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Fun to sit and watch practice today... Been about 20 years since I was last able. With respect to the late great Randy Turner, the king of Odds and Sods writing.... here's some thoughts: -All jokes aside, Jake Thomas looks like he's lost at least 30lbs and maybe 10 years. Not sure it'll translate but he gave himself a chance. -There were a number of guys who I thought looked leaner (Adams the DL and Wallace, notably) and I wonder if there's a concerted effort by Brendan the trainer to get guys faster this year -Makonzo got hurt. Wasnt carted off, but he landed awkwardly in coverage and came up favouring his wrist. Didn't look good. -Mitchell looks very smooth and runs good routes. -If Vaughters can stay healthy, he is just an absolute load. He and Willie would be very hard to handle. That said, they were doing a drill to see who could get off the line fastest without being offsides and Jake beat Vaughters and was giving him a hard time. We'll call that a one off. -Both Zach and Strev looked good, tho Strev had a couple brain cramps. One under thrown ball that he was immediately angry about and I think a botched run play that he took the heat for. Patterson definitely has a rifle arm... Accuracy is the question. - I have hopes for Keric Wheatfall to take another step this year. -Our LB corps, as already noted, is very very deep and the coaches have a lot of options. People were shifting around a lot but packages with Kyrie at MACK was interesting. -Watched a lot of OL/DL 1v1... OL wasn't terrible, though it seemed like there would be holding calls on a number of plays. DL are just so much faster and you're trying to not get put on roller skates. Thought Wallace showed very well and some of the Americans like Randolph, Vanterpool and Lofton as well. In the reps we saw, we didn't think Neufeld looked very good. It was a bit concerning watching him get "walked" by a few DL. -Its very impressive what Mike Benson does. He really whips that ball and it is so deadly accurate. -Coaches are all very engaged and animated. Osh was hollering pretty good at one point about a missed tackle "You gotta have that!!" Richie, JY, Costello, among others, very very active and involved. -Stan and Willie are both basically coaches. They do a lot of teaching. That's just a few thoughts. I didn't take notes or anything.. just tried to enjoy the sunshine and being at the barn again. I love the CFL, I love the Bombers, and I love Manitoba summers.... It's great to be home.

Just to speak to Wolitarsky’s character and just what a good dude he is … few years back, some friends and I went to go see him play at Earl’s on Main and we ended up chatting with him and Streveler … he found out it was my friend’s birthday coming up who loved live music and he offered to come play some songs at his birthday party. Sure enough, few weeks later, Woli was in my basement sitting around with us having some beers while he played the guitar. All-time guy. I’m sad to see him go.

In case anyone needed more proof of what a class act Brady O. is, he came out to my son's U13 A3 hockey final today (he is neighbors with one of the boys on the team) to watch the game, give the kids a speech in the room at the end and hand out the player of the game award for us. The kids were absolutely pumped and I am sure are now Bombers fans for life.

Kayaking on Lake Flathead in Montana today and what do I find? A roughriders flag on a private pier: So I grabbed some pebbles and left them a message:

"Cam Lawson at DT with Thomas & Schmekel sitting out.

Really easy to always say that there's some mystical coach out there that would be a better fit. We've been through generations as CFL fans watching teams including our own who keep believing that. Hufnagel, Grant, Mathews, Buono, O'Shea That's the order of CFL coaches by winning percentage. Let's pull our collective heads out of our asses.

Oh my god

I've complained about lineup choices and some decisions but I'd like to start a thread where we give MOS his flowers. Congrats coach on winning your 102 game and tying the Blue Bomber record. There has been a lot of good moments the past ten years. @DTonOB, don't tell MOS about this or he'll likely ask the site to take it down. 😉

Imagine even remotely implying, nevermind flat out saying, a head coach that has taken his team to four straight championship games, winning two of them, and being the 5th fastest coach to win 100 games was an idiot or didn't know how to do his job. You don't have to agree with who he starts and who he sits, and you don't have to agree with how he utilizes the game day roster. But still... Imagine. Comedy.

