So which team has the edge in hunger, fire and motivation for the WDF?
You'd think SSK since they've been bad for so long... But I didn't see much fire and hunger in SSK in the WSF. I was actually a bit surprised how low-key they seemed to be. Not much excitement on the sidelines, players moping around a bit. Even when they were clearly clobbering BC they were like "meh".
So that's a bit weird. That said, I didn't see much WPG fire vs TOR or MTL either. But those are reg season games... a playoff will be a whole different beast.
I think we need to match SSK's hunger and fire in the WDF (no matter the level) to allow our fundamental advantages to guarantee the game. I don't want to see non-hunger we showed in the '23 GC, that's for sure!
We need a way to channel the hunger levels from the '19 and '21 runs!
Sask
Quote from: TecnoGenius on November 04, 2024, 02:19:50 AMSo which team has the edge in hunger, fire and motivation for the WDF?
You'd think SSK since they've been bad for so long... But I didn't see much fire and hunger in SSK in the WSF. I was actually a bit surprised how low-key they seemed to be. Not much excitement on the sidelines, players moping around a bit. Even when they were clearly clobbering BC they were like "meh".
So that's a bit weird. That said, I didn't see much WPG fire vs TOR or MTL either. But those are reg season games... a playoff will be a whole different beast.
I think we need to match SSK's hunger and fire in the WDF (no matter the level) to allow our fundamental advantages to guarantee the game. I don't want to see non-hunger we showed in the '23 GC, that's for sure!
We need a way to channel the hunger levels from the '19 and '21 runs!
Don't kid yourself - the Riders will be hungry and all fired up when they get here. When you take the time to look at both teams without any green or blue glasses on and compare talent by talent - line by line the Riders stack up very well and might even be considered a favorite. I firmly believe it will come down to which teams makes the fewest mistakes and unfortuntely I am not sure our QB will play error free while I think theirs is capable of playing error free.
Buck needs to actually call plays to take advantage of Sask aggression. Their corners can be overly aggressive ..fake the short throws and take them deep. Block one direction and have Brady cut across grain.Also have Zac go to some hard counts.
Hopefully we use more misdirection and motion. A play the riders use that i like is having 2 Recievers start in one side and prior to snap switching over to the other.then either running or quick throw while d is adjusting.
Home field gives the Bombers an advantage, IMO. Crowd noise will be a factor.
Beyond that, it'll boil down to the obvious: discipline and execution.
The bombers have unfinished business. Back to back GC losses, that's enough hunger there to overcome anything SSK has.
Riders will come in Hungry and Fired up. One upside to playing in the semi's is you can feed and grow off of a win. Knowing you can win in the playoffs is a big thing. A few injury's, but they have proven the last few weeks that they have the depth to cover, and next man up.
Quote from: BBRT on November 04, 2024, 04:20:17 PMDon't kid yourself - the Riders will be hungry and all fired up when they get here. When you take the time to look at both teams without any green or blue glasses on and compare talent by talent - line by line the Riders stack up very well and might even be considered a favorite. I firmly believe it will come down to which teams makes the fewest mistakes and unfortuntely I am not sure our QB will play error free while I think theirs is capable of playing error free.
I'm going to rewatch the LDC and the BB to see what happened in those games because the Bombers were obviously the superior team at mid-season. It's possible the Riders have improved since then and the Bombers have stayed even, but I believe overall the Riders have inferior talent.
This maybe Trevor Harris's last chance to prove himself a winner, so he should be highly motivated to show his worth this game. He really only has 2-3 receivers that do a lot of damage, it should be possible for the Bomber secondary to key on those players and limit their YAC yards.
bombers looked flat and kids meh vs the Als...they played to match the Als intensity and almost lost.
i think their playoff and Grey Cup experience will help along with home field advantage.
of the 4 teams left i do think Sask is the weakest.
montreal
toronto
winnipeg
sask
is how i would rank them
we are going to miss Bighill's energy and Willie needs to shake off the invisibility cloak he has been wearing.
