Bombers at B.C. ...rematch

…Jockeying for playoff position now…A win here could go a long way in securing a home playoff game… Lions are a good team and cannot be underestimated…We beat them by sticking with what got us this far…keeping Matt clean and the running of Harris on key downs…We know our D is solid and the ball hawks will be hawking… On Offence, with the insertion of Gurley for this one, it gives Nichols a nice weapon to keep the B.C. secondary on their toes…One BIG angle to this game I’d like to see is to ‘kick smarter’…Keep the ball away from that Rainey kid and allow our special teams coverage to wrap these guys up early… Another is to play their receivers tighter…We can’t give their top receivers a lot of cushion…they’ll kill ya…Looks like Wild is back and his play will help stuff their running game…I just hope he’s a 100 percent if he is in fact in the line-up…A solid win and we would make all of that controversy go away that killed the glow after the last one…Go Get Em Bigblue. :rockin:

Wild and Leggett are both on the roster but either or both could be scratched. Looks like from the roster it may be 2 Internationals that end up game day scratches.

I see this game maybe going a bit like last years game when Jennings was still early into the starting job -come out guns a blazing and get a lead, Bombers crawl back into the game in the second half and take the win.

Wonder what shape Rainey is in. He took a bit of a beating here in Winnipeg last week.

Helluva a game. Clock control=WIN.....Two really good Ds.

Now we need to beat Ottawa twice and they finally look decent . BC EDM next wknd will be a huge tilt.

:thup:

So many scenarios. I’m just glad we are in the thick of it.

…Rainey (what a great name for a kid playing in B.C.)…looked like Rainey till he was dun in by his own guy in the closing minutes…Still don’t know why we kick directly at that speedster…It’s like we’re daring him to take one back and it sure tests our special teams guys…Jennings is a great little qb. BUT he likes to chuck it up and a lot of the times it’s a pic… Our dbs. are salivating when he’s pressured and delivers the ball…Nichols shows much more control and it’ll be awhile till Jennings matures…when he does he’ll be tough to beat…In any event great game by our guys and a bold step toward a home playoff date…How long has it been since we could say that :thup: :thup:

Papa - a victory will do that to a guy - filling him with copious quantities of pitz & vinegar.

But I saw a ton of weaknesses in that bomber defense - and some horrid coverage details in their d-backfield.

Couple of observations:

  1. The new fawn they threw in when Chungh couldn't go obviously doesn't have the oomph or smack Chung does. Kinda obvious.
  2. Goosen didn't know his assignment as Chung's replacement on special team kicks. Why not?
  3. Sam Hurl doesn't present much threat as a bomber defender - short of filling a uniform
  4. Westerman is flagging badly. I know you'll say he's being quadruple teamed but that's standard defense of a guy who can't bust thru anymore.
  5. Yuke Cummings ain't much better - other than being an American hobo - and obviously subject to being shunned for next season's roster

On the plus side:

  1. Loffler is rookie of the year - no doubt!
  2. Harris is having a blast - and he's a baller to be sure!
  3. Andrew Nichols is a nice combination of the old Toms - Burgess & Clements
  4. Rory Kohlert isn't ready
  5. Need Leggatt and Wild at 100% in order to compete in our first round playoff game. Bombers vulnerable to anyone still alive if Leggs and Wild out

I'm one Rider fan hoping like hel l Bombers pull this thing off. From what I've seen the last 3 - 4 weeks, no one
is overly matched to, or even as good as them. Get hot for a couple 3 hour stints in November and who knows? They're playing as good as anyone, (other than Sask :smiley: ).

10-6-0

11-7 or 10-8 are substantial (perhaps great) improvements over the early years of the O'Shea/Miller/Walters administration.
No matter what happens in the playoff game the bombers have qualified for the season will be declared a super kali fragilistic, etc. year. O What a Feeling!

That's about 75% of the story!

The rest is well, the rest. If the bombers lay down and die in the eastern crossover - they'll need to lose their last two games to qualify down - fans will be staggered and stunned - especially to a 6 or 7 win eastern mope, regardless of field advantage!

If the bombers finish 2nd in west they'll get a home field boost - but nothing will be guaranteed against BC or Edmonton. Those are two good teams that have good quarterbacks and occasionally decent coaching. Losing a west final by curling up and dying will send a bad message to season ticket holders.

