Week (7) of E(l)ks at Bombers

[Atomic]

Roster management is a little baffling... can't wrap my head around Maruo getting the start... however I would still take O'Shea over any coach in this league and it's not close. I'd go as far as to say he is untouchable for as long as he wants to continue coaching here. I don't think the conversation about moving on from him even starts until he has missed the playoffs two years in a row. 

[17to85]

Lemon if you want a vet but there really shouldn't be any excuses to not bring in some warm body with haba hurt now.

[Geebrr]

1 minute ago, 17to85 said:

Lemon if you want a vet but there really shouldn't be any excuses to not bring in some warm body with haba hurt now.

We need more than a warm body at this point. We have nobody - and one of our starters has had trouble staying healthy. 
 

Having no DEs on the PR is a fail right now. 

[Booch]

6 minutes ago, Atomic said:

Roster management is a little baffling... can't wrap my head around Maruo getting the start... however I would still take O'Shea over any coach in this league and it's not close. I'd go as far as to say he is untouchable for as long as he wants to continue coaching here. I don't think the conversation about moving on from him even starts until he has missed the playoffs two years in a row. 

The baffling part is burning a DA on a fullback...Mauro has shown flashes....just not sure about full reps....and his coverage skills or ability to read whats going on....maybe he will surprise....but still an odd move

[captaincanuck12]

Only the Blue Bombers coaching staff know 100% of what is going on.  Yeah I too am pissed at this roster, but there are things that the general public will NEVER know about that factor into the roster decisions.  There may be injuries, there may players in the coaches dog house.  Just because a player practices, doesn't automatically assume he's good to go.   Likewise if someone comes up off the IR.   Previous game performances should factor into the equation as well, but how do we the public know they aren't being considered. 

We can speculate and make informed opinions, but at the end of the day, we will never know more than the coaching staff.  Yes O'Shea has some stubbornness (Sam Hurl experiment), but he also was a professional player, won a Grey Cup, and now is a pro football coach who brought this sad sack team to a perennial Grey Cup contender, with 2 rings to boot.    Give them some credit.  The guys know their ****.

[Brandon]

I don't think the issue is one or two players needed to be recruited.   The issue from what I saw is the whole team as a collective just looked like they checked out after building a decent lead and had ZERO urgency or killer instinct.   Whatever the opposite of clutch is..... that is what everyone was doing against the Red Blacks.    I expect receivers to make catchable catches,   running backs to hold onto the ball tighter when up by a few scores and after already gaining a tonne of yards well past the first down marker,   dlinemen being able to wrap up and make a tackle,   dbs not watching from a distance as a mediocre qb and receiver make a pass and catch,  etc....     

 

Edited July 20, 2023 by Brandon

[wbbfan]

11 minutes ago, Booch said:

The baffling part is burning a DA on a fullback...Mauro has shown flashes....just not sure about full reps....and his coverage skills or ability to read whats going on....maybe he will surprise....but still an odd move

He might. But I can’t imagine he would out play Cole. Or that he would out play better ratio balance. 

[Pepper_Brooks]

Lemon's last season was a statistical anomaly, and it's likely that teams are  hesitant to bring him in this year after reviewing his tape and when considering his age and his price. It's unlikely he'll replicate last year's performance in a different situation, he benefited from moments of opportunity.

[Booch]

17 minutes ago, Pepper_Brooks said:

Lemon's last season was a statistical anomaly, and it's likely that teams are  hesitant to bring him in this year after reviewing his tape and when considering his age and his price. It's unlikely he'll replicate last year's performance in a different situation, he benefited from moments of opportunity.

I dunno....not too anomalous in my opinion....over 7 seasons has averaged 9 sacks a yr...22 tackles..... and had yrs with 14..14...7...11...9..6...and 13 for sacks....pretty much seems right on par for what he does generally and the 9, 7 and 6 sack seasons he played significantly less games

Edited July 20, 2023 by Booch

[Tracker]

We can agree that O'Shea is a good coach, but he is far from perfect and has his biases and blind spots. Every coach, player and GM have limited shelf lives and I an starting to wonder if O'Shea is approaching the Dave Ritchie zone in falling in love with certain (usually veteran) players. I too am baffled by why we do not have DLs on our practice roster and am not sure who is responsible for that. Bringing in Lemon for a look-see is a very low-risk move.

