How do you see the West playoff teams in comparison to yours.

[Jayph]

I am a rider fan but also a CFL fan so this will be from that prospective.  It is going to be a matchup between Calgary, Saskatchewan, Winnipeg of some sorts.  With only Calgary having something to play for this week other than teams having pride and not wanting to go into the playoffs on a loosing note, I am assuming we will see lots of stars rested across the league.  So I am looking ahead to playoffs. 

Match up with Calgary

Quarterback- obviously advantage Calgary as Bo-levi and Mike Reilly are 1-2 and can be swapped around depending on how you feel

Oline and running game - beginning of the year It was easy to give this to the stamps and Don Jackson but lately the stamps running game has looked less than stellar.  With the changes we have made to our online and a healthy fresh Marshall back I think Iam going to call this a draw and will go to who wants it more on game day.

Receivers- again beginning of the year a healthy Eric Rodgers, Kamar Jordan and Devaris Daniels, with Reggie Beggleton was likely the best receiving corell but after most of them going down and only Eric coming back so far and he looks like he is either nicked again or has other issues as he hasn't done much since coming back.  Them getting Chris Mathews might have saved there bacon going into the playoffs.  I like our receiving care looking to the future but they are rookies for the most part and we lack experience and leadership that is huge come playoff time.  I give this a draw with calgary getting the edge if anybody returns from there injured list.

Defense- Calgary is a solid D and probably one of the most well rounded but they look vulnerable and beat up lately.  This is good news for whoever plays the stamps.  For what ever reason Chris jones has Calgarys number this year with what he does on D beating them twice and could have easily been three times if we had any offence in that game at all.  So with that in mind I give us the slight advantage.  Sometimes even though one team is clearly the better team for what ever reason they just can't beat that one team.  (Iam talking to you Ottawa)

Special teams-  I haven't payed much attention to Calgarys special teams but I would have to give an edge in punting to them,  Call Field Goal even with maybe a longer leg to the riders.  Returners also a slight edge to the riders in my opinion but see this as even overall coming down to who makes plays on game day

A healthy Calgary team and I would likely give them the hypothetical win but they look very beatable by anybody right now and the loosing streak going into the playoffs is likely to frustrate them.  I'll give the edge to whoever the home team is in this one pulling it out.

 

Match up with Winnipeg 

Quarterback - if we get the Matt Nichols thats shown up lately theres a huge advantage there,  If we get the Matt Nichols from the loosing streak........Sadly there is probably still an advantage there compared to our situation.  

Oline and running game-  I don't care how much I hate the bombers (nothing personal I hate all teams come gameday) Andrew Harris is a beast and a game changer.  Anytime you have a player that the other team has to gameplan around its a huge benifit to the others on O.   If Lapo comes with a solid gameplan that you guys execute you have the advantage here but the Sask running game has gotten better since out Oline changes and a healthy Marshall made a return,  him having fresh legs and low millage body is great.  We will also have a fresh Thigpen going into the playoffs and while he's not a productive every down back he has the big play potential anytime he touches the ball (2 80+ yard runs this year)  Advantage Bombers if harris stays uninjured.

Receivers- I will give a small advantage to you on this one I think your top two match up pretty good with our top two with Dressler being just a stud,  I am basing this on my opinions based on receiving skills as with the sad O numbers we put up this year I have no stats to back me.  I think we make up ground with the less used receivers as your other guys just don't seem to be that good.....That sounded like bashing sorry I just mean that there is room for improvement (I was very happy you didn't get Mathews) Demski seems to be a potential star but I have probably lost a few years off  my life from watching him with the riders and bombers and yelling at my TV to just stop dancing and run.  I like to see any Canadian do well and if he can sort that out with better ball security he will be a future star canadian.  Like I said I really like our receivers but they are young and lots of rookies, they suffer from lack of leadership in the core and experience. The future looks bright based on what I see in practice and games with regards to there skills and improvements they have made this year.

