I don’t think any Bomber fans are counting any chickens and for sure the Bombers aren’t. That’s O’Shea’s MO and last year they were also solid favourites and lost so they are well aware of that. And they didn’t lose last year because they were overconfident, they lost because they played poorly in too many areas and the Argos got the last bounce in a game that could have gone either way. The fact the Bombers are favourites means nothing to them.
I haven’t followed the general press that you apparently have but I have seen what has been posted on TSN and this site. That seems to me to be relatively equal and this site seems to be painstakingly giving equal treatment to both teams with several mirror articles. In any event the Bombers certainly don’t control the football press. Taylor Swift does.
In any event good luck to your Als tomorrow. I hope it’s a good game that’s well played and won by the team that plays the best.
The facts is O’Shea does use the injury report to keep everyone guessing who will be on the position chart every week. Nothing has changed for the GC. Looking at the position chart everyone listed as questionable or doubtful is on the game roster.
Montreal everyone listed as doubtful or questionable didn’t show up on the game roster. Some teams play by the rules others play with the rules. (Hint Bombers)
This time it’s only two players who are ‘questionable’ but even so, O’Shea isn’t fooling anyone with Biggy wobbling around sans one Achilles tendon and Deep Threat Dalton still fresh off his high ankle sprain. This GTD crap is getting silly.
In O’Shea’s defence, the league lets coaches get away with this all the time. Witness Steinauer in Hamilton offering the lamest non-response when reporters asked him why he was starting Shiltz and not BLM in the ESF. Until and unless the league intervenes, coaches will try to get away with providing the least information to the media.
I thought he was pretty open about it. I think everyone knows it’s fairly certain that both Bighill and Schoen won’t play. He more or less said so when he explained that he didn’t want to take away their hope by declaring them out in advance. Nothing to see here.
And that’s the direction we’re going isn’t it? Fewer and fewer stats and less heads up info on player health. Only a few years ago we started to call every boo boo an ‘upper or lower body’ injury. If our doctors gave us that kind of diagnosis after every physical we’d start to lose faith in our health care system… (sorry, I couldn’t resist at least ONE health care barb).
Yep, that’s true, but if it’s certain they won’t play just rule them out, O’Shea! There are times when it’s legitimately a game-time decision whether to dress a player. I don’t think either case is one of those times. Those were some pretty serious injuries sustained by both players and unless I’m mistaken, neither player practiced this week. What’s to be gained by being coy about their roster presence until kickoff?
I don’t think he is being coy. He announced to the world that they have both worked so hard and mean so much to the team that he didn’t want to take away their hope. Everyone knows neither will play unless they had bionic replacement surgery this week. O’Shea is just being a player’s coach, nothing more.
The real critical injury was to Kyrie Wilson. He has been their best linebacker all year and if both him and Bighill couldn’t go the Bombers could be in trouble.
This is a bit of a contradiction. If everyone knows they won’t play, they have no hope to take away, so he may as well just openly say what everyone knows. They aren’t children being told Santa Claus isn’t real.
Anyhow, we’ll agree to disagree on this one. I have nothing but respect for Coach O’Shea.
I doubt his Achilles was sheared as then there would be no room for hope. If that was the case he wouldn’t even be able to limp
around with a walking boot on and probably would have had surgery already. It’s probably strained, which is serious enough. I won’t fault O’Shea for putting his players first. We know that not every coach does that.
There are times when it’s legitimately a game-time decision whether to dress a player. I don’t think either case is one of those times. Those were some pretty serious injuries sustained by both players and unless I’m mistaken, neither player practiced this week. What’s to be gained by being coy about their roster presence until kickoff?