Blue Bombers - 2024 Regular Season - Discussion Thread

[17to85]

17 minutes ago, Colin Unger said:

And yet we have managed to the grey cup 4 years in a row in the more difficult division. And the Argos were basically one and done.

I don’t disagree that there’s been some poor decisions made at times regarding playing injured players in the cup and how many of x position to dress for x game. But that’s basically where the shortcomings of this organization ends. The team went to the grey cup 4 times and won 2 over the span of 5 years. Now they’re doing a mini rebuild while more than likely remaining competitive. Cry me a river. Who else is even going to the cup twice in a row these days?

are they? cause it looks to me like the coach is putting all his chips in on his old vets that won in 2019 and 2021... where's the rebuild there? Do we really think O'Shea is going to willingly move on from these guys at this point? 

The problems are the same as they were last year and it's only getting worse as time marches on and these core guys get older. Yeah they won a **** load of games, but if you didn't see the cracks appearing last season and don't see the exact same mistakes being made again this season then I just don't know what to tell you. If we were doing a mini-rebuild one of the rookie american MLBs would have played while bighill was hurt, guys like thomas wouldn't be playing nearly so much, Willie Jefferson would be getting seriously limited reps... but that's not happening, the old farts are still being expected to be their younger selves. 

[WildPath]

8 hours ago, Colin Unger said:

Who else is even going to the cup twice in a row these days?

Twice in a row?

[JohnnyAbonny]

So after watching that video, Kolo starting over Eli is even more perplexingly ridiculous. 
 

[Booch]

22 minutes ago, JohnnyAbonny said:

So after watching that video, Kolo starting over Eli is even more perplexingly ridiculous. 
 

as many of us have been saying fo better part of 2 yrs now....just another case of teachers pet getting the job

Edited June 13 by Booch

[BigBlueFanatic]

40 minutes ago, JohnnyAbonny said:

So after watching that video, Kolo starting over Eli is even more perplexingly ridiculous. 
 

 

38 minutes ago, Booch said:

as many of us have been saying fo better part of 2 yrs now....just another case of teachers pet getting the job

The downgrade over the years from Goossen, to Couture, to Kolankowski is brutal.

Keeping nat players like him and Thomas over Gray and Bolo makes me sad.  Yes yes different positions but the ripple effects on the roster would have made us better not worse.  Gray at RT is what I thought might happen with Yoshi moving on but now he’s just out of football entirely

[wbbfan]

12 hours ago, Super Duper Negatron said:

I get the impression from that video that our dear centre got his ass handed to him 

Also learned more in 12 minutes than from a lifetime of Glenn Suitors 

He was very gentle with lofton, but lofton got it even worse. he's on the wrong side of pressure in all but 1 of those plays, when kola gets pancaked. One of the last plays he gets beat by 2 guys and gets no one. At times he was kick stepping way too far and giving up inside position, other times hes dropping back with out contact like he's a damn DB trying to get deep and just walking back into the pocket. We have 2 big holes on our OL right now. I don't know what is more frustrating, That we don't seem to have the answer at imp T, or that we have the answer at C and refuse to use it. 

Love the content from lapo, hope he keeps it up. YT is a hard grind and even harder for the CFL market I'm sure. The play to woli is clearly quarters cover though, the play at 7:57 problem isn't zach missing the guy with a seam buster, which he didn't likely have time for, the problem is the confusion on coverage left both guys on that side open. Zach didn't miss 1 possible throw because of timing of progression, he missed the side of the field because he never looked. Even the play to woli that lapo loves, that's a very risky throw when he had an easy target about 5 yards shorter to the side line that wasn't surrounded with guys. 

[voodoochylde]

The one spend that I wish Kyle would have made was to re-sign Desjarlais when he came back from the NFL (I know the decision came down to more than just money).   Imagine a line right now of:

Bryant  Desjarlais  Eli  Dobson  (insert right tackle here)

That would be all sorts of nasty.

[wbbfan]

14 minutes ago, BigBlueFanatic said:

 

The downgrade over the years from Goossen, to Couture, to Kolankowski is brutal.

