BigBlue

T definely want Bob Wylie back but I don't think he stays if Bellf does I want Buck Pierce back but not Marcus Howell I have no strong opinion on the D Coaches because of the Etxh factor

Calgry over Hamilton

And who crosses over if both Lions & Riders lose next week Thu Jun 26 Toronto 21 Winnipeg 45 Tue Aug 12 Winnipeg 21 Toronto 38

So what has to change for us to get ahead of the Riders & ?Lions in order to get into 3rd place next year?

Progress: Pass or Fail How much headway did the Blue Bombers make this year compared to 2013? While management is busy this week evaluating personnel let's do our own analysis, at least a little. Let's look at it by component after component: Defensive Secondary – probably the biggest improvement of all, on the whole team except for QB: Pass Linebackers – Wild got more playing time, Sears when he finally got was an improvement; but we did not come close to replacing Muamba: no progress so Fail. Defensive Line – inside tackles (when not having to use a Canadian) was about the same as last year; meanwhile we deteriorated at defensive end: Failed to progress Canadian Defensive Players - Bucknor, Matt, Sherman, Teague Thomas, Jake for starters were a significant improvement over what we had last year except for Muamba: so Pass I think. Receivers – as a group we didn't have open receivers often enough compared to last year; we didn't change receiver personnel all that much; Moore was hurt too much to make a difference really. : Fail, if anything we regressed Running Backs – Volny, Carl Fitzgerald, Carl Pontbriand, Michel- are very much the same as last year.Cotton, Paris McGuffie, Sam are very much unproven although Cotton appears to have great potential. No eastern All-Star this year nor is this group likely to be rated in the top half of running backs for the league as a whole. Progress while promising is suspect so Fail. Quarterbacks - We have found a legitimate starter in Willy and have three potential other starters signed up at the moment. Marve looks exciting. Quarterback is the most important position on the field and although Willie was shell-shocked by season's end, our most important progress of the year was at QB: a resounding PASS! Offensive Line – Goossen has better potential than the rest of our backup lineman combined, and besides we cut most of them. Morley is a decent centre instead of an indecent guard. Greaves may have improved a little. However January was less than impressive and will not be an All-Star this year. The other two international line positions was a revolving door; there is nothing in particular to look forward to next year. Our biggest weakness last year still looks like the biggest weakness on the team this year. No real progress so FAIL! Canadian Offensive Players – Watson, Cory Feoli-Gudino, Julian Kohlert, Rory along with Greaves, Morley & Goosen as a group were more reliable than last year so progress was made: Pass Special Teams Returning – Stoudermire , Troy is the returner we have been looking for for years: a definite Pass Special-Teams Coverage - I personally thought this is where we lost many games due to field position. No progress and if anything worse… so Fail. Special-Teams Kicking - Hajrullahu, Lirim could be the league All-Star. Progress = Big Pass. Special Team Canadians – I am not sure about this at all but at least there seems to be better attitudes than last year so in terms of progress a small Pass. General Manager & Scouting – full-time enthusiasm replaced reluctance and twilight; Canadian recruiting got a lot better while American recruiting suffered: definite progress and hope … so PASS. Have to find a larger role for Danny McManus maybe as offensive coordinator. Head Coach – shell-shocked incompetence was replaced by overconfidence and rookie mistakes; the difference was night and day so progress was exceedingly obvious: PASS because we have found a genuine leader. Position Coaches – Bob Wylie Offensive Line Paul Charbonneau Assistant Offensive Line Coach Markus Howell Wide Receivers Coach Gene Dahlquist Quarterbacks Coach Buck Pierce Running Backs Coach Nelson Martin Defensive Backs Coach Mike Scheper Defensive Line Coach Cory McDiarmid Linebackers Coach Dave Jackson Defensive Assistant ... I really don't know but at least there are more of them and that's definite progress, so Pass. Coordinators – I can't help thinking that Marcel Bellefeuille kept everybody from doing their jobs properly and that's why Bob Wylie didn't help much in terms of getting results; Gary Etcheverry in my opinion was the number one reason we had a very bad season this year,.. When you play pressure defence you have to come up with a lot of big plays and we didn't do that , Pat Tracey seemed to be a rookie at these responsibilities and overall it seems like we lost special-teams battles game in and game out. In terms of progress I can only rate these three as a combined MAJOR FAILURE! I must admit that my evaluation was largely emotional and less logical than the usual analysis, but a failed season and general lack of progress doesn't sit with me very well. I'm very interested in what the more astute amongst us can offer in terms of their analysis and evaluation.

What interests me most is BB special team penalties and club comparisons on ST penalties

Nobody knew better when to take a deliberate offside .... knowledgeable and a genuine leader

I say ADD 5 Canadians to the roster (at a low cost) for developmental reasons ... in a few years we will have better quality National players

Its important we sign Brohm .... and I would pay up for him ... can trade a QB later if necessary .... but more important than all that is firing Bellf

I like what you're saying overall in this post, I really do. But remarkably coming from a person like me who coaches Atom football players where 100% effort and focus is everything, this statement imho is blinding some Bomber decision-makers from corrececly evaluating players and making some tough decisions. The tough reality being that regardless of 100% effort every play every down and being a loyal team member to a fault is unfortunately not good enough to guarantee a roster spot/starting position. We aren't in Atom, Peewee or Bantam anymore. When I really think about it, that's how Wade Miller was able to be a Bomber for so long . He was simply not talented enough to warrant taking up a roster spot but boy was he loyal, focussed and a hard worker. Probably why he got into private business. Now that he's leading this organization with a head coach who seems to be molded quite similarly, this color blindedness of seeing effort/loyalty as the end all be all of who deserves to be a Bomber concerns me.Bullshit. Wade Miller may not have been the most talented guy but there was a time when he was one of the teams best special teams players and he clearly had the talent to be a CFLer.Thanks for your opinion, but to use your well used quote on other people, your opinion is not based on fact. Wade Miller was not a very good football player, that's a fact. He was also the same guy who came out and said he would quit the team if a very bad coach was fired which would suggest not the best judgement of talent as well. Do love his loyalty and commitment though, misguided at times. "Wade Miller was not a very good football player" but good enough to get into WBB Hall of Fame

At the beginning of the season an injured player had a very hard time getting back on the field. Excellent talents like Johnny Sears couldn't find his way into the lineup. We had Grigsby over Cotton, Kuale keeping Wild off the field and limiting his playing time, and Bryant being handed a starting role when it seemed like he didn't deserve it. Is O'Shea a good evaluator of talent? Does sentiment and past loyalty cloud his judgment? Does he have the confidence of his own convictions? Does he defer too much to his coordinators and coaches? And the biggest question of all is how much has Michael O'Shea learned about being a head coach and a leader this year?

Willey has got the "right stuff" but not necessarily the "right support system"

Isn't the problem here a lack of cooperation & coordination with abdication and command and control leadership dominating? Like was there was no collaboration but instead perhaps a power struggle? I can just imagine something like the line coach saying: " we could do this to make our blocking schemes better" then the OC says "Nope, that's not how I am going to run our offense" while MOS stands back leaving it to his Expert Coordinators, and all the while the peasant players stand around scratching their heads and shrugging their shoulders ... I don't think we are a cohesive "team" yet with everyone pulling equally on the oars

How has expansion thinned out the soup? Ottawa hasn't taken a lineman from each of the other teams so how do you explain increased sacks from expansion?

I like what you're saying overall in this post, I really do. But remarkably coming from a person like me who coaches Atom football players where 100% effort and focus is everything, this statement imho is blinding some Bomber decision-makers from corrececly evaluating players and making some tough decisions. The tough reality being that regardless of 100% effort every play every down and being a loyal team member to a fault is unfortunately not good enough to guarantee a roster spot/starting position. We aren't in Atom, Peewee or Bantam anymore. When I really think about it, that's how Wade Miller was able to be a Bomber for so long . He was simply not talented enough to warrant taking up a roster spot but boy was he loyal, focussed and a hard worker. Probably why he got into private business. Now that he's leading this organization with a head coach who seems to be molded quite similarly, this color blindedness of seeing effort/loyalty as the end all be all of who deserves to be a Bomber concerns me.Bullshit. Wade Miller may not have been the most talented guy but there was a time when he was one of the teams best special teams players and he clearly had the talent to be a CFLer. That's what I like about you Spock, er I mean 17to85, all logic no emotion

would be a good week to fire two coordinators

"Suddenly in 2013, there was an intense increase in the impact of defensive linemen in the CFL, and it’s continued into 2014. This season, there have already been two games in which a team accumulated exactly 10 sacks – the Riders in Week 1 and the Lions last weekend in their win over the Bombers....Given this data, the question that instantly comes to mind is: what caused this sudden dramatic shift?" I don't buy the article's postulate that the increased number of sacks on average is a result of bigger sized rosters I think the league wide shift is all Bellfuelle's fault

