Eternal optimist

Sure, but from the footage you can see it wasn't incidental, it was deliberate. I think the fact the game was in Montreal played into this, the scenario reminds me of the questionable non-call in the Music City Miracle for the Titans in the NFL - the question of whether or not the play was a lateral was very close (much closer than Adam's infraction), but seriously... What happens in that stadium if you overturn the call there (or comparatively, eject Adams Jr.)?

Alright, I'll bite. I think it's only fair to compare the Bombers offensive play-calling in the fourth to that of their peers, both of the other top teams also had sizeable leads at some point (HAM, CAL) and had opponents that surged a comeback, though for EDM and TOR, the comeback fell short: Calgary 4th Q Plays 7 POC, 5 YAC, 12 YWF Incomplete pass (33 yards) 10 POC, 1 YAC, 11 YWF Incomplete pass (10 yards) 13 POC, 0 YAC, 13 YWF Incomplete pass (29 yards) 16 POC, 5 YAC, 21 YWF 0 POC, 7 YAC, 7 YWF Incomplete pass (9 yards) Field goal 6 POC, 0 YAC, 6 YWF Rush for 2 Punt 9 POC, 4 YAC, 13 YWF Rush for 2 10 POC, 8 YAC, 18 YWF QB Kneel Incomplete pass Pass plays 20+ yards: 2 (attempted and successful based on YOC, bolded above) HAM 4th Q plays Rush for -3 Incomplete pass (24 yards) Punt 13 YOC, 1 YAC, 14 YWF 6 YOC, 6 YAC, 12 YWF 0 YOC, 1 YAC, 1 YWF Incomplete pass (24 yards) Field goal Incomplete pass (5 yards) 0 YOC, 9 YAC, 9 YWF Rush for 3 0 YOC, 8 YAC, 8 YWF Rush for 0 Punt Rush for 5 0 YOC, 2 YAC, 2 YWF Punt 26 YOC, 0 YAC, 26 YWF Rush for 5 Rush for 2 Rush for 9 Field goal Pass plays 20+ yards: 2 (attempted and successful based on YOC, bolded above) CAL Play breakdown (Pass - 78%, Rush - 11%, FG / Punt - 6% each, respectively) HAM Play breakdown (Pass - 45%, Rush - 32%, Punt - 14%, FG - 9%) WPG play breakdown (Pass - 53%, Rush - 27%, Punt - 13%, FG - 7%) WPG Pass plays 20+ yards: 0 I think the biggest difference isn't so much the fact the Bombers ran the ball so much (as shown, HAM actually ran the ball even more in the 4th), it's the fact the Bombers didn't even attempt any 20+ passes - sometimes it's more important for the opposing D to think you might take a deep shot - you have to at least have them concerned about it, and not think you've abandoned it. Which, in my opinion is what happened, Bombers started running routes just enough for (or classic Lapo, just short) of 1st downs, MTL DBs creeped up, Bombers never even made them think twice with a deep ball attempt, and MTL got the 2 and outs quickly and efficiently that were needed to score 24 points unanswered. Of course, home run balls all day isn't the answer either - it's a balancing act, but you have to at least take some shots otherwise the opposing D will pick up on that.

So much this, I've yet to see an OC throw a pick 6, or a defensive co-ordinator bust a coverage. At the same time though, even with atrocious play-calling, a comeback of that nature can only be facilitated by a combination of both bad play calling and poor execution. It's like writing an exam - if you have a bad teacher for the course (i.e. coordinator), it can hold you back a bit, but realistically it's the student (player) that determines whether they pass or fail (based on effort and execution they put into the learning the material).

No way, I want to witness him throw 6 interceptions in the loudest stadium in the league. Then razz him about it as he's coming off the field.

I'm on it! As of this post, it's 4 days, 22 hours, 40 minutes until kickoff, I'm sure I'll be perfectly rowdy by then if I keep up my drinking habits from the past ~36 hours (notably escalating half-way through the 4th yesterday).

LMFAO Kenny Ploen has won as many Grey CUps as their entire organization, since it's existence, and he did it in the short span of 10 years. He also played as an all-star halfback, the guy was an engineering student too, he had smarts. Lancaster won just as many Grey Cups, but one of them (Ottawa - 1960) was as a backup, and the other two (1993, 1999) he was a coaching staff. So really, as a bona fide staring QB, he won one Grey Cup. As a team leader, more often than not Lancaster came up short, when he was with the 'Riders, they made the playoffs 14 consecutive years, only managing to win the Grey Cup once in that entire time frame (how's that for choking). Ploen got the Bombers to more Grey Cups (6 to Lancaster's 5 as a player) and he took four years less to do it. He also won more Grey Cups for the Bombers (4) than Lancaster did as a player for the SSK 'Riders (1).

