Do We NEED to Fix our D? How? 10 Questions

[BigBlue]

[1] Has our Defense structurally deteriorated?

[2] Or does it just need better scheming/ prep?

[3] Is the sole problem the injury bug?

[4] Is complacency undermining intensity ("my starting job is safe" because MOS is loyal)?

[5] Do significant personnel changes need to be made now (by trade/PR shift/NFL jump ins)?

[6] Do we just need more rotation to stay fresher?

[7] Do we blitz too much or  too little?

[8] Is it too late/early  to push the panic button?

[9] Are Walters & McManus doing too little? Do our coaches need to adjust their thinking?

[10] Did our players just fall into a lull in the middle of a long successful season - - a sleepy abberation which will be cured by tonight's smelling salts?

 

[bearpants]

No

no

probably

no

significant? no 

Probably 

no

no

no

probably

how did I do??

[TBURGESS]

That's what happens when a bend don't break defence has a bad day. It becomes a bend and break defence. Nothing to see here unless it happens again next game, then we'd have a problem.

[Dodge and Burn]

Getting slapped in the face is not a bad thing necessarily.  

With this group I expect them to bounce back and not forget this feeling. 

[Fatty Liver]

The Bombers have been amazingly successful with their "next guy up", "plug and play" replacement scheme for the last 2 years.  With so many injuries to the LB and DB groups this season, the replacement system is breaking down and at times failing.  They need an influx of new bodies injected into their bloodstream to rejuvenate their depth and push competition for starting jobs to a higher level.  Players they find this year will compensate for players they lose in F.A. next year.

[Mark H.]

A Richie Hall D requires consistent pressure. Last year, they had more outstanding talent in the backfield, to make up for lapses in pressure. 

 

 

[17to85]

2 rookies on the same side of the secondary (and far down  the depth chart at that) backup special teams starting at one linebacker spot because of injuries, one of the star defensive ends playing hurt and didn't finish the game, safety back for the first time in almost a year.... yeah I'd say the biggest issue was the injuries. 

There are some thing though that have been needing addressed all year though. Stove was never replaced on the DL and that presence is missed . 

Bottom line the guys in the secondary need to be better. Whether it is the guys playing being better or new guys getting the chance. 

 

One or two stops in the first half that game might have been a winnable one.

[Fatty Liver]

Defensive turnovers are way down from previous years as well, not enough DB's with the experience and skill to jump pass routes.

[Mark H.]

6 minutes ago, Fatty Liver said:

Defensive turnovers are way down from previous years as well, not enough DB's with the experience and skill to jump pass routes.

Definitely.  Turnovers have been coming more the front 7.

 

[Mark H.]

3 hours ago, 17to85 said:

One or two stops in the first half that game might have been a winnable one.

See, I think it's somewhat good that that didn't happen.  In the playoffs, they could meet an underdog opponent with a solid gameplan and nothing to lose. It's better that they had that game yesterday. 

[SpeedFlex27]

We need to bring in some defensive help. Or things won't change. 

3 hours ago, Dodge and Burn said:

Getting slapped in the face is not a bad thing necessarily.  

With this group I expect them to bounce back and not forget this feeling. 

A CFL prognosticator said the Riders will be desperate next week. Well, we'll be angry. I'll take anger over desperation for 200, Alex.

[Booch]

Injuries and depleted depth bit us....that and a good game plan by Hamilton... chalk that up to part of any season....and at 12 and 2 we are in full control especially of our destiny. 

Better use of the roster tho is needed...and pretty sure that Osh and company realized that last game when we had basically all our dlineman play the whole second half..and one guy (Sayles) having to play out of position.

We definitely tho have dropped the ball on getting an legit pile pushing middle plugging D-takle on the roster tho..would help out tonnes with our depleted Wil lb spot and an obvious not 100 percent Biggie.

If we choose to dress 7 olineman again and refuse to use one...and not bring in a DT line plugged then use Dobson ala Eric wilson on the nose and DT spot to collapse the pocket...he's big enough and very athletic...I'm sure he would garner a couple Olineman attention...freeing up others

[SpeedFlex27]

2 minutes ago, Booch said:

Injuries and depleted depth bit us....that and a good game plan by Hamilton... chalk that up to part of any season....and at 12 and 2 we are in full control especially of our destiny. 

Better use of the roster tho is needed...and pretty sure that Osh and company realized that last game when we had basically all our dlineman play the whole second half..and one guy (Sayles) having to play out of position.

