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Sorry but the darned program posted the same reply multiple times.

Agreed that Nichols on one of his good days is very good, but I posit that Willy on his good days was also very good, and we know how that went. With Nichols, I think that if he was having an "on" day with the defence playing as well as if has on good days, yes, the Bombers could well win the Grey Cup . However, there are two problems with that scenario: you have to win three games in a row against the best teams and then all the stars have to align on Grey Cup Sunday. Those are pretty long odds and equivalent to quitting your job because you bought a lottery ticket.

And if you choose to go read my previous postings, you will find that when Nichols has done well, I have acknowledged that. All athletes, particularly quarterbacks, are responsible for their performances and I believe that there is now enough evidence in Nichols' play to infer that he may not be good enough to take the team to the Cup. I readily credit him for a very good 2017 and at that point, was a better pivot than now. But things change and something appears to have changed for the worse. Streveler may or may not be a better alternative but its time to find out if he can do more than plunge into the line.

If you are hypersensitive to criticism, you should stay out of professional sports, stand-up comedy and politics.

I think that the irritant is not just Nichols inconsistent and often disastrous play, but also that the Bomber braintrust refuses to give Streveler opportunities to display his abilities or lack thereof. And equating criticism of Nichols' play (not character) to hatred is a false equivalency.

Conversely, you and your ilk appear prepared to excuse Nichols no matter how poorly he plays.

Jeffcoat is likely to miss the game.

Eric Rogers

Winning the Grey Cup while part of the Eastern conference would be like bragging that you have a 200kmh car because you drove it off a cliff.

No question the O-line stunk against Hamilton, but against Toronto, Nichols had all the time a competent quarterback needed. Nichols has no excuse/reason/justification/rationale for his performance.

I actually hope that Arbuckle plays and plays well. If Arbuckle plays and shines, and Nichols pales in comparison, there can be no argument any longer about Nichols' fate. If Mitchell plays and beats the Bombers, there will be the excuse about how great the Stamps are with their #1 QB back.

Apparently Jeffcoat is iffy for the Stamps game.

No question the O-line stunk against Hamilton, but against Toronto, Nichols had all the time a competent quarterback needed. Nichols has no excuse/reason/justification/rationale for his performance.

I picked the Riders to win for the second week in a row.

I would think that Nichols' ego must be close to being shattered. I also do not think that the collapse of the defence last game was happenstance. I suspect that the rest of the team saw that a) Nichols was incapable of carrying the game b) he was not going to be replaced and c) the Bombers were inevitably going to lose. If you want to see Nichols' standing in the eyes of his team mates, watch what happens when he is decked or comes off the field after a series. If they treat him like he has halitosis, he is done.

Congratulations on finding someone special to share your journey with. May all of your troubles be little ones.

This kinda comes down to each generation of players training the following one. Locker room, social and organizational culture are notoriously hard to change once established.

At the end of last season, it was obvious that Nichols was injured but was still putting out. I cannot speak for others, but I assumed that he would come back this spring, healed and as good as he was in 2017. My bad.

Two words: John Hufnagel.

The infuriating thing about Nichols is that he has shown that he can do it. But will he? He is like a strip-tease performer- shows you enough to get excited but not enough to satisfy.

Maybe it is the deflating of enthusiasm and the eerie sense of deja vue.

Agreed. The team recruited heavily for the D-line and, as you and others have pointed out, blitzing isn't working, so why keep on with it? Bighill is not up to speed yet, so that is not helping, either.

Until the past two games, I would have said that the Bomber on-field talent was as good as or better than anyone else in the league. The biggest issue the team has, IMO, is behind center. There is no way to tell if this is the fault of the coaching or Nichols but there is evidence that it is both.

As Drew Willy demonstrated, past a certain point, many people do not rebound from and emotional beating. The "learned helplessness" syndrome kicks in and they are done.

Some candor would be refreshing.