Will we be better or worse?

[BigBlue]

Every team had salary cap decisions ... we had to let Bond and Westerman go .... Jake Thomas won't be around but Demski will ... we are all cheering Hurl on in Regina now and we have this ex Rider QB

US recruits have their usual expectations with hopefully a couple nice surprises forthcoming ... and we will get a couple of developmental players in the draft

So my question is what has changed for us really especially relative to Calgary & Edmonton

We lost two very good linemen and we have made some coaching adjustments ... did Calgary & Edmonton lose more?

Do we have better depth?

Why would we be better, really?

Do we have more reason to be optimistic about our defense?

How big a role is coaching going to play?

Are we anywhere close to matching Calgary's organizational skills?

Has Edmonton suddenly become Swiss Cheese in the off season?

Has the whole team gained a critical maturity and potential "swagger"?

[Brandon]

No mention of adding Bowman?  Why is this slanted so negatively?

[WBBFanWest]

This is akin to asking if the operation was a success when the patient is in the prep room.

[TBURGESS]

I think we're a bit worse than we were last year, but we still have the draft and the rookies to add so it's a work in progress.

[Booch]

We are Better at the QB position (Nichols and Durant and any rookie are Better than what we had last year)

Status quo at RB (Possibly better as we may see looks with Harris/Demski/ Lafrance/Flanders all in motion giving defenses fits) 

Better at receiver ( with or without having to start 2 Canadians) though depth is suspect at this time

O-line we are weaker with loss of Bond ( Still a top 3 team in terms of O-line tho...depth could be issue if we get nailed with injuries)

D-line we are better even with loss of Westerman. (Being able to go all import is going to help and Corney and Ekakite are going to be better as they grow too...no concerns there)

DB's are better as more depth and more experience. Heath loss if you ask me is a no big deal...

Linebacking...weak last year...and still concerns this year until we see who..what..and where is on field and if scheme was issue last year or personnel. 

ST's...status quo...and most likely better this year as Medlock had off year and punt return was non existent for better part of the yr...so any production at all from there will make us upgraded..and our cover teams were lights out for most part and we added Fenner who is a demon

This team should be a 12-6 team again and if the defense steps up at all and corrects the issues that plagued it you can maybe factor in an extra win there..possibly 2...especially if the offense keeps evolving...can't see it taking a step backward this year..so a 13-14 win season if you ask me isn't far fetched...

 

[White Out]

I'm disappointed we didn't do more on defense and we focus so much on offense,  frankly.

[Firekid]

The West is going to be pretty good I guess if the Bombers finish with a 13-14 win season and Rod "Munch" Peterson and cRider Nation predicting the Bombers finish 5th in the West? I just can't understand how they think the Bombers are going to finish 5th. I predict it will be BC in 5th followed by Edmonton 4th, Saskabush 3rd, Calgary 2nd, Blue and Gold 1st.

[BigBlue]

What makes you think the Riders will pull ahead  of the Eskimos?

I keep underestimating Edmonton probably because they have the best QB in the league .... but how long will Reilly's body hold up?

[Booch]

I think BC and Ssk will be battling it out again for the crossover spot...and this year the east save for montreal will be fairly strong.

At moment the top 3 teams in West are a toss up for who ends up where..tho I think Wpg will again have a home playoff game...which one tho is the big question

[Tracker]

I think Calgary will drop a notch or two this year, and that we will be battling Edmonton all season for top spot in both the west and the league.  Edmonton's Achilles' Heel is probably Maas as head coach.

[JCon]

25 minutes ago, tracker said:

I think Calgary will drop a notch or two this year, and that we will be battling Edmonton all season for top spot in both the west and the league.  Edmonton's Achilles' Heel is probably Maas as head coach.

*And offensive coordinator.

 

Reilly will determine where Edmonton finishes. I don't expect them to finish above third. 

[Floyd]

2 hours ago, Booch said:

O-line we are weaker with loss of Bond ( Still a top 3 team in terms of O-line tho...depth could be issue if we get nailed with injuries)

Linebacking...weak last year...and still concerns this year until we see who..what..and where is on field and if scheme was issue last year or personnel. 

I think the team looks great - these are the only two questions lingering for me...  what happens when (not if) Wild and Neufeld get injured?

[Booch]

Next man steps up I guess eh?

I not too concerned with either..Neufeld has been injury free for years now...albeit not as a starter, but he was pushed back too early in previous years when not ready due to zero depth on the o-line and his injury was never really able to heal..and he compensated for it..and made things worse...

Wild last year injury was just bad luck and not a matter of him being injury prone...his first 2 years was pretty much injury free othe than a few minor knicks..and 3rd yr was limited in games as he was still doing the Nfl thing... He plays hard...hence gets hurt on occasion...but I think that this yr we have 2 guys other than JSK that will really push him and he may be a camp casualty...we shall see

 

[blue_gold_84]

How MLB shakes out is my biggest concern. I'm still worried about the defense giving up big yards through the air. Fenner is a very good addition, though. On the D-line, Westerman is a loss but I expect Jeffcoat, Okpalaugo, and Roh to carry the load; here's hoping Ekakitie takes the next step and becomes an impactful asset on the interior.

