GCn20

We haven't had a great running back since early in Fred Reid's time here. In a way I don't mind the RB carousel going around until we find one.

I was quite shocked this morning. Went over to read on Riderfans and was shocked to see some of their more sensible forum members now predicting a 3 game win streak starting this week. Saying it's the easiest part of their schedule? Not sure what these guys are thinking. Denial is one thing, but even when their team is absolute crap these guys still think we are a free spot on the Bingo card. Can't wait for the LDC and BB sweep. Be even sweeter when Ottawa beats them at home too.

I got a guy that worked here that keeps saying the CFL is boring and that it would be better if we were a feeder league for the NFL with the same rules rather then the CFL. He's adamant that more people would watch then now. And he complains because of the rouge (which I think is stupid as well but whatever), that they can't call a fair catch along with the whole 5 yards rule, it's too slow, and all the scoring happens in the last 3 minutes. And no matter what I tell him CFL just sucks to him. I'm like, dude, it's football, I love all football. Not sure why Canadians are so thick headed when it comes to sports. I got a guy that worked here that keeps saying the CFL is boring and that it would be better if we were a feeder league for the NFL with the same rules rather then the CFL. He's adamant that more people would watch then now. And he complains because of the rouge (which I think is stupid as well but whatever), that they can't call a fair catch along with the whole 5 yards rule, it's too slow, and all the scoring happens in the last 3 minutes. And no matter what I tell him CFL just sucks to him. I'm like, dude, it's football, I love all football. Not sure why Canadians are so thick headed when it comes to sports. Sounds like your friend doesn't know much about football and is just being an elitist for whatever reason.

I think it is remote. I think Bilukidi will definitely be cut and will remain unsigned, but will wait to see if any other NFL interest develops.

I'm sure a big chunk of those fans are driving in from Calgary for the game. Considering it's only half Stampeder fans at McMahon for games against the Riders, not even a chance. Obviously some, but not many. That's total bullshit. That's why I hate & totally disrespect the Rider fanbase when they post total garbage like this. The Stamps have 24,000 season tickets in a 35.000 seat stadium. So how do nearly 20,000 Rider fans get in? Most of the fans there cheering for the Riders are drunken douchebags. Give me a frigging break. Ok sorry, that was an exaggeration, but they still fill it up a decent bit. Anyhow, there aren't going to be that many Stamps fans in Regina. There will obviously be a few as always, but not "a big chunk". Yeah but when you go to a game in Calgary vs. the Bombers there's a ton of Bomber fans in there too, when the Lions are in town there's a ton of Lions fans. That's just what happens when you are in a city with a large population that has moved there from out of province. The Riders aren't some unique fanbase, especially when it comes to Calgary. Exactly. Through many decades the youth of Saskatchewan fled their family farms to other provinces to gain employment in other provinces. Saskatchewan teetered on the brink of insolvency for the better part of 50 years prior to the last decade. With no other major economy other than farming and no prospect of employment other than driving tractor for minimum wage, Saskatchewanites spread out across the country at a rate only rivaled by Newfoundland. Once in their new homes, they developed a kind of survivor's guilt for leaving and the only sports team from "back home" they could rally their survival guilt around was the Riders. The success of the Rider brand across Canada has more to do with that than anything else. Not wanting to be seen as turncoats by the province that raised them but they ultimately abandoned, they don green and go to games in the hopes that somehow it will rectify the damage that was done by the mass exodus they were a part of. Sad really. In short the Rider's success around the league speaks more to the former sad state of affairs of their home province than it actually does about their football team. Same could probably be said about the high number of Bomber fans that attend games in Alberta. Although, there are far fewer of us, the reasons for attending are about trying to keep allegiances with the provinces left behind. This post is sadly very true in some ways. I left Sask right out of high school for the Alberta Oilfields. Is what it is. I also returned home at the first opportunity and have lived here many years. I don't blame anyone for moving or doing what they have to do to support their families, That's got ****-all to do with what team they cheer for. FYI I have 3 Manitoba boys on my crew here and they still like the Bombers, I wouldn't expect them to turn on the team they grew up cheering for just because they moved here. I wouldn't expect anyone to ever turncoat on their home province or childhood team....no matter where they lived. Just saying that the high number of RIder fans at visiting stadiums is more a function of Saskatchewan being by far and away the CFL province with the biggest exodus of fans to rival provinces than it is a function of them being "Canada's Team". That is, of course, unless the term Canada's team refers to Saskatchewan ex-pats. If that is the case then Newfoundland should get a CFL club. They would instantly own the title of "Canada's team".

