It's time to hand the ball to Streveler.

[SpeedFlex27]

1 hour ago, John B said:

IMO, this current lack of diversity in the Bomber offence will come back to haunt them when Harris gets injured, as someone who  handles the ball so much inevitably will.

Amazing we say that when guys like Willard Reaves, Jay Washington, Robert Mimbs & Charles Roberts carried the load 20-30 times a game. As fans with those guys we never talked about being overused & injuries. If anything, those guys played better in the second half than they did in the first. The great backs love the work.

[SpeedFlex27]

6 minutes ago, Doublezero said:

Willy never was very good. Yes, he got smacked around and got happy feet. But before that, the wins he got credit for most often were due to ST scores and Defensive plays, not because of stellar QB play. Not very different from the situation with Nichols now - he gets credit for wins when really he's not the kind of QB you can count on to generate a come-from-behind win.  He's an average journeyman and his contribution to Bombers wins is exaggerated. OTOH, when he messes up, as he did several times last year and at least once this year, he can actually be the direct cause of a loss (although he won't admit it). More than anything in the past decade or so it is weakness at the QB position that has held this team back from better things. One wonders if this regime actually has trouble assessing and managing the QB position. Lapo might be part of it - but the problems are basically at QB and they pre-date Lapos arrival. Walters has been GM since 2013 and MOS head coach since 2014.

Well, in 2013 we'd have hailed a sad sack qb like Antonio Pipkin as a saviour. The qb position was so so bad.

[Doublezero]

18 minutes ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

Well, in 2013 we'd have hailed a sad sack qb like Antonio Pipkin as a saviour. The qb position was so so bad.

OK.

Edited August 11, 2019 by Doublezero

[Ripper]

2 hours ago, John B said:

IMO, this current lack of diversity in the Bomber offence will come back to haunt them when Harris gets injured, as someone who  handles the ball so much inevitably will.

Good first post.  I won't comment too much as I don't want to derail the thread.  I would be very concerned about how much of the offense is directly associated with Andrew Harris if I was a Bomber fan.  I really like him, he is a warrior and a leader. Its AJ or the fly sweep

[NorthernSkunk]

8 hours ago, Ripper said:

Good first post.  I won't comment too much as I don't want to derail the thread.  I would be very concerned about how much of the offense is directly associated with Andrew Harris if I was a Bomber fan.  I really like him, he is a warrior and a leader. Its AJ or the fly sweep

After the crap you post on riderfans about Bomber fans I am shocked you post here.  Go back and hang with your hypocrites.

[Bigblue204]

10 hours ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

Amazing we say that when guys like Willard Reaves, Jay Washington, Robert Mimbs & Charles Roberts carried the load 20-30 times a game. As fans with those guys we never talked about being overused & injuries. If anything, those guys played better in the second half than they did in the first. The great backs love the work.

Exactly. Why are people so surprised by this? Harris has been the work horse for the Bombers since his arrival. "Stop Harris and you stop the Bombers " yeah well, you cant. So keep trying. "I'd be concerned with his work load" I'd be more concerned for the Defense he will be facing next. 

Could they use more diversity? Sure, and we've seen it this year. But theres something to be said for using what the defense gives you.

[17to85]

Harris gets hurt all it does is force other guys to step up and carry the load. Not like there's a lack of talent in that regard. 

Lapo loves a crutch, always has, but you take away his crutch it might force him to be more diverse in his play calling. 

[kelownabomberfan]

1 hour ago, Bigblue204 said:

Exactly. Why are people so surprised by this? Harris has been the work horse for the Bombers since his arrival. "Stop Harris and you stop the Bombers " yeah well, you cant. So keep trying. "I'd be concerned with his work load" I'd be more concerned for the Defense he will be facing next. 

Could they use more diversity? Sure, and we've seen it this year. But theres something to be said for using what the defense gives you.

Lack of diversity is our strength. 

