ddanger

I think this warrants its own thread but wow were the special teams great last night!

Banks was completely contained last night. 3.8 yards per punt return. Banks is the player who could completely swing the momentum of a game with a big return but he was a non factor all game. It's great seeing a starter like Ian Wild lead the charge with 3 ST tackles. Some players think special teams are beneath them but Wild continues to bring it on every play no matter the circumstances.

On the other hand. Kevin Fogg take a bow. 19.1 yards per punt return. Robbed of a touch down! Not the fastest guy but he has really good vision and is super shifty. Huge reason for the great field position we had in the first half.

That punt block was well executed, and really put the dagger in the Ti-Cats. Seeing Austins face was priceless.

Medlock. Ok he's worth every penny. 3/3 on field goals, no missed PAT's this year, and 44 yards per punt. Glad to see some consistency with our kicking game after years of it hurting us.

The Tigercats didn't want to win? Pig Wash!  The Bombers simply would not let them. It reflects now, as our starting QB is not the same as was in that 1st game. If we had a more functional O that day, the word thrashing could have been used.

The real impressive thing about Milt is how he did all that he did with a whole lot of shitty, shitty quarterbacks. His numbers exploded with Khari Jones but that only lasted a few years then he got Glenn who is Glenn, OK but not great. Other than those two is was a steaming pile of crap to work with and he STILL has amazing career numbers. 

Derek Taylor has put up a Milt Stegall video in honour of his induction to the Bomber ring of honour.
http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/video/details-with-derek-taylor-milt-stegall~923095

It looks like the guys who have studied behind Ray have done pretty well. I believe playing behind and learning from Ray on the field and in the film room has helped these guys a lot. 
I'd be after Ray to be on my coaching staff as soon as he retires.

You cherry picked the original quote and missed the bolded part.  The bolded part implies that a young QB needs time to watch and learn the game, which is the point people in this thread have been trying to make.
Then you went on to say that Davis is already too old, that he is practically 30 already in hasn't amount to anything.  Here are the first year stats of Masoli, Harris, and Davis.  All had 0 starts at this point as well.  Care to guess who is who?
Age Completions Attempts Yards TDs Ints 26 8 19 80 0 0 26 16 25 169 0 0 25 21 45 293 1 3 I don't even think that Davis is going to amount to anything as a QB.  The odds are stacked against him, there are far more QBs that fizzle out and become nothing than those that become starters, but it is far too early to write him off.

Me laying awake in horror last night as I tried to imagine this forum after yet another loss at home:

 

We need to keep our expectations for this game reasonable. Adams and Dressler were not only very good last game, they were in sync with Nichols. Not likely that the newbies will have that same familiarity with Nichols, so our passing game is very apt to suffer. Gotta pound the rock and play the possession game.

I think the benching of a starter and especially the QB is a wake up call for the rest of the players to step up their games. 

The team was energized right from the start. Perhaps the new quarter-back?? Honestly I think the team has decided Drew Willy is not the answer. I guess we shall see. We physically dominated that game, and I think the weather delay saved Edmonton from a massive beat down. So happy for the players, it's about time. Now let's see if we can string 2 wins together.

After reading this article about Travis Bond, and seeing some write-up of the first exhibition game by one of the guys who blogs about the Bombers who was raving about Bond's performance on the O-Line in that game, I've been waiting for this guy to get in the line-up and give our O-Line some size and some attitude.  Finally, he's in, and I hope he's here to stay.  I pity the D-Line trying to rush against Bryant and Bond on the left side.  Andrew Harris, I think we've found you a permanent worm-hole to run through.
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/football/bombers/the-name-is-bond-travis-bond-381687671.html
Welcome to our O-Line Mr. Bond.  We like our opposing D-Lines shaken, and stirred.

Mr. Bond looks like a road grader and added a ton to our run game.....he has to stay in.

Loffler at S is the guy who unlocks that 3-IMP OL and he doesn't look out of place back there, so this looks like a no-brainer.