Defence- This one was hard so I did my best to take off my slightly green tinted glasses and be objective.  I think the Bombers have the Better traditional Defence.  If I had to pick a defence for a full season I would probably take the bombers with a few tweaks.  I think we have a  edge in Defensive backs as that would be the only weakness I see on the bombers with everybody healthy.  Heres the thing If I had to pick a Defence for one game I am probably taking the riders.  They are built to be disruptive, fast, athletic,  they are also a solid D choice and they cause confusion.  They have legitimate Big Play potential every time they step on the field.  I don't know how many times this year I have yelled at the TV "Please D just bail out the O one more time we need you to do something" and they answered.  Momentum swings are huge in games and even more so in playoffs.  Big plays get in players heads and start to demoralize a team.  If Our D gets one or two early I think the LDC and BB memories start creeping into Matts head and thats how we will win.

Special teams- Advantage Riders.  Sorry but it's the only glaring hole I see on the bomber team.  The return game is not there and thats huge.  Even if you tear off a grey cup win I think the special teams coaching and return men could use a huge upgrade.  If you had better starting field position and a big play threat I think your record would be much different.  However even with the advantage playoffs are a new season and it will be who comes to play on game day.  Field position can't be overlooked in 3 down football where a mistakes kill a drive.  

I see this going three ways.

60% chance its a defensive slobberknocker with Winnipeg playing safe smart ball on offence and pulling out a win

39% chance the riders get there big plays on defence and special teams and do enough on O to win.  This would have been a lower percentage but you can't deny home field advantage and I would have upped yours if we had to play in that ridiculously loud stadium of yours.

1% chance Mcadoo and the O have been playing possum and keeping the playbook secret all season doing just enough to get into the playoffs and they are going to come out and be dominant with people from across the league dropping there jaws to the floor.  Hey I need this hope after watching 18 games of our Offence this year

I feel we are close but I have more faith in Next year with a different QB situation as I feel we are just not quite there.  This years run will be great for all the rookies to gain that needed experience though and I have high hopes.  BUT it's the playoffs and any given team on any given day can win especially in this west division.

 

Ottawa

Lets face it Hamilton is too nicked up to make a run and BC is absolutely terrible on the road so I assume it's a solid chance Ottawa is in the Grey Cup unless they self destruct

Quarterback - Advantage Redblacks, Harris is inconsistent but good enough  to win and I hope we make a play at him in free agency.

Oline and Running game -  Probably advantage Powell since there getting him fresh for playoffs but I like our new oline a bit better than theres so I will call it a draw and see who shows up to win the trenches

Recievers -  Advantage Redblacks Easy choice, Ellingston, Sinopoli, Spencer, Harris is probably the best core on paper going into the playoffs with the injuries across the league

Defense- Advantage Riders if we don't play that stupid three man rush and let harris get comfy.  They owned us in the regular season with that.  You beat Harris by knocking him around and getting pressure leads to bad throws and mistakes takes him out of the zone he can get in and be great.  If we come with a smarter game plan I thing we could easily have the advantage here.

Special teams- we will call a close draw.  Gameday will decide who wins this one but if if came down to a field goal Iam sure they feel confident in Ward.

I think this matchup is 55% Ottawa and 45% Riders.  You can't ignore them owning us in the regular season but I feel like we lost with correctable mistakes I feel the way the riders win this game is if after playing in nicer weather Ottawa falls apart in a cold Grey Cup

Ottawa is my choice based on there teams health less games to get there and weaker opponents.  Any team could take it this year but if I was putting money down today I would likely put it on Ottawa.

 

Officiating- This will always be looked at poorly by the loosing team or guys who just have a hate on for no reason.  It's easy to blame a loss on.  Truth is if you PVR a game and watch close you can almost call a hold on every play by every team, with a close second being illegal contact on most plays.  Heck OPI could be called a lot too if that one in the last rider game was called a push off that happens a lot heck it happened on the Chris mathews play the same game.  The other one we deserved lol.  I don't want to watch football with that many flags,  The officials have to decided what impacted the play and is it worth calling or the game would be unwatchable plus they have to do that with stuff happening at 100mph.  This human factor will always lead to mistakes and when they happen to your team it sucks.  Truth is if you go to a game day thread for any teams fans for the same game you are likely to see the loosing teams fans hating on officiating,  The winning teams fans ok with the officiating,  A rivalry teams fans complaining that the refs always help (insert team here).  All I hope for is that none of the games are decided by a glaring miscall.  That the players get to decided it and the better team walks off the field without controversy cause I think were in for some really good playoff football.