Bombers win on Nathan Rourke Handjob Night

He sucks

Bombers not offering Bighill a contract ahead of free agency according to Jeff Hamilton my first daughter was born Monday and this still might be the best news I’ve had all week

JY has lead us to running a 30 base front in our defense, but we also saw large changes to our scheme in 2023 as well. I've seen confusion and angst towards the front in many GDTs and else where on line. So I wanted to start this separate discussion around our front, mainly the changes we've made the past couple of years, and why we have gotten less and less pressure since 2021. First I'll throw in a rudimentary break down of the alignments and techniques. 5-4-4i-3- 2-2i-1-0-1-2i -2 -3-4i-4-5 DL technique TE LT LG C RG RT TE Position D C B A A B C D Gap identification Note obviously the TE is used sparingly in the cfl, though heavy sets are becoming more popular with 6ol, its mainly academic having them in as most defenses don't have DL who play a counter role to that other than in short yardage. Down south they also have Techs 6/7/9. With 6 lining up right on the TE, 7 on the inside shoulder of the TE, and 9 outside the TE. An 8 tech comes in when a team lines up a 6th OL beside a TE, also a short yardage type of set. You also see a Wide 9 alignment down south which is generally an even front, where the edge is far outside the furthest blocker on his side. The i alignment means inside shade, and has the DL lining up inside shoulder to out side shoulder on the opposing linemen. So a 1 and a 3 tech are right in the gap equally between the two OL, a 2i and 4i line up half in the gap and half on a linemen. Roles: 0 Tech = nose tackle/nose guard. Their primary role is to push the Centre back, and create pressure opportunities for other linemen. They almost allways draw a double team when executed right, and good ones will play both A gaps (2 gap player.) They generally push the centre to one side to body block it, and if the rb comes to the gap they are standing in, will disengage to make a tackle. These are your Stoves, Drake Nevis' etc. Most often, a 0 tech is seen in 30 fronts. in a 40 front, you see more 1 tech play. 1 Tech. Similar role to a nose, but plays only 1 gap in the run scheme. generally a guy doesn't need to be as much of a thumper or as heavy to play the 1 vs the 0. Its more common in 40 fronts, where you might use 1, with a 3, or a 2i. An advantage of shading the nose vs playing straight up is it can be easier to twist with the DT in a 2/2i alignment, and vs 5 man blocking fronts it basically prevents the offense from doubling your End on the shade side. So if Woods is in 1 alignment, and Adams is in the 3, where ever willy jefferson lines up on that side, hes sure to only be facing 1 ol. Woods is smaller than our previous noses and is really good at both that and 1 tech. But we generally use 1/0 interchangeably. 2i/2 These are the most common alignments in a 40 front, This is primarily a run stopping tech, unless twisting with another DL. Or some times it will be paired with a 1 shade to the other side of the line, in order for the 2/2i to shoot the gap in pass rush, or when the centre/guard is slow/sloppy with footwork and crossing the face of the guard alone creates pressure. 3 Tech, the inside pass rusher. Mainly this player will shot a single gap with the goal of creating pressure/disruption and making a play. Casey sayles is a good example of a 3tech. Lighter than most DT, but heavier than a DE. A bullrusher with a single gap in the run gap, but who mostly plays the same on every snap. Beat the guard, inside or out, get in the back field and tear things up. Usually a good 30 front team will have 1 or 2 3 techs. 2 3 tech guys with a nose tackle. This is often what happens when you see a 30 front get a sack. The tackles pinch in to help, but you can only block soo long before one of the interior get home. Either the nose is getting a 1v1, or one of the 3s gets a free pass to the qb. When successful a tackle is often left upright and unable to get in on the play. 4i. The other common end alignment in a 30 front. This is generally more of a run stopping alignment with a primary goal of turning a rb side ways and denying the B gap. This position does not start in the gap as much as a 2i generally. They tend to scrape into the gap and play that spot no matter the blocking scheme. Previously we used Jonathon Kongbo with great success in the 4i alignment. 4/5 Tech. A 4 tech alignment is often more of a bull rusher in the cfl, like jackson jeffcoat, or you might use a 4 when you send a blitz (like our DB delay off the edge package) off their side. 5 tech is the prototypical pass rushing spot, think Willy jefferson on most of his edge snaps. We havent made a ton of use of wide alignments, forcing the Tackle to reach and possibly over commit to the end. It is also a bit dependent on the pass rushers moves. Our ends currently mainly try to curl around the edge of the tackle, rather than trying to sprint on a dart. We have seen some of that play from Montreal, and BC in the past. In the earlies mafia days we started bringing in, and excelled at finding, Nose tackles. We pretty much fit our DL scheme around the nose. Often in 0, or some times a 1 tech, with a 3 tech DT and 2 4/5s. In 19 we used nevis and stove with jake rotating inside, two guys capable of playing nose and 2 guys who could play 3 tech. We let Nevis walk in 21, and stove missed a chunk of the season, so we let him walk in the off season of 21. Late in 21 we started working in more Cheetah front as well. where all the guys put on the DL can all pass rush especially with speed. Some times this would include stove on the nose with 3 des, other times it would be 4 Des with hansen, kongbo, jeffcoat, and willy, or 30 fronts with 3 of those guys on, often with willy on the nose. Though willy aligned on the nose in this front, he mainly played like a 3 tech, trying to shoot the inside gap on the centre. This is especially effective if the OL gap spread is wider than normal, or if you have a good combination of a quick end and a slow/sloppy centre. At the end of 21 we let stove walk, and made another wholesale change to the strategy of our front. We put jake at a 1/0 tech frequently, with casey sayles playing a 3 tech, and willy/JJ on the 4/5. It was kind of a hybrid from our cheetah pack, with the goal of jake drawing a double and forcing teams to block the other 3 one on one. But Jeffcoat missed almost half the season and dipped in his production. 22 Ended and again we let our prized FA dl walk, casey sayles left, with the spot filled internally by Ricky walker. We moved walker around a lot in 23, tried him in the 3 tech spot to modest success, then as the extra end rotating inside out, this to more success. But still the interior was a fraction of the force it was with stove, and sayles etc. JJ and WJ enjoyed a good year doing the same as usual, but better and a bit healthier. Cam lawson took a big step forward as the rotational piece, providing us with the most impact in the fewest snaps along the interior. But JJ still missed a good chunk with age catching up and we let him go in the off season of 23, also letting walker go. Lawson has missed all of this year to date, and we have tried to again fill the gaps internally with garbutt and habba, to very little success. This year we saw the largest shake up on our DL in a few years, between loses and the change to much more 30 front. We've had success with Adams and Woods, but both have seen stints on the PR sitting behind Jake, garbutt and habba. We've at times tried garbutt and habba in 3, 4, and 5 techs. Habba has been worse than his limited play last year and garbutt not much better. Jake has deteriorated to a fraction of his former self, and WJ has struggled with oppressive double teams killing his drive and his motor. We also got away from the no-thrill-for-bighill package that certainly shortened his career. Frequently sending Biggie on a "blitz" into a guard to try and force on on ones for willy. It seldom succeeded, as Jake doesn't demand double teams in side. And bighill rarely got pressure or disruption in the face of 300lbs guards. We have seem glimpses of all import 30 fronts, with woods at 0, Adams at 4i/3 and WJ in 4i/4/5 alignments. Which has done a tremendous job of creating pressure and closing gaps. Hopefully this is more of what we will see in the future, especially next year. We could easily succeed and disrupt the back field with that unit and a rotation including a healthy lawson, a second year Hubert, and the better of habba/garbutt or a new end. We could weave in 40 fronts with mainly different guys playing different alignments. Hubert could play some 3 tech, lawson 0 through 3, and adams just about any where. Those snaps have been far too few though, as our once vaunted pressure packed front has gone from the forefront of our defensive scheming, to an after thought. JY has done a tremendous job with the secondary, and limiting the bleeding of wasted snaps with edges who cant get pressure and blitzes that only waste a man. Taking the DL front to the next level is the key to our long term success on D, as we saw in the LDC, you can always get openings and create offence in the CFL if you have time to pass.

