It's game day!

 

2014 CFL season kicks off tonight.  Time to see what the new Walters / O'shea edition of the Bombers can do.

 

Game time is @ 7:30.  Forecast is 22 degrees with a chance of rain.

 

We invite everyone not attending the game to join in our chat room to cheer on the action!

Even though this is just the first game of the season I would like to thank Wade Miller for coming to the rescue of my Blue Bombers who I've followed for 57 years. Everything that happens with this club from this point on started with him. Even if the whole thing falls apart (which it won't) he put it on the line for the Blue.

 

Thanks Wade

This was a huge win the entire organization needed. What a shot in the arm!!

The Bombers may have closed the great divide - between them and the rest of the league (coaching and QB), somewhat.....already.  

I know I'm getting ahead of myself here, but we start the season against Ottawa, Montreal & Edmonton. 4-0 is not outside of the realm of possibilities here at all.

Bombers win!!

Look at me!

So much to love from this game.  Offense has schemes that look solid.  Put Willy in position to succeed often.  The defense was more impressive than I thought it would be.  Lots of speed, and really loved Leggett out there.  A few missed tackles so hopefully we can get past those.  Special teams was solid but coverage was iffy.  O'Shea is going to despise that 13-man call and the big returns.

 

Post game highlight: "Glenn Suitor is wrong" - Mike O'Shea (referring to Banks' injury vs healthy scratch)

 

At the very least there is a lot to indicate we are in for a fun season.  It will still have a lot of bumps and falls, but it should be exciting to see this team grow and develop.

 

Its been a long time since I've wanted someone to succeed for the Bombers on not only a professional level, but personal as well.  I find myself rooting for O'Shea now both because he is the head coach of my favourite team, but also because I just want the guy to do well.

Well, the gin went down....the O+S went up....

 

Night all...

Does it ever feel good being on the right side of a blow-out. Congrats to Coach O'Shea and the team. I think we all knew things were going to be different when the Bombers got the TD on their first possession. And how about these stats:

 

Time of possession - Wpg 36:03, Toronto 23:57

Sacks allowed: Wpg 1 (all hail Bob Wylie), Toronto 1

Penalties: Wpg 7 for 72 yards, Toronto 22 for 163 yards

Rushing yards: Wpg 28 attempts for 132 yards, Toronto 8 attempts for 42 yards (what were those comments about the Argos' RBs being tuckered out from running so much)

Said it earlier in the offseason, bob Wylie could easily be the biggest signing besides O'Shea if he can work his magic and out of the gate he looked to have the hogs in then right direction.. 1 sack against some decent looking guys in preseason anyway.. Willys quick decision making and movement also helps for sure but they looked very respectable tonight...

Bombers were solid, Argos did take 22 penalties though. But Bombers looked good.. O showed up, D looked good for the most part, Sp Teams need some work but.. i suspect they will get better. Not sure about Woods as the returner, I like him, He does get decent returns actually but.. I'm not sure how long he will be doing that. 

 

Bombers did have decent field position all game though.. 

 

Liked Lirim and what he did on the kick-offs, consistently down to the goal line really. Teague Sherman, Anthony Coombs, Thomas Miles... but who would hav thought Teague would be the one that stood out the most.. Dudes shakespeare out there cuz all he does is make plays bro.

 

Willy, Drew Willy... Unreal, looked like a seasoned vet out there, Not worried about our QB too much right now. WIlly will be good

 

Oline? What the... Seriously? I like Wylie and knew that he'd make the OLINE better but... they looked more then better today, they looked pretty good actually. Not the same as last season that's for sure. 

 

Grigsby? Holy crap buddy, aren't you apparently the third string RB.. I like what he brings, excellent blocker and hard to bring down, has a nice 2nd gear to him, Big Powerful runner, carries the pile at times.. did tonight on a couple runs. 

 

Kelly?Guess we  don't really need Romby do we??

 

Etch and The D ? You serious? That's a pressure defence if there ever was, Ray was hurried or hit most the night.. pressured all game, Gotta give the D props, gave up a couple "big" plays but... all in all great effort there.

 

Sp Teams? Needs work but... like Lirims kick-offs like i said, Gotta give renaud and sherman props on the "trick play" "audible", Woods had a few decent returns too. Gave up a couple of big run backs tho, 2 big run backs, 1 directly and 1 indirectly lead to Argo Points.  Clean it up boys

 

All in all, wow, shocking.. Good for the Bombers, Good for the fans of the Bombers, Good for the City really. 

Btw, who's on the 2-man reserve last night ... Howard and who?

Players on defence that really stood out to me last night were Sears, Vega, Wild, Leggett, Washington and Randle. These guys are pretty damn good football Players.

 

If Vega Can play like that consistently, he's going to have a career season. That dude was in the backfield all night, and played nice disciplined football all game too.

 

Sears is a monster at SAM. I really hope he can stay healthy and we keep him there when Banks is healthy. He is easily the Best SAM we've ever employed IMO.

 

Randle is a S.I.C.K. boundry Corner. So happy we got this guy.

 

Washington is not only a great DHB, he's an integral part of our team on ST's as well. Just a great player all around that we need to keep on this team for a long time.

 

Leggett kicks some serious ass at Safety. From big hits to making great reads and plays on the ball.

 

Wild was all over the field too.

 

honorable mentions to Greg Peach(love his motor and how he really tries to punch the ball out every time), EJ Kuale(great pressure and physicality) and Matt Bucknor, who all had some good moments as well.

 

Offence as a whole was pretty great all around... Our rec. Corps has to be top 3 in the league IMO. I really wish Watson could stay healthy, cuz he's an elite reciever period, Canadian or not

 

Dan Knapp adds a whole different dimension to our blocking schemes. He looks small out there but the man is a beast, VERY strong and boy is he ever quick on the pulls and lead blocks.