I would love to get some Bomber fans perspectives on how they match up with potential opponents.  Either way I think we are in for a heck of a west division playoff run and some great games ahead. 

GO CFL

Jason

 

Edited October 30, 2018 by Jayph

[Floyd]

Fans - winnipeg fans with the personal hygiene advantage for sure 

uncalled holding - riders dominate this stat - for years now

beer can throwing - advantage riders

criminal records - again riders have this locked down

horseshoes - the helmet bounce in the stamps game also seals this stat for the riders 

Boredom - again with so little to do in Regina the riders can focus on football - see ed gainey 

gonna be a tough game for the bombers - the stats say it all - I’d say we only have a 78% chance of winning the grey cup

Edited October 30, 2018 by Floyd

[17to85]

The riders secondary is not better than the bombers.

[MC]

I agree with most of what you said above from a Riders perspective.  I think you sold the Riders short on the receivers and defense.  Overall, the Riders have a better receiving corps over the Bombers.  The Bombers defense has improved a great deal over the last 8 games, but is still has a way to go to compare to the overall speed, playmaking and scheming of the Riders.  The one positive here is that the Bombers offense matches up fairly well to the Saskatchewan defense.  Matt can be patient (one game is not a career), and that works against Saskatchewan.

[Booch]

Riders gave up 25 TD's via the pass..Winnipeg gave up 14...how does that make your DB's better?

you have 21 picks to our 19 with a game in hand...and about 4 or 5 have been gift flukes from lineman (Hughes 1..Jefferson..2..Antigah 2) and yes any time a lineman gets a pick it's a lucky fluke or a bone head play...unless they drop off 15 yards into the secondary

[17to85]

Here's the thing about the Riders... they have a handful of very talented players that they rely on, and I would say they have a more aggressive and varied scheme on defense... but across the board the Bombers are a deeper team everywhere than the Riders are. 

It's pretty easy to make a statistical case for the Bombers being superior in every facet to the Riders. Just that the Riders managed to get some big plays out of their defense. That doesn't mean they are a better group though, because the Bombers D makes a lot of big plays too, just doesn't take em to the endzone as much, but then again they don't have to cause our offense can take them there. 

[VoR]

Position comparisons aside,

Bombers have better Canadians- starters and depth

A better QB situation 

Far superior offensive coaching and schemes 

 

The Blue and Gold are the team I least want to face in the playoffs-- they seemed poised for a further 3 game win streak

 

[MC]

4 minutes ago, Guestingreen said:

Position comparisons aside,

Bombers have better Canadians- starters and depth

A better QB situation 

Far superior offensive coaching and schemes 

 

The Blue and Gold are the team I least want to face in the playoffs-- they seemed poised for a further 3 game win streak

 

From your lips to God's ears

[VoR]

5 minutes ago, MC said:

From your lips to God's ears

I see the Riders  as a team a couple years behind the bombers in group maturity- still a lot of players new to each other- 

To me that means that we need to win the turnover battle and get fewer penalties to win

A more mature team ( and by this I dont mean age of the individual players but rather the length most players have been with the team) can overcome turnovers and penalties and still find ways to win 

 

And I'll still be cheering as Riders win  😁

[17to85]

I wouldn't ever expect the Riders to mature to be honest. The culture there is one of selfishess. 

[Jayph]

5 hours ago, Floyd said:

Fans - winnipeg fans with the personal hygiene advantage for sure 

This seems to be a trend on this site so I guess what ever floats your goat

uncalled holding - riders dominate this stat - for years now

See officiating comment above I have yelled dammit penalty when I have seen the riders do it and they don't get flags and again when the opposing team do it and not get flagged Ive learned to deal with it.  Holding happens on darn near every play and unless you have gone back through many games of all teams watched closely and documented and counted calls then averaged them out this is just your opinion probably based on hating the riders and thats cool too.  You very well could be right life is too short for me to want to go through the trouble of proving it right or wrong

beer can throwing - advantage riders

Embarrassing moment no doubt regardless of the reason.  But to be fair the majority of the fans were ducking for cover as many beers didn't make it to the sidelines and I have no doubt some people were injured.  

criminal records - again riders have this locked down

There have been some players with sketchy pasts and I have disagreed with them playing for the green but I don't get to make that decision.  Frankly most import stars and NFL talent is here because they have a bad past or head issues and thats  for all teams.  Again I haven't done the leg work and checked every players past to prove this right or wrong so if you did and it's true thats shameful.  We have had some lately make the news for some bad things that I will no doubt agree with.

horseshoes - the helmet bounce in the stamps game also seals this stat for the riders 

I'll take good luck over bad luck anytime so I'll take that win

Boredom - again with so little to do in Regina the riders can focus on football - see ed gainey 

Iam not from Regina and I would agree with that statement depending on what you consider fun things to do.  However I have done training in Winnipeg and it wasn't great either not saying it was a bad city.  Prairies are behind city's like Vancouver, Montreal, and Toronto when it comes to excitement depending on your definition of fun.

gonna be a tough game for the bombers - the stats say it all - I’d say we only have a 78% chance of winning the grey cup

You are probably the hottest team and favourites to win it I would agree with that but other than my percentages listed above I like to think all teams have a 50-50 Shot in single game knockout playoff scenario.  It would be far from the first time the better team lost just cause they didn't show up to play that day.  Besides the Riders are already guaranteed to win the Grey Cup cause the Red Sox's won in 07 and 13 so I mean its a lock (this is a joke just incase taken the wrong way)

 

Edited October 31, 2018 by Jayph

[Jayph]

5 hours ago, 17to85 said:

The riders secondary is not better than the bombers.

 

4 hours ago, Booch said:

Riders gave up 25 TD's via the pass..Winnipeg gave up 14...how does that make your DB's better?

you have 21 picks to our 19 with a game in hand...and about 4 or 5 have been gift flukes from lineman (Hughes 1..Jefferson..2..Antigah 2) and yes any time a lineman gets a pick it's a lucky fluke or a bone head play...unless they drop off 15 yards into the secondary

I said " I think" our DB's are better I love a locked man on man matchup and let the best man win.  I also like our talent back there.  I never declared it was better factually.   I would argue that there is luck on every turnover for every team.   I mean is it luck when the QB misses coverage, throws behind, throws high ect,  Its also probably luck when a fumble is punched out and bounces perfect for your team.  Don't forget tip drill interceptions. Or is it defensive scheme and players reading to be in the right places and making the plays,  Maybey it's a players motor and nose to always be around the football that gets the fumble or tip drill.  I don't think you can argue 100% for either side I like to think is a combo of luck with players making plays.  Hughes was lucky no doubt.  Jefferson use to be a receiver and has hands and is probably one of the better players in the league .  I believe Antigah has 1 were he was back in coverage on the sideline.   Even if you say they are pure luck I would argue that just having the reaction speed and ability to act when stuffs going down out there means it's not all luck.  I would never take away from the abilities and skill these guys go out and display for my pleasure regardless of team.   And sometimes it's a lot of luck but there is always skill and talent involved.

[VoR]

Trying to take a lesson from Hugo over on Riderfans - he's an Eskimo fan who manages to stay classy and stick to football discussions 

I guess maturity is relative 

Cheer as a fan,  

Out 

[Jayph]

49 minutes ago, Guestingreen said:

Position comparisons aside,

Bombers have better Canadians- starters and depth  

A better QB situation  You could make that comment when comparing us to every other team for no  other reason that if collaros is slightly better than the bottom dwellers the fear of god he puts in me every time he takes a hit would rank him lower for me.  His health is a liability when you have no one behind him.

