WEST SEMI

…And that’s just it…it’s ALWAYS next year for this club and a lot of fans are sick and tired of it…I’ve noticed a lot of empty seats at IGF this season…Is it because the fans are so beaten down by the years of futility that they’ve thrown up their arms and say to themselves…same old same old…just a different pile…As a very long time fan of this club I have to wonder what it’s going to take…I’m not going to poo…poo the whole year because it was an improvement…BUT considering how other clubs seem to be able to find the pieces quickly and find success…I’m a little tired of the slow pace this team seems to progress…Nobody can claim and say…‘hey wait…we’re on our way…have patience’…because a lot of fans have run out of afore mentioned…So because I’ve not totally given up (damned close) here are some of my suggestions for next year

Re-sign our key pieces in fa…(we might have to replace Chungh and that’s going to hurt)

We have 2 great pics in the 17’ draft…make sure we get a top o lineman with one of them and also draft a receiver…we need one badly for depth

Get a middle linebacker…We have some average guys playing the position and it’s not getting it done…We need an Adam Bighill type

We could improve the D line period and especially on the end opposite Westerman…not enough push and rush

Lastly…I really think that Ritchie Halls position should be reviewed…I don’t think with the talent we had this year, that it was used properly

Probably could add a few more suggestions but that’s my take for now…It’s going to be another looooong off season…AGAIN

We're all sick of the next year talk.

I actually think this team had as a good a chance as any of winning this year, if not for some gutless coaching by Lapo and Hall, which has been the knock on them their entire careers.

Yep, Plop & Koko B. Ware sure did the shrivel dance last nite!

And now it appears Mike O'Shea (40% career winning percentage in reg. season; 0% in playoffs) has made it a Goofus Trio.

No question O'Shea is re-upped for at least two more seasons. Walters is also fait accompli. Only question is Hall - as Wadzilla had to bear witness by a total bizarre breakdown by a defense that's been marked by total bizarre breakdowns! Hall comes back only if the BB can't find anything better.

Buck Pierce also ain't much of a brainiac QB coach!

On the OB coaches show tonight MOS said Lapo had already called in the 3rd and four play when he over-ruled and called for the kick team.
I’d love to know what Lapo had called?
QB draw sneak?

On the OB coaches show tonight MOS said Lapo had already called in the 3rd and four play when he over-ruled and called for the kick team.
I'd love to know what Lapo had called?
QB draw sneak?

…Doesn’t matter what LaPolice called it would’ve been better than an impossible field goal attempt…Lapo should have stuck to his guns more forcefully…BUT I’ll play the game …He would’ve/should’ve called a hand off to Harris who would have run directly behind Bond, with the rest of the o line getting behind Andrew and giving him the big push for 5 yards…I bet we make that 4 yards 9 times out of ten, which is certainly a better percentage shot than the 61 yd. field goal.

And that’s a justifiable supposition Papa. I agree with the odds… My odds say that with our porous D, we get eaten alive by Calgary next week.

I’m not saying it was a great decision to kick. I’m saying it should never have come to that decision and the D is the reason.

…You’re right Dan…carved up and then eaten alive…BUT I don’t look at it totally that way…I think every post season game for our guys gives us a learning experience…good or bad… and it takes us that much closer to the promised land…To go with your take on the ‘could’ve been game’ for us against Cal. in the final…I think the leos are going to suffer the beating that we would’ve taken,I’m going to enjoy a little ‘schadenfreude’ in that one :wink:

For sure. :thup:

My guess is that Plop got real timid and meek with O’Shea who was out of his mind calling for the field goal team. Plop’s history is chock full of meek & timid moments - he’s never been a take-charge guy - always needing someone like Richard Harris to run his dressing rooms. As for Harris getting 4 or 5 yds behind Bond and others - I would never run it that high. The BC defense was getting stronger as the game progressed and the Winnipeg o-line and their receivers were really sucking hind ones during the entire 4th quarter. O’Shea knew his o-line couldn’t blow over the U of M Bison d-line, let alone monsters like the Lions. He knew his WRs were being draped in tight coverage so that’s why those 3 or 4 yard outs were the only thing at his disposal. Nichols is also too slow to run a fake off a bootleg and lumber for the 1st down. O’Shea had 10 ideas and none of them were better!

Fault like most say is how he let the lead slither away and basically handed the Lions a pass to the Western final.

…Well let’s just say Lapo was going to go with something that was over ruled, I believe whatever it was, was better than an impossible field goal attempt…I’m not taking anything away from Medlock/Mr. Automatic BUT for crying out loud, he was being asked to deliver the impossible…I’m still saying LaPolice was going with the run…I don’t care how good you think the leo linebackers are…when monster Bond get’s rolling and with a power back like Harris behind him, you’re going to make yardage…We only needed four…If we couldn’t have made that then we deserved to go home…That brings me to another point about Andrew Harris…He was denied the 1000 yd. mark by O’Shea, with 26 yards to go and one minute left on the clock…Then he denies Harris a shot at possibly winning it all in the semi (at least in my opinion)…What the hecks going on here…doesn’t he like the guy??..Of course I’m kidding about the last line and it’s all speculative…but I wonder what Andrew was mulling over…when it was all over :roll: :roll:

