Blue Bombers - 2025 Regular Season - Discussion Thread

[wbbfan]

4 hours ago, sweep the leg said:

So our 5’7 220 lbs rookie rb, with no prior experience at either spot and who runs in the 4.7s, is going to play receiver and returner for us? I’m willing to take bets we don’t see that on the depth chart tomorrow.

You mean Flanders? Or Augustine? Or Greg McCrae? Cus that is just 3 times off the top of my head we've done it in the past. We also did that with Streveler last year. We also slid Johnson into running plays, having never done it before, and did it with Lucky. We tried throwing to mike miller a hand full of times.  

Also, no one said he was going to be on the roster this week. We are talking about the emergency reserve imp wr. And btw, half our wr core ran 4.6-4.7 pro days lol. 

[Booch]

11 hours ago, Noeller said:

My only concern about Cooley is that he's never been a receiver. He said himself that he's only ever been a power back. Our first pre season game was the first screen pass he ever caught. It feels like it's asking a lot of a guy to step in and take the place of someone that's an actual receiver with years of experience running routes and catching balls. 

but he said he can catch....he just was used as the bell cow....and he caught just fine in all his chances in pre-season....and really as a pro in a skilled position role...if you "can't"catch....or can't learn to...you have no reason being on a pro roster

As for downfield receivers as mentioned....you can send anyone down field....if you have 5 guys out there in whatever formation anyone of them can go deep....ad the unexpected guy going deep may catch a team right flat footed....and if anything puts it in the mind of the defence...everyone needs to be accounted for...or should be

2 minutes ago, wbbfan said:

You mean Flanders? Or Augustine? Or Greg McCrae? Cus that is just 3 times off the top of my head we've done it in the past. We also did that with Streveler last year. We also slid Johnson into running plays, having never done it before, and did it with Lucky. We tried throwing to mike miller a hand full of times.  

Also, no one said he was going to be on the roster this week. We are talking about the emergency reserve imp wr. And btw, half our wr core ran 4.6-4.7 pro days lol. 

yeah....not sure the sense of that comment eh?...Our one DE...Person ran a faster pro day 40 than the bulk of our recievers....so by that logic he could return then....lol

[wbbfan]

8 hours ago, Brandon said:

The degradation or elite play of a QB can determine if a coach is great or dumb.   I don't think Zach tossing lame ducks into triple coverage for the first half of the season helped with making Pierce looking good.   

Same thing happened before when Matt Nichols went noodle arm... suddenly the coaching seemed terrible when the guy wasn't able to throw a 15 yard pass.   

I'm sure it's a mixture of both which resulted in our team being wishy washy last season.   Pierce is gone and if Zach played as poorly as he did last season then Hogan is going to also look like a dumb coach.  

Buck has struggled to adjust to defenses previously and had his worst year last year. Yes, Zach was part of that, especially early. But Buck was also part of Zach's struggle. He had a ton of ways to off set zach and the offences issues last year, but failed to do anything, at any point of the year. He kept trying to hammer away at the same crap that didnt work. 

8 hours ago, Bigblue204 said:

He just didnt have the horses to run the type of O he wanted. He was the same way as a player. Forced square pegs in to round holes.

This. They are both like this as well. But it's the coach's job to solve stuff like that. Especially when you are both QB coach and OC. 

[wbbfan]

2 minutes ago, Booch said:

but he said he can catch....he just was used as the bell cow....and he caught just fine in all his chances in pre-season....and really as a pro in a skilled position role...if you "can't"catch....or can't learn to...you have no reason being on a pro roster

As for downfield receivers as mentioned....you can send anyone down field....if you have 5 guys out there in whatever formation anyone of them can go deep....ad the unexpected guy going deep may catch a team right flat footed....and if anything puts it in the mind of the defence...everyone needs to be accounted for...or should be

yeah....not sure the sense of that comment eh?...Our one DE...Person ran a faster pro day 40 than the bulk of our recievers....so by that logic he could return then....lol

If you can catch a power toss, shovel/flip, you can catch a screen pass, out etc. If you can run a stretch play, wide zone etc, you can run those routes. Especially as the backup and package guy. We aren't talking about him getting 10 targets a game in these situations. He could run sweep/motion, motion into the lead blocker, and mainly stretch the field laterally so Demski doesn't have to any more. 

