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You don't have to go very far in the CFL, NFL, MLB etc to find instances where a starter was just not on his game that day and was pulled sometimes for a few minutes, sometimes for the whole game. The stubbornness of O'Shea has been an issue for some time and he looks to be very loathe to learn from his mistakes and I believe that sets a bad precedent and example for the team. And I am betting Durant will stay in Regina.

Are you implying that O'Shea does not read this forum looking for guidance in every posting?

Just because he turtles and whimpers every time an opposing player comes within 2 meters of him?

Everything old is new again and they will be selling pet rocks and 8-tracks in the parking lot next game.

Near the end of last season and into this, O'Shea took a lot of criticism about starting certain players over and over even when they were obviously not getting the job done. Chief among them was a certain Drew Willy, and that nearly cost the Bombers another dismal season until O'Shea had a deathbed repentance. Now, it seems that we are back to the old days.

That first pick definitely rattled the offence but it was still recoverable until the RBs marched right down the field twice and even rubbed the Bombers' noses in it by easily picking up the two extra points. That's where the team should have been called over to the sidelines and read the riot act and Nichols ought to have been pulled for a series or two to get his head straight. I thought that O'Shea was past this sort of thing.

There were no guarantees that either Davis or Glenn would have won the game. But yes, a smart coach would have seen early on that Nichols was not on his game and pulled him. The point in the season is irrelevant- what kind of message does it send to the team when the head coach signals that losing badly without intervening is ok? The way Nichols was playing, it was pretty much assured that the Bombers were going to lose and lose badly.

And deservedly so- quite a fall from two weeks ago.

Yes, they have, but it has been like playing Russian Roulette. This time the hammer came down on a loaded cylinder and the long-suffering fans had to pay for it by watching that mess on Saturday.

Apparently Andy Fantuz is done for the year with a knee injury.

John Hodge of 3downnation has come down hard on the Bombers for their terrible collective efforts against Ottawa. He was particularly harsh on Nichols and Richie Hall and quoted Burris as saying that Sinopoli was open behind the Bomber SAM linebacker all night but the Bomber defence was so loose that they didn't need him. In his eyes, Nichols is trending downwards.

So what's wrong with "negative comments"? If the comments were global damnation without identifying the issues contributing to the problems, then they would be pointless bitching. Criticism which points to solutions has value.

Even if the Bombers had gotten a field goal, there is no reason to believe that the RBs would not have marched down the field the next two times and scored TDs. The defence played way to loose for the entire first half and the score actually flattered the Bombers at half-time. Did they think they could turn it on for the last 30 minutes and win?

Can't deny that the Stamps are a great team, but the good teams compete pretty much every game, even when they lose- like Hamilton vs Edmonton. The O-line is (mostly) fixed, Nichols is a decent QB, our running game and receivers are at least average but we're still getting blown out. LaPolice deserves to be questioned, as do Hall and O'Shea.

Take away the first two possessions when Ottawa marched up the field and scored effortlessly, it looks like the Bomber defence did not play badly. However, good defences stop the opposition when it counts and the Bomber D just didn't do that consistently. I am not at all sure Richie Hall is the right fit for this team.

Be worried. Be very worried.

We may well have lost even with Davis or Glenn, but it was evident to everyone a shred of awareness by the end of the first quarter that Nichols was off today. I cannot fathom the thinking of O'Shea in leaving Nichols in for so long. This lack of flexibility was so evident in O'Shea's guidance for the past two years and into this one. Enough.

And did Nichols explain how/why he Willied the rest of the game?

The Bombers are going to play a heck of a lot better to beat Ottawa or Hamilton. Both those teams played way better than the Bombers this weekend.

If the Bombers were out-coached today, that is bad news. If anyone but O'Shea is making game decisions about which QB should be behind center, that is worse news.

This was a loss for the Bombers in so many different ways.

So long as O'Shea persisted in letting Nichols flail around when he obviously did not have whatever was needed to compete, we were pretty much guaranteed to lose. We were never really in the game. We might have still lost with Glenn or Davis but it sure as heck looked like the whole team knew where this game was going with Nichols and threw in the towel.

Couldn't agree more. The game was winnable but O'Shea's persistent stubbornness lost the game for us.

Damned few positives about today's game. Darvin Adams plus Medlock and that's it.

This loss is mostly but not solely on O'Shea. All of the Bomber chickens came home to roost- no long game, little pressure by the D-line, absent linebackers, d-backs playing way off receivers but Nichols absolutely should have been pulled no later than half-time. I am royally pissed at our head coach. His poor judgement has cost us another game.