Far superior offensive coaching and schemes  Our Offensive coaching is boring and predictable thats why Iam holding on to my 1% chance that it was all a trick.  I mean I get it safe don't loose the game win the TOP battle but you need the execution to make that effective otherwise it's all 2 and outs and putting it all on the other two phases.

 

The Blue and Gold are the team I least want to face in the playoffs-- they seemed poised for a further 3 game win streak  

Can't argue the bolded when you compare Calgary right now and the Bombers right now.

 

Edited October 31, 2018 by Jayph

[Jayph]

29 minutes ago, Guestingreen said:

Trying to take a lesson from Hugo over on Riderfans - he's an Eskimo fan who manages to stay classy and stick to football discussions 

I guess maturity is relative 

Cheer as a fan,  

Out 

I have no intention of being disrespectful or a "troll" other wise I wouldn't have signed my real name and used my actual Email address when I signed up.  I browse all teams fan sites occasionally as I actually enjoy getting the perspective of different teams fans from the fanatic to the fair-weather fan.  It's also nice to read thoughts and opinions that aren't tinted green (like any rider sites would be) to make you think and see things differently.  I decided to join a few and participate and see how it goes.  

Edited October 31, 2018 by Jayph

[johnzo]

I think that detailed position by position analysis breaks down when it comes to the Riders.  They win games they have absolutely no business winning, and that makes them dangerous.

Seriously, a 12-6 record from a team with a busted Collaros and the erratic semi-talent Brandon Bridge at QB?  And with Canadian depth that looks like the 2013 Bombers? 

No denying that Chris Jones made some chicken salad in Regina this year.

GO CFL

Edited October 31, 2018 by johnzo

[Tehedra]

For sure, I mean on paper the Bombers team are ahead in nearly every category or right up there but in reality we lose games we should win because of some innocuous happenings. So I say it's a toss up! I look forward to the playoffs and hopefully not being a one and done team this year

[Sard]

13 hours ago, MC said:

From your lips to God's ears

I would much prefer a 4 game win streak to finish out the season.

[BBlink]

Bombers have gotten it all together at the right time. Calgary may just be getting things back together with their new set of receivers. Sask has been a winning team for the latter part of the year. It is going to be a real fun playoffs to watch.

Most power rankings have Winnipeg Calgary and Sask 1 2 and 3 for a reason. Our team is 1 but we are also going to be on the road the entire time

[Arnold_Palmer]

The best thing in our four game win streak is that we beat the three teams in the west at the time that were the most threatning. And not only that we schooled them. We effectively ended Edmonton’s playoff run, we curb stomped Saskatchewan, and we made Calgary look vulnerable. 

[TheBandit]

25 minutes ago, Arnold_Palmer said:

The best thing in our four game win streak is that we beat the three teams in the west at the time that were the most threatning. And not only that we schooled them. We effectively ended Edmonton’s playoff run, we curb stomped Saskatchewan, and we made Calgary look vulnerable. 

Unfortunately those wins don't make you win a Grey Cup. Frankly, Calgary Winnipeg or Saskatchewan could win the west. It honestly all depends on who shows up to play that Sunday.

Edited October 31, 2018 by TheBandit

[17to85]

If Saskatchewan wins the Grey Cup I'll eat my hat. 

 

[TheBandit]

Just now, 17to85 said:

If Saskatchewan wins the Grey Cup I'll eat my hat. 

 

Personally I don't think they will. They are pretty banged up. Winnipeg is by far the healthiest team right now and by far the most talented team right now. However, sometimes that greasy East seems to come to play when playoffs come around.

[17to85]

Pretty banged up has nothing to do with it. You don't win the Grey Cup with 2/3 of a team at best. 

[TheBandit]

Just now, 17to85 said:

Pretty banged up has nothing to do with it. You don't win the Grey Cup with 2/3 of a team at best. 

I was agreeing with you man?