TrueBlue4ever

Now at 819 rushing/783 receiving. On pace for 1,053/1,007.

Problem was it was Masoli lined up in shotgun at QB on 3rd and 2, so it was presented as a 3rd down gamble rather than a punt play. Still, the Bombers were caught on the back end, although the bounce the ball took didn't help things Bomber-wise.

I agree with those turning points, but also thought O'Shea not challenging the fumble with a roughing the passer when Nicholls got hit was big. Looked clear to me that the first tackler arm-barred him in the face mask before the second hit was led with the helmet to just above the sternum. A successful challenge and we're 1st and 10 at their 20, down 10-0 and marching for a gimme 3 or maybe 7. Instead they get 2 first downs and a field goal, it's 13-0. As for the gambling, I am surprised there aren't more 2 point convert tries, since they are more then 50% successful since the rule change and in the long term would lead to more scoring for teams.

FIFY.

While anyone with a keyboard is entitled to their opinion, and to post same, and to be fair some of the criticisms are exactly the same as have repeated by many on this board, I have to say personally I have a problem with an ex-employee of this franchise, who has twice publicly departed under bitter circumstances, taking pot shots at the current regime's building of this team and questioning its approach, and the ability of its players, especially when those criticisms come right after one unpleasant loss given all the success of the past two months, when you've been amazingly quiet. Kind of like you were sitting in your mom's basement for the last 9 games just waiting to pounce and bash the team once a bad loss came up. As an aside, complaining about the "stand pat" nature of this team is pretty rich coming from a guy who refused to get away from the "jet package" and who defaulted to Brock Ralph around the end or draw play up the middle every time it was called, despite the "multiple looks" it was claimed to present.

