2021 Blue Bombers Season

[TrueBlue4ever]

On 2021-10-05 at 6:10 PM, kelownabomberfan said:

I read Teemu's book and he said back in the 1990's on the Jets it was pretty common for some of the guys on the team (not Teemu) to get blotto after games and then drive home.  He witnessed one guy (didn't name him) who was hammered and slammed into a light standard.  The cops showed up and recognized him as a Jet and got him out of there without charging him, because of course he was with the Jets and the cops didn't want to be blamed for the team losing a player.  Teemu couldn't believe it.   I don't think that would happen now. 

Am I wrong to read this and the name that springs to mind is “Tkachuk”?

[JCon]

25 minutes ago, TrueBlue4ever said:

Am I wrong to read this and the name that springs to mind is “Tkachuk”?

Yeah, he was known to go to Wise Guys, pick up a girl, take them to his vehicle, enjoy some paradise by the dashboard light, then go back into the bar, pick someone else up and take them home. 

[Noeller]

https://www.cfl.ca/2021/10/14/ferguson-beat-winnipeg-blue-bombers/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

MARSHALL FERGUSON

CFL.CA

@TSN_MARSH

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The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have been overwhelming in 2021.

• Best record in the CFL
• League leading +123 point differential
• Undefeated at home
• Undefeated in the West Division
• Most Outstanding Player front runner quarterback
• No points allowed in nine fourth quarters

They haven’t been perfect; there have been interceptions, fumbles, missed kicks and penalties but the sum of their parts has been special as they attempt to win back-to-back Grey Cups spanning the void that was 2020.

So what is the rest of the CFL to do about these Bombers? Shut it down, go home and start planning for 2022 kickoff next May?

Never.

Despite Winnipeg taking everyone’s best shot and persevering weekly, teams have no choice but to keep trying to crack the Bombers code knowing that all it takes is four good quarters of playoff football and the Bombers can be eliminated.

But HOW?!

In an effort to see what might be possible IF Winnipeg doesn’t win the final game of the season, I looked back at their only loss thus far, Week 3 in Toronto, to gain an understanding of what the Argos did well enough to win 30-23, and whether other teams can replicate it.

What jumps out first and foremost is Toronto’s ability to control the time of possession, a staple of Mike O’Shea’s Bombers clubs. At 20:14 of possession, Week 3 was only the second time this season Winnipeg didn’t win the time of possession metric, beating their second worst standard by nearly seven minutes (27:07 Week 4 against Calgary).

How did Toronto control the ball in such overwhelming fashion? Effective ground gains on first down and preventing second down conversions for the Bombers offence.

Week 3 was the coming out party for Toronto running back D.J. Foster, who worked in a tandem backfield with John White to gain 6.2 yards per carry on first downs, Winnipeg’s second-worst performance in the category behind only Week 2, also against the Argos (9.3 yards per carry).

Meanwhile, the Bombers offence converted just 33% (6/18) of their second downs which was bested by only the Week 2 matchup against Toronto (29% conversion rate). All of this while holding then starting running back Brady Oliveira to just 3.2 yards per carry on first down with only Week 2 against Toronto going lower (2.8 yards per carry).

So how did Toronto lose Week 2 against Winnipeg if all these important measurables were actually superior to their winning effort? Quarterback play.

In Week 2, Toronto got a lacklustre start from McLeod Bethel-Thompson who completed less than 50% of his passes for under 100 yards on 20 attempts before being replaced by Nick Arbuckle. In Week 3, Arbuckle completed 72% of his pass attempts for over 300 yards.

By effectively throwing the football and controlling the clock, Winnipeg had their winning formula disrupted and began to chase as quarterback Zach Collaros had a season-high 33 attempts, matched only by his sparkling 417 yard performance against BC in Week 9.

Despite throwing it more, the Bombers downfield aggression actually dropped off (7.57 yards in air per attempt) compared to their eight wins (10.36 yards in air per attempts). Offensive coordinator Buck Pierce called 83.7% pass plays in Week 3, when combined with the poor second down conversion rate above, you get just four second down rush attempts from a Winnipeg club that loves to be equal parts run and pass threat regardless of down, distance, field position or score differential.

What does it all mean?

In order to beat the 2021 Winnipeg Blue Bombers it appears you need to win the turnover battle, play them back-to-back to gain valuable intel from game one, hope their kicking game continues to struggle, create chunk plays and consistent first down rushing gains offensively, get rush stops on first down and make great plays in the secondary when challenged with conversion attempt passes.

Sounds simple enough, right? It might not take all of that, the formula could be completely different and Winnipeg could just choke away a playoff game with a couple big scoring plays given up and an off day offensively, but I wouldn’t bet on it.

To take down the defending champions will take a complete team effort with great line play, above average quarterbacking and maybe, just maybe, a hint or two of luck. Think your team has what it takes?

[JCon]

Can we really claim to be the best team in the league if we haven't beaten Ottawa or Montreal? 

[Noeller]

1 minute ago, JCon said:

Can we really claim to be the best team in the league if we haven't beaten Ottawa or Montreal? 

I honestly don't know if you're kidding......

[JCon]

2 minutes ago, Noeller said:

I honestly don't know if you're kidding......

[M.O.A.B.]

3 minutes ago, JCon said:

[kelownabomberfan]

On 2021-10-06 at 5:24 PM, TrueBlue4ever said:

Am I wrong to read this and the name that springs to mind is “Tkachuk”?

Could be one of many guys from back then.  Freddie Olausson apparently had a problem with the bottle too...

[Bigblue204]

That article also leaves out TO recovering all the forced fumbles caused by the Dline....that was single biggest factor in that L in TO.

[Jpan85]

22 minutes ago, Bigblue204 said:

That article also leaves out TO recovering all the forced fumbles caused by the Dline....that was single biggest factor in that L in TO.

Bombers got fumble return by Briggs for a TD that game.

[wbbfan]

7 minutes ago, Bigblue204 said:

That article also leaves out TO recovering all the forced fumbles caused by the Dline....that was single biggest factor in that L in TO.

Kicking was a huge factor in that game. Crappy missed 2 fgs, and bede averaged 14 yards more per kick off. That was also the last combined bad game for bailey and adams. Combined 6/16 for 75 yards. 

But yes. Not having stove at that point, and having bighill playing sam and wil the argos used motion masterfully to pull him out of the box and leave it to our back up NI LBers to make stops in big gaps. With kyrie at wil, bighill not being pull out any more, and stove back in the middle the run game is closed off. 

That game also had 2 brutal blown calls that took a td off the board, and had us punting instead of in the red zone. 

And yes, we ran just 7 times for paltry yards but we still shouldve won that game. With harris and the run game chugging along as it is now, we would route the argos. 

[Bigblue204]

42 minutes ago, Jpan85 said:

Bombers got fumble return by Briggs for a TD that game.

They did. And TO recovered another 4(I might have that # wrong) fumbles caused by Jeffcoat. I believe a few of those drives ended in points.

[Blue_Dragoon]

We also had Josh Miller getting burned and missing tackles left and right in our one loss against the Argos. 

Basically every bounce went Toronto's way and we still likely would have won if a few iffy calls didn't go against us.

Edited October 15, 2021 by Blue_Dragoon

[BBlink]

We are a better team than we were at the start of the season. Our offense has started to catch up to our defense and our defense has improved (especially getting Richardson back).

Alford and Nichols have cemented themselves on De'Boundary and Darby has been invisible at SAM (good thing)

[wbbfan]

8 hours ago, BBlink said:

We are a better team than we were at the start of the season. Our offense has started to catch up to our defense and our defense has improved (especially getting Richardson back).

Alford and Nichols have cemented themselves on De'Boundary and Darby has been invisible at SAM (good thing)

This is a great point. Pretty much every week this bomber team gets better. The team we are rostering tonight would take week 1 hamilton and make them look like a usports bottom feeder team.  Darby, kyrie, and stove getting healthy is a massive game changer. 

[BBlink]

To be fair, every team has probably improved. But there was definitely a "jump" we made that happened after the Toronto game.

[Tracker]

1 hour ago, BBlink said:

To be fair, every team has probably improved. But there was definitely a "jump" we made that happened after the Toronto game.

Can you honestly say that about the Elks, RBs and Alouettes?

[BBlink]

2 minutes ago, Tracker said:

Can you honestly say that about the Elks, RBs and Alouettes?

It's all relative. 

RBs absolutely have without a doubt. They've made a jump since the QB change as well

[wbbfan]

1 hour ago, BBlink said:

It's all relative. 

RBs absolutely have without a doubt. They've made a jump since the QB change as well

RBs are for certain a much better team now. They sudenly have a capable RB, and a qb who can lead an offense to more than 100 yards a game. 

Every team has improved like you said. The fact that we had no pre season only makes the amount improved even larger.  When every one improves, teams that improve a little bit less seem worse off but the level of football has improved a good bit from the early weeks. 

Montreal, ssk, and edm have improved the least. The bombers, argos, and Rbs have improved the most. 

[Fan Boy]

2 hours ago, Tracker said:

Can you honestly say that about the Elks, RBs and Alouettes?

100% to 110% for Bombers versus 25% to 27.5% for the trolls in the basement.

[Geebrr]

Put Gray at RT

1 minute ago, Geebrr said:

Put Gray at RT

Wrong thread but thanks, Noeller!

[wbbfan]

16 hours ago, Geebrr said:

Put Gray at RT

Wrong thread but thanks, Noeller!

If hardrick isn't gonna be ready soon either gray or one of the two imps. 

[White Out]

Well I did it. Because I cancelled my Hamilton trip I had no qualms spending 180 dollars for a return flight to Winnipeg for the west final. Can't wait! I hope all the Christmas lights will be up downtown that will def take me down memory lane

[Pete Catan's Ghost]

1 hour ago, White Out said:

Well I did it. Because I cancelled my Hamilton trip I had no qualms spending 180 dollars for a return flight to Winnipeg for the west final. Can't wait! I hope all the Christmas lights will be up downtown that will def take me down memory lane

You want memories? I’ll meet you at The Paddock for a Sidecar or two. I’ll be the guy sitting between The Friar and Cactus. 

Edited October 16, 2021 by Pete Catan's Ghost

[JCon]