Doublezero

He's only cost us two possible wins because of time count violations, that's true. I know some of that is waiting for Marcel to communicate the play. But even so DW takes the entire post-whistle 20 secs every play. That saps all momentum. Winnipeg employed a high-tempo hurry offence vs Sask for a few series and haven't gone back to it since. It appears they were focused on trying to address the sluggish tempo but that is down the tubes now. Willy does have a decent completion rate so far this season but the problem is they are the momentum sapping 6-7 yard outs coupled with the very occasional explosion. That does not amount to a sustained drive. But you play the card you are dealt. The more explosive teams in the CFL are coached by offensive minds - Huf, Tedford, Milanovich, and Austin - all ex QBs and those teams have quicker scramblers at the QB position in some ways better suited to the Canadian game. And please don't tell me what I have a clue about or don't as that's just ad hominem and contributes nothing to the conversation.

And that is the problem exactly. There should be a debate. Because so far Drew Willy is not getting it done. He may be the best we've had in awhile but that does not place him above criticism and serious questioning - which has yet to occur. And if we don't debate it we'll stick with him and keep losing. I could go on about his shortcomings - taking too long to get the ball away, taking too long between snaps, not establishing any rhythm, NO ability to sustain a drive, not having that critical QB peripheral 6th sense, not having the killer foot-on-their-throat instinct etc ... You don't agree? Watch Tedford and Lulay will demonstrate how a pro style offense is run on Thursday. lol I like how you start talking about Willy, like it's all on him. But you tell us to look at an established starter AND his coach. Willy can only go as far as his OC. And MB has proven time and time again to have all the qualities your putting on Willy. Lots of us have been saying it since last year. This teams Offence will continue to struggle as long as MB is calling the plays. It is that simple. Willy has the talent to get the job done, MB does not. Willy has won inspite of his OC and lost/been injured because of him. Doug Brown agrees that Drew Willy takes too long to put the ball in play. Talking about the need for better pass protex for the big $$$ bombers are paying, Brown describes Willy as "a relatively immobile passer ... who only plays at an elite level when given sufficient time in the pocket" and I've said for ages that Willy is the kind of QB who, if you give him more time, will, unfortunately, take it. But I agree that loss vs Esks was not on Willy or Brohm - despite what others are trying to make it out to be. You could say the battle was Bombers O vs Esks vaunted D and for sure the O as a group flunked. Our D and ST also gave up 32 points.

So the loss is on Brohm? Get real. Willy has yet to score a TD vs Esks in three starts. You're not wrong about what Willy has done against Edmonton, but what do two previous games have to do with Saturday? You sure have a strange desire to go out of your way to hate on Drew Willy. I don't get why folks are blaming Brohm for the loss. That makes no sense. Willy's numbers were hardly any better through 2/3 of the game. Willy was like 7 for 17 and 81 yards. Every time Willy loses it seems like he can do no wrong. He's always aabove criticism. I don't hate Drew Willy. I'd like to see him do well. But we've given him every opportunity through more than 20 games ... and maybe it's time to admit he's just not the second coming everyone thinks he is. who is calling him the second coming? If you can't see he's the best qb the bombers have had in a while, you might need to take a CFL 101 course or something. When not being hit like a rag doll he's putting his team in a position to win almost every game. Does he make mistakes? Of course, he's a 2nd year starter playing with a fairly weak team and a horrible OC. Drew willy is by far the bombers best chance to win right now. There is no debate on that. And that is the problem exactly. There should be a debate. Because so far Drew Willy is not getting it done. He may be the best we've had in awhile but that does not place him above criticism and serious questioning - which has yet to occur. And if we don't debate it we'll stick with him and keep losing. I could go on about his shortcomings - taking too long to get the ball away, taking too long between snaps, not establishing any rhythm, NO ability to sustain a drive, not having that critical QB peripheral 6th sense, not having the killer foot-on-their-throat instinct etc ... You don't agree? Watch Tedford and Lulay will demonstrate how a pro style offense is run on Thursday.

So the loss is on Brohm? Get real. Willy has yet to score a TD vs Esks in three starts. You're not wrong about what Willy has done against Edmonton, but what do two previous games have to do with Saturday? You sure have a strange desire to go out of your way to hate on Drew Willy. I don't get why folks are blaming Brohm for the loss. That makes no sense. Willy's numbers were hardly any better through 2/3 of the game. Willy was like 7 for 17 and 81 yards. Every time Willy loses it seems like he can do no wrong. He's always aabove criticism. I don't hate Drew Willy. I'd like to see him do well. But we've given him every opportunity through more than 20 games ... and maybe it's time to admit he's just not the second coming everyone thinks he is.

So the loss is on Brohm? Get real. Willy has yet to score a TD vs Esks in three starts.

When the Bombers make a successful play it seems to be the exception, whereas when other teams do it - it's expected. Bombers are running around out there but there is an obvious lack of focus. Snakebit by this sickness the past few years and its not clear MOS recognizes it or knows what to do .... Willy not looking like much of a winner either.

Willy was probably embarrassed by his lack of performance against Esks. He's had 3 starts for us in Edmonton and hasn't manufactured a TD. Not sure he gives us the best chance to win.

So are you saying Brohm cost us the game?

Because he got hurt on a low hit to his knee? Talk about overreaction. If anything tonight shows how valuable Willy is. We've been very patient with Drew Willy. I'd like to see him succeed. I just don't think he's very good. He managed to throw for 80 yards before he got hurt in the 3rd quarter. Bombers have not scored a TD in 3 games against Esks with Willy starting.