I'm sick n tired of all the negativity after what I consider a successful season! I've been a diehard bomber fan for the past 4 decades! We've been a bad team for a number of years and we all have had to endure some mediocre coaching and play. I was pumped for the game w bc but what struck me the most is that despite our great takeaway ratio on D, they gave up SO many big plays ALL season. The big plays bc made last week were so frustrating to watch. Half of those runs should've been snuffed out at 5 yds or less! There's bend but don't break but when teams put up 400-500 yds consistently on offence against u, it's amazing we had a winning record! Imagine what our ball hawking defence could do with a real defensive scheme! I think on D were one mlb and pass rusher short of an amazing D. On offence, while conservative at times, I like the progression of Nichols. He passed for almost 400 yds against bc and I'm still shaking my head at not going for it on 3rd n 4! That was a no brainer! I don't know what coach Mikey was thinking! Anyways, I think hall needs to be replaced, Lapo showed enough to stay but as much as I like oshea, I think he's on thin ice. He's learning on the fly, but after 3 seasons now, schools over. Need to produce. This team finally has the pieces and with a few more key acquisitions / drafts should be a GC contender next year. Go bombers!

Papa - I agree Bond is a monster but it takes more than 1 monster to push an above average running back thru 4 yds of frothing snot & anger. Guys like Goosen & Chungh are not at the level of Bond and could easily have been bowled over by BC’s monster defenders, especially those two superstar linebackers who seem to rise to the occasion in big games. That’s probably what went thru O’Shea’s mind - he knew his passing game was totally choked out by the Lions and his o-line probably didn’t have the power and gas left in tank to push forward for 4 yds, 2 might have been a struggle!

So he was caught between a rock and a hard place. No confidence in Nichols, no confidence in Lapolice, no confidence in Harris and the o-line. I suspect the true question is just how far back the bombers could have been before O’Shea got in Medlock’s face and asked him ‘Can u make it?’ - 62? 63? 65? Who knows - it just appeared O’Shea was taking the easy out by trotting Medlock out for an unmakeable effort. It would take the heat of Mountain Mike because he could always say Medlock told him he could make it. Right?

Personally I think O’Shea was polluted enough to go from 65, even though that’s a clear 8 yds further than what Medlock reported in pre-game.

Medlock, looking for his own out - brought a tee onto the field and that kinda doomed the effort from the get go. The line blocked well, the snap to Dressler was A+ but he ballooned the kick and it was fielded on approx. the BC 8 or 9 w/ the returner falling down at the 12 or 13.

A suggestion - a better play might have been Medlock kicking in an on-side situation w/ a couple guys (like McDuffie) bolting down the sideline to catch the ball - if they retrieve it standing up - assess the defense - ie. tacklers - and decide whether to run it in for the winning points - or if confronted by tacklers punt it thru the endzone for a tying single. At least get it to OT.

Entire problem with that is it still gives BC 20 to 25 seconds to march thru Rich Hall’s swiss cheese defense for a winning kick of their own.

To me the entire bomber team (O’Shea for sure) got caught up in fear and looked for the least risky option. The sequence will live on in bomber infamy.

Great first post and substantially correct analysis of Bombers '17… turnovers and takeaways have a habit of self-correcting so if the bombers don’t go Plus 29 next season - I suspect they’ll settle in around Plus 10 or so, maybe less. Apply that to this year, factor in Bryant and/or Medlock leaving (perhaps both) and vola you have a 6-12 team regardless of draft picks in the hopper. To me signing Medlock is slightly more important than retaining Lord Stanley Bryant, although given our choices I’d love 'em both to stay.

O’Shea is clearly demonstrating his deficiencies - regardless of being so tight-lipped in media scrums. Media, especially Winnipeg media for the most part - are nothing but ants - terrified of the sound of an elephant and easily bullied into house-boy status. (which most of Winnipeg’s sports media are - even worse for the Jets btw)

O’Shea flubbed a few this year.

  1. Going up on Calgary with under 20 sec. left and allowing Bo Levi Mitchell to cut thru our d like a hot knife thru butter.
  2. Leaving a hapless Willy in for 5 or 6 games before getting ordered (by Miller) to insert Nichols (recently acquired) or else?
  3. Gawdawful team and game prep for the last home game vs. Ottawa - to secure home field advantage for playoffs
  4. Trotting Medlock out on 3rd and 4 - with 36 sec. left - heck I mighta gambled if it was 3rd and 12 with that much time on the clock vs. going for a hopeless field goal try.
  5. Being totally oblivious to Rich Hall’s disability to continue as a full-fledged defensive coordinator.

Hopefully Wadzilla and Walters make some of this clear to Mike before re-upping him to a 2 or 3 year contract. If they don’t - the ship continues to take on more water than even Miller and Walters can bail out…

…Sick and tired of all the negativity…and yet most of your post is exactly that, negative…okay…You’re magnifying a lot of our defects…and that’s why after 25 years of no Cup and very little post season play, fans get negative…I hope you’re right and the success we’ve seen this year will be built upon…But let’s pull our successful season apart and examine it …Couldn’t beat Calgary or Edmonton… Beat the lions twice but lost the one that counted the most…Played a few clubs throughout the season going without their starter…and that along with a more favourable schedule than we’ve had in recent years, probably contributed…So lets not get all starry eyed about a third place finish and a one and done…We have a helluva lot of work to do to further this team and a lot to prove BUT yes I think we can see a light at the end of the tunnel…I just hope that light isn’t a freight train… :wink:

…AND westcoastbomber…unless you’re Gerry James. I have been a fan for longer…over 5 decades…Does that make me any more relevant to the team??? or knowledgeable …or more insightful…Probably not…but I am more than likely older :wink: