In Case You Missed it

[Mr Dee]

After Week 11
Bye BC

CFL news
O'Shea said rule change will “absolutely” force coaches to think twice before throwing their challenge flags. - @PentonKirk #CFL #Bombers

#Bombers in the first half were 2-4 against starting quarterbacks and 3-0 versus backups. - @PentonKirk #CFL

CFL.ca
I think we only 25 yards of penalties in the second half so we changed the way we were playing,” O’Shea said.  “The ability to adapt in-game is pretty darn good.  These guys are showing a lot in that regard.”

CFLNews 
Roster in state of flux since pre-season because of injuries & because Jones & co. looking for the right mix. - @IanHamiltonLP #CFL #Riders
?‍?Well, yeah...
Jones says
“Unfortunately, we’ve had discontinuity. We’ve had a lot of guys in and out of the roster due to multiple reasons." - Jones #CFL #Riders
?‍?Again, well, yeah..

-Jones repeatedly has said he’ll stick to the formula that has worked in his previous places of employment. - @IanHamiltonLP #CFL #Riders

CFLNews
Austin/several players express concern audio gleaned could put them at competitive disadvantage in subsequent games - @scratchingpost #CFL
?‍?This could be a valid concern.

Justin Dunk 3downation
Big plays continue to hurt Saskatchewan. The Riders have allowed a league-worst 27 big plays on defence (rushes of 20 and receptions of 30 yards or more)

CFL Communications
Yesterday’s #CFLWired game was the second-most watched #CFL regular season game televised on a Sunday in the past two seasons.

Blue Bomber Talk
Former Blue Bomber RB Cameron Marshall has been released by the Jacksonville Jaguars. #Bombers #CFL #NFL

Eliot Shorr-Parks
Aaron Grymes still has a locker. None of the other cut players do #Eagles

CFL History
On Nov 6, 1884, The Ottawa RedBlacks took on McMasters in the very first Canadian Championship...Wait that can't be right, can it?? #CFL
(Actually on Nov 6, 1884 The Montreal Football Club wearing Red AND Black took on The Toronto #Argos wearing Maroon jerseys #CFL

Herb Zurkowsky
The #CFL has fined #Als' rush-end @7Bowman for criticizing the work of its officials following last week's game vs. Winnipeg.

CFL History
Top 4 things impossible to get rid of:  
1 - The Clap
2 - Fruit Cake
3 - That cat who keeps coming back
4 - Wed night #Argo tickets

Justin Dunk -Sportsnet
There are rumblings from Regina that the players are an unhappy group with the way they’re being treated. Until that changes, it’s hard to expect the green and white to give maximum effort for Chris Jones.

******BC back-to-backs in Ontario II: Across 63 seasons of Lions club history they have NEVER swept both games of a road trip to Ontario and have a chance to accomplish that for the first time in this game vs the Argos.
and did they? They did..

CFL Headlines
The Spec: CFL honours Mitchell, Paredes, Toliver as top performers for August bit.ly/2bEnDLx #CFL

Jeff Hamilton Wpg Free Press
Through 10 weeks, Medlock leads the CFL in kicking accuracy at 91.8 per cent, hitting 45 of his 49 total kicks (included in that is a perfect 18-for-18 on converts).

Justin Dunk
#Riders ink Canadian RB after he asks for release from #Eskimos 3downnation.com/2016/09/01/rid… #CFL

Ed Tait
Medlock has been around long enough to know what constitutes a good special teams unit. And he sees it here with the Bombers.

“That’s what O’Shea is known for: special teams, defence and hard-nosed football and getting people riled up,” said Medlock. “That’s probably why we do so well. We have a great special-teams coordinator (Paul Boudreau) who has come from the States and he’s done a great job coaching us with the little discipline/technique stuff. Both of them together have come up with a good plan for us.”

Darrin Bauming
Former #Bombers running back Paris Cotton has landed on the #CalStampeders' practice roster.

Blue Bomber Talk
Jovon Johnson now has two more sacks than any player on the Saskatchewan Roughriders. #Riders #CFL

Lowell Ullrich 
Wally Buono on Ronnie Yell injury: ‘We know it’s not good’ Broken bone in foot suspected New role for Brandon Stewart More  @TSN1040 at 230p

Don Landry CFL.ca
The Bombers had 37 takeaways in 2014 and 38 in 2015. Know how many they have so far in 2016? They have 33. In half a season.

