally for Westerman he reached again with a pick of an injury-prone project who had been out of football for the year. Not the actions of someone who is supposedly pressured by fans to draft someone that provides immediate results. They are the actions of an individual who has little or no business being a GM of the Bombers in the first place - someone who had been out of the CFL for 25 years yet for some mysterious reason was recommended by members of the BOD. And therein lies problem - upper management. They are the ones who keep insisting on hiring inexperienced persons to oversee the management of the team, and in 2 cases (Kelly and Mack), also had an extended absence from the CFL. These recent hires have been amongst the bottom 2 or 3 at their managerial positions out of all the CFL teams which usually means a bottom 2 or 3 position in the CFL standings. Guess what? That's where the Bombers have finished for the most part over the last decade. Walters is the latest inexperienced person to be hired. A failed special teams coach elevated to temporary GM only to have temporary removed from the title after the club ensured an exhaustive search for gm candidates. That doesn't mean he will fail of course. Hervey was somewhat inexperienced in Edmonton prior to be hired as gm (although he spent a few seasons as head scout so he is more qualified than Walters) and he appears to have established a Grey Cup contending team in only his second season. No reason Walters can't do the same, but the clock is ticking. If he fails to at least get this team to .500 next season and is fired, that won't be the fault of the fans. It will be the fault of the BOD and CEO for their uncanny ability to continually hire a bottom-2 or bottom-3 league-wide GM. By the way, how do you figure this team has bad international depth? If I'm not mistaken, aren't you one of the guys who championed the idea that Mack had established excellent import depth on the team?

It's short sighted and doesn't take into account the starting point, and it's part of the reason why we've had this 25 year drought. Too many people have been fired because the instant results weren't there, or the team took a slight step back. All these knee jerk reactions because people only looked at wins and losses has done more damage to this team than anything. This.. Omg so much this.. If previous regimes hadn't mortgaged the future so often to try and appease the filthy unwashed masses,.maybe the drought would have ended years ago... But because they got so caught up on wins and losses, draft picks a plenty were traded or burned... QBs crushed without getting ample time to acclimate... A rebuild will never take a season or two... Especially after the destruction of our core like we have seen over and over again. It HAS happened before, yes... But that's the exception, not the norm.. Nope. Edmonton did it in one season. Not the exception at all either.

O-line and D-line please.

Sounds like a great deal. Smart of the organization to gain some long-term commitments, just in case the team tanks again next year. This would mitigate any losses in season ticket sales for the following 2016 season

You have a time machine? Edmonton hasn't made a cup since 2005. Point is under Hervey Edmonton went from a 4 win outfit last year to a double digit win team this year and a Grey Cup contender. Last year for Edmonton would be comparable to Winnipeg this year (Reilly makes his debut in Edmonton in 2013 while Willy makes his debut for the Bombers this year, both the 2013 Eskies and the 2014 Bombers have poor O-lines and poor Canadian depth). There is no reason that the Bombers can't have a similar bump in the win column that Edmonton experienced this year. If Edmonton can do it, there is no excuse for the Bombers not to do it as well. Another sub-.500 season is inexcusable.

It's short sighted and doesn't take into account the starting point, and it's part of the reason why we've had this 25 year drought. Too many people have been fired because the instant results weren't there, or the team took a slight step back. All these knee jerk reactions because people only looked at wins and losses has done more damage to this team than anything. Name the people over the past 25 years who were fired because instant results weren't there as you put it.

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.