Keeping nat players like him and Thomas over Gray and Bolo makes me sad.  Yes yes different positions but the ripple effects on the roster would have made us better not worse.  Gray at RT is what I thought might happen with Yoshi moving on but now he’s just out of football entirely

Couture was better than goossen, IMO. But yeah, Kola is the worst C we've had in a long while. He's a reliable snapper, decent in run pro if he doesn't have a man to take, is awful any time he has a man to take especially if they are on the nose. But he's even bead with handling twists. 

 Gray would've hands down been better than lofton imo. Idk if he would be a long term answer at RT, but I always thought that was the position to groom him for. Don't know till you try. Lofton is worse than when Neuf played RT a bit last year. 

2 minutes ago, voodoochylde said:

The one spend that I wish Kyle would have made was to re-sign Desjarlais when he came back from the NFL (I know the decision came down to more than just money).   Imagine a line right now of:

Bryant  Desjarlais  Eli  Dobson  (insert right tackle here)

That would be all sorts of nasty.

I was real sad we lost out on Desjarlais too. I don't think they'll move on from Neuf as long as he can walk though. 

[voodoochylde]

1 minute ago, wbbfan said:

Couture was better than goossen, IMO. But yeah, Kola is the worst C we've had in a long while. He's a reliable snapper, decent in run pro if he doesn't have a man to take, is awful any time he has a man to take especially if they are on the nose. But he's even bead with handling twists. 

 Gray would've hands down been better than lofton imo. Idk if he would be a long term answer at RT, but I always thought that was the position to groom him for. Don't know till you try. Lofton is worse than when Neuf played RT a bit last year. 

I was real sad we lost out on Desjarlais too. I don't think they'll move on from Neuf as long as he can walk though. 

I was one of the biggest Neuf haters early on in his career here (health) but he's been a pretty steady part of that line for a long while and can play multiple positions in a pinch.   Hell, at this point, I'd kick him outside as he's an upgrade over Lofton.

As long as the center of our offensive line continues to routinely struggle, Zach and the offense will struggle.  

[JohnnyAbonny]

10 minutes ago, wbbfan said:

He was very gentle with lofton, but lofton got it even worse. he's on the wrong side of pressure in all but 1 of those plays, when kola gets pancaked. One of the last plays he gets beat by 2 guys and gets no one. At times he was kick stepping way too far and giving up inside position, other times hes dropping back with out contact like he's a damn DB trying to get deep and just walking back into the pocket. We have 2 big holes on our OL right now. I don't know what is more frustrating, That we don't seem to have the answer at imp T, or that we have the answer at C and refuse to use it. 

Love the content from lapo, hope he keeps it up. YT is a hard grind and even harder for the CFL market I'm sure. The play to woli is clearly quarters cover though, the play at 7:57 problem isn't zach missing the guy with a seam buster, which he didn't likely have time for, the problem is the confusion on coverage left both guys on that side open. Zach didn't miss 1 possible throw because of timing of progression, he missed the side of the field because he never looked. Even the play to woli that lapo loves, that's a very risky throw when he had an easy target about 5 yards shorter to the side line that wasn't surrounded with guys. 

Lol! I saw that too, he’s got a sick backpedal 

[Booch]

it is my belief that I think Gray wanted to step away from football...longterm...not sure, but also a reason why he hadn't signed elsewhere.

Lofton is good at some stuff....deficient in others, and tho I can appreciate the want with going with some experience, not sure thats the right decision...hopefully the 2 guys they kept are being coached up and seriously looked at to step in at some point.....I also think that if we could run Bryant..Dobson...Eli...Neuf and for now Lofton we would be so much btter and could do some different things to compensate for Lofton's short comings in the short term.

I wanna see ZC this game above anything be more assertive and take the thigs there, as opposed tohis penchant of late to try and always hit the big strike, or force things. The one plus...and there is only one with Lawler being out is that it will force ZC to actually go withhis looks and reads...and not focus on the one guy....