Bombers enter the game trying to secure a playoff spot against the lowly Tabbies....who are trying to not play out the string..... I enter the game opting for Appleton rum as the beverage of choice.... Tiger Cats win the toss and emphatically say "we want the ball" rather than deferring, which will give the boys in blue the wind in both the second and fourth quarters.....curious....do the Cats know something we don't? Looks like it on the opening drive, with two long runs against our defence, which doesn't look like the team that knew how to tackle last week.... Before Masoli baits Randle with the pump fake and hits Banks with a 60 yard TD strike 2 minutes in....guess we don't need to worry about the Bombers getting lulled to sleep by a soft opponent. After a quick Bomber series, Tabbies get the ball back and march downfield again....but on 2nd and an eyelash the Cats opt for trickery and try a hitch screen.....which Randle reads perfectly and lights up Saunders for a loss, and a FG......10 minutes in, a 10-0 lead and 128 yards of offence....that sound you hear is alarm bells for this defence. Flanders comes up limping after Nicholls first off-target pass of the night.....but the offence is starting to click.... until Nicholls gets plowed into in his throwing motion and the ball squirts loose....didn't notice the fumble because our QB is laid out like roadkill on the turf. after what looks like a helmet -to-helmet shot...... O'Shea has a long discussion with the refs about something.....while reviews show the helmet blow was to the chest, but the original hit was an arm to the face mask which should be roughing the passer......alas no challenge, the fumble is upheld....so instead of first down at the Hamilton 20, Ticats take over......maybe with Nicholls not ready to go back in O'Shea opted not to gamble?.....hoping that doesn't bite us... Hope diminishing as the turnover leads to another 3 points, instead of 10-3 or 10-7, now 13-0, not liking the direction this game is taking so far Nicholls (and Flanders too) back in, looking none the worse for wear despite what the radio folks say is a bloody finger, guess concussion protocol cleared him too..... Throwing darts to his receivers too....and Darvin Adams gets into the act with a bomb to a wide open Andrew Harris on the short yardage misdirection, Flanders finishes it off and we are back in business.... Undeterred, Hamilton marches right back....Masoli making it look too easy against soft coverage and inconsistent pressure.......never figured he'd be beating us with his arm..... Hamilton offence looking unstoppable right now, chewing up yards and clock....and adding points...16-7... Nicholls trying to fight back, with great long touch pass to Adams......reminiscent of a young Ricky Ray with his deep sideline accuracy of late..... But gets pummelled on another sack, and another fumble.....which Sukh Cheung alertly scoops up and flips to Denmark for a 9 yard gain instead of a 6 yard loss...setting up a field goal...back to a one score game...now if our defence can actually register a stop..... Holy 2 and out Batman, defence steps up...... but a penalty wipes out a good effort by Lankford on a crossing route for a first down.....the dreaded hands to the face call....let me guess, Hardrick?.....yup. At least Medlock looks back in form....the secondary, not so much....busted coverage, poor tackling, could someone tell Loffler you body check in hockey, not football? And Hamilton is right back down the field to add points.....but FG is wide, Leggett is just one tackle away from busting it for a TD, but the big development is Castillo ripping up his knee......who will kick for Hamilton now, and with the Bombers getting the option in the second half, will they take the ball or the wind (which is picking up) in the fourth? We may not be out of this yet, despite being badly outplayed this half....classic Nicholls 2 minute offence could put us in the lead even.....46 seconds seems like an eternity when he runs the hurry-up....Bombers move 48 yards in 33 seconds....time for one deep shot before taking the FG..... Until Lankford quits running on a corner route for a couple of seconds and Leonard picks off the pass....easy points given away again.....get to the locker room and regroup...score should be worse given how easily Hamilton moved the ball..... And yet we elect to give it to their offence to start the half......guess the wind and injured kicker factor is more important....and they are starting on their own 5...won't mean much if our D doesn't tighten up.... I blink twice and Hamilton already at midfield, where is our secondary?????? 3rd down, Masoli staying on, maybe they don't have a kicker......except for him, who boots it down field.....where it bounces and rolls away from the Bomber defenders, and an onside Brandon Banks is first on it.......that play pretty much sums up the night for this team......that sound you hear is the air being let out of the stadium.... Sure enough, TD two plays later....so much for them starting at their own 5....and 2 point convert try with their kicker in the MASH unit....which is fumbled and grabbed by Leggett for a 95 yard 2 point return the other way.....except for the illegal batting of the ball forward, which I saw before Moe even scooped up the ball....so did the refs, no score....22-10 seems like a lot to overcome for some reason...but Matty Ice has done it before.... Except he won't, as Dom Davis coming in to start the second half....that sound you hear is me re-filling my Appleton as I have this feeling the Bombers have just conceded this game for the sake of player health..... And despite a long overdue run by Harris, which works great, Davis' arm and legs do nothing to take away that feeling as the Bombers are right back on defence..... Exchange of punts, maybe we can take control of the field position battle.....sure aren't doing it with our offence..... Nice catch by Wolitarsky, his first......brutal drop by Wolitarsky, his first (of many?....yah, I'm getting as frustrated as the Bombers now)..... Harris is finally remembered again, and gets a penalty on top of his catch, FG inches us closer.......if only we'd use him more I'd feel better about where this game is headed....... Hamilton's offence actually bogging down, but Davis, not taking advantage at all.....Nicholls still throwing on the sidelines....maybe?....nope, they've hidden his helmet....... On to the last quarter, and we've pinned them on their 10 yard line....need a quick stop to take advantage of the wind and no kicker....Ok, need a stop before they cross mid-field....ok, a stop before field goal range....ok, a stop, period.... oh, screw it! How about no 2 point convert....nope, can't even give me that.....to recap that's a 14 play, 100 yard TD drive that took 8:35 off the clock against the wind and puts them up by 3 scores.....officially fed up with this defence again after a one-week reprieve........ Davis teases with some 1st downs against a prevent defence...but only briefly, and Medlock misses, giving them the ball deep in their end again....I have no faith they'll stay down there.....surprise, surprise, more big runs and passes and they are at centre field..... Ball back, but way too late....Davis taking a page from the Drew Willy playbook, 5 yard pass on 3rd and 12...Hamilton mercies us with a couple of knees....and a cold walk to the parking lot awaits...... So, let's review.......swiss cheese defence that can't cover, can't pressure, can't stop the run, can't tackle......Mo looks hurt, Flanders is hurt, Miller is really hurt, Nicholls was sat, Davis makes you wonder what he's been doing on our roster all this time, Harris was ignored (9 touches for 91 yards, great average, so why so underused?) Feels like they quit at the half, knowing they didn't "need" this win.....feels like I'll drink even though I don't "need" the Appleton......'cuz it won't help...but is better sipping than stewing about this effort...glug, glug, glug......

Well friends, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers entered the game tonight looking to win their sixth straight home game for the first time in 16 years, and secure a playoff spot in the process. But as we know, someone's the best laid plans do not always work out, and tonight we see the Hamilton Tiger Cats come in and take control early, and never really relinquish it, leaving us to hope for better days ahead. But just because we lost does not mean we cannot find some good in this game, and in fact that it what the happy honker award is all about. Because we need to salute that player who did that something a little extra special, who made you sit up and take notice, no matter the outcome. And we certainly had some candidates today. Carlos Santana-Knox was flying to the ball all night long. Chris Randle had two very impressive tackles on those hitch screen pass things, one of which came on second and inches and forced Hamilton to kick for a field goal instead on continuing their drive. Clarence Denmark was very involved early and played his usual steady game. Darvin Adams made some fine catches as well, and threw in a beautiful pass to Andrew Harris to boot, which was my runner up tonight in the Happy Honker nominations. And let's not forget the toughness of Matty Nicholls playing well after his injury before the powers that be decided he could use the rest. And I would be remiss if I did not mention Matt Coates, the Ontario boy who was replacing an injured Julian Feoli-Gudino, and acquitted himself well when called upon. But there can be only one Happy Honker, and tonight that goes to a player not normally mentioned in the list of star players. It was the second quarter when the game was still in doubt, and Mr. Nicholls stepped back to pass on second down, but was stripped of the ball. Well wouldn't you know that lineman Sukh Cheung alertly scooped up the loose ball off the carpet, and rather than just fall on it at centre field, tried valiantly to run with the ball, barrelling in to tacklers along the way. And when that failed, he was aware enough to lateral the ball off to Clarence Denmark, who would surely win a foot race between the two of them most if not all days, and in doing so Cheung allowed his speedier teammate the opportunity to advance the ball down into Hamilton territory where it was close enough to let Justin Medlock try and successfully make the field goal. So for his heads-up play that allowed the Bombers to get out of a bad spot and put some points on the board, this happy honker goes to offensive lineman Sukh Cheung.

Leggett was also getting up pretty slowly after lots of his tackles. If it was his arm last week, it looked like he tweaked his leg in the third quarter was stretching out a lot at the bench. Miller's looked the worst, could really not walk on it, hoping it's not a dislocated ankle. Nicholls seemed to play through the injury fairly effectively for the rest of the first half, still had good zip on the ball. The interception was totally on Langford stoping his route (maybe lost track of the ball?). Suspect Flanders was a hamstring, he hurt it pretty much on the out pass where Nicholls missed him, was limping and clutching the back of his leg the rest of the game.

I understand they will be reffing this week's games and managing the time clock instead. so you can rest easy.

Winnipeg, Bye week 1, W @ Sask 43-40 Hamilton, bye week 2, L @ Sask 20-37 Edmonton, bye week 3, W vs Ott 23-21 Saskatchewan, bye week 4, L @ Cal 10-27 Ottawa, bye week 6, L vs Wpg 30-33 Montreal, bye week 7, W vs Tor 21-9 Calgary, bye week 8, W @ BC 21-17 Saskatchewan, bye week 9, W @ Edm 54-31 Hamilton, bye week 10, W vs Tor 24-22 BC, bye week 11, W vs Mtl 41-18 Toronto, bye week 12, W vs Edm 34-26 Winnipeg, bye week 13, W vs Ott 29-9 Edmonton, bye week 14, L vs Wpg 19-28 9-4 by my math and the CFL schedule maker..

Merci.

BC is the home team in this one, just to make it tougher. Always felt the Lions were better than their record shows, but at some point you are what your record says you are, and they are 1-5 in their last 6. That loss to Hamilton really has me scratching my head about them. But teams coming out of the bye are 9-4 this year, so say BC in a close one.

Better?

