TrueBlue4ever

Of the 5 losses, the first in the shootout against the Oilers was a great road effort and we should have won, the Canucks game same. The home game against Pit I did not see but by all accounts we dominated for 2 periods then fell apart. Columbus was aggravating in that we had some good play but also looked lost at times. Today we deserved a lot more puck luck in the first, but once it was 3-0 we just quit. Big red flag there but is it just a one off with all the frustration of not scoring? I would say so unless we get blanked in Calgary. We need a “dirty” goal to get a good feeling. All coaches have a shelf life, and Maurice is at his expiry date based simply on tenure, the critics will not care about general success given we haven’t won the Cup, they will not be convinced otherwise. So can him and they will feel good for about 5 games, then will see that he was not the problem. As for replacements, our options would be in-house (Lowry?), Tortarella (certainly would be a spark, but are we going to destroy PLD again? A solid “no” from me), Babcock (great success in Detroit yet they were happy to be rid of him, and after Toronto no one has wanted to touch him - very telling), or Quenneville (would be an instant great hire from a smart winning coach perspective, could we survive the toxic fallout though?) And I don’t think that Heinola, Gustafson and Perfetti suddenly make this team loads better. But I would not mind seeing one of them up here to shake up the power play and penalty kill. Again, salary cap affects how feasible that is. So my answer? Short term try and ride out this slump. If we go another 2-3 weeks like this then I will re-assess. Chances are still there (we could have buried 3 in the first period today) but this team gets too cute at times.

I have made a thread for everyone to play armchair GM and discuss how they would change the current team and fix this. For everyone who wants Maurice gone, I’d like to hear who replaces him and if it would make a difference given what has been happening of late. Honest question, is he being tuned out or fundamentally making bad coaching decisions or structures? Please show your work.

OK, big losing streak and the wolves are at the door. So let’s hear from the Armchair GMs here - what do we do? And for every knee-jerk response I want you to play it out with all the salary cap or roster implications. No empty whining, offer some real solutions Fire Maurice? And replace him with whom? And will it make a difference? Bench players? And replace them with whom? Line-up shuffling? Who plays with whom? Big trade? Who for who? And is it a realistic get? Blow it all up? And where do we re-start? And how low do we go before we re-build? Here is a chance for everyone to not just vent their spleen it offer a constructive chance to rectify this team. Go.

Hey Rod, tell me about the great coaching job he did against BC with that epic clock mismanagement that should have lost him the game. The most visible coaching he did this year was a massive f*ck up. “Useless as a toothbrush in Sask” - I may plagiarize that in the future, that is some solid work there.

1. To quote the Miller beer commercial: “I guess I’ve reached that age where I realize yelling at the TV screen isn’t going to change the ref’s call” 2. Whining about the injustice of a player snub seems like a Riderfans thing to do. 2a. Since we dump all over the other fan bases and their media when they complain about their ignored players, I do not wish to be labelled a hypocrite for doing the same or delusional for overvaluing our player’s worth in others’ eyes like we do for them. 3. Mike O’Shea preferred to not focus on the individual accolades and embraces the team. I am cool with that mentality. 4. There is only one award worth having, and I am sure Demski will put his full energy into defending ownership of that award Dec. 12. But that is just me. Not objecting to your anger, I am sure it is enough to sustain the both of us, and your approach is valuable in the make-up of a good fan base. You do you, I will take the quiet path, and we can both be content.

My Bob memory is a little more personal. My father had taken me to Bomber games since 1981 at Canadinns stadium, and because of a few rowdy swearing fans in our early season ticket years there we took to wearing headphones to drown them out and listen to the broadcast. After a few games my dad noted “I don’t know why we never did this before, it totally changes how I watch the game. Bob’s call is so good and it makes me see things in a way I never saw live before.” One thing he always wondered is where the broadcast was coming from (we were east siders then) and he asked every other game or so, so I would point out the small radio booth across the field and he could kind of make it out, but I was never sure he figured it out So fast forward 25 years to the 2005 season. My dad’s 77th birthday came up on Labour Day and by that age it was hard to think of gifts for him, but we still shared our Bomber games together (and I was finally getting to the age where I could pay for our season tickets instead of him). I thought it would be a neat idea to give him a tour of the west side broadcast area, past media row and the TV and radio broadcast booths, so he could finally see the location of all the Bomber broadcasts he had been listening to. Carol Barrott of course made the arrangements, and said we might get to see Bob Irving in action before the game, but he would likely be too busy with the broadcast to say hi. So on Thanksgiving that year, which was the actual 75th anniversary celebration game, we met her at the club offices an hour and a half before game time and she took us up into the west side press area, past writer’s row and the TV broadcast booth and the visitor radio booth. We get to the Bomber booth and out comes Bob Irving (this is right up to the pre-game show time, mind you) and not only does he say hello and shakes our hands but engages my dad in a 5-10 minute conversation. I was struck by how tall he is in real life, and to my surprise most of their conversation was not about the specifics of football but about what my dad did for a living, how long he had been coming to the games, how flattered he was when my dad told him that listening to his broadcasts from the seats was a highlight for him, and also about Bob’s kids and his life as a broadcaster and how he missed a few big life events because his road broadcasts took him away from them. Apologized when he had to end the conversation because he had to get back to the broadcast. But he wished us well, thanked US for coming to visit, hoped we would enjoy the game and said it was going to be a special day because they were honouring the all-time 75th anniversary team and he was excited to be calling a memorable event. Thanked us again for always tuning in to the broadcast home or away. And then to back up his promise of something memorable, he called the game where Milt Stegall got 4 touchdowns on 4 passes that day. Total class act, real down to earth guy, and I like to think it was the best gift I could ever have given my dad. In the Billy Crystal movie “City Slickers” there’s a scene about your best and your worst day, outside of the usual “day your kids are born” life-changing events. I think of that day and seeing my dad light up talking with Bob Irving for his birthday celebration, and it is right up there with my best days.

Didn’t realize my wife was posting here. Just one of many from that game. Jefferson with 3 sacks and 2 forced fumbles. Jeffcoat with 2 sacks, forced fumble and a fumble recovery, Medlock with a record tying 6 field goals. Insane performances all around.

Let’s try to pass the time with some random topics and see if any discussion can come up. 1. What is the most memorable dominant individual playoff performance people can think of? Some candidates are Bob Cameron’s 1988 Grey Cup, Greg Battle’s 2 INT Grey Cup in 1990, James Murphy vs the Lions in the 1984 West Final, Michael Richardson’s 200+ yard game in the 1992 East Final. Any others, and what made them so great? 2. What is the best fan sign you have ever seen in the stands? “Riders suck” was brilliant in that it appeared at a Bomber-Argo game, but what other creative signs have you seen? I have 3 that come to mind but will wait for others to chime in.

Me too. Jokes are good. No offence taken. And the latter just takes a lot of practice, but the former is a skill some have and some don’t, no matter the frequency.

I guess the interview on national TV with Tucker Carlson wasn’t quiet enough. And he wants to sue Biden for defamation for labelling him a white supremacist. Funny how he isn’t one himself yet he is in a bunch of pictures standing next them. At some point you are the company you keep.

I’d rather be a cunning linguist than a master debater.

I was born and raised as an east sider at the old stadium. Did a couple of years on the east at the new barn, but switched sides when I landed front row upper deck seats on the 50 yard line. Also, no sun in my eyes now. Probably pretty typical of fans as they age to move to the quiet side I suspect. But I wish I could get the “Gimme a B! Gimme and O!” chant going up then now like Jack did back then. I have the lungs for it, but doubt I could get the whole side to jump in like he could. Was amazing to hear.

Neither. There is a reason he said “sticky” Stala.

That’s because the dumb east siders always start the wave when the Bomber offence is on the field. And the drunken north end Rum Hut guys are too busy trying to hook up with the ladies to watch the game.

So the west side are the corporate Leaf fans, and the east side are……..Rider fans? Which side would you rather be?

My favourite was In the Calgary game day thread when Dru Brown flat out dropped the ball on the 5 yard line, and for a couple of fans it somehow became the fault of the former OC who hasn’t been with the team for two years.

About some things, yes. 😊

Come on, it’s Winnipeg, that is nothing. Neither is this. But if it gets to this point, I might start to become a little apprehensive.

I would argue the “insiders” bit is just as bad, just gossip and unsubstantiated opinion dressed up as “hot takes” from anonymous sources with even less “writing” cred than the regular op ed contributors. Really no different, except that they don’t put their name on the byline like the 3Down staff. And nothing particularly revelatory coming from those “insiders” anyway, from what I have read. I get the feeling the entire op Ed section of the 3Down site is just a copy and paste of various fan site posters, randomly cut up like a glued ransom note with mis-matched letters dressed up to be a single coherent article and a “writer” taking credit for anonymous fan thoughts from various social media sites.

So the “multiple” snubs are in fact 3 players, with 2 being defensive ends AC Leonard (who is not going to get past his drug test cloud this year) and Johnathan Woodard, who got half of his 10 sacks in two early games against the Cats and RBlacks and had a pretty quiet second half so the year, and who were up against Jefferson and Jeffcoat, so really? You are going to bump one of them? The third was their converted safety Purifoy, whose numbers were almost indentical to Brandon Alexander’s, but with less special teams work and a much less powerful secondary overall. Hardly snubs.

So I did some digging. The all-time record for divisional nominations for one team is 17, first set by the 1993 Blue Bombers and tied by the 2009 Montreal Alouettes. The 1981 Tiger Cats, 1989 Eskimos, 1997 Argonauts and 2007 BC Lions all had 15 noms, the next highest number. The record for CFL all-stars in one year is 11 by the 1997 Argo team, followed by the 1984 and 1987 Bomber teams as well as the 1981 and 1989 Eskimo teams and 2009 Als team with 10. The 84 and 87 Bomber teams each had 12 divisional noms, and the 1993 team had 7 CFL all-stars. And for completeness, the 2007 BC team had 9 CFL all-stars, the 1981 Tiger Cats had a shockingly low 3 CFL all-stars given their high number of divisional noms.

Remember when Jovon chirped about being the defensive MOP and how no one should throw his way after a pick against Edmonton - when we were losing the game 35-0 at the time?

Any of Richardson, Sayles, or even Thomas at DT would have been worthy selections, Wilson at LB lost too many games to injury but was solid, and Mike Jones at DB deserved a look as well for his sure tackling. Just a stacked defence this year.