Getting things started for game day.

https://www.bluebombers.com/2024/12/02/blue-bombers-agree-to-terms-with-all-cfl-left-tackle-stanley-bryant/

We've got a shot to erase the bitter taste of the last 2 years tonight. Play smart, clean football. Just Win. LETS ******* GOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!! GO BOMBERS GO!!!!!!

That deep ball right off the bat with Zach testing out the glove hand has to go down as one of the dumbest ******* things I’ve ever seen. And if that’s not coaching, I don’t know what it is. That should be so quickly addressed on the sideline before they take the field. Hey man, you’ve never worn that thing before, let’s feel it out before we sling it deep.

Cory mace takes his mask off to reveal he's Craig Dickenson all along.

Just win baby

It sure was nice to have a little strut in my step leaving Mosaic tonight.

A free Big Mac & a pack of smokes for the first 5000 people at the game!

Have we talked about the job that Jordan Younger has done with the D? Seems like it took a few games to get the system implemented but now it is lights out.

I'd look at getting rid of some of our legacy contracts (Bighill, Wilson, Alexander, Thomas) and overpays like Kramdi at $139,000 before getting rid of Brady who is our best player on offense and who is great in the community.

I met the soon to be mother of my child at the Bomber game against B.C. our first date was August 3rd 2023 We beat the Lions 50-14, I had my last ever first date, Less then 2 years later, we have season tickets together, we bought a home, and we’re expecting our first kid together. A lot do amazing memories In a short amount of time, especially against the B.C. Lions! Go Bombers!

Went to practice this morning. Nothing ground breaking to report. Thought the running back 36, smaller American guy looked solid. Really effective blocker in the one on ones. Imo play of the day was made by Corcorcan(can't remember how to spell his name, but the wr they drafted this year). He is slow...there's no doubt about it. But he went up and made a great play on an under thrown ball that should have been intercepted. Schoen looked like himself out there. No brace on. No lack of speed etc. Routes were as sharp as ever. Talked to him after the practice and he said he was feeling great and anxious to get back out there. He was great with my son too. Talked to him a bit and gave an autograph. Sergio is the man...he came right up to my boy (who was wearing his schoen jersey) and talked a bit, then said he'd introduce him to Schoen after practice. Which he did. Needless to say, we had a great morning!

Wait wasn't he going to Saskatchewan? I thought Uncle Cleetus from Weyburn had some insider info on Facebook.

Not every one will be ready for this and that’s understandable. But we will definitely need a shot of positivity around here this off season. With that in mind here are some things I look forward to with the bombers in a positive light only. Terry Wilson. I was extremely impressed by how poised and in control he was when he came in. Stepped up in the pocket, kept his eyes down field when pressured and threw with authority. He has Great arm talent, and athleticism. But the mental side of him looks legit too. I look forward to seeing him progress next year. another Canadian draft. We really cleaned up in this last draft, which was a strong draft to be fair. So I don’t expect us to replicate that success, but adding another piece or two to the AR will be huge for our NI depth. On that note, our rookie Canadians did better than I expected this year. I can’t wait to see big kev with another tc under his belt, think Wallace will be poised to take a starting spot next year, mci came a very long way as a blocker too. I hope to see a good chunk of pre season reps for mci to play rb so we can see what he has and let him develop. He went from a guy out of place on an AR to a solid FB in one season and that’s pretty good. Kelly, I think he has a sneaky good chance of becoming our starting S next year. Imagine 3 starting Canadian dbs? Never thought I’d see that on a good team. tyjuan garbutt really turned a corner late. He isn’t the instant dominant pass rusher we need, but he’s a damn good two way end who plays with discipline. Imo he’d be excellent as a di rotational back up next year. Ayers and Cole. I’d love to see more of Ayers at mac and Cole at wil. Both guys are monsters on teams just scratching at their potential but are still a lot of fun to watch. Devin adams. Such an incredible athlete and raw talent. Gonna be awesome to watch him in his first full camp. Woods. Our best dl for my money all year. Guys a beast who can play a bunch of inside positions and some edge especially in the 30 front. Only 25 years old and the sky is the limit. can lawson and schoen the return. Nuff said. Love what both these guys bring. Owen Hubert. Really over achieved early. Hit the rookie wall hard. But showed a ton of lunch box type stuff that could make him a very valuable rotational piece next year. The majority of the secondary as well. Holm and Kramdi stepped up big, griffin and bonds were excellent Nichols was my modp for us and ford legit would’ve been moc in the league most years. How do you improve on that? Well Nichols is the only guy at 30. So another year could bring improvement for each of those guys. JY. Through some early struggles he really turned a rag tag group of guys into an elite pass defence. I can’t imagine what more he has in store with a year of growth and prep.