If Nichols can't produce, would not that mean it is indeed something other than the QB or is it we just have two really average QB's that need an exceptional supporting cast to succeed? I'm not ready to give up on Willy just yet. You'd think he has the talent to be a great QB in this league, it's just taking longer than we want. That's my hope. Not saying it would happen and can't make roster decisions by thinking this but the  worst thing that could happen to us is we cut him loose than he thrives somewhere else. That would be hard to take.

For what its worth, my prediction: Nichols will not set the league on fire but will turn out to be a Kevin Glenn-type QB. Useful but not good enough to build a team's future around. Willy gets cut or traded by or shortly after Labour Day right about the time O'Shea gets canned. The Bombers will continue to wander in the wilderness and Miller will try to placate the masses by saying that it took the Israelites 40 years to reach their destination, so why are fans upset?
Fans respond by building a golden calf at the next home game and Miller climbs to the top of the stadium roof and throws down a copy of the corporate manual during a thunder storm while wearing a bathrobe.

Good point Do - Bomber receivers have not been making plays at all for their QB's. I don't think the bombers even have a legit downfield threat - so that's will help the porous Esk Defence big time, just like it did when they played in Wpg. 
Good call on Nichols though - he'll be fired up which is why I mentioned it in the chat. I know you think it's a 'trap' game tracker but IMO it's the exact opposite. Willy does not inspire the offense whatsoever, and as soon as he faces any kind of adversity in a game, he folds like a cheap tent.
But the real issue on Thursday will be the bomber secondary. They'd be shredded if they were healthy - three guys out (if that's the case  - including Randle) spells 500 yards passing for Reilly

That's the crux of the problem. We can't know how good the offensive plans are until we get a QB behind center who can execute.

The defense wasn't perfect... no one is arguing that... they allowed 26 points but still gave the team a chance to win this game... there is a distinct difference between the quality of the D and the O right now...

Cuz they're hungry to play and our starters are just walking around defeated.
 
One thing that caught my eye. Darvin Adams - who is an easy example, because he's probably got the most obvious body language of any player on our team - walked around looking pissed off all game until Nichols came in. Hit Adams with a 10 yard catch. Adams gets pumped up. Because there was some hope.

The D was pretty good. They adjusted well to injuries in the secondary and also stopped Messam in the 2nd half 

If people believe that the sole dysfuntionality of this team is the HC I think they are mistaken. Does firing MOS improve the run blocking, pass rush, tackling, and anything else that you believe is at fault with this team?

I, Chicken Little, have decided that indeed the sky is falling. Others in Bomber Land are simply choosing to pick out individual falling stars disintegrating into dust. The INDIVIDUAL EMPHASIS: It's the GM. No,  it's the quarterback. No, it's the coaching. Others are focusing on the offensive line, while we rant and rave about the draft and free agent picks. Some are picking the city itself is the reason the Blue Bombers cannot succeed.
This argument has gone on and on for a quarter-century, literally... really. Our last championship was 26 years ago. What is the common thread, the repeated over and over cause of our failure? Or are we just randomly unlucky as our personality and character trait? Can we even say that there is a single cause?
Isn't it easier to say there is no pattern, no analysable source for the failure?
We used to say that the New York Mets would be a joke forever, until one day they weren't anymore. They were actually championship calibre. So what changed with them?
We love to dump on the Saskatchewan Rough Riders but they went all out to win a Grey Cup and they did it. Then when they realized that the team had developed into stardust, in the aftermath, they went out and did something. They hired the Grey Cup winner's coach, a hated man called Jones. He has talent, he finds talent and he is demanding for the very best a player can put out. We can see how critical football is to the Regina community. Businessmen get involved with their own money; people make sacrifices for the team. The Rough Riders is like the province's National sport and obsession.
By contrast, in Winnipeg, our board of directors is like an old boys club. It's very prestigious to be on the board, a status symbol, not an act of self-sacrifice. And we're a very stingy lot, nicknamed Wholesale City for our cheapness. It was almost like a national emergency when we paid big bucks for Matt Dunigan back in the mid-90s (and we still had a little bit of sense left from the not too far removed Grey Cup days). I for one don't really believe at all that our current Board of Directors cares enough to do what it takes to win it all. There are exceptional individuals on the Board from time to time but for the most part they are a lackadaisical lot were sitting on their personal laurels while a couple of others are accountability types was only ambition is to protect the investment of the City and the Province. No one is ever going to light a fire under that group... never in a million years. We don't have anything resembling true leadership there. Wade Miller was a perfect hire to represent that board.
The fate of the Bombers is not going to change because we are perpetuating the root of the problem. As one sage once said "they heal the wound of my people slightly". They just appease us with the hope that "we are doing the best we can": hoping that we believe our former glory days will somehow return. Those that control our fate have no motivation. 
The sky has fallen; we just haven't accepted it yet.
 