Well, Montreal can still catch Hamilton for 1st in the East. BC is technically still alive, but at a minimum, they'd have to win 4 of their remaining 5, they'd also need outside help - EDM would have to essentially lose out and they'd need to sneak in on the crossover (EDM holds the tiebreaker in the season series). OTT and TOR, despite having equal or worse records than BC, are also still alive, due to how weak the East is, they each could still catch MTL for 2nd. Though again they'd need outside help, TOR needs to practically run the table at this point, though they could feasibly still lose 1, if they beat MTL by more than 6 in their 2nd of 2 against them, they'd hold the season tiebreaker. OTT's chances are just as much on life support, though they still have a rubber match against the Als, so they too could still lose 1 of their remaining 5.

Interestingly enough, all of the top teams this weekend jumped out to massive leads (HAM was up 24-0, CAL was up 17-0), but only we managed to choke it away, the others found a way to win. Our schedule does us no favours, with the rubber match against SSK in Regina, and 2 games against CAL who've looked much scarier with Mitchell back. On the plus side - the win by BC this weekend increases the chance of a crossover - which could help us, hopefully BC makes a go of it, worst case down the stretch is BC takes a dive whilst EDM clinches the crossover, then EDM has nothing to play for in the back-to-back against SSK to close out the season. Personally, I think 1st in the West may all come down to the home game on the October 25th against the Stamps - at this point, that might be best-case scenario.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmBOvdO_8UA Oddly enough, Bombers were outdone yesterday by the Washington State Cougars... not only was their collapse larger (UCLA was down 32 points in the 3rd), the Cougars managed to pull off this magnificent feat of ineptitude at home.

We just clinched a playoff position! Despite that horrendous loss, at 9-4, it is impossible for Toronto (2-10), Ottawa (3-10), or BC (3-10) to catch us, we have punched our ticket to the post-season party! Just trying to keep things positive, step away from the ledge, boys, one loss does not a season make!

At least he shows up for 60 minutes.

My three stars: 1. Bob Irving - Continued trend of calling perfect play-by-play despite how awful team played. 2. Doug Brown - Likely successor to Bob, and also helped call a great game. 3. I don't know, the Montreal announcer, I guess.

HH to Chris Matthews - only Bombers to show up down the stretch when it mattered.

Ah, the very definition of tough love. That's my Bombers!

In the words of Bellichek when asked about running up the score - "it's their job to stop us".

As a superstitious statistician, I blame his PAT miss on you!

Run it down their throats. I hope Harris and Streveler rush for 200 yards each, respectively.

How much of this is HAM looking scary, or EDM falling from grace?

You're looking at too narrow of a scope though, that's just this year. Yes, Harris has more fumbles in 2019: 2019 results (to-date) Demski: Receiving: 25 catches / 40 targets, Rushing: 17 Carries, so, he's fumbled 1 / (40+17) times ~ 1.75% Harris: Passing: 46/52, Rushing: 141 carries, so he's fumbled 5 / (46+141) times ~ 2.67%. However, I would argue if we omit Harris' one off game in 2019 (2 fumbles against EDM in W3), his percentage drops to 1.6%. Additionally, if you look at their career numbers to 2018: Demski: Receiving: 126/178, Rushing: 43 attempts, 5 fumbles, so he fumbles 5 / (126+43) = 2.96% Harris: Receiving: 495/628, Rushing: 1,446 attempts, 33 fumbles, he fumbles 33 / (495+1,446) = 1.70% On average, Harris fumbles less than Demski, about half as often in fact.

Good. Opponents roll over easy if they go into a game fat and happy.

I dunno, he fumbles alot, it's unfair to compare him with Petermann/Wolitarsky... they have way less touches, and a relied on way less. One would expect Demski to have more fumbles just because he sees the ball more.

YES.

Lol he's the opposite of Derek Zoolander (who can only turn left).

Man, feel bad for Matthews who looked practically invisible in his debut - 1 catch on 2 targets for 42 yards... wasn't even on the field on that last series.

My goodness, lots of gaffes by the Als on special teams so far: - penalty for illegal formation - Bray fumbled the punt - TWICE.