Doublezero

Standouts at receiver today for me were Rasheed Bailey and Corey Washington. Fast, sharp route-runners with excellent hands who get the waggle. Wolitarski caught everything I saw thrown his way - and so did Petermann. Simonise is smooth and very, very quick, he looks like his head is in it. He dropped one short out pattern that was right in his mitts but then Darvin Adams dropped x3. Darvin then redeemed himself with a contested TD catch that he snatched away violently (I did not catch the number of the defender who got hornswoggled on that one). Marcus Sayles can really motor and, as others said, Winston Rose and Derek Jones close unbelievably fast on the ball. Gaitor and Fenner both looked good. Sayles might have got a bit of an ouch but it doesn't look like anything an ice bath won't fix. Agree with what others said about Oliveira and Augustine. Both hit the hole really fast, straight downhill. Oliviera got around the end on one play though, running free and clear, on a sweep of all things - you can do that if you're an Oak Park Raider but it doesn't happen often at this level because the defenders are so quick. I heard some grumbling about Nichols from fans behind me in the stands after he missed a couple of 15 yd outs - but he does look to be in the best physical shape I've seen him in since he arrived in Winnipeg. He was rolling out and running a bit more than I've seen in the past. Could that be a new wrinkle in the playbook to accommodate .... Streveler, who missed one or two tosses as well - overthrows where, who knows, it could have been the receiver who messed up. Both QB1 and QB2 were sharp with the short pass, and like others have said the playbook looks to be almost fully installed. The new QB #12 Sean McGuire looks still to be adjusting to the passing lanes on the wider field. He hit the shorter passes but the long balls were way off the mark. It's still early but he doesn't look to be ready to unseat Bennett at the #3 QB at this stage. Lucky Whitehead can catch the football - he made a couple of nice catches in the receiver spot - but what caught my eye was on the returns - he is lightning quick - wow. Honest to God there were a whole lot of bodies out there in uniform. I think we are going to win the Grey Cup.

Agreed. Two-back set might be good. Fewer runs up the gut. More short swing passes.

And was the ball there? Completed pass?

Agreed. Nichols is not the kind of QB who will single-handedly win you games. But he can single-handedly lose them for you, as he did last year - at least 3 times - ie: 7 picks in a string of 4 losses where he hung on to the ball too long and looked like the reincarnation of Drew Willy or T.J. Rubley.

Did Thompkins play any more games after he got stretchered off the field with a neck/head injury last September?

We can disagree about what we see in the video. I think he has a slight limp. You don't. I think he's looking a bit pudgy, you don't. No prob. I'm only responding to the most recent video of him as opposed to one that someone posted on the thread from last year around this time - claiming it is current, which it ain't. You can interpret my comments as an insult but that's not my intention. I really hope Matt has a bounce back season. The cheeseburger thing came from something Matt said in the Free Press Jan 17, which surprised me a bit coming from a pro athlete. Matt Nichols is spending the winter trying to eat better. Maybe shed a few pounds. Get a little bit quicker. "I'm a huge cheeseburger guy. So that's a hard one to get rid of. But the hardest thing is my kids eat mac-and-cheese and grilled cheese all the time, so I've got salmon and broccoli and I'm looking at a half-eaten grilled cheese that I just want to finish off. That's the hardest temptation, is not finish my kids' food," Nichols said Thursday, back in the city for an off-season check-in. https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/football/bombers/nichols-cuts-back-on-burgers-and-hes-starving----for-a-grey-cup-504513472.html

What's ridiculous about it? Here, decide for yourself. Is he favouring his knee? Does he look lean and mean like a QB machine? https://www.bluebombers.com/2019/01/25/matt-nichols-visits-brandon-wheat-kings/ Anyhow, like I said, I don't care if he looks like Wilkie as long as he plays lights out.

Actually no. It was first posted May 8, 2018 and the episode was recorded before Matt's training camp knee injury. You want to know what kind of shape he looks like he's in recently? Take a look at the visit to Brandon from the Bombers site from last month - he looks like he's been eating too many cheeseburgers and is favouring his knee with a slight limp. That said, I don't care if he's shaped like Tom Wilkinson as long he bounces back from a very pedestrian performance in 2018 and plays like he did in 2017.

