BigBlue

I don't know about a general thread .... I am specifically interested in the estimate of Ottawa's chances: [1] need a miracle [2] need a couple of extra breaks in terms of turnovers [3] about even chances [4] Ottawa actually has the better team

I will be cheering for Ottawa on Sunday because: (1) I want to see an expansion franchise win the cup in its second year (2) I really don't care for Edmonton's head coach's temper tantrums (3) we shared the basement with Edmonton not that long ago ... I don't want them to beat us to the cup Everybody seems to think Ottawa is the underdog, some say by a lot ..... What do you think of the RedBlack's chances & why?

Calvillo is under contract and it's waste of time to try him leave the Als organization. He will be the HC there in 2 or 3 yrs time. Here he might be promoted to H?C in less than a season

Burris didn't have multiple shoulder injuries. Also, we did try to get Burris.Of course he didn't. He is the most durable quarterback perhaps ever to play in the CFL. Hey we could have used a guy like that.And yes we tried to get Burris. Until he got offered more money, then we gave up. Great. Now Ottawa won as many games this year as we have the last 2 combined but I'm sure glad the Bombers saved that money on Burris. Really helps me sleep at night. You would actually rather have Burris right now than Willy? Burris has learned how not to get hurt ..... look at his injury time in the lasst few seasons .... noy invulnerable but can scramble or throw quickly

Pass on Lapo ..... couldn't stand his play calling & schemes when he was here .... Vanilla City Chapdelaine Benevides : disrespect from players Pry Calvillo loose from Montreal

I remember the ridicule on this forum as so many critiicized GM Desjardins personnel decisions. He drafted Glenn then outbid us on Burris .... he went out & acquired talent for him ... your QB doesn't have a record breaking career year without that We paid up for Westerman but we didn't do what it takes to get players like Muamba and Chris Williams or Collaros or Burris or further back Mike Reilly and so many others .... neither Montreal nor Ottawa has been shy about acquiring veteran receivers or others Teams are built on stars and leaders .... the middle class of players don't make a lot of difference, they usually live up to what is around them What would Ricky Ray in a BB uniform mean for us this year? More than Picard? As much as Burris? Of course acquiring one big signing per year isn't enough to hold a self-congratulatory fiesta but we seem to do exactly that every year with the exception of Mack's "everything from within" era. So do we: 1. lack the will to get the job done (building a champion)? 2. lack the football IQ to recognize what it takes? 3. care enough about a championship to make it an all out priority? And who is really responsible for answering these 3 questions, who is the one who really controls the purse strings? And is this person a genuine leader? Do we have anybody in our org that has what it takes?

Well Hillary Clinton would put the Bombers in such debt we would never recover from it .... who can make the Bombers great again?

Except for about three or four years, we have not had a real chance at a Grey Cup in the past two decades.... what if anything have we been doing wrong? Can we expect this drought to continue long term? What would you do to fix what's broken?

I am wondering how well Davis knows what to do under Bellefueilinskiwhich. He might know the general schemes and playbook. He might be able to get reads off our motion and the D's set. But does he know when to duck?

I think most of us on this site are amazingly loyal fans/fanatics. But when is enough ... enough? We all have our own brand of comments & questions .... we all have thoughts on how to fix our long term mess .... but when does loyalty give way and deteriorate into negatron cynicism? And does cyncism help anybody or anything? Is there anything such as a helpful collective anger? I can't ever remember being so turned off (as a 50+ year Bomber fan) as I am right now Hope springs eternal right? Well not for me anymore. I keep hearing all these band-aid solutions for very deep enduring performance problems. There is something seriously wrong with our organization although I am not sure exactly what .... I am sure however it is very real and not just a matter of bad luck. Who is going to fix this predestined twenty year hope filled disappointment of a sports disaster ?(anybody care to add up our 20 year stats?) Will the fans fix it by voting with their fannies? Will the Board? Do the fans need to fix the board? We have had 20 years of insanity trying the exact same useless solutions every three years or so, over and over and over No structural change in sight ... just Polyannas who keep hoping for past glory to somehow return over and over .... Aren't rose colored glasses great? Do we have a Donald Trump of Winnipeg football who can make the Bombers great again? Or are we going to just continue on this 3 year cycle forever? What amazing loyalists we are !

