I'll preface this thread by saying, I am not complaining at all about the win tonight.  Beating Saskatchewan is the best thing in the world no matter  how it was done.  We rarely win in Regina and this is a happy occasion.

 

Do not get me wrong at all, it was a great game, our offense was fantastic, Drew Willy played exceptional, Paris Cotton is a beast, Nick Moore is back and better than before, Clarence Denmark is a warrior.  And screw the Bellefeuille haters, he outdid Chapdelaine this game.

 

 

 

 

But......

 

Richie Hall's defense was not looking good out there.  Lots of plays where guys were out of position, vanilla playcalling, getting gashed in the run, thank god Adams came up with that pick on that one throw or we might really have gotten in trouble.  A little surprised too that the Riders didn't go for it on 3rd and short when they were on their last possession and punted it there even though I know Messam got a bit whacked there.

 

It was a good game but this defense had better not be getting gashed like that week in and week out.  Hall was hired to fix it and fix the run and so far, he almost looks worse than Etcheverry.  I'm gonna enjoy the win for the time being but we can't afford that in Hamilton next week or late in the season.

He has had this group of guys in his system for literally one game.

My word.

They won despite the defence and a wiped out punt return TD. Plenty of time to fix things.

It was also game 1. And we won. Sask is a team that runs the ball. They did it. They got a few big plays but it wasn't enough. Not concerned at all. They came up big when they had too. All sask scores were on big plays. I don't think it's as bad as you are making it out to be

Too much blitzing, especially when it's completely ineffective, in the first half.  Second half and 4th quarter in particular were much better.

 

I'm worried about our DT's and our two real LB's (Hurl and Bass).  They were overpowered tonight.

 

24 looked awful quite often at safety as well.  Real weird angles he took on Messam and gave up yards because of it.

We have new lbs and a lot of changes on the d perhaps we should give Hall a little more slack? Oh yeah and we won

Legget will hopefully be back soon. He makes a big difference

People amaze me.

Get back to me in 3 games with a legit sample size and hopefully some continuity.

People amaze me.

Get back to me in 3 games with a legit sample size and hopefully some continuity.

 

They got torched against Hamilton's starters in the first half last week.  Torched for 500 yards tonight.  It's a legit concern.

He has had this group of guys in his system for literally one game.

My word.

 

Look I'm a believer in this team, I think we got the potential to contend for the West this year, I think we can go up against the Stampeders and Eskimos and be competitive and even win, hell I think our talent is good enough to win the Grey Cup.  O'Shea's doing a great job and I love tonight and love this team.

 

But come on, someone sees an area they get concerned about, they should not be knocked for it.

People amaze me.

Get back to me in 3 games with a legit sample size and hopefully some continuity.

They got torched against Hamilton's starters in the first half last week. Torched for 500 yards tonight. It's a legit concern.

In a ******* pre season game.

Seriously, some perspective would be great.

He has had this group of guys in his system for literally one game.

My word.

Look I'm a believer in this team, I think we got the potential to contend for the West this year, I think we can go up against the Stampeders and Eskimos and be competitive and even win, hell I think our talent is good enough to win the Grey Cup. O'Shea's doing a great job and I love tonight and love this team.

But come on, someone sees an area they get concerned about, they should not be knocked for it.

I didn't see you mention the significant changes in personnel, or coordinator.

Feel stressed in you want, but it's one actual game that counts.

Hamilton looked God damn awful for half of last year, both sides of the ball.

 

 

People amaze me.

Get back to me in 3 games with a legit sample size and hopefully some continuity.

They got torched against Hamilton's starters in the first half last week. Torched for 500 yards tonight. It's a legit concern.

In a ******* pre season game.

Seriously, some perspective would be great.

 

 

Ya, starters vs starters in a pre-season game.  Not meaningless.

Bombers defence gave up almost 500 yards.

Usually you can't do that and expect to win.

So they've got to tighten up and correct some things.

I'm personally concerned about the DTs more than anything. Very ineffective

Pre season was meaningless tho

Why the Riders even bothered passing the ball is beyond me but we'll take the win nonetheless. Bombers better find some linebacking help or we're in for another long season defensively.

Pre season was meaningless tho

 

In the standings yes, but you don't think they were concerned about their starting D coming out of that game based on how they played against Hamilton's starting O?

People amaze me.

Get back to me in 3 games with a legit sample size and hopefully some continuity.

They got torched against Hamilton's starters in the first half last week. Torched for 500 yards tonight. It's a legit concern.

In a ******* pre season game.

Seriously, some perspective would be great.

Ya, starters vs starters in a pre-season game. Not meaningless.

As close to meaningless as you can possibly get

Pros: Drew willy controlling the huddle and the clock. Using his outlets brilliantly. When Drew is calm and doesn't force throws he is a great QB. Cotton and Marshall look like the Thunder and Lightning we were hearing about before the season. Denmark held on to two big plays while taking big licks. Moore's first TD as a bomber too. Woop! O-line gave Willy time to actually think about what he was doing. Didn't particularly notice Chungh at all, but maybe that's a good thing.

Cons: Blitzing was TERRIBLE. Sam Hurl is not very fast. Turner and Anderson had no push up the middle. Westerman was invisible until the end with his shot on Messam. I don't recall getting a sack tonight, or even getting in the QB's grill at all *but maybe someone can correct me on that. 

 

But hey, we won. Every team in the CFL is in developing/gel mode and coming out with a win in Saskatchewan is a HUGE morale boost for the team.

Our DL needs less Peach and Westerman, more Gibson and Johnson.

 

Sad to say based on what he's getting paid, but Westerman should be rotating with Thomas, probably about 60-40.

Hopefully our D does the reverse of last year and gets better as we go along .

 

Pre season was meaningless tho

 

In the standings yes, but you don't think they were concerned about their starting D coming out of that game based on how they played against Hamilton's starting O?

 

 

Concerned would be an understatement, there will be personnel changes to the front 7 without a doubt.

Bombers and Riders defences looked like twins tonight, both played badly.  Soft zone is going to be hard to watch this year.

 

 

He has had this group of guys in his system for literally one game.

My word.

Look I'm a believer in this team, I think we got the potential to contend for the West this year, I think we can go up against the Stampeders and Eskimos and be competitive and even win, hell I think our talent is good enough to win the Grey Cup. O'Shea's doing a great job and I love tonight and love this team.

But come on, someone sees an area they get concerned about, they should not be knocked for it.

I didn't see you mention the significant changes in personnel, or coordinator.

Feel stressed in you want, but it's one actual game that counts.

Hamilton looked God damn awful for half of last year, both sides of the ball.

 

 

How many times do I gotta tell you I'm happy about opening night's win?  Just because someone sees things that they want fixed and want to see improvement in doesn't make them a debbie downer, just makes them a concerned citizen.

 

I mean jeez, whenever something goes wrong on offense the whole mob comes out wanting to crucify Bellefeuille and that sounds good to everyone, yet someone just expresses concern about a defense they just want to see improvement in, particularly when playing against some of the better Os in the league and that gets put under fire?  I call double standard on that one.

I feel like lack of pressure from the D line, and lack of familiarity is the main issue right now.