On the other side of the ball, I think the offense has improved even with the loss of Bond on the O-line. Bowman alone is a massive addition to the air attack and if Demski or Wolitarsky can take that next step, all the better. I'm also hopeful we see more from Coates this season.

ST will continue to be consistent and a strong phase of this team. I also expect Medlock, who's been relied on a ton the last two seasons, to be better and fresher with a lessened workload (based on an offense that should be able to move the ball more easily and with increased production).

Just my two pennies.

[Brandon]

What if Collaros is completely shot and it wasn't the teams fault for his losing streak in Hamilton....

[JCon]

Just now, Brandon said:

What if Collaros is completely shot and it wasn't the teams fault for his losing streak in Hamilton....

Fire up your tractors, there'sa gonna be a riot. 

[rebusrankin]

3 hours ago, Brandon said:

What if Collaros is completely shot and it wasn't the teams fault for his losing streak in Hamilton....

You trying to trigger all the Rider fans so they hide in their safe space?

[Firekid]

On 4/3/2018 at 11:00 AM, BigBlue said:

What makes you think the Riders will pull ahead  of the Eskimos?

I keep underestimating Edmonton probably because they have the best QB in the league .... but how long will Reilly's body hold up?

I believe that Edmonton has lost a lot and a big one is Zlystra. They had a tough go last season until they finally got a grip but with their biggest offensive receiving threat gone, I am not confident they will bust out of their losing streak this season. Unfortunately the Criders were competitive last season and I think they have made some moves to be better as much as I hate to admit it. So in my opinion, the Esuckmos got worse and the Criders got better. But the Bombers also got better too. I don't even think it's close. I think the Bombers are going to be the best team in the league this season as long as Neufeld or his replacement can hold up their end of the game. That is my only worry. 

[BBlink]

21 hours ago, Brandon said:

What if Collaros is completely shot and it wasn't the teams fault for his losing streak in Hamilton....

Well, I think this is actually more likely than him being their saviour.

[wbbfan]

Better more diverse group of weapons on offense. Worlds better at the back up qb position. On O the only loss is bond. Thats gonna be big. Should be better on offense though. On D the dumping of hurl, going with the best DL group from last year while maintaining strong depth with death roe. I like what we have started with the dbs, and ill take fenner over heath. 

Personal wise,  we should be slightly better on both sides of the ball. With the potential to be a lot better on offense if we fill bonds spot well.  More aggressive play calling/coverage and use full blitz packages with no hurl and we have potential to be a lot better on D too. If medlock plays more like his first year here rather then last year as well.

All that plus another year of continuity and chemistry. The question is how much better will be with respect to how the rest of the league is improving.

[BigBlue]

I am guessing that the change in defensive positional coaches is going to make a bigger difference than we expect this year

[jazzsax]

Here's my thought. 

Offense is improved. If the offense can do it's job... and score a ****-ton of points... and keep our D off the field as much as possible, that will help cover us some of our gaps. In turn, it will give the D confidence, 

If our D doesn't get support from the O, and gives up a ton of points... well... them there's the season. 

 

 

[wbbfan]

55 minutes ago, jazzsax said:

Here's my thought. 

Offense is improved. If the offense can do it's job... and score a ****-ton of points... and keep our D off the field as much as possible, that will help cover us some of our gaps. In turn, it will give the D confidence, 

If our D doesn't get support from the O, and gives up a ton of points... well... them there's the season. 

 

 

The O is very interesting. Weve added soo much in terms of weapons and QB depth. Bond was a monster though. Either our offense is gonna flourish to new heights or bond should have been an mop candidate. 

[WBBFanWest]

5 hours ago, jazzsax said:

Here's my thought. 

Offense is improved. If the offense can do it's job... and score a ****-ton of points... and keep our D off the field as much as possible, that will help cover us some of our gaps. In turn, it will give the D confidence, 

If our D doesn't get support from the O, and gives up a ton of points... well... them there's the season. 

 

 

So... you're say that us consistently scoring more points than the other team will determine the outcome of the season?  Some pretty heady stuff right there! 

Edited April 6, 2018 by WBBFanWest

[BBRT]

My thoughts are that the Bombers may be marginally better over all. But with the defense still being a Richie Hall defense, I have my doubts we will be able to score enough points to win our share. The other concern I have is that the balance of the West appears, at least in my opinion, to have improved to a greater extent.

So I see the Bombers as more or less a status quo while others such as Saskatchewan have become better. Whether Calgary or Edmonton have fallen off or stayed the same or even improved is a judgement call.