We definitely tho have dropped the ball on getting an legit pile pushing middle plugging D-takle on the roster tho..would help out tonnes with our depleted Wil lb spot and an obvious not 100 percent Biggie.

If we choose to dress 7 olineman again and refuse to use one...and not bring in a DT line plugged then use Dobson ala Eric wilson on the nose and DT spot to collapse the pocket...he's big enough and very athletic...I'm sure he would garner a couple Olineman attention...freeing up others

Our biggest need is that DT who pressures up front & plugs the middle. Is there anyone on a CFL PR somewhere we can claim? Maybe we need to make a trade but damn, we have to do something. 

[BigBlue]

“Kudos to [Hamilton] for being able to come out and punch us in the mouth this week,” said defensive back Brandon Alexander. “Maybe we needed that, to be honest with you.”

Success is harder to deal with than mediocrity. Everyone in the whole organization needed that.

“There was a lack of communication on our side and I’ll take a lot of the onus on that. Me being first back and seeing the field differently, I wasn’t able to communicate with everybody how I normally do and everything, so I definitely take part of that,” said Alexander.

That is likely why MOS wasn't subbing in. Players need to learn where each other will be. Bighill & Rose seem to be trying to play more than just their own position.

Edited September 18, 2022 by BigBlue

[wbbfan]

12 hours ago, BigBlue said:

[1] Has our Defense structurally deteriorated?

[2] Or does it just need better scheming/ prep?

[3] Is the sole problem the injury bug?

[4] Is complacency undermining intensity ("my starting job is safe" because MOS is loyal)?

[5] Do significant personnel changes need to be made now (by trade/PR shift/NFL jump ins)?

[6] Do we just need more rotation to stay fresher?

[7] Do we blitz too much or  too little?

[8] Is it too late/early  to push the panic button?

[9] Are Walters & McManus doing too little? Do our coaches need to adjust their thinking?

[10] Did our players just fall into a lull in the middle of a long successful season - - a sleepy abberation which will be cured by tonight's smelling salts?

 

1 the depth has yes. From key loses in the off season to mounting injuries. 
 

2 more than one way to fix it. The best option is to try to bring in pieces that fit what we do and adjust. We run the same run fits now as we did with stove and other nose tackles and it just doesn’t work. 
 

3 no but it’s as big a part as any thing 

4 no

5 yes

6 we need guys to rotate and keep the level of play high. Our useage of the young des hasn’t been good but we need more production as well. 

7 neither.  You can blitz a lot and be great or seldom blitz and be great. Problem is we don’t have lbers who are effective pass rushers. Sending one and two guys frequently doesn’t accomplish much. It just makes the passes easy. 
 

8 too late to fix? Certainly not. Time to panic? Also no. 
 

9 the mafia do as good a job of scouting as any one. Not a problem on that end. We always have strange poor useage of depth spots though not usually in our front 7. We can’t expect to get enough pressure with our front four to force early passes. But we also can’t expect much value from blitzing the way we do currently. 
 

not exactly. Winning on the road leading into a buy after a blow out win at home is really really hard. Harder than sweeping a home n home back to back. We are very banged up and thin on experienced depth to begin with. 
 

we need one or two big dts that can play nose. We need atleast one more good pass rusher, we need a true mac lber who can shed blocks and leave biggie clean. And we need a couple more bodies at db. 
 

if kyrie gets healthy that goes a long ways for the lbers. If jeffcoat can get 100% healthy that’d be huge but he fights injuries every year. If we got kongbo back that’s go far too. 

[wbbfan]

4 hours ago, 17to85 said:

2 rookies on the same side of the secondary (and far down  the depth chart at that) backup special teams starting at one linebacker spot because of injuries, one of the star defensive ends playing hurt and didn't finish the game, safety back for the first time in almost a year.... yeah I'd say the biggest issue was the injuries. 

There are some thing though that have been needing addressed all year though. Stove was never replaced on the DL and that presence is missed . 

Bottom line the guys in the secondary need to be better. Whether it is the guys playing being better or new guys getting the chance. 

 

One or two stops in the first half that game might have been a winnable one.

Honestly rookies haven’t been the big problem at db. Just like it wasn’t a problem last year. 
 

One to two stops in the 4th certainly win the game. Also that ridiculous fumble for a td. We were very close in what ended up a blow out. 
 

