Winnipeg @ Edmonton Pre-game

[Tecno]

If we lose him, we also lose his work on ST's. Novak is the only Canadian left on the PR. A couple of Canadians on the 6 game haven't practised yet, so he seems to be the only choice to add.

I've been noticing Boulaine a lot lately.  He's turning out to be very solid, and I'd probably put him above many of the other low-level NATs.  However, he seems to be purely ST-only.

I've never really noticed Novak do much of anything, and I think he's dressed about as much as Novak this season?

[Blue In BC]

I've been noticing Boulaine a lot lately.  He's turning out to be very solid, and I'd probably put him above many of the other low-level NATs.  However, he seems to be purely ST-only.

I've never really noticed Novak do much of anything, and I think he's dressed about as much as Novak this season?

Novak has played 5 games and I don't know much about how he was doing. It's just that we need another Canadian player if Smith is out this week. I did mention I had forgotten about Gatkouth. He's on the reserve but start this week not practising.

I see we just extended Ball on the 6 game IR so it's a narrow choice of who is left. Does Cobb play ST's?

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

Novak has played 5 games and I don't know much about how he was doing. It's just that we need another Canadian player if Smith is out this week. I did mention I had forgotten about Gatkouth. He's on the reserve but start this week not practising.

I see we just extended Ball on the 6 game IR so it's a narrow choice of who is left. Does Cobb play ST's?

Only as a sub returner. Jake Kelly is the best of the bunch and it appears the only one capable of graduating to a starting role. In his effort to promote Canadian talent has O'Shea sabotaged their draft picks in favour of creating a strong but cheap ST core?  I bet Emulus, KSB and the Philpot boys wouldn't even qualify, bunch of namby-pansies.

[Tecno]

I see we just extended Ball on the 6 game IR so it's a narrow choice of who is left. Does Cobb play ST's?

Nah, I think you're right and Novak is likely to dress.  It's not as common we'll put a "skill position" guy on ST-only duty unless he's really good at it (JA27) and/or we need him to backup a skill starter.  MOS vastly prefers his LBers for ST duty.

Plus, while no one is wowed by Novak, I've never seen him screw up badly, and that's almost as good.  Plus, they might be aware Novak isn't 100%, and thus give him some grace on performance while he recovers.

Maybe we should have found a way to keep The Other Hallett around on IR/PR...

[Tecno]

On the subject of ST dudes, anyone notice how thikk Leroux is?  Usually the LS is smaller and lithe.  Not so great when he's chasing after fast returners, but I guess if he got them he can lay the wood.  And being able to actually block at the LoS is also a useful thing.

I won't complain, the LSing has been pretty flawless this season.

[Tecno]

Our game will overlap with the earlier game.  TSN3, 4 & 5 are showing that they'll pick up our game.  TSN1 will stay with the earlier game.

Does anyone have an opinion on which TSN to trust the most for this?  3, 4 or 5?  It will be replayed at 5am on 2, but I prefer to get it right the first time around.

Thanks!

(And if you PVR every game, make sure you set it right!  Though most PVRs can record them all at once.)

[Blue In BC]

Our game will overlap with the earlier game.  TSN3, 4 & 5 are showing that they'll pick up our game.  TSN1 will stay with the earlier game.

Does anyone have an opinion on which TSN to trust the most for this?  3, 4 or 5?  It will be replayed at 5am on 2, but I prefer to get it right the first time around.

Thanks!

(And if you PVR every game, make sure you set it right!  Though most PVRs can record them all at once.)

I'll PVR both games and watch the earlier one live just to make sure.

[Blue In BC]

Nah, I think you're right and Novak is likely to dress.  It's not as common we'll put a "skill position" guy on ST-only duty unless he's really good at it (JA27) and/or we need him to backup a skill starter.  MOS vastly prefers his LBers for ST duty.

Plus, while no one is wowed by Novak, I've never seen him screw up badly, and that's almost as good.  Plus, they might be aware Novak isn't 100%, and thus give him some grace on performance while he recovers.

Maybe we should have found a way to keep The Other Hallett around on IR/PR...

Waiting for the depth chart to see could play and how that impacts choices. I'm holding out hope that Smith can play but that's not certain.

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

Bombers' Collaros, Condell, take page from the past
Paul Friesen

Not only did Zach Collaros get out of the last game physically unscathed, his sense of humour came out intact, as well.

Asked what he did during his injury absence to produce a game like last Saturday's, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers quarterback delivered a zinger right on time.
"I can't talk about that," Collaros said on Tuesday, his face as straight as his throws were against Calgary. "A suspension last year. So I can't really get into what I did."

