CFL - 2023 Regular Season - Discussion Thread

[Super Duper Negatron]

31 minutes ago, Noeller said:

I feel the exact same way, but what keeps my hopes up is that they almost always come out fired up "when it matters", and I can't even imagine an Osh-led team not being "run-through-a-wall" fired up for a playoff game. When there's only 2 (3 max) of them, they'll be fired up and ready.  It's harder to be mentally excited, even as a pro athlete, in the midst of an 18 game sched. When you know that it's only 2 or 3 games, you can be fully mentally prepared, I think. 

You can't? What about the West final against the Riders?

I don't think they were particularly "on" in either of the last 2 Grey Cups either.

Edited September 11, 2023 by Super Duper Negatron

[Noeller]

39 minutes ago, Super Duper Negatron said:

You can't? What about the West final against the Riders?

I don't think they were particularly "on" in either of the last 2 Grey Cups either.

I think they were prepared and fired up.... I think there's questions (ironically given the climate they practice in) about how this team plays in cold weather.....

[JCon]

1 minute ago, Noeller said:

I think they were prepared and fired up.... I think there's questions (ironically given the climate they practice in) about how this team plays in cold weather.....

They did not look prepared or fired up for either of the last two GCs. And, they looked uninterested and ill-prepared last week in Regina. I know they weren't but they certainly looked it. 

[wbbfan]

2 hours ago, Booch said:

thats why to me this game is the true indicator of what we are, and have....another putrid performance will be very telling, and should be a red flag that in it's current make-up it will be hard pressed to win the Cup...as its way to inconsistent...also will need to be a team that secures first with hope getting there, because winning 2 to get there will be a tall order this yr based on what we have seen...this team isnt the 2019 team on a mission and striving to improve week in and week out....seems at times they feel like they dont have to prove anything and put in the real work, rather just need to show up 

which would prob be best thing for the Als....guy is nit a guy to carry a team over the finish line...never has...and this point never will be...He is the ultimate back-up short yardage guy...guy who can come in for situational play, and finish out a game due to injury and give you at least some chance...but a full time guy to hitch the wagon to?...hell no

Totally agree. This is a big step in who we are and if we will continue to fall into the same deficiencies during the stretch run. 
Back 3rd of the season, we are healthy rested and have no cap issues or excuses. 
 I expect we will roll up the sleeves now. No more lazy crazy kick cover, no coasting and spotting teams leads. 

Bombers open 7 point favorites. I bet the line moves pretty well too. Hamilton to cover and the under probably make really good money this week. 

[Noeller]

4 minutes ago, JCon said:

They did not look prepared or fired up for either of the last two GCs. And, they looked uninterested and ill-prepared last week in Regina. I know they weren't but they certainly looked it. 

Definitely each to their own perspective, but I really blamed the cold weather for the last two GCs and the West Final against the Gappers a couple years ago. It SHOULDN'T be a problem, but I really think it is. 

[Booch]

1 hour ago, GCn20 said:

I can agree with all of that. Focus and inconsistency have been problems at times this year. Time to get that shored up in the final third.

yup...prove to us as fans that the issues some of us bemoan will be either irrelevant, fixed, or somewhat adressed

Yes we laid a buttwhoopin on the Riders, so the lack of dline depth was a non issue....doesnt mean it's gone away....come cold weather and down the stretch we truly need another "quality" rotational piece...above and beyond the ones we have now

1 hour ago, Noeller said:

Yeah, the Bombers have been maddeningly inconsistent this year and it's why I'm hesitant to expect them to win any game they play, no matter how poor the opponent. They're world beaters one week, and then off the rails the next. What I do know is, when the offense is clicking and staying on the field, the defense can be one of the best in the league, if not THE best. But they need to be in sync.... offense stays on the field for stretches, and the defense gets itself off the field. When they're on, nobody in the CFL is better.  But man, you just don't know who's going to show up each week.

 amazingly enough statistically they are the best in the league, and we seem to be complacent there, as if we made a few lil tweeks they would be downright dominant, and a real head ache

 

1 hour ago, Noeller said:

I feel the exact same way, but what keeps my hopes up is that they almost always come out fired up "when it matters", and I can't even imagine an Osh-led team not being "run-through-a-wall" fired up for a playoff game. When there's only 2 (3 max) of them, they'll be fired up and ready.  It's harder to be mentally excited, even as a pro athlete, in the midst of an 18 game sched. When you know that it's only 2 or 3 games, you can be fully mentally prepared, I think. 

