Captain Blue

I'm always amazed at how bad teams can be at running a no-huddle offense. Clock doesn't even start 'till they wave the ball in. Sheesh.

Personally I think we are better than what the two losses have shown, and so I still feel good about this season. They're showing good signs. There are some ugly spots for sure, but most teams have that too. The West is tough and anyone thinking it wasn't going to be a helluva challenge to make the playoffs was insane to begin with. Give it time guys. Positives and negatives to each game.

Been clamouring for Neufeld to be at tackle since the preseason.

They look really good. I would be stunned if these aren't the best ones. They look new but not overly ridiculous. Sure the "A" on the chest will be more problematic for viewing actual games, but the colour scheme and design is solid. At least the numbers on the back will be visible.

Quick thoughts: There are roster changes that need to happen, and already should have happened. If this last longer, than that is on Walters for not finding better players and Osh for not dressing different ones. Romby Bryant has done nothing but be a negative-effect player every game. He is actively hurting our chances at winning, Dress three Canadians at WR. Yes, Moore should be back and that should mean Romby sits, but honestly its time to just send a message. Two ridiculous penalties (though pretty sure one was just from bad reffing). No after-the-catch ability. Drops. Blah. Howard is awful. I have said that from Day One. Now to be fair, he got gipped on his second 'shot to the head' call because I didn't see direct hand-to-head contact. From one angle you could see the DL's head move to the side a bit but I didn't see enough to really blame Howard. Still, he was a weak spot and needs to go. There has to be someone better, and if not, then we have scouting problems. Offensive line in general did better tonight I thought, but still struggled. They've desperately got to figure this out. I think January is going to get some blame after I re-watch. Grigsby was the same old story. Can't create anything on his own. Can't figure out which blitz pickup is his. Can't read plays correctly. But hey, the end game numbers were decent and he scored so that means the media will proclaim we need more of him. He's another guy who I think has a negative sum on the roster. What he brings in the pass game is not enough to overcome the huge negative in the run game. Defensively it was obvious to everyone that we got ran over. Kuale is an underrated part of this defense. We desperately need him in the middle and are a far weaker unit without him. Wild got killed tonight. I don't want to get too down on the defense for a few reasons. Obviously, the short week killed. So too did the Kuale injury. And top it off with a lack of holding calls. Get healthy and have fair officiating and I think that helps a bit. There's no doubt its a weak spot, I just don't think its as huge as it was tonight. The whole DL was getting held tonight. I still think we are on the right track, but I want to and expect to see roster changes. We saw the positive impact of Stoudermire tonight. Change isn't always bad.

This short week is throwing me off and I really think we're in a tough spot with Toronto not playing earlier.

I'm totally fine with this. I think Cotton will be good back there and I'm still holding out hope he gets a shot past Grisgby.

Don't hate them, but don't really like them all that much. They're tacky, over-the-top but I can tolerate them. BC's look better but are worse functionally, as I could never tell the names on the back. They're very NCAA-like. Generally the younger generations like that style.

The imports at the line are not worth it so far. Etch's defense has been awesome. They gave up some second half yards but even then did well. Offense gifted the Riders 14 pts and Demond gave up 3. Hard to pin blame on the defense. That's a great OL and they basically let in six points.

Free Cotton...

The run game has a ton of problems. Its not all Grigsby, but the he is exacerbating the issues. Our line can't block. There's not a heckuva lot we can do right now about that due to all those injuries. What we can do is put someone in that hits the holes faster and makes better reads. For my money, that's Cotton but I am willing to look at anyone that isn't Grigsby.

Dude has a bad reputation in the locker room, has done nothing the last several years, has one good half and people come on here to throw it in others' faces? Are you guys insane? Is this what you guys do? Maybe I should start a lecture on sample sizes...

Also, I think we have extremely low expectations for kick and punt returners. Woods is easily the best one we have, but that's only because he doesn't fumble or lose yards. Not fumbling should be the base requirement (no more Demond there) and so should the ability to run straight. To his credit, I think Woods had one of his better games this year but I still am left wanting more.