Collaros was referring to the one-game suspension he served at the start of last season for failing to respond to calls for an off-season drug test.
On Saturday against the Stampeders, No. 8 responded to anybody and everybody who's been writing him off and saying it's time he calls it a career, for his own good.
Evading would-be tacklers, delivering darts on the run and long balls with ease, the 38-year-old looked a decade younger in a 33-28 win that left his team at 8-8 and with one hand on a playoff spot.

The only substance Collaros credited with his performance was good, old-fashioned excitement.

"When you're in an environment like you are there, under the lights, you get a lot of adrenaline," he said. "So it adds five or six yards on the throws sometimes."
Collaros averaged a whopping 18 yards per completed pass against the Stamps (19-of-27, 349 yards), firing two touchdown strikes and scrambling for a critical 14-yard first down late in the fourth quarter.

Watching from the sidelines, one of his biggest fans.
"I love watching Zach play," safety Redha Kramdi said. "He's unbelievable. He's a walking hall of fame. He deserves all the flowers. He's amazing. It's a blessing to see him healthy and playing the way he plays. I've become a fan on the sidelines."
It was just what the doctor ordered for a team coming off its most anemic offensive performance in years a week earlier in Montreal.
It takes some heat off the man calling the plays, too.

Offensive coordinator Tommy Condell is the brains behind an attack that ranked last in the CFL before Collaros's vintage performance.
As the Bombers returned to practice after the Thanksgiving weekend, the coach on the hot seat could joke about things, too.

Like the fact Brady Oliveira had just three carries going into the fourth quarter.
"I know running the football up here solves world peace and tariffs," Condell said.
When a defence bulks up to shut it down, though, like the Stamps did on Saturday, the coach and quarterback have to be ready to freelance on the fly.
"We don't believe in just throwing it up there," Condell said. "It's going to go up there when it's supposed to go up there. And we got some structures that unlocked that. So it's good for us."

Condell says his quarterback's ability to figure out what a defence is doing is elite, and as the coordinator he'd be crazy not to give Collaros the freedom to take advantage of it.

The pair first started trading their on-the-fly reads when they were together in Hamilton more than a decade ago.
Back then they only got limited time to communicate through the headset Condell wore up in the coaches box.

"I was able to do that for 10 seconds," Condell said. "Now it's open all the time. He's one of those guys that are able to see it, and is not tricked so much. I could see it up top and he sees it down at the bottom."

Condell says he actually called several more potential runs in Saturday's game, but the Stamps defence caused Collaros to adapt.
So this wasn't a case of the pass-happy strategist ignoring what Winnipeg has done so well the last several years.
Condell put it this way: "We have to throw to score points. And we need to run to win."

Collaros says he'd actually prefer to stay on script a little more than he did on Saturday.

"You'd like to execute on time a little more," he said. "There was a lot of off-script stuff. But you always want to execute within the play call."
That said, the Thanksgiving turkey – they got together at team president Wade Miller's place – tasted a lot better than it would have if they'd produced just six first downs, like they did in Montreal, and lost a third straight game.
"Yeah," Collaros said. "Winning cures all."

[Cool Spot]

To maintain that though you need Brady to bust some, or get closer to a 6-7 avg

Can't believe you missed the chance to write "or get closer to a 6-7 (makes hand-juggling motion) avg".

[Blue In BC]

Today's IR report will probably be about the same as yesterdays. Smith, Ayers and Gatkouth are the variables. If Ayers can play that addresses the ST issue but would mean Jenkins comes off. Gatkouth being able to play might also mean Jenkins comes off in favour of another import besides Ayers.

Speaking of Jenkins, if we do choose to retain an extra import DL, is he the 1st choice of does Dixon get a shot?

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

Today's IR report will probably be about the same as yesterdays. Smith, Ayers and Gatkouth are the variables. If Ayers can play that addresses the ST issue but would mean Jenkins comes off. Gatkouth being able to play might also mean Jenkins comes off in favour of another import besides Ayers.

Speaking of Jenkins, if we do choose to retain an extra import DL, is he the 1st choice of does Dixon get a shot?

Can't recall Dixon playing but would like to see more of him, from a size perspective prefer his size over Jenkins especially since he isn't a DT.

Jenkins 6'1" 275 lbs.
Dixon 6'4" 262 lbs.
Jaworski 6'5" 260 lbs.
Reese 6'2 243 lbs.
Fletcher 6'5" 271 lbs.

I guess Reese is supposed to be a speed rusher like the Stamps Clarence Hicks (6'2" 224 lbs) who has 12 sacks so far this season. But I think Younger is using his LB's for that purpose more effectively, so having a guy that small on the D-line while going with 3 often doesn't make a lot of sense.

[bomb squad]

Another "playoff" game for the Bombers. This time, on the road. Against a team that's at least a notch better than Calgary and wants desperately to clinch top spot in front of their fans. The Bombers have to build on their last effort. They have to take care of their own business and not rely on help. The noose will get real tight if they lose. I can hardly wait for this game!