well that home game where BC took our lunch...lunch money and banged our girlfriends was a "when it mattered"  moment to me....and we decided to wilt

[Noeller]

2 minutes ago, Booch said:

well that home game where BC took our lunch...lunch money and banged our girlfriends was a "when it mattered"  moment to me....and we decided to wilt

that early in the season... meh. Absolutely they came out flat and got punched in the mouth... deserved what they got. Confidently hoping that come playoff time, they'll be ready to roll. I'm just waiting to clinch the West Final so I can book my flight.... let's friggin' gooooooooo........

[Geebrr]

It is funny when we say they didn’t look ready in those playoff game examples - we are basically only talking about the offence. 
 

The defence was fine. 

Again, really even the loss to BC the issue was more the offence than the defence. 
 

 

[Noeller]

6 minutes ago, Geebrr said:

It is funny when we say they didn’t look ready in those playoff game examples - we are basically only talking about the offence. 
 

The defence was fine. 

Again, really even the loss to BC the issue was more the offence than the defence. 
 

 

I've started to believe that the complaints about the defense and the roster composition on D.... is as much about the O not executing as anything else. When the O executes and stays on the field, the D is fine. We have to play complimentary football in order for everything to come together. 

[17to85]

It's always the O more than the D. Sometimes they just come out flat and that's where the trouble comes in. 

[Geebrr]

2 minutes ago, Noeller said:

I've started to believe that the complaints about the defense and the roster composition on D.... is as much about the O not executing as anything else. When the O executes and stays on the field, the D is fine. We have to play complimentary football in order for everything to come together. 

100% 

I don’t remember a ton of “shoot outs” over the past few years. 

Outside of the Hamilton game last year - the defence basically always does enough to win. 
 

[Booch]

3 minutes ago, 17to85 said:

It's always the O more than the D. Sometimes they just come out flat and that's where the trouble comes in. 

well hopefully we get that home WF as we are averaging 49.3 points per game over the last 3

[Geebrr]

3 minutes ago, 17to85 said:

It's always the O more than the D. Sometimes they just come out flat and that's where the trouble comes in. 

Even then the D might give up literally nothing for a half - like Ottawa, and still lose. 

[Arnold_Palmer]

6 minutes ago, Booch said:

well hopefully we get that home WF as we are averaging 49.3 points per game over the last 3

I’ve been to all three of those games with my new girl friend. Our first date together was actually the first game against B.C there. It’s been a really fun experience as a fan. 

[Booch]

Just now, Arnold_Palmer said:

I’ve been to all three of those games with my new girl friend. Our first date together was actually the first game against B.C there. It’s been a really fun experience as a fan. 

well dont dump her til late Nov then

[Fatty Liver]

36 minutes ago, Geebrr said:

It is funny when we say they didn’t look ready in those playoff game examples - we are basically only talking about the offence. 
 

The defence was fine. 

Again, really even the loss to BC the issue was more the offence than the defence. 
 

 

Sadly it's up to Zach as a leader, he's been on a bit of a roller-coaster this season, perhaps trying to do too much at times when he just needs to settle down and play smart football.  I don't know if he feels challenged competing with another elite QB like Kelly in the league trying to steal his MOP crown, but his performance has been inconsistent.  Having Harris in the backfield took some of the pressure off him to lead, maybe Brady can grab the bull by the horns and take charge when Zach is a bit slow off the mark.

[Geebrr]

8 minutes ago, Fatty Liver said:

Sadly it's up to Zach as a leader, he's been on a bit of a roller-coaster this season, perhaps trying to do too much at times when he just needs to settle down and play smart football.  I don't know if he feels challenged competing with another elite QB like Kelly in the league trying to steal his MOP crown, but his performance has been inconsistent.  Having Harris in the backfield took some of the pressure off him to lead, maybe Brady can grab the bull by the horns and take charge when Zach is a bit slow off the mark.

Zach has been around for 10 years. Let’s not forget that there is a lot of video out there for teams to review what he likes to do. 
 

It is easy to downplay but it is a real thing. 

He is also just capable of playing bad for stretches like everyone else.

His record and numbers since coming here are absolutely insane. 