Amen to that .... The NFL is constantly making rule changes to improve their game and so should we (including correcting bad rule changes) .... What I do wish is that we think for ourselves .... for what our Canadain game needs and not just following little boo peep (the NFL) like blind sheep

The " multitude of posts", i.e. the belching of emotion is a complete disorganization and hardly the basis for making a sound judgment. Soundness is needed to either make or support a decision (or to sanely oppose a bad decision). Your comment reflects the lack of real work.... and as Henry Ford has famously said, because work is hard, few do it.Lack of real work? You have got to be kidding! This is an internet forum! Your post is useless! Disagree

I am not sure what the old rule was before the change but kicking off from the 25 is barely different from the 35 ... its a cheap way of buying yourself better field position

In my opinion, the recent rule changes including convert changes has added to the pleasure of our game. Now I am suggesting that in our Canadian game (the NFL is totally different) we should score a safety as three points not two. It will thus reward good defense and working for field position. Right now, coaches can take away positional advantage earned by giving up what is little more than a rouge to put the other team back at about their own 40 yard line. Its like a reprieve .... Let a team earn its way out of a bad position, not give up a mere double rouge. How many teams will give away 3 points instead of making the other team earn it? Real football coaches will punt the ball and rely on good defense, not wimp out. Good teams will come back & score a TD not just a FG. A 3 point safety touch will give us a better game instead of the modern non-traditional kick-off from the 25 yard line. Welcome back to old time football.

The " multitude of posts", i.e. the belching of emotion is a complete disorganization and hardly the basis for making a sound judgment. Soundness is needed to either make or support a decision (or to sanely oppose a bad decision). Your comment reflects the lack of real work.... and as Henry Ford has famously said, because work is hard, few do it.

There is a lot of controversy surrounding O' Shea but lets get clinical about him, do a balance sheet so to speak: What has he done right, what has he done wrong? Where has he failed? What are his coaching triumphs? What does he need to change/improve? What kind of a leader is he? What kind of potential does he hold? YOUR LIST of PLUSes & MINUSes please:

It's scary when you see a dead man walking .... what's worse is when you see several of them .... do we need a Beatific Vision to know what to do? Sheesh!

Quite the opposite I expect .... failure breeds failure unless you change management which in our case is the BoD old boys club

Fantastic analysis! I would just add that you need to give your relatively inexperienced GM and head coach some leeway to make mistakes and correct them. In Walters' case, he needs to enhance/replace the scouting staff. In O'Shea's case, he needs to replace his OC and maybe more of his offensive staff. I think part of the problem with O'Shea has been his deference to his more experienced coordinators, but now that he himself has gained more experience, he should be more confident to pull the trigger on needed changes. I really do think that it's tweaks that we need, not wholesale changes. If you bring in a capable OC (and a left guard), the offense scores more points and stays on the field longer, which makes it easier to play defense, and all of a sudden, you have a playoff team. O'Shea has his flaws, for sure, but there's something to be said for the fact that his players seem very loyal to him, and has created a fair amount of loyalty to the club (see the long-term extensions signed by players this season). That said, I would only give this regime one more year. If they can't improve next year, then it's time to move on. I think I have heard this 15 of the last 20 years: "I would only give this regime one more year. If they can't improve next year, then it's time to move on."

It lost something in the translation to French

Ranting is good for our collective soul and a proper slap in the face for the old boys club .... It is very good to demonstrate real & genuine controlled anger once in a while

If management had the will to win, we would have reacquired Enoch Muamba & we would have won today.... and maybe last week We would have better proven HC & OC's .... a GM who had real authority to find what we really need I am tired of trying to win with one arm tied behind our back The last time we made a real move is when Cal Murphy brought in Matt Dunigan ... and that made a huge difference We live in wholesale city and our BoD lives it ... it iis nothing more than a political old boys club .... and I want to barf all over them We have been doing this for two decades now and nothing is going to change ... even with a talent like Muamba we don't have the will (or perhaps even the desire) to succeed We are never ever going to be anything but mediocre with out anything but an occasional hot streak to keep us hoping. WE DO NOT CARE ENOUGH to do what the NY Mets have done this tear. There is no commitment to succeed. Excuse me while I go PUKE. I hope management gags on their over-priced tickets next year but they won't .... nothin' is gonna change.... not ever .... we are happy with cosmetics and lots of lipstick on our very own P I G

Question is who will be black & blue when this series is over?

This club has hung in with the two best teams in the league and showed character in the 3rd If MOS yells MB a lot maybe we have a chance in the playoffs ... MOS is getting his edge

Stone cold call and the cajones the size of grapefruits.Nobody's gonna give him the love but he saved our season all on his own.One good call among so many crappy ones and people are willing to turn a blind eye. This team is 5-10 and has only beaten sub .500 teams. No matter what people think of their performances in the last three games this team is a long way from being good.I suspect though most will be happy with bumbling and stumbling along with the current regime just because MOS, Walters and co. are all really good charlatans. It isn't people being haters it is all about the real world and no matter how you cut it the Bomber are not a good team. Of course people are huge fans of mediocrity or less here which is why this very mediocre or less regime will remain in power and the Bombers will continue to hemorrhage fans and money. They are just lucky that they GC to save them from posting a loss this year. Bombers are a couple pieces from being a very good team. Could easily have 7-8 wins already this year. Hope that the bounces that went against us so far this season go our way the last 3 games. Two more wins could get us into the playoffs. Yes Joe Namath and Gale Sayers look-a-likes