Regular Season Bomber News

[kelownabomberfan]

7 minutes ago, Noeller said:

based on where we were when The Trinity took over to where we are today, it is insane to me that anyone can question how much better off we are with this regime in place than pretty much any other available in the league.

In the Canadian mafia we trust.

[kelownabomberfan]

2 hours ago, NorthernSkunk said:

We have been in the middle of a crazy house move from the north to the south the last couple of months,  going back and forth lots .... we moved to the east side of lake Winnipeg and just haven't been able to hook up with the tv guy to connect our tv up.  He did come once but it was unannounced and we were at the beach soaking up the sun.   Basically we have been so busy the tv became one of the last issues to get straightened out.  Hopefully tomorrow.  🏈

time to change your handle then dude...

[GCn20]

2 minutes ago, kelownabomberfan said:

In the Canadian mafia we trust.

At the moment they have evolved into the league's best imo.

[blue_gold_84]

33 minutes ago, AKAChip said:

Mack had his problems and Burke was one of the worst head coaches in history but at the time, he was a hot commodity and the best DC in the league. Burn Mack for his drafting and how he handled the QB situation but firing Lapo was the right call. He was in WAY over his head as a head coach. Whoever hires him next will see the same thing. 

How was canning LaPolice 8 games into the 2012 season the right call? Especially when all Mack did was hand the reins over to full-blown rookie HC in Burke?

While I agree LaPolice isn't HC material, I'm not sure what Mack hoped to accomplish by firing him when he did. 

[Firekid]

7 minutes ago, gcn11 said:

Walters had a terrible first year. Drew Willy....need I say more.

Drew Willy was pretty good for awhile until he got hurt. After that he was gun shy and it ruined him. But the trade Walters pulled off to unload Willy was exceptional.

Unfortunate I believe it was Faith that he picked with the number 1 overall from that trade that turned out to be a dud but not one person in the league saw that coming. No one.  

[bearpants]

7 minutes ago, gcn11 said:

I didn't hear anyone questioning that. Just pointing out that Walters/OShea/Lapo had growing pains of their own that we went through. They have morphed into maybe the league's best trio but let's not pretend it was all smooth sailing right from the beginning. As a rookie, Walters had a terrible first year. Drew Willy....need I say more. Since then he has redeemed himself.

I just find it disingenuous when INSIDERS from the Bombers (unless it's Lapo) feel the need to take swipes at a GM that is 5 years removed from here. Especially, when they were a part of the brain trust he relied on....and don't give me this crap that Mack just did whatever he wanted on draft day. He never scouted a NAT EVER. He was going off the scouting reports handed to him by one Kyle Walters.

If Walters is salty about Mack picking Pencer all those years ago he shouldn't have provided the name with a glowing endorsement.

A few things wrong here...

- first "the trinity" @Noeller is referring to is Miller/Walters/O'Shea...
- The biggest difference between Mack and Walters is that Walters is willing to own his mistakes and cut ties before it's too late... Mack just doubled down on those mistakes b/c he's the smartest guy in the room.... and saying that Mack never scouted a single one of his draft picks isn't exactly an endorsement for him...
- finally, we have no idea who made those comments about Mack... I think it's likely someone not even associated with the Bombers anymore maybe not even in the CFL anymore... Maybe Burke   haha

[TBURGESS]

Firing PLAP was the right move. Doing it 8 games into the season was the wrong timing. Giving the job to Burke was the wrong choice, but there wasn't anyone else available because of the timing.

[AKAChip]

1 minute ago, blue_gold_84 said:

How was canning LaPolice 8 games into the 2012 season the right call? Especially when all Mack did was hand the reins over to full-blown rookie HC in Burke?

While I agree LaPolice isn't HC material, I'm not sure what Mack hoped to accomplish by firing him when he did. 

For one, even though Burke failed spectacularly he was very highly respected and thought to be prime head coach material. The end result was a disaster but it doesn’t mean removing LaPolice was the wrong call. The team was unlikely to go anywhere that season anyway so starting fresh with what most thought was going to be a great head coach mid season wasn’t a bad idea. It works sometimes and it doesn’t work others. It’s not like he fired some amazing head coach who went on to amazing things elsewhere. 

[Floyd]

Most of us were excited to have a defensive genius like Burke replace Lapo...  the board was almost in agreement...

It was weird to fire Lapo when it looked like the team had a glimmer of hope - Im sure it broke the locker room

[Mark H.]

Does no one remember when the Bombers drafted Andy Muulumba?  There was a video clip of the Bombers war room at that draft. It was abundantly clear that Mack was in charge and drafting Muulumba was his call. 

[blue_gold_84]

2 minutes ago, AKAChip said:

For one, even though Burke failed spectacularly he was very highly respected and thought to be prime head coach material. The end result was a disaster but it doesn’t mean removing LaPolice was the wrong call. The team was unlikely to go anywhere that season anyway so starting fresh with what most thought was going to be a great head coach mid season wasn’t a bad idea. It works sometimes and it doesn’t work others. It’s not like he fired some amazing head coach who went on to amazing things elsewhere. 

