Official Game Day Thread - Edmonton @Winnipeg, June 25, 2026

[blue_or_die]

I smell a troll

[Sir Blue and Gold]

We won't win many games if our defense let's teams drive 90 yards for scores every game. Our offense struggled but at least they have the right concepts. Younger needs to be fired. He is terrible. The whole system makes no sense.

We are going to have a tough year until they figure out how to attack, get the DBs in position to contest balls and play real, professional defense. So many plays are made in front of our secondary. The last drive was gift wrapped. Just like the one in Calgary we got away with and just like the game going into the bye.

We have a front four who was given the green light to attack for about one quarter.

[BBFANDM]

We won't win many games if our defense let's teams drive 90 yards for scores every game. Our offense struggled but at least they have the right concepts. Younger needs to be fired. He is terrible. The whole system makes no sense.

We are going to have a tough year until they figure out how to attack, get the DBs in position to contest balls and play real, professional defense. So many plays are made in front of our secondary. The last drive was gift wrapped. Just like the one in Calgary we got away with and just like the game going into the bye.

We have a front four who was given the green light to attack for about one quarter.

Both sides of the ball had problems the 2 Huge Turnovers on O caused most of the problems in the first half.

[Pete]

Was it my imagination or did the dline  play better without Ceresna?  Once again this game to me showed the flaws in going so heavily with vets (read that as old) Is it a surprise that Ceresna is hurt again?
One thing this game showed is our severe lack of depth on the oline, Eli isnt good enough, and Elsbury isnt a guard, the Elks are much quicker on the dline and it showed. This wasn't on Zac, it looked a lot like ly when he was getting rushed on nearly every play. How many  years in a row have we not drafted an offensive lineman with our first pick and its showing.
 I thought Condell's whole emphasis was going to be on protection, its why we went to 3 cdn receivers. We didn't deserve to win this game, and whats disturbing is the same flaws keep showing up

[BBFANDM]

Was it my imagination or did the dline  play better without Ceresna?  Once again this game to me showed the flaws in going so heavily with vets (read that as old) Is it a surprise that Ceresna is hurt again? Or Neufeld?
One thing this game showed is our severe lack of depth on the oline, Eli isnt good enough, and Elsbury isnt a guard, the Elks are much quicker on the dline and it showed. This wasn't on Zac, it looked a lot like ly when he was getting rushed on nearly every play
 I thought Condell's whole emphasis was going to be on protection, its why we went to 3 cdn receivers. We didn't deserve to win this game, and whats disturbing is the same flaws keep showing up

Bombers are not close to being good enough it seems sad to see it this early because we know that MOS will live by the players he picked in camp so we are in for a long year it seems.

[J5V]

Way too early in the season for all this doom and gloom. We'll figure it out. Injuries not helping.

[BBFANDM]

Way too early in the season for all this doom and gloom. We'll figure it out. Injuries not helping.

Fingers crossed but I am not sure MOS will figure it out, it seems he hasn't learned much over the years he is still making the same mistakes it seems to me.

[Sir Blue and Gold]

Both sides of the ball had problems the 2 Huge Turnovers on O caused most of the problems in the first half.

The defense gave up TWO more 100+ yard drives for scores. They're on some kind of record pace. It's a disaster. What you're watching is terrible defense. The cushions are massive. The system doesn't generate pressure and we played the whole first half doing JYs stupid contain collapse concept on the defensive line making Cody look like Anthony Calvillo. His system is terrible. He's a terrible play caller. It is still not working.

Funny enough it looked better in the third quarter when we actually let Willie pass rush and then when we got up and we needed a stop Younger went back to his hilariously bad deep zone concept and our secondary watched play after play get completed in front of them until they blew the lead again. The defense has collapsed down the stretch three times in three games. We will never win anything of note with this approach. Ever. It's a fundamentally bad system and someone needs to make him change or take the headset away.

[Tecno]

The defense has collapsed down the stretch three times in three games. We will never win anything of note with this approach. Ever. It's a fundamentally bad system and someone needs to make him change or take the headset away.

The D collapsing at the end is par for this year.  But it's also exactly how we lost the '22 and '23 GC's.  Oh look, and one of those was to perennial-mediocre Cody.  Point being: this has been an issue for many years.

The worst was losing the game on 2nd & medium to an everyone-runs-to-sticks-and-curls scheme.  Since we play way off they just ate that up.  Wasn't even a challenge.  Which I find hilarious as over the last 4 seasons we've run that exact same scheme ourselves on O at critical points and failed every single time.  The normal team DBs play closer and hit you when you're trying to catch.  THAT's what we should have been doing.

