CFL - 2023 Regular Season - Discussion Thread

[BBlink]

I'm hoping we can get to a bit more balanced attack like we did against the Riders.

This year we've basically run up the middle or thrown up the middle. With the occasional bootleg and then toss inside. Almost completely stopped running the sweeps that has been very successful for us.

Against the Riders we brought back the sweeps, threw to Brady in the flats and threw more toward the sideline. It seemed to allow Collaros to not have to deal with run blitzes all game long.

Collaros is a great QB but I don't think we need to put it all in his hands every game.

[wbbfan]

2 hours ago, Booch said:

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

Yep. Really got a tough deal. 
 

16 minutes ago, greenrider55 said:

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

imo yes. Poor man’s JSK. He’s a guy who can rack up a lot of tackles especially on bad teams. He isn’t a guy making an impact with his plays. Similar to Awe. 
 I broke down our game against him his and biggies average depth of tackle and anticipated gain per play vs actual. despite playing at twice the depth biggie was tackling a few yards shallower and they got a fraction of the anticipated yards per play vs gaining more than anticipated. 
 Sankey is a good tackler but he’s not making tackles your other front 6 guys wouldn’t make. 
 He’d be useful next to a guy like biggie or kyrie who can do a lot and cover a lot of distance. But he’s not a keystone in a good defence. A lot of guys can fill that role. I’d love to have a guy like that to rotate and take biggie off ol, but I wouldn’t pay much for it. 

[Booch]

57 minutes ago, greenrider55 said:

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

Totally 

34 minutes ago, wbbfan said:

Yep. Really got a tough deal. 
 

imo yes. Poor man’s JSK. He’s a guy who can rack up a lot of tackles especially on bad teams. He isn’t a guy making an impact with his plays. Similar to Awe. 
 I broke down our game against him his and biggies average depth of tackle and anticipated gain per play vs actual. despite playing at twice the depth biggie was tackling a few yards shallower and they got a fraction of the anticipated yards per play vs gaining more than anticipated. 
 Sankey is a good tackler but he’s not making tackles your other front 6 guys wouldn’t make. 
 He’d be useful next to a guy like biggie or kyrie who can do a lot and cover a lot of distance. But he’s not a keystone in a good defence. A lot of guys can fill that role. I’d love to have a guy like that to rotate and take biggie off ol, but I wouldn’t pay much for it. 

And has minimal pursuit and sideline to sideline ability...if play isn't in the box and coming right at him...he's pretty average at best....one trick pony for sure

[greenrider55]

53 minutes ago, Booch said:

Totally 

And has minimal pursuit and sideline to sideline ability...if play isn't in the box and coming right at him...he's pretty average at best....one trick pony for sure

That’s just slow lateral play, likely has trouble anticipating, therefore gains ground slow. Alex Singleton made inflated tackle numbers look good, but that’s not the norm for everyone.

[GCn20]

19 hours 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.

I'm not hesitant to think we will win, because we do win over 75% of our games, but I get your point on the rest.

19 hours ago, Tracker said:

The problem with the inconsistency the Bombers have shown on occasion this year is that the potential is there for them to drop a deuce in the playoffs. That concerns me. If its just one player or one aspect of the game, the other parts can compensate. When the whole team takes the day off on the wrong day, the season is over.

For sure, but that possibility is always there I suppose no matter what. Great teams drop deuces in the playoffs at a pretty alarming rate if you look around pro sports. What comforts me is that we do have experience winning and know what it takes. Guys just have to show up. As fans, there is little we can do about that I suppose.

[GCn20]

18 hours 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.

Sometimes the other team shows up too. Playoffs is the time that both teams will be bringing 100%...winning those games is all that matters and in November it tends to look ugly.

18 hours ago, wbbfan said:

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. 

Well, they better, this is the time where the rubber needs to hit the road.

18 hours 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. 

I'm not willing to say we didn't look fired up last year, Toronto as it turns out has a pretty good team.

[GCn20]

16 hours 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.

I think ZC is just going after too many home run balls sometimes, and it's probably because he has the horses to do it. Probably should settle into a more balanced approach sometimes though and take what the defence is giving.

[GCn20]

10 hours ago, greenrider55 said:

That’s just slow lateral play, likely has trouble anticipating, therefore gains ground slow. Alex Singleton made inflated tackle numbers look good, but that’s not the norm for everyone.

One of the most misleading stats in the entire CFL, along with QB yardage, is tackle totals for MLBs. Sankey is a tackler in the box only, has no pursuit or contain speed, cannot go sideline to sideline or drop into coverage. 30 years ago he would have been the best MLBer in the CFL, now he is a fantastic at only one thing of many things a MLB needs to do player. Over rated? Grossly. A useful guy situationally though.

Tackle totals are still held as the gold standard for MLB play and that is unfortunate, because it is no longer accurate. It's just that the media seems to not want to let it go, or can't figure out that they should. The game has evolved beyond MLBs playing solely in the box. The ability to do so is important, but is only about a third of the game now for MIKEs.

Edited September 12, 2023 by GCn20

[Bubba Zanetti]

LMFAO Nye is picking Hamilton this week. Never change you watermelon wearing cousin humper.

[TBURGESS]

Reminds me of last week doncha know. 

[Noeller]

1 hour ago, Bubba Zanetti said:

LMFAO Nye is picking Hamilton this week. Never change you watermelon wearing cousin humper.

