Tracker

O'Shea's past record would indicate that he will want to live or die with Nichols , but we do not know what, if any, direction he is being given from above.

From O'Shea's comments after the game, it would seem probable that Nichols will start next game.

The Bomber defence played well against what may be the worst offence in the CFL. They will probably play "well" against Montreal, but their true colours will not be known until we play Edmonton, Calgary or Hamilton. Then Richie Hall will know whether to polish up his resume.

FIRST SIGN OF ADVERSITY???? Which team are you watching?

The Riders are not a good team, and won both games only because Nichols threw the games away- literally.

Better, maybe. What team is not better when healthy? But good enough......?

It was posted today, but the reference to Moore was a puzzler.

Speak for yourself. Dave Richie had overstayed his welcome and had become very reluctant to part with his favourite players, but I did not like Doug Berry's firing at all. That said, I was ok with the firing of every coach since then, and was leery about O'Shea.

From 3downation: "I recently spoke with someone who asked Nichols about that game approximately a year ago. Nichols told him that he (understandably) didn’t yet have full command of the Bombers’ playbook, saying that he mostly focused on knowing which route Nick Moore would be running prior to each play. " That Nichols didn't know the Bomber playbook after a year and half does not speak well for his intelligence,

With the current temperament and makeup of the team, a convenience store (7-11) looks likely. BC is not that far behind us and God only knows how the Argos and Als will finish the season.

Sorry duplicate post

Do you not think that if, after five years, a head coach has to be spoon-fed on decisions, that means he is not fit to be a head coach? Friends of mine who have been season ticket holders for 20+ years have told me that they will not attend any more games this year after Saturday's debacle. They are knowledgeable and have all the Bomber regalia but they have had enough and will not renew unless there are major changes.

A gooder Inglish poster

We also need to consider that apart from Montreal, the Bombers seem to have the most problematic coaching in the league. If the Bombers lose to the Als, that would make their coaching better than O'Shea and Co. (if they are still here then).

You are being too kind to O'Shea. He has more than enough time to grow into the position of head coach, but still shows the same rigidity, stubbornness and misplaced loyalty to "his" kind of players that he did from the start. It would be foolish for any coach to follow the whims of fans but when there is pretty much unanimous agreement on a player or coach that they are just not working out, it takes a fool to disregard the obvious. Good coaches are supposed to see trends before they become festering sores and intervene as necessary. From the GM's point of view, substandard players need to be replaced SAP as soon as the coaches identify them.

I do not think there is any magic fix for this mess, and two weeks off is no cure, either. I suspect that Miller and Walters will be having some heart to heart talks very soon.

Nichols was showing some concerning signs late last year, but his play has deteriorated right into disastrous. The coaches ought to have been giving Streveler more time over the past 5 games or so when it was obvious that Nichols was struggling for reasons that we will probably never know. That is all on the coaches- O'Shea in particular and maybe LaPolice as well. We had concerns about Hall's defence before the season started but right now that is a secondary issue. We are in real trouble here, folks, and it looks like the only two teams we can beat might be the Argos and Als.

Lucky stars had nothing to do with it. The Riders were ready for the Bombers and really proved it in the second half. Collaros was no better than Nichols but had a much better supporting cast.

I think the trend really began with the second game when we lost against the Lions. Same scenario- stumble to a narrow lead at half-time, then that was followed by a second half collapse.

Fact: Streveler is much more effective when he is mobile, so why would he voluntarily stay in the pocket?

Funny, but I was about to ask the same question. The numbers look right but reversed.

Streveler came into the game with a discouraged team and had stats pretty much identical to Nichols but gave no points to the Riders. Moreover, he was probably directed to stay in the pocket rather than roll out or run the ball.

Considering how disastrously the last game started for Nichols, I suspect that the Bombers will be even more conservative in their start in the game today. The Rider linebackers are better than their secondary, so crossing patterns, slants and hooks ought to be a big part of the game plan. I don't know if LaPolice trusts Nichols enough to call 10 yard out patterns- too high a probability of interceptions. So, a six-seven man O-line is likely, and wouldn't Landon Rice have looked good now?

Nostalgia isn't what it used to be....

And so have the Bombers now.