Official Game Day Thread - Winnipeg @ Montreal November 7, 2026

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

To me the 2 back system a few teams use is more a rest and recovery thing, not a change of pace thing. No team has massively different backs. Edm fields only speed backs. Same with bc though theirs are more balanced with some power. Mtl is just power.

Does anyone really try to massively differ their back style? Wouldn't that double the plays the rest of the o needs to learn for blocking?

The last time I saw that was us with ah33 and McRae. They were badly different. But we never truly platooned them.

I've noticed Edm will take Rankin out for massive chunks of game, let their other backs wear down the d, then hit them with a fresh Rankin near the end as the coup de grace.

You've spent the last few months complaining about Brady because he can't do everything, pointing out his inadequacies compared to Rankin.  Here we have an in house solution and you're rejecting it. 

If they're going to continue to pay this kid to hang around, give him the ball a few times a game, same goes for MCI. Brady needs to learn being a great teammate means passing the puck every once in awhile, he doesn't have to do it all on his own.

[Jesse]

Im not sure if the 10-12 touches a game that most RBs get really need "recovery time".

Brady has one glaring weakness though and it would help our offence to have another element to it. Thats all.

[Blue In BC]

Im not sure if the 10-12 touches a game that most RBs get really need "recovery time".

Brady has one glaring weakness though and it would help our offence to have another element to it. Thats all.

A RB may only have 10 - 12 carries but he's on the field. He may be running routes or blocking. We ran 45 plays on offence in the EDF. Brady had 14 carries and 2 pass targets.

If he doesn't need any game management / recovery time then why is he not able to practice for most of the 2nd half of the season?

Wouldn't that be the time to have an alternative for a few plays.

[Jesse]

A RB may only have 10 - 12 carries but he's on the field. He may be running routes or blocking. We ran 45 plays on offence in the EDF. Brady had 14 carries and 2 pass targets.

If he doesn't need any game management / recovery time then why is he not able to practice for most of the 2nd half of the season?

Wouldn't that be the time to have an alternative for a few plays.

I agree that Brady should be rotated out for some plays, i just disagreed on techno's reasoning for any RB getting reps off.

[Blue In BC]

I agree that Brady should be rotated out for some plays, i just disagreed on techno's reasoning for any RB getting reps off.

The real premise is to be more creative on offence. Whether that means the occasional 2 RB set, or rotating a different style RB every now and again.

Giving any offensive weapon a chance to catch a breather or to speak with the HC or OC is not the worst idea. We're not talking about major time on the sidelines but 3 or 4 times during a game. It's situational.

The Bombers run game is more predictable than most teams due to the style of RB we use and the play calling itself.

It's a power downhill running style. It's not a speed / quickness type ( like a Charles Roberts ). Obviously a better OL would help and a more agile QB.

At the moment we're not in the best combination of those 3 challenges and we have to adapt the strategy if we can't change some of the personnel.

[Pete]

Having 2 quality running backs is ideal, but I think the 2nd one should be more of a speedster, tailback type replacing the role demski has done. Peterson in his one game where he was successful didnt beat anyone around the edge. It was mainly thru blocking .
  Rankin who seems to be the one people are making comparisons too fits the type i am advocating, and a lot of his runs are outside or quick screens or throws to the outside.

[Balticfox]

A RB may only have 10 - 12 carries but he's on the field. He may be running routes or blocking. We ran 45 plays on offence in the EDF. Brady had 14 carries and 2 pass targets.

If he doesn't need any game management / recovery time then why is he not able to practice for most of the 2nd half of the season?

Wouldn't that be the time to have an alternative for a few plays.

I agree. Since Brady Oliveira clearly wasn't fully healthy, he should have been given some breaks during the game. Once again why was Matthew Peterson a forgotten man?

[Jesse]

Having 2 quality running backs is ideal, but I think the 2nd one should be more of a speedster, tailback type replacing the role demski has done. Peterson in his one game where he was successful didnt beat anyone around the edge. It was mainly thru blocking .
  Rankin who seems to be the one people are making comparisons too fits the type i am advocating, and a lot of his runs are outside or quick screens or throws to the outside.

You don't change the offence when Peterson comes in, he just has the ability to break a long one where Brady doesn't really. If you can burn them with that a few times, the defence plays back a little.

[Blue In BC]

I agree. Since Brady Oliveira clearly wasn't fully healthy, he should have been given some breaks during the game. Once again why was Matthew Peterson a forgotten man?

Small roster size and needs of other types of players skill sets make it difficult to cover every situational need. In the case of the Bombers it seemed that Peterson was not an ST player. We didn't want to take off a different player that would add more consistent value.

OTOH we might have used MCI a few more times during the season than we actually did.

[Tecno]

Small roster size and needs of other types of players skill sets make it difficult to cover every situational need. In the case of the Bombers it seemed that Peterson was not an ST player. We didn't want to take off a different player that would add more consistent value.

Totally this.  I'm not sure why most don't know this?

Peterson doesn't spell Brady because Peterson isn't dressed!!  We will only dress 2 RBs -- it's just what we do -- even if one is a "FB/RB" like Ike.

To dress Peterson we'd have to bench Ike.  And we can't do that because Ike is backup / tandem returner as well as lead blocker for Vaval, and also some cover teams work.

That's something "whole-team-minded" MOS will not do.

[Tecno]

Im not sure if the 10-12 touches a game that most RBs get really need "recovery time".

And yet it's clear as day Rankin is fresh and unstoppable when he sits for the first 2.5 quarters and then comes out to trample everyone who is now tired from stopping Powell.

Just wait and see... that's what they'll do in the GC.

If you don't think "10-12 touches" RBs need "recovery time" then why does Liver King come off the field after every 4 runs for like 5 snaps looking like he's about to have a heart attack??

[Tecno]

You've spent the last few months complaining about Brady because he can't do everything, pointing out his inadequacies compared to Rankin.  Here we have an in house solution and you're rejecting it. 

I'm not rejecting it at all.  I'm saying Mafia will never do it.  Well, unless Ike gets hurt or is cut.

In theory you could bench someone like Shay or Novak and put in Peterson (though that hurts ST).  But then what?  Spell Brady for some sets, when you think RBs don't need to be spelled?  Or go dual-back that we almost never see by any team, especially WPG?

Ok, so you take Brady off even though he doesn't need it, and put Peterson in for a change of pace / outside/speed threat... now what.  After 1 game of doing that don't you think every D just adjusts to the new threat instead of just loading the box?  What does that buy you, really?  And the O has to learn/practice more edge/C plays that they would with Brady.  I guess it makes the D's have to plan for more, too.

Don't we kind of achieve the same thing with the speed sweeps to unlikely guys like White & Pokey?  Without any roster penalty?