 

Thanks sweep. I'll keep doing it, on a weekly basis, if the interest is there.

Source?
 
but seriously, some interesting things, particularly the Bombers 2nd downs needing 5 or less yards. This team has major issues on 2nd and long so running the useless plays where they get no yards or taking penalties on first down just cripples the offense. Never mind that of those 4 2nd down plays needing less than 5 yards one of them was a running play that got absolutely stuffed so they punted because of that too. Just so many plays this team runs that are wasted from the get go because of what they call. 

After week 4:
From week 3, and something for Our HC to think about:
- Buono says if the offense struggles again he will have no hesitation to pull Jennings again. Believes he hung onto the ball too long at times - Farhan Lalji    Wally, "I didn't pull Jonathan to damage him, I did it to help him. The offense was getting stagnant, I wanted to take the pressure off him" - Farhan Lalji
 
I think Buono was pretty close to pulling Jennings in this last game too. 
Still on Buono ..Buono strolls out, pretty well to midfield, to get the attention of the ref and gets a penalty for his troubles. I wonder if he was trying to one-up Jim Popp for throwing his hat to get the ref's attention? It was a deserved penalty, which spawned a caller to the Rider post-game show to comment: 
“Wally Buono had more yards on the field than the Riders running backs.”                               
Speaking after the Bomber game, Walby says he's surprised O'Shea didn't use ex-Edmonton Nichols in a one or two series scenario. He admits O'Shea is a loyal guy.
Drew Willy just 7-14 in the red zone...- Jeff Hamilton (Hamilton game)
"You don't want to be known as a league that doesn't pay it's assistant coaches as per their contracts." - @scratchingpost #CFL #Esks CFLNews 
GREGORY HIRED: John Gregory has a new football post.
The former Saskatchewan Roughriders and Hamilton Tiger-Cats head coach was recently named the first commissioner of the Arena Development League, an indoor football circuit that has no affiliation with either Arena Football League or Indoor Football 
Some of us conspiracy theorists believe Durant — as good as he is — might not be the Riders’ long-term quarterback, that Jones instead has his eyes on free-agent-to-be James Franklin, an aspiring star who Jones coached last year with the Edmonton Eskimos. And all these other guys are simply short-term backup plans. - Posted on July 12, 2016 by Darrell Davis 
@BlueBomberTalk
Source indicates the #Bombers sold just over 800 new jerseys on preorders alone. That's ~$160,000 in revenue. Not bad. 
CFL News –  @CFL_News
#Riders get rights to QB Vad Lee in deal with Eskimos http://3downnation.com/2016/07/12/riders-get-rights-to-qb-vad-lee-in-deal-with-eskimos … #CFL #Esks via @JDunk12- 
My question is - why in hell does Hervey keep feeding Jones players?
The number of rushing yards per game, according to league stats guru Steve Daniel, has never been as few as this year. Through three weeks, there has been an average of 166 rushing yards per game, which is down 23% from only two seasons ago.  
Through three weeks, teams have combined to rush the ball only 34.7 times per game, which are the fewest in league history. Edmonton’s John White and Calgary’s Jerome Messam are the only two rushers on pace to crack the 1,000-yard mark in the early going.  Kirk Penton, Toronto Sun
The “eye in the sky” video reviewer appears to be working so far. One thing he should be able to fix in the future, however, is plays like Hamilton’s touchdown last week against Winnipeg. Andy Fantuz was clearly offside on Chad Owens’ TD grab, and here’s hoping the league will allow the eye in the sky to fix the mistakes that hundreds of thousands of viewers can see plain as day. KPenton