Paul Friesen the Sun
Last year's best turnover-ratio team was Hamilton, at plus-14. That's not even an average of plus-one per game.
Winnipeg is on pace for a plus-32, or nearly plus-two per game.

Maurice Leggett
Just made the decision this past offseason that Winnipeg will be my home until I'm done with football.

Santino Filoso 3downnation
Head Coach Rick Campbell has talked tough about holding his players accountable for the number of flags they draw, but you’d never be able to tell by the 9 penalties for 103 yards his team took in the first half. Of the eleven infractions that Ottawa finished the night with, nine unacceptably fall into preventable or technical categories. Something’s gotta give.
?‍?Hello Sergio?
-you have to wonder how long GM Marcel Desjardins waits to bring in competition if Milo continues to struggle.

Ed Tait
The Bombers are allowing just six yards against in punt returns, the fewest in the CFL.

Rob Vanstone
Weston Dressler's first catch of the game is spectacular one. And he gets a nice hand. Classy player. Classy response.
-Glenn Reid of CBC pointed out to me that the Riders have gone four consecutive games without scoring a point in the first quarter.
-Darian Durant to Caleb Holley for a four-yard touchdown -- his first CFL major. Riders end TD-pass drought 272:51.

Derek Taylor @DTonSC
Jamaal Westerman 2nd in QB pressures this season with 22. The leader is Charleston Hughes with an amazing 32!
#Details #Bombers
-Medlock now 16 for 29 on kicks 50+ yards. Since start of 2008 season no one else has more than 12 attempts of 50+ #Bombers #Details

Blue Bomber Talk
#Bombers are 8th in the #CFL in yards allowed, but 2nd in points allowed. First quarter pretty indicative of that. #CFL
#Bombers #Riders #LDC #CFL

?‍?Well, let's just leave it that the Rider's fake punt was bad...very bad.

Scott Billeck @ScottBilleck
Yeah, Macho Harris isn’t getting his job back.

Derek Taylor
My favorite "some stats are meaningless" for this week...Matt Nichols and Drew Willy have the same completion % this season (71.7%) #Bombers
-The CFL needs a "stand your ground" rule for DBs. Expecting them to get out of the way seems silly
?‍?I don't know. Maybe I'm losing it. I thought that that was a common practice in the past. The defender has a right to his space..

Darrell Davis
Unofficial count: Four new #Riders for today's #CFL game, 83 different players thru 10 games this season. #Ticats set record of 88 in 2013.

All this whining about missed pass interference. Granted. But why don't people talk about how the #Riders didn't show up for 30 mins again

Thomas Gunther - Last Word On Sports CFL
The Bombers win, not just the early lead, comes down to three words: second down conversation. The Riders were unable to stop the Bombers from converting whether it was runs by Andrew Harris or short crossing routes to Gerrad Sheppard. The Bombers were frequently driving down the field and putting up points rather than striking out early. and that made all the difference in this matchup.

Adam Schefter
Hope for underdogs: There are more undrafted free agents on NFL rosters today (481) than 1st- and 2nd-round picks combined (480), per Elias.

Scott Billeck
#Bombers QBs thru 10 gms: 
Nichols 
126-for-177 (71%) - 1,448 yards - 7 TDs - 5-0
Willy  
137-for-191 (72%) - 1,473 yards - 5 TDs - 1-4

Jack Todd: Time for Alouettes to close window on Jim Popp era
http://montrealgazette.com/sports/jack-todd-time-for-alouettes-to-close-window-on-jim-popp-era/

Arash Madani
Andy Fantuz flops and a failed #CFL referee, demoted to back judge, falls for it. Anyone surprised?

Drew Edwards
This is the highest scoring Labour Day game between the #Ticats and #Argos in #CFL history.

?‍?Labour Day Monday games:
Edmonton - Calgary 71 points (45-24) total yards 799
Toronto  - Hamilton 85 points (49-36) total yards 902
They had a fly-by before the game in Hamilton, then they had another air show with Collaros and Ray!
QBs Ray 31/41 386 3tds 2 int Collaros 28-35 359 4 TDs 1 int
BL Mitchell 25-32 380 2 TDs 1 int.
?‍?Calgary 4 sacks Edmonton 0
?‍?Simply can't let that dreadful PI call go called on Toronto's Jefferson. I don't blame him one bit for being upset. Possibly, no definitely, the worst call of the year. 