There better be hunger.
2018 Bombers beat the Riders in the WSF in Regina.
2019 Bombers beat the Riders in the WF in Regina.
2021 Bombers beat the Riders in the WF in Winnipeg.
2022 Rider didn't make the playoffs.
2023 Rider didn't make the playoffs again.
Turnovers will be the key to this game.
Quote from: The Zipp on November 04, 2024, 05:35:54 PM...Willie needs to shake off the invisibility cloak he has been wearing.
Invisibility cloak...? Jefferson's 2024 stat line may not be as impressive as previous campaigns but his impact goes well beyond a stat line.
Quote from: blue_gold_84 on November 04, 2024, 05:54:27 PMInvisibility cloak...? Jefferson's 2024 stat line may not be as impressive as previous campaigns but his impact goes well beyond a stat line.
playmakers make big plays in big games...Willie hasn't made as many big plays as he has in the past. The next two games are big games and he needs to be visible making plays if we want to win.
He has suffered with having weaker players around him than past years (we never replaced Jeffcoat's talent) so that explains some of the drop off.
I think both teams will be hunger, but for different reasons. The riders haven't made the playoffs in a while so they'll be hungry to get to the GC. The bombers on the other hand lost last year and that stings so they ll be out for redemption.
Will be a great game and come down to who turns the ball over the least and that worries me given the number of picks Collaros has thrown this year
Quote from: The Zipp on November 04, 2024, 06:45:39 PMplaymakers make big plays in big games...Willie hasn't made as many big plays as he has in the past. The next two games are big games and he needs to be visible making plays if we want to win.
He has suffered with having weaker players around him than past years (we never replaced Jeffcoat's talent) so that explains some of the drop off.
These are valid points. Losing Jeffcoat this season was a significant factor, IMO.
I just don't agree with the invisibility cloak comment.
Jefferson hasn't really been in attack mode this season and I'm going to assume it's because the defense is different, there's no one on the other side to help draw attention and the three man rush doesn't exactly help him. That said, he needs to win some battles all on his own and that's something he used to do frequently but has done very infrequently this year.
Quote from: Sir Blue and Gold on November 04, 2024, 07:24:38 PMJefferson hasn't really been in attack mode this season and I'm going to assume it's because the defense is different, there's no one on the other side to help draw attention and the three man rush doesn't exactly help him. That said, he needs to win some battles all on his own and that's something he used to do frequently but has done very infrequently this year.
Willie is also on the sideline more than he's used to, the 3 man rush changes the dynamic of what they're able to accomplish. Don't mind using it occasionally but don't like it when they start using it all of the time.
3 man rush does for sure take Willies often dominating force out of the play...and that is wrong IMO
Quote from: The Zipp on November 04, 2024, 08:32:41 PM3 man rush does for sure take Willies often dominating force out of the play...and that is wrong IMO
Maybe but 8 man coverage is a great answer to the quick passing game. With Harris you're not going to get there with three or four very often so it makes sense to see if you can't take the first read or two away and then try and force a mistake or rely on the protection finally breaking down.
Quote from: Sir Blue and Gold on November 04, 2024, 11:18:49 PMMaybe but 8 man coverage is a great answer to the quick passing game. With Harris you're not going to get there with three or four very often so it makes sense to see if you can't take the first read or two away and then try and force a mistake or rely on the protection finally breaking down.
Agree 100%. That is the whole premise behind the rushing 3 defense, you're relying on the coverage to take away the quick hitters
Quote from: Pete on November 04, 2024, 04:34:08 PMBuck needs to actually call plays to take advantage of Sask aggression. Their corners can be overly aggressive ..fake the short throws and take them deep. Block one direction and have Brady cut across grain.Also have Zac go to some hard counts.
other.then either running or quick throw while d is adjusting.
This is 100% it. 2014-2016 Bombers. We got killed on explosions all the time because we were built for INTs and relied on INTs. That's SSK right now. That is why we've killed SSK with explosions this season.