I'm not as sure as Kirk Penton about the "eye in the sky" working so far. I've seen it work, maybe a few times, but, shouldn't it be preventing at least, some of those challenges?
Insider stuff from Penton: 
Chris Williams and his dropsies from years gone by. He says "Chris Williams is simply catching the football. He had the second-most drops last year, which worked out to more than 300 yards worth. A lot of his drops last year were touchdowns, so his concentration has improved. If he cuts his drops in half, he’s a 100 catch guy every year .." 
I too, was wondering about Williams' drops from years gone by. That's a huge difference.
CFL News - Accepted penalties at a 23 per cent decrease from the same point last season. - @garylawless #CFL  
'Accepted' as opposed to called?
@ArashMadani
So @JDunk12 just came on @timandsid and said Jim Barker/the Argos did not offer the same money as Ottawa to Trevor Harris in the off-season.  -  
This counters the Argos claim that they did.
Coach Jones...
“Just for y’all’s information, Cover Zero is when you don’t play with a free safety and you blitz everybody. It has been 86-per-cent successful over my career for a 3.3-yard average, so that’s why we run it.” - leaderpost.com
Reflecting back on it now, making the convert harder to get, has made the convert....harder to get. - Mr Dee
I suggest that somebody in the bomber employ, phone Marcel Desjardins, and ask him who he thinks is the next 'can't miss' QB for the CFL . Why Marcel? Well, he seems to know what he's doing. 
Then I suggest we go after said QB. Now. Before now. Pre-now, if you will. ASAP. Never mind the repercussions of such move. Just do it.
Only half-kidding.
2 of the 3 must see moments in the CFL involved 2 receivers that made incredible catches in the game this year. Against. Us.
Hearing SJ Green is about a month away from the procedure to repair is ACL, MCL & PCL #Alouettes #CFL - Matthew Scianitti
Willy had 13 incompletions on 38 attempts. In breaking down each of his errant throws, there were eight where Willy was simply off the mark; either too high, too low, behind or too far ahead. Two were intercepted in heavy coverage, a third should have been picked off, one he threw away because of pressure, and it appeared Willy was upset with Darvin Adams for making a mistake on another.
- Kirk Penton
Ed Tait -
The Bombers had 33 first down plays against the Eskimos and, factoring in penalties, sacks and losses, netted just 77 yards offence. Willy was 12 of 19 for 184 yards with a TD and an interception on first down, but the Bombers rushed nine times for only 27 yards, Willy was sacked once, and there were four penalties.
of the 22 second-down plays the Bombers ran, a whopping 13 of them needed 10 or more yards to be converted and only four were second-and-five or less.
Kent Austin speaks his Mind. Mike O'Shea hides his feelings. 2 Complete opposites. #bombers #cfl #ticats - Steve Morley
Hamilton 8 sacks Montreal 4 sacks Not much to say about this game. This was not the same Montreal team the Bombers played.
TSN had been reporting how good their numbers were for CFL games this year. Then came this ugly Hamilton -Montreal affair...GULP ? 
Mack, who took over as general manager in January 2010, produced a 21-39 mark before getting the pink slip in August 2013, which works out to a .350 winning percentage. Since then the Bombers are 15-37, which represents a .288 winning percentage over eight fewer games than Mack lasted. - Kirk penton
In the "news to me" category - Miller, who appears 2 B involved in personnel matters, & Walters will celebrate 3rd anniversary w/ #Bombers in few weeks. - @PentonKirk #CFL
Quebec pouring it on now..Gregoire Martin runs it in from 13 yards and it's Que 25, Sask 8 w/1:06 left.   - Football Manitoba  
Ha! Anything to do with Sask losing at football....I'll post it.
The CFL headline read that Hamilton dominated the Alouettes. More proof that the reality behind the headline is completely different.
Who said this? 
