BigBlue

Booch, I rarely disagree with you, but this... there may not have not been any "moral-suasion" from the Ambroise's office, but there was a tidal wave of pressure mounting from every imaginable vector ... perhaps not a word was formally said but those green people did not have a choice .... nothing worse than having a choice forced upon you ... and this is precedent setting for years to come

If you go back and look at the subsequent Bomber offensive downs, Collaros was constantly shrugging and rotating his shoulders. That kind of self adjustment means he was both uncomfortable AND hurting. That was beyond sucking it up. Zach imho will be nursing those shoulders for the next couple of weeks. And yes he will play in the Banjo Bowl. Like every Bomber he is tough. I expect we might see some late game backups in, if we are well ahead: Brown, Prokop or both. I also expect the Blue will exact their revenge with an unusual amount of intensity in the first quarter next game. Go back and watch the replays after the Marino hit.

On Marino's late hit at the end of the game, I do not know if O'Shea could have challenged for roughing the QB, but it is not his way. What if Marino had have been reassessed with roughing/misconduct. Would that have caused him a league suspension? Will he be given a misconduct by the league anyway? I have been preaching the Blue needed to take care of Marino early in the game. But would that have been class-less? Clearly Collaros was fidgeting with his shoulder. I hope he is good to go for the Banjo Bowl.... We have clean super heroes playing for us !!!

If Couture starts I expect we swap center for center. What I do not expect is if Couture replaced Grey at guard, which might have huge impact immediately. I see MOS as patient with Grey until he matures; he would only lose his starters role to injury; he puts his faith in his players and the next up philosophy to develop the underlings' skills. That seems to be the culture that has the best players yearning to play here.

Maybe Brady O's ding in the last game was perhaps slight and more precauitionarry than a serious dent. Were they concerned about a possible concuss? I do not think Augustine has hit his stride yet but I do not mind seeing him start Sunday. I am expecting Olivera though.

I am wondering if we are taking Brandon Alexander perhaps a week early to be our 6th DB ... I do not know how banged up our starting 5 in the defensive backfield. We rarely discuss the little dings and dents afflicting any particular player. Rotating in will not be as taxing/straining as starting and he will not have to dig as deep.

I believe early in the game, our Blue should double-team Marino on every play, one hitting him high and one hitting him low. Try that on the first two or three sets of downs, regardless of offensive output. Then the Rough Riders will know who's boss. Not only will we benefit but so will the whole league. That would give us a tremendous psychological edge. Coaching and culture is what is going to win this game for us, it's the big difference! PS do not let this "get Marino" strategy be known to the Rider coaching staff or else he will end up on the bench the whole game and that would be a shame.

Obviously you do NOT like creativity especially when it speaks to what is actually going on inside connecting to real attitudes. How is that ridiculous?

I hope we have Brady ready for Labor Day

I wonder if we are going to throw a serious wrench into Regina's thinking machinery. Is there a chance we could be too non-chalant and lose to an overdue Saskatchewan club? Labor day has always been tough ... there is always that unexpected element to the Classic, right?

So who will finish 2nd in the west? 3rd? In the east 1st and 2nd?

If we start Ellington, who do we dump? A DB? McRae? I do not know who is our current RB backup... Could it be Dempski? Any chance of Augustine dressing Thursday? Is Harrison more important for rotation than McRae? Is our experiment with Grant over? Looks like we are starting an awesome set of receivers on Thursday!

The ;league needs to structure itself to be profitable at 20K attendance Low attendance just begs the leagues long term marketing plan (the lack of wisdom and know how). We have an extremely amazing product for any one with even a pea sized football brain. We are amongst the most entertaining of all the sports choices on TV. The CFL needs to look at culture especially.

I watch all my Bomber games by PVR, even live ones. It allows me to do so much more in viewing the games, cuts out the commercials if I want, and lets me review certain plays ad infinitum. The PVR allows me to control my entertainment life in a very convenient way. I just blocked all sports messages coming to my devices and voila. I tell my friends do not talk about certain things if I am watching them on a tape delayed basis. They comply or don't stay my friends. Now if you're addicted to social media, I have nothing to say.

Did anyone see today's bomber practice? I was just wondering who's hobbling around and what surprises that were participating in today's dress rehearsal for Calgary.

On another media related topic, 3Down Nation, is starting to slightly annoy me. It's not about their football judgement. It is all about how they ignore the leading team in the CFL with two Grey Cups under their belt. Everything seems written from the perspective of their opponents, and the analysis ignores so much of what actually went on in the games. I love Ed Tate and the bluebombers.com site. I find TSN more than adequate. But 3DN is shooting itself in the foot when they could be doing so much better, in my opinion. I do not know if anybody else feels the same way but I would like to know your opinions, if you have any.

I am not sure why you think that unless you think the O-Line is progressing... If we start running outside the tackles it may open up a lot of other stuff, including traps, hitches, look ins ... it is crucial we do a lot of deceptive stuff to keep their D in a state of confusion (given their many personnel changes)

https://www.bluebombers.com/2022/07/21/game-preview-wpg-at-edm/ "The Bombers depth chart features two changes from last week. Coming aboard are receiver Tavaris Harrison and DE L.B. Mack III. Off are receiver Greg Ellingson – the CFL’s leader in receiving yardage – and all-star DE Jackson Jeffcoat, both of whom were moved to the one-game injured list. Their absences means the club will be without six starters against Edmonton, also including safety Brandon Alexander, linebacker Kyrie Wilson, slotback Nic Demski and centre Michael Couture. Janarion Grant is listed as the starter in Ellingson’s place with newcomer Tavaris Harrison also dressing for his first game. “It’s obviously tough losing a guy like Greg,” said Collaros upon arrival at the team’s hotel in Edmonton. “We have the ‘next man up’ mentality around here and we’ve got a bunch of guys who can play and know the system and I’m excited for their opportunities tomorrow.” Ellingson, FYI, not only leads the CFL in catches and receiving yards, but also in second-down conversions with 15." Grant (replacing Ellingson) is interesting... his chance to shine. Harrison replacing McRae is a lets see. It seems like Collaros likes to throw to familiar receivers. This is going to mean a lot of scheme changes. We will see a lot more jet sweeps with Grant & Bailey I believe. I am also expecting a lot more 1st down screens.

Still Jones is not to be underestimated. He seems to instill a will to win.

Is the Bombers only BYE on August 18?

Does demanding your team win and every player be super human, does that win you any games? Based on his actions Chris Jones might say "Absolutely!" The departed Nick Arbuckle is a perfect illustration: https://3downnation.com/2022/07/12/how-it-went-wrong-between-the-edmonton-elks-chris-jones-and-nick-arbuckle/ "Chris Jones never wanted Arbuckle in Edmonton....After an 0-3 start, Jones swiftly pulled the plug. ...So, here we are. Arbuckle is out, and the Elks have close to zero experience at the most important position in football....Arbuckle’s biggest challenge in Edmonton may have been his fear of making mistakes. In last Friday’s recap, I suggested that the risk of being pulled on any particular play was inhibiting his development. “Constant competition” is often considered a positive thing, but it has to be awfully tough on players knowing that any mistake can lose them a job..." "Arbuckle is a smart quarterback. The Elks staff have said it — even Ford has said it — with plenty of anecdotes about how Arbuckle could answer any question he had. He’s also very accurate. Not perfect, obviously, but capable of consistently putting balls into the right spots for his receivers. He also showed impressive leadership and compassion when consoling a distraught Dane Evans after the game in Hamilton...." "I was recently reminded of Saskatchewan’s 2017 season in which Chris Jones unabashedly swapped Kevin Glenn and Brandon Bridge on the fly. He went from Glenn to Bridge to Glenn and back to Bridge in a matter of plays that included two interceptions. It’s hard to imagine anyone getting into a rhythm with that schedule." So this Friday night who is going have the psychological advantage, Jones or O'Shea? Is MOS preparing any traps?

It's just a stat, with Andrew passing Milt for 4th in the all time yardage from scrimmage. But NO!!! Those statistics are more than that. To us it is a tribute, a celebration. The Bombers have had many, many heroes. And here are two more: not just for achievement and longevity. There is leadership, personality, and heart. As individuals, they are different, but as Bombers they stand tall amongst our best.

Back to the definition of insanity. Expecting our O-line to out muscle our opposition D's front seven is kind of like that. Running inside the tackles makes about as much sense - - right now - - as ordering Chateau Briand at a hamburger stand. Nothing is going to happen. To Pierce's credit we are not bucking up the middle on every first down. I see us passing a lot on 1st down. Maybe this is just compensating for our nicked up starters. So I am glad to see some strategic thinking going on. If we start running outside the tackles, and mix a few traps in, then when we go inside, perhaps some of the 2nd and 9s will disappear. I thought Friday night was one of our best called games. Still the D line was charging in all night full tilt with no provision for a possible run. (That's why I talked about trapping earlier). So no wonder Zack was so constantly being chased out of the pocket. With that kind of charging rush, eventually Collaros is going to get nicked. Still what's a coordinator to do?

The most important stat of the game for me? Bo going 12 of 28 in the passing game. Something very curious there.

We don't need a new kicker, we just need to turn him slightly to the right. Almost every attempt drifts to the left... I do not know if he ever misses right