Mark H.

Exactly. After your QB & blind side OT, halfbacks are the most important players on the CFL field

I'm not sure we need too worry to much about a defense figuring Nicholls out. Sure they have three games worth of film and some time to break it down, but he and the coaches also have time to tweak the attack.

Great stuff guys

Fair comment

I don't think Edmonton is a model O, that's not my point. I just think receiving threats like Bowman force the front 7 to back off. He's a consistent threat to gain 15+ yards on plays where Reilly only has to hold the ball for a second or two. Andrew Harris could possibly be something similar for us.

I know I keep saying this - but a more dynamic receiving would make the OL look better - look at all the sacks Milt prevented by reading cover 0 and going straight up the middle.

A quick release combined with being a threat downfield on a regular basis. Look at Edmonton - teams have to respect the threat of their receivers downfield as well Bowman's ability to create YAC. That immediately leads to fewer players teeing off on their OL & QB.

The elephant in the room is the almost complete lack of a vertical passing game. Teams are stacking the LOS, which is why Harris has had so little success. If they can't force the Esks D to back off, we will see more of the same.

The D was pretty good. They adjusted well to injuries in the secondary and also stopped Messam in the 2nd half

Hey Mr. Mike - they gonna take that away - then what?

It was a decent team, but teams were beginning to clue in on their scheme - chickens came home roost in '08

I would also add - they didn't have Canadian backing up Gauthier, banking on him staying healthy, which he did.

Oh indeed. Canada, Sheridan, and Goodspeed were all re-signed for the '08 season. Of the results - I shall not speak

I guess they want some long drawn out sports reports...

Before every game against Kevin Glenn, it's the same conversation. They've been trying to get pressure on him ever since Mike Kelly released him. Back in '07, when the O began lose some of their edge, it wasn't because of pressure. It was because teams were taking away some of his underneath options and forcing him to throw downfield more. Once that was established, the pressure became more effective. That being said - if S.J. Greene stays healthy I think Glenn will have a fine season chucking the pigskin.

Precisely - stats are for losers. 400 yards of offence mean nothing when you don't execute on those 3 - 5 key plays that are the difference in every football game.

Finally some rain for Fort Mac

Sure it's true, how couldn't it be? However, the NDP have also brought in things that are a negative for teachers. The new reports cards are terrible, especially at the elementary level. Also, funding for special needs students has decreased while expectations have increased. Again, we're back to that murky middle.

No, because you can't. I have really good friends who go above and beyond every single day. However, sometimes (or years) you get a tough group or a difficult student. Without getting into too much legalize, you could be threading on the human rights of the students if you made those kinds of assessments

I have been teaching for over 10 years and have also chaired collective bargaining for the local association. I'm very much aware of those issues and have wrestled with them. However, not negotiating to improve working conditions wouldn't be fair to those who are dedicated. It's a tough balancing act.

That's fair enough KBF. To tell you the truth, I was deliberately taking things to the other end of the spectrum to bring in the other perspective. We both know the truth is somewhere in the murky middle. Sorry for making you puke in your mouth, puke sucks.

No comment. Other than you seem to have friends or relatives in pretty much every career that gets discussed on here.

1. There is still plenty of volunteer work happening, hundreds of hours of extra curricular activity. The most unions have achieved is specific wording that extra curricular activities are voluntary 2. Incentive to go to PD is already in place. It's fully funded and if you upgrade your qualifications you will receive a raise in pay.

Every province except Quebec has 190 instructional days plus 10 Professional Development days. The PD days save the system millions of dollars because if we didn't have them they would have to pay a substitute every time a teacher attended a workshop. Here in MB, where the PD days fall is up to individual school divisions but I don't how it works in other provinces

The BCTF definitely messed up, I agree. Instead of taking money they took clauses that were not going to be sustainable. Now the back room deal is gone and their teachers are among the lowest paid in Canada.