Burke: Target is to win more games than you lose

[voodoochylde]

Original Story Here

Burke discusses his expectations and goals for the coming season. I think a lot of what he's saying is realistic (though obvious) but it's something fans can more easily identify with beyond the grand idea of "Win the Grey Cup".

I think there's heightened expectations. I think moving into the new stadium -- it's a new start, it's a new beginning. And everybody feels like we need to win to fill the stands, obviously, and bring in revenue for the club," said Burke.

But while Burke acknowledged the higher expectations of those around the team, he said the task in front of him right now as tries to turn around a squad that finished 6-12 in 2012 hasn't changed, even if the team's venue has.

"... I think the expectations from the coaches are always there. And from management. Whether you're in the old stadium, the new stadium or playing all of them on the road, your expectation levels are always high."

Burke said his goal for the 2013 season is to do something the Bombers failed to do in three of the last four seasons -- make the playoffs.

And while that might seem a tall order for a Winnipeg team that tied Hamilton for the worst record in the league last year, Burke said he thinks it is very achievable.

"... My target is to win more games than you lose," said Burke. "If you can win 10 games, then you'll be in the playoffs. Two years ago, we won 10 and we won the East."

And sometimes it doesn't even take a winning record. Burke noted the Toronto Argonauts finished the 2012 regular season at just 9-9 before running the table in the playoffs to win the 100th Grey Cup.

But big achievements start with small steps and Burke said that process will begin this afternoon when just fewer than 40 players -- expect the club to announce as many as four new signings today -- are expected to take the field.

"We've got to learn how to win, before we can win," said Burke.

I've always said that young teams need to learn how to win and fight through adversity. It's about building trust and having faith in the guy lining up next to you .. those things can help to instill confidence in a young squad. I feel that if we can get out of the gate with sound fundamentals .. good understanding of what we are trying to do schematically (particularly on defense), we'll be in very good shape.

[Noeller]

Buck stays healthy, we're golden.....Buck goes down early in the season, we're in deep s***. Pretty much that simple. I'd agree with 10-wins and you're in....

[TBURGESS]

10 Wins isn't an unrealistic target as long as Buck stays relatively healthy.

[Atomic]

10 Wins isn't an unrealistic target as long as Buck stays relatively healthy.

Or one of the other QB's steps up in his inevitable absence. I know it seems impossible after all these years of failed QB projects, but you never know!

[SPuDS]

As always, a .500 mark should suffice to make the post season.. Hopefully its at least that or better for the bombers this season.. we do have a lot of turn over taking place on the roster and our QB spot is still murky (less confusion if buck stays healthy and upright) but D-line, LB and to a lesser extent o-line still all need to shake themselves out..

I do like the depth we have built up so far but to see if any of it pans out AND if can gel with some expediency.. that will be the biggest questions..

[IC Khari]

Winning more than losing is definitely the way to go, glad to see Burke has grown into this head coaching thing

[Mike]

Did it seem odd to anyone that he said he has what is more or less a "cheat sheet" to look at during games when he doesn't know what he's supposed to do?

[iso_55]

It's all about Buck staying healthy. And if any of the other backup qbs can step up if & when needed... Familiar pattern. Question is how will things play out this season???

[Atomic]

Did it seem odd to anyone that he said he has what is more or less a "cheat sheet" to look at during games when he doesn't know what he's supposed to do?

Well he has never been a head coach before.... but yeah, sometimes Burke is a little too honest and forthcoming with the media.

[Mike]

Did it seem odd to anyone that he said he has what is more or less a "cheat sheet" to look at during games when he doesn't know what he's supposed to do?

Well he has never been a head coach before.... but yeah, sometimes Burke is a little too honest and forthcoming with the media.

It wasn't so much that he has it. But yeah, the idea that he'd admit to that is a little surprising.

[bluto]

Did it seem odd to anyone that he said he has what is more or less a "cheat sheet" to look at during games when he doesn't know what he's supposed to do?

Well he has never been a head coach before.... but yeah, sometimes Burke is a little too honest and forthcoming with the media.

It wasn't so much that he has it. But yeah, the idea that he'd admit to that is a little surprising.

it was, at least, a very telling comment. you gotta wonder what's on that thing...

[17to85]

As always, a .500 mark should suffice to make the post season..

in the CFL 8 wins gets your into the playoffs guaranteed, 7 is even good enough some of the years. 10 wins had you in contention for top spot I think so there's not as much ground to make up in the standings as people might think.