John Hodge 3downnation
-The span of Winnipeg’s last five victories: 38 days. The span of Saskatchewan’s last five victories: 671 days. That’s wild.
-With Ryan Smith expected to return to the line-up next week, it will be interesting to see if Nichols throws the deep ball more often with an elite deep threat at his disposal.
-Two fourth quarter interceptions aside, Sunday’s game was disastrous for the Blue Bomber secondary. Johnny Adams struggled mightily against rookie Caleb Holley, often looking flat-footed and out of position after the catch. Adams will need to return to his 2015 form if he is to keep his starting spot when Chris Randle returns from injury.
-is there a chance the Riders look to sign one of Swayze Waters or Sergio Castillo?
-The Bomber offensive line allowed two sacks on Sunday, one of which came on a poorly-executed quarterback draw late in the game. Winnipeg has now allowed eight sacks in Nichols’ five starts (1.6 per game), half the number that the Bombers allowed in Drew Willy’s five starts (16).
-Speaking of Sunday’s controversial pass interference call, let’s not forget that the Riders played a mistake-ridden game against Winnipeg. The gamble on third and 3? The bizarre fake punt to Ed Gainey? Two fourth quarter interceptions? Two missed field goals? These are all mistakes that went into the result of Sunday’s game (which, in fairness, featured a ton of mistakes from the Bombers, too). To simply chalk the Riders’ loss to a bad penalty would be unfair — Sunday’s game was decided on a combination of 158 plays, not just one.

Bye in Week 12 - Ottawa

[sweep the leg]

Dunk's comment about player unrest in Sask. is interesting. Coaches who act like Jones can lose a room pretty quick if they're not winning.

[17to85]

3 minutes ago, sweep the leg said:

Dunk's comment about player unrest in Sask. is interesting. Coaches who act like Jones can lose a room pretty quick if they're not winning.

players don't like to always be looking over their shoulder for the hook. 

[Mr Dee]

Kirk Penton
Just for the record, we will stop talking about the officiating when CFL fans, coaches and players stop talking about it.

INSIDERS SAY
-I hired a damn good assistant coach about 10 years ago. He was hurting my staff, though, because he had a drinking problem. I fired him after the year because he wouldn’t admit he had a drinking problem. What am I saying? We have an officiating problem. We need to admit it and fix it, or fire the causes of the problem and any people who are hesitant to make big changes in that group ... 
-Every week I look at the film, and I’m less sure what is and isn’t pass interference or illegal contact. It’s like flipping a (bleeping) coin. All I know is what my wife says. (The officials) are on TV more than any of us who are coaching ... 
-I’m the kind of coach who just focuses on who we’re playing next. But one of my guys who’s tapped into all of the gossip says Noel Thorpe will be interim head coach in Montreal before the end of this month and Danny Maciocia will be their head coach next year ... 
-I don’t know what the Bombers paid (Justin) Medlock, but he’s worth every (bleeping) penny ... 

-I’ve coached with Scott (Milanovich), and he’s a damn good coach. (Jim) Barker’s pretty good at what he does, too. But something’s wrong in Toronto. Look at their record over the last three or four years. The year they won it all they went 9-9 and got hot at the end. This year, with the crossover deal, they might not make the playoffs ... 
-We’re hoping Montreal beats B.C., but that’s probably a (bleeping) dream. (Kevin) Glenn is too old. That’s why (Rakeem) Cato is going to start, and they have too many other old guys on that Als team whose best days are long gone.t

[MOBomberFan]

7 hours ago, Mr Dee said:

...one of my guys who’s tapped into all of the gossip says Noel Thorpe will be interim head coach in Montreal before the end of this month and Danny Maciocia will be their head coach next year ... 

Awesome! Maciocia's 'sad face' is fun to see. I hope this happens.

[Mark H.]

52 minutes ago, MOBomberFan said:

Awesome! Maciocia's 'sad face' is fun to see. I hope this happens.

Always looking like he was chewing on a deodorant stick

[17to85]

so the insider who needs to be censored all the time has to be Kent Austin right? You just know a guy that angry has a potty mouth on him right?

[bearpants]

8 hours ago, Mr Dee said:

-I’m the kind of coach who just focuses on who we’re playing next. But one of my guys who’s tapped into all of the gossip says Noel Thorpe will be interim head coach in Montreal before the end of this month and Danny Maciocia will be their head coach next year ... 