Top 3 Worst Starters on Our Team: (if everyone were healthy) 1. Greg Peach - guy should be a platoon player at best 2. JFG - just not CFL quality starter 3. Neufeld - had a strong first game and has struggled mightily since. Breaking down the film he is being exposed to the inside rush. Would be far better suited at RG. Top 3 Most Under rated: 1. Picard - I know his snaps are poor but I have looked at a lot of the film and our Guards are making him look really bad. I used to coach OL and that would be my assessment. Our Guards have rarely been able to block one on one with consistency. Moreso Greaves and Neufeld. Chungh can block well but struggles against stunts and blitzes...an experience thing. 2. Bucknor - Teams are throwing at him. They have to throw at someone. He may be the weak link of our secondary but that doesn't necessarily make him weak. 3. Chris Randle - Lots of people saying he is a substandard SAM. I don't for the life of me know why. Thought he has done exactly everything we could hope for at SAM for us. Lot's of people not understanding what a SAM LBer's job is I think.

Size definitely matters at MLBer. I mean you can go a bit undersized like we did with Wild last year....but Brackenridge? Good grief....he's going to get himself hurt playing in the box. Teams will run at will over top of him.

Bowman is still an elite pass rusher in this league. His days are numbered though.

Nope. Who's job would he be taking? Nobody in their right mind would sit down Hall or Chick for Bowman. I would sit down Hall for Bowman in a heart beat for the short term. However, Hall is much younger and provides almost the same ability. No need for the Riders to waste money on Bowman.,,,they got much bigger fish to fry.

I like the Simmons signing but I don't love it. He's a good player don't get me wrong but I worry that this may mean we don't go hard after Wild when he is released.

Rider sympathizer....or Rider fan? Hmmm..... Neither. I just find it comical (and pretty hypocritical) that Bomber fans on this site get so bent about how popular the Riders are nationwide and how boisterous their fans are about their allegiances, and feel they have to shout it down and de-cry it as a "myth". Sucks for them to be 0-7 and be so close in every game, certainly given the injury issues they have had, but I don't feel sorry for them. No one would feel sorry for the Bombers in the same situation. But I feel no overt need to throw it in their faces unless a fan fires the first shot directly at me (and to my face, not over a message board). But I find it sillier that people feel the need to be bothered by how supportive the Rider fans are, both at home and on the road, and the fact that the media comments on it, and the massive need to say "that's a lie!", or "it just gets soooo annoying" when the most ardent Bomber fans do EXACTLY the same thing, like it's OK for us to do it, but a crime for another fan base to. The perception of a strong Rider national fan base is not inaccurate - come to any Banjo Bowl and see how well their fans travel. This is just my opinion, but it smacks of sour grapes and a massive inferiority complex, like it takes away from how good Bomber fans are if we don't get the same props, or if another team gets any credit. And it is so predictable around here, when we do well we can revel in their failure, but when we have a struggling team that we can't puff our chests out about, we revert to the "well they suck too" and "they are in your face about it (like we aren't?). Just funny how childish it seems, and to me, this petty attitude and classlessness DOES reflect badly on our fanbase (and I don't expect anyone to adopt that last line of thinking). I am sure I am overreacting to most, but it is a pet peeve of mine. I don't need to tear down other anonymous people to make me feel better about myself - I don't want to give that kind power to others to determine my life happiness, especially fans of a competing sports team. Anyway, just my observation and opinion, no Rider flag waving intended. So....Rider fan it is then.

No kidding. Save us the "I'm a superior fan" schtick. We hate the RIders....plain and simple. It's not a need for any of us or any of your other psychological babble TB4E. It's just good old fashioned fun to make comments at the Rider's expense. If you don't like it, I recommend you don't come back to this thread as it is likely destined to be a front pager for ever.

Let me be clear about this. They must have overpaid to get him to sign. Yea...why else would he sign in Regina. Surely not for the RCMP museum. What's ironic is that knowing Taman's spending habits they probably did overpay to get him to sign. Phone rings: RING RING "Hello Don, this is Brendan Taman from the RoughRIders" "Hi Brendan...can I call you back in 5 minutes? My boss Apu says I need to clean the squishee machine." "This will only take a second Don. Would you be interested in coming to play for the Riders?" (Long Pause where Don Unamba resigns himself to the fact that this is what it's come down too) "Well Brendan I'm open to offers." "Well then how does league minimum sound Don?" (Don literally has no time to respond whatsoever) "Ok...OK...you're playing hardball...I get it...how about 60k a year?" 'Well that's an interesting offer Brendan...give me a moment to think it over" (2 seconds later) " Alright...you win 75k...but that's my final offer until my next final offer." " In that case I acc...." (Gets cut off by Brendan mid-sentence) " 80k .....I mean it that's how high I can go. Take it or leave it." " I'll take it." "Great stay on the line and my assistant will make preparations for you to get here." (Taman hangs up, looks at himself in the mirror and giggles with delight. " Hee hee....I could have gone as high as 100k."