Line coaches must be frustrated ... top rated at teaching blocking and looking like ... well you know Bell* knows there are rolling pockets, play action schemes and a dozen other ways to play this wide field game Its like being redcoats in the revolutionary war lining up like pigeons to be shot by the guerilla revolutionaries disgusted regret here at Bell* ... a total inflexible conservative who knows little about war tactics or strategy

"You know, I'm really starting to notice ... as much as people say we have homers, we sure do have a ton of gloomers as well." Can a Bomber fan express frustration and disappointment without being kicked out of True Blue Club ... or being named a Negatron? To be considered loyal do we have to make ourselves a "homer" and at all costs avoid being labeled a "gloomer"? For an all-tolerant-society, and on this posting board in particular, there is a whole lot of judging, bashing and gaffing going on. Does the semi-anonymous nature of the site help us realize who we really are, instead of what we would prefer to appear as? Isn't it true that all of us have a good and bad side ... A mix of human nature? I for one would like to see a greater appreciation for all the differing points of view about our ball club. And isn't it true that those who call out a poster as a negatron are themselves the biggest negatrons of all? I believe we have a fantastic discussion board here at "Morning Big Blue" and that is absolutely wonderful that we can give, politely, full vent to our wide range of emotions about our beloved Blue. Isn't it great that we have a place to compare analysis about the progress of our football club? So who are the negatron's, homers and gloomers, really?

Based on this season's performance only, here is how I would rank these 9 CFL QBs 1. Ray 2. Levi-Mitchell 3. Reilly 4. Durant 5. Willy 6. Glenn 7. Burris 8. Collaros 9. Crompton How do you see it?

Moore ... Denmark ... Cotton ... Leggett ... Turner ... Anderson ... Washington ... Stoudermire ... Hajrullahu ... You know, I'm really starting to notice ... as much as people say we have homers, we sure do have a ton of gloomers as well. Moore ... Denmark ... Cotton ... Leggett ... Turner ... Anderson ... Washington ... Stoudermire ... Hajrullahu ... in addition to my mention of Randle & Wild That's a list of our better players but how many are going to be a western all-star (or 2nd team) this year: Hajrullahu possibly... Randle surely I think ... Leggett will be beaten out by Breckenridge but he is good ... Stoudermire might be the best in the league but won't get the votes this year ... Moore has been a bust this year ... Denmark might get in on stats but he has not been a dominating player ... Cotton is still unproven as promising as he looks ... Turner & Anderson & Wild will at best get honorable mentions ... Washington I hope My guess is we get 3 on the western all star team this year ... how many of the rest would be on a 2nd western team is how many are "above average" ie 1st or 2nd out of 5 teams Do we get more than 3 out of 26 or so players as western all stars?

That's BS. You can be a fan and not have season tickets even if you can afford them.Yeah you're just not as good a fan. That's bs big time ... A huge chunk of season ticket holders only go to get drunk and to party with each other and completely ignore the game. I am the opposite of a drunken fan but a devoted fan I am - - for over 50 years a Bomber diehard - - And I am always "depressed" for 3 days after a Bomber loss ... I am just tired of the lack of talent on our club and the inability of our management to build the club into something special ... how many above average players do we have on the club right now: Randle, Wild and maybe a couple others ... Why is that? What is going to change for next year? I am not buying season tickets next year because I care too much and the disappointment ruins my week ... I am just getting too old to not be happy because of my ball club

I am tired of hearing that we have players with "great potential" and a "core to build around". We are a very mediocre football club at best and "them" is just the facts. "Rebuilding" is just another term for a clueless management team that does not know how to recruit or hire. For 25 years I have waited and watched and hoped. I am just tired of it. Any temptation to buy season tickets next year have gone out the window. I am a single-game buyer until we finish in first place. Results are all that matter to me. Make all the off season moves you want, if it is just a marketing ploy I am not interested. I feel like I have been had, like at a travelling circus, but one that doesn't go anywhere. In the stock market, you do not jump on the bandwagon until a trend is firmly in place. I don't see no trend. Bah, humbug!

I hope Etch & Bell are released after our last game and before the season ends ... it will send a strong message and get our recruiting season off to a good & early start

Could McManus be promote to OC? He at least knows what it takes to win ... is he not rather high on the confidence / credibility scale?