[SPuDS]

As always, a .500 mark should suffice to make the post season..

in the CFL 8 wins gets your into the playoffs guaranteed, 7 is even good enough some of the years. 10 wins had you in contention for top spot I think so there's not as much ground to make up in the standings as people might think.

oh I totally agree.. Burke is right, if we hit 8-10 we should be in playoffs without question.. 7-8 would make it interesting.. kinda like missing it by one game

[voodoochylde]

As always, a .500 mark should suffice to make the post season..

in the CFL 8 wins gets your into the playoffs guaranteed, 7 is even good enough some of the years. 10 wins had you in contention for top spot I think so there's not as much ground to make up in the standings as people might think.

oh I totally agree.. Burke is right, if we hit 8-10 we should be in playoffs without question.. 7-8 would make it interesting.. kinda like missing it by one game

There's no indication, to me at least, that Hamilton has done enough to seriously compete for the 1-2 seed in the East. They may be competitive on a game to game basis .. but nothing is there (so far) that demonstrates that they've turned the corner in Steel town.

Montreal is going to be the big question mark in the East .. how do they respond to the new coach .. it will be interesting to see just how much Calvillo has left in the tank and whether or not his play can elevate them above inevitable rookie coaching mistakes.

It pains me to say it but Toronto appears to be on solid footing going into the season .. while I certainly agree with the sentiment that they over achieved in a weak Eastern conference .. they have a future Hall of Fame QB at the helm .. they are the defending Grey Cup champs .. as we've seen before, a little swag goes a long ways.

*MY* expectations are that we make the playoffs (I haven't had any the last two seasons - just knowing the situation we were in) and I suspect we will be very competitive game in game out throughout the regular season ..

[17to85]

It pains me to say it but Toronto appears to be on solid footing going into the season .. while I certainly agree with the sentiment that they over achieved in a weak Eastern conference .. they have a future Hall of Fame QB at the helm .. they are the defending Grey Cup champs .. as we've seen before, a little swag goes a long ways.

To me they get the early nod just based on less uncertainties. They know who their qb is, they know that they have a quality head coach. I'd put Montreal ahead if they didn't have a total question mark at head coach but for now we need to see what the new guy does for them, and if this is the year Calvillo finally craps out.

[bluto]

It pains me to say it but Toronto appears to be on solid footing going into the season .. while I certainly agree with the sentiment that they over achieved in a weak Eastern conference .. they have a future Hall of Fame QB at the helm .. they are the defending Grey Cup champs .. as we've seen before, a little swag goes a long ways.

To me they get the early nod just based on less uncertainties. They know who their qb is, they know that they have a quality head coach. I'd put Montreal ahead if they didn't have a total question mark at head coach but for now we need to see what the new guy does for them, and if this is the year Calvillo finally craps out.

i want to think that this time, finally, Popp has made a big decision and gotten it wrong (Dan Hawkins)... but it just never seems to happen does it? based on Popp's track record, i'm going to presume that the Alouette's coaching will be at least solid (and likely better than that).

Calvillo's play will be the same as it's been lo these many years of his MOP calibre play... presuming he stay's uninjured. he's hard to get to, and even harder to get a hard lick on, but it takes less and less to hurt him (and get him of his game viz: EDF).

they could plummet... but their demise has been foretold so many times that it's just a cliche at this point for them to end up hosting playoff games when everyone thought they'd finally regress.

[Jacquie]

it was, at least, a very telling comment. you gotta wonder what's on that thing...

1) Lawless is the fat one, Friesen is the bleached blond.

2) Go for FG when on their 36 yard line.

3) Work on victory dance moves.

[17to85]

It pains me to say it but Toronto appears to be on solid footing going into the season .. while I certainly agree with the sentiment that they over achieved in a weak Eastern conference .. they have a future Hall of Fame QB at the helm .. they are the defending Grey Cup champs .. as we've seen before, a little swag goes a long ways.

To me they get the early nod just based on less uncertainties. They know who their qb is, they know that they have a quality head coach. I'd put Montreal ahead if they didn't have a total question mark at head coach but for now we need to see what the new guy does for them, and if this is the year Calvillo finally craps out.

i want to think that this time, finally, Popp has made a big decision and gotten it wrong (Dan Hawkins)... but it just never seems to happen does it? based on Popp's track record, i'm going to presume that the Alouette's coaching will be at least solid (and likely better than that).

Calvillo's play will be the same as it's been lo these many years of his MOP calibre play... presuming he stay's uninjured. he's hard to get to, and even harder to get a hard lick on, but it takes less and less to hurt him (and get him of his game viz: EDF).

they could plummet... but their demise has been foretold so many times that it's just a cliche at this point for them to end up hosting playoff games when everyone thought they'd finally regress.

well sooner or later they'll fall off, I maintain that their "dominance" is overblown based on the east being so weak for so much of the last 15 years or so. Just some terrible teams in it for a lot of years. Hell any time the bombers had a winning record the Als weren't playing in the Grey Cup.

