In Case You Missed It

[Mr Dee]

After week 4:

From week 3, and something for Our HC to think about:

- Buono says if the offense struggles again he will have no hesitation to pull Jennings again. Believes he hung onto the ball too long at times - Farhan Lalji    Wally, "I didn't pull Jonathan to damage him, I did it to help him. The offense was getting stagnant, I wanted to take the pressure off him" - Farhan Lalji
 
I think Buono was pretty close to pulling Jennings in this last game too. 

Still on Buono ..Buono strolls out, pretty well to midfield, to get the attention of the ref and gets a penalty for his troubles. I wonder if he was trying to one-up Jim Popp for throwing his hat to get the ref's attention? It was a deserved penalty, which spawned a caller to the Rider post-game show to comment: 
“Wally Buono had more yards on the field than the Riders running backs.”                               

Speaking after the Bomber game, Walby says he's surprised O'Shea didn't use ex-Edmonton Nichols in a one or two series scenario. He admits O'Shea is a loyal guy.

Drew Willy just 7-14 in the red zone...- Jeff Hamilton (Hamilton game)

"You don't want to be known as a league that doesn't pay it's assistant coaches as per their contracts." - @scratchingpost #CFL #Esks CFLNews 

GREGORY HIRED: John Gregory has a new football post.
The former Saskatchewan Roughriders and Hamilton Tiger-Cats head coach was recently named the first commissioner of the Arena Development League, an indoor football circuit that has no affiliation with either Arena Football League or Indoor Football 

Some of us conspiracy theorists believe Durant — as good as he is — might not be the Riders’ long-term quarterback, that Jones instead has his eyes on free-agent-to-be James Franklin, an aspiring star who Jones coached last year with the Edmonton Eskimos. And all these other guys are simply short-term backup plans. - Posted on July 12, 2016 by Darrell Davis 

@BlueBomberTalk
Source indicates the #Bombers sold just over 800 new jerseys on preorders alone. That's ~$160,000 in revenue. Not bad. 

CFL News –  @CFL_News
#Riders get rights to QB Vad Lee in deal with Eskimos http://3downnation.com/2016/07/12/riders-get-rights-to-qb-vad-lee-in-deal-with-eskimos … #CFL #Esks via @JDunk12- 

My question is - why in hell does Hervey keep feeding Jones players?

The number of rushing yards per game, according to league stats guru Steve Daniel, has never been as few as this year. Through three weeks, there has been an average of 166 rushing yards per game, which is down 23% from only two seasons ago.  
Through three weeks, teams have combined to rush the ball only 34.7 times per game, which are the fewest in league history. Edmonton’s John White and Calgary’s Jerome Messam are the only two rushers on pace to crack the 1,000-yard mark in the early going.  Kirk Penton, Toronto Sun

The “eye in the sky” video reviewer appears to be working so far. One thing he should be able to fix in the future, however, is plays like Hamilton’s touchdown last week against Winnipeg. Andy Fantuz was clearly offside on Chad Owens’ TD grab, and here’s hoping the league will allow the eye in the sky to fix the mistakes that hundreds of thousands of viewers can see plain as day. KPenton

I'm not as sure as Kirk Penton about the "eye in the sky" working so far. I've seen it work, maybe a few times, but, shouldn't it be preventing at least, some of those challenges?

Insider stuff from Penton: 
Chris Williams and his dropsies from years gone by. He says "Chris Williams is simply catching the football. He had the second-most drops last year, which worked out to more than 300 yards worth. A lot of his drops last year were touchdowns, so his concentration has improved. If he cuts his drops in half, he’s a 100 catch guy every year .." 
I too, was wondering about Williams' drops from years gone by. That's a huge difference.

CFL News - Accepted penalties at a 23 per cent decrease from the same point last season. - @garylawless #CFL  
'Accepted' as opposed to called?

@ArashMadani
So @JDunk12 just came on @timandsid and said Jim Barker/the Argos did not offer the same money as Ottawa to Trevor Harris in the off-season.  -  
This counters the Argos claim that they did.

Coach Jones...
“Just for y’all’s information, Cover Zero is when you don’t play with a free safety and you blitz everybody. It has been 86-per-cent successful over my career for a 3.3-yard average, so that’s why we run it.” - leaderpost.com

Reflecting back on it now, making the convert harder to get, has made the convert....harder to get. - Mr Dee

I suggest that somebody in the bomber employ, phone Marcel Desjardins, and ask him who he thinks is the next 'can't miss' QB for the CFL . Why Marcel? Well, he seems to know what he's doing. 
Then I suggest we go after said QB. Now. Before now. Pre-now, if you will. ASAP. Never mind the repercussions of such move. Just do it.
Only half-kidding.

