Tracker

As great as it was to see a back break tackles and make TD's, we won't know how good Cotton can be until we have a decent O-line and the scores in games are close enough that running the ball is an option. The O-line wasn't great last night by any means, but it was a heck of a lot better than it has been, so we have hope. BC will be forewarned and may prove tougher to run against, so I hope we will see Cotton catch a few swing passes.

The two-back set is not much of an option due to the horrible play of the O-line so the extra man is needed to shore up the blocking. A good old-school tight end could help with the blocking and even leak out into the flats for outlet passes to slow the rush once in awhile.

Its due to lack of talent, injuries and having a dolt for a defensive coach.

You don't really want to know the answer to that, do you?

Daniles not bad at all, but Goossen was beaten pretty soundly more than once, but that's the price you pay to gain experience.

Marve has the tools and the grit to do well in this league, but I am still concerned about his running with those wonky knees. Wouldn't put all my eggs in that basket.

If we play as well against BC next week as we did against Calgary, We have a good chance of beating them.

The best coaches have the best quarterbacks- makes me wonder what Berry or even LaPolice could have done with a decent QB.

Watching videos and practicing is all well and good, but there is no substitution for live fire experience, so lets get Goossen his. Waht's the worst that can happen- our QB gets sacked and we lose the game? Been there, done that.

Grigsby's tenure won't last long, so- no big deal here.

Sellers was the size of 3 running backs. Well then, do we have any linemen who are quick enough that they do not have to be timed in the 40 with a calendar?

Stepping away from the vitriol here for the moment, it seems to me that things started going downhill for this year's team when the O-line performance started to deteriorate about game six. I think O'Shea, Belllefeuille and Walters bear responsibility for not realizing or not reacting better to the problems there when they were becoming painfully obvious to almost everyone. Losing Moore was even more damaging because it happened at the same time Willy was becoming worn down by the beating he was taking, and finally, opposing offensive coaches figured out how to beat Etch's defence. Etch's defence worked until the weaknesses in the D-line and linebackers became obvious and all the stunts and confusication stopped fooling everyone.

We're playing for respect today, and for many, an invite to training camp next year. I'm hoping that Brohm looks able to handle the pressure and that maybe we will get to see Marve in game conditions. To earn the respect, we will have to hold Calgary to less than 100 yards rushing, and less than 250 passing. I have no illusions about winning the game, but maybe the O-line will look better and our receivers will look at least average, giving Brohm some quick-look targets in the short and intermediate zones. Oh yes, and 2 or fewer sacks.

Willy is the starter, and on a team with a decent O-line and running game, his team would be talking a Grey Cup run, so no controversy. But if the o-line is as porous as it has been, leaving him in would be just silly. We're done for the year. Willy has more 300 yard passing yards games than any other QB, and has nothing to prove, but Brohm and Marve do.

Reality is beginning to seep in.

From Jace Daniels' resume in another thread, he ought to be able to replace at least two of our current O-linemen at the same time and place-kick as well.

I am having a hard time believing that an athlete who was as good as Smith was in college and as good as he looked last year in his short time could fall so far and so fast that he has become a pariah. I know that we cannot bring him in for a looksee and probably don't need to but surely someone in the CFL ought to be interested enough in his potential to sign him in the off season.

Sneaky devils.

January has been one of few O-linemen who has given stability to the line in the past three-four years. He was a good tackle and a leader by example but every athlete, heck, everyone has a best before date. January has reached his limit and we need to assume we are moving on. A door closes for one player and opens for another- that's life.

Is there really much difference between getting beaten 36-3 or 54-3? Our best hope is that the Stamps will hyperventilate from laughing and pass out from time to time.

Yup. He could collapse from exhaustion.

What is that supposed to mean? I would love to hear an explanation from the Bombers. The master of gooder Inglish.

Grigsby was living off his performances in the first few games of the year. While the lack of production on his part was certainly not all his fault, his attitude is. What we are seeing now is probably the tip of the iceberg and his (former) team mates likely know a lot more. We weren't getting much with him in the lineup and probably won't suffer his absence too much. Next up: Kuale- another boil on the butt of the team.

There is an odd synchronicity between this year's team and Walters' performance- for the first couple of months, everything was going stunningly well, then the team and Walters' recruiting both fell apart completely.

Because the Bombers have had a laughable running game, that has opened up a whole can of worms: the opposing linebackers can drop off into coverage taking away the 5-10 yard passe, the opposing DBs can get into deeper drops and suddenly the deep routes become tougher to complete. This gives the opposing D-linemen those extra three seconds to penetrate an already porous Bomber O-line. And Willy gets hit, again and again. Then he gets blamed for holding onto the ball for too long knowing he's going to be pulped.