blueandgoldguy

I dont care what anybody prefers, the point is to call damon allen average is insane.

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?

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.

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!

Sigh... One game... Limited reps for each.... And we're dealing em for OL. Sigh. I'm sitting at a bar in Banff with 17to85 just face palming hard...

We should pump the brakes on talking up a QB who's played essentially a half of football. Kid looks good, I'm excited, but projections off that small a sample are challenging.

The NDP balanced a budget by taking from the rainy day fund, hydro and riding rising transfer payments.

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.

I'm fine with the punishment, 240 hours of community service plus 2 years probation.  On that individual it might be a little lenient, but the last thing we need is an easily influenced kid tossed in jail for a few months when he's not really a threat to society.  Rest assured he'd make some new "friends" in the joint, probably start a new "career" and be an actual threat when he's put back on the streets.

Anyone else like Fortune Cooking on St. James?

Stadium looks great!  Wouldn't have minded if they had added an extra 4 - 5 rows in the lower deck to bring it up another 1000 - 2000 seats or so and bring it closer in scale to the size of the opposing stands.  But that's quibbling over minor details.
 
Saw an article a few weeks ago regarding Ottawa's historical support of pro and amateur sports.  Stated that due to the large number of government offices in the region compared with cities of similar size like Edmonton and Calgary that Ottawa tends to draw lower numbers for live events.  The government can't buy season tickets nor can they purchase the suites.  Since there are fewer corporate head offices (even less than Winnipeg) in the city they have to rely on the general public to buy the majority of the seats or at least moreso than in comparably sized cities.  Public obviously won't have as much disposable income for those high end seats and suites and as a result you get empty seats.
 
It doesn't help that the arena is way out in Kanata and is too big for the team - 20,000 capacity with 150 suites.  I'm sure if they built something in downtown Ottawa with 18,000 seats and 75 or so suites and a bunch of loges (more appropriate for the market size) it would sellout on a consistent basis.
 
I would love to see AA baseball in Winnipeg.  We could easily support it and the quality of play is a step up from the American Association - an added benefit.  Thing is, it's a bus league and there are no teams even remotely close to Winnipeg.  So unless there is a move to establish AA teams in places like Fargo, Regina, Saskatoon, Sioux City, Sioux Falls, St. Cloud then it's a pipedream. 

The unions would care if the government went bankrupt because the first creditor that would get screwed in bankruptcy are the pension funds, that goes for public and private sector when it comes to companies/governments going bankrupt.
 
The logic and reality behind Hudak's jobs campaign were both hugely lacking, and he didn't present it in a palatable way either.  How can you cut 100,000 well paying jobs and not sink your economy?  Not your provincial government budget, but the actual economy?  

As a 46 year season ticket holder, I'm quite concerned regarding the current bargaining situation.  I love the game and have been a big supporter of the league, and especially the Canadian Content rules.  
 
After reading the letters from both sides, the comments on here, and the articles in the newspapers, I find that I'm more in support of the league's position rather than the players.
 
The CFLPA's position apprears to be 2 fold: we deserve more because we took hits in the past, and revenue sharing is the way it is done in sports.   I tend to believe that these arguements are easily countered.
 
1. Yes the players have had to sacrifice in the past, but so have the owners.  Many teams lost a significant amount of money, and those losses are different variety than the players sacrifices.   As a player, if you took a pay-cut, you still got paid to play football.  They didn't have to ante up money that they had saved from other ventures.  The owners that lost money, were in negative positions.  The players who sacrificed were still in positive positions  (ie they didn't pay to play)   Furthermore, they aren't all the same players.   The players turn over every couple of years, so the ones that gave up, are not necessarily those who will gain back.
 
2.  Revenue share is a fact in the NFL, NBA, NHL, all of which are a much greater scale than the CFL.   It is not a fact in smaller scale sports:  Arena football, Minor League baseball, AHL hockey.  To believe that this is the model for all sports is incorrect, and there is a major flaw in the concept: COSTS.   The players say that they want to be partners with the owners, but they don't mean it.  They want to share in the revenue, but not in the costs.   How much is the CFLPA willing to contribute to the new stadiums in Winnipeg, Regina, Hamilton, or Ottawa.   They want a hefty percentage of the gate, but don't want to consider the capital costs needed to attain that money.
 
In a normal business, many decisions come down to the profitability of a project.  For example, suppose you are considering building a new factory, and your annual financing cost is 4 million per year.  You estimate that the increased net revenue will be 6 million per year, and you estimate that staffing cost and other costs remain consistent.  Let's also assume that you have a share ownership plan with your staff.  It's an easy decision, you build the project, everyone is happy, staff have a nice new facility, better than the old one, and the business grows and prospers and everyone gets a share increase on the 2 million per year profit enhancement.   Now consider if you had what the PA wants, a royalty right of the top before expenses.  They'd want 50% of the 6 million, meaning the net revenue would go up by 3 million, and the cost by 4 million, so the project would not happen.    It isn't realistic for the PA to exclude costs from their position.  Partners share in costs, not just revenue.
 
 
In the end the CFL already pays way more than most of the players would make if it didn't exist; mulitples more than the arena league, or the European loops.  They pay more than most of the other professional sporting leagues (excluding the big 4)   A 12% (on average) pay hike along with a 3,000 signing bonus appears to be very generous. Certainly in the greater society, most people would be thrilled with an offer like that.
 
I have the utmost respect for the players hard work and talent, but I'm also realistic about how much they should expect.  The difficulty may be that they are used to working hard and sacrificing to "win" at whatever they are doing.  I'm afraid that egos will get in the way fuelled by all of the union bravado.  If they don't step back and look at the value of the league's offer, which I think more than fair, they risk losing the season.  This would hurt the players and the fans more than the owners.  Right or wrong, that's reality.  My greatest concern is that if we lose a year, a new version of football comes in to replace it.  American (boring) Rules, small fields, 4 downs, 11 players, none of whom are Canadian.   I can't stand the thought of that.

If we need to keep the NI ratio for replacement players no prob.  Just bring back the likes of Brock Ralph and Troy Westwood.

I cast a weary eye at all politicians - there is a degree of fabrication amongst all of them.  That goes for the PCs and the NDP and I guess the Libs as well although they haven't been relevant since the Carstairs years.
 
But I have to ask you, what scandals involving the PCs are you talking about because the only one that really sticks out in my mind was the vote-rigging scandal in the 1995 election and I have my doubts that Filmon was even aware of it?  I'm certainly not aware of any widespread corruption during his tenure.  I'm aware of his balanced budgets in the face of decreased transfer payments from the federal government during the belt-tightening 90s and how he passed into law that the province could not have back-to-back years of provincial deficits - a law that was put to pasture by the NDP without any form of discussion a few years ago.
 
And if this province is doing so well and if other provinces would kill to have our hydro, why is the 1% increase in the PST necessary along with the myriad of other tax hikes approved by the NDP the last few years?
 
Good for Lyle I guess.  I imagine his career as a football executive is over even is this doen't turn out well for him.

I cast a weary eye at all politicians - there is a degree of fabrication amongst all of them.  That goes for the PCs and the NDP and I guess the Libs as well although they haven't been relevant since the Carstairs years.
 
But I have to ask you, what scandals involving the PCs are you talking about because the only one that really sticks out in my mind was the vote-rigging scandal in the 1995 election and I have my doubts that Filmon was even aware of it?  I'm certainly not aware of any widespread corruption during his tenure.  I'm aware of his balanced budgets in the face of decreased transfer payments from the federal government during the belt-tightening 90s and how he passed into law that the province could not have back-to-back years of provincial deficits - a law that was put to pasture by the NDP without any form of discussion a few years ago.
 
And if this province is doing so well and if other provinces would kill to have our hydro, why is the 1% increase in the PST necessary along with the myriad of other tax hikes approved by the NDP the last few years?
 
Good for Lyle I guess.  I imagine his career as a football executive is over even is this doen't turn out well for him.

Of course you approve.  You liked the way Kelly handled the media too.

This is what happens when you get an architect with no experience designing a stadium.  I'm sure if a firm with experience in designing stadiums had designed IGF the number of flaws emerging after construction would be lessened

It 's pretty much proven that Pavs is one of the worst starting goalies in the NHL, if not the worst.  This has been discussed ad nauseum on the Jets forum on the Hfboards.  Pretty sure I have seen the Unknown Poster post there several times.  Garret, one of the more frequent posters on the board,  happens to be excellent with advanced stat analysis and has shown time and time again that Pavs is a below average goaltender. 
 
While Pavs is a great athlete who can make the occasional great save he is
 
1) poor at controlling rebounds which lead to subsequent high quality scoring chances
2) very poor stick handling which put additional pressure on the defense and forwards in their own zone to try and clear the puck
3) poor positionally in the net leading to the acrobatic saves fooling people into believing he is a good goaltender and also leading to goals which should have been saved if he was covering the angle properly
4) weak glovehand
5) frequently plays too deep in his net
 
The guy is just fundamentally a poor goaltender relying on athleticism to look better than he is.  The one season in Atlanta with the .914 save percentage was a fluke as seen by his three years in Winnipeg in which it appears he has become progressively worse.  The bad defense argument in defense of Pavs doesn't wash as teams with worse defense like the Buffalo Sabres and the Toronto Maple Laffs have goalies with significantly higher save percentages (Miller, Reimer and Bernier).  If the Jets had even average goaltending last year (which would be exceptional for pavs) they would have made the playoffs..
 