He's hitting - he's just not tackling. I think that's Macho "the human torpedo" Harris imo. However, you could be right.

Has Brackenridge even hit anyone this year? Seen a lot of near misses but not too many collisions.

Rider sympathizer....or Rider fan? Hmmm.....

I'm sure a big chunk of those fans are driving in from Calgary for the game. Considering it's only half Stampeder fans at McMahon for games against the Riders, not even a chance. Obviously some, but not many. That's total bullshit. That's why I hate & totally disrespect the Rider fanbase when they post total garbage like this. The Stamps have 24,000 season tickets in a 35.000 seat stadium. So how do nearly 20,000 Rider fans get in? Most of the fans there cheering for the Riders are drunken douchebags. Give me a frigging break. Ok sorry, that was an exaggeration, but they still fill it up a decent bit. Anyhow, there aren't going to be that many Stamps fans in Regina. There will obviously be a few as always, but not "a big chunk". Yeah but when you go to a game in Calgary vs. the Bombers there's a ton of Bomber fans in there too, when the Lions are in town there's a ton of Lions fans. That's just what happens when you are in a city with a large population that has moved there from out of province. The Riders aren't some unique fanbase, especially when it comes to Calgary. Kind of like when the Habs play in Edmonton, it's a sea of red, and when the Maple Leafs play in Edmonton, it's a sea of blue. Not even remotely the same. You are trying to compare the two oldest Canadian NHL franchises to the Riders?! This is what makes other teams fan bases take issue with Rider fans. The gall to think they are somehow at the level of franchise as the Habs and Leafs is laughable. The Habs and the Leafs fill buildings with their fans across Canada because until NHL expansion there were only two Canadian NHL teams to cheer for. You were either a Habs or Leafs fans. Unlike the Riders, there presence across Canada transcends provincial boundaries. They truly were Canada's teams for generations. What the hell are you talking about? I'm making my comparison to what 17 said. I made no mention or comparison to the Roughriders. Maybe read what's going on before going off on a tangent. I used Edmonton as a comparison because a lot of people out of province moved there for work; many of whom don't cheer for the Oilers. Just like with Calgary. The point is that rider fans are displaced gappers, habs and leaf fans aren't usually displaced fans. Prior to expansion leafs or habs were the teams people were fans of and those loyalties were passed down from fathers to sons and when the NHL expanded people didn't up and change their loyalties. Look at a guy like Noeller, proud Manitoban for whatever reason, also a Leaf fan cause that's how he was raised. Yep. Pretty much exactly what I was saying. I am glad reading comprehension is still taught in one prairie province.

It's better to be the hammer than the nail for a change. We've had so many soft players come through here in the past several years it's refreshing to get one that pounds opponents. I haven't liked a LBer this much in their rookie season since Joe Lobendahn.

Leggett was a Cornerback before he came here... I mean why did we think Randle would be any good at SAM - anyway, doesn't matter - I'm just saying I'd take a Cdn safety if it meant we had two lockdown cornerbacks. Because we'd rather have a shut down SAM (dime back) than a shut down field corner that sees less action. As much as I'd like to see Bucknor upgraded, our defence seems to be coming along rather nicely. They have been pretty solid the past few games and Simmons will, at worst, seem to upgrade our depth. If he is as awesome as he makes himself out to be, he could be a serious weapon. I still see the real weak link of our defence as our DL. Westerman can't do it all himself and Bilikudi and Mulumba seem like they're sticking around the NFL a for another season. For sure Mulumba is sticking with the Packers. He has had a great camp thus far. However, Bilikudi is becoming more of a certainty to be cut day by day. By ALL media and NFL report sites he is having an awful camp and is projected to be a cut. Not sure if that would facilitate him ending up here this year, but his NFL career is almost certainly coming to a close. Also, for the first time since he left, I am hearing some real noise in various media reports that Henoc may be in jeopardy of losing his spot (although they would almost certainly PR him). Ian Wild is TCF. He will be available very soon to the highest bidder. I am wondering if that will be us or not. The signing of Simmons makes it seem unlikely.

I'd suggest you are probably right. They will probably use him in a rotation to keep everyone fresh.

I think the Bombers will use Simmons as a rotational/platoon player. Doubt he displaces Hurl in most situations. Everyone is thinking he is a Mike, in Ottawa last year he played primarily WIL.

