Doublezero

It was nice to see Geoff Gray get a few snaps at RT late in Q4. He just pancaked one of the Esks DL. Really hope Randle and Fogg are fast with eyes open in Regina and Calgary, I worry about those guys a bit.

1stQ Stamps looks they are are back and will be a playoff force.

I think the rule is that if Riders had plucked him off Bombers PR they'd have had to place him on their active roster. Looks like a move designed to get some inside poop on our Blue before we thrash them in the playoffs.

Confidence and momentum going into the playoffs?

Seems unlikely but if Calgary loses next week then Sask gets 1st place and the bye. That means by the time we get to Mosaic for the Western Final Nov 18 Riders will have been cooling their heels for 3 weeks. I like that scenario, actually.

Fogg was well-positioned on the first long pass to Matthews. I don't blame him for that play - great pass and catch by Stamps. He grades lower on the second long completion against. Saw him talking on the phone to Richie Hall after that. Richie must've seen something because Fogg was shutdown after that.

You've got to like the way Masoli operates Jones's run & shoot but is able to hoof it for a first down once in awhile. Masoli reminds me a bit of Chuck Ealey, a very mobile QB who we got from the Cats for Dieter Brock. Nichols lack of mobility is starting to remind me of remind me of Brock. But without Brock's arm strength.

Lions defence just crushing the Esks. Posey and Sutton big additions for BC. That team looks scary good. Maas likely done as HC in Edmonton.

I'm hoping Walters re-negotiates Nichols contract in the offseason and drops him down to where he belongs. That way he can be a good back-up to Streveler next year. I'm guessing Bombers will try to extend Streveler in the offseason but I would be surprised if he bites without some guarantees he can start. Otherwise he'll just go to FA after 2019. No way Streveler sticks around here after next year unless he gets to start. That is the future.

Blustery weather dictates that this game will be fought in the trenches. Our O line is better than Riders but Mason and Thigpen need to be contained. Special teams and kick returns could be big. It's going to come down to fewest turnovers.

Harris had an outstanding game: 132 rushing and 163 total. You can't expect that level of production out of him on a regular basis - or even that many touches. You'd be over-reliant on your tailback. He had just over 100 yards in the prior 3 games combined.

As evidenced by the cool bounce back tackle!

To call the O really good is a stretch. Full marks for 8 pts in OT and, thankfully, no picks in 60+ minutes. That is a classic ball control O as evidenced by TOP. But you shouldn't have to rely on Harris for 164 yds. You shouldn't have to have Medlock kick 6 FG. Nichols averaged under 10 yards per throw. Put another way, his longest throw was 19. All told they were good. Better than they have been. But they have to be better than that to be really good IMHO.

I know! It's great! But you can't trust this team - even with a big lead. Remember the one we lost to BC when we were up by 17? They should've shut it down. And didn't. It seems they can't. Some bonehead announcer will say oh - its just the CFL - no lead is safe. But good teams just don't do that. They button it up.

Bombers blew a 15 point lead with 4:34 left. In the end it came down to an OT fumble by Sinopoli with Redblacks on the doorstep with all the momentum. I call that lucky. They almost lost a game they should have put away.

Yes, they were lucky to win that game.

He missed a catch in OT and tipped it up. Very lucky it wasn't picked or that would have snuffed the drive and virtually ended it for Winnipeg. He has a habit of untimely fumbles and tips for picks. Demski, on balance, is more of a liability than an asset.

Ottawa has a good team, well coached. Honestly, I'm not sure about our team yet. Another convincing win will make me feel better about the Bombers. A beat-down will confirm my fears. A close win will make me happy - especially if Bombers D plays like they did last week. Is Harris 100%? Can Nichols put together some drives, protect the ball, and quit throwing picks? Will we see the same supreme effort from our D as we did vs Esks? Those questions loom. But let's take advantage of Bolduc at safety. And let's Blitz! If we knock their QB down a few times and force him to have his head on a swivel - we can win. Let's not lose due to a pick-six or bonehead coaching error (or combination of the two).

Very happy for the win vs Esks, Great effort by the D. But Matt Nichols looks like a liability who could undermine Bombers success going forward. A grand total of 12 TD passes in 11 games. Terrible efficiency rating, worst INT % among starting QBs in the CFL. He is in the Collaros, Jennings, Franklin, Bethel-Thompson club - and way below the Reilly, Masoli, Mitchell, Harris club.

And how'd that work for us? Another brilliant scheme that got us all the way up to our own 25 yard line on most returns. But yeah, let's wait til the off-season to fix it. If things continue on this trajectory then, obviously, chances are good that it won't be O'Shea who'll be doing the off-season fixing.

Ya O'Shea appears not to care about the return game. I felt ripped off when I saw Demski and Wild paired as returners vs Alouettes. I guess that's why they have a couple of returners in tryouts right now. Sign them in the off-season and look to next year. Seems like its always next year around here. Lots of season tix holders I know are not renewing next year however.

In this interview between the 1 minute mark and 1 min 52 O'Shea is asked why Kevin Fogg hasn't been effective returning the football. The coach says "there are reasons" the return game hasn't been effective and that they are constantly working on things, but, "the things that have gone on" that have limited the return game can't be corrected during the playing season. This kind of non-answer leads to speculation. Is he taking about firing ST Coach Paul Boudreau? Is he talking about an injury to Fogg that will have to be re-habbed (in which case why are you playing him)? Or is he talking about something else entirely? Why should the media and fans have to speculate at all? It's this kind of BS that leads people to conclude that the more they put O'Shea out there in front of the media - the more it hurts the Winnipeg Football Club. https://www.bluebombers.com/2018/09/27/coach-oshea-september-27-2/

If Harris can't go they should play Augustine. In fact, they should play Augustine instead of Lafrance.

Unreal. What a great finish! What was June Jones thinking?

Nic Demski and Ian Wild paired on kickoff returns. I thought this was supposed to be a professional football team.