To flail at a deceased equine, having Lawler back is nice, but if our O-line doesn't up their game substantially, Collaros will not have enough time to execute and (shudder) could easily get racked up. I have heard nothing as to why Eli and Dobson are not in there. Last game, it was painful to watch Neufeld get beaten repeatedly, maybe it was Kolankowski who was out of sync or out of his depth. I am not a coach or former player, but if we can see these obvious problems, why in the name of Bud Grant is the coaching staff so apparently oblivious?

I have some real concerns about tonight's game. The Ungulates are a pathetic bunch but even a blind squirrel will find the occasional acorn. Should the Bombers lose tonight, it will be a game that will live in infamy (to borrow a phrase).

[rebusrankin]

This whole we don't know what is happening behind the scenes argument is a load of bollocks when it comes to many here (myself included) questioning why we don't have any other DEs available be it on the AR or PR. Heck same is true for questioning us keeping Cole around seemingly for teams only or a 36 year old global punter on the PR.

[Geebrr]

25 minutes ago, Booch said:

I dunno....not too anomalous in my opinion....over 7 seasons has averaged 9 sacks a yr...22 tackles..... and had yrs with 14..14...7...11...9..6...and 13 for sacks....pretty much seems right on par for what he does generally and the 9, 7 and 6 sack seasons he played significantly less games

Nobody is expecting him to be a candidate for DMOP anyway - but he has had a productive career and a good player in this league. 
 

As has really been the only point made towards signing him - at this point we need somebody. His risk is low outside of pay. We know what we are going to get. 

[Booch]

11 minutes ago, Geebrr said:

Nobody is expecting him to be a candidate for DMOP anyway - but he has had a productive career and a good player in this league. 
 

As has really been the only point made towards signing him - at this point we need somebody. His risk is low outside of pay. We know what we are going to get. 

all he needs to be is productive for rotational reps to spell off the starters, and some diff looks with all 3 ends on the field...he's wouldnt be here to be a starter, or even be back next yr....

[bearpants]

On 2023-07-19 at 11:27 AM, Geebrr said:

I am not sure why Cole isn’t getting a shot at WIL. 

This one really confuses me for two reasons... first is, there's no reason to think Cole can't/won't be a good WIL... but more importantly, I found it interesting that Maruo starts and has an * beside his name... which means he essentially counts as an American as a starter... but he doesn't as a back up... so even if you listed Cole as the starter but still played Maruo from the second play on... wouldn't that allow for us to technically dress another DA? 

EDIT: looked at the graphic a little closer and I believe it's a + neck to Maruo... which essentially makes like an 8th Canadian... so I think my thought process still applies.  

Edited July 20, 2023 by bearpants

[JuranBoldenRules]

1 minute ago, bearpants said:

This one really confuses me for two reasons... first is, there's no reason to think Cole can't/won't be a good WIL... but more importantly, I found it interesting that Maruo starts and has an * beside his name... which means he essentially counts as an American as a starter... but he doesn't as a back up... so even if you listed Cole as the starter but still played Maruo from the second play on... wouldn't that allow for us to technically dress another DA? 

No because you don't gain a roster spot.  Functionally Cole/Maruo will be the same if they want to use Cole.  What they could do is nationalize Alexander or Bighill which would give them huge flexibility to get Parker or Cole on the field more, especially if there is an injury to a Canadian or Maruo.  They can't really do it for Jeffcoat or Jefferson this week because there's no depth there.