The focus on this record has to be the receiving. If the Bombers are up late and killing the clock, then the rushing attempts and yards will come in garbage time, on top of whatever "establish the run game" attempts are part of the game plan. Two big factors that will impact the receiving yards are (1) the passes where Harris is primary target, like a set-up screen, as opposed to where he is simply the outlet valve when all other receiving options are covered - obviously that will affect the total number of targets he is getting, and (2) the YAC yards (is that redundant?) factor. Unlike a "normal" receiver, a running back is not running a deep route or a 10 yard out typically, so their yards are pretty much all after the catch close to the line of scrimmage, with a sizeable portion of the defence still between them and the goal line trying to make the tackle, and not in chase position. There are 5 receivers over 1,000 yards right now, and Brandon Zylstra leads that group with 330 YAC yards, or 29% of his total. Brad Sinopoli is #2 in YAC yards with 376, or 38% of his 989 total yards. Bakari Grant has 374 YAC yards out of 802 total, an impressive 46% (2nd best). Any guesses as to where Harris is? 564 of his 718 yards are YAC, or a ridiculous 78.6%. For comparison's sake, consider Milt Stegall, the greatest deep threat receiver in history. His YAC yards were typically gained after he had already beat the defender deep, and was just outrunning them to the end zone. I could not find career stats including YAC yards for him (they only really started seriously tracking this stuff last year), but think of his two greatest games. First, his 4 catch 4 TD game against BC. Of his 234 yards, 134 were YAC, or 57%. On his "miracle" catch in Edmonton, 68 of the 100 yards (68% for the mathematically challenged) were after the catch. Now those are the most extreme examples of YAC yards I can think of - Stegall's career percentage will be much lower than those gaudy numbers. And in all instances, he caught the ball behind the defenders and just outran them. Compare that to Harris' almost 79% achievement and remember that he's not outrunning tacklers from behind him in a foot race so much as dodging and straight-arming (and dragging) them as they appear in front of him. I'm not even sure a 1,000 receiving season has yet been registered in the CFL by a running back, much less 1,000/1,000. Craig Ellis is recorded as having the record for receptions by a running back in a season at 102, and that was in 1985 in Saskatchewan when he didn't break 1,000 yards. He later went over 1,000 receiving three times with Edmonton from 1989-91, but he was regarded as a slotback then, I believe. Likewise for Pinball Clemons in 1996-97 with Toronto, where he had converted to slotback. Just so we can put this all into context when debating our MOP candidate. If Harris achieves this (or even if he comes up just short), then there should be no debate as to who has had the most impressive (and historically greatest possibly ever) season in this regard.

Well, if he's coming from Southern Illinois, he may have flown over both Lake Michigan and lake Superior. Or if he was vacationing in Puerto Rico....it's an island....surrounded by...water......ocean water.

I think he is referring to the playoff bonus money they can make, and not wanting to jeopardize a playoff run with the potential of an injury in a meaningless game for the sake of a record. BTW, did a quick breakdown of our remaining opponents and Harris' performance against each of them so far to calculate if he would hit 1,000/1,000 if he repeats his efforts. Broke down this way: Currently at 793 rushing/718 receiving last game against Hamilton, was 107/21 (would take him to 900/739) last game against BC, was 29/85 (would take him to 929/824) last game against Toronto, was 81/13 (would take him to 1,010/837) BC again (would take him to 1,039/922) last game against Calgary, was 32/69 (would take him to 1,071/991).

You have a van full of candy, don't you?

My exhaustive post is better, if not as colourful. :-P

Really wish the CFL would, for the awards at least, do away with the west vs east mentality and name 3 finalists in each category. They do it for the coach of the year, why not here? Would be neat to see Harris vs Nicholls vs whomever this year, just like last year easily could have been Bo Levi vs Messam vs Reilly as a much more interesting final 3 as opposed to eliminating 2 of them and throwing in Ernest Jackson in a non-contest.

