HardCoreBlue

Most people will look at the offense. Don't forget the defensive side of the ball. How about Jake Thomas? Maybe unsung hero award. Everything starts in the trenches.

Imo see JuranBoldenRules post above for a good explanation. To paraphrase, Lapo trying to outsmart the defensive coordinator on almost every play. Don't get me wrong, LaPo knows what he's doing, he's a smart football guy, but we all have our quirks and it seems his is he gets so engrossed matching wits with the opponents DC that he sometimes misses the simplicity of what to call.

For those who don't live in Edmonton (and for those that do, a friendly reminder), it's a glorious day today. The birds are chirping, the sun is out and the smell of Eskibow loss is in the air. The excuses are rolling out already, e.g., 'fun game against our practice roster'. Welcome to the weekend Shmoe fans. We've earned being a sore winner :-)

Having a 13 year old son who is heading into his sixth year playing football and aspires to play in the NFL (I know, lofty goal of his), this really concerns me. I'm hoping I'm (and others) are giving him the tools not to be tempted.

Foggy? You're being kind.

Yes, but for seven games straight they keep on finding ways to win , relying heavily on their depth playing with a ton of confidence. Therefore this may tell us we won't dominate. This is a game where you would think it's going to come down to the wire (read Medlock). p.s., I'll take a blow out by the Blue as well. Walking into the office this Friday is going to go a couple of ways depending on the result. So make it happen Blue so I can deploy my sore winner approach with my Eskiblow colleagues to welcome in their weekend.

My sentiments exactly.

By all accounts great teammates as well which sometimes gets underrated.

# one reason why the world wide web fails.

Mr. Westerman, lesson here, if you feel the need to take a roughing penalty, only take it if the ball is on our three. A yard and half penalty! You would think they would tag something on to the ensuing kick-off when a roughing the QB penalty occurs so close to the goal line . Just seems the penalty in this case doesn't fit the crime. (not that I'm complaining)

Captain obvious, It's a ruthless sport with little to no security if you aren't the alpha male leading the pack. Good luck to him, he'll latch on with another team.

With the way the Judicial process goes at times, he'll be at the pearly gates of heaven trying to get a deal done before any of that potentially happening.

Really, didn't know of that rule. Any rule junkies out there that can confirm?

I'd also give it to Ric Campbell in electing a kick instead of taking it on the 35.

Great point. I just wish that's all it is used for.

I like what you propose all the way to where I bolded it. Don't like this part at all. Gets at why even have refs on the field then. We have the technology nowadays for that to happen and I'm uneasy with that. The bolded part can completely take the on field human aspect out of the game plus to much subjectivity and potential controversy with the word significant. Well thought out proposal though. Really like the idea of needing a timeout to call a challenge but I would still tack on a time limit for them to call a challenge (30 seconds seems appropriate). Assess a ten yard delay of game for a failed challenge as well. Also, how about taking the ipads off the field relying on old fashion vision in real time. Sure have in up in the press box but that 30 second rule to challenge will take care of that. All of this maximizes whether a coach really feels he has a case to challenge.

Putting my homer glasses on, I think our Blue and Gold hammer their Red and Black and unearth the problems they have in a more visible fashion that their tight losses may have glossed over, under emphasized.

It would be cool if he did though, sort of like Bill Belichick on steroids. Bust out his Daisy Dukes, brown loafers and a mesh muscle shirt. Sorry for the image.

Yup actually many sides to the equation but the question some of us are struggling with though is where is the sweet spot of bringing all these merits together? Looking for that balance so to speak. It appears maybe the new commish is trying to get there. He's got a tough job, he has to appease at varying levels to the common fan, to the knowledgeable fan who knows the game inside out, to the players, to the coaches, to management, to the media outlets, to the referees and their bosses, to the corporations and the list goes on. Obviously compromises have to be made no matter where you sit here. One thing for sure though is the pendulum has to be moved in where it resides now when it comes to challenges. It just moved a bit with this decision.

Draft him now. Congrats Byfuglien family.

Form tackling might drop this number.

Again, I'm being a broken record here but someone here on this board (can't remember who) said there was an actual 30 second rule to call a challenge. Sure wasn't implemented last night when Maas took forever to call a challenge. The teams were putting on personal for a kick so it took longer for the next play to get called in but that shouldn't matter if that 30 second rule is an actual rule. It's ridiculous. As soon as a play is called dead, 30 seconds begins to call a challenge. End of story. Have one person in charge of doing that. As for the length of time of reviewing challenges have a cap on how many time you review the play then make a decision.

That's actually an interesting point to highlight the diversity of how 'fans' approach the game.

He's blaming the attendance drop on MOS? Not living in Winnipeg, is there any merit to that? 'I'm not going to the game because of MOS 'type argument? He's quoted some subscribers to back up his claim. I've always found PW to be someone who thinks he's clever but really isn't.

Yea I hear you, but second best is being that lone soul spreading joy to those who want to throw me out my office window.