HardCoreBlue

I never thought about it that way but yea you may be on to something. I always hold out hope at the start of the season but I have a sinking feeling our defense will play out like groundhog day when the game is tight or within reach. Giving up yardage and points consistently, killling momentum or sealing the game away. I hope our defense is committed to minimizing points scored against not just touchdowns.

And how do you see that playing out when they haven't even played the Saturday game yet, nor do any of us have access to the grading of the QB's that the coaching staff do from the day training camp started? Because as a rule the WBB's will usually keep a developmental QB on the PR. Barring a trade we need to keep both Hall and Brohm on the roster just in case Wiley fails miserably or sustains an injury that will keep him out of games. Eeek is all I can say if that happens . . .

Everyone just assumes Tate will suffer a season ending injury by halftime so Mitchell is the default starter. Not everyone :-). Based on a lot of comments I've read here over the last year or so on Drew Tate cuts against the grain of how Huff and his coaching staff must see Tate. Listen, I'm not a fan of his, he plays for the Stumps, but seriously he has talent and can't yet be placed in the 'no more chances' category. And for people who disagree with this, I would direct you over to Mr. Hufnagel to get his perspective.

Agree with the brain and accuracy point, for sure. But because we are specifically talking about Max Hall, I think it's a legitimate issue to keep in mind with him. Obviously it's not the only thing when looking at him. It is though an important piece to the package he needs to bring, not just a 'nice to have' especially in the CFL, and I do appreciate the point msrg made about relative and his ability to knock teeth out at 15 feet. My all time favorite Blue Bomber Tom Clements didn't have a great arm but had the necessary strength to nicely complement his stellar football smarts and athleticism. Give Tom Clements Max Hall's arm, don't know, might have influenced his high level of play.

Hall has the weakest arm of the bunch, the really windy days won't be his friend. I hope Brohm makes some kind of push now. Keeping a bunch of really good players will help this team get better. Discarding the crapiest players and keeping the guys who win jobs by default does not help this team get better. If Brohm can finally start forcing the issue OShea will have the good kind of hard choice to make. I've read this statement a lot here, and, as someone not to familar with levels of arm strength as a QB, I would tend to agree based on my observations of his play. For arguments sake, let's say this is true. So, in a passing league like the CFL, where it's standard to throw a forty-yard out with zip, does his other skills make-up for this limitation? Yes he's appears decisive but that becomes tempered on some plays with a weaker arm, no? He seems like a good guy who loves playing the game but I'm not feeling it with him. I hope, as I sometimes am, completley wrong and he plays at the level required to run the offense we employ this year.

For the most part, I don't think Etcheverry thinks in those terms, what the defense is willing to give or bend but not break. IMO, his scheme is all about throwing the offence off-balance and making them guess, basically having few tendencies that a QB can read pre-snap. That's basically the opposite of Burke's D, which relies heavily on players to win 1 on 1 battles and really doesn't break tendency or engage in psychological warfare too much. Etcheverry also has a lot of reads built into his scheme, so he's relying on his players to see certain things and react properly according to what he wants, anyone anywhere can basically end up doing anything, blitzing, dropping into coverage. If Etcheverry was a hitter in baseball, he's looking to slug an extra base hit or a home run every pitch, whereas a guy like Burke is going to take a couple pitches and just try to make contact or get on base. He has some other core beliefs too, smaller and faster is better than bigger, slower and stronger being a huge one, and he applies that to every position on the field. Which is interesting as I was chatting with Ed Hervey (with my Bomber cap on of course!) at my 10 year old son's football camp this past May and he wants the Esks to be Bigger and Stronger and way less on the smaller and faster. Would not a balance be ideal?

I listened for a bit and didn't get that impression at all. What kind of stuff did he say that was 'borderline racist'? i didn't listen so i'm just going on what 2 sort of overly dramatic friends say but they mentioned he said something about all the last names and comparing it to being at folklorama, is that racist? probably not but... didn't hear it myself so i have no idea. Based on a couple of posts now, I think you need new friends.

I know it's preseason and I know Etch doesn't want to tip his hand .. but honestly .. watching the Argos run on us (at will) on Monday night made me cringe .. Thing that bothers me is all the "everyone rally to the ball" stuff, but then you watch them on Monday and most runs right up the gut became 1 on 1 in open field, when you should have more guys in the middle of the field when the offense attacks there. If Wild misses one tackle, it's an easy TD. They rallied pretty well when the ball was outside the tackles, but the middle of the field was gaping. I guess we can take solace in the fact that no one will step out of bounds without being hit, but they can just take 10 yards right up the middle if they wish. The scheme was likely very vanilla, but that core principle of everyone rallying to the ball was missing for the most part. In reading this, it sounds eerliy similar to the 'buzz' defense Dallas Eakins tried to instill with the Oliers early in the season. Although a different sport, it also left gaping holes available for the opposition, i.e., 'look how much time I have in the slot'. He had to abandon it which he did. If he hadn't, he wouldn't have lasted the season.

I know it's preseason and I know Etch doesn't want to tip his hand .. but honestly .. watching the Argos run on us (at will) on Monday night made me cringe .. Indeed, hope it's not bend AND break.

If Ladd-Little-Frolik is out number 1 line, we're in trouble. That's our number 2 LW, our number 2 centre and our number 3 RW. Kane - Scheif - Wheeler is #1 across the board. If I looked at those players individually and not as a set, other teams, depending on their needs, may see Little as a 1st line centre, Ladd as 2nd to.3rd line left winger and Frolik predominatly a strong 3rd line right winger. I'm not giving Frolik much love but too inconsistent for me. Based on limited information, out of all the three, I think Ladd wins (Little a close second) for the intangibles he brings off the rink (e.g., Leadership, community work, hard working, comfortable to be around etc)

Are you suggesting hosting or panel member? I'd like to see him as a panel member. I always enjoyed his approach when he was with CBC, especially is disjointed fingers holding the mic for everyone to see, priceless. I like how he'd bring his support for the 'hogs' to the discussion. Always enjoyable banter. Plus, being a Bomber Blue and true could help minimize some of that argo feel you sometimes get from TSN.

I love O'Shea. His players are going to go to absolute war for him. My educated guess in observing O'Shea's approach with his players is he'll find it extremely difficullt to cut/demote a loyal, hard working, high effort player who just isn't performing to the level needed. I've always said this was one of Jeff Reinbolds biggest achilles heals that did him in as a Head Coach.

Good point, why even bother showing up? Quick, someone email Wade Miller now to let him know we can just sit out 2014 to make it a nice even 8-team league again... One way to package it, if we do indeed win 6 games this year, we just doubled our wins from last year's record.

We here in Alberta like to think we don't live in some socialist utopia like you guys in Manitoba. We used to be free enterprise, pro business & anti unions. But Red Tories & closest NDPers like Ed Stelmach & Alison Redford changed all that. Now, we're just like everybody else. The Alberta Advantage is dead. Me thinks you over generalize a bit on behalf of Albertans.

Exactly my thought. Let's hope Sears isn't next.

Mr. Cohon (avatar), you have to be on the negotiating table to hammer this CBA deal out. You are not needed here in this Bombers Rookie Training Camp. LOL! I called off talks yesterday so I could have a long weekend, check out Bomber camp and hit the tanning salon! About those tanning salons, I have have some bad news for you . . .

I see it much differently. As much as the world frustrates me at times, in this particular case, I have no worries, it's called progress. It's called responsibility, it's called accountability in being a well-adjusted member of society. It has little to do with agreeing or not agreeing with one another or talking privately or talking in public. Ever hear the suggestion to ask yourself before speaking would I say what I think to be true/valid/appropriate to a wider audience other than saying it to my like-minded friends? Other than 'Hey I'm allowed to say this, it's called freedom of speech', do I have the confidence, do I have the necessary information, do I have the necessary understanding to support what I say that adds value to the issue, to the discussion other than 'this is what I think, this is how I feel'? If there is any question, any voice (yours or someone else's) that says either no or I don't know, more critical thinking, more understanding is needed. We all make mistakes when it comes to this, though some are better than others in how they formulate their opinions and articulate their feelings. Finally, if one's answer to these questions I just posed is 'I don't care, I can say anything I want' then that person has much bigger issues to deal with imho.

Ever since the Mike Sellers era ended, we've never utlized our full back much, probably because we haven't found the necessary player (s). Any worth on the Bombers part to shore up that position more in efforts to utlize more? Or are the cupboards empty when it comes to that position? We tried out a fullback at the Florida mini camp, his name eludes me right now but he was a LSU alumni with NFL experience. Just doesn't seem to be much use for them anymore. That's too bad I'd like to utilize that position more to keep the defense off balance.

Ever since the Mike Sellers era ended, we've never utlized our full back much, probably because we haven't found the necessary player (s). Any worth on the Bombers part to shore up that position more in efforts to utlize more? Or are the cupboards empty when it comes to that position?

DB could see a surprise cut too, we have a hell of a lot of rookie DB's. 9 rookie imports, plus guys like Markett, Dunn and a whole bunch of new NI's too. Kent and Hefney cut the last two years in training camp... Speaking of Hefney, any appetiite to bring him back for another look considering the amount of DB rooks we have or has that shipped sailed?

Who impressed you the most when it came to "I'm here to make the team' . . .

I guess I'm wondering if there is any differences between off-season and season when it comes to legal/injury insurance issues for the players . . .

Nice leadership statement coming from our new QB. Wonder what facility they would be able to get to practice in. Are all the players still flying in? Who is paying for their flights if there is a strike? Okay wet blanket here. Although admirable on Willy's part, would there not be some injury insurance and legal issues if an agreement is not in place to hold such a thing? I know, how to ruin a good news story. Carry on.

I've always admired Barry Trotz's approach to the game. Very good hire. If Maurice had not worked out, I wonder if there would have been any chance he would have landed here. Moot point I know. I do believe the nucks missed out though.

Gotta love the professionalism of an official statement including FOUR exclamation points at the end of a sentence. These players are showing how out of their league (no pun intended) they are in these dealings. They're throwing around "facts" that not only leave out important information, but also still don't completely support their position. Let's hope they smarten up before we lose real games. Higher minimum salary than the league is offering, slightly larger increases overall, and a compromised contract length (5-6 years) should do it! You forgot to add three exclamation points!!!