Captain Blue

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.

We just need to wrap up the QB when given the chance. That was the biggest struggle with Reilly. If they had brought him down when they actually made contact or had contain then that game is much closer.

Absolutely, and if not, then the Bombers have an even better advantage. The goal should be to play your best Canadians and to find the best Canadians, regardless of position. Remember how we needed to take Scott Mitchell because he was a Canadian OL and Henoc played a traditionally import position? Just field the best team possible. Let me put it another way. Its simple market efficiency. All nine teams target Canadian OL, so finding talented Canadian OL is harder since the demand is so high. All nine teams are picking from that talent pool. How many teams are targeting a Canadian corner? Canadian MLB? Heck, even Canadian RB is still not that popular (and I really think this is a position that is going to seem a boom soon). There is less demand for those positions so the teams that are looking at them get to pick from a deeper pool. Its mining resources that have not yet been depleted.

Duane Ford just noted the league should scrap divisions too.

Stunned they didn't toss those players

And a fight breaks out...Argos are a mess.

You know, as this season progresses I find myself thinking that the CFL should just eliminate divisions and roll with the nine teams grouped together.

Leggett is a legit playmaker for this defense. Huge difference when he's there. He reads the plays well and has the physical ability to do everything Etch asks of a safety - demonstrated by his beautiful interception and sack in the game. He got lucky on the Arcenaux drop but that's about the only thing that really sticks in my mind.

Just like Lawless predicted - what a 'spanking.' For BC.

I haven't been a Grigsby fan at any point this season and am sticking with that assessment. Cotton should be in there, and if not him, then someone else.

BC is going to be really hard to beat at home, but we are a pretty formidable opponent for them as well. It would surprise me if it was a blowout for either side. I think Etch and the defense come up with a few turnovers to keep it interesting.

This is like when someone complains that the Jets haven't traded for Sidney Crosby yet... Except this idiot gets a print and radio platform to spew this. I also enjoy that he throws in that the Bombers 'should get spanked' tonight. Lawless has been waiting for that first loss of the year so that he can trot out how we're so bad. I would love to know if he's seen more than five minutes of a BC Lions game.

Most of the media, particularly Lawless, have the processing capacity of children. Win three games then lose one? Of course take all the negatives of the loss, blow them up to the biggest of issues, and print your article. They can't understand that a football team changes and improves (and weakens) over the course of an 18 game season. For a "columnist" he sure does love switching his opinions so that he can always yell the loudest. Yesterday O'Shea and crew could do no wrong...today suddenly the goodwill has disappeared for DISASTER AND MISTAKES.

What are they doing? Giving Ford a chance at the top spot? That would be hilariously insane. I've said it before and I'll say it again - I don't think Chamblin is a great coach. He's just smart enough to surround himself with outstanding coordinators.

I can hardly wait for your next post, Nate, on going after Casey Printers. You can screw right off with this idea and your hilarious "hidden" insult at Bomber fans.

It's like the East had just agreed the first team to five wins gets the division.

I really am scared of their D-line. Think they're going to get to Willy a lot and that's going to be a real problem.

"Hey, he got the team right. That's the kind of effort and work ethic we like to see here from our employees. You should be grateful for such awesome coverage. " - TSN

Does anyone actually have a problem with this move? Seems pretty much like we got a player Hamilton didn't want anymore and paid them a reasonable price for that (ie. near nothing).

Toronto really doesn't seem good at all. And Ray is masking some of their problems. I do think Burke will get the D fixed eventually though.

I can't read past the title. Hell no.