Note for any MBB members in the GTA who'll be at the game tomorrow: I have a cooler full of beer, my section of the tailgate is serving cheddar smashburgers and I've got my travel humidor full of the okay'est cigars that you'll have all week. Any of you are welcome to pop over for a cold drink to wish me a happy birthday and talk football. My name is on my jersey and my picture is on my FB or IG if you need to find me just PM me for them.

prob our best all around balanced lineup of the yr.....if all healthy....and rotated in a beneficial way.....could be a lights out unit...so much flex there and ability to do multiple things on defence...I giver a 2 thumbs up!

Checking out practice today, it's my guess that Adams will be playing on Friday. He's rotating in alot with the 1s.

We have some major flaws but folks, we just won a LDC and are in first place despite an 0-4 start. Tonight I'm celebrating.

Shove this win up your ass, Jamie Nye

Hey @Booch, I found your new homescreen pic.

Buy me a Grey Cup or go to hell!

Schoen is back on a 1 year deal https://www.bluebombers.com/2025/02/01/blue-bombers-re-sign-two-time-all-cfl-receiver-dalton-schoen/

Holm back on a 1 year deal. https://www.bluebombers.com/2025/01/15/blue-bombers-re-sign-defensive-back-evan-holm/

2 west finals vs. The lions 2 Grey cup losses, 2 west finals vs. Riders 2 Grey cup wins.... just saying.

This is a rule of the site, but it is mostly around legalities of not trying to steal content and making sure people who create content get the revenue / clicks / views for producing it. If Zach wants to post an article he wrote on this site, its his right as its his content. As for posting articles here, I have no problem with Zach promoting content here. As many have said, there is very little CFL content in even the major news sites these days, so if its a passion, I see no harm in doing what they are doing. It promotes the CFL and Winnipeg sports scene, which is great. Without any knowledge of traffic or the business model for Bonfire sports, I highly doubt they are getting rich off of it. It might trend to spam if he starts posting a new thread daily which simply links to an article, but that is not at all what I've seen so far. There is a stickied thread where he posts videos, and this is the first "dedicated" thread I've seen or remember. Go do your thing Zach and let the haters hate.

The legend lives on from the Argos on down Of the big game they played in October The Bombers, they said, were in over their heads Til the gales of November came early

WINd bowl? I prefer the Montreal Blow Job.

Here is a tidbit from TBiddy fresh off that Sask website love it! 😆 Fack, do I hate Winnipeg. Seeing them celebrate the FG makes me angry. And to top it off my afternoon plans are ruined now. I’ll watch the game but it’s basically a preseason game that means nothing and we probably have to listen to Suitor fluff Winnipeg on how great they were in the game they played today.

4th straight sell out. Since 2022, Winnipeg has 17 sellouts more than the other 8 teams combined. Riders have three. Credit to Ed Tait for this info. In short, we are the best fans in the CFL.

From our guy @holoman...

The crying on Riderfans is so funny lmao look at this post … imagine writing this and taking yourself seriously while doing so … that cousin coochie has these fellas actin crazy “Undoubtedly, their success breeds more hate. But it’s also the sense of entitlement, the whining, the narratives they create that the league is against them, and most of all, how they act like Winnipeg is New York City and Regina is some slum in the middle of no where.”

Friday sold out. Let's go!

Dunigan calling out Sask on Sportscentre for targeting QB's.