We f—in’ suck,” he said, quite candidly. Until the motherf—ers take control and look in the mirror, it will continue to be no good,”  “Everyone in the locker room has got to be accountable. It’s not about character. We didn’t play very well.”
Nic Lewis
And as the writer says (Herb Zerkowsky - Montreal Gazette) "the Als were coming off a bye week in the schedule, having not played since June 30. The coaching staff had plenty of time to prepare. Instead, they made a Ticats team that had lost two straight at home look magnificent."
Don't know how much of this true... Chris Carter was on the sidelines watching his son Duron perform. At least one spectator sitting in the south-side stands indicated "it appeared the elder Carter was coaching Montreal’s receivers."
Heh, heh. I bet you Duron Carter is sorry he didn't sit out the Hamilton game on suspension...?
Chris Jones - 1st time as a HC - loses 3 games in a row. So sad.
#Riders injuries were a big factor, but @JJ_Jennings10 came of age in 2nd half against heavy blitz, was able to beat man coverage. @CFLonTSN - Farhan Lalji
Durant x-rays were negative for a broken bone. Would like league to look at hit. #Riders Lee Jones
"I'll let the league answer to that." - Jones on whether hit on Durant was dirty. #CFL
-Warren Woods - "Jones not buying the notion Brooks " accidentally" rolled into Durants ankle"..#postgame
-didn't look like an 'intent to roll to me', but he did get 3 roughing-the-passer penalties. Let's just say he didn't try to stop from rolling into Durant. Durant, himself, believes it was 'borderline dirty'......."Durant calls Michael Brooks hit that injured his ankle "borderlne dirty" leaderpost.com/sports/footbal… #CFL" #Riders #BCLions via @murraylp
Does Justin Capicciotti miss Hopkins, Shologan, and Lemon from the RedBlack D?
I thought it was a head's up play when A. Allen, in the grasp of defenders, spotted Jennings, and tossed him the ball for a BC TD.
The hitch screen -  They threw it four times to Weston Dressler and picked up a grand total of zero yards before finally deciding to ditch it. - Penton.
Is this really why we got this guy? - Dee.
Also, Penton reports Sophomore right guard Sukh Chungh was beaten on two of the 3 sacks, and he also took a holding penalty on Winnipeg's drive in the game's final minute.
The kicking curse lives on in Winnipeg? 
"New Bombers placekicker Justin Medlock, who failed to convert from 49 yards against the Eskimos, has missed four of 12 field goal attempts through four games. Last year in Hamilton he missed only five kicks in 47 tries" ..- Penton
You have to ask yourself - do you think the Bombers could have responded the same way the Lions did under all that pressure? Even with that horrid Sask.secondary? .......I thought not.
The #Bombers are running fundamental blocking and positional-tackling drills in practice today. So there's that. - Darrin Bauming
Which brings up the question, "are the bombers physically able to move the opponents off the ball?" MOS brought this up and it's worth pondering.
The Eskimos have a record of 2-1 at this stage of the season. They could easily be 0-3.
 
Have you ever heard the expression "behind the sticks" being used as much as it this year?
And finally, does it ever do any good to rush only 3 men in any kind of defence?
Names who stood out Week 4:
Kenny Shaw - 7-94 yds. Great good route runner and yac getter. Don't much like his haircut though.
T. Harris (28-31, 392 YDS)
G. Ellingson (9 REC, 218 YDS) Nissan player of the game.
Jaime Elizondo - Ottawa OC - brilliant game plan and mix. racking up 455 yards of offence while averaging 8.3 yards per play.
Mike Reilly - 32-45 465
Adarius Bowman - 10-185
D.Walker - 7-154
B. Banks - 86 yd punt return TD
Adrian Tracy - 11 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 deflection
B Maher - 5 FGs including a 56 yarder.
J. Jennings 25-40 429 yds - career high
S. Gore 6-109 yds
N. Roosevelt 8-132 yds