2 of the 3 must see moments in the CFL involved 2 receivers that made incredible catches in the game this year. Against. Us.

Hearing SJ Green is about a month away from the procedure to repair is ACL, MCL & PCL #Alouettes #CFL - Matthew Scianitti

Willy had 13 incompletions on 38 attempts. In breaking down each of his errant throws, there were eight where Willy was simply off the mark; either too high, too low, behind or too far ahead. Two were intercepted in heavy coverage, a third should have been picked off, one he threw away because of pressure, and it appeared Willy was upset with Darvin Adams for making a mistake on another.
- Kirk Penton

Ed Tait -
The Bombers had 33 first down plays against the Eskimos and, factoring in penalties, sacks and losses, netted just 77 yards offence. Willy was 12 of 19 for 184 yards with a TD and an interception on first down, but the Bombers rushed nine times for only 27 yards, Willy was sacked once, and there were four penalties.
of the 22 second-down plays the Bombers ran, a whopping 13 of them needed 10 or more yards to be converted and only four were second-and-five or less.

Kent Austin speaks his Mind. Mike O'Shea hides his feelings. 2 Complete opposites. #bombers #cfl #ticats - Steve Morley

Hamilton 8 sacks Montreal 4 sacks Not much to say about this game. This was not the same Montreal team the Bombers played.

TSN had been reporting how good their numbers were for CFL games this year. Then came this ugly Hamilton -Montreal affair...GULP ? 

Mack, who took over as general manager in January 2010, produced a 21-39 mark before getting the pink slip in August 2013, which works out to a .350 winning percentage. Since then the Bombers are 15-37, which represents a .288 winning percentage over eight fewer games than Mack lasted. - Kirk penton

In the "news to me" category - Miller, who appears 2 B involved in personnel matters, & Walters will celebrate 3rd anniversary w/ #Bombers in few weeks. - @PentonKirk #CFL

Quebec pouring it on now..Gregoire Martin runs it in from 13 yards and it's Que 25, Sask 8 w/1:06 left.   - Football Manitoba  
Ha! Anything to do with Sask losing at football....I'll post it.

The CFL headline read that Hamilton dominated the Alouettes. More proof that the reality behind the headline is completely different.

Who said this? 
We f—in’ suck,” he said, quite candidly. Until the motherf—ers take control and look in the mirror, it will continue to be no good,”  “Everyone in the locker room has got to be accountable. It’s not about character. We didn’t play very well.”
Nic Lewis
And as the writer says (Herb Zerkowsky - Montreal Gazette) "the Als were coming off a bye week in the schedule, having not played since June 30. The coaching staff had plenty of time to prepare. Instead, they made a Ticats team that had lost two straight at home look magnificent."

Don't know how much of this true... Chris Carter was on the sidelines watching his son Duron perform. At least one spectator sitting in the south-side stands indicated "it appeared the elder Carter was coaching Montreal’s receivers."

Heh, heh. I bet you Duron Carter is sorry he didn't sit out the Hamilton game on suspension...?

Chris Jones - 1st time as a HC - loses 3 games in a row. So sad.

#Riders injuries were a big factor, but @JJ_Jennings10 came of age in 2nd half against heavy blitz, was able to beat man coverage. @CFLonTSN - Farhan Lalji

Durant x-rays were negative for a broken bone. Would like league to look at hit. #Riders Lee Jones

"I'll let the league answer to that." - Jones on whether hit on Durant was dirty. #CFL
-Warren Woods - "Jones not buying the notion Brooks " accidentally" rolled into Durants ankle"..#postgame

-didn't look like an 'intent to roll to me', but he did get 3 roughing-the-passer penalties. Let's just say he didn't try to stop from rolling into Durant. Durant, himself, believes it was 'borderline dirty'......."Durant calls Michael Brooks hit that injured his ankle "borderlne dirty" leaderpost.com/sports/footbal… #CFL" #Riders #BCLions via @murraylp

Does Justin Capicciotti miss Hopkins, Shologan, and Lemon from the RedBlack D?

I thought it was a head's up play when A. Allen, in the grasp of defenders, spotted Jennings, and tossed him the ball for a BC TD.

The hitch screen -  They threw it four times to Weston Dressler and picked up a grand total of zero yards before finally deciding to ditch it. - Penton.
Is this really why we got this guy? - Dee.
Also, Penton reports Sophomore right guard Sukh Chungh was beaten on two of the 3 sacks, and he also took a holding penalty on Winnipeg's drive in the game's final minute.

The kicking curse lives on in Winnipeg? 
"New Bombers placekicker Justin Medlock, who failed to convert from 49 yards against the Eskimos, has missed four of 12 field goal attempts through four games. Last year in Hamilton he missed only five kicks in 47 tries" ..- Penton

You have to ask yourself - do you think the Bombers could have responded the same way the Lions did under all that pressure? Even with that horrid Sask.secondary? .......I thought not.