[Booch]

4 minutes ago, bearpants said:

This one really confuses me for two reasons... first is, there's no reason to think Cole can't/won't be a good WIL... but more importantly, I found it interesting that Maruo starts and has an * beside his name... which means he essentially counts as an American as a starter... but he doesn't as a back up... so even if you listed Cole as the starter but still played Maruo from the second play on... wouldn't that allow for us to technically dress another DA? 

he would probably make a good SAM too...dude can run...and hits like a ton

Just now, JuranBoldenRules said:

No because you don't gain a roster spot.  Functionally Cole/Maruo will be the same if they want to use Cole.  What they could do is nationalize Alexander or Bighill which would give them huge flexibility to get Parker or Cole on the field more, especially if there is an injury to a Canadian or Maruo.  They can't really do it for Jeffcoat or Jefferson this week because there's no depth there.

again thio..that would be A-1 roster management and make tons of sense...alas we dont tho

[Fatty Liver]

19 minutes ago, bearpants said:

This one really confuses me for two reasons... first is, there's no reason to think Cole can't/won't be a good WIL... but more importantly, I found it interesting that Maruo starts and has an * beside his name... which means he essentially counts as an American as a starter... but he doesn't as a back up... so even if you listed Cole as the starter but still played Maruo from the second play on... wouldn't that allow for us to technically dress another DA? 

EDIT: looked at the graphic a little closer and I believe it's a + neck to Maruo... which essentially makes like an 8th Canadian... so I think my thought process still applies.  

In his presser yesterday, O'Shea mentioned Briggs as the primary backup to Mauro.  I'm really hoping they can do more with Exume this time around, especially as they can't count on Ford coming back anytime soon.  He's crazy athletic and has good size, no reason he couldn't be further developed as a WIL or a SAM with guidance from Bighill, unless he has really low football IQ.

[Jesse]

8 minutes ago, Fatty Liver said:

In his presser yesterday, O'Shea mentioned Briggs as the primary backup to Mauro.  I'm really hoping they can do more with Exume this time around, especially as they can't count on Ford coming back anytime soon.  He's crazy athletic and has good size, no reason he couldn't be further developed as a WIL or a SAM with guidance from Bighill, unless he has really low football IQ.

Why would you want a DB playing WIL?

[Pepper_Brooks]

8 minutes ago, Jesse said:

Why would you want a DB playing WIL?

Both outside linebackers are essentially additional DBs who can tackle downhill this day and age in the CFL

[Geebrr]

19 minutes ago, Jesse said:

Why would you want a DB playing WIL?

I don’t think you would. SAM is more of an extra DB but the WIL requires a guy to be a big part of the run stop. You see what happens when OL get to the next level on undersized WILs and it isn’t good. 

[ddanger]

4 hours ago, GCn20 said:

For sure. Giving up points, AND not scoring on opportunities are always big factors in a loss.

I am all in favor of replacing Kola with Eli after the bye. I just think that is when you make the change.

Just wondering how much experience Eli has at the pro level for centre....

3 hours ago, Bigblue204 said:

How no one has picked him up, boggles the mind. 

It also says something....is he a problem in the locker room?? maybe he's done??

[Geebrr]

1 minute ago, ddanger said:

Just wondering how much experience Eli has at the pro level for centre....

Well he was our starting  C until the COVID stuff  took him out at the end of  2021. 
 

A hilariously inequitable rule that caused us to lose our starting C but allowed Masoli to play. 

[ddanger]

1 minute ago, Geebrr said:

Well he was our starting  C until the COVID stuff  took him out at the end of  2021. 
 

A hilariously inequitable rule that caused us to lose our starting C but allowed Masoli to play. 

Okay thanks. I remembered him playing for us, and then the whole covid vaccination thing, but forgot that he played centre. 

[JuranBoldenRules]

5 minutes ago, Geebrr said:

Well he was our starting  C until the COVID stuff  took him out at the end of  2021. 
 

A hilariously inequitable rule that caused us to lose our starting C but allowed Masoli to play. 

Couture was the centre.  Eli was 6th OL.

[Booch]

4 minutes ago, ddanger said:

Okay thanks. I remembered him playing for us, and then the whole covid vaccination thing, but forgot that he played centre. 

He was top 2 ranked center in all of NCAA football into his senior season...and been with club now for better of 2+ seasons....I'm sure he will handle it just fine....considering we grabbed Kolo off the scrap heap with no football being played by him for several yrs