Tracker

Lawrence alone would be worth the trade.

Lankford has a lot of speed- maybe one of the fastest in the league, but his hands are still a question mark and his speed is all still in a straight line. How well does he run patterns and fight for the ball? Who knows?

Where are you getting your stats from? Citation, please. Going at the linebackers doesn't stop at passes to them- it includes running plays as well. We did have a few good runs but overall, we let a potentially weak area of the Riders go.

Even though our receivers were inadequate this game, I am still trying to understand why , in critical moments, Nichols was throwing at Gainey who is both very good and having a career year. Rider linebackers are questionable and yet we didn't test them very often.

Hall is definitely at fault, but our D-line has not been good enough as a unit, two of our three linebackers would have a very hard time starting for any other team in the league and it sure as spit looks like the defense is skewed to compensate for that. How much blame can be laid at the feet of the coaching if if there is little pressure on the opposing quarterback and the linebacking cannot stop critical runs up the middle or drop back into coverage well enough?

All valid points. The pressure is squarely on the Bombers in the Banjo Bowl. If they get thumped again, it would be some comfort to think that major changes will be made, but somehow....

If memory serves, that spit of saliva expelling would have to cover quite a distance. But yes, that was really low-class if it happened and the video reviews ought to identify them and get them banned with an apology to Carter from the club.

I do not see how Nichols is the problem. Yesterday was not one of his better outings, but we have, on balance, an average or slightly below average set of receivers and an offensive coach who cannot seem to adapt to the opposition's defensive schemes. None of our receivers looked like they belonged in the CFL, except Dressler who is probably not up to speed.

We had enough evidence with the Drew Willy tenure behind center that it is almost inconceivable that O'Shea will pull Nichols out under any non-catastrophic circumstances. Get used to it- that's who O'Shea is.

It better not happen again next weekend. Once is happenstance, but two lopsided losses are going to send fans into PTSD.

Nichols was almost as safe behind his O-line as he would have been on the sidelines. He has led more than one comeback, so he was our best chance. I said "best" not "good". We had our butts kicked in all four parts of the game- offense, defense, special teams and coaching.

The frustrating thing is that we've seen the problems we saw today to some degree for the past season and a half, and it finally cost us not only the game but the idea that the Bombers were a contender. Our D-line is nowhere as good as we were led to believe it would be. Westerman is good and the other Canucks are serviceable, but Nevis and Okpalaugo are s o-so at best. Poop Johnson and Jeffcoat have shown a lot. Our linebacking is terrible save for Leggett, and the DBs are mostly Ok. The coaching is questionable. So: bench the import d-linemen who are not producing, find replacements for Knox and Hurl (fat chance) and tell Hall that he will be gone by season's end if things do not improve quickly and dramatically.

A waste of three hours where I could have been doing something more rewarding- like flossing.

Yes, but that has nothing to do with football.

If this is as good as Dressler, Denmark and Lankford can be, we're headed downhill quickly. Thorpe could not have been worse than any of these, but I am willing to cut Dressler some slack as it was his first game back.

Its not about total offense- its about scoring when you have to, and getting the first downs when you have to. Similarly, its about getting the stops when you need to. We've been getting by on field goals and getting turnovers a lot, but that was unsustainable. The coaches deserve scrutiny as well. There were a lot of weird decisions today on offense, and it has been obvious that O'Shea has Dave Richie's syndrome.

This game was more anti-climactic than a cold shower and a picture of a naked Rosie O'Donnell.

Fixed that for you.

With all the injuries in Edmonton, I would expect the Esks to dip heavily into the recent NFL cuts. They have both the need and the cap room.

I think it comes down to them not being able to distinguish between Glenn and Nichols' records. Being as how they're from Saskatchewan, its understandable.

We know that we have as good a place-kicker as has ever played in the CFL, and if the Bombers could cash in more than half their red-zone chances, they would be near-unbeatable. I hope that Walters, O'Shea and LaPolice are going to tweak something to make that happen.

I fearlessly predict that if the Bombers win tomorrow, they will sweep the series.

Only if he brings Cagney with him.

Can we take up a collection so that a volunteer from here can drive over there and pick one or both of them up to bring them back here?

Not much different than most threads here....