A few posts asking about when we can clinch, so here is a breakdown of all CFL teams' situations as of week 17. All scenarios assume no ties in any future games. Calgary: 3 games left. Has clinched a home playoff game. Can clinch first in the west and a bye with a win or a Winnipeg loss. Winnipeg: 3 games left. Has clinched a western semi-final playoff spot and no worse than 3rd in the west. Can clinch a home playoff game with a win or an Edmonton loss. Can clinch first and a bye with any combination of wins and Calgary losses totalling 6. Edmonton: 3 games left. Cannot finish first in west. Has clinched a crossover playoff spot at worst. Can clinch a home playoff game with any combination of wins and Winnipeg losses totalling 6. Saskatchewan: 3 games left. Cannot finish first or second in west. Can clinch a playoff berth with a win or a BC loss. BC: 3 games left. Cannot finish higher than 4th in west. Can clinch a crossover playoff berth with any combination of wins and Saskatchewan losses totalling 6. Toronto: 2 games left. Has clinched 2nd in the east and a home playoff game. Can clinch first in the east and a bye with any combination of wins and Ottawa losses totaling 2. Ottawa: 1 game left. Has clinched 2nd in the east and a home playoff game. Can clinch first in the east and a bye with any combination of wins and Toronto losses totaling 2. Hamilton: 3 games left. Eliminated from playoffs. Montreal: 3 games left. Eliminated from playoffs. Week 18 clinching scenarios: Calgary clinches first place and a bye with a win OR a Winnipeg loss. Winnipeg clinches a home playoff spot with a win OR an Edmonton loss. Saskatchewan clinches a playoff spot with a win OR a BC loss. BC is eliminated from the playoffs and finishes 5th in West with a loss OR a Saskatchewan win.

Hey, I've just got to take this one game at a time. I'm just happy to be here, hope I can help the message board. I just want to give it my best shot, and the good Lord willing, things will work out.

There actually is a Bomber fight song that they played back at old Winnipeg Stadium (before the CanadInns rebranding) in the 1980's when I first followed the Blue and Gold. Real quaint college fight song feel to it, with male and female chorus: "We're proud of the Blue Bomber name....So proud of it's glory and fame. We're the best in the West, and we'll take on the rest....'Til we get to that East-West (later re-worded as "Grey Cup") game *FIGHT* *FIGHT* (yelled, not sung) We'll fight through that line down the field.....Our Blue Bomber teams never yield. Let's fight on to victory, for great is our destiny.......So fight on, Blue Bombers, fi-i-ight" (pom pom shaking in the stands to follow the beat). I think they pulled the song after the Bombers flipped to the east division the first time in 1987, tried to briefly resurrect it in the Jim Daley era, and then buried it. Two other traditions I loved. One was Jack Skelly (so I'm told) in the east side upper deck with a voice so loud he didn't need a megaphone to be heard throughout the entire stadium. He would scream "Give me a B!' and the whole upper deck would yell "B!" "Give me an O!" " O!" Give me an M!" "M!" etc. until they got to "Give me an S!" "S!" "WHAT DO YOU GOT?" "BOMBERS!" "WHAT DO YOU GOT?" "BOMBERS!" "WHAT DO YOU GOT?" "BOMBERS!!!" Followed by loud roar and banging on their metal benches with their plastic pom pom handles. Super loud and got the whole stadium jacked up. The other one was an invention of a group of 4 season ticket holders about two rows behind me in the old joint, who had a touchdown cheer that they would only break out when the Bombers scored to take the lead or started pulling away in the contest: "Cigarettes and ashes, cigarettes and butts! We've got the 'Riders (or insert other opposing team name here) by the NUTS! SQUEEEEEZE 'EM! SQUEEEEEEZE 'EM! SQUEEEEEZE 'EM! (with a visual grasping in the air above one's head of some invisible junk) And kick 'em in the cup too!!" (Toast with a beer, and drink)

