....Seems we're fairly healthy for this one...There's no doubt that a win here will solidify a home date in the playoffs...Don't know which Hank will show up but he seems to always have a good game in our backyard...time to change that...We should be pressuring Burris right from the start...Don't let him get set so he gets into one of his passing rhythms and carves us up...They're missing Williams which is a bonus for us BUT Wild and Chungh are out and that'll hurt us...We should see a full house and I hope we bring the noise level to it's highest decibel...That should also unnerve Henry...Nichols had a good week of practise and it looks like Darvin Adams is back in...I would have liked to have seen Gurley and Adams on the field at the same time but it looks like Gurley will be a scratch and Flanders as well...If we put this one away that will be a big positive and we should carry that forward....GoBigBlue... :rockin:
Papa - where did you obtain information that the game was nearly sold out? W Miller is tighter with information than a Steven Harper press conference!
Wouldn't surprise me though if the bombers have pre-sold 24,000 to 26,000 - so with only plus 3 temps and chances of drizzling rain - I suspect less than 200 walking up!
That said, 26,000 to 27,000 is a great end of season no matter the outcome. Should be enough to topple Happy Henry's equilibrium.
But with key players Wild, Fogg, Chungh, even Gurley MIA - Hank should be able to able to ravage the bombers usually abandoned mid-court (Richie Hall usually has his DBs play way back (to stop TDs) or at the line but the mid-ground is rarely tended properly. Hence most QBs with a quick arm can accumulate huge stats.
Wild is a massive game. Perhaps the best overall player on the team. Bombers better hope he's ready in 2 or 3 weeks for the playoff game(s). Same with Chungh - Pat Neufeld is a big boy but he's not nearly as game-tested or agile as Chungh - guys tend to easily walk around Big Patty.
If Hank can find receivers he'll easily mount 300+ yds on a grimy, wet day. Definitely need Westerman and his buddies to defy expectation and put Henry under heavy pressure - maybe even getting a sack or two.
Ottawa is a dangerous team in a dangerous(for us) situation....I didn't know who to cheer for in the game last night. If Edm. won, they creep closer to us. If Ham. won, it would give Ott. more incentive. Maybe it's best Edm. won. Can't believe I just said that.
Also, for the next two games I will become a big supporter of Sask... Did I just say THAT ? :?
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.....C'mon Lyle....a Harper presser....that died along with his tenure as PM.. :lol:
As far as attendance goes....I think your reading something into my post that ain't there....I said 'should' have a full house...Now whether that transpires is up to the Bomber faithful...We shall see...Sorry about the misconception :roll:
......we folded like a cheap suit....hold off on those extensions...this team looks like they're still on the bye week....pitiful coverage....very little rush and the offence stunk.....Any performance resembling this in the playoffs...wherever that is...is a one and done....Looked like the Mike O'Shea team of old and it's a wonder we didn't get Nichols killed in this bull$hit effort...O'Shea owns an abysmal winning record at IGF and one of the reasons they can't fill the stands AND a big reason I get nervous when the Bombers start talking extensions :thdn: :thdn:
Still a good year and the team has made big strides. Our pass D is still an issue. This was Nichols bad game . Big wake up call !!!
Guess O’Shea’s boys were playing for non-homefield disadvantage, eh?
Even a gamer like Husky Harris got ransacked by defensive personnel and nearly got Matt Pikols crippled a couple times!
As predicted Hank ravaged that putrid Richie Hall secondary alignment - good athletes, poorly aligned!
All O’Shea’s post-game conference consisted of (or should have) is:
“We were putrid this week, we’ll go next week!” (only problem is O’Shea don’t know what putrid is)
Next week in Ottawa will determine where the bombers will play their first playoff game in years - at home, in Edmonton, in Vancouver or in Hamilton. I think they have 4 possibilities depending on what else goes down!
Looked like a team that hadn't practiced in two weeks, nice job Mike. Biggest game for the Bombers in 5 years and you serve up that steaming pile. Do the right thing Wade and give the fans back their money for subjecting them to that excuse of a football game today.
......Putrid pile of shite comes to mind and you're right pigseye...the fans deserve better...the ones that show up faithfully at IGF just to witness another debacle and loss....Can we get a much deserved playoff game at home??...Leos have to lose to that pathetic bunch they played today...don't see it....AND if we drop the next one with a similar effort like today...it'll be the crossover as Edm. is not going to lose one against an equally pathetic club (argos) as the green guys...We still could finish third with a win next week but there goes the home playoff if leos win in any event...Far cry from what everyone was envisioning awhile ago......Today Nichols stunk (should have been pulled and give Glenn a shot)...worst game by him by far all year...I don't agree with O'Sheas stupid friggen calls on who starts...Darvin Adams played great today.BUT why the hell are we sitting a player like Gurley who would have been as dangerous and far better than Smith as far as I'm concerned...These are the kind of decisions that make me leery of extending Mike O and if we do I hope it's just for one year...The players luv him for sure but I don't think O'Shea has the ability as head coach to go any further than the 'quite not good enough' team of today...What a blown opportunity and too many as far as this fan is concerned. :thdn:
Yes I have to agree Papa. First, I can not understand sitting Gurley. A few of those intercepts may not have happened with his height and him and Darvin are complimentary bookends. Not sitting Nichols to watch a few minutes from the sidelines was and is a mistake O'Shea made with Willy too. Put in Glenn or even Davis for a while and see what happens. The whole game was embarrassing. On any given day, including yesterday, we should beat Ottawa easily. I just don't get it.
