Captain Blue

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.

Montreal's a mess. I don't think very highly of Higgins, but when you hire a coach you've got to give him at least two seasons to see if he can do something (unless your coach is Mike Kelly or Tim Burke). Essentially, as long as your coach isn't a COMPLETE assclown like the two I just mentioned, they should get a chance to prove themselves. They deserve a fair shot. This isn't on Higgins. Its starting to look worse and worse on Popp. Hawkins can be seen as a mulligan, but combine a Hawkins and Higgins consecutive mid-season firing (obviously, if they did fire him) and together it shows that this team has no collective clue what to do organizationally.

I think the athleticism between an OL and other positions is greater, and that's where the gap starts. American receivers and defensive backs, for instance, have been training for those positions for years and the American system has targeted tall, fast players. By the time they come up here they've been playing that spot for anywhere from 5-10 years, which is a tremendous advantage development-wise (though the waggle is something Canadians have learned). Offensive lineman requires a lot of coaching still, but if the Canadian player didn't start playing that position until late in high school, he might not be as far behind as his American OL counterpart.

Man, I am all aboard the no-division train. In a thirty-something team league, it makes sense to reduce travel costs, create rivalries, find a somewhat fair way to give the best teams playoff spots. In a 9 team league? Nah. We play every team, regardless of division, so frequently that I end up hating them all at the end of the year anyways. My rivalry is with every single team. Sure I feel more strong hatred towards the Riders but its not like I'm sitting here thinking that Hamilton is a team I wouldn't mind losing to. I hate them all. I don't think there's a need to decrease the ratio at all. There will be a temporary adjustment period, as we are seeing now, but in the end this will only lead to more opportunities for Canadians, which should increase CIS football development and then hopefully the professional product years later. The ratio is just like any other football strategy. Teams that manage it well will succeed. Those who don't, won't. Its hard on everyone this year, anyways.

Never been a fan of Blackmon. He'd probably be decent here I guess. In the NFL I can't envision him ever becoming a star.

As long as its not anywhere near the Bombers I'm fine with it.