I'm no coaching expert... but If I'm an Als fan, I'd much prefer to keep Thorpe as HC than bring in Maciocia...

[Mr Dee]

?‍?StatStuff
?‍?A very tight race between Harris and Messam  3 yard difference in favour of Harris.
Top 5 receivers
Adarius Bowman 1008 yards
Chris Williams 991
Naaman Roosevelt 974
Derel Walker 960
Luke Tasker 784

?‍?Ian Wild #4 on defence 69 total tackles
Justin Medlock #2 in FGs 
Maurice Leggett #1 in interceptions
?‍?Bombers have climbed to #4 in sacks allowed and #2 in turnovers and #2 total points allowed
-7th in sacks
-1st in interceptions
-3rd in forced fumbles
-2nd in kickoff average
-2nd in punt return average

-6 tacklers on pace for 100: There are six players among the league leaders in defensive tackles that are on pace for 100 along with Deron Mayo of Calgary who is close. The highest number in any previous season came just last year with four at 100+ (A.Bighill, J.Knox Jr, W.Venable & K.Bass). Here are the players at this point with a chance at reaching 100 DT:

note - before the weekend games...
Bear Woods 66 132 
Solomon Elimimian 70 126 
Adam Bighill 67 121 
Ian Wild 56 112 
Deon Lacey 54 108 
Simoni Lawrence 54 108 
Deron Mayo 48 96

[Adrenaline_x]

I love these threads.. Thanks for the info!

 

[Mr Dee]

John Hodge 3downnation
Allow me to publicly apologize to Justin Medlock for this comment made in reference to the value of his contract. The 32-year-old has now made 33 of 38 field goals this season with a long of 58 yards. He’s been worth every penny of his big-ticket free agent contract.
That's an egregious, abhorrent overpay for an American kicker. 

-It was nice to see Matt Nichols open things up more than he had in previous weeks, hitting Quincy McDuffie for an 82-yard touchdown early in the game. Nichols is at his best when he focuses on managing the game, but it’s critical that he’s also able to air it out when necessary. With Ryan Smith expected to return to the line-up next week, it will be interesting to see if Nichols throws the deep ball more often with an elite deep threat at his disposal.

[bearpants]

23 minutes ago, Mr Dee said:

John Hodge 3downnation
Allow me to publicly apologize to Justin Medlock for this comment made in reference to the value of his contract. The 32-year-old has now made 33 of 38 field goals this season with a long of 58 yards. He’s been worth every penny of his big-ticket free agent contract.
That's an egregious, abhorrent overpay for an American kicker. 

I think his salary is 170-ish... The way I looked at it is 100k for the best kicker in the league and 70k for an above-average punter... always seemed like a good deal to me...

[Pete Catan's Ghost]

23 hours ago, Adrenaline_x said:

I love these threads.. Thanks for the info!

 

They're like Bathroom Readers, only without the need for paper or privacy.

[Adrenaline_x]

exactly.

[Mr Dee]

CFL - Game Notes
The CFL began recording 2nd down conversion catches in 2009 and since then no player has matched Nik Lewis’ production. In 2016 he leads the CFL with 25 receptions for first downs on 2nd down plays – 37% of his 67 receptions have produced key first downs. DOWN CONVERSION CATCHES

CFL LEADERS – FROM 2009 TO 2016:
Nik Lewis 153 
Weston Dressler 142 
Andy Fantuz 141 
Adarius Bowman 133 
Marquay McDaniel 126

Over the last six games, the Alouettes have stopped the opposition 13 times out of 17 chances in the Red Zone allowing only 4 TDs for a remarkable 23% rate. For the year, Montreal is #1 by far at 41% with opponents cashing just 11 of 27 opportunities into TDs.

The Alouettes have allowed the fewest touchdowns of any club giving up just 20 in 10 games. They have allowed no more than 2 TDs to any opponent over the last 4 games and only 16 opponent offensive TDs in 2016.

Elimimian & Bighill: Through games of Sep 5/16 the ‘BC 100’ pair rank #2 & #3 in defensive tackles. Solomon Elimimian has 70 after a CFL season-high and BC Lions record 14 tackles at Toronto last Wednesday. Bighill has 67 defensive stops in 2016 and thus each is on pace for over 100 tackles in 2016. They have combined for 53 tackles in the last three Lions’ games.

No team has ever had two players reach 100+ tackles in the same season