With Do or Die going all "Dante's Peak" on us for the next month, I thought I'd do what I do best and plagiarize someone else's great work and give this O & S a try in his absence (hope no one takes offence, 'tis easier to beg forgiveness than ask permission in my experience). So here goes: I crack the lid on some Crown Royal and raise a toast to Do or Die (not a gin guy, sorry).... And the Bombers trek to the City of Champions gift high draft choices, trying to sweep the Esks for the first time since the Kevin Glenn 1.0 era....... But get off to a slow start, feeding Flanders and resting Harris..... Winning the field position battle on punts sets up a 54 yard FG....but the ever reliable "Lock" registers a rare miss..... Edmonton sacrifices field position to deny the single point, giving "Mr. Automatic" a second crack closer in.... But that drives straight and true on the over-correction to the outside of the opposite post, Justin 0/2 and still scoreless... Early pressure by the Bomber front causes another sack, and another bad punt by Edmonton, kickers having a quarter to forget.... But Fogg's big return sets up the Bombers to march in for points, looks promising as Feioli-Gudino makes a nice catch in traffic.... And then bounces off a tackle...before pinwheeling and fumbling on the second hit, causing a turnover......and an injury Bombers' three trips in Edmonton territory have yielded nothing, can't afford to give away points and win in Commonwealth... Fortunately, Reilly likes this "2 and out" style of offence, and O'Neill is punting like a one-legged man in a butt kicking contest... Nicholls ducks into a sack and earns a roughing the passer helmet shot...but only because of a burned challenge to correct an obvious miss... So Medlock FG again from convert range, and WTH another miss??????????? His first 3 miss game ever leaves us up 1-0 in a shockingly defensive battle. Edmonton tests their running game with Van reeling off big plays....but the kicking woes continue as "Patrick" Swazye Waters dings one off the post Bombers finally remember they have Andrew Harris, who responds with 3 big plays to march us down the field.... Until he pounces on a fumble and gets kneed in the back for his troubles, when a penalty makes it a moot play.... And Nicholls hits Denmark with seconds left to finally produce a score, Bombers pitch a first half shutout, up 8-0. Eskimos make adjustments and put up a quick score, but Reilly can't throw the 2 point try with Sam Hurl wrestling him like a steer....8-6 Bombers really swarming to the ball on the short swing passes, and sure tackling this week...a refreshing change. Esks punting is truly atrocious, Bombers owning the field position battle, but little to show so far. Textbook stop and go route by Adams, and pinpoint accuracy by Nicholls on the pass sets up Andrew Harris... Who is making the most of every touch and punches in a response TD, Bombers up 15-6... Edmonton rides the Van down the field, but he goes out with a knee injury and the drive stalls...FG, 15-9 as we hit the 4th quarter With Andrew Harris now fully in control of the offence, and another perfectly placed pass by Nicholls to Adams..... In the corner of the end zone for a one-hand, one foot TD, at least that's what the eye in the sky determines.... And of course Medlock cranks the convert attempt off the goal post, because freaky Friday on a Saturday....but 21-9 looks pretty comfortable right now Brandon Zylstra the only thing keeping Edmonton in this game right now, but Bombers winning the majority of the 50/50 balls..... As the Esk receivers are not getting away with the push off like they usually do... Fake reverse and throw by Langford looks pretty, but just fails to connect, and a 2 and out, bad punt and iffy no yards set up Reilly at centre field Maas tries another ticky-tack PI challenge that fails......but no matter as the deep passes finally connect and the Esks are suddenly within 2 points at 21-19.... Offence stalling now as they have forgotten Harris again......but a big punt and outstanding cover teams keep Edmonton on a long field... Hurl actually getting some pressure on Reilly, who is mis-firing because of all the hurries and heat..... Randle island with a knockdown that could swat a hurricane away, and we trade punts again but keep gaining field position on the exchange.... Defence still giving up the odd big run, but out of the 3 minute warning....... The death blow by Randle again, as Reilly telegraphs one pass too many and this one goes the other way to the house...37 yards on the pick-6 and 28-19...... Nothing left to do, but book the road win, count the two points, and savour the series win Bombers now can safely dream of a home playoff game.....I can head off to dreamland now that the Crown is finished.

Thought he was already declared done for the year. Or are you referring to something else?

No Cactus Jack ramblings today (I'll save it for the home games, like he did) as a busy weekend continues, but he would have praised Harris and Randle before waxing poetic on Darvin Adams' phenomenal one-handed one foot down sideline TD catch that provided the winning points as the Happy Honker player and play of the game. As an aside, the precision of Nicholls' throw on that and many other passes was highly under appreciated in the commentary about the game. Tremendous ball protection.