That said, regardless of what happens the bombers excellent performance this year - mostly due to recognizing Drew Lilly was a miserable bust will stem the erosion of the bomber season ticket base. Still doesn't solve the feeble walk-ups bombers have almost every game they have except Sask;n ---- where the walk-up is unnecessary cuz the game is SRO.

No doubt a few changes in the offing next season. Surprised mostly if Richie Hall's days as a DC still exist. This guy serves little purpose.

Also, some roster guys who are up in the air..

Westerman
Wild ***(error: sorry Wild is a keeper if he ever gets healthy; I was thinking Hurl)
Ryan Smith (if Gurley works out Smith could be trade bait)
Kohlert (if they can't do better than this guy they're not trying hard enough)

LaPolice could easily be wooed east. However, if Toronto is trying to lure him - they'll have to provide better QBs than Mope Willy. Montreal is a tire fire - and Plop wouldn't want to be in when the ashes are still smoldering.

No doubt in my mind Milanovich will flee Toronto (either getting fired or in a settlement with ownership). Milo will no doubt re-surface in Sask'n with his old friend Penguin Jones. Milo will replace McAdoodoo as OC.

That's where one opening happens. Montreal won't keep Chappy as HC unless they're suicidal. Another opening.

Minor threat of openings in Edmonton - only if they go one and done in playoffs. . . . . or BC - despite Wally's "success" in his re-build, he might see Lapolice as his kinda guy and make a serious play for Plop's services. Minor threat, I add. :cowboy:

A lot of IFs and a lot of negatives..... Are you mad at someone, Lyle ?

I’m never negative - just REALISTIC…

You know as well as I do Dan the bombers need to effect more change and upgrades to be a legit Grey Cup threat. For now, its a very satisfying season for bomber fans, no question!

But if you look at how almost every QB who’s upright can ravage our secondary you’re really in positronicville - the d-line isn’t getting much push - the secondary is helpless with QBs given that much time!
Heck, even wounded warrior Travis Lulu could prolly ransack us for 200 yds with his broken arm!
Cato, a wounded mind might accumulate 175 all by himself! lol

I’m a realist too but every time I think of some improvement they can make, they go out and win another game.

Poor pass rush and pass coverage, yes; interceptions galore, YES !!!..That’s reality too.

.....I'm going to take off the bluengold shades and say, although we've done very well this year in turning things around, there definitely is room for improvement....Of course every team...even Cal. can say that but as far as Bomber concerns go, definitely could use a bookend to Westerman.... Not sold on Ritchie Hall the dc either..His bend don't break approach is wearing a little thin.. Also I don't think there's enough pressure on the opposing qb. hence a relatively adequate qb. can carve us up...We're very sporadic with the rush on the qb., and have a long way to go to compare ourselves to the stamps for instance...I think we have enough talent to make it to the final....after that, and going with our present roster, it'll be tough to advance any further...A lot of fans will see that as a positive and possibly enough but I won't be one of them...This is the CFL and on any given day the top tier teams can beat one another...Sometimes it's the desire to win that'll carry the day....and lord knows we have enough of that after 25 years and counting....So I'm hoping for the best outcome to 16'...Can Mike O' and the guys we have deliver..hmmmmmmmmm..I know one thing we're going to give it a bloody good shot. :rockin:

Thanks for the positive comments Taleback....not been a good year for you but I'm glad someone from another team can say nice things about our season so far...Glad you're pulling for us and I hope we can get it done.. :slight_smile:

My guess is since he’s the only returner back there, if you kick it to him you try keep him in one spot and with have enough hang time you give your coverage enough time to get down and contain him. We’ve done a pretty decent job against him in two weeks though he was able to bust through twice late in the fourth quarter and give us all heart palpitations. If you kick it away he probably runs under it and then has the added benefit of already running so he would be harder to contain.

Loeffler was an absolute steal. It’s still a bit surprising BC passed on him being a local kid and a safety which they use as a National spot. Edem had a great game at safety for them, but he hasn’t delivered on the promise of his rookie year. What a solid pickup by Walters.

Westerman hasn’t put up the same sack totals as last year but he’s still leading the team with 7 which still puts him in the top 10 in the league. He may still get to 10, especially with the Redblacks having lost SirVincent Rogers for the year. I think he may actually be playing fewer snaps this year with them rotating Corney into both end spots at times to get him some experience.

