Next year country -
Bombers will either lose Pierce or Kyle Walters.
Hardick and/or Bryant may have played their final game - in Winnipeg. Too old, too costly!
Bighill should be allowed to compete in training camp but he’s really, really costly and his age is becoming a massive liabilty.
Try to bring up an NFL cut monster to replace him like a Muamba or Solly Bomb Bombs, etc.
Wonder about Kenny Lawler?
Prolly half the defensive starters today won’t be starters next season. Never know though - O’Shea is one stubborn cuss!
I wouldn’t write that guy off at all. He can still get it done. I think the Bombers just need to get a bit younger elsewhere, as you alluded to, though it will be interesting to see what happens if Pierce leaves to become a head coach in Saskatchewan.
Zach is taking the same flack AC took being 1-3 in his first four cups. isn’t easy winning a GC and the difference in the end might be just that the Als were the healthier team. When you look at the team stats it is amazing how close they are. 368 offensive yards for Winnipeg, 373 for Montreal.
Health, yes, but also, we were the younger team and that told in the second half. Sankey and co. were hitting the crap out of Winnipeg in the fourth quarter.
You remember. I wrote this week, Younger, Faster, and More Physical…
But I don’t think the Bombers are the typical “old” team. They will be at the top of their division again next year. Montreal was so loose, they weren’t intimidated by anybody, crazy stuff…
Oh, I don’t think the Bombers are done for one second. They will reload and come back probably better than ever next year. But yeah, the Alouettes weren’t intimidated. They basically convinced themselves they could go toe to toe with Winnipeg and then went out and did it.
Bryant will probably retire. I think Oshie is only 33 and healthy so I will expect him back. there’s a number of coaches out there and Buck doesn’t seem to be in a rush to move up. Frankly I don’t know if he’s ready yet. Bighill isn’t a liability but he is getting old. Lawler is signed for another year. There will be retirements and players lost to FA but until that happens I won’t guess to how it will affect them. Every team is in the same boat though. Despite how hard it is to keep a team together/good the Bombers have been doing very well in that regard. I expect they’ll sign Walters by the middle of December. He wants to be back they just have to work the numbers out. Not so easy with that cap in place now.
Every team has to tweak trying to find that balance of age and youth.
They just lost a very close game and you expect him to be happy. They rarely have the answers since they experience the game in a completely different way. sure they can review plays but not until you watch film. Zach was under more pressure than Cody was and even then he only made one clear bad choice throwing over top when the man underneath was open and the higher percentage play. One could wonder why the d-line didn’t take more responsibility as they just didn’t get enough pressure. They need to look an improving the inside of the d-line. having guys that can apply more pressure up the middle opens up the ends.
I don’t understand why Montreal was considered the underdog after the way they played in the latter part of the season. Their win in the eastern final was no fluke.
Excellent decision to add Sankey and Lemon.
I don’t blame anyone for thinking we were the underdogs. Hell, most of us thought that too!
I do think the gap between us and the so-called top teams wasn’t as great as some thought. People were acting like we got destroyed by Toronto in the regular-season losses. In reality, the last two losses were very close and the final game was decided by fewer than seven points.
Lastly, the mainstream media may not have been aware of just how many injuries we had in the middle of the season. It was crazy. We weren’t playing the backups; we were playing the backups of the backups. All over the team but particularly on defence. Then, slowly, our wounded started to return. Getting Dionte Ruffin and Ciante Evans back stabilized our secondary. And then the younger guys like Ento and Stubblefield took it to the next level.
Zach got the ball on his own 48 with just over 2 minutes left. All bombers required was a first down and two “turtle count” plays. The package designed for this purpose (by Buck Pierce I assume) was trash. On first down a hand-off to Olivera and he’s stifled for only 2 yds. 2nd down, Collaros drops back looking for a 7 to 9 yd completion but he’s smothered before he can even pivot for a pass in the pocket. 3rd & 17 - clock keeps running, Punt is good, return mediocre. Fajardo has tons of yards to go in order to get winning TD, about 30 yds to get a decent tying FG shot. Chow time - Fajardo destroys Richie Hall’s defense, taking advantage of DBs who can’t cover tight. The last Als drive was too easy. Bomber defense checked out early.
But if Bombers had established a 1st down and 2 turtle counts, they’d have left Als with perhaps 80 to 90yds to gain & only 25 - 30 sec. clock left. Given the sadness of Bomber D, enough yardage for a FG try is almost a given but too much for a winning TD drive. Bomber D failed miserably. End of story. Bomber O didn’t help the situation by barfing up a key 2 & out.
Bombers were 14-4 this year but certainly they weren’t a dominant football team. Needed a big win vs. BC to secure 1st in West. Without the home final - not so sure the Bombers would have been in Hamilton as western reps.
With changes in the air (coaching, management and at least 10 to 15 players) I can’t see Bombers being any better than 13-5 next season, more likely 11-7 or 12-6. They’ll be tooth n nail to win a semi-final. Zach will also be a year older and as we’ve seen in the last few big games - IN DECLINE. A declining QB who’s sucking up $675,000 in cap space but seemingly partially disabled in big games.
Can see Als, if they can acquire a couple stud olinemen to protect CF, being a mini-dynasty, 12-6 or 13-5 and another showdown w/ Toronto for the Eastern title.
14-4 and 2-0 against an 11-7 Montreal team. You flip the results of the two games they played and Winnipeg would be 12-6 and Montreal 13-5. These two teams were closely matched. Montreal was the best team in the league from Labor Day weekend on.
I agree. Winnipeg was good - but erratic. Bighill was a minor liability when healthy; massive liability when hindered.
Exact same problem plagued Bombers for 2 straight Grey Cup losses. When needing a first down and ball control vs. Toronto, they gagged. Same thing vs. Montreal. . . . a puny 2 yd gain by Olivera and a sack. Lots of time left for Cody to run the Bombers off the field and grab the Cup from the Mounties.