[Blueandgold]

I don’t know why we stopped running the two back system last year. It was effective and teams weren’t able to stop it. If you throw Streveler, Andrew Harris and another good RB on the field together they’ll run all over the league. 

Thats the kind of offence you need in the CFL come October/November. 

[Tracker]

Harris is not 22 years old any more and its almost inevitable that he will get nicked up sooner or later, maybe seriously. If O'Shea and LaPolice have not thought about that, then they ought to be sacked. Any offence that is a one-trick or two trick pony is going to falter badly sooner or later. 

[Fatty Liver]

1 hour ago, Blueandgold said:

I don’t know why we stopped running the two back system last year. It was effective and teams weren’t able to stop it. If you throw Streveler, Andrew Harris and another good RB on the field together they’ll run all over the league. 

Thats the kind of offence you need in the CFL come October/November. 

When was the last time they ran a two RB system?  It's been so long, I can't recall.

[17to85]

1 hour ago, Tracker said:

Harris is not 22 years old any more and its almost inevitable that he will get nicked up sooner or later, maybe seriously. If O'Shea and LaPolice have not thought about that, then they ought to be sacked. Any offence that is a one-trick or two trick pony is going to falter badly sooner or later. 

So if Harris goes out as I said, other guys step up. Matthews, Whitehead, if Adams comes back, Demski, Wolitarsky, there are guys that can make plays on this team. Without Harris being the focal point of the offensive game plan it's just opportunity for these other guys to be as good as we think they are. 

[SpeedFlex27]

The problem is we rely too much on Harris at the expense of other talented players. I remember back in the 80's when Willard Reaves was running for anywhere from 1500 to 1800 yards a season we still had our passing game with Joe Pop, Murphy, Boyd & Tuttle having thousand yard seasons & we never missed a beat. We could score from anywhere on the field. But this offense? I don't get why it's either or with LaPo. We centre around the run game & it takes away from the passing game.  We should be able to do both but we don't.

[SpeedFlex27]

Just an aside, getting real tired of LaPo. Please find a HC gig somewhere. Please.

[Tracker]

20 minutes ago, 17to85 said:

So if Harris goes out as I said, other guys step up. Matthews, Whitehead, if Adams comes back, Demski, Wolitarsky, there are guys that can make plays on this team. Without Harris being the focal point of the offensive game plan it's just opportunity for these other guys to be as good as we think they are. 

I am not sure that all the other aspects of the offensive game will suddenly come to life after being ignored for so long. AS 17-2-85 pointed out, having a strong running game does not automatically exclude the other offensive weapons being used well. However, if the offence is unable to take advantage of other offensive assets due to either a limited quarterback or limited game plan that tries to compensate for that, its not going to work long term.

Edited August 11, 2019 by Tracker

[Floyd]

4 minutes ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

The problem is we rely too much on Harris at the expense of other talented players. I remember back in the 80's when Willard Reaves was running for anywhere from 1500 to 1800 yards a season we still had our passing game with Joe Pop, Murphy, Boyd & Tuttle having thousand yard seasons & we never missed a beat. We could score from anywhere on the field. But this offense? I don't get why it's either or with LaPo. We centre around the run game & it takes away from the passing game.  We should be able to do both but we don't.

I wouldn't entirely blame Lapo for that... Nichols has happy feet and checks down to Harris WAY more than he used to

When Lapo keeps playaction and misdirection in the game, he's a good OC - for some reason, we've gone away from that in the last 3-4 games

[Blueandgold]

53 minutes ago, Throw Long Bannatyne said:

When was the last time they ran a two RB system?  It's been so long, I can't recall.

Yeah, I think they ran it all the way through in 2017 but inexplicably dropped it last year. 

It’s just another dimension that teams have to prepare for and can help keep the wear and tear off of #33. 

[SpeedFlex27]

1 minute ago, Floyd said:

I wouldn't entirely blame Lapo for that... Nichols has happy feet and checks down to Harris WAY more than he used to

When Lapo keeps playaction and misdirection in the game, he's a good OC - for some reason, we've gone away from that in the last 3-4 games

I don't see things changing. We need a fresh approach as we've gone stale.