With BO out today too...I hope Buck cooks up a bunch of 2 QB looks...and ones where if it is flipped to Strev...it's with the pass a first scheme....with option to run if the primary guy is not there 

 

[wbbfan]

3 minutes ago, voodoochylde said:

I was one of the biggest Neuf haters early on in his career here (health) but he's been a pretty steady part of that line for a long while and can play multiple positions in a pinch.   Hell, at this point, I'd kick him outside as he's an upgrade over Lofton.

As long as the center of our offensive line continues to routinely struggle, Zach and the offense will struggle.  

Yeah me too. While I think he has benefited from playing along side some great, great OL, he definitely turned the corner with his health and improved a lot over his early years. 

100%, up the middle is the fastest way to get pressure and ruin a qbs day. I think Neuf and dobson would both be better centres than the Koala. 

[Booch]

Just now, wbbfan said:

Yeah me too. While I think he has benefited from playing along side some great, great OL, he definitely turned the corner with his health and improved a lot over his early years. 

100%, up the middle is the fastest way to get pressure and ruin a qbs day. I think Neuf and dobson would both be better centres than the Koala. 

great lines are built from inside out if you have a legit backside tackle.....we have that...we also have a legit center....I think he needs to join the Army reserves or something...or start bringing out the water bottles in practice.

I can't stress enough that if he wasnt hurt his 3rd yr at Hawaii he would have ben one of the top 2..3 centers drafted in the NFL draft his senior yr....and prob still wouldn't have been up here yet....And when we grabbed him I literally shat my pants.

 

 

[wbbfan]

5 minutes ago, JohnnyAbonny said:

Lol! I saw that too, he’s got a sick backpedal 

Dude missed his calling for real lol. I feel like him in those plays trying to keep my toddler from going places he shouldn't. 

 

1 minute ago, Booch said:

it is my belief that I think Gray wanted to step away from football...longterm...not sure, but also a reason why he hadn't signed elsewhere.

Lofton is good at some stuff....deficient in others, and tho I can appreciate the want with going with some experience, not sure thats the right decision...hopefully the 2 guys they kept are being coached up and seriously looked at to step in at some point.....I also think that if we could run Bryant..Dobson...Eli...Neuf and for now Lofton we would be so much btter and could do some different things to compensate for Lofton's short comings in the short term.

I wanna see ZC this game above anything be more assertive and take the thigs there, as opposed tohis penchant of late to try and always hit the big strike, or force things. The one plus...and there is only one with Lawler being out is that it will force ZC to actually go withhis looks and reads...and not focus on the one guy....

With BO out today too...I hope Buck cooks up a bunch of 2 QB looks...and ones where if it is flipped to Strev...it's with the pass a first scheme....with option to run if the primary guy is not there 

 

 

I suspect that's true with Gray. He probably wanted either a starting role and the money that goes with it, or to pursue his engineering work. No one wanted to pay him like that and or hand him a starting role. He's the opposite of lofton for me, he really isn't a guard. 

He can really lock guys up if they bull rush him. And he has the mobility. Idk, it's hard to see him putting it together at RT, and hardly any one plays Imp guards. No doubt dumping kola would improve the line and allow to cover for a guy like lofton more. I do worry though if he doesn't improve at least the pick ups, switches and assignment stuff while playing next to neuf fast, that he just wont ever get it. 

Yeah, zach needs to progress better and not hesitate to hit guys that are going to come open. Doesn't need to constantly wait to try and strike for a TD. 

Buck really needs to have a great game plan and play call today. Out lawler and bo is a huge blow. 

[TBURGESS]

I wanna see Strev throw the freakin ball when he's in. Running all the time lets the D focus on it. 

[wbbfan]

1 minute ago, Booch said:

great lines are built from inside out if you have a legit backside tackle.....we have that...we also have a legit center....I think he needs to join the Army reserves or something...or start bringing out the water bottles in practice.

I can't stress enough that if he wasnt hurt his 3rd yr at Hawaii he would have ben one of the top 2..3 centers drafted in the NFL draft his senior yr....and prob still wouldn't have been up here yet....And when we grabbed him I literally shat my pants.