 

Grigsby looks great athletically, but His vision kind of lacks at times... I noticed a few big holes where he really could have had some big gains but he didn't see it. Still like him at RB though. Had one drop but also a couple nice catches for decent gains, including a 12 yarder. Good blocking as well. could grow into an Elite back over the year. Hopefully we can get him and Cotton both on the Active roster, they could be a serious threat if we use them both properly.... which I think MB definitely will if he has the opportunity.

 

Willy was awesome. Great accuracy and touch on his passes, Strong enough Arm and decent Mobility... Could be the best QB we've had since Khari. 

 

Kelly looks Awkward at times but he seems to have pretty fantastic hands. I thought all along that we've been really underestimating him... hopefully he can keep it up

 

JFG and Moore both looked good as well.

 

I hope we find a way to get Kohlert more involved as well.

 

I cant get over how good the O-line looked... Although a lot of that has to do with Willy, Really getting the ball in the air quickly

I know I'm getting ahead of myself here, but we start the season against Ottawa, Montreal & Edmonton. 4-0 is not outside of the realm of possibilities here at all.

 

Looking at the schedule this morning, that was the first thing I thought of as well. Given our recent history, it's absolutely not out of the question to lose the next 3, but if they can play even remotely close to the level they played the Argos, the Edmonton's, Ottawa's and Montreal's of the league should be very beatable. It might not last when the schedule gets tougher, but a good start will do a lot towards cementing the real change this team has needed.

Even though TO was just awful in this game, the Bombers still made them pay for it so I'm hopeful that this wasn't just a fluky performance.

Btw, who's on the 2-man reserve last night ... Howard and who?

Brett Carter.

 

Watson was injured last night, so we may see Carter activated for next week.

I know I'm getting ahead of myself here, but we start the season against Ottawa, Montreal & Edmonton. 4-0 is not outside of the realm of possibilities here at all.

You are getting ahead of yourself. I'll be pleased with a 2-2 start. Let's come down to Earth a bit. 

 

Btw, who's on the 2-man reserve last night ... Howard and who?

Brett Carter.

 

Watson was injured last night, so we may see Carter activated for next week.

 

 

I can see that too. They may need to add another National receiver from the street also. I love to see Jade Etienne back and get accurate passes from Willy.

 

I've been an avid supporter of Woods but I'm not happy with his performance last night. I can see us activating Ford as DI backup RB/KR. 

 

 

Btw, who's on the 2-man reserve last night ... Howard and who?

Brett Carter.

 

Watson was injured last night, so we may see Carter activated for next week.

 

 

 I love to see Jade Etienne back and get accurate passes from Willy.

 

. 

 

OFFS.

Id personally like to see Cotton instead of Ford(when he's healthy). Cotton can return as well and adds more Value to the roster overall than Woods does. 

Id personally like to see Cotton instead of Ford(when he's healthy). Cotton can return as well and adds more Value to the roster overall than Woods does. 

 

Cotton may not be healthy yet. Another guy on the roster who can replace Woods is Bolton. He is slated as RB but he is really a WR and he can return kicks too.

Just watched the highlights from the game last night, anybody here can see if there's no illegal block on that Owen's return TD?

 

I believed it's Miles who made the block on Richardson. 

 

http://cfl.ca/video/index/id/97853

Personally I LOVED that they had the confidence to fake that punt.  Love it.  *swoon*

Bluely noted

 

Do we dare mention an exceptionally good game plan crafted by our OC?

That's where it all started.

We did know that the Bombers had plenty of time to put together this plan, but to see it executed so well is, well, stunning.

We have a QB.

 

Well done to the O-Line…welcome back. (thank you Mr. Wylie for your "part time help')

 

Mr Knapp, take a bow. This guy is the Gold in Blue and Gold.

Mr. Morley….it's good to say your name in a positive manner.

Nic Grigsby -- What? You didn't understand that you're our 3rd string guy?

Feoli-Gudino - bien hecho, joven (well done, young man) those little cross patterns certainly were exciting.

Aaron Kelly - took the flak, and slammed it down with 2 straight TD catches…hmmm, ah great job!

Drew Willy - after awhile I forgot how little game experience you have. It just looked so natural for you out there. A whole city has adopted you.

 

Gary Etcheverry - good on you, keep up the good game planning.

Marcel Bellefeuille - nice, diverse mixture of plays and play calling. Very impressive start.

 

Defensive line - kept on motoring all night…great effort…spotlight on Jason Vega, a true Bomber.

Washington and Randle - looks like opposing teams will be looking to the other side when passing.

Leggett - so that's what a safety is supposed to look like…and hit like…I like it.

Teague Sherman -  nice to notice you in a positive way.

The defence - what was promised was delivered in this game, they kept up a frantic pace and followed the ball - group tackling.

Oh and real nice ball stripping - real nice.

 

Special notice to the kickers….we're in good hands

Smart play by Renaud to notice that open receiver…and a decent pass. That was fun.

I think the only word to describe my feelings throughout the game is "incredulous". Not sure if it was a dream or not. We watched the game, then saw the highlights on TSN, then fired up the PVR to watch some of the game again, then I watched the CFL.ca 5 minute highlight pack again this morning. I'll probably watch the highlights another dozen times before next week. This is one that's getting protected on the PVR and will never be deleted...

Are we living in some kind of alternate universe or dimension where all the laws of physics & reasoning have been suspended in time & space? 

Watching the Bombers completely jump all over somebody early.....was kinda Twilight Zonish......