.....I don't get it either Dan....Like you said...Willy was being put in as starter when he had no business being put in as such...O'Shea has too close of a relationship with some of his players, clouding what should/could be best for the team....What good is loyalty when you witness a mess like what was put up yesterday...He seems to be doing the same now with Nichols...When he was asked at the half...'will you make a qb. change'...he just laughed ...walked away as much to say....'not bloody likely'...This is a flaw this coach has and I do not at this point want to see O'Shea extended for any great length of time...He won't learn or he doesn't want to and that will never produce a winner. :x
The Bombers played like the same as they have all season long. Our D is the worst in yardage allowed all season long and yesterday was no exception. The offense for the most part was the same as well. There were 2 huge differences. One is that the D couldn't force the turnovers. And when you can't force a couple of turnovers AND you give up huge yardage then you're giving up points. And Nichols wasn't very good, forcing the ball and with all his turnovers, not to mention a couple of drops by the Redblacks D that should have been picked off. We've had trouble finishing drives all season long which is why Medlock has kicked so many field goals, and when we needed it we couldn't do it.
We are not a 60 minute football team that can move the ball up the field and dominates defensively. You can look at our wins this year and identify maybe 4-6 big plays in the games at key moments that were a big reason why we won. We just didn't get those plays yesterday and Ottawa did.
I had 2 main issues with the coaching overall. They were moving the ball up the field early then unexplicably call a double reverse which gives the ball to Dressler 10-11 yards behind the line of scrimmage on which he gets stretched out the the sideline and does a ton of running for no gain or a loss? And why was Nichols allowed to finish the game? I was listening to some of the post game radio talk and basically the reasoning is he's our guy and we had a chance to come back. No we didn't. Down 23-3, that late TD was in part thanks to some soft D on Ottawa's part. His first half was atrocious and we should've seen if Glenn or Davis could have salvaged the game or let Nichols miss a few series and watch and then come back to him and see what he's got. Sticking with your guys through thick and thin is nice, but there was a lot on the line. A home playoff game would've been huge for the players, fans, and franchise. I don't think we gave ourselves the best chance to win.
One more thought - our Oline missed Chungh. I know Walby and some other guys say Neufeld's a solid OL, but I just don't see it. His first half was good but he wore down as the game went on in the second half and the interior of our Oline struggled late and Nichols' took a lot of hits. He's been out a while and it's fair to say he's not fully in game shape, but there were times or Oline looked a lot like the one that struggled on our way to our 1-4 record to start the season.
O’Shea has a terrible tendency to overrate his men. Neufeld is bigger and slightly stronger than Chungh but he’s an immobile mess who can’t really pull - the double reverse loss was a terrible call (probably on Plop) that was based on decisions of big immobile o-linemen (Bryant, Neufeld, Bond, Hardick, etc.) to get off their first blocks and cancel pursuit. The play usually fails - I think its worked for more than 2 yards only a small percentage of the times its been called.
O’Shea is trying to define his coaching style as extreme loyalty - that in situations like this (Nichols playing like a doorknob) comes across as idiotic stubbornness.
Regardless of next week’s outcome - and even if the bombers are 1 & done in their playoff match - team management will declare the season to be an amazing accomplishment.
The contrast in secondary coverages is also worth speaking about. Bombers were only able to go underneath - when they needed 10 yds they’d toss for 5 to 7 and go 2 'n out. That’s the only stuff that was open. By the same token Burris had guys open 10 to 20 yds downfield - as if the bomber secondary were playing hide ;n seek on redblack WRs. If that trend continues it really won’t matter who QBs the bombers - Burris or Harris will ransack a distraught secondary for more than 300 yds and just too many points for the bombers timid offense to overcome!
…I just don’t see Neufeld being here much longer…His passport is wearing thin and is getting thinner every time he heads for the tub…I would say he’s just about done in the Peg and can head back to Regina from whence he came and join that inadequate bunch…he fits right in …He totally whiffed on a block that almost put Nichols on the ir… time to get rid of him…I hope Chungh is back soon…at least for the playoffs…We’re certainly better with him in there…It’s too bad he’s going to free agency …there’s a chance we might lose him and those 2 draft pics in the top 9 are going to look awfully good if we do…We could end up with first overall BUT I’ve read that the 17’ draft is going to be light in talent with regard to O Line guys, compared to other years…We might need that 1ST. overall… :roll: