It's time to hand the ball to Streveler.

[TBURGESS]

3 minutes ago, JCon said:

The irony is these two lines back-to-back. 

I'm not saying I know how Steveler will play. I'm saying I know how the team will play.

[Bigblue204]

32 minutes ago, M.Silverback said:

Correct. And agree, truly only winning matters. And we'll likely be 7 - 2 by the end of next week. All good. Just think as the season goes on, as an offense you may want to increase the percentage of pass attempts beyond 2 yards of the line of scrimmage. Pretty easy to scheme against as an DC in the playoffs - stop Harris running and catching check downs. The end. 

That's legitimately been the way to stop this team the last 4 years? Maybe 5....easier said then done.

This is a run heavy team, end of story. Ball control, high percentage plays. It's not going to change anytime soon.

[Blueandgold]

2 minutes ago, JCon said:

So, what you're saying is that they never played together, so Franklin never outplayed Nichols. Got it. 

They played on the same team, Nichols got traded and Franklin came in and played better. 

I don’t know what you’re saying but there’s no arguing that point, it’s 100% a fact. 

[JCon]

The sooner the Bombers move onto Streveler, the sooner this board can move onto ogling McGuire. 

 

Edited August 9, 2019 by JCon

[Bigblue204]

I might be in the minority with this, but Matthews dropped that ball. The DB made a solid play, but I still think that ball should have been caught. I also think Whitehead ran the wrong route on that play, him and Matthews were very close to one another. Aaaand on top of that, Matthews jogged for a good portion of that route.

[Jpan85]

Must be demoralizing for the five teams we beat that know exactly whats coming and still can't win.

[M.Silverback]

13 minutes ago, Booch said:

so all Nichols does is check downs...yet is above league average in 20+ yard attempts....

It's not all he does. But he does lead the league in pass attempts under 2 yards. And, attempts over 20 yards. A bit of a contradiction for sure. And yet he is still without a 300 yard game this season.

So, is his completion percentage over 20 yards low? What about medium range - first down range - 10 -15 yards? Is he lower than average with that? 

I completely get it - 6 - 2; 300 yard games don't equal wins necessarily. But, he's average to slightly below. And the offense is predictable and lacking any consistent big threats or contributors, other than Harris. That's not exactly filling me with confidence we can go all the way without hoping for a Chicago Bears '85 level defense, and/or a punt/kick return TD every game. 

[Wideleft]

13 minutes ago, Booch said:

so all Nichols does is check downs...yet is above league average in 20+ yard attempts....

If I recall correctly, the Bombers only played from behind for a total of 5 minutes over the first 5 games, so he was chucking it when we really didn't "need" to. 

So we essentially know that Nichols can and has thrown downfield to an above average degree this season even though the offense generally plays with a short field (due to winning special teams battles) and we have the best runningback in the league and would be stupid not to use him.  And yet Matt Nichols should be benched now because he is incapable of throwing downfield.

There are some short term memories on this board.

[Wideleft]

11 minutes ago, Bigblue204 said:

I might be in the minority with this, but Matthews dropped that ball. The DB made a solid play, but I still think that ball should have been caught. I also think Whitehead ran the wrong route on that play, him and Matthews were very close to one another. Aaaand on top of that, Matthews jogged for a good portion of that route.

I'd also argue that with the hang time on that ball he could have angled out the defender a little better in order to make the catch, but that's easy for me to say.

[17to85]

27 minutes ago, Booch said:

so all Nichols does is check downs...yet is above league average in 20+ yard attempts....

Hey that sounds like a Lapolice offense! Bombs away or check it down! To hell with an intermediate passing game!

[Fatty Liver]

1 hour ago, GCJenks said:

It had already failed last night on the failed 2nd down conversion when he turtles 2 yards short of the marker. He’s missing the fire in his belly to do what it takes. 

 

Have you conveniently forgotten what happened to Nichols the last time he misplayed his slide?

[17to85]

2 minutes ago, Throw Long Bannatyne said:

Have you conveniently forgotten what happened to Nichols the last time he misplayed his slide?

I was thinking the same thing. People complained when he didn't slide, they complain when he does... I think I see a pattern here.

[trueBlue83]

30 minutes ago, Bigblue204 said:

I might be in the minority with this, but Matthews dropped that ball. The DB made a solid play, but I still think that ball should have been caught. I also think Whitehead ran the wrong route on that play, him and Matthews were very close to one another. Aaaand on top of that, Matthews jogged for a good portion of that route.

Whitehead blew by his coverage, and had Nichols seen that and not been locked in on Matthews from the get go, maybe he throws it to Whitehead?  That was a TD for sure, and you could see Whitehead saunter back to the huddle dejected knowing he had a sure TD if the ball was thrown to him in stride.   Great play by the DB to break up the play, but Nichols picked the wrong receiver to throw to on that play.

[Captain Blue]

1 hour ago, Jpan85 said:

Calgary did the same thing last week. 

Great!

That doesn't mean that the best way to win is by counting on tremendous special teams performances. 

[B-F-F-C]

15 minutes ago, trueBlue83 said:

Whitehead blew by his coverage, and had Nichols seen that and not been locked in on Matthews from the get go, maybe he throws it to Whitehead?  That was a TD for sure, and you could see Whitehead saunter back to the huddle dejected knowing he had a sure TD if the ball was thrown to him in stride.   Great play by the DB to break up the play, but Nichols picked the wrong receiver to throw to on that play.

It’s amazing how so many of us become armchair QB’s and believe we know better than an professional football player.  Plus you’re looking at a replay on tv vs having to make a split second decision on the field.  

It’s amazing how knowledgeable some of us are. 

 

[JuranBoldenRules]

58 minutes ago, Booch said:

so all Nichols does is check downs...yet is above league average in 20+ yard attempts....

We have no intermediate passing game.  So it’s Harris and bombs.  We rely a lot on the big play and particularly the quick change ones after the D snags a turnover.

This can work, and has in many blowout wins.  Hard to be consistent though without that intermediate, get first downs, ability in the back pocket.

And then the question is are the right plays to facilitate this, is Nichols hesitating on his reads not confident to hit those tighter windows?  There’s a confidence crisis and it’s either with Lapo or Nichols.  If you believe Suitor it’s Nichols.

[NorthernSkunk]

1 hour ago, Bigblue204 said:

I might be in the minority with this, but Matthews dropped that ball. The DB made a solid play, but I still think that ball should have been caught. I also think Whitehead ran the wrong route on that play, him and Matthews were very close to one another. Aaaand on top of that, Matthews jogged for a good portion of that route.

Even had he caught it he was stumbling towards the sideline, and even the slightest push from the defender I think would have made him land a foot out of bounds..

[NorthernSkunk]

1 hour ago, Throw Long Bannatyne said:

Have you conveniently forgotten what happened to Nichols the last time he misplayed his slide?

Isn't part of being a pro football player being able to take a hit ?

[Brandon]

I did not listen to Irving after the game,   did he have someone else with him like Doug Brown?  Usually Doug or back in the day Mitch would call it as it is while Irving would be neutral.

I don't blame Irving for not jumping on the bandwagon,   CJOB desperately needs the Bombers and it would be awkward if he shitted on the team and then have to deal with O'Shea afterwards.    I think Irving still has the bad memories of trying to run a show with an un-cooperative coach (Kelly).   I don't fault Irving for defending the team.   

Nichols falling two yards short of the first down,   I don't blame Matt at all.   The guy is fragile and I'd rather him take the quick slide then trying to muscle it in only to get hurt.   Streveler is a bull,  Nichols is a porcelain doll.   Made sense to me. 

Also Bull crap on Lapo not calling mid range plays.... watch the game receivers are running mid range routes... it's just that if the first read isn't open,  Nichols gets instantly scared and checks down or turtles up.  

When Streveler played last season he found guys mid range all day long.  His mechanics may be off and throws may have more risk but he was able to rifle it down 15 yards with no problems.    

Next week *should* be a free week for tinkering around and trying new things against BC.   Can't keep doing the same it isn't working. 

[trueBlue83]

58 minutes ago, B-F-F-C said:

It’s amazing how so many of us become armchair QB’s and believe we know better than an professional football player.  Plus you’re looking at a replay on tv vs having to make a split second decision on the field.  

It’s amazing how knowledgeable some of us are. 

 

nope... watched it develop live.  Do I know what Nichols saw?  Of course not... I know what I saw, and that was Whitehead blow by the coverage and was wide open, and his body language post-play would indicate the same!

[Guest J5V]

1 hour ago, TBURGESS said:

I'm not saying I know how Steveler will play. I'm saying I know how the team will play.

Its just bizarre to me how people know Streveler is a bum and can't make a throw yet his previous coaches gush about him and said things like, I've never seen a better prospect anywhere in the country. Somebody doesn't know what they're talking about and I think I know who it is.

[rebusrankin]

The bottom line is whether its Nichols or Lapo, something has to change. We need to begin to have more of an intermediate passing game. We need to make better use of the receivers we have.

[Mark H.]

11 minutes ago, rebusrankin said:

We need to make better use of the receivers we have.

Haven’t you heard? They were all signed to be decoys? 

[WBBFanWest]

42 minutes ago, NorthernSkunk said:

Isn't part of being a pro football player being able to take a hit ?

Isn't part of being a pro football player being able to recognize when the game is on the line and when to not risk a stupid injury so some armchair wonder can beat his chest and yell "THAT'S HOW YOU PLAY FOOTBALL."?

[Old Bomber Fan]

All games have three phases, last night was no exception. The defense played okay not great. They did have some individual efforts that saved the day but really it was Calgary receivers not catching the ball similar to our receivers. 

The special teams won the game plain and simple. 14 points on punt returns deducted from the score and we lose.

The offense did not score a touchdown, only field goals and one great effort from Medlock. Had he missed that 55 yarder again we lose the game.

We constantly talk about the offense and how predictable it is, and I believe that to be the case. I am finding it increasing difficult to determine who is to blame the most....Nichols or Lapo, or are they equally to blame. Mathews was good when running slants and posts not curls. He was better I believe as a WR not a SB. I do agree that Nichols cannot read the defense or his receivers. As has been mentioned he looks at target 1 then looks for Harris 2-3 yards away. Unless this changes, Harris will burn out or get hurt, should we make it to the playoffs and that seems reasonable, we will get smoked by the opposition DC because anyone can predict what plays will be called when. And the play calling, well he may have the most offensive stats in the league so far but it is a different ball game come playoffs and we have seen this movie before. BUT good luck don't take BC lightly, think we already did with Toronto.