I just don't see what Mack hoped to gain by doing it when he did. His inability to put together a stable, competitive roster played just as much of a role as LaPolice's inept coaching.

Rarely has firing a HC during the season produced a positive result, especially when it's with a completely green HC taking his spot. It's like placing a band-aid on a knife wound.

 

[kelownabomberfan]

1 minute ago, Floyd said:

Most of us were excited to have a defensive genius like Burke replace Lapo...  the board was almost in agreement...

It was weird to fire Lapo when it looked like the team had a glimmer of hope - Im sure it broke the locker room

I was at that BC game after which Lapo was fired, actually sitting right behind the Bomber bench for that game.  There was a lot of frustration on the sidelines because of Lapo's conservative play-calling.  I remember Elliot coming off the field and slamming his helmet down after Lapo went for the 10th conservative call on offense of the night just to settle for yet another field goal.  I thought letting Lapo go was a big mistake, and still do, but I could see why Mack did it.  That BC game was a winnable game, and Lapo just showed in that game that he will never have that killer instinct that all successful head coaches have.

[Noeller]

so much revisionist history re: Burke. At the time people were terrified we'd lose him because he was THE hottest commodity in the leagues assistant coaching ranks. Canning Lapo was absolutely the right move, and at the time it was the right move to hand the reins over to Burke, because we were going to lose him otherwise. Just a total fluke that he was the shits as a head coach. Shame...

[sweep the leg]

41 minutes ago, gcn11 said:

Walters was AGM and head of Canadian recruitment for the Bombers at that time. He wears some of the stink as well and so does Lapo who lobbied hard for Mack to draft Etienne.

According to who? You take this as a cold hard fact, but need sources for Jpan's post? You're choosing to believe whatever aligns with your opinion.

[SpeedFlex27]

18 hours ago, Noeller said:

Players don't want anyone knowing about their injuries, so MOS keeps it close to the vest. It's been said that the players really appreciate that he doesn't put that info out to the public.

I don't think it's players at all. It's coaches & the teams. They don't want anyone to know what is going on. This is a recent event as teams used to be forthcoming about injuries & how long players would be out. Now it's upper body this, lower body that & it's all secretive. I really don't know if that gives teams an advantage but coaches & managers seem to think so. It's the nature of the game now.

[AKAChip]

11 minutes ago, blue_gold_84 said:

I just don't see what Mack hoped to gain by doing it when he did. His inability to put together a stable, competitive roster played just as much of a role as LaPolice's inept coaching.

Rarely has firing a HC during the season produced a positive result, especially when it's with a completely green HC taking his spot. It's like placing a band-aid on a knife wound.

 

That’s all very fair but I didn’t see it as the same massive blunder as most. Lapo was never going to move the needle as a HC. 

[kelownabomberfan]

4 minutes ago, AKAChip said:

That’s all very fair but I didn’t see it as the same massive blunder as most. Lapo was never going to move the needle as a HC. 

despite the fact that we actually went to the GC the year before...

[blue_gold_84]

1 minute ago, AKAChip said:

That’s all very fair but I didn’t see it as the same massive blunder as most. Lapo was never going to move the needle as a HC. 

Couldn't agree more. Massive blunder is certainly overstating it, IMO. I just didn't get the timing of the decision or Mack's justification for it (to "salvage the season").

It's a bit of shame how it all unfolded. Burke was an awesome DC and since that whole debacle, he's basically been done with the game.

[AKAChip]

6 minutes ago, kelownabomberfan said:

despite the fact that we actually went to the GC the year before...

And what was our record when Lapo was fired? He caught lightning in a bottle for sure, but it was the defence that carried that team to the Grey Cup. 

[blue_gold_84]

7 minutes ago, kelownabomberfan said:

despite the fact that we actually went to the GC the year before...

Meh... I'd say that 2011 defense and a pretty feeble East Division (the Bombers' division record was 7-3) played more of a role in that championship berth than who was wearing the headset on the sidelines.

And let's not forget they got their asses handed to them in that Grey Cup game by a better, far more balanced team.

[Karl Havoc]

2 hours ago, Mr Dee said:

👁‍🗨And, this well explained article.. This is not so good..

After five weeks, the Bombers rank last in passing yards per game and seventh in passing yards against per game. They also have given up 27 20-plus yard completions, double than any other CFL team.

 

I wouldn't put too much stock into the above statistic... the stats are from the weekly CFL Statistics file, but this one is clearly wrong. If you look at the total passing stats against, opponents are 100 of 169 for 1,291 yards. But if you add up the opponent breakdown, it is 64 of 89 for 522 yards at 0-9 yards downfield, 26 of 49 for 406 yards at 10-19 yards downfield, and 27 of 62 for 533 yards at 20+ yards downfield, which is 117 of 200 for 1,461 yards. There are 17 completions, 31 attempts, and 170 yards unaccounted for. If you take those out of the 20+ yards category, that comes to opponents being 10 of 31 for 363 yards. Which would be a 36.3 average yards per completion, which also makes more sense than the 19.7 yards per completion of 20+ yards downfield of the original stat.

