Odds and Sods - 2016 Banjo Bowl - Riders vs Bombers

Roosevelt eludes 3 Bomber tacklers…
…for big YAC, deep into Blue territory…
Riders get to 1st and goal…but stuffed twice
…take penalty, then stopped again…settle for 3
Riders look pretty ready to play…
Bomber O, slow and sluggish out of the gate…
ST penalties also leaving them with bad field position…
4 first downs/17 yds passing/ 5 penalties for Bombers in 1st quarter…
Cole has stopped the revolving door at DE…makes plays…
Both teams now heavly exchanging…penalties…
Passes to Dressler and Smith set up Medlock from 35 yds…
Harris limping…goes to bench…comes back out… limps some more…
.Rider O is grinding to a halt…
…as Bombers are amping up the pressure on Durant…
Bad news: Ian Wild goes out.
Good news: Tony Burnett can ball.
Roosevelt with circus catch…guy is a playa…
Hard hitting game, plenty of guys getting up slowly…
Nichols bombs 50 yds to Dressler…couple of Rider penalties…
…Nichols sacked but MOS challenge roughing passer…gets it…
Ball on the 1, Nichols sneaks in to finish 70 yd TD drive. 10-3.
Pretty chippy play off the ball…by both teams…
Bombers knocking Durant around…Darrian looking rattled…
Harris trys it for the 3rd time…and leaves the game for good…
Bombers s-l-o-w-l-y…winning field position battle…
Rookie Corney doing some good work at DE and ST…
Fogg busts 75 yd punt return for the touchdown…
…and for the 3rd time, this year…he is called back on illegal block…
Ryan Smith can’t buy a break, except perhaps on his thumb…
…this guy does not have the luck of the Irish…
Durant starting to get some more time in the pocket…
…completing more passes…particularly on 2nd down…
…as he puts together 80 yd TD drive…with pass to Roosevelt…
10-10…end of the third…as Medlock misses 49 yd attempt…
McDuffie starting to grow on me, at SB…
Bombers have limited run game with Harris out…
Riders have absolutely no run game…as is…
IC penalty on Loffler…gives Riders ball on Bomber 20…
But…Fogg strips receiver of da ball…Adams recovers…
JFG makes great 50 yd catch to get Bombers out of their end…
PI on Sask and couple of catches from Dressler…moves it closer…
Nichols then scrambles and spagetti legs it… down to the 1…
Next play Nichols plunges over to cap clutch 94 yd drive. 17-10 Blue
Demski having his best game for the Riders at receiver…
Dressler having his best…as a Bomber…
Somebody will come out of DB backfield… when Randle returns
…but it should not be Fredrick…another soild game…
Riders line up for 57 yd FG attempt…who are they kidding?
…as my entire section is jumping up and screaming…“fake, fake!”
Riders go ahead and run that fake…with QB Bridge running to the outside…
…and getting cut down by Fredrick…huge turnover.
Medlock punts and pins Riders deep…3rd and 3…Sask decides to punt.
Medlock misses clinching 48 FG attempt…Lawrence is racing downfield…
…until upended by the last man back…Nichols.
Typically, Riders are called for illegal block. Game over.
Blue sweep Riders for first time since 2004…
6 straight wins…longest streak in 15 years…
…while DOD simply does the usual gin…
…perhaps a little longer tonight…

Quite the bad break for the 'Riders at the end but it was most certainly a hold and almost tackle and was a good call at the end (though most 'Rider fans don't think so lol).

Overall - I agree with Climie - Bombers will need to play a lot better (especially on offense) to keep their streak up. Next week they play an Argo team that is fighting for a playoff and that is the last 'easy' game they will have (by 'easy' I mean the Argo's are hurting and are probably at the same level as the bombers). After that - it's all games against teams ahead of them save the Eskimo's who can easily beat Wpg in Wpg it seems. We'll see how it shakes out - at least he bomber defense is much improved and they have a real QB in there now.

I wonder if the Argos will get Franklin or Willy? I'd go after Franklin myself but if anyone could fix whatever broke in Willy it's probably Milanovich but that contract - 450k next year??? No thanks

.....Key injuries in that one but we seem to have guys who can step up....Burnette and JFG...I was surprised by the play of Lochard filling in for Harris....His first run wasn't much BUT he showed his stuff in the next series of downs...He looks like a decent fill in and glad he came over with Harris in fa....We might have to do a little juggling for the next one depending on who and how many can't go.. :roll:

Offense is stagnant. We're seeing a number of the same plays week after week. I thought LaPo was supposed to have this massive playbook he developed in his hiatus, but it's not showing much. There were some new plays but overall the offensive scheme has made it easy for opposition Ds to scheme against us the last 2-3 weeks IMO.

Definitely a hard hitting game. 3-5 guys or whatever it was knocked out of the game is never a good sign. Hopefully nothing long term, especially Harris. Fingers crossed his is only a soft tissue bruise or mild sprain and he's good to go after a couple days of therapy. Regardless we have the depth to overcome. Burnett showed well stepping in for Wild, Lochard wasn't too bad himself in his few runs taking over late for Harris.

Agreed, Cole is a gamer, loved him going back to last season. A bit disappointed Phillip Hunt decided to join Odell in Edmonton and not come back here, but Cole has been solid. Now we need to see Westerman start getting to the QB a bit more like he did last year.

Gotta feel for Ryan Smith. Guess Denmark gets back in though and that's not a bad fall back.

If PLOP opens up the playbook he risks more turnovers as Nichols would need more in-pocket time to complete longer and intermediate throws - Nichols isn’t mobile enough to buy himself extra time a la Reilly, Jenkins, Collaros, Mitchell or even Durant!

The Oline is giving good protection compared to what was going on in front of Willy - 3 in the last 4 games and Nichols hasn’t been hit nearly as much as Willy. Receivers can cover 10, 20 yards in a couple of seconds so you don’t need that much more time. It’s not so much the pocket time or his mobility that’s the issue IMO, it has to be the playcalling and play design that will challenge a defense with something more than short to intermediate high percentage throws. Given the statistical success Nichol’s has had in this quick dink and dunk system, namely staying away from some of those awful INTs he threw as an Eskimo or even last year after joining the Bombers, it’s hard to argue against it. Until we lose I guess. Maybe some of the success we saw Nichols have on deeper throws the last couple of weeks may encourage Lapo to expand the playbook a bit more. And Nichols doesn’t have to be mobile like those other QBs. They’ve had him roll out of the pocket once or twice a game to change the release point and it’s worked well for the most part and doing that a couple more times a game could help spring the receivers loose for some more deeper routes.