WBBFanWest

Well, I suppose that another question can be asked. If Etch's d's are not the issue, why has he had little long term success? When a guy the Etch can't hold down a position for any length of time, does that not tell you something? And when a guy can't get work in the league for three years after what could be described as his best run (2008-2010), what does that say? You can try and defend him if you wish but what happened to him here has happened to him before. That's sort of why we said he'd be good for a little while and then, not so much, because there's been a pattern of that happening. Pretty hard to argue history.

Isn't that the drill that Etch developed to help Kuale strengthen his chest thumping arm?

Benevides was there for a very long time... Good players and good coaches go hand in hand. I tend to agree. It's always strange to me when people suggest that a coach was only successful because he had good players. Well, players, no matter how good, need a system that supports them and provides strategies, guidance and refinement of the skills they are ready have. Without those things, no player, or group of players will ever be good on their own. We often call that sort of system "coaching".

If they extended Feoli-Gudino, does that mean that he's also collapsible?

That O'Shea could not see that or perhaps chose not to intervene is worrisome. O'Shea ought to have had enough experience to know the Etch's "system" was deeply flawed from day one. That's not really accurate. As much as Etch's system is flawed, it worked very well for us in its initial stages and MOS certainly cannot be blamed for smiling…as long as we were winning. The problems arose much later and only were really a problem because our offence got bogged down time and time again. We had our chances to win a few more games last year and our defence was not the source of that failure to win. Having said that…thank goodness that system is gone. But hasn't that always been the indictment of Etch's system? It works well for a little while, but once OC's have enough film, it stops working. So again, that really should not have been a big surprise to O'Shea, because a lot of us were saying that when he was hired. Personally, I had some small hope that maybe Etch had matured enough to realize that there's a reason that "traditional" systems are used the most, but sadly it seems like he still suffers from "I'm the smartest guy in the room" syndrome. We had a head coach a few HC's ago that had the same sort of opinion about himself. He lasted a year too.

Etch was about 5th choice for O'Shea. I'm not sure who else was available at the time. The only person I remember hearing about that was pursued by the Bombers before Etch's hiring was Stubler. Who else was in that list?

Ya, Etch's strategy was bad. A lot of us knew that the moment they announced his hiring last year. The big question was, and remains, why didn't our newly minted head coach see it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CdVTCDdEwI

Has anyone heard about Brohms thumb? Yeah, I know this one. Brohm's thumb walks into a bar and... No. No. No. It goes: a horse walks into a bar and the bartender says,"Why the long face?" A sandwich walks into a bar. Bartender says, "Sorry we don't serve food here."

And I voted for Benevides because I'm tired of seeing the Bombers bring in rookies to see if they're ready to make the leap to the next level. Let's let someone else throw those dice for a change and go after someone with a proven, successful track record

Both Etch and MB have been HCs Dont really see the difference on why it would matter to him now. Because both of them have proven that neither would come close to taking away anyone's job. So are you saying O'Shea brought in coaches that are kinda good but not that good? Cuz thats a pretty stupid way of going about hiring coaches that are supposed to help you win... No? Well, that's exactly what he did do, regardless of his motivation. Both were well know commodities and neither was being sought out. So, good but not that good might be about as kind a description as you'll get.

I'm happy that Etch is gone. I'd be even happier if we could know that this was O'Shea realizing that he made a mistake versus someone upstairs telling him that Etch is gone whether O'Shea likes it or not.

We are going to stand pat and I expect another mediocre season. O'Shea will not admit that his coordinator choices were weak, so he's going to carry on. I expect, at best, that we end up making the playoffs and losing in the semi-final. And I think that's a rather generous "best case".

Excellent news. Welcome back.

I think there's been some confusion. As I understand it, after he was released the roll he was offered was one of these:

I don't know but I want someone to find out the reason and explain it to us NOW.

I thought it was the cone of silence.

And this is why politically correctedness is out of control.. It really wasn't homophobic in anyway shape or form.. But if someone can misconstrue it to be homophobic then darn tootin' it will be labelled as such.. It was supposed to be a joke. Unless I'm misunderstanding them, there are certain "pro-gay" posters who like to not-so-subtly just flat out call others ignorant and other insults. It was directed to them. Not really sure what "pro-gay" is except maybe it's bengay for elite athletes? I'm "pro-people".

Well, let's see since 1990, the Bombers have won 0 Grey Cups. Buono, 5. It's true that after the 2002 season when he left Calgary, they were in a slump, but then again, they did win the Cup in 2001, so I don't think that he did too terribly bad. He might not win a Cup every year, but there aren't too many seasons that he fails to put together a competitive team. No one has said Wally's a football god, or the smartest GM that has ever lived. But he's been a damned site better than any GM we've had in his organization for a long time now and I'd take his record since 1990 over ours any day of the week.

Ya, I don't understand why Wally is doing what he's doing right now. He should be copying us, because you just know how envious he is of all the success our system has enjoyed over the past couple of decades.

I really have no idea. It's just my feeling that this is a matter of principal with O'Shea. They are his coordinators and no one is going to tell him who he can and can't have. If that's the case, then Walters would be treading on very dangerous ground if he was to push the issue. Would O'Shea resign if he was told that he had to get rid of either of them? What level of turmoil is the GM prepared to cause? Or will he simply tell O'Shea that if he wants to keep them then that will be on his (O'Shea's) head and his alone and then let next year's chips fall where they may? One thing about life in Bomberland, it's always interesting and there's never any time that has to be wasted planning for playoff games or victory parades.

I tend to agree with you on this. My bet is that both coordinators are going to be back at the start of next season. My impression is that O'Shea will not remove either coordinator, and I don't think that Walters/Miller are going to push the issue at this point in time.

I thought I heard somewhere that they will never take away our freedom. Can't be sure because the dude talked funny and really really loud. But if we are not vigilant, they may take away our lutefisk. They take away my lutefisk when they can pry it from my cold dead fork. Or if they steal it out of my freezer.

I thought I heard somewhere that they will never take away our freedom. Can't be sure because the dude talked funny and really really loud.

In part, It has to do with opportunities for inner city youth (especially males) throughout the US. So why not baseball? Just as much opportunity for black kids to play baseball as there is for them to play football. Yet the ratios are wildly different. Why? Don't give me some lame partial explanation, you said there is a clear explanation, so let's hear it. Well, I didn't know that every sport had to have an equal radio of ethnicities to satisfy you, so we won't go into hockey or soccer then. I've pointed out one of several reasons. You want more? Do what I did and go to school. Learning is fun!