If we lined up and raced every one on the team in the 40, Mitchell or Schoen would be our fastest offensive guy. And at best the fastest would be at the back end of the teams top 10. Janarion Grant came in just under 4.6 at his pro day. 

[Booch]

16 minutes ago, wbbfan said:

Buck has struggled to adjust to defenses previously and had his worst year last year. Yes, Zach was part of that, especially early. But Buck was also part of Zach's struggle. He had a ton of ways to off set zach and the offences issues last year, but failed to do anything, at any point of the year. He kept trying to hammer away at the same crap that didnt work. 

This. They are both like this as well. But it's the coach's job to solve stuff like that. Especially when you are both QB coach and OC. 

yup....Hi Mr Jackson...who is a master of utilizing skill sets...so glad he made it here finally

 

10 minutes ago, wbbfan said:

If you can catch a power toss, shovel/flip, you can catch a screen pass, out etc. If you can run a stretch play, wide zone etc, you can run those routes. Especially as the backup and package guy. We aren't talking about him getting 10 targets a game in these situations. He could run sweep/motion, motion into the lead blocker, and mainly stretch the field laterally so Demski doesn't have to any more. 

If we lined up and raced every one on the team in the 40, Mitchell or Schoen would be our fastest offensive guy. And at best the fastest would be at the back end of the teams top 10. Janarion Grant came in just under 4.6 at his pro day. 

yup...just the threat alone and the way it would open up the motion stuff for guys like Demski and BO as well as clearing out the low intermediate zone for Schoen.....Having Sterns on roster for the 5th...really is pointless and offers less than what a Cooley would really...Sterns did not earn an active roster spot by any stretch...still hasn't shown he is a consistent reliable receiver...his knock in Sask and really what is his upside and potential....not much....Still think Hall should have been kept if not for anything to stretch the field and develop....he of all the goes in camp showed the most potential....But we kept all the vet guys...none of whom showed anything really....which was a typical Osh manouver

[GCn20]

15 minutes ago, wbbfan said:

If you can catch a power toss, shovel/flip, you can catch a screen pass, out etc. If you can run a stretch play, wide zone etc, you can run those routes. Especially as the backup and package guy. We aren't talking about him getting 10 targets a game in these situations. He could run sweep/motion, motion into the lead blocker, and mainly stretch the field laterally so Demski doesn't have to any more. 

If we lined up and raced every one on the team in the 40, Mitchell or Schoen would be our fastest offensive guy. And at best the fastest would be at the back end of the teams top 10. Janarion Grant came in just under 4.6 at his pro day. 

Never quite understood the fascination with 40 times. On the football field rarely are you running a 40 in a straight line. Football speed is an entirely different metric and a lot of times it is not the guy with the best 40 that has it.

[Bigblue204]

3 minutes ago, GCn20 said:

Never quite understood the fascination with 40 times. On the football field rarely are you running a 40 in a straight line. Football speed is an entirely different metric and a lot of times it is not the guy with the best 40 that has it.

There's a bit of viral video going around of Justin Jefferson basically saying the same thing. No one knows who the fastest HOF Wr is (it's Milt...but that's beside the point). Mostly because speed isn't the biggest metric when it comes to success at that position. Route running and the ability to create separation is far more important.

[Booch]

1 minute ago, GCn20 said:

Never quite understood the fascination with 40 times. On the football field rarely are you running a 40 in a straight line. Football speed is an entirely different metric and a lot of times it is not the guy with the best 40 that has it.

yup....they need to do speed tests with ball in hand doing general routes....or defensive stunts....Have seen a ton of training where that was a graded thing

Same can be said with the 225 reps...you can have a bull of an athlete who over powers everyone and struggled to get 12 to 15....and a 29 rep guy get tossed around like a lil school girl at recess

A lot of times the high rep guys just have more endurance over a longer period....but when you gonna be pushing weight and moving bodies for 45...60 seconds...never....but the guy who is powerful in the 5 to 10 second range...a typical football play duration...I'll take that every time

You get the odd guy..Like Corney was who had both those abilities....but too bad he had the head injury issues  and had to retire....

