TrueBlue4ever

My original picks were: BC 13-5 Calgary 13-5 (2nd) Edmonton 10-8 Winnipeg 10-8 (4th) Saskatchewan 3-15 Hamilton 11-7 Ottawa 8-10 Montreal 7-11 Toronto 6-12 After week 1 I see no need to change that order, those were my picks and right or wrong it is goofy to change them after week 1. If we are allowed to adjust our rankings based on a do-over after seeing the teams play, I reserve the right to re-visit my picks after week 18. However, some general thoughts about things I may have underappreciated in my original analysis before this past week: BC - still think their offence will be scary good, and they will play in a few 45-40 games, but if they do not get a better showing from their o-line, Jennings may not have the steamboats to have the MOP season I predicted. He was pressured a ridiculous 51% of his plays last game. Losing Olafioye may be a bigger loss than I imagined it would be. But with Wally as your coach, the defence could easily be repaired and be a force by season's end. This team may be like the 2011 team that started badly but was a juggernaut by season's end. Calgary - Looked out of sorts for 3 quarters, then blew it in OT to settle for the tie. Still an excellent football team, just won't be as good as last year. Their season will be solely judged on what happens in the playoffs. And I think it may be more that Ottawa matches well against them and is in their heads rather than a regression as a whole. Edmonton - I wasn't sure if we'd get good Edm. or bad Edm. this year. The first game suggests more than just good, and if those receivers not named Bowman do all year what they did in week 1, this might be the offence all teams fear. However, losing Sherritt (any word if it is season-ending yet? Sure looked that way - EDIT: Yep, done for the year) on top of the pre-season loss of Greenwood and that LB position looks vulnerable, so they may still be a near .500 team if they can't patch that defensive hole. Winnipeg - I don't think a win in Saskatchewan means they'll do better than the 10-8 I have them pegged for, or a loss means they'll do worse. So no reason for me to change my view of them or my concerns about the defensive side of the ball yet. I shudder to think how likely it could be that they lose in Regina on Saturday (on paper they are more talented and the 'Riders did nothing to show me they are going to be strong this year, but is anyone shocked if the Bombers don't lay an egg in front of an emotional Mosaic crowd yet again, and the stadium opener will have the same feel as Labour Day I'll bet, so watch out) Saskatchewan - So Kevin Glenn looked better than I thought he might, and maybe saying 3 wins was low-balling it, but they still did lose, and did not look great for long stretches despite giving away a game they should have one if not for their crap(igna) kicker. They may be a hard-luck team in some ways this year, but I sense a mutiny both among the fans and the players if Jones gets out to an 0-3, 0-4 start, and the year will be lost early. Hamilton - Don't hurt your ankles jumping off the bandwagon, folks. One loss, and now they are going to be in the 3-15 to 6-12 range?? I don't think so folks. However, the injury bug has struck again, and that o-line gave Collaros no time far too often (and he played the short passing game too much - looked like Ricky Ray mentality for a QB who loved stretching defences with the quick long strike in the past). So maybe I'll dial back the 11-7 pick, but still think they can be the best in the east this year. Ottawa - Not sure if this is really how good the team is, or if Calgary just brings the best out of them. The rematch in Cowtown may temper people's enthusiasm about them. Not ready to give them credit for being a better than .500 team yet, but this might be the team that I have flipped my opinion by week 5 if they play more games like last week. Montreal - Played just like I suspected - not well, but got a win. And they will surprise teams early and have a better record than their play. And it will catch up to them by mid-season (that was my take before, and I'll stand by it now). If anything, I may have over-estimated Darian Durant's ability if game 1 is an indication. He did not look that good (certainly not good enough to talk trash at the Sask. bench after an undeserved win). I may have been mistaken giving them 3rd in the East. THIS JUST IN: They signed Drew Willy today, and that just reinforces how mediocre I think they are rather than improves their their roster depth. Toronto - OK, this team has driven me nuts for years in my football pool, and they continue to do so. I even joked when picking the Tabbies this weekend "Now watch Toronto do something stupid like win 38-14 and get me overconfident and believing in them going forward, then they'll lose 4 out of 5." When I think they should win, they lose, when I think they should lose, they win, and when I change my pick at the last minute to compensate for my initial thoughts which are always wrong, they go ahead and punish me for changing that pick by doing what I thought they'd do in the first place. But Mark Trestman has a way with veteran QB's and no way I thought Ray had half the game in him that he showed on Sunday. And the score should have been much, much higher but for those end zone drops, but those receivers looked really good otherwise. And no way I saw that defence performing the way they did with all those blitzes. So if I'm going to make one knee-jerk reaction and flip-flop after one game, this team would be the one to do it on. Maybe they can challenge for a playoff spot and wreck the crossover prediction I had. But I'll hold off on that until at least week 4.