When they were announced to enter the field, the remained in the tunnel. Then they ran out, stood and jumped/danced at center field as the Bombers were running out through the tunnel and row of cheerleaders. Generally the Bombers form a group and cheer once the player announcements are done, and they were NOT happy that the Riders were right beside them. It was a planned stunt, as they didn't the Riders didn't go to their sideline at all until both teams were arguing at centerfield.

Both losses have come after clutch victories and both times I think we have failed to address the weaknesses from those wins. Running the ball? Still a HUGE issue and has been for weeks. Grigsby brought a lot to the pass game tonight but he is terrible as a running back. Its obviously not all his fault either, that OL is being held together by duct tape and they all took turns sucking tonight. Together those six players put us in a lot of second-and-longs. Special teams gaffes...again. Generally fumbles are seen as a rare occurrence and are hard to predict. Demond is just killing us and that fumble was the turning point. Offense had just turned the ball over on a fumble and to gift them another (fortunately only 3 pts) was the beginning of the end. The Riders had 3 first downs after the first half. We needed to capitalize on our drives (15 first downs in the first) but didn't. Once again, the Bombers started to sleepwalk in the middle quarters. As an aside, Chamblin and the Riders pulled that bush league stunt before the game and I was hoping we would dominate them even more. What a classless bunch of crap. Rider fans in my section were typical of them too. Quiet as mice for three and half quarters, rarely celebrating or doing anything out of the ordinary. Yet when it was obvious they were going to win they were sure to rub it in our faces. Most of them were well-behaved, but it was hilarious to see the few of them act like clowns. The Bomber fans hadn't even mocked them prior to that.

I just want to crush them so bad...

Our depth chart is missing the plethora of "MLBs" I'm used to.

The pin's arms look bedazzled. I think it's safe to say it'll look a little different (better or worse I'm not sure) when the actual ones come out.

Duck Dynasty sure does promote the good old family values of hating people that are different...

First, let's begin with the off-topic stuff: The only appropriate response to anyone who thinks Duck Dynasty is good is a hearty laugh. On the jerseys: I have no idea how these will look so I'll hold off before forming an opinion, but I am definitely perplexed as to why the Bombers don't go back to their royal blue uniforms. Also, I am fairly confident that the Bombers have a final say on their jerseys, so this isn't a Reebok thing. When Nike took over the NFL deal two years ago teams could opt for a new Nike jersey or a similar one. Its why the Packers haven't had their jersey changed at all.

You need to have a decent ground game, but overall I agree that a passing game is far more important.

Should be a good game. The Riders are strong still. Not as good as last year, but enough to still compete for first in the West. I'm intrigued to see how we stack up against them.

I don't know who was responsible for calling the last play of the game but that was an insane choice imo. They only needed 3 yards to score, a quick slant in and a bullet to Denmark has better odds than throwing a rainbow across the field to a RB. I was virtually stunned when that play succeeded. The play call was on the brilliant side of basic play calling IMO, as it isolates our RB outside where Drew just has to locate the ball for him. The mistake was Denmark being in the same time zone as Grigby…too many bodies there. However, Denmark did position himself to block out any defender, and Willy absolutely nailed the play of the game by floating the ball over the cover man…perfectly. It's always brilliant when it works. Overall I think that's a low percentage play. Willy knew he had a mismatch with Grigsby's speed there, but it's a very tough throw and one that is going to be broken up at least half the time, I would estimate. Still, we executed it to perfection at least and it paid off. Wouldn't have been my play call and still wouldn't, but it worked as planned.

Holy balls that ending was insane. We absolutely dominated the game for the first half, fell asleep in the third quarter and woke up just in time. They need to figure out how to keep the offense clicking through the whole game and in the redzone. Too often they are getting away from what works once in the redzone, for instance. Don't change your strategy all of a sudden just because its the 19 yard line. I ripped of Grigsby all game, and almost threw up when we handed off to him on the two yard line, but at least he made the crucial catch.

I doubt he ever comes even close to sniffing the CFL, but if he ever did, he would be the best receiver in the league bar none. Assuming his heart were in it. I don't buy it. This guy was absolutely a college talent, but his body of work in his short pro career hasn't demonstrated that he's developed further than a college player. Small sample size obviously due to the various reasons he hasn't hit the field, but I don't buy that he'd come up here and dominate.