[66 Chevelle]

Harris is on track to have 340 touches this year, that's unheard of by any other player in the league... and even though he had touches of over 300 last year and 295 in 2017, at his age it's only a matter of time before his body says 'screw it, I quit', especially at his age and the aggressive manner in which he plays...

Harris accounts for 38% of our total offensive yards and 33% of our TDs, production that would be hard to replicate when you consider we would be reduced to no running threat to replace him... no run, no balance... no balance, defense keys on the pass and we're shut down...

Yes, continue to use Harris, but manage that use... we've shown that even when Harris isn't required to carry the entire load, that the ball is distributed among all our players, we are a better team...

in games 3, 4, and 5 when we had better ball distribution among receivers, and Harris was the primary target, we average 430 yards of offense... in the other games we've average 312 yards of offense... only 239 yards of offense on average over the last 3 games when Harris has been the most targeted receiver...

Lapo has to trust Nichols to execute and give him something else to work with in regards to a game plan...

[17to85]

I disagree that we would have no running threat without Harris. 

What we lose is the versatility from that position.

[66 Chevelle]

3 minutes ago, 17to85 said:

I disagree that we would have no running threat without Harris. 

What we lose is the versatility from that position.

and who do we have that has shown the ability to run the ball for us, especially in an offense that is dependent on the run as we have been lately?

and we don't need that versatility from that position, at least not at the level we are currently requiring of it... the numbers prove out that when we actually target receivers as our primary throwing targets instead of Harris we are significantly better in production, both yards and scoring...

[17to85]

As a rusher Augustine has shown ability, plus we have a good ol. Losing Harris isn't about losing a rushing threat, what makes Harris good is that he is good at every aspect of the position. He is a good runner, a good blocker and a good receiver. To the point that Lapo makes him almost 40% of our offense. But without him other guys have to assume the role of check down player while the replacement rb is mostly just rushing the ball.

[SpeedFlex27]

24 minutes ago, 66 Chevelle said:

Harris is on track to have 340 touches this year, that's unheard of by any other player in the league... and even though he had touches of over 300 last year and 295 in 2017, at his age it's only a matter of time before his body says 'screw it, I quit', especially at his age and the aggressive manner in which he plays...

Harris accounts for 38% of our total offensive yards and 33% of our TDs, production that would be hard to replicate when you consider we would be reduced to no running threat to replace him... no run, no balance... no balance, defense keys on the pass and we're shut down...

Yes, continue to use Harris, but manage that use... we've shown that even when Harris isn't required to carry the entire load, that the ball is distributed among all our players, we are a better team...

in games 3, 4, and 5 when we had better ball distribution among receivers, and Harris was the primary target, we average 430 yards of offense... in the other games we've average 312 yards of offense... only 239 yards of offense on average over the last 3 games when Harris has been the most targeted receiver...

Lapo has to trust Nichols to execute and give him something else to work with in regards to a game plan...

Again, I harken back to running backs being able to handle a workload like that... The great backs get better the more times they touch the ball. I'll use Willard Reaves as an example. In 1984, he touched the ball 344 times, in 1985, 287 times & in 1987, 298 times. Great running backs are workhorses. The more they do the happier they are & the more effective they are.  You can't limit a back's touches to potentially save him from injury. He could slip in the shower at home.

[Ripper]

2 hours ago, Tracker said:

Harris is not 22 years old any more and its almost inevitable that he will get nicked up sooner or later, maybe seriously. If O'Shea and LaPolice have not thought about that, then they ought to be sacked. Any offence that is a one-trick or two trick pony is going to falter badly sooner or later. 

He is also a Canadian starter

[66 Chevelle]

true, but... 1984 was a different era and a different game... defensive players are so much bigger and so much stronger these days and the amount of punishment one receives takes it toll, I don't care who you are...

the number of touches coupled with Harris' age show tell us that it isn't a matter of 'if', but 'when' it happens...