I'm sure a big chunk of those fans are driving in from Calgary for the game. Considering it's only half Stampeder fans at McMahon for games against the Riders, not even a chance. Obviously some, but not many. That's total bullshit. That's why I hate & totally disrespect the Rider fanbase when they post total garbage like this. The Stamps have 24,000 season tickets in a 35.000 seat stadium. So how do nearly 20,000 Rider fans get in? Most of the fans there cheering for the Riders are drunken douchebags. Give me a frigging break. Ok sorry, that was an exaggeration, but they still fill it up a decent bit. Anyhow, there aren't going to be that many Stamps fans in Regina. There will obviously be a few as always, but not "a big chunk". Yeah but when you go to a game in Calgary vs. the Bombers there's a ton of Bomber fans in there too, when the Lions are in town there's a ton of Lions fans. That's just what happens when you are in a city with a large population that has moved there from out of province. The Riders aren't some unique fanbase, especially when it comes to Calgary. Kind of like when the Habs play in Edmonton, it's a sea of red, and when the Maple Leafs play in Edmonton, it's a sea of blue. Not even remotely the same. You are trying to compare the two oldest Canadian NHL franchises to the Riders?! This is what makes other teams fan bases take issue with Rider fans. The gall to think they are somehow at the level of franchise as the Habs and Leafs is laughable. The Habs and the Leafs fill buildings with their fans across Canada because until NHL expansion there were only two Canadian NHL teams to cheer for. You were either a Habs or Leafs fans. Unlike the Riders, there presence across Canada transcends provincial boundaries. They truly were Canada's teams for generations.

I'm sure a big chunk of those fans are driving in from Calgary for the game. Considering it's only half Stampeder fans at McMahon for games against the Riders, not even a chance. Obviously some, but not many. That's total bullshit. That's why I hate & totally disrespect the Rider fanbase when they post total garbage like this. The Stamps have 24,000 season tickets in a 35.000 seat stadium. So how do nearly 20,000 Rider fans get in? Most of the fans there cheering for the Riders are drunken douchebags. Give me a frigging break. Ok sorry, that was an exaggeration, but they still fill it up a decent bit. Anyhow, there aren't going to be that many Stamps fans in Regina. There will obviously be a few as always, but not "a big chunk". Yeah but when you go to a game in Calgary vs. the Bombers there's a ton of Bomber fans in there too, when the Lions are in town there's a ton of Lions fans. That's just what happens when you are in a city with a large population that has moved there from out of province. The Riders aren't some unique fanbase, especially when it comes to Calgary. Exactly. Through many decades the youth of Saskatchewan fled their family farms to other provinces to gain employment in other provinces. Saskatchewan teetered on the brink of insolvency for the better part of 50 years prior to the last decade. With no other major economy other than farming and no prospect of employment other than driving tractor for minimum wage, Saskatchewanites spread out across the country at a rate only rivaled by Newfoundland. Once in their new homes, they developed a kind of survivor's guilt for leaving and the only sports team from "back home" they could rally their survival guilt around was the Riders. The success of the Rider brand across Canada has more to do with that than anything else. Not wanting to be seen as turncoats by the province that raised them but they ultimately abandoned, they don green and go to games in the hopes that somehow it will rectify the damage that was done by the mass exodus they were a part of. Sad really. In short the Rider's success around the league speaks more to the former sad state of affairs of their home province than it actually does about their football team. Same could probably be said about the high number of Bomber fans that attend games in Alberta. Although, there are far fewer of us, the reasons for attending are about trying to keep allegiances with the provinces left behind.

If he comes cheap...sure why not. Not a priority signing though. As for the Riders interest?? Emry is what exactly? Done? Going to be released? Not coming back this season? Thing with Jasper is that you gotta play him at MLBer. He wouldn't make a very good WIL.

I've been told by someone who coaches football that it was a read option play, and that Marve did make the wrong read. But still.....why a shotgun snap play that has us starting so far behind the line?? That's more wrong than anything Marve did. We've all seen that shotgun play on third and short described on TV as the wrong call, because you've made it third and medium instead. It was a read option play. But with that amount of time left. I don't like the idea of giving a new starting QB an option....run it or throw it. AS in hand the ball off or drop back and toss it. No play action, no read option. The only thing that makes me hesitate calling a run play there is the amount of time left in the game. Otherwise it's a fine call. You need to give your QB options pretty much all the time, but particularly in those late game situations because defenses often guess as to what the offense will do based on their tendencies in that game and defend heavily against certain plays. You also want to call a play that your QB is very comfortable with. It was all kind of a scramble and who knows how it would have played out if Marve had more prep time that week. Probably run a similar option play with a read on one or two receivers pre-snap to see how much cushion they are being given, allowing for a quick hitter to get the first down, or if there is press coverage allowing for a deep shot. The reason for the playcall, as I see it was the following. 1. If the QB gets the edge there is a potential for big yardage. With 24 seconds left it was a short yardage play call with a chance of gaining a big chunk of yardage that was needed due to clock concerns. 2. It is one of our most utilized plays in Marve's short yardage package so he should have had familiarity with the playcall. 3. The Argos had been holding Marshall at bay for most of the 2nd half. 4. Marve has above average running ability. 5. If executed properly it is a high percentage play both ways.