The #Bombers are running fundamental blocking and positional-tackling drills in practice today. So there's that. - Darrin Bauming

Which brings up the question, "are the bombers physically able to move the opponents off the ball?" MOS brought this up and it's worth pondering.

The Eskimos have a record of 2-1 at this stage of the season. They could easily be 0-3.
 
Have you ever heard the expression "behind the sticks" being used as much as it this year?

And finally, does it ever do any good to rush only 3 men in any kind of defence?

Names who stood out Week 4:

Kenny Shaw - 7-94 yds. Great good route runner and yac getter. Don't much like his haircut though.
T. Harris (28-31, 392 YDS)
G. Ellingson (9 REC, 218 YDS) Nissan player of the game.
Jaime Elizondo - Ottawa OC - brilliant game plan and mix. racking up 455 yards of offence while averaging 8.3 yards per play.
Mike Reilly - 32-45 465
Adarius Bowman - 10-185
D.Walker - 7-154
B. Banks - 86 yd punt return TD
Adrian Tracy - 11 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 deflection
B Maher - 5 FGs including a 56 yarder.
J. Jennings 25-40 429 yds - career high
S. Gore 6-109 yds
N. Roosevelt 8-132 yds

[sweep the leg]

Nice work. New MBB weekly feature?

[17to85]

Source?

 

but seriously, some interesting things, particularly the Bombers 2nd downs needing 5 or less yards. This team has major issues on 2nd and long so running the useless plays where they get no yards or taking penalties on first down just cripples the offense. Never mind that of those 4 2nd down plays needing less than 5 yards one of them was a running play that got absolutely stuffed so they punted because of that too. Just so many plays this team runs that are wasted from the get go because of what they call. 

[Mr Dee]

4 minutes ago, sweep the leg said:

Nice work. New MBB weekly feature?

Thanks sweep. I'll keep doing it, on a weekly basis, if the interest is there.

[Fatty Liver]

22 minutes ago, Mr Dee said:

Thanks sweep. I'll keep doing it, on a weekly basis, if the interest is there.

I see you have your sources well documented.

[Tracker]

There doesn't seem to be too many Bombers who are standouts....

[Brandon]

Quote

Mack, who took over as general manager in January 2010, produced a 21-39 mark before getting the pink slip in August 2013, which works out to a .350 winning percentage. Since then the Bombers are 15-37, which represents a .288 winning percentage over eight fewer games than Mack lasted. - Kirk penton

[Tracker]

Isn't this information rubbing salt into the wounds?

[ediger]

I appreciate the time it takes to put this together. Thanks!

[kelownabomberfan]

man, when I see how well Ottawa is doing it just burns my butt.  Trevor Harris!!!  He was available!! ARGHHH

[iso_55]

Good job Mr Dee. Keep it up!

[Guest J5V]

Quote

Which brings up the question, "are the bombers physically able to move the opponents off the ball?" MOS brought this up and it's worth pondering.

Please tell me this part was a joke, that MOS isn't really just considering this as a possibility now, in his third year.

[pigseye]

Quote

 

The #Bombers are running fundamental blocking and positional-tackling drills in practice today. So there's that. - Darrin Bauming

Which brings up the question, "are the bombers physically able to move the opponents off the ball?" MOS brought this up and it's worth pondering.

 

No.

[Mr Dee]

27 minutes ago, J5V said:

Please tell me this part was a joke, that MOS isn't really just considering this as a possibility now, in his third year.

No, that's my question. He brought up that necessity to be able to run the ball. I just wondered if we (the offensive line) were able to do so.

[Guest J5V]

5 minutes ago, Mr Dee said:

No, that's my question. He brought up that necessity to be able to run the ball. I just wondered if we (the offensive line) were able to do so.

When it comes to our offensive line I think it is what it is. Mediocre at best. I really wish more had been done to improve it in the last 3 years. Keeping isn't going to be the answer and Harris can't do it on his own. Picard was a colossal failure and the scouting dept hasn't produced any gems. Not good for Willy and definitely not good for our running game. If I was Miller I'd consider replacing Walters if I thought there was someone that could step in and bring us the kind of players we need. Who that someone is is unknown to me but I consider it Miller's job to find that person, fast, or he should be next.

[Tracker]

Walters is definitely on the hot seat. I am not convinced the Bomber woes are all lack of talent, but a good deal the result of poor coaching. If Walters swings from the gibbet, it will be as a result of his decision to retain O'Shea in the face of a lot of evidence that O'Shea is in over his head.