[Booch]

1 minute ago, Bigblue204 said:

There's a bit of viral video going around of Justin Jefferson basically saying the same thing. No one knows who the fastest HOF Wr is (it's Milt...but that's beside the point). Mostly because speed isn't the biggest metric when it comes to success at that position. Route running and the ability to create separation is far more important.

ability to cut...pivot and make a move without gearing down....thats what you look for...Best guy we had that I recall doing that was Denmark...he could do all that at speed and then even hit another gear...I dont think he rarely ever got caught in chase...and always got that seperation away from guys and seemed to get a lot of big plays where it was appeared to be a busted coverage...far from it....he busted the DB into silly mode

Same with DB's and the fluidity and abilty to swivel...Parker is amazing at it....but best I seen in a Bomber camp in a long time tho was a guy some might remember..Marquise Fitzgerald...he was amazing....played well when he got the chance but I think injuries killed his career

[wbbfan]

9 minutes ago, GCn20 said:

Never quite understood the fascination with 40 times. On the football field rarely are you running a 40 in a straight line. Football speed is an entirely different metric and a lot of times it is not the guy with the best 40 that has it.

It's the ultimate anachronism in football. Paul brown thought that the longest distance players had to run was 40 yards on punt returns. So they timed the 40 to see if guys would be fast enough to cover punts. Its from the early 60s, a time when they didn't have better analytical tools. Its pretty crazy they still cling to it. 

25 minutes ago, Bigblue204 said:

There's a bit of viral video going around of Justin Jefferson basically saying the same thing. No one knows who the fastest HOF Wr is (it's Milt...but that's beside the point). Mostly because speed isn't the biggest metric when it comes to success at that position. Route running and the ability to create separation is far more important.

Yup.

 

 

20 minutes ago, Booch said:

ability to cut...pivot and make a move without gearing down....thats what you look for...Best guy we had that I recall doing that was Denmark...he could do all that at speed and then even hit another gear...I dont think he rarely ever got caught in chase...and always got that seperation away from guys and seemed to get a lot of big plays where it was appeared to be a busted coverage...far from it....he busted the DB into silly mode

Same with DB's and the fluidity and abilty to swivel...Parker is amazing at it....but best I seen in a Bomber camp in a long time tho was a guy some might remember..Marquise Fitzgerald...he was amazing....played well when he got the chance but I think injuries killed his career

Those smooth, fast guys who make others look slow. Tbh that really seems to lack from pass rushers up here these days. We don't see many rushers who can bend the ol then break it back. 

28 minutes ago, Booch said:

yup....they need to do speed tests with ball in hand doing general routes....or defensive stunts....Have seen a ton of training where that was a graded thing

Same can be said with the 225 reps...you can have a bull of an athlete who over powers everyone and struggled to get 12 to 15....and a 29 rep guy get tossed around like a lil school girl at recess

A lot of times the high rep guys just have more endurance over a longer period....but when you gonna be pushing weight and moving bodies for 45...60 seconds...never....but the guy who is powerful in the 5 to 10 second range...a typical football play duration...I'll take that every time

You get the odd guy..Like Corney was who had both those abilities....but too bad he had the head injury issues  and had to retire....

It can be a decent tool to identify outliers, but sometimes you see guys who are drastically faster on the field or in the 20-yard range than their combine time. Like Grant. 

[Blue In BC]

7 hours ago, sweep the leg said:

So our 5’7 220 lbs rookie rb, with no prior experience at either spot and who runs in the 4.7s, is going to play receiver and returner for us? I’m willing to take bets we don’t see that on the depth chart tomorrow.

Yup. It doesn't make sense. Roster declared. 4 players moved to 1 game IR including J. Jones and D. Mitchell. Lofton to 6 game IR which I expected unfortunately. That leaves combined depth on OL suspect with Neufeld also nicked. No other import OL retrained on PR.

It they knew Lofton was out long term why did they make that choice?

Edited Wednesday at 03:50 PM by Blue In BC

[Super Duper Negatron]

We threw the ball to Damian Jackson, we can throw it to Cooley.

[bearpants]

13 hours ago, Mike said:

This is where familiarity bias is stepping in. BC dressed an American fullback who played zero snaps literally last week.

so you're saying it's a Buck thing? 😁

Also, looking at the depth chart, they listed Cdn Riley Picket at FB and American Zander Horvath as the back up RB... being that he's listed at 6'3, 230... he could be confused as a FB

Edited Wednesday at 02:48 PM by bearpants

[Booch]

39 minutes ago, Super Duper Negatron said:

We threw the ball to Damian Jackson, we can throw it to Cooley.

a guy mind you who had zero experience as a FB....And minimal experience even as a football player until he was in his 30's.....that made even more sense right?

[wbbfan]

2 minutes ago, bearpants said:

so you're saying it's a Buck thing? 😁

Also, looking at the depth chart, they list Cdn Riley Picket at FB and American Zander Horvath as the back up RB... being that he's listed at 6'3, 230... he could be confused as a FB

Horvarth is a FB/H-back and a HB. He led Purdue in rushing one year, and was a decent multi threat with his pass catching. He was drafted in the NFL as a Fb/Hback/Rb hybrid. I'm sure their goal with him is to have a guy who can do a bit of every thing and not need a ton of touches/carries. 

 He honestly doesn't play much like a FB either. Thats why he isn't in the NFL. He lacks that physicality. 

[Blue In BC]

1 hour ago, Super Duper Negatron said:

We threw the ball to Damian Jackson, we can throw it to Cooley.

3 receptions for 21 yards.  You really want to use that as a metric? lol

[Brandon]

1 hour ago, Booch said:

a guy mind you who had zero experience as a FB....And minimal experience even as a football player until he was in his 30's.....that made even more sense right?

He had "character"  which is significantly more important then football skills and athletic ability.  

[Fatty Liver]

4 hours ago, Bigblue204 said:

There's a bit of viral video going around of Justin Jefferson basically saying the same thing. No one knows who the fastest HOF Wr is (it's Milt...but that's beside the point). Mostly because speed isn't the biggest metric when it comes to success at that position. Route running and the ability to create separation is far more important.

Milt admitted he wasn't the fastest player on the field at the start of the game, but by the end of the game everyone else had dropped off and he was still running the same speed.

Edited Wednesday at 05:55 PM by Fatty Liver

[sweep the leg]

4 hours ago, wbbfan said:

You mean Flanders? Or Augustine? Or Greg McCrae? Cus that is just 3 times off the top of my head we've done it in the past. We also did that with Streveler last year. We also slid Johnson into running plays, having never done it before, and did it with Lucky. We tried throwing to mike miller a hand full of times.  

Also, no one said he was going to be on the roster this week. We are talking about the emergency reserve imp wr. And btw, half our wr core ran 4.6-4.7 pro days lol. 

Were all of those examples so successful that we should keep doing it?

[Fatty Liver]

2 minutes ago, sweep the leg said:

Were all of those examples so successful that we should keep doing it?

It's a loonie idea, I'll be happy if they integrate Peterson and MCI into the offence.

[sweep the leg]

5 hours ago, Booch said:

 

yeah....not sure the sense of that comment eh?...Our one DE...Person ran a faster pro day 40 than the bulk of our recievers....so by that logic he could return then....lol

He has the same experience at returner and only a few less catches, so yeah maybe he can.

[Booch]

11 minutes ago, sweep the leg said:

Were all of those examples so successful that we should keep doing it?

the fact we havnt adequately replaced...or had a quality mainstay at DT...DE (Besides WJ)....Kick Returner and Punter since we lost Jeffcoat...Medlock..Stove/Nevis/Sayles...Grant says a lot to me....but we kept a whole pile of...well crap...who's that on....its not like we havnt brought in any players...and this has been yrs now

Edited Wednesday at 06:07 PM by Booch

[wbbfan]

26 minutes ago, sweep the leg said:

He has the same experience at returner and only a few less catches, so yeah maybe he can.

WJ has experience at wr, wanna flip him out there? The back up, corcoran only has cis experience. 

 

37 minutes ago, sweep the leg said:

Were all of those examples so successful that we should keep doing it?

We did it because we had to, thats the point. If we end up in that situation, it's MCI/corcoran at wr. 

35 minutes ago, Fatty Liver said:

It's a loonie idea, I'll be happy if they integrate Peterson and MCI into the offence.

MCI isn't close to becoming a skill position player atm.   

[kelownabomberfan]

 

[Atomic]

I think Novak's dance is the same as Will Ferrell in the mailroom in Elf