Not sure how many of you are familiar with this but.. during the ticat/rider game last week.. the announcers mentioned that outside of the run you had late last year once you made the playoffs.. you take away those games and in the last 12 regular season games.. the riders record is 4-8. so i'm not sure what the problem is, i think it's been there for a little while but was hidden abit because you got on a roll in the playoffs last year but.. 4-8 in last 12 regular season games means its more on just the new coaching staff..
from an outsiders perspective.. last year and the year b4 really.. u had fantuz, bagg, getzlaf, dressler and some other american receiver.. this year u have dressler, getzlaf and some other dudes playing. losing fantuz and bagg for that matter has hurt your ratio and has also hurt your offense... your O was called the Canadian air force.. not so much now is it? your D has given up 100 ++ points in 3 games and u play the als... 150 in 4 games? 35 a game.. your o has lost so much of its talent that... to expect them to put up 40 when the opposition is averaging 35 is a pretty crazy thing to do.. fantuz, bagg, getzlaf, dressler.. that was a fantastic group.. right now u have 1/2 of that and u are missing your big play guy in fantuz.
but when the d is giving up about 35 a game... how many games do you think you will win? i'd say not many... not in the year 2011 when most defenses are very very good. you guys will get to see how a 2011 defense is supposed to be run when the bombers visit you on labor day.
the other issue is TAMAN... in the bomber days.. we had terrible db's and a pretty garbage d most years.. the guy couldnt find guys to replace the current guys he paid way to much to get.. i'm sorry in a way because my ideal grey cup every year would be winnipeg vs sask but.. this guy... has not changed. i remember 2008.. did nothing free agency wise, just signed aging vets to ridiculous contracts... we were supposed to dominate, rule.. that was our year.. funny thing happened tho.. we got older and we didnt find any depth.. and sucked. taman was fired and now we got a great d and if our o starts to play like we know they can, well... we are you guys a couple years ago and you are now in the situation we was a couple years ago.
yeah, and even more…the team is 1-7 (1-8 now) in its last x playoff games. I don’t recall the 4-8 comment, but i do the 1-7 comment (which is even worse i guess huh). some of that was attributed to DD being injured, some of that was attributed to experimenting with the playbook. I believe at the end of the day it is on Berry. What has frustrated me with Berry is that you will often see a mess of great plays with crazy motion and creativity for a quarter or so, then it is like he says “great, those plays work well,” closes the book and opens an old one.
As for the D…it has not looked good…but any team leaving the D on the field that much is going to be the same result. As for the receivers, well, Bagg and Fantuz were out of his hands…can’t blame him there. In fairness, he did bring in Sisco and Cetoute, 2 Canadian receivers with potential, and really there is not much more that that which can be expected, and they also have JC, who I believe has the best hands on the team…this year AND last. I am not sure if he brought in Koch or not, but he is great, even if he is an import (again, injured). I also signed Wheelwright, who I think fits the team extremely well (again, injured), and Nunn (who everyone seems really high on (though I am not as much so). Beyond that, he brought in a great ST coach, and the O-line seems much improved with the players he brought in.
Hear! Hear! If you pull up the comments from the Bomber coaches and fans during the following year after their bid for a Grey Cup...EXACT SAME COMMENTS...Deja vu!! Great team...great players.."but can't put my finger on it" as to why the team sucked...Sound familiar??
Forget the comments about games lost regular season...It's redundant!! In this league its about winning the important games...Its my belief that is ALL ABOUT COACHING...because there is a lot of parity in player skills.
Each game is important but the Hamilton game was pivotal. In spite of this our team was not prepared emotionally nor mentally...Today, I hear Kornegay is placed on waivers...Deja Vu again.
Look at the Bombers during the Taman/Berry days which morphed into the short Kelly era ( negativity draws more negativity over time). Intense, competitive players get cut....How long do you think this time it will take for the "Baron" of Defence to get traded or cut?? Or has he learned to keep his mouth shut when The Crazies take over running a team??
I am sorry for my own negativity on the subject...but mark my words....This IS NOT about any player or coach. Its about decisions being made by high ranking management in bringing in EGO instead of talent...bringing in FRIENDS rather than Talent...making poor football decisions. The personnel brought in to manage and coach this team does not gel...will not gel ..and until wholesale re-structuring is done, we are in an era of embarrassment and losses..
But I am a Rider fan...Been there ! Done that ! Unfortunately, there are H.O. types who count on us faithful no matter what stupid decisions they make...PLEASE STOP THE CRAZIES!!!
I heard that "4-8" comment as well, and it rings true. The Riders' playoff performance last year masked some cracks in the armour, and maybe caused some complacency which allowed those cracks to spread a bit. I agree that it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that results changed when the front office changed, and that the wins followed the outgoing GM.
A buddy of mine (A Lions fan) summed it up pretty well over wings tonight.
"The 90s called. They want their Riders back."
It sucks, but I think he was right.
It's been the DEFENSIVE LINE ... and has been ever since Chick and Baggs left. Taman has done nothing to address this. Etch disguised and got away with this.
Even Hawkins has not shown that he is capable yet. I'd like to think that he can be, I really like his potential, but the way he played last year he was NOT a top 10 end in this league.
Get some pressure from the rush end spot and 75% of your problems INSTANTLY VANISH!
You need a rush in this league to have any chance, the field is just to big to contain a talented receiver for too long! Been a lot of big plays against the riders that wouldn’t have happened if they had that same vicious rider front seven. Hoping you guys come around though and that’s coming from a die hard Bomber fan. :thup: Maybe wait till after labor day and the banjo bowl though…
I don't think looking back to the losing skid at the end of last year has much merit towards this years squad. The losing skid came as they had all but locked up a playoff spot, and we're going through the motions. That was last year and this year there's new players, new coaches, basically a different team.
Numbers can be skewed to try to prove any point. After we won the '07 Grey Cup and started '08 6-0 they were all ranting and raving about the Riders winning their last 10 or 11 games or something, including the preseason.
I am fairly certain that they would have liked to win a couple more of those games and end in first. No team settles for making the playoffs…if they have a shot at 1st, they are going for it. These guys are way to competative and passionate to suggest otherwise, and I think that they would be insulted by such a statement.
Interesting to listen to the Coachs' comments. Marshall has a sincere tone, and even Berry picker and Richie seem like its business time.."Lets just go play ball". Kind of warms the heart and makes you believe....BUT....
Have you noted the contradiction...The Korna Gate Affair..
Words from Marshall are positive and carefully chosen to appear like it was a "numbers"thing...its too bad we have to let him go...we had to make some decisions to improve our team...ALL GREAT COMMENTS...It was the proper way to deal with it.
Then Richie sounds to me a little less positive...performance issues..stuff like that
Then Taman comments . Again guarded words...twisted words.."Let the players decide whether this is sending a message"..
I am telling you....there is something wrong in the mix...I hate repeating it..but I've seen it before.
The thinking that cutting a negative player will make a difference...BS!!
You can bet cutting Kornagay was to "send a message". But I am afraid the coachs are not the same page with each other nor with Management.
I am more convinced than ever...Taman MUST GO!! Those responsible for hiring him MUST GO!! Berry who I think is Taman's buddy MUST GO!! But just watch....I bet you Richie gets fired before they do...and the team will continue to lose...