Adarius Bowman

The Jets are in no way giving up on Hellebuyck yet. He has dominated at every level he has played prior to the NHL, and was thrown into the fire 2 years ago when he could have had more seasoning in the minors. The Jets don't want a new #1 to replace him, they want a veteran goalie who can be a safety valve starter for 2-3 years if Hellebuyck craps out, or who can groom Hellebuyck to be the full-time starter by year 3. And Comrie is even more highly valued in the minors, but they don't want to rush him too. So going after the same type of young goalie to become the full-time starter is pointless unless they have already decided that Hellebuyck can't cut it. So goalies like Raanta and Grubauer (and Scott Darling before them) don't fit that profile. With Fleury and Bishop off the market, in my opinion the fit the Jets want is a Steve Mason or a Brian Elliott, who can be the starter for sure if needed but won't carry a 60-65 game load, but rather split duties and play 40-45 games while "coaching" the younger goalie, and will sign shorter term rather than demand a 6 year contract with a promise of being "the guy" for the next half decade. Elliott did well in St. Louis with a lighter workload splitting time with Jake Allen (and before him Jaroslav Halak).

Your definition of "marginal player" seems largely justified by "Vegas didn't pick them so that proves their lack of value". By that logic the following players are "marginal" too since Vegas didn't pick any of them either (to name but a few): Matt Dumba, Marco Scandella, Eric Staal, Antii Raanta, Sami Vatanen, Brock Nelson, Ryan Strome, Kevin Shattenkirk, Patrick Sharp

Manny Arceneaux

I was citing TSN's Scott Cullen for that number. Actually he said 1.94/60 over the past 4 seasons, so both of our numbers may be right. But Atomic's point about sample size is fair game. Not trying to personally justify it, just trying to offer a possible rationale. I hope he is the one taken over Enstrom (he is more replaceable than a left shot defenceman).

OK, now that pre-season is done it seems more appropriate to make a guess. BC - Scary good offence this year with Chris Williams added to the receiving mix and three deadly return specialists. Jennings is the ridiculously early pick for league MOP. Could see a few 45-40 games from them. But Wally will have their defence prepared too. Bit of a gut pick but I say 13-5 and first. Calgary - Nowhere to go but down, but dropping from the summit of Everest to base camp still has you well above the clouds most days. Not sure I buy the whole "this year is about redemption for last year's Grey Cup, so we are motivated every single time out" angle. More likely they pace themselves and give up a few more games in the regular season. 13-5 but second in the division (or 12-6, see Edmonton) Edmonton - The wildcard of the West. Are they the team that ended the season strong or the one that started off poorly? What does Ed Hervey's late firing do - eliminate or create a distraction? Is Mike Reilly ready to take a run at league MOP or is he going to become labeled "the next glass QB"? Not too sure about them, guess this is my way of saying they could challenge for 1st (more likely 2nd) or could languish back in 4th in the division with a losing record, and neither outcome would surprise me. Just have a hunch they will rebound this year and be better (if not totally reflected in their win-loss record, at least in their divisional standing) 10-8 but third (or 11-7, give them one more win and Calgary one more loss) Winnipeg - Lots to be excited for as a Bomber fan, but the bar has been so low the last decade that 2 straight winning seasons qualifies for a parade in these parts at this point (which is kind of sad when you think about it). Nicholls showed he can win games (10-3 as a starter is an overlooked stat by many) but except for the division semi against BC, his passing numbers didn't jump off the page. Good game manager, and Winnipeg's run game may be the best in the CFL this year with that o-line and the Harris-Flanders combo. And that undersized receiving corps can still make plays. But about that defence ..... so we brought in two d-lineman with big sack numbers to bring more pressure - sounds like a carbon copy of last year. And Mo Leggett may be hurt to start the year, so the same problems could arise at linebacker. Hurl was not good enough 2 years ago and got bumped by Bass, why would he be an upgrade now? Bottom line, unless Richie Hall's "rush only 4 every time and bend don't break" schemes don't change, I have little hope that our overall defence will look better than last year. And don't know how Medlock can improve on last year's performance which was the difference between winning and losing in at least a half dozen games. They'll do OK, maybe be even pretty good, but the West is so stacked I think it adds up to 4th spot. Hope to be proven wrong. 10-8. Saskatchewan - If Vince Young actually made the roster and was anointed the starter, I would be waxing poetic about historic futility with this team (like 2003 Hamilton 1-17 futility), but Kevin Glenn has been around long enough to be a better regular season QB and pull a rabbit out of his hat once in a while to translate into a few more wins. And that receiving corps could keep them in a few games. However, it would require their o-line to actually give him time to throw, and his mobility is not what it used to be (not that it was ever his best feature). And too much overhaul by Chris Jones with no return on his gambles, and like Mike Kelly, the distractions will supercede the results on the field. I think the fans are already at revolt stage, how long before the players are there too? 3-15 (and that might even be charitable, but give them one win at home against Winnipeg - either the first game at the stadium opener where the fans will be jacked up or Labour Day which is always bizarro world for Winnipeg regardless of our record going in, one against Toronto, and one late in the year when the other random team is in the playoffs and doesn't care). Hamilton - Weaker than the Grey Cup caliber team of 3-4 years ago, but still the best of a soft division, and if Caollaros can shake off his injury demons, he and Austin should lead the Ticats to a comfortable 1st place division finish. Just curious, without looking can anyone actually name the back-up QB in Steeltown if (when?) Zach goes down? (looked it up - I guess Masoli is still there, with Logan Kilgore as #3). 11-7. (9 of those wins against the East) Ottawa - I really like Trevor Harris at QB, and thought the team might have actually been better with him at QB if you took Henry Burris' shoulder chip out of the equation, but his offence around him has been dismantled a bit. And lest we forget they were a losing team last year going in to the playoffs who needed a blizzard to beat the Esks and stupid play-calling by Dave Dickenson (down by 3, 2nd and goal from the 1 with one minute left and you take out Bo Levi to run a 3rd string QB option and don't hand off to Messam???? That's worse than Pete Carroll) to win the Grey Cup. Regression. 8-10. Montreal - This team is more in need of a re-build than any other, and maybe firing Popp has already kick-started it more than I am prepared to give them credit for. Plus, Darian Durant is pissed off and REALLY wants to stick it to the 'Riders for cutting him loose, so that's good for 2 wins right there. But likely not much else goes well this year in the end I fear. Wouldn't surprise me if they did a tank job by season's end and were last, but early on I think they sneak out a few surprise wins before other teams catch on and take then seriously. 7-11 (if Durant gets hurt, take 3-4 wins off that total). Toronto - Love the coaching and GM hire, but this will take time, and time is the one luxury they don't have in a market that has them ranked behind (in order) the Leafs, Jays, Raptors, NFL in general, the Bills in particular, Toronto FC, and quite possibly the Rock lacrosse team, not to mention any other cultural event like rock concerts. And Ricky Ray's first season magic is not there, even if he stays healthy. Let the annual gnashing of teeth begin about how the CFL will die without its flagship franchise being able to draw fans. 6-12. Division semi-finals: Winnipeg beats Ottawa in the crossover Calgary takes out Edmonton in a coin flip game Division finals: BC wins at home, whichever Alberta team they face, in what is the true Grey Cup calibre match. Bombers are an even money shot to become the first crossover team to go to the Grey Cup, but I don't want to sound like a homer. Leos win the cup over Wpg. or Hamilton. MOP - Jennings (BC) MOCanadian - Harris (Wpg) MOLineman - Bond (Wpg) or Lavertu (Cal) MODefensive - Eliminian (BC) MORookie - couldn't tell you right now MOSpecialTeams - Rainey or Williams (BC) Wally wins coach of the year.

