Kudos to Doug Brown

[brett_c_b]

 

 

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/football/bombers/Bombers-boss-drops-ball-on-starting-Brohm-over-reliable-backup-Nichols-325183731.html

 

Lawless asking why Nichols didn't start.  I had the same question.  Really, Brohm starting this game was just waving the white flag.

 

I'd give him a lot more credit if he wrote the article before the game. It's easy after they lose playing Brohm to pen an article about how it's the wrong decision. It would actually show some conviction if the article were written before the game was played.

 

 

He's been saying all along that Nichols should be starting.  Nearly every day on the radio and if not him then Davis should get the start since Brohm is awful. 

 

Fair enough, I'm not in Winnipeg so not exactly listening to Lawless on the radio (if I were I still wouldn't listen to Lawless).

[Captain Blue]

It's kind of funny when people rip the special teams because the one thing that would improve them the quickest is also likely to result in the same people whining, playing an American punter, or a punter of any nationality who actually knows how to punt and isn't just playing in a competition of who can kick the ball the furthest.

 

Lirim's been consistently poor this season. Horrendous punting, bad XP kicks. Usually I'd agree and say that a lot of fans would be upset with an American, but at this point someone to at least split duties, and potentially overtake both, would be great.

[JuranBoldenRules]

It's not a video game. You can't just put a QB in with no practice time and he plays to his ability.

[Brandon]

It's not a video game. You can't just put a QB in with no practice time and he plays to his ability.

 

Montreal and Edmonton both did and won!  

[JuranBoldenRules]

 

It's not a video game. You can't just put a QB in with no practice time and he plays to his ability.

 

Montreal and Edmonton both did and won!  

 

 

No they didn't.  Nichols had one practice with the Bombers, Cato and Franklin have been with their teams since training camp.

[Brandon]

 

 

It's not a video game. You can't just put a QB in with no practice time and he plays to his ability.

 

Montreal and Edmonton both did and won!  

 

 

No they didn't.  Nichols had one practice with the Bombers, Cato and Franklin have been with their teams since training camp.

 

 

Crompton didn't though...  

[Dragon37]

Can someone recap the questions and answers given

I can't tell you that without seeing the film.

[BigBlue]

 

We yelled at wade miller in his suite

Was it a good kinda yelling like, "Hey Wade!  Keep up the good work!"  Or was it the bad kind of yelling like, "Hey Wade, nice hiring you did for the Bombers!  Maybe stick to Pinnacle!"

 

Whoever said Pinnacle was a success; I work in an industry related to Pinnacle. I have used Pinnacle. They have not done anything to impress me ... in fact, they have done the opposite .... still they seem to make money and carry on ... what does it take run a franchise like booster juice ... well not everybody can do it but there is a formula for success but you have to follow it ...... still not impressed

[JuranBoldenRules]

 

 

 

It's not a video game. You can't just put a QB in with no practice time and he plays to his ability.

 

Montreal and Edmonton both did and won!  

 

 

No they didn't.  Nichols had one practice with the Bombers, Cato and Franklin have been with their teams since training camp.

 

 

Crompton didn't though...  

 

 

What?  Crompton was with the Als for six weeks before he played.

[Brandon]

 

 

 

 

It's not a video game. You can't just put a QB in with no practice time and he plays to his ability.

 

Montreal and Edmonton both did and won!  

 

 

No they didn't.  Nichols had one practice with the Bombers, Cato and Franklin have been with their teams since training camp.

 

 

Crompton didn't though...  

 

 

What?  Crompton was with the Als for six weeks before he played.

 

 

My bad... it was 4 weeks but still!  

[dmillerywg]

 

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/football/bombers/Bombers-boss-drops-ball-on-starting-Brohm-over-reliable-backup-Nichols-325183731.html

 

Lawless asking why Nichols didn't start.  I had the same question.  Really, Brohm starting this game was just waving the white flag.

 

I'd give him a lot more credit if he wrote the article before the game. It's easy after they lose playing Brohm to pen an article about how it's the wrong decision. It would actually show some conviction if the article were written before the game was played.

 

To be fair to Lawless he said say Nichols should have started before the game however it wasn't practical to expect Nichols to learn the O that quickly to be able to start.. What is more concerning to me is the poor ST play Penalties and awful Game planning ... And awful effort by some players....

 

MOS better wake the you know what up or he will be hitting the road along with the OC and ST coaches...

[kelownabomberfan]

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/football/bombers/Bombers-boss-drops-ball-on-starting-Brohm-over-reliable-backup-Nichols-325183731.html

Lawless asking why Nichols didn't start. I had the same question. Really, Brohm starting this game was just waving the white flag.

Can you post or pm me the full article please?

