So after putting the foot on the gas in the fourth quarter and scoring 24 points, what is everyone's predictions for the Banjo Bowl?
We will definitely be going into hostile territory, and generally the Bombers have always played us well in Winnipeg..
This is a tough one. The Bombers looks good yesterday but as it was pointed out to me in another post we didn’t know who the starter was going to be in that game. So it’s hard to say, I could see WPG pulling one out, but I could also see us really destroying Goltz with more time to prep. As it’s too early I have two predictions:
Saskatchewan @ Winnipeg-37-21
Saskatchewan @ Winnipeg-33-28
Bombers will be tough in there house, but I think if Riders stay focus and come to play, they will win this also, Riders adapt well going into 3rd, I can't see them not using Goltz but who knows. I also think with Int. out of the way for DD he will play way better now, he went 8 1/2 games pressure is off nice run, also think we will see way more Sheets yardage and Dressler more catches next game, we have the best back field in the league, 6-7 differ targets all good!!
37-17 Riders
Banjo bowl here we come :cowboy:
I think it's going to be a close one... Both teams will have another week to prep and make adjustments. But I give the advantage to Saskatchewan as I feel our coaches are way better than Winnipeg's. My concern is the health of our Special Teams with the injuries to Newman, Hughes an Steinhauer.
Although Woods for the Blue bombers was hurt as well..
Look for the BB to run Goltz more as we did not seem to have an answer for him... But I am confident that we will prepare better for this ....
I think the Riders will prevail By a score of 31 - 27
Saskatchewan 41
Winnipeg 17
The Bombers haven't won at home all year, and the boo birds will be out in full force early. However good the Bombers looked in the early going on Labour Day, I think the wind came completely out of their sails late in that game and they don't believe they can hang with this team.
32-16 Riders. Geroy said that Winnipeg changed up their game plan from what was seen on film. I imagine the Riders will have a better grasp on what Winnipeg is going to do out there, and are the better all around team... bigger, stronger, faster and smarter then Winnipeg.
I think the Riders are going to walk away with a larger margin of victory then they did yesterday now that they have seen them first hand.
Very true.
Marcel Bellefeuille said it best…something along the line of…‘we are revamping this team a little bit more every week. We don’t have preseason games so we are trying to win at the same time.’ They are 2 weeks into a new offensive system, and already look a lot better.
I feel he will be a HC again soon…maybe not tomorrow, but before next season. If this team had a better line, they would look good.
Letting Lapo go was a huge mistake.
Roughriders 28
Blue Bombers 22
I think it will be a wild game with a loud, boisterous crowd. Winnipeg's D will be rough and tough, so Riders will have to keep the penalties and turnovers down. Rider D can be equally ferocious, so they're about even there. But a disciplined game and a nice balance of pass and run will wear Winnipeg down, and if they make too many mistakes Riders will eventually take advantage and run up the score. Riders by 17.
Riders 28
Bombers 21
I think with no adjustments from the labour day classic this will be the score to look for. I, as well as many other fans in rider nation, feel we need to start playing a full four quarters. As many die hard fans know you have to get momentum going early to defeat some of the stronger teams within our division. On offence we seem to have hit a good stride and have to put our faith in Darian as we move forward. He has proven this year that with more time he can execute plays. The only issue I have seen this year is in our defence. Yes it has drastically improved from last year and there is no doubt we are a powerhouse in defensive yards this year. Our D line has been very outstanding against the run and more than adequate in getting good penetration with pass rush. Our DB's have been very good with maintaining positioning and keeping tight coverages. Safetys have been where they needed to be most times and sometimes being out of position but with good reason (I.e. Crossing recievers under/over that are meant to confuse safeties). The only issue I have seen is losing big plays by playing man zone too many plays in a row. Week three was so far the only week where this didn't occur. Offences have seen this and exploited it sometimes with crazy results (Goltz's 40+(?) yard run for a TD). For example in the labour day classic before that big qb rush we ran 7 of 9 plays man coverage and every second down for almost a whole quarter. It was 2nd down, the offensive coordinator for the bombers knew we would run man coverage and thus a qb run / screen pass would exploit us huge. Other than that the way this teams playing we will definately see the riders in the western finals and who knows, hopefully the grey cup
The stands will be full of green and white - Bomber 'faithful' are starting to walk away from this team, and who can blame them?
The Riders will be able to game-plan for Goltz behind centre (doesn't make sense for any other name to be considered), so there won't be any surprises. Riders by 4 TDs.
Just so you know this game is sold out. Bomber fans are great fans who have experienced quite the downturn but have and will continue to stick by their team.
Yeah, don’t they have like 26k season ticket holders? I know this is 3 or 4 consecutive seasons setting a franchise record. That is amazing for their struggles, though I know the new stadium helped offset that.
I dont think its a matter of the Riders “not playing a full 4 quarters” as much as they have the same strategy and game plan week in and week out. Its like a boxing match. Slowly feel the opponent out, then go in for the kill shot in later rounds. That seems to be the Riders game plan, especially on offense. Pound the ball to Sheets, as well as take deep shots down the field, and run short passes when needed to a point where the Defense is tired, then go in for the kill shot in the 4th quarter. This strategy will be huge come playoff time.
hmm...hard to say. I would think that Goltz won't get away with a whole lot of running TD's this time now that they have some film to look at but who knows.
Expect more wrinkles out of the Bombers. Their offense will have a few new looks and surprises and Marcel builds his offense up.
It'll be a tough game. Winnipeg hates out guys and will be loud. They'll want our heads on a platter so I expect the Bombers to play super tough for the first bit..............the question is can they sustain the intensity for 60 minutes.
If Goltz doesn;t throw 2 picks.............last week game is closer. But we started to dominate in the 3rd and ran them over in the 4th. I don't expect this to happen again.
It'll be closer. It was nice to see out guys being composed and taking care of their assignments. Sooner or later they break it open and the opponent caves in. I hope it happens early...........but i suspect this game will be much closer.
30-21 riders
I’d b very surprised if there is a spread of more than 10 pts. Riders more likely 2 win.
I say the Riders take it by 28.