17to85

That is something that is shared by most defensive coordinators though... run to the ball, get to the ball with speed, everyone to the ball... not unique with Etch. The only thing that is really unique about Etch is how much he likes to gamble. Most DC's put more of an emphasis on actually making the tackle, compared to Etch. I don't agree with that at all. If you think that they don't care if someone misses a tackle or not then you are just being dumb on purpose. Perhaps what you are trying to complain about is the idea that you don't need to always put a guy in a position to make a tackle initially because he believes that speed and pursuit should create a tackle before too much damage is done, but that's a different matter entirely.

Interesting...sure. Just as interesting as any opinions on this forum though. A lot of opinion...some fact based...some not so much. Nice to get a good idea of who is coming up for FA though so thanks to the blogger for that. Anyone know whose blog that is? Writing and opinion seem familiar. Thought so too. Don't agree with a whole lot of what was said, but it was a good read. I LOLed at him calling Demond Washington a mediocre cover man and it's time for the Bombers to move on. Nothing says stupid like moving on from one of your best defensive backs and one of your biggest playmakers in the defensive backfield. Even more comical is listing Bucknor as a must sign. Not a chance. He surprised us all by not being a complete liability but that's about the best you can expect from the guy.

That is something that is shared by most defensive coordinators though... run to the ball, get to the ball with speed, everyone to the ball... not unique with Etch. The only thing that is really unique about Etch is how much he likes to gamble.

Not quite fast enough to be a safety, not big enough to play LB. Doesn't seem the like the body type that fits in to any typical NFL mold. Shame for him, he's a legitimate talent. He might be my favourite player on the Bombers. Just always doing his job in a no nonsense manner.

Those are hallmarks of a poor defensive line however.. now are we going to blame Etch for the DL being so underwhelming or are we going to just say that those players didn't play well enough? Cause in my mind we need better play from that position next year regardless of who is running the D.

Now you've got me all excited and tingly. Probably won't happen, but the alliterative side of me would sure love have Unamba, Muamba and Mulamba all playing in the backfield at the same time. Rod Black's nipples would explode.

Wild just seems like one of those players who is made to play in the CFL. At his size I don't know where he'd fit in the NFL. Not really big enough to play linebacker down there is he? And I dunno that he's much of a defensive back.

No I really don't like him as a defensive coordinator, I am just tired of hearing all the pissing and moaning about how terrible the defense was when it really wasn't anywhere near as bad as some people want to make it sound. Considering how poor the defensive line play was this season I don't see how the guy deserves a pink slip. Get some better defensive linemen in and see what the D looks like because that needs to happen regardless of who the defensive coordinator is. I get that a lot of people don't like a defensive coordinator who says stopping the run isn't a priority, but the logic is there and it really didn't cost us a lot of games this past season. I've said it before but I am far more concerned about what's going on with the offensive coaching than the defensive.

Do we really expect an expansion team to fire any coaches after 1 season?

but it is that simple. Thinking still of that game against the Riders, they got 3 points out of all those yards from Messam, the TOP wasn't tilted because of the Riders running, it was tilted because the Bombers offense didn't stay on the field. They're playing a bend but don't break idea on defense, not my ideal thing but I accept that for what it is, and they have this season for the most part been that kind of defense. The catch for that though is you need to pair it with an offense that can move the ball and eat up some TOP itself. It worked well to start the year but as the year went on the offense fell into the 2 and out routine we've seen so much and the D is simply on the field too much. So yes you're right nothing exists in a vacuum, but you have it backwards. The defense isn't limiting the offense, it was the offense limiting themselves and putting the defense in the bad spot of being on the field too much. Afraid not...you pick out one game to support your point of view. I don't have it backwards it is more complicated than that. You were the one who basically said the yards against rushing did not cause us to lose games. It was a bend but don't break defense originally, but we also had a pretty good pass rush. That basically went away, and what was left was rushing yards against, which Etch never figured out a way to stop. Other teams knew that obviously, and as always happens they figured out the Etch defense. Rushing yards against are very important in games in more than one way, and you just refuse to see that. But when I look back on the season I can only come up with a couple specific examples where the run defense really did cost them the game.... Labour day on the last drive by the Riders, the game in Toronto, though on a short week when the offense couldn't string together any drives they were gassed at the end so it's hard to blame them entirely, and perhaps the first game against the Esks where Rielly ran a bunch, but again it was a game where the offense couldn't get anything going. Ottawa and Edmonton blow out losses were about a complete team pants crapping so I'm not going point to just the run D there. People like to bring up the rushing defense numbers, but it's not that big a problem in the big picture. If the offense is doing it's part (and in the last part of the season they really weren't) our D was doing fine, but like any defense you don't give them a break then yeah, it all falls apart. Look at what happened to the Riders D when their offense started leaving them on the field more often, doesn't look nearly as good as it did early in the year right? Big picture our defense did an acceptable job this year keeping the team in games and giving them chances to win. No they weren't a great defense and there's areas they need to improve on in terms of talent, but most nights they did what they set out to accomplish and other parts of the team were let downs. Lot of kick return tds given up, lot of 2 and outs in the last half of the season by the offense.