Milligan is Heath. Sayles is Fogg. Reavis is Leggett. It's the same story. Let's beat them the way CGY/EDM used to beat us: catch them cheating up and throw it to where they vacated.
And unlike vs MTL, don't be scared to throw anywhere on the field. Keep them on their toes by throwing it everywhere. Mix it all up and have no rhyme or reason.
They have a weak FS so there will be a lot of one-on-ones deep. Give "oven mitts" Sayles a reason to commit IC. We all know he wants to!
Their main strength will be when they go zone rushing 4 and get pressure. Zach needs to throw those away, or always have a hot route/dump, because if we try to force it into a 20Y soft zone on the run they'll eat our shorts.
Quote from: Throw Long Bannatyne on November 04, 2024, 05:13:36 PMI'm going to rewatch the LDC and the BB to see what happened in those games because the Bombers were obviously the superior team at mid-season. It's possible the Riders have improved since then and the Bombers have stayed even, but I believe overall the Riders have inferior talent.
Your gut feeling is correct, and Riders haven't improved since then. They simply had a cakewalk of a final few games to rack up easy wins. See my breakdown on the other thread:
http://forums.bluebombers.com/index.php?topic=56145.msg1645370#msg1645370
Quote from: The Zipp on November 04, 2024, 05:35:54 PMwe are going to miss Bighill's energy and Willie needs to shake off the invisibility cloak he has been wearing.
Haha, ya, Willie's infamous +3 blessed Cloak of Invisibility. Right over top his +5 blessed Chainmail of Injury Avoidance.
However, no one should be surprised. Willie is doing exactly what he did whenever Jeffcoat was absent (which was a lot). We all knew this. Hard to do anything with 2-3 350-lbs giants in your face all game.
Against Trevor our best bet is let Willie block the lanes, keep contain, and get batdowns. Maybe later in the game we can go cheetah and gets some stats.
I love me some Willie, and don't fault him his tactics. On the bright side, it keeps getting easier to retain him every year as his stock goes down. Maybe one day we'll get some legit other beast DL to Free Willy again.
Quote from: Pigskin on November 04, 2024, 05:45:22 PMThere better be hunger.
2018 Bombers beat the Riders in the WSF in Regina.
2019 Bombers beat the Riders in the WF in Regina.
2021 Bombers beat the Riders in the WF in Winnipeg.
2022 Rider didn't make the playoffs.
2023 Rider didn't make the playoffs again.
How many players on SSK were on that '21 team? Probably not a whole lot. So no memory, no beef to increase hunger.
In the normal course of things, teams usually progress up the ladder, like WPG did. Start by winning your first WSF, then host a WSF, then win a WDF, then host a WDF, etc. In Mace's first year with so many changes in that SSK org, they really are at square one and are already beating expectations by hosting and winning the WSF. I think that's where this fantasy year ends.
By no means are SSK the '23 MTL team that shot out of nowhere to win it all and be the best team for the next full year. By no means is SSK's ELC or vet talent like MTL's was/is. All they did so far was luck into a couple of extra wins this season against easier opponents and then beat a totally discombobulated and badly-coached BC team at home.
Quote from: TecnoGenius on November 05, 2024, 01:22:29 AMHow many players on SSK were on that '21 team? Probably not a whole lot. So no memory, no beef to increase hunger.
In the normal course of things, teams usually progress up the ladder, like WPG did. Start by winning your first WSF, then host a WSF, then win a WDF, then host a WDF, etc. In Mace's first year with so many changes in that SSK org, they really are at square one and are already beating expectations by hosting and winning the WSF. I think that's where this fantasy year ends.
By no means are SSK the '23 MTL team that shot out of nowhere to win it all and be the best team for the next full year. By no means is SSK's ELC or vet talent like MTL's was/is. All they did so far was luck into a couple of extra wins this season against easier opponents and then beat a totally discombobulated and badly-coached BC team at home.
Apparently the Riders haven't won in Winnipeg since the 2018 Banjo Bowl, I like the Bombers odds.