Ripper

and do you understand why that was? You know how undesirable a place you are for coaches when the average head coach gets 2 or 3 seasons before being fired and coordinators are lucky to get 1? Which proven coordinators do you suppose would want to come here if we fired the ones we have this year? You guys know that the lack of stability in the coacing and GM ranks is the reason guys like Stubler decided not to come here? This happens in other cities and yet they have no problem hiring quality coordinators and coaches afterwards. Ie Toronto, Hamilton, Montreal, Edmonton, Saskatchewan...pretty much the whole league actually. Does it? BC has been pretty stable with Wally as GM and his guys taking over after him, Hufnagel has been in Calgary for a long time running things, Popp has been in Montreal forever, Barker in Toronto for a long time... Saskatchewan had some turmoil for a while and it got them into a tricky spot but now it's stable again. The Bombers though? 4 different Gms in the past 7 seasons and 5 head coaches in that same time frame. You wonder why we can't get anyone with a proven track record to come here? It's basically been a guarantee to have your reputation trashed. Are we to assume the people we fired have done well in other cities after being fired here? That's what I'm saying, guys who were considered some of the best assistant coaches in the league came here and now are lucky to get work elsewhere. Winnipeg has a reputation of chewing up coaches and spitting them out and leaving them almost unemployable. That's why we need to stick with these guys again. They were not so bad as to warrant dismissal. When I look at this team I see bigger problems with the roster make up than with coaching. So keep the coaches, get that stability and work on getting better players on the team and see where that takes us. If we get to the point where the roster looks really good and the coaches aren't pulling their weight then we can make changes, but right now the roster has too many holes. Tell us where you get all that stuff! Kelly, La Police Burke and even O'Shea had never been a head coach before because no one else thought they might be head coach material. So it would be fair to say we chewed and spat out what we bit into in the first place. We have pretty good stability at the present but it's a losing stability. Furthermore, the head coaches we fired were not hired by other teams because they looked like the had suffered a complete lobotomy in Winnipeg. They were just not good enough to be a head coach. O'Shea was interviewed for the heading coaching job in Sask in 2011 when Marshall was hired. I know its been a tough season, but to say no one see's O'Shea as head coaching material is untrue. He is respected I believe around the league.

A good fan holds his team accountable. I think most posters do that. Its the ones too far to the left or the right that cause sparks to fly. Truth be told some people can't control their emotions enough after a loss to post with any common sense, OH YA I've done it, and that's when the most over board posts generally come. Or when fans of other teams are trolling your board to stir up crap. Nothing worse than losing and then getting it rubbed in your face after. I follow the Bombers very closely as I am a big football fan and have some good friends who are Bomber fans. Even though some may feel I am a enemy fan, I don't troll your board and therefore have not met any hostility here. I like your site and check it out at least once a day, lots of good threads, this one included. Some good back a forth with other fans is fun and healthy as long as it doesn't go too far. I think most posts are met with the level of passion as how they were posted. A over the top post is called out directly in the same manner as it should be. IMHO there is nothing wrong with being passionate about your team. I'm dam proud of mine, ok maybe not so much at this moment lol, and I appreciate any other fan who is too regardless of who he cheers for. As far as the bombers, as a outsider looking in, you found a qb and a rb this year things are looking up for sure.

He's good a player but he seems to be hurt all the time. Best is likely the best guard in the cfl or certainly one of the best for sure. No fluke our 4 game losing streak last year was when he was hurt. This year also we have struggled without him in the lineup. Injuries are a potential issue. I hope he stays with us but something has to give. Someone good will be available somehow. We can't keep them all.

You are correct. Potential riders to go if push comes to shove would include Picard, Fulton or maybe Best. Bottom line is we have way too much cap space tied up in this group. At this point Labatte is the only untouchable on that line followed by Heenan.

Wondering what are your guys thoughts on him? I thought he was a good prospect. I expect to see him getting a shot somewhere. Is there something I'm missing here?

we gave up more than just a 2nd round pick. We also gave up a player who was one of the best at his positions who helped the Riders win the Grey Cup. People need to stop pretending that Hall had 0 value and shouldn't be counted as part of the trade. We gave up a star player AND a 2nd round pick to get an injury prone OL. That trade stank from day 1. Could have used those assets to get something more worthwhile. Yer Fkn delusional if you thought we could get more then a starting canadian lineman for a rent a player for x amount of games... Especially knowing the NFL was his goal for next season... What, you think we coulda got ray or bourke or Cornish? Give yer head a shake man.. If we had traded Hall for Neufeld straight up my tune would be entirely different. The fact that we had to throw in a 2nd round pick is what makes the trade poor. A starting NI Olineman for a second round pick is a good move any day of the week. Hall was leaving anyway, nothing to discuss there. Neufeld was going to be lost in the Ottawa draft, and that is 100% the only reason we traded him. We have too many quality NI Olineman, and someone was going to be unprotected. Neufeld is a starter on your line no question about it. Paddy is strong as a bull, and can stand his ground when called upon, also good in run blocking. Still needs time to develop in other areas. He would still be starting here if it hadn't been for Heenan being so good so young. How could Walters have known he was going to get hurt? Neufeld had also just signed a 2 year deal with the riders so you also knew he would be there for that long which sweetens the trade. I'd welcome him back here gladly, and to be honest I hope the riders are going after him when his contract expires.

That says everything you need to know about how teams feel about the Riders without Durant "we can beat them with our backups" Cornish is just that real good mix of speed and power. He's big and strong and has good enough balance he can run through tackles but he's also fast enough to break some big runs if he gets a hole. If you can draw up the kind of running back every team wants to have that's the guy there. They just don't want Brackenridge to hurt JonJon before the playoffs.

