Captain Blue

Meh its Winnipeg, if this team doesn't win fans will move past Nichols pretty quickly and the pressure will build.

You know that with the game hanging in the balance this team is going to use its full arsenal of checkdowns.

What a disappointing way to lose. That 15 point lead evaporated so quickly you could tell this team wasn't ready for the pressure. I've been a big Osh fan but that fake punt call was one of the stupidest things I've seen in a while. Similarly, I've been a strong supporter of LaPolice but his offense went super conservative once we had the lead. Even Arceneaux just said "they let their foot off the gas." Play to win the damn game.

I am glad the Bombers won so that I can say this without it sounding sour: the CFL needs to get its officiating in order ASAP. Its ruining the game.

Game day experience was pretty good, minus the disappointing loss.

Lankford has no vision on returns at all. He has mastered running in several different directions and going nowhere. In my opinion he doesn't line up his blocks well and made a few poor decisions too. You could predict the fumble coming.

Just too many mistakes yesterday. We were lucky to still be in the game after the three early turnovers. I was concerned about the defense going into the game but they really kept us alive as best they could. It was only a matter of time before Calgary started to take advantage. The Roc Carmichael experiment should be over. I don't care how good his camp play was, he is currently not good enough to be on the field. I'd like to see some more blitzes as well. The offense was a disaster. Nichols was just not good enough. Those were picks that Glenn threw last week. He'll need to get back on track in a hurry. I was at the game yesterday and it was absolutely rocking when we were still close. It was pretty disappointing to see the performance turn poor so quickly. I don't know what it is with their home games.

One thing that really bothers me watching these games is how many "big" penalties there are, as in how many are affecting major plays. Touchdowns are scored and now they don't even really register for me as a yay/nay until I've confirmed there isn't going to be a really late flag or some ridiculous PI 40 yards away on the other side of the field.

I am more than a bit concerned that the Riders are going to get a huge boost from opening the stadium. They don't look like a good team, but after the loss last week and a HUGE game for their fans this week, I'm expecting a few tricks.

I'm in the very small minority that would have interest in Vernon Adams. I'd be kind of interested in Jacory Harris, too.

I want to know if any of the young QBs are going to shake free from Montreal with this move.

Quick update from camp - went Monday and Tuesday. I missed the first half Monday, and so the last hour and a bit I saw was all special teams. Walked over and watched the OL practice but nothing too noteworthy. Tuesday was a lot more fun from a fan perspective. Chris Randle had a really nice interception early on against the offense. I will say that in camp this year the defense seems extremely vocal, in a good way. Lots of coaching between each other and just a lot of fun too. Leggett can be heard just talking a bunch, at one point yesterday he was literally barking for a few minutes. Heard Randle walking the sidelines too. Shayon Green spent some time on the sideline with Jamal Westerman working on hand technique. Defensive tackles got to practice hand swipes and rips against the anchored tackle dummy. Ekakitie got some ribbing when he was the only one who didn't flip it completely on its side. Needed to get his hand under the armpit more, which the coaches pointed out. As for the QBs, I thought Lefevour looked erratic. Overthrew several balls and one in the turf. Nichols looked pretty good. Davis didn't stand out one way or the other. Apodaca had very limited reps- mostly hand offs and I only saw one short throw from him. And just in general, I really like our coaching staff. I like how they coach in practice and how they interact with the players. Different vibe than say, Doug Berry in the golf cart.

Hurts less with Denmark back. Wish Smith nothing but the best in his new career.

This VY signing is guaranteed to be a circus and it'll be so much fun to watch. Watched Vince Young for many years (Titans fan), and I highly doubt time out of football has magically made him a better player. Would have been a great CFL player if he wasn't 34, out of shape, and had actually played football at any time recently.

I think the Riders-LaFrance pairing is going to be a good one for both sides. Probably ended up too expensive for us. Personally I think the Bombers have had an outstanding free agency, when you account for the re-signings and and other signings prior to the official FA start. We're finally in a place with the roster where we don't need massive upgrades at every single position. We addressed a few big weaknesses already.

People complain that the Bombers don't develop their own quarterbacks. People complain when the Bombers think they may have developed a backup quarterback. Conclusion: Wiecek just likes to complain. Promoting Davis is no doubt a risk, but the whole point of letting the third QB develop is so he can work his way up the depth chart. At some point every team at QB or any other position makes the decision to promote players up the depth chart. This isn't unusual. Clearly the Bombers feel he's ready for the job. Or maybe they just feel that he's better than the soon-to-be 38 year old Kevin Glenn (and that doesn't seem unreasonable, either). I don't know. I'm not particularly a Dom Davis fan, but I don't think this is far and away a terrible decision. Maybe it blows up in their face but then we can argue that for any other position too. This just happens to be the QB spot, which of course is going to draw the most attention.

I feel like football people love Kavis Reed despite not having much success. This arranged marriage seems doomed to fail, but both have been around long enough that maybe they figure it out.

Excellent news.

How big is this difference? It was good enough to scare the hell out of Calgary and beat the rest of the top teams in the league.

I fully expect Osh back, and his whole staff. And I am totally fine with that. First time in a long time where I think we are building something really special here. Hate on LaPo and Hall or whoever all you want, but again these were probably the best offense and defense we've seen in years.

Crappy way to lose. I would have gone for the third down gamble personally. All in all, these three BC games were very close and all could have gone either way. The Bombers had a really solid season. Its been a long time since the arrow was pointing up for this team. Seriously, when was the last time we thought this team was going in the right direction? Not since LaPolice was head coach and even that was brief. We're on the right track, in my opinion. This loss hurts like crazy but I take solace in the fact we're on the upswing.

It's time for one division. Playoff seeding already proved that, but all these awards reinforce it. This is nonsense.

Meh. This was a really ugly let down game. It happens. Defense was bad at the start, offense was bad the whole way. Nichols was just awful. They need to regroup and get ready for next week and the playoff run. Still think this team is headed in the right direction overall. Get back to playing like we did before the bye and we'll be fine.

I really do think Harris fumbled, but that is all irrelevant because the whistle blew BEFORE that. So honestly, I don't care. There was a play earlier on in the second half when the referees also blew the whistle really early in a play, when I thought Harris was still moving forward a bit. These types of plays happen, and they're judgement calls by the official. Whistle blows, play is over. BC definitely missed out on a turnover due to the quick whistle, but such is life. The judgement call was made, what happened after didn't matter. Also I don't want to hear any stuff about how BC got ripped off. These refs were atrocious all game for both sides. BC got handed soft PI call after soft PI call, and got at least an additional 7 points off those calls. Yet when Dressler has a DB on his back before the ball is there, there was no call. If the refs don't give them the PI calls they likely weren't within one score for their last drive. You can make the "could have, should have" argument to say either team was screwed by the refs.

Leggett-O'Shea-LaPolice. Outstanding job all around by those guys.