 

Winnipeg at Hamilton
Saturday, September 16
4:00 p.m. ET

The Tiger-Cats get some rest after an impressive win in a quick turnaround on the road in Ottawa. Taylor Powell continues to improve and it would appear that new play caller Scott Milanovich is finding the right mix when it comes to putting players in a better position to succeed.

Powell has a TD/INT ratio of 7/1 in his last three games.

The Tiger-Cats need improvement from their defence. Hamilton is at the bottom of the league in many categories and even with their punting, you see the Tiger-Cats behind in field position as well.

The Bombers come in with the best running game and a red hot Zach Collaros, who is coming off a near perfect game against the Roughriders. Collaros put points on the board in every drive he led against Saskatchewan, including starting with six straight touchdowns.

But can I mention what happened last year following the Bombers putting the boots to the Roughriders in the LD Weekend Rematch?

They went into Hamilton and had an emotional let down.

Last week was highly emotional for the Bombers. A lot of carry over from the Labour Day Classic against Saskatchewan and I’m curious to see if we see a repeat emotional let down.

I’m probably over thinking it but I’m going with my biggest upset of the year.

PICK: HAMILTON

[Noeller]

a name I haven't heard in awhile....
 

 

[JCon]

26 minutes ago, Noeller said:

 

Last week was highly emotional for the Bombers. A lot of carry over from the Labour Day Classic against Saskatchewan and I’m curious to see if we see a repeat emotional let down.

That's just projection. 

I thought they played without any extra emotion last week. They simply beat the crap out of the Riders. Didn't engage in any nonsense but crushed the pathetic team from Regina. 

Nye was emotional, like Ballsy, crying at every turn. 

[Fatty Liver]

29 minutes ago, Noeller said:

 

Winnipeg at Hamilton
Saturday, September 16
4:00 p.m. ET

The Tiger-Cats get some rest after an impressive win in a quick turnaround on the road in Ottawa. Taylor Powell continues to improve and it would appear that new play caller Scott Milanovich is finding the right mix when it comes to putting players in a better position to succeed.

Powell has a TD/INT ratio of 7/1 in his last three games.

The Tiger-Cats need improvement from their defence. Hamilton is at the bottom of the league in many categories and even with their punting, you see the Tiger-Cats behind in field position as well.

The Bombers come in with the best running game and a red hot Zach Collaros, who is coming off a near perfect game against the Roughriders. Collaros put points on the board in every drive he led against Saskatchewan, including starting with six straight touchdowns.

But can I mention what happened last year following the Bombers putting the boots to the Roughriders in the LD Weekend Rematch?

They went into Hamilton and had an emotional let down.

Last week was highly emotional for the Bombers. A lot of carry over from the Labour Day Classic against Saskatchewan and I’m curious to see if we see a repeat emotional let down.

I’m probably over thinking it but I’m going with my biggest upset of the year.

PICK: HAMILTON

He already missed the boat, the loss to the Crummy RB's was the upset of the year.

[greenrider55]

The CFL does this every year. Hell, the panel was talking about the Elks finishing second in the west before the Labour Day game Vs. Calgary. I remember in 2021, after Lawler went off for 200+ yards vs BC, they were still saying they could win the west. Any team that strings together a couple wins in a row, they try to create a dialogue.

[Tracker]

1 hour ago, Noeller said:

a name I haven't heard in awhile....
 

 

Desperation time. Maybe he got a whole lot better after he was cut.

[bigg jay]

22 minutes ago, Tracker said:

Desperation time. Maybe he got a whole lot better after he was cut.

5 days between being cut and brought back doesn't leave much time for improvement.

[bearpants]

2 hours ago, JCon said:

That's just projection. 

I thought they played without any extra emotion last week. They simply beat the crap out of the Riders. Didn't engage in any nonsense but crushed the pathetic team from Regina. 

Nye was emotional, like Ballsy, crying at every turn. 

Ballsy was suspiciously quiet during and after the game last weekend... can't imagine why... I guess he was still busy losing his mind about how Jeffcoat didn't get suspended for a hit on Brandon Bridge 6 years ago... 

[Noeller]

41 minutes ago, bearpants said:

Ballsy was suspiciously quiet during and after the game last weekend... can't imagine why... I guess he was still busy losing his mind about how Jeffcoat didn't get suspended for a hit on Brandon Bridge 6 years ago... 

I kinda wanted to see if they had an audio vault thing like CJOB so I could go back and listen to their broadcast of the game. I feel like it might have been enjoyable...

[Booch]

3 minutes ago, Noeller said:

I kinda wanted to see if they had an audio vault thing like CJOB so I could go back and listen to their broadcast of the game. I feel like it might have been enjoyable...

post game show usually is laughs galore...especially when they take the callers

[Noeller]

interesting thought....

 

[Super Duper Negatron]

4 minutes ago, Noeller said:

interesting thought....

 

We all know Farhan is suggesting this because he thinks VAJ would get to go.

[JCon]

5 minutes ago, Super Duper Negatron said:

We all know Farhan is suggesting this because he thinks VAJ would get to go.

He's going to write in Rourke. 

[Super Duper Negatron]

9 minutes ago, JCon said:

He's going to write in Rourke. 

"Where in the rules does it say it has to be a CFL player?" - Farhan, probably

[Fatty Liver]

1 hour ago, Noeller said:

I kinda wanted to see if they had an audio vault thing like CJOB so I could go back and listen to their broadcast of the game. I feel like it might have been enjoyable...

They do under The Sports Cage, it's hard to find and never worthwhile, I can only take 5 minutes of Ball whining.