17to85

It's not really odd though. Koch beat the coverage so badly he was able to see where the ball was going and just wait for it. Even though the defenders did get into the picture at the end they had no clue where the ball was Koch still had to show good concentration to keep his eyes on the ball and catch it with a couple guys bearing down. Reilly just heaved that ball up to an uncovered receiver, the amount of time it took that pass to get to the endzone it was all on the receiver to make a play there.

He finished 4th in the league in rushing last season despite not starting until several games had already passed... he had a better yards per carry than everyone ahead of him on that list and he did it all with a nagging foot injury all year! That's not just a promising player, that's a guy who is a player right now. So what puts some of those running backs so far ahead of Simpson? For my money Simpson is likely the best player on the Bombers.

I disagree with this statement, please provide proof...

You know what, I am less concerned with how many games Pierce plays so much as I am concerned with how well he can play these days,

yeah well it sounds like short underneath stuff is a big part of the bombers gameplan this year... I'd also expect to lean on the running game a bunch too... if Goltz was moving the ball with that stuff then that's a positive. Hell I saw the clip of the the int that most people ***** about (the one in the endzone) the receiver was running the wrong way when the ball was thrown, clearly not just a mistake on Goltz part so I'm not going to get too worked up over it. Like I said, I saw starting qbs, and good ones, throwing ints in preseason too.

I'm willing to make a case that he's the best back in the league... or at least in that conversation.

well whoopie! it's preseason...

The coaches and managers on this team are ******* paid to be able to identify when a guy who has been with the team all year and even got into some games last year is ready to take over a spot. Just because you don't see what they see doesn't mean it's a guessing game. They feel sure about this, whether they are right remains to be seen, but honestly this team has a pretty good track record at identifying players who can come in and play. so why don't we just trust that they have a clue here?

Was Bowman an issue at will back then? News to me. Look part of the reason they felt OK letting Bowman go to FA was because they had Parker on the roster last season and felt he could do the job. Now we see if they're correct.

You go ahead and point that out and I'll laugh at you all day. Ray was the only thing keeping a **** roster from being an embarassment. The esks won a few games early by virtue of a defense winning them games but once that stopped they tanked hard and were playing worse than hamilton or winnipeg by the end of the season but those early wins put them in the playoffs. Hell Rays last year in Edmonton they were in the west final... Your point is bad and you should feel bad.

Hey Dunn and Swiston were from the same draft class, one guy has progressed the other obviously hasn't, it happens. Kowalczuk was the starting centre last season as well don't forget.... yeah he has issues snapping, but playing the position it seems that yes, there is something there. You can't keep every draft pick you've ever made, there's just not enough roster spots for that and if Dunn had beaten anyone out of a spot he'd be here now.

but 2010 and 2012 were good enough to get to the playoffs with better quarterbacking... and once you're in the playoffs who knows what happens. Look there is a mountain of evidence that says the teams with the best quarterbacking wind up being the best teams in the league... why do you think that the Als have been contenders each and every year? It's because they have had unreal stability at the quarterback position regardless of who else is on the roster. Why do you think BC has been good for so long? Because Wally has always provided them with at very least servicable quarterbacking. There is only one real issue with this roster and it happens to be the hardest position to fill. I stand by that and I think we'll see it play out that way this year again. If this team gets servicable quarterbacking they will be a playoff team.

Well here's a wacky theory... maybe kowalczuk is just a better player than Dunn was. Sure the snaps are a bit wonky but there's obviously something there as an o-lineman when he's lasted as long as he has. I would also suggest that the reason Dunn is released is because they're keeping Pencer around instead.

I think you missed the point I was making entirely... The point is, get better qbing the roster is good enough to be in a grey cup, spend the year with the qb constantly getting hurt and you miss the playoffs. That is the issue here, QB. Get a good reliable qb in there this roster is perfectly able to make the playoffs. Hell look at Toronto for a good example as well. Poor qb play they're out of the playoffs, add the top qb in the league they win the Grey Cup. You want to talk about the roster and it's problems it starts at one position.

and at least based on preseason that's still an issue for him.

I am so glad that you said that... You do remember what happened in 2011 don't you? Team stayed healthier, most notably at the qb position and it was in the grey cup. Now unless you're going to point to a qb that was a FA that was going to fix the position then You can kindly take this "You need to sign FAs" attitude and stuff it. They picked up a fairly significant FA this year and you still *****.. Free agency in the CFL is really as much of a crap shoot as the draft is. Honestly most of this "mack hates free agents" nonsense comes from last year when Sask signed Picard and Labatte and Carr went to Edmonton which is quite unfair in the grand scheme of things. Labatte and Carr are documented as having been less than truthful with their intentions to the bombers.

On offence the only real uncertainties are qb and coaching.... we saw the other parts of that offense show how good they can be last year at times. More consistency out of the qb position and in general is required but there's pieces there at RB and receiver and o-line that could put that offense in the pack if the qb play is consistent. Defensively we've seen a lot of good things from all the defensive linemen, not really worried there, the secondary should be fine, there's lots of talent there even with Hefney being released. linebackers are really the only part of the defense that is a real unknown... but it could also work out too. Parker was kept around all of last year for a reason and Sears is just a hell of a player, if he adjusts well there it can certainly not be a weakness. To say that everything is a big uncertainty is quite honestly just looking to be negative.

Absolutely, the coverage was blown so badly on that play that Reilly didn't need to be accurate on it, just heave it up and if it gets there the dbs are likely in no position to make any kind of play on it. As it was the coverage got there to possibly be a distraction but the receiver caught it anyway.

look at it objectively... did Goltz really look THAT bad against Hamilton? I mean hell I saw Travis Lulay throw some poor ints in the 2nd preseason game for the lions. Goltz was able to move the ball against Hamilton, turnovers are stuff that can be cleaned up in regular season.

meh not a big deal I don't think. It's always fun to see the entitlement in the press rearing it's ugly head. However Hervey might want to reconsider starting a war with the press, he can ask mike kelly how it works out.

never mind that they made a move in FA for a new safety...

if one of those lions defenders had the presence of mind to turn a second sooner that could have easily been knocked down or even picked off. Was quite fortunate that the lions completely blew the coverage and 2 guys had to put their heads down and sprint just to be in the picture of that play. Honestly the game was quite sloppy, lots of flat out mistakes made all throughout the game.

lots actually.

The absolutely horrendous start last season made things look worse than they were. The biggest improvement that could be made by this team would be a little more consistency and that can happen with more players simply having that extra year of experience.

But Schultz is an absolute moron. Seriously I don't think he really follows the league at all he just gets a point and they let him talk even if he has no clue. Climies point I can at least understand. He said that when he was a player he wanted to play, that's fine. Ultimately we won't know if it was a mistake or not until we see what the starters do.