[bluto]

well sooner or later they'll fall off, I maintain that their "dominance" is overblown based on the east being so weak for so much of the last 15 years or so. Just some terrible teams in it for a lot of years. Hell any time the bombers had a winning record the Als weren't playing in the Grey Cup.

agree to disagree. the Era of Popp's (96-12) numbers speak for themself:

12-6, 13-5, 12-5-1, 12-6, 12-6, 9-9, 13-5-0-1, 13-5, 14-4, 10-8, 10-8, 8-10, 11-7, 15-3, 12-6, 10-8, 11-7

only ONE losing season in SEVENTEEN. 3 GC Wins, 5 GC appearances. us fans should all be so fortunate.

(that being said... i hope they finally drop off this year... maybe the coaches have trouble adjusting to our game... and all of that veteran talent starts getting nicked up...)

[17to85]

well sooner or later they'll fall off, I maintain that their "dominance" is overblown based on the east being so weak for so much of the last 15 years or so. Just some terrible teams in it for a lot of years. Hell any time the bombers had a winning record the Als weren't playing in the Grey Cup.

agree to disagree. the Era of Popp's (96-12) numbers speak for themself:

12-6, 13-5, 12-5-1, 12-6, 12-6, 9-9, 13-5-0-1, 13-5, 14-4, 10-8, 10-8, 8-10, 11-7, 15-3, 12-6, 10-8, 11-7

only ONE losing season in SEVENTEEN. 3 GC Wins, 5 GC appearances. us fans should all be so fortunate.

(that being said... i hope they finally drop off this year... maybe the coaches have trouble adjusting to our game... and all of that veteran talent starts getting nicked up...)

but again, Calvillo defying age helps that immensely. They're the only team in the east that hasn't had to find a new qb the entire length of time he's been there. Then you look at how god awful the ticats were for most of that time, how bad the renegades were for most of that time, how bad the argos were for long stretches of that time, the bombers had a quite good stretch but were in the west for a good portion of it, had a few decent stretches and a lot of bad ones... That record is inflated by weak competition to me. It'll go down in the record books no doubt, but I think the real telling thing there, is the grey cups appearaces and wins. You said yourself only 1 losing season, but in 17 seasons only 5 grey cup appearances and only 3 wins? Says to me they were the best of a bad lot in the east but not superior to the top teams in the west all that often.

[bluto]

well sooner or later they'll fall off, I maintain that their "dominance" is overblown based on the east being so weak for so much of the last 15 years or so. Just some terrible teams in it for a lot of years. Hell any time the bombers had a winning record the Als weren't playing in the Grey Cup.

agree to disagree. the Era of Popp's (96-12) numbers speak for themself:

12-6, 13-5, 12-5-1, 12-6, 12-6, 9-9, 13-5-0-1, 13-5, 14-4, 10-8, 10-8, 8-10, 11-7, 15-3, 12-6, 10-8, 11-7

only ONE losing season in SEVENTEEN. 3 GC Wins, 5 GC appearances. us fans should all be so fortunate.

(that being said... i hope they finally drop off this year... maybe the coaches have trouble adjusting to our game... and all of that veteran talent starts getting nicked up...)

but again, Calvillo defying age helps that immensely. They're the only team in the east that hasn't had to find a new qb the entire length of time he's been there. Then you look at how god awful the ticats were for most of that time, how bad the renegades were for most of that time, how bad the argos were for long stretches of that time, the bombers had a quite good stretch but were in the west for a good portion of it, had a few decent stretches and a lot of bad ones... That record is inflated by weak competition to me. It'll go down in the record books no doubt, but I think the real telling thing there, is the grey cups appearaces and wins. You said yourself only 1 losing season, but in 17 seasons only 5 grey cup appearances and only 3 wins? Says to me they were the best of a bad lot in the east but not superior to the top teams in the west all that often.

8 appearances actually. 3 wins, 5 losses. my verbiage was unclear.

[johnzo]

it was, at least, a very telling comment. you gotta wonder what's on that thing...

Perhaps a guide to fourth quarter time management; down by x scores, y time remaining, when are you in a three-down situation and when can you punt?

[bluto]

it was, at least, a very telling comment. you gotta wonder what's on that thing...

Perhaps a guide to fourth quarter time management; down by x scores, y time remaining, when are you in a three-down situation and when can you punt?

when to go for two point converts etc... yeah, could be.

[RagingIce]

it was, at least, a very telling comment. you gotta wonder what's on that thing...

Perhaps a guide to fourth quarter time management; down by x scores, y time remaining, when are you in a three-down situation and when can you punt?

I think a lot of coaches have these - I've seen NFL games where they talk about them.

[17to85]

8 appearances actually. 3 wins, 5 losses. my verbiage was unclear.

I knew that sounded wrong, that's what I get for trusting you to say things correctly.