There was so much progress this season it's not even funny. Things were so bad last year it would be hard to not show progress, but this team showed lots. Yeah there's still areas to work on and some things they can do better going forward but man I tell you this season was night and day to last year and I am very excited for what may come next year.

but it is that simple. Thinking still of that game against the Riders, they got 3 points out of all those yards from Messam, the TOP wasn't tilted because of the Riders running, it was tilted because the Bombers offense didn't stay on the field. They're playing a bend but don't break idea on defense, not my ideal thing but I accept that for what it is, and they have this season for the most part been that kind of defense. The catch for that though is you need to pair it with an offense that can move the ball and eat up some TOP itself. It worked well to start the year but as the year went on the offense fell into the 2 and out routine we've seen so much and the D is simply on the field too much. So yes you're right nothing exists in a vacuum, but you have it backwards. The defense isn't limiting the offense, it was the offense limiting themselves and putting the defense in the bad spot of being on the field too much.

What might have been if they'd scored late against Hamilton and got a stop on labour day...

The first Sask game is a good example too, everyone freaked out about the rushing yards but it was the turnovers that lost them the game. The Turnovers led directly to many times the points all those rushing yards did.

But it's kind of like giving a compliment to a guy for predicting that the sun was going to rise every morning. Seeing Cotton was better than Grigsby and that Sears is a straight up play maker who makes s defense better isn't rocket surgery, anyone with a pair of eyes could see it.

We have tvs in Alberta, we can watch the games, besides that I was in Winnipeg for the first preseason game. Was easy to see that Cotton was better than Grigsby in preseason and it was easy to see that Grigsby ran like a sissy on tv.

and yet still only gave up 13 points. I understand that people want a different system but the rushing yards given up haven't translated into a lot of points on the score board most nights.

umm no.. defense was the biggest surprise this year. Special teams was more consistently bad and the way the offense fell off a cliff was much more alarming than anything the defense did.

Look this game wasn't won by the quarterbacks, it was won because the Bombers actually avoided the turnovers while Calgary had trouble holding onto the ball. They didn't move the ball much to get their points at the end but in a sloppy game when you can take care of the football good things happen. I like what Marve offers as a change of pace and Willy needs a mental break at this point, but I have no doubts that when training camp opens Willy is going to be the best qb on the field and it won't even be close. also, Mr.Perfect you should end every post with that gif, too good.

The Bombers have moved between divisions too much I simply have a deep dislike for every other team. Once the Bombers are out I will hope for one team or another simply based on which team offends me least or if there's a team that has people I at least respect. Or if they're playing a team I truly despise. This year I suppose I'll root for the Stamps just because go local sports team... but I just want to watch good football in the playoffs.

I am going to break from the group and say receivers and DL are a bigger priority. Now maybe some of the guys we've been trying lately on DL are the answer but those two areas are where I want to see improvement the most.

Hell Mike O'Shea won a game in Calgary, might as well be a Grey Cup. Last time that happened Milt Stegall broke a record for touchdown catches in a single season and Kelly Malveaux signed a ball for him to remember it by.

I can only imagine how sweet the rye will taste tonight.

#FireEtch...

7-11 and competitive in most of the games on the year.... if we'd put that as an option at the start of the year people would have absolutely taken it. Disappointing to miss the playoffs but this season was a big step forward for this team. Make some good moves in the offseason and .500 or better should absolutely be attainable next year.