1 hour ago, Booch said:

Injuries and depleted depth bit us....that and a good game plan by Hamilton... chalk that up to part of any season....and at 12 and 2 we are in full control especially of our destiny. 

Better use of the roster tho is needed...and pretty sure that Osh and company realized that last game when we had basically all our dlineman play the whole second half..and one guy (Sayles) having to play out of position.

We definitely tho have dropped the ball on getting an legit pile pushing middle plugging D-takle on the roster tho..would help out tonnes with our depleted Wil lb spot and an obvious not 100 percent Biggie.

If we choose to dress 7 olineman again and refuse to use one...and not bring in a DT line plugged then use Dobson ala Eric wilson on the nose and DT spot to collapse the pocket...he's big enough and very athletic...I'm sure he would garner a couple Olineman attention...freeing up others

Big injuries combined with big turn over on defense. It’s a tall order for any team. If we had these injuries but also still had guys like kongbo and alford we might have no loses this year. 
 

I thought about that option too. Stick a guy like Dobson on the nose and watch the defense rebound very quickly. 
 

1 hour ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

Our biggest need is that DT who pressures up front & plugs the middle. Is there anyone on a CFL PR somewhere we can claim? Maybe we need to make a trade but damn, we have to do something. 

brandin Bryant is a fa iirc. I think drake Nevis is a fa too but who knows if he is in shape. Honestly it’s not hard to find a young imp dt who can play nose in the cfl. 

[17to85]

2 hours ago, wbbfan said:

Honestly rookies haven’t been the big problem at db. Just like it wasn’t a problem last year. 

Parker has been getting picked on a lot the last couple games. Yes other guys have gotten beat but he has been guilty of giving up too much room to guys. Not saying run him out of town,  but he definitely looks like a rookie getting his feet wet.

[wbbfan]

10 minutes ago, 17to85 said:

Parker has been getting picked on a lot the last couple games. Yes other guys have gotten beat but he has been guilty of giving up too much room to guys. Not saying run him out of town,  but he definitely looks like a rookie getting his feet wet.

He has been, but still less than rose all year. 
 He certainly needs improvement or a better option I think we will see that in the next two weeks. 
 But his issues are a fraction of the greater issues. No pressure no one making big plays no gap cancellation etc. 

[BigBlue]

6 hours ago, wbbfan said:

Stick a guy like Dobson on the nose and watch the defense rebound very quickly. 

I like that idea very much... it suits his personality and skill set. He is like a mean bowling ball. It would take a few for him to adjust but the dividends would be huge.

So go for it, and his Canadian status would allow more defensive rest and rotation!

Still coaching on this team is not very innovative. They get caught in a narrow tunnel mindset - - that's the opposite of creativity.

Dobson for NT ... go, go, go 

[SpeedFlex27]

6 hours ago, wbbfan said:

 No pressure no one making big plays no gap cancellation etc. 

That was the biggest issue last game. No pressure all game. The Front 7 had nothing left in that final Ti Cat drive. Gassed. 

[BomberfanMKS]

Parker's been getting picked on - I honestly think Rose getting blown past was a little bit of trying to do too much as well - instead of playing honest he was trying to "hit a homerun" spying the QB

[Stickem]

The biggest problem was next to no pressure from the Jeffs.....Evans was getting the ball off in split seconds, which was a good game plan from their point, but no pressure on the qb. was also a contributing factor....Evans was on his game .....in his hands and gone and our dbs' didn't have anytime to respond....Pitch and catch down the field and we were done....I hope we're more prepared next game for a similar tactic by the riders....Faj is no Evans.....orrrrrr is he ...lol...We'll see

[BomberBall]

2 hours ago, Stickem said:

The biggest problem was next to no pressure from the Jeffs.....Evans was getting the ball off in split seconds, which was a good game plan from their point, but no pressure on the qb. was also a contributing factor....Evans was on his game .....in his hands and gone and our dbs' didn't have anytime to respond....Pitch and catch down the field and we were done....I hope we're more prepared next game for a similar tactic by the riders....Faj is no Evans.....orrrrrr is he ...lol...We'll see

Maybe if we occasionally bumped a receiver off his route it would give our D line a bit more time to get home… Or at least make the QB have to look for another option.  I’m not saying we should go press man across the board, but a press/bump and run here and there with a DB or two, would seem to make our scheme a bit less predictable.