REGINA - Mike O’Shea had valid reasons for playing Brian Brohm at quarterback this week. The decision, however, didn’t produce a win and in pro football that is the only acceptable outcome.

It was a mistake. One hatched from solid logic but with an all-too predictable outcome. Brohm has done nothing with the opportunities he’s had this season to suggest he was going to produce a win. O’Shea repeatedly stated Brohm gave his team the best chance to win. Nope.

Winnipeg Blue Bombers' quarterback Brian Brohm works under pressure during first half CFL action against the Saskatchewan Roughriders in Regina, Sask., on Sunday.

O’Shea’s offensive assistants should have told him as much. They should have lobbied for Matt Nichols. They’ve watched the film, both game and practice, and should have known the options they have in Brohm or rookie Dominique Davis weren’t satisfactory.

The Bombers fell 37-19 on Sunday to the previously winless Saskatchewan Roughriders and are now 3-7 on the season with a rematch against the Riders coming Saturday in Winnipeg.

Lots went wrong, including an unforgiveable rash of penalties (17 for 140 yards) and more special-teams miscues but at the heart of this loss was a lack of offensive production. Brohm couldn’t convert with any consistency and the Bombers had just 16 first downs against Saskatchewan’s 26. The Riders held the ball for 37:45 while Winnipeg’s offence could only stay on the field for 22:15.

Brohm’s stat line: 21 completions on 26 attempts for 184 yards with 0 touchdowns and 0 interceptions doesn’t appear offensive at first glance. But it’s a whole lot of nothing. He drove the car around in circles all afternoon, never venturing out on the highway or, heaven forbid, in the direction of the endzone.

The name of the game is to score touchdowns and Winnipeg’s offence mustered only two: one early as a result of a turnover and then another well into garbage time. They didn’t drive the ball down the field and they were never a threat.

They played scared and, to borrow from veteran hockey coach Craig Ramsay, scared is death.

Some say O’Shea is stubborn but I don’t know him that well and certainly not well enough to make that judgement. Maybe you do. What I do know: O’Shea made the decision before Nichols, who was traded to the Bombers on Wednesday, had even arrived in Winnipeg.

O’Shea, quite reasonably, came to the conclusion the quarterback wouldn’t know enough of the playbook to be able to successfully lead the offence. Fair enough. But Nichols, even with a reduced offensive package would have been a better option.

Brohm’s understanding of the playbook doesn’t over-ride his inability to target the football with any semblance of consistency on passes longer than five yards.

Brohm stated after the game that he thought the offence played a "clean" game. You don’t get dirty if you don’t try to make a splash in the puddles, my man. This is rationalization at its best. Or worst. It’s deluded and if that’s what the Bombers offensive minds thought of this game, well, they’re way off base.

Drew Willy has watched the last three games due to a knee injury and that, above all else, is what’s wrong with the Bombers.

Willy makes the Bombers a better team and it’s become apparent they’re just not deep enough at this stage of their rebuild to withstand injuries, especially one to their best and most important player.

But an injury to Willy doesn’t give the offensive coaches and players a free pass. They have to scrape something together and hold up their end of the table. They’ve completely dropped it now, going back to the moment Willy went down.

A major portion of this falls on the quarterback play in these three games. Brohm and Robert Marve haven’t given the Bombers an opportunity to win. Which is precisely why Nichols was the right call. He’s won games in the CFL. He’s no saviour but he’s a competent backup. He can and has gotten the job done. He’s a major upgrade over what we’ve seen from Winnipeg’s quarterbacks not named Willy.

Nichols should have started this game and he should once again get the nod come the Banjo Bowl this weekend. He’s the only thing resembling a professional quarterback in the Bombers stable of healthy passers.

Asking him to start on just two days of practice and three days of study was a difficult task. But trying to win with Brohm at the helm is the impossible task.

These are O’Shea’s decisions to make. He’s not going to get every one right. And you want a coach who relies on process as well as logic rather than guesswork and hunches.

Process and logic should tell O’Shea his offence needs to be flipped on its head. The scheme isn’t getting it done. Nor is the personnel.

It’s time for change. Major change. Promote Markus Howell and Buck Pierce - give them the keys. And then give them Nichols to give them a fighting chance.

This season isn’t over but if the offence continues as it has - forget about it. O’Shea has led by taking the flak. That’s OK, if eventually there’s a payoff game in the future. That hasn’t happened. So now it’s time to provide a solution and execute.

One week late is better than never.

[Dragon37]

Really, how many days does it take to learn hand-off up the middle and five yard curl?

[The Unknown Poster]

Irving is a great announcer but a world class pansy.

[gbill2004]

Irving is a great announcer but a world class pansy.

Yep, no balls.