Nah, they got alligator arms Getzlaf, the most overrated receiver on any roster. Lucky Durant has Migs to catch his balls, cause Getz couldn't catch Ebola licking the floor in a Liberian hospital. That's a pretty good one.

The Riders have made a lot of really puzzling and stupid roster moves this year. The whole RB of the week early in the season, the handling of the backup qbs... just real oddball choices being made. Sadly I have to agree. I don't know what the hell we are doing. I'm wondering if they are just throwing darts at a dart board to decide the roster.

Heenan is a ratio changing tackle, One bad game doesn't mean he isn't. Every player on the oline struggles at times, even the best of them. I'm not saying Heenan is the best tackle in the league, he's not but he has the potential to be one of the best. The guys in his what? second year in the league? 3rd maybe. Don't think the ESKS dline gets enough credit, for gods sake Eddie steele, has 10 career sacks, 6 this year.. That Edmonton DL is the heart and soul of their team and probably, nah not probably, they are no doubt the best DL in the league. Sewell is a beast also. Those two tackles beat us up bad yesterday.

Agreed. Interesting also was for the most part, Cotton either avoided or bounced off first contact. This is a very desirable trait in a RB, Grigsby at times was unable to shed the first tackler. It doesn't mean Cotton is better but it certainly is something to be excited about. I liked what I saw from him last night.

Watching game last night reminded me of our game with Stamps 2 weeks ago, came roaring back with a backup qb only to fall short because the defence couldn't make a stop at a critical point in game. As far as Miles goes, I'm hoping he will at some point be our DC.

Sellers was the size of 3 running backs.

Brian Towriss has been HC of the U of S Huskie's for 30 years. Most wins in CIS history. I've often wondered why he never went on to the CFL. Its happened in the NFL also where coaches have opted to stay in the NCAA.

At least the team having some faith in the back up to a certain extent is important also. Other teams have made the mistake of not doing this and have paid the price. I don't see any controversy at least not any time soon, I'm a big fan of Drew and think he has a ton of upside in this league. Truth be told, every team in any league would wish to have a controversy however because that means you have 2 good qb's and the scouting staff has done their job of bringing in talent.

The logic is...we're screwed and need anyone who has thrown a football within the last 30 months. Does Taman have Bishop's number? There's another proven veteran. I seem to remember a strong arm. Mike Kelly was quite the QB evaluator even if he was a bit rough around the edges with the media. Tillman brought Bishop in.

The logic is...we're screwed and need anyone who has thrown a football within the last 30 months. Well, here's hoping DD returns in time for the playoffs, and in the meantime Sunseri can put a full 4 quarters of football without any major disasters... NOOOOOO, here's hoping DD can't return until mid season next year and riders don't win another game for the rest of the year. I wouldn't hold my breath on that one. Riders aren't out of it yet.

The Lions made a similar move with Reilly

he inherited Durant that's the only one. His usual MO if he needs to find his own qb is look around the league at backups and get one of them in hopes they can start. Worked out pretty well for him with Khari Jones and Kevin Glenn. Now my timing is fuzzy, but was Taman the Riders GM when they brought in Drew Willy? I meant, has he ever brought one up to the CFL. I know how he got Jones and Glenn and Durain't. Just wondering if he's ever brought some up that have stuck. I seem to remember him being fairly bad at that while here. Willy was a Taman signing. Feb 28/ 2012. same day we signed Colt Brennan. Danny Barrett was coaching in Buffalo so likely there may have been a shout out made to the Riders to have a look at him.

Lots of chirping over there with the Cats fan. Have you forgotten your last playoff meeting with us? Yup, best Grey Cup money could buy. It was awesome, too bad you guys didn't show up. Cheer up though you are in the east where u can be below 500 and still be in first place. Don't count on getting lucky against the argo's this year. Do you have anything to add to the thread or are you just here to troll?

that is taman MO. backups are a great place to save money I didn't mention that in my post, but there is very likely some truth in your statement. Durant is very durable, probably there were some costs savings in mind also considering how little the Riders ever play a backup. Durants age also a factor, by the time DD was done Willy would have been past his prime.

What magic was Taman to do with a qb with a broken arm 7-8 days before the grey cup. However shitty that was, how many teams could have handled it any different. Blaming Taman 7 years later is what it is, sour grapes.. There was a huge debate here as to which was better with Willy and Sunseri. Many thought Drew took to many chances, others thought he would be a good one. For the record, I was/am a fan of Drew and would have loved to see him stay. I have never read anywhere that He wasn't offered a contract. All I ever seen or read was Drew wanted a chance to be a starter. Many fans here think sunseri is better but in a lot of cases that is just sour grapes on their part also. Fans have a tendency to bad mouth players that have left the team, rider fans are no different. Same goes for the bomber fans. How many laughed when we signed Wil Ford?? No fanbase is ever in agreement on the moves the team makes. Believe me I'm not sure what to think about Kerry coming back either but I hope it works out for us. We signed 6 players today. Laugh all you want but time will tell.

And to think they could have had Kuale for a first or second round pick...Taman - come on get it done! Kuale is tied for second in the league for most penalties with 11. Only Odell Willis has more with 13. Sorry but the Peg will be Kuales last stop in the cfl.

Do you honestly think the Riders wouldn't have kept Willy to be the backup this year if it would have been possible? Seriously? As far as Sunseri, he is a rookie, there will be many ups and downs.

More announcements are coming today. Diamond Ferri is rumoured to be one of them