 

 

I think we originally in turning around our OL did it the opposite, but yeah that is generally true. Especially up here. Lol some one fire up the photo shop and crop eli into a military uniform! Yeah, and I get a well kept secret is valuable but damn at some point you have to actually use him. I think he would've been a late 2nd round pick at worst. And possibly a 1st in the NFL. 

[Booch]

3 minutes ago, TBURGESS said:

I wanna see Strev throw the freakin ball when he's in. Running all the time lets the D focus on it. 

100 percent....there no point bringing him in if thats all he going to do....the dude can play QB if allowed to

[bearpants]

13 hours ago, JuranBoldenRules said:

 

don't know who this guy is but I bet he would make a pretty good OC... please discuss

[voodoochylde]

1 minute ago, bearpants said:

don't know who this guy is but I bet he would make a pretty good OC... please discuss

He would be .. if he could only get out of his own way and allow the teams he's coached to keep firing bullets.

[wbbfan]

29 minutes ago, Booch said:

100 percent....there no point bringing him in if thats all he going to do....the dude can play QB if allowed to

If we don't have him throw, he's gonna get hurt. Plop used him as a one play wildcat. And you just cant sustain that. 

Hell, have him throw a screen or hook and run a designed lateral. Like a hook and ladder play, but in a bit of a smaller area. Have him throw the play action cross we run soo much. We've got to throw in wrinkles right away. 

2 minutes ago, bearpants said:

don't know who this guy is but I bet he would make a pretty good OC... please discuss

Hard pass. 

[Booch]

13 minutes ago, wbbfan said:

If we don't have him throw, he's gonna get hurt. Plop used him as a one play wildcat. And you just cant sustain that. 

Hell, have him throw a screen or hook and run a designed lateral. Like a hook and ladder play, but in a bit of a smaller area. Have him throw the play action cross we run soo much. We've got to throw in wrinkles right away. 

Hard pass. 

first time he comes in...have him drop back and go deep.....even fist couple times

[bearpants]

53 minutes ago, TBURGESS said:

I wanna see Strev throw the freakin ball when he's in. Running all the time lets the D focus on it. 

I'd like to see them go back to what they did in his early days... come in for a short yardage, then immediately go into a no huddle offense and catch the D off guard... would help the offense and give Zach some extra rest

[wbbfan]

42 minutes ago, Booch said:

first time he comes in...have him drop back and go deep.....even fist couple times

Especially that, the best qb runs come from delay plays while the wrs run off the dbs. 
 

37 minutes ago, bearpants said:

I'd like to see them go back to what they did in his early days... come in for a short yardage, then immediately go into a no huddle offense and catch the D off guard... would help the offense and give Zach some extra rest

100% the hurry up after the short yardage play was always a huge advantage. 

[Booch]

34 minutes ago, bearpants said:

I'd like to see them go back to what they did in his early days... come in for a short yardage, then immediately go into a no huddle offense and catch the D off guard... would help the offense and give Zach some extra rest

hey....how bout let hium go back to his first few games where he threw for 6 td's and no int's....over 400 yards.....rushed for 130 yards and a TD......as a raw rookie....bet he can do better than that now....heck....let him play total QB like last yr at SD where he threw over 4100 yards...and 32 TD's and also rushed for over 700 yards and 11 more TD's....theres a thought

[JohnnyAbonny]

1 hour ago, wbbfan said:

Dude missed his calling for real lol. I feel like him in those plays trying to keep my toddler from going places he shouldn't. 

 

 

 

Right? I use those DB fundamentals to chase my 2 year old all the time haha

11 minutes ago, Booch said:

hey....how bout let hium go back to his first few games where he threw for 6 td's and no int's....over 400 yards.....rushed for 130 yards and a TD......as a raw rookie....bet he can do better than that now....heck....let him play total QB like last yr at SD where he threw over 4100 yards...and 32 TD's and also rushed for over 700 yards and 11 more TD's....theres a thought

Agree 100%. Strev can sling it as well as any QB in the league if he gets the chance. 

Anyone who doesn’t think so, go watch his first 2 starts when the actually let him play QB. 

1 hour ago, bearpants said:

don't know who this guy is but I bet he would make a pretty good OC... please discuss

Yeah he can put it together, just don’t let him call the game