I think the idea is that his points per 60 minutes average is 1.96, which is the same as Nicolaj Ehlers and Joe Pavelski. He just gets put on the bottom line with a Thorburn and a Copp for 6-7 minutes max. a night and therefore doesn't get the points that come with bigger minutes. That's the theory anyway. Not saying I buy it myself (if he is that good wouldn't they move him up?) but that I suspect is the rationale from those who think he's a untapped gem.

Care to revise your statement, sir?

Someone had to start this one. And I suck at posting gifs, so I hope this works. 2017 Blue Bomber home season is upon us! IGF repairs are done and the rum hut is open for business. And one can only assume that do or die has re-stocked his gin supply for odds and sods this year

Question: Why has no one snapped up Bear Woods yet?

Global news is reporting that Quincey MacDuffie got released by the Dallas Cowboys.

Because they have to play twice during the "special week" in week 5 where the league plays 5 games to accommodate an 81 game schedule. They have to play on the road Friday (in the West no less), then the following Wednesday at home, then the following Monday on the road, before their first bye. I'd rather have 2 byes (even if one is in week 1 or 20) than have 3 games in 3 cities in 11 days. They even get screwed by having week 20 as one of their 3 byes.

In global politics: the Soviet Union (with Gorbachev in charge) and Yugoslavia both still existed, East Germany had only ceased to exist one month earlier. Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Namibia did not exist as independent countries. The last U.S. war fought was Vietnam. In the NHL, Mario Lemieux had not yet won a Stanley Cup, the Minnesota North Stars still existed, the San Jose Sharks did not, and Ottawa and Tampa Bay had not yet even been awarded franchises. Teemu Selanne was still 2 years away from playing a game with the Jets, and Guy Lafleur was still playing pro hockey. Laval was still 6 years away from having a football program, and they have 9 more titles than the Bombers do since 1990. More Super Bowls have been played since the last Bomber Grey Cup win than before it. Troy Westwood had not yet kicked a field goal in the CFL. The Sacramento Gold Miners did not yet exist. Nor did John Candy or Wayne Gretzky as CFL owners. Only 8 players in the NFL made over $2 million a season, and a CFL player would still make more than an NFL player the year after the Bombers last won the Cup. Magic Johnson was still playing basketball. Bo Jackson was still playing football. Ken Griffey was still playing baseball - that's Ken Griffey Sr. So was Dave Parker. Sugar Ray Leonard was still boxing. Pete Rose was still eligible to be elected into the Hall of Fame. Buffalo had never played in a Super Bowl. Freddie Mercury was still alive. So was Dr. Suess. And Red Grange. Also, Redd Foxx, George Gobel, and Frank Capra. MIke Trout had not been born yet. Neither had Milos Raonic. Cassette tapes outsold compact discs by 50%. Gas was 39.9 cents a litre. Closed captioning, internet cafes (or even the world wide web), Terminator 2, Nirvana (outside of Seattle), and Super Nintendo did not exist yet. Home Alone was the #1 movie in America. Macauley Culkin is now 36 years old, by the way. Anyone else feeling old yet?

In the grand scheme it doesn't really matter if O' Shea was named or not, since if he couldn't beat out Dickenson for the West nod, he wasn't going to beat him out league-wide at the end of the day. However, I'd like to see the awards do the same as COY used to do and name 3 finalists. If you want to keep a West and an East rep, fine, but add a 3rd body. MOP should be Mitchell vs Reilly (and imagine no East rep and add Adarus Bowman - teammates going for the MOP), Defensive MOP could certainly have added Leggett, Shimoni Lawrence, or Adam Bighill to the mix, Andrew Harris to MO Canadian, Sorenson from Edm or Spencer Wilson from Calgary for lineman, and Grant Shaw and his FG percentage or McDuffie and his two kickoff return TDs could add to special teams POY. And Loffler of course to the rookie mix, since defensive player vs offensive receiver is a more interesting debate than receiver vs lineman.