Chevy needs to buyout Pavs and/or bring in competition next year and I'm talking about legit competition, not Montoya or one of the goalies currently with the Ice Caps.  Someone like Halak or Reimer.  There are a few others but I can't think of them right now - will have to take a look at the free agent list.  Won't be able to trade Pavs due to the horrible contract unless we trade him for an equally bad contract.  Cam Ward's $6+ million contract with 2 years remaining is an example.

Maybe Joe Mack will ask him to come to camp for his current CFL team.  Oh, that's right Joe Mack currently doesn't have a CFL team to call his employer!
 
Remember back in 2012 when the Bombers got off to that horrible start and the calls for Joe Mack to be fired became increasingly louder both in the media and on the other Bomber site.  And remember when some of the members of that site said no way you should fire Joe Mack.  Give him time because if you do fire him some other team is sure to hire him due to his awesome recruitment skills (Bombers have the best depth in the CFL and at QB according to some members back in 2012 - I remember Bluto's signature lol).  Well, here we are nearly one year after his firing and not one CFL team has even spoken to Joe Mack let alone hired him.
 
The man was brought in to improve our Qb depth and I think it's safe to say he failed miserably at it.  Brink was released and never found a position as a third stringer nevermind a backup with another team and Elliott was only on the BC roster because he paid his way to camp and also because of injuries to BC Qbs higher on the totem pole.  We're left with Goltzy - another Mack protege who only proved he could not get better despite numerous starts and was the worst starter/backup in the league out of all 9 teams! 
 
Elliott won't get another shot unless 5-10 cfl starters/backups go down simultaneously this season.  He is that lowly regarded.

It 's pretty much proven that Pavs is one of the worst starting goalies in the NHL, if not the worst.  This has been discussed ad nauseum on the Jets forum on the Hfboards.  Pretty sure I have seen the Unknown Poster post there several times.  Garret, one of the more frequent posters on the board,  happens to be excellent with advanced stat analysis and has shown time and time again that Pavs is a below average goaltender. 
 
While Pavs is a great athlete who can make the occasional great save he is
 
1) poor at controlling rebounds which lead to subsequent high quality scoring chances
2) very poor stick handling which put additional pressure on the defense and forwards in their own zone to try and clear the puck
3) poor positionally in the net leading to the acrobatic saves fooling people into believing he is a good goaltender and also leading to goals which should have been saved if he was covering the angle properly
4) weak glovehand
5) frequently plays too deep in his net
 
The guy is just fundamentally a poor goaltender relying on athleticism to look better than he is.  The one season in Atlanta with the .914 save percentage was a fluke as seen by his three years in Winnipeg in which it appears he has become progressively worse.  The bad defense argument in defense of Pavs doesn't wash as teams with worse defense like the Buffalo Sabres and the Toronto Maple Laffs have goalies with significantly higher save percentages (Miller, Reimer and Bernier).  If the Jets had even average goaltending last year (which would be exceptional for pavs) they would have made the playoffs..
 
Chevy needs to buyout Pavs and/or bring in competition next year and I'm talking about legit competition, not Montoya or one of the goalies currently with the Ice Caps.  Someone like Halak or Reimer.  There are a few others but I can't think of them right now - will have to take a look at the free agent list.  Won't be able to trade Pavs due to the horrible contract unless we trade him for an equally bad contract.  Cam Ward's $6+ million contract with 2 years remaining is an example.

Pavelec is really bad. The Jets are not the worst defensive team in the league yet Pavelec has consistently had the worst starting goaltender numbers (save for Dubnyk when he was around) in the league and it's not really close. Montoya isn't even a good goalie and his save percentage is 18% higher and his goals against average is better by 0.72 (!). 
 
Let's keep in mind, they play on the same team.

And a poor decision that was!

How is it a good deal exactly??
 
If the Bombers had gone through the proper process of hiring the proper firm, one with experience in designing stadiums, like the Riders are doing, instead of hiring Asper's buddy Ray Wan (he of no experience in designing stadiums) to design IGF, then they wouldn 't have needed to spend an additional $350,000 to build a proper pressbox - it would have been designed and constructed correctly the first time around.
 
Hiring Ray Wan instead of a real firm with experience like HKS has cost the taxpayers millions of additional dollars when you factor in other mistakes that had to be corrected (like lack of proper access to the field level for concerts).  Plus I'm sure there is more to come in the future.
 
Great that we have the big game coming back to Winnipeg.  Hope the Convention Centre expansion is completed by then.

Bleeding heart nonsense is the last resort of someone who hasn't taken time to examine all sides of the issue.  It's weak, ill-informed and lacking in common sense.