I don't think Cody threw to the mid/back of the EZ even once.  He didn't have to.  Everything he wanted was in front.  So stupid.  Younger is like a roulette player who just keeps betting red even though it's been black 20 times in a row.  He just keeps betting on red and it comes up black another 20 times.  At least with roulette it'll eventually round out and catch up -- but in Younger's case the opponent just ensures it stays black.  He can't mix it up to catch them by surprise EVEN ONCE?

[Tecno]

He's a terrible play caller. It is still not working.

Well, normally Younger guesses right 0 or 1 time a game (out of ~35 D snaps?).  Tonight he guessed right maybe 4 or 5 times -- improvement.  We did catch Cody flat-footed at times.  We did catch Rankin for a loss at times, and limited his explosions -- and it would have been one more but tackling let us down again.

There was one run blitz time I really got a kick out of, just as I was screaming RUN BLITZ.

But 5 out of 35 guesses right, while better than normal, wasn't even half as good as EDM's DC was doing.  All the other teams make it look so easy.  Us... struggle for every inch, in every aspect.

Someone in-game said it feels like Burke era.  It's not THAT bad yet (because we actually have real QBs), but it sure is starting to smell like it.  Everything a struggle while opponents do whatever they want effortlessly.  It's depressing.

[Tecno]

Was it my imagination or did the dline  play better without Ceresna?  Once again this game to me showed the flaws in going so heavily with vets (read that as old) Is it a surprise that Ceresna is hurt again?

In the stands I didn't know Ceresna was out.  Not sure anyone around me did either, they usually chirp about things like that.  Too busy trying to be loud.

But you're right, if Ceresna left sometime in the 3rd, our DL was doing better without him.

I was going to say in-game that Ceresna was totally useless.  Same as last week.  Only in game 1 did he have (great) success.  I think teams got the film and just double-team him every play (HAM did), and yet the other DL can't capitalize.  Maybe he was dinged up already in the HAM game and can't play 100%.

Is Younger spending 99.9% of his time working on his coverage scheme and no one is working on DL?  Where's the stunts?  Where's the creativity?  Where's making use of the single-team everyone not named Ceresna is guaranteed to get?  Is Fatboi doing nothing except making everyone "gap sound"?

Wrong day to pick to try to sell $244 Ceresna signed jerseys.  I went to the store after and they had a dedicated rack completely full.  So if you still wanted one and weren't at the game, I'm sure they'll be there on Friday & weekend.

[Tecno]

MOS obession with starting more NATs than any other Team needs to END until they can prove they are in a position to do that !!!!!

We've only been starting 7 NATs (+1 FAKENAT mandated which is invisible & uncharted).  We have not been doing our '24-'25 schtick of starting 8 or 9.  Mostly because of the 3IMP OL.

So we can't blame the over-ratio for the HAM & EDM travesties.

[Tecno]

Down to 1 American REC with Pokey out the Bombers need to start at lest 3 like every other team in the CFL, it only works if your other areas of your Team are Dominating.

Or you shift to a short/quick game for everything like SSK last year (and this).  Then any dolt out of U sports can catch the 5Y ball for you.

Many times last season SSK started 4 NATs.  SSK studied us in '22 and '23 to learn how to be a good team.  Now they are the best.  Did we study them in '25 to learn how to be a good team?  Nope.  We took nothing away from their short/timing game -- other than deciding to go 3-NAT REC.  Problem is, 3 NATs aren't good enough to play the traditional Bomber O, which is exactly what we're trying to do!!

[Tecno]

I didn't pickup on that but if true maybe its time to move on, I have liked Wilson in the past but I don't notice him much.

Pokey is our only guy who can do Circus.  He's our Kenny(-lite?).  Without Pokey we have no circus threat, which is most useful in the EZ.  He has the best hands on the team.  His ceiling has not yet been reached.  He's still rough on routes and still learning.

Is he as good as the other teams' circus guy?  Probably not.  Maybe middling.  But he's what we're rolling with, and he's way more affordable than all the others.

[Tecno]

No but it is his fault in taking big losses/sacks on first down. Throw the ball away for the love of god!!

Fly Matt Nichols up tomorrow to be the QB asst coach!  (Only half-joking!)

But hey, Zach did have one throw-into-the-stands moment this game!  It was a sight to see.  He never does that.  (Could have used maybe 4 more of those.)