That said, I'm not saying the Bombers haven't had some issues on defence this year. The long completions Toronto completed were extremely frustrating, and allowed them to marginally get back in the game. But you cannot necessarily trust the stats package the CFL puts out (and the media uses, usually without a critical eye). I found a few errors throughout the season last year as well. I also really only focus on the Bombers stats, so there may be more errors that I'm missing.

[JuranBoldenRules]

2 hours ago, Mr Dee said:

Despite being 4-0 Some food for thought...

I wasn’t pleased with our defensive play the other night, but overall, I’m happy,” he said. “I’m encouraged by where we’re at right now.

“… Like I told them, I’m happy for you guys that we won and everything, but I thought it was our worst outing defensively this year regarding being sharp, being focused, doing the things we need to do.

“That started off in practice… I didn’t like the way we practiced last week and that carried over. I’m happy that we won, but we can’t have that kind of effort week in and week out and expect to win.”

Richie Hall to Ed Tait

👁‍🗨And, this well explained article.. This is not so good..

After five weeks, the Bombers rank last in passing yards per game and seventh in passing yards against per game. They also have given up 27 20-plus yard completions, double than any other CFL team.

And

Winnipeg’s operating on short fields. Their league-best average starting field position is from the 41-yard line, nearly six yards higher than the league average.

But

When they’re on offence, it’s likely a two-and-out or a quick six. Winnipeg has 24 two-and-outs, the second-most in the league.

But

Winnipeg’s first in passing efficiency at 117.8 and Matt Nichols is first among starters with a 126 efficiency rating. Nichols’ 10 touchdowns to one interception largely plays into that.

Below are Matt Nichols 2019 passing yards by quarter.

1st - 305

2nd- 294

3rd - 207

4th -   49.  

A whopping 70 per cent of Matt Nichols passing yards have come in the first half of Winnipeg’s four games. 

Winnipeg’s scoring early and cruising to victory. They’ve led all four games going into the fourth quarter by an average of 12 points. Nichols hasn’t needed to move the ball in the final frame yet and the 49 fourth-quarter passing yards shows just that.

Perhaps the most alarming passing observation has been opponents’ tendencies to attack Winnipeg’s field-side through the air.

Chandler Fenner’s been the poster boy of this, but neither Brandon Alexander or Derek Jones — albeit Jones in limited action — have fared well.

Where it gets tricky is the fact that Fenner’s made some nice plays (but he’s also been horrific on some). He’s giving up a 62 per cent completion rate on balls thrown his way, which is a fine number considering players like Aaron Grymes and Tre Roberson are at 59 and 64 per cent.

Consistency in coverage is the issue for Fenner. He’s breaking on balls well and has shown the strength to separate the ball from a potential pass-catcher. It’s just the frequent breakdowns — the stumbles and penalties — that are damaging Fenner’s name.

https://lastwordoncanadianfootball.com/2019/07/16/winnipeg-blue-bombers-passing-yards-coming-early-against-field/

 

Fenner is playing field corner though.  I think he’s doing pretty damn good considering the coverages Hall plays with at least two blitzers on most passing downs.  Grymes and Roberson are playing the boundary, they have less space to cover and more ability to make plays on the ball.  Fenner almost always has to play on top of routes and can only cut off routes into the field, but the main job there is to not get run by.

Edited July 17, 2019 by JuranBoldenRules

[Noeller]

Fenner's been about 50-50 so far this year, and I'm not sure if that's good or not, based on the system.....

[Mr Dee]

,

1 minute ago, JuranBoldenRules said:

Fenner is playing field corner though.  I think he’s doing pretty damn good considering the coverages Hall plays.  Grymes and Roberson are playing the boundary, they have less space to cover and more ability to make plays on the ball.  Fenner almost always has to play on top of routes and can only cut off routes into the field, but the main job there is to not get run by.

I do think he is getting credit for his position though. Comparing to Grymes and Roberson using completion rates is more so flattering because of where he is playing. It’s pointed out that penalties and other occurrences are where the problems lie. Now Fenner has shown he is able to bounce back from difficult outings and the position is relatively new to him. If he tightens up, he could solidify that side. 

These games against, shall we say, weaker opponents are just what he needs..

[Fatty Liver]

16 minutes ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

I don't think it's players at all. It's coaches & the teams. They don't want anyone to know what is going on. This is a recent event as teams used to be forthcoming about injuries & how long players would be out. Now it's upper body this, lower body that & it's all secretive. I really don't know if that gives teams an advantage but coaches & managers seem to think so. It's the nature of the game now.

I caught a discussion on Rider Radio a couple of weeks ago with one of the Rider reporters complaining about the control the CFL has taken over media reports and limiting player access to interviews in order to "control the message", which has diminished the flavour and the shine player personalities added to the league in the past.  His point was limiting access made it much harder for fans to get to know the players as many of them never interview and those that do are essentially trained like seals to spout the company line.  Watching Bomber interviews day after day on their website, I tend to agree with his opinion, they have become exceedingly boring to the point that you can predict the answer to any question with almost 100% accuracy, especially O'Shea's.