You mean like you did for the ourbombers.com site?

Care to make it interesting? I'll bet you $1000 bucks the Bombers beat BC. I'll even give you 5:1 odds, since I'm such a nice guy. :-) I feel really confident in this bet, since I read the 2016 version of this:

That's a Mickey Mouse call too (maybe moreso because the teams weren't even "set"). If they are going to call it, then be consistent. I see the centre moving the ball around a lot on all teams on many snaps, and it never gets called. And I'm not sure how this creates an unfair advantage for the offensive team pre-snap. If it is the rule, then call it, but call it all the time ,and players will adjust. But to call it once in a blue moon, and with a key third and inches coming up where gripping the ball pre-snap would seem to be normal, seems really ticky-tack to me (yes, even if it is against the 'Riders),

I didn't say it wasn't an incorrect call, following the letter of the rules. I said it was a mickey mouse call. Cheap. That kind of pre-snap movement happens so often and is let go, and they call it on 3rd and inches in the 4th quarter of a one score game? By the letter of the law, there is no contact allowed after 5 yards for receivers and DBs. Following the letter of the law, there should be 15-20 illegal contact fouls called every game, and called on receivers as much as DBs, yet now they allow "hand-fighting" (sometimes). It is a penalty for an o-lineman to hold, yet it is said that there is holding on every play. So why no flag on every play. Because refs should know that the "flow" of the game is key too. Other sports (rugby, soccer) will "play the advantage" on a foul and let the play go if it isn't an egregious foul that changes the entire set up of the play. Football allows that too. The timing and interpretation of that call was ridiculous, the QB would still had to have taken the snap and got past the first down marker, not sure how having the ball a millimetre forward (if it was) changes that scenario and gives the Ticats an unfair advantage.

Wow, 3rd and inches and they call Hamilton on illegal procedure because the centre tips the ball up before the snap. That is the most mickey mouse call I have ever seen in 35+ years of attaching football.

No long diatribe on the happy honker today, but would nominate Burnett for that hit that forced the fumble that Bass ran in. Runner-up could be Smith for that great simultaneous catch. But since this is a loss, almost feel like I should name an anti-Happy Honker (Terrible Tooter??, Brutal Blower??? Hapless Honker???), and no doubt it goes to Johnny Adams for his "oh-lay" arm wave on that fumble. Jump on the ball, don't play patty cake with it! Cost us 3 (very valuable, as it turned out) points. And for all those who say too many FGs and not enough TDs, Calgary won because of their 5 FGs today.

The more I watch Hamilton's secondary and Ottawa in general, the more I want us to tank and get 4th place so we can waltz into the grey Cup on a crossover.

Why do I see this popping up in a future thread about "you're not a true fan if....." New benchmark for true fandom set. Better get on it, 17 and Noeller. Perhaps a day trip to Kansas to expedite the process. Or are you not true fans???????

Based on winning percentage, that 16-2 mark is only 5th best all-time: Calgary Stampeders 1.000 (12-0-0) (1948) Calgary Stampeders .929 (13-1-0) (1949) Ottawa Rough Riders .917 (11-1-0) (1949) Edmonton Eskimos .906 (14-1-1) (1981) Edmonton Eskimos .889 (16-2-0) (1989) That '48-'49 Calgary dynasty also won 22 games in a row over those 2 seasons. And, fun fact, Calgary has won 15 games in a season 4 times in their history, but 3 of those times did not win the Grey Cup.

Now that I'm out, a modest proposal in 3 parts for next year for this contest: 1. No eliminations, just accrue points for the entire year 2. 2 points if your selected player gets a TD, 1 point if he only gets a 2 point convert, 0 points if he does not score 3. No repeating players, and you have to pick from each CFL squad at least once during the year (seeing Messam every week is getting kind of dull, especially when we get down to less than 10 people and everybody picks him).