I don't think O'Shea has a feel for how unproductive and dysfunctional the offence is. Oshea, Walters, and even Wade Miller don't really have a feel for the offensive side of the ball. Their football experience is all on the defence. So if Willy isn't very good - would they actually know? Maybe time for Danny Mac to say something.

Time to re-assess Drew Willy. Just imagine. He's going to be making $400k next year. How do you spell ... not worth it?

Cornish

It is obvious that Winnipeg should be going for two points every time a TD is scored. MOS said the decision to go for 2 is situational. But MOS is wrong. Going for the 2-pointer every time, even at 50% success rate, is a better risk than kicking from the 32 with an unreliable kicker. When the CFL changed the rule to allow for the 2-pointer from the 3 yard line, it was expected the 2-pointer would be successful 50% of the time. If you get 2 points 50% of the time that equals getting one point 100% of the time - which is much better risk-reward ratio than we are currently getting with LH missing kicks and losing games for us. http://www.cfl.ca/article/statsgeek-changing-the-rules

Odds of success are probably less than 50% I would think. Why do you think that?

Actually, no, you are wrong. As I said, defence and ST helped Bombers achieve an early 5-1 record. Here's one of those five wins that the D and LH's leg actually won for us http://cfl.ca/article/hajrullahu-bombers-leg-out-a-win-over-lionsBefore that vs Argos and Ottawa the D (Washington, Randle) scored TDs off fumbles, picks or ST scored TDs on returns - contributing points and also getting turnovers and giving the offence field position. The offence mostly relied on short field and big play. Lots of 2-outs and inability to produce long drives was pretty much the hallmark in those early wins. And then the offence just got worse, as, perfect storm, opponents countered Etch's D too.

Lots of blame all around for this blown opportunity for a W, agreed. But a poster pointed out that Willy hasn't been a clutch QB and that is true. While we still have hope he may improve, he is consistently slow getting the ball in play between snaps. And the offence is relying too much on the big play, as well as on the D and special teams for scoring points. When Winnipeg won a few games early last year it was with big help and points from the D and special teams. Then it went downhill and nothing's changed. Willy can't consistently drive the ball downfield or lead the offence to scores in the red zone. And a lot of that has to do with tempo, rhythm and urgency.

You are underestimating the Esks. Given Stampeders injuries, I can see Edmonton finishing first in the West and even with Nichols as QB, Winnipeg will have their hands full. In fact, I'll be surprised if Winnipeg betters the Esks, which makes the blown opportunity against Calgary even more regrettable.

Could be. We may have a better idea by the end of the season. The last minute of the game felt Lapo-like. Could be. We may have a better idea by the end of the season. The last minute of the game felt Lapo-like.We've had too many LaPolice/Rheinbold/Burke moments of late and the scary thing is that Willy sure as spit looks like he is regressing.How does he look like he's regressing? Lmfao. Calgary has one of the best pass defences in the league.. He did rather well did he not?The things people chose to try and claim around here at times..When Willy's game deserted him last year, his biggest failing was his inability to handle blitzes and folding in crunch time. That's pretty much what happened tonight.Uh. I saw him handle the blitz really well up til the last play of the game with the int. not sure what game you were watching.He either tossed it away or dumped it off for small gains.. He also made some great throws in the face of it too. Great retort. Willy was fine until he threw a game killing interception... or didnt call time out on a drive killing penalty. You either have it in the clutch or you dont. Right now, Willy is not a clutch guy. When the pressure is on he gets worse. That's just fact. Will it improve, God I hope so. It's his 2nd year as a starter but hes' going to be 29 in November. He's actually past his prime in football years. Or entering the final stages of it. Wow it's these kind of comments that make me wonder. Early last year that is all he was. Clutch. He won some games where it looked like a certain loss. This game he drove the field and got us within a field goal of winning. The loss of down was stupid but something that shouldn't happen again. Regardless he got close enough for the field goal and it was missed. Willy cost the Bombers a win against Hamilton last year when he took a time count violation in the dying seconds of the game. Generally, like last year, Winnipeg telegraphs it's run game and runs it in ploddingly slow motion. Bigger problem though is this QB takes way too long to put the ball in play between snaps. There's no tempo or urgency to Winnipeg's attack and therefore no rhythm. Defenders have too much time to rest. Other than once series in Regina where Bombers ran a hurry-up that first game, the O has looked pretty weak, inconsistent and unreliable. It comes down to the QB and coord. Take a look at what Lulay and Tedford do in BC for guidance. They know how to run a high tempo CFL offence. Hate to say it, but it really seems that Bellefueille, Willy and Buck Pearce don't get it. Not sure MOS Walters and Miller coming from the other side of the ball can even recognize the problem let alone correct it.

Cornish

Cornish vs Hurl should tell the tale this week.

It was great to watch BC come back and win against Sask. And Jeff Tedford was cool - guy obviously loves the game of football. He was very animated on the sidelines: getting the 13th man involved, heaping praise on Lions players. Also like how Tedford's brought tempo and urgency to the BC offence.

Shell is def a factor out there on ST. Friday against Als he busted some chops on returns and got downfield fast for contain on kick-offs. I notice in practice he's been moved around on defence - HB corner and safety. Smart pickup by Bombers.

I just hope Drew Willy doesn't take forever to get rid of the ball. If it looks like he's taking too long to process decisions - it could be a long night and I'll be worried about the state of his noggin. If he plays with some urgency like he did in Regina I like our chances against the Als. They have a very good defence.

Esks look to be back in business. I can see them going far this season.

The winning formula is simple. Bombers D needs to play lights out. Eliminate bonehead penalties and ST errors. Run the ball to set up the pass.