Cummings and Shologan for that matter haven’t really put up anywhere close to their sack totals from last year. They’ve made big plays here and there but haven’t exactly lit the defensive end on fire. But I would suggest both guys helped solidify the Dline as a unit and we’re not getting gouged on the run like we were in the last 2-3 years. Outside of Messam that is. Well, Rainey had that big run in the game here for the Lions. But overall I think our yards allowed on the run are fewer. And while our sack totals are down, they have gotten enough pressure out there to force some bad throws which have resulted in some of those INTs the secondary is making. Cummings is on a 1 year deal, not sure he comes back. If Bilukidi finally decides to give up on the NFL and head north or we take one of the two highly rated DL in the 2017 draft thanks to that extra pick from the Argos, and having Corney and Thomas around, we could conceivably go three Nationals on the DL in that scenario.

Can’t say I agree. Their season went off the rails once Harris got hurt and Burris came back to soon with the bad thumb. Harris himself probably came back before he was ready as he hasn’t returned to his pre-injury form. They are still a threat with Sinopoli and Ellingson but not having Chris Williams hurts. Watching them play the Ticats this week, they squeaked out a win thanks to a blown command centre call on the catch and fumble against a Ticats team without Collaros and with something like 8 or 9 new players in the lineup. They’ve lost the home field advantage which was so huge for them last year (2-4 at home), and are 2-5 vs West teams. Since their bye in week 8 it looks like they are 3-5 with their only wins coming against other east teams. Somethings a little off with them IMO and I don’t think they’re at the caliber of where they were last year. They still manage to throw for a lot of yards and our D has been giving it out like Halloween candy which is a major concern. That said, if we can’t at least split the series that would be a massive disaster.

A healthy Ian Wild and a 100% Mo Leggatt would help solidify an extremely shaky but game defense. Wild is able to cover for mistakes made by the d-line and is exceptional in short-range to intermediate coverage. A very smart player who has NFL skills - just a bit under-sized to stay down south. I'm predicting him to be a future bomber coach fwiw.

No question Corney has been a disappointment in spite of all the rah=rah prior to games. Shologan is average, Cummings has been a bit of a bust which allows offenses to double or triple team Mr. Big (Westerman)....
Hurl is really a nobody while Khalil Bass tries hard but can't quite dominate!

Richie Hall probably playing it coy cuz he knows his Front 7 talent pool is a shaky!

All I'm saying is that it's easier or seems to be easier to fix the problems when you are winning and we are winning....I not going to complain. I'm going to enjoy the ride. It's been a long wait. After we win the Cup, we can fix everything.

Psssst, we should be thanking Montreal for showing us how to stop the Stamps. That was quite the defensive show they put on. I think the butter fingers the Stamp's receivers had was in part due to the trucks that were ready to hit them IF they did catch the ball.

How to stop the Stamps?

Hmmm. I'd say it was more the stamps taking most of the night off. Early clinching does that to teams - even if Dickenson went whip hand heavy all week!

Stamps sometimes don't even play full games but they just did enough to TKO a poorly coached and awfully quarterbacked team!

......Looking ahead for some improvement/...I'd luv it if Bilukudi or Andy Mulumba showed up at tc next year...We'd definitely improve defensively up front and that is one area that definitely needs a boost...I think Corney will be fine...rookie year and he is playing behind Westerman so he's not getting much actual game time to really show us what he's got...The few times he's been in he looked great...especially at the beginning of the year...admittedly though recently he has tailed off...I hope we stay away from Carter...Most teams will be tempted but I don't think his excellent talent level would overcome the bad attitude that guy brings..

...As far as the Ottawa games go..I don't see a sweep by either club...We might even have an edge at taking both if we can show the calibre of play that we did against the leos..Looking at our injuries, Darvin Adams should be back and that'll give the receiving corps a boost... Wild should be ready to go as well..A little concerned about Chungh...Don't know how badly he was injured but we definitely need this guy on the o line.. It sure was noticeable in the last B.C. game when he was out that we lacked push up front...especially at the leo goal line..Anyway, bye time and I'm sure some of the guys are looking forward to having a rest and getting rid of a few nics..We should be rested and ready to close out the reg. season.

Chung's injury is a big concern going forward. Hopefully he's good to go after having this week off. Same for Ian Wild and Moe Leggett.

How do we beat the Stamps? We have to play a hard 60 minutes of football. We showed we can hang with the Stamps in the second half just a couple of weeks ago, we shut down their offense in the second half. I just don't know where our offense or defense was in the first half of that game and we dug ourselves a big hole. That and finishing off another drive or two would help. The Blue have shown they can be a scrappy team, but against the Stamps we can't let ourselves get so far behind if we're to give ourselves the best chance to win.