Edited September 11, 2023 by Geebrr

[Fatty Liver]

On 2023-09-10 at 9:19 AM, JuranBoldenRules said:

At all levels teams hardly play under centre so usually have a tailback and blocking/receiving back or 5 receivers.

With the QB starting 3 or 5 yards off that’s really too deep for I with two backs.  We have a split back formation and some wing back stuff with motion where we get the ball to more of a “fullback” at the high school level but it’s all misdirection stuff and not really down hill.  In my opinion you’ll only see multiple backs from teams that are run heavy with a running QB.  Otherwise you want to spread out the D.

Hamilton is pretty firmly in 3rd in the East.  They’ve got a two game lead on the crossover with 1 game in hand.  Ottawa is basically done.

Crum is all out of magic tricks, I don't see Ottawa winning another game with him at QB, wonder if they will replace him with Tyrie Adams when he gets healthy.  Arbuckle is healthy but doesn't even seem to be a consideration, how pitiful is that?

[Arnold_Palmer]

14 minutes ago, Fatty Liver said:

Sadly it's up to Zach as a leader, he's been on a bit of a roller-coaster this season, perhaps trying to do too much at times when he just needs to settle down and play smart football.  I don't know if he feels challenged competing with another elite QB like Kelly in the league trying to steal his MOP crown, but his performance has been inconsistent.  Having Harris in the backfield took some of the pressure off him to lead, maybe Brady can grab the bull by the horns and take charge when Zach is a bit slow off the mark.

He’s a gun slinger that’s what he does. He likes to push the ball down field, and moves around the pocket to create time. Most of the time it looks great, especially when his receivers are helping him make plays, sometimes he makes a bad play. Live by the sword, die by the sword, he’s not going to be a game managing QB and quite frankly I would never expect him to be. 

[bigg jay]

15 minutes ago, Fatty Liver said:

Crum is all out of magic tricks, I don't see Ottawa winning another game with him at QB, wonder if they will replace him with Tyrie Adams when he gets healthy.  Arbuckle is healthy but doesn't even seem to be a consideration, how pitiful is that?

It's quite the fall for a guy who was supposed to be the next star from the Calgary QB factory only a couple seasons ago.  Ottawa gave up the first overall pick in 2020 for him... not sure they'd be able to get a few rolls of tape for him now.

[Geebrr]

11 minutes ago, Arnold_Palmer said:

He’s a gun slinger that’s what he does. He likes to push the ball down field, and moves around the pocket to create time. Most of the time it looks great, especially when his receivers are helping him make plays, sometimes he makes a bad play. Live by the sword, die by the sword, he’s not going to be a game managing QB and quite frankly I would never expect him to be. 

Every “game manager “ in the last 30 years has basically been hated on here. 

[wbbfan]

2 hours ago, Geebrr said:

It is funny when we say they didn’t look ready in those playoff game examples - we are basically only talking about the offence. 
 

The defence was fine. 

Again, really even the loss to BC the issue was more the offence than the defence. 
 

 

Thats true. For the most part it was the O and teams constantly putting the D in bad situations and leaving them on the field for long stretches. 
As our offence goes so goes our team. 

[wbbfan]

1 hour ago, Geebrr said:

Every “game manager “ in the last 30 years has basically been hated on here. 

I mean we haven’t had many good QBs of any type in the past 30 years. Every running qb not named Streveler was hated too. 
 I’d say Glenn surpassed the game manager and his un fortunate anti clutch history kind of makes him less manager and more some thing else. 
 I’d say the only real game manager we had in that time who was at least a starting quality qb was Nichols. 
 Post dunigan, how many average or better starting QBs have we had? 4 or 5? 

[Booch]

31 minutes ago, wbbfan said:

I mean we haven’t had many good QBs of any type in the past 30 years. Every running qb not named Streveler was hated too. 
 I’d say Glenn surpassed the game manager and his un fortunate anti clutch history kind of makes him less manager and more some thing else. 
 I’d say the only real game manager we had in that time who was at least a starting quality qb was Nichols. 
 Post dunigan, how many average or better starting QBs have we had? 4 or 5? 

Sadly if not for that fluke broken arm Glenn would have broke the drought here, and maybe got a bit more respect.......also the sad sacks would only have 3 cups in 100+ yrs and look even more pathetic lol

[greenrider55]

I’m not sure how much it’s been discussed… but is Sankey one of the more overrated players in the league?