blueandgoldguy

Probably happened in the pre-season - the loss of confidence in Drew Willy. Lawless or another reporter brought this up with a tweet or comment in the paper with regards to the locker room

You seem to think the inability of the offense to generate points lies mainly at the feet of the O-coordinator...as if all the hitches, screens and 3-yard curls are set plays in which Willy has no choice but to make these plays. Watch Willy closely and you will often see him look down the field only to check down to a shorter safer option on several occasions. He appears very hesitant to make long, or even, intermediate passes. Much, if not most of the responsibility for the inability of the offense to generate offense lies with him.

Unfortunately history has shown that this organization will stick with a mid-season coaching replacement the following year under the guise of supposed improvement displayed when the new/temporary coach takes charge - see Tim Burke and Jim Daley. If O'Shea is fired after a 1-5 or 1-6 start and Lapo is hired as a mid-season replacement as many here suspect, it may set up a similar situation as in the past - especially with an easier part of the schedule upcoming at that point - in which a perceived improvement of the team under the new regime will be viewed as justification for continued employment the following season.

Walters and O'Shea have placed all their bets on Willy as evidenced by their inactivity in the off-season. They did not take one look at other quarterback options around the CFL thinking that the inconsistencies we all saw from him last season - prior to his injury - were nothing but a mirage. So far, it looks like they chose the wrong path.

If by OK you mean below average backup goalie then you are correct. A knowledgeable NHL fan knows this. In fact, goalie save percentage (the best measure of the quality of goalie) if effected minimally by the quality of a team's defense in front of him. When Pav's deal is complete he might find work a a backup in the NHL for a season or two. Otherwise, he will be headed to Europe or become a career AHLer.

Sadly it is starting to appear that way. I still hold out a glimmer of hope for Willy.

He said no thanks because Ottawa offered more money.

People pined for Khari to be taken off the field because he was done in 2004. What is this mad carousel at QB you are referring? Your comments seem to imply that the Bombers switch their starters with regularity...like every year. The reality is Kevin Glenn was the starter for the better part of 5 years, Lefors/Bishop for 1, Buck for 4 years, and Willy for (nearly) 3 years. Your comments belie the reality of the Bombers

And I remember when a time when a certain poster said Jade Etienne was improving based on that person's observations of practice and game film. He was proving to be a very astute pick by the Joe Mack administration. I also remember that poster stating that Joe Elliott was a competent QB and would see some success elsewhere. This poster was defiant despite evidence provided by several well-respected posters on this matter providing rather compelling evidence to the contrary. Both players moved on to other teams only to be shortly released thereafter never to be heard from again.

Your ranking of Willy compared to other CFL quarterbacks a few weeks back looks funnier as each week passes!

And with this nonsense, I now know not to take anything you post seriously. Thanks for that. I won't waste my time when someone makes asinine comments like Willy is better than Collaros....MVP last season before his injury, not to mention most, if not all, the others.

You are making the claim so back it up with stats. Show me how many times he was hit and hurried compared to last year. I eagerly await the numbers.

I believe it was a comment in the Free Press or a tweet from him. He flat out has the worst protection in the CFL, huh? Did it ever occur to you that Willy may force more cover 0, cover 1 situations than any other QB because he is incapable to looking past his first, and often, check-down option that results in a 2 and out. Teams will not change their tactics with Willy until he is capable of recognizing and completing a pass to a receiver that is open and capable of gaining more than ten yards on a consistent basis.

He was quoted as saying he would be involved in the day-to-day running of the on-field product when he was hired in 2013 or in the off-season after that. So far his hiring of Walters after an "extensive search" appears to be a dud.

Only one that is worse is Jennings and he has shown more in the first 2 weeks than Willy so that may change.

Hard to believe the general consensus around here going into the season was that the players would go all-out for a coach like O'Shea. I see no evidence of that.

Willy has been hurried much less than last season up to this point. Teams will continue to send the house on a consistent basis until Willy forces them to back off by completing more than a 4-yard pass. He has thrown the ball poorly for the most part whenever he attempts to throw for more than 10 yards. Of course, there are other elements of the team that are to blame as well, but Willy has to and should shoulder a large part of the responsibility...such as not completing a play before time expired at the end of the first half when there was 12 seconds left.

Lawless brought this up in the preseason. He stated word from the locker room is that some or most of the players were losing confidence in Willy. That would appear to be accurate up to this point. Time is running out for Willy - he needs to step it up soon, but I'm not sure if he is capable of it. Let's face it, he was the third choice of the Qbs available in 2014 and he is, by far, the third best of that group. After a solid start in 2014, Willy was middling and inconsistent for the remainder of the year throwing more INTs than TDs boosting his passer rating and completion percentage with short, low-risk passes. Particularly painful was the Banjo Bowl in which the Bomber had a late lead and Willy had one of the biggest brain farts of all-time throwing a high risk pass to the far sidelines only to have it intercepted and returned for a TD. Game over and as it turned out, season over. That game played the biggest role in the Bombers not making the playoffs that year. Fast forward to 2015, and we continue to see mostly inconsistent Willy with 3 or 4 extremely poor games from him (as proven in detail by another poster in a different thread). No progression in his game, in fact, there might be some regression. Passing stats once again boosted by short, high percentage passes which result in several 2 and outs. We are seeing more of the same from Willy this year unfortunately. Unable to nail long or intermediate passes, incapable of managing the clock, unable to maintain composure and look for more than one option on the field despite an improved o-line and less hurried compared to last year. He has this season to prove himself but time is running out for Willy. Meanwhile Burris was MOP last year and led his team to the Grey Cup while Collaros has had 2 excellent seasons in Hamilton that were both cut short by injury. In particular, last year, in which he led the league with 25 TDs in 12 games and was the clear frontrunner for MOP before an injury ended his season.

Not saying he might not be a part of the problem, but what alternatives can you name? Up-and-coming coordinators? Lapo seemed to do well as the coordinator in Saskatchewan.

Well if you think we have the talent then you must believe the problems lie with the coaching staff.

lol. The good old appeal to authority. So this must be true because a whopping 2 supposed "authorities" agree with it. Well Goalie as Carl Sagan once wrote, "One of the great commandments of science is, 'Mistrust arguments from authority.' Too many arguments have proved too painfully wrong. Authorities must prove their contentions like everybody else."

The difference in the 2 teams' records going back to last year cannot solely be explained by one team having to pay for fired coaches while the other did not. Regardless, Mack and company were paid off long ago. Any spending discrepancies on all players may also be quickly dismissed with the salary cap.

Most contracts being 2 years or less renders your point irrelevant not to mention contracts are not guaranteed.

Weird of them to say that. Ottawa started from scratch barely over 2 seasons ago and they went to the Grey Cup last year and are off to a strong start this year. Proof that in the CFL you can build a competitive playoff team within a few seasons.

I think we take this game provided Willy and the Bombers keep the turnovers to 2 or less. Of course, turnovers are the key to pretty well any football game. Make the Stamps earn their points by marching the ball down the field and I think we can keep them below 20 points. Not a very impressive O-line over there with some losses over the past few years. Same thing with their receivers - the depth is not as noticeable as it was 2 seasons ago. I think we will see a lot more pressure on Mitchell than against Glenn last week. Mitchell is more evasive but lacks Glenn's quick release. 3 QB sacks and several hurries resulting in some inaccurate throws and an INT for Mitchell. Bomber offense will continue to struggle with just over 300 yards total offense and one TD but will benefit from good field position thanks to a couple of good kick returns, one excellent punt return and a couple turnovers by Calgary at their end of the field. Bombers - 25 Stamps - 18