GDT Ssk at Cgy, Sat Aug 23, 600PM

[ichabod_crane]

prob the CFL...VA has made a huge difference for them.  I know Dickenson has some haters on this board but he is a solid coach who has lots of experience and they have a young and aggressive o-line who are playing very well as a unit.  Their defence hits hard too.

Weather in Calgary is a crapshoot and I predict there will be a playoff game there if VA stays healthy.

The west is going to be dogfight...no games off and no easy games for us.

This was Dickie Dee's mulligan season. If they crapped the bed again he would be toast! I'm surprised what a quick rebuild they have done though. Getting a true #1 qb helps though in this league.


Calgary's d line is solid. I can see why they did not resign vaughters and that other proven vet. They were getting heat on Harris even with only rushing 4 a lot of the game. Bombers front 4 I doubt can duplicate this.

If Harris is out for the LDC, bombers have a good chance to win. Collaros has to Chuck it quickly and/or Olivera has another bully ball game like last game too. Still hard to judge where
This team is at as injuries keep occurring. 

[ichabod_crane]

Ya, I don't know.  There was a poop ton of greenies there.  Waaaaay more than I've ever seen for a a reg season SSK@CGY game.  I know at least some made the trek: they announce it on the Riderforum.  What the % mix is, hard to say.

What is true is that's the fullest that stadium has been in since probably the BLM days (excluding post-season).  Surely there can't be that many SSKites living in CGY?

There is not as many Sask fans in Calgary than just 5-10 years ago, but still a significant number and the trek to Calgary is shorter than to
Regina for some living in far west Saskatchewan.

Stamps also creating a bit of a buzz again for first time in the 2020's.

[markf]

The NFL has done a pretty good job with hip drop tackles too and the CFL has seen a few guys go down with those kind of tackles this year.

And there was a lot of NFL fans complaining about that too. "How are they supposed to tackle.. might as well watch flag football"

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

There is not as many Sask fans in Calgary than just 5-10 years ago, but still a significant number and the trek to Calgary is shorter than to
Regina for some living in far west Saskatchewan.

Stamps also creating a bit of a buzz again for first time in the 2020's.

Don't know about that, I'd bet there's more Sask. natives living in AB now than ever before, as the pop. of the province has grown to 4 million+.  They're probably less likely to attend CFL games than they were 5-10 years ago, reflecting the same attitude taken in their home province.  Doubt more than a few dozen travelled to the game specifically, the majority have been in Calgary all along, they only stepped out of the closet now because they're no longer embarrassed about their football team, must be time for them to jump up on the bandwagon again!

[TecnoGenius]

On replay, it appeared the point of contact was the face mask. Brown did not return to the game."

There are special carve outs in the rulebook as to facemask hits.  UR "ram" definition explicitly says "if the facemask is the initial point of contact on an the opponent, it shall not be a penalty under this rule".  So a ram is not a ram if you use your FM to do it.

This could be by Dru/Dyce didn't get the flag they wanted.

[TecnoGenius]

The clip also looks like how someone would react if they stubbed their toe or has a calf cramp. We'll see what the injury report looks like this week I suppose.

Again, I'm not saying he doesn't have one but I can also tell you for sure it doesn't show conclusively that he does either.

If you watch the clip 4X and your take is "stubbed toe" then I'm not really sure what to tell you.  Seriously.

There's no "conspiracy" to cover anything up.  There doesn't have to be.  And it's a separate issue from stating the fact that Trevor is showing all the classic signs of concussion.

The green players want to act like nothing is wrong so the spotters don't notice and yank their only hope of winning.  The ball guy is thinking: "this is above my pay grade".

The ref actually does seem to be eyeing up Trevor, so maybe he was actually going to do something... and maybe he did.  Trevor did go off immediately and maybe he reported it to the spotter or assumed the team would check him out.

As to knowing definitively, we may never know, as I have zero doubt SSK will play him in LDC even if he was concussed.  There aren't many teams that opt in to sitting their QBs an extra week or 2 because of suspected concussion.  We're one, OTT seems to be another.  SSK is the type to do a "if you don't look/act concussed, then you're cleared to play".

I'm going to see about whipping up another clip to convince the undecided, but it will take a bit of time.

[TecnoGenius]

You might be right but I notice the DB's and LB's have mostly absorbed the message, rarely has a violation occurred for hitting a sliding QB this season, they pretty much do whatever they can to avoid contact.

Ya, but it cuts both ways.  This past weekend there was at least 1 QB run (Rourke?) where he got 15+ extra yards because it was clear the LBs/DBs didn't want to hit him hard or if he was going to slide.

The fear or penalty/fines is putting them in a bind and letting "running QBs" get a bunch of free yards if they have the nads to not slide.

[TecnoGenius]

Got to protect the D-lineman's game cheque, even if it comes at the cost of the QBs health and the quality of the league's play.

The funny thing is we have the best player who would benefit most from any "more like touch/flag football" changes: Willie J.  Except for that "RTP" when he rubbed Evans' helmet in the backfield in the '21 GC, he's the DE who is most destructive without putting big hits on the QB.

[TecnoGenius]

Not really, I believe 7 of the 9 starting QB's have missed games so far this season, won't be long till it's 9 for 9.

The running QBs are getting the expected leg injuries.  The older QBs (and Dru) are the ones getting the concussions.

The young ones (sans Dru) don't really get the concussions.  Well, they probably are, they just don't show it yet because of their youth.

I still think all the oldsters should be wearing pillows (or high-tech simulacrum) behind their helmets.  Zach would have been fine.  Trevor would have been fine.  Dru would have been fine.  They all took the same hit (some 2+ times) this season.

[TecnoGenius]

If I'm a defender facing a QB running past the LoS I'm diving for the legs.  There is zero possibility of penalty/fine if you dive for the legs and knock out the feet or form tackle the knees.  It's the possibility of a head hit that is scaring them off: QB head protection extends beyond the LoS since '23 or so!

Key point being "beyond the LoS".  If the QB is in the "pocket" (even if they make a "new one" on a scramble) then they get leg protection knee or below.

I hope our coaches are drilling these things in the guys so they don't just let running QBs romp downfield with impunity.