Dave Campbell from CHED radio said Nichols contract was "restructured" - no idea why anyone would assume Nichols got an extra year beyond 2020 or more money beyond the $455,000 he's set to make in 2019. "Restructured" usually means the opposite. The club goes to Matt and says "We'd like make some revisions your deal ..." Maybe they just decided they don't want to pay him a $225,000 roster bonus next January 15 as they did this year. Or maybe they want to make that bonus contingent on certain performance milestones. And asked him to agree to that. Some intrepid journalist should be digging this out ... Here's what Dunk said Feb 6 before any of this: https://3downnation.com/2019/02/06/bombers-qb-matt-nichols-set-for-pay-increase-but-bombers-have-an-out/

What do these changes in player status mean, from CFL.ca today: 2019-02-19 WPG NICHOLS, Matt QB I Eastern Washington Add To Active Roster 2019-02-19 WPG NICHOLS, Matt QB I Eastern Washington Delete From Active Free Agent

We can still blame him over there.

Spooner to Esks and Fogg to Argos

There is no possible way for you to know my intent. I am unaware of a forum rule that says threads must be above bias, as you put it. I have stated a position: we do not have enough talent at the key position to get our team to the Grey Cup and to win it. I blame head coach/management for this. You are free to disagree. But I don't see any form of argument or counter-argument in your statement above.

Agreed Davis is likely to surprise a few folks with his play. He's better than Manziel IMHO. We groomed him here and then just let him walk for nothing.

He also had several mishandled catches that popped into the hands of waiting DBs. Inexcusable when you consider the balls are coming from Nichols who doesn't exactly throw rockets.

Meh ~ I cringe every time he touches the ball that he's going to put it on the turf and watch while an opponent scoops it.

I suppose but it seems like with the numbers being tossed around they might have kept Sukh Chung for a similar amount.

Did not realize DE was such a priority need for Bombers.

It should be obvious by now that Walters/Oshea don't manage the QB position very well. They are gambling that Nichols bounces back from last season's step backward. Is Nichols in football shape? Is the knee 100%? Even if it is, is he good enough to get us to the promised land? Seems Walters structured Nichols contract poorly - since it kept us out of the QB FA sweepstakes this year. But going back even before Nichols, this crew stuck with Drew Willy when it was obvious he was hopeless. There's a flicker of hope with Streveler in the bullpen but what are the chances of keeping him when he turns FA one year from now? I want to be hopeful but there's this sinking feeling that we are hooped unless we get better production out of the most important position on the football team.

Nichols did a news conf Jan 17 and then went to Brandon Jan 25 - the first time he surfaced since a very pedestrian offensive performance in the W final where he converted just five of 22 second down conversion chances (22%). It is perfectly fine for fans to look at Nichols with a critical eye - he has become a lightning rod after costing us multiple losses last season while refusing to admit it. Take another look at the athlete in at that Brandon Wheat Kings video and ask yourself if this looks like a QB who can take the Bombers to the cup and win it.

Good PR with Matt Nichols going to Brandon https://www.bluebombers.com/2019/01/25/matt-nichols-visits-brandon-wheat-kings/ Is it just me or has Matt been eating lots of cheeseburgers in the offseason? And is he limping?

I liked Chris Vargas. Just about clocked me cold when we collided in the backfield in the 97 camp. It was an inside run feed and I went outside. I still remember the play: 44 Woody.

Stamps showed you can win with your backup receivers - so long as your QB consistently steps up and doesn't fold.

Football is a game of angles and trajectories. You don't have to be huge to excel. A combo of good wheels, anticipation and good vision can make up for a lack of size.

Look, Bombers are going to sign Bighill OK? So just breathe out. Moreover, why should anyone care, Bighill or his agent included, about opinions on a fan board? That makes no sense. What does make sense is the fact that you need a better QB than Nichols to get you to the Grey Cup and to win it. If that isn't obvious I can't help you. There's been lots of QBs come and go in this league over the years but I haven't seen one in Blue and Gold with Streveler's potential and for the reasons already stated we need to lock him up now.