[iso_55]

1 hour ago, J5V said:

When it comes to our offensive line I think it is what it is. Mediocre at best. I really wish more had been done to improve it in the last 3 years. Keeping isn't going to be the answer and Harris can't do it on his own. Picard was a colossal failure and the scouting dept hasn't produced any gems. Not good for Willy and definitely not good for our running game. If I was Miller I'd consider replacing Walters if I thought there was someone that could step in and bring us the kind of players we need. Who that someone is is unknown to me but I consider it Miller's job to find that person, fast, or he should be next.

I can't see Miller replacing Walters. Not now. I think that he has one more HC to hire after MOS if he fails.

[Fatty Liver]

I'm reasonably happy with the job Walters has done, he's gone out and brought in some very good players and selected some good players in the draft.  As for hiring O'Shea most were happy when that happened but who could foresee he would accumulate such a bad win-loss record?

[Tracker]

49 minutes ago, Throw Long Bannatyne said:

I'm reasonably happy with the job Walters has done, he's gone out and brought in some very good players and selected some good players in the draft.  As for hiring O'Shea most were happy when that happened but who could foresee he would accumulate such a bad win-loss record?

In hindsight, O'Shea's performance was a craps shoot as he had no head-coaching experience and the combination of a rookie GM plus a rookie head coach was a real long shot. We did that with Reinbold and the results were terrible.

[Old Bomber Fan]

great article thank you. Regarding Oshea and Walters, I always thought that when a HC was hired it was his to hire his assistant. Well if that is correct, MOS has fired all but one of them and he left to assume another position elsewhere. What does that say about his ability to recognize good assistants and coaches, moreover what does it say about his ability to coach as well.  I agree that our talent level isn't where is should be not after 9 years of rebuilding. Can it be said that is Walter's fault or a combination of Walter and the scouting staff! I don't see our scouts bringing in a lot of better than average players. Yes there have been some but nothing like our competitors. Then we resort to picking up other's castoffs under the guise that some players play better under a different coach or scheme. Perhaps that might be true to a degree as can be exampled with the likes of Bowman and Watson or Sorensen to name a few. Then again one looks at the what 6 CFL allstars we have acquired over the past 2 years and unlike the others mentioned they underachieve! What does that say? In any event I believe we have the talent we don't have the coaching to bring out the talent of other and showcase the talent of our allstars.

[Tracker]

It would seem that Walters and O'Shea both suffer from the same maladies: inability to recognize talent and unwillingness to admit mistakes and make necessary changes.

[ddanger]

Very good article to start this thread!!

Here's my 2 pennies worth: MOS must make some major changes. They need to include a change at the QB position should the offence continue to struggle. I believe the o'line coach needs to be changed. The OC is awful predictable, but we're stuck with him. The hitch screen doesn't work because our receivers aren't blocking properly.....I recall one play last week when both Edmonton receivers chopped down our DB's right after the catch resulting in a big gain for them. That's aggression and we don't have it. I'm fixated on the offence because they can't stay on the field....FIX IT !!

[17to85]

11 hours ago, Old Bomber Fan said:

great article thank you. Regarding Oshea and Walters, I always thought that when a HC was hired it was his to hire his assistant. Well if that is correct, MOS has fired all but one of them and he left to assume another position elsewhere. What does that say about his ability to recognize good assistants and coaches, moreover what does it say about his ability to coach as well.  

I think it's more about the inability to attract quality assistants to Winnipeg than anything else. I mean we know that O'Shea wanted Stubler for DC but he picked Calgary over the coaching grave yard that is Winnipeg so O'Shea had to go dumpster diving to get Etchevary. I suspect that it was a similar thing with the OC when they stuck with Bellefool. Or Miller who brought the guy in originally just wanted to keep him. The book on Winnipeg is still pretty much come here get fired shortly and a lot of people just won't put up with that. Need to win before you become a real destination. 

[bigg jay]

11 minutes ago, 17to85 said:

I think it's more about the inability to attract quality assistants to Winnipeg than anything else. I mean we know that O'Shea wanted Stubler for DC but he picked Calgary over the coaching grave yard that is Winnipeg so O'Shea had to go dumpster diving to get Etchevary. I suspect that it was a similar thing with the OC when they stuck with Bellefool. Or Miller who brought the guy in originally just wanted to keep him. The book on Winnipeg is still pretty much come here get fired shortly and a lot of people just won't put up with that. Need to win before you become a real destination. 

Or pay a sh*tload of money like Saskatchewan.  They're on their 3rd HC in 7 seasons (5 if you include temporary coaches) but they were still able to land Jones because they were willing to pay the big price tag.  Not sure if the Bombers are or were willing to do that.

[17to85]

They also gave Jones the keys to the franchise which is really what that ******* wants. He's an egotist and he can't stand having anyone to answer to.