[Logan007]

Geez, guys, chill on Irving.  He's 70 years old.  You start mellowing out more and more as you get older.  You don't have to insult the guy.  That being said, he should be retiring and letting someone else take the reigns.

[DR. CFL]

I'm sure Bob would love to be more critical of everything questionable in the organization at this time but let's be realistic. He needs to work with these people day in and day out and therefore require a level of cooperation. The columnists from the print media don't necessarily need to maintain that type of relationship to do their jobs.

[Tracker]

Bob Irving is a good commentator but he is in a bind. If he really grills O'Shea, he gets terse, rote answers much as Doug Brown got from O'Shea in the post-game show. If the Bomber coaches are told to drop cliches and give pre-rehearsed answers, then Irving is scrooged, so he plays nice hoping to get a crumb once in a while.

[ddanger]

I listened to the coaches show last week on the radio. Pretty lame really. If you actually listen to what he says, he doesn't say anything. The vanilla questions he gives an answer, but anything to the point, there's no reply. Does Paul Maurice really give an answer to a question??? Not. They don't want to reveal anything that may give the other team an advantage.

[Dragon37]

I listened to the coaches show last week on the radio. Pretty lame really. If you actually listen to what he says, he doesn't say anything. The vanilla questions he gives an answer, but anything to the point, there's no reply. Does Paul Maurice really give an answer to a question??? Not. They don't want to reveal anything that may give the other team an advantage.

Um, what could he give away? Everyone and his dog knows the Winnipeg playbook. What damage could MOS possibly do?

Oh and Maurice gives more answers than MOS. MOS doesn't have any answers. It is hard to when you have no clue what's going on.

[Mark F]

Bob Irving is a good commentator but he is in a bind. If he really grills O'Shea, he gets terse, rote answers much as Doug Brown got from O'Shea in the post-game show. If the Bomber coaches are told to drop cliches and give pre-rehearsed answers, then Irving is scrooged, so he plays nice hoping to get a crumb once in a while.

 

A bind he's in is that the team would be unhappy if their broadcaster started hammering the team. there's another option for radio broadcast now for the Bombers.

 

I listen to radio broadcasts for some NFL teams. They are always ridiculously positive about every aspect of their team. greatest coach, greatest quarterback, etc.

 

Bob is tough on the team in comparison to the absurd NFL broadcasts.

 

I agree about Maurice. He's more informative, without damaging his team. He's far more experienced than Mike in media relations.

 

But football coaches are all paranoid about their "schemes" and player status. to the point of silliness. see… Patriots.

 

Like the idea of playing "vanilla" in preseason. LOL.

 

what are the great super top secret plays and formations that we were cleverly keeping under wraps in preseason, and  which we have now unleashed on the helpless opposition?  

[Brandon]

I don't expect a coach to throw specific players under the table.

But I also expect a coach to accept accountability and to admit the obvious.

Did he not learn from Burke that the old have to watch film to learn what went wrong excuse is cowardly.

He could also show some urgency in his answers....like how Wade was on 1290 acting like the team is a few pieces away from being a Grey Cup challenger. It's OK to be humble and admit that lots of work is still ahead.

[Tracker]

The last post-game interview with O'Shea was the third one this year I listened to, and all were after lop-sided losses. O'Shea has sounded more defensive in each successive interview, but Sunday night he sounded fatalistic and lost as well. If O'Shea is feeling that way, imagine what kind of message is being sent to the players. Time for euthanasia, but if it doesn't happen by noon tomorrow, it gonna be a epic disaster right to the end of the season.

[JuranBoldenRules]

I don't expect a coach to throw specific players under the table.

But I also expect a coach to accept accountability and to admit the obvious.

Did he not learn from Burke that the old have to watch film to learn what went wrong excuse is cowardly.

He could also show some urgency in his answers....like how Wade was on 1290 acting like the team is a few pieces away from being a Grey Cup challenger. It's OK to be humble and admit that lots of work is still ahead.

 

O'Shea is no different than any other coach.  The halftime and immediate post-game interviews are useless, nobody is going to give up information, they don't know about injuries and they aren't going to say what they think happened.

[kelownabomberfan]

The last post-game interview with O'Shea was the third one this year I listened to, and all were after lop-sided losses. O'Shea has sounded more defensive in each successive interview, but Sunday night he sounded fatalistic and lost as well. If O'Shea is feeling that way, imagine what kind of message is being sent to the players. Time for euthanasia, but if it doesn't happen by noon tomorrow, it gonna be a epic disaster right to the end of the season.

 

I am just waiting for O'Shea to get the thousand yard stare like Burke, standing there while the whole world falls apart around him, staring at nothing.  They should start calling that the "Bomber stare", as that's all I was doing to my TV the entire second half (interrupted only by pouring more Crown Royal).