This might be as close to a 'statement' game we get to this year. A 3 and 0 start and then we get whacked by the team we meet at home again this week.
Warm up for Friday with Ed Tait's 48-Hour Primer here...
https://www.bluebombers.com/2025/07/16/48-hour-primer-week-7-vs-calgary/
The July 16 Injury Report is somewhat scary but there are still 2 days until the game...
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GwAfNhiXUAEBHtS?format=jpg&name=small)
Time to get back on track and let Calgary know what they will face on August 9th back in Calgary!
Depth Chart to follow tomorrow.
I expect a better outing against a pretty good Calgary club
Next man up will have a factor Friday
Ouch, our OL is gonna have it tough. It probably will be:
Randolph Wallace Ko-man Neuf Vanterpool?
Maybe swap the OTs. Mega ouch. Would have been reeeeeaaaal nice to get Lofton back in to his normal spot.
That means we'll probably have a weaker OL against that tough CGY pressure package and run-stop behemoth than we did last game. Ugh.
And only Eli on the jumbo and backup.
Zach may be pasted all night. Here's hoping I'm wrong!
Bonus gravy: looks like Schoen is out too! Woopee!
Quote from: TecnoGenius on July 17, 2025, 03:44:17 AMOuch, our OL is gonna have it tough. It probably will be:
Randolph Wallace Ko-man Neuf Vanterpool?
Maybe swap the OTs. Mega ouch. Would have been reeeeeaaaal nice to get Lofton back in to his normal spot.
That means we'll probably have a weaker OL against that tough CGY pressure package and run-stop behemoth than we did last game. Ugh.
And only Eli on the jumbo and backup.
Zach may be pasted all night. Here's hoping I'm wrong!
Bonus gravy: looks like Schoen is out too! Woopee!
Not sure why'd you switch Randolph to the left, he'll clearly stay where he is. You just shift Vanterpool over and insert Wallace.
I don't think it'll be any worse than what we've been seeing. The annoying part is how much change we've been forced to endure already, constantly re-figuring things out instead of being able to build towards something more solid. A different mix of OL, RB and QB in every game so far. Not ideal at all.
No Schoen, No Bryant, Case in, Person in. Eli is our only backup O-lineman.
https://static.cfl.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/CALGARY-at-WINNIPEG_JULY-18.pdf
Schoen moved to 6 game IR and Bryant to 1 game IR. Those are big blows to the roster. I don't know what that will mean for Schoen who could be gone for longer and potentially for the season. We never will get a straight answer.
Obviously players headed to the 1 game IR may also be gone longer so it's all TBD.
I'm excited to see Person on the AR and that depth created on the DL. OTOH, still wondering why Bailey hasn't been able to make the AR after all the hype.
Two open spots on the PR now.
Excited to see Person and Vanterpool at LT
Crystal ball but should we have let Schoen go and sign Kenny? Love the guy but injuries have been a challenge for him. It's Case's opportunity - maybe he is the next Schoen...some great highlights here:
https://youtu.be/2jT4oG2jn4o?si=Z12LkO1ApCIwLSlE
Maybe Friday night fans around the league are going to be saying "How do the Bombers find these receivers..."
Ed Tait @EdTaitWFC
Both LT Stanley Bryant and Rec Dalton Schoen out for this week -- Bryant is now on one-game injured list but, unfortunately, Schoen has been placed on six-game. Micah Vanterpool will start at LT, Gabe Wallace at LG with Kody Case replacing Schoen. DE Jay Person will make his CFL debut
markonfootball @Markonfootball
Roster notes, July 18
Add to roster;
DB Anthony Johnson
LB Justin Herdman-Reed
OL Tomas Jack-Kurdyla
Remove from roster;
To 1-game injured
FB William Langlais
DB Tyler Richardson
To 6-Game
LB Nicky Farinaccio
INSTA-ANALYSIS: A change in the secondary as rookie Anthony Johnson steps in for Tyler Richardson (moves to 1-game list). Recently signed Justin Herdman-Reed slots in at linebacker behind Micah Teitz. He will also be a contributor on special teams.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GwELKkoXkAAnAnp?format=jpg&name=large)
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GwESLa1bIAAxr7l?format=jpg&name=large)
Dalton Schoen, Stanley Bryant out for Winnipeg Blue Bombers vs. Stampeders
By John Hodge -July 17, 2025
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers will be without star receiver Dalton Schoen and left tackle Stanley Bryant when they take on the Calgary Stampeders on Friday night.
Schoen suffered a knee injury in Winnipeg's loss to the Stampeders in Week 5 and did not practice this week, according to the team's official report. The 28-year-old native of Overland Park, Kan. caught 17 passes for 197 yards and one touchdown over the team's first four games while starting at boundary slotback.
The six-foot-one, 195-pound target has recorded 172 receptions for 3,019 yards and 27 touchdowns over 41 career regular-season games with the Blue Bombers. He played only three games last year before suffering a torn ACL.
Schoen will be replaced in the starting lineup by Kody Case, who spent the first four games of the season on the practice roster. The second-year receiver out of the University of Illinois dressed for three regular-season games last season as a return specialist, recording 24 punt returns for 252 yards, six kickoff returns for 151 yards, and one catch for five yards. This will be his first career CFL start.
Bryant didn't practice all week due to an ankle injury he also sustained against Calgary in Week 5. The eight-time All-CFL selection has played 158 of a possible 162 regular-season games since joining the Blue Bombers as a free agent in 2015, helping the team reach five Grey Cups and win two.
The 39-year-old blocker will be replaced by Micah Vanterpool, who has made two starts at left guard this season. The six-foot-five, 325-pound blocker dressed for two games in a depth role last season, his first in the CFL, after previously being a second-team All-Mountain West selection at the University of Hawaii where he played guard and tackle.
Gabe Wallace, Winnipeg's second-round pick in the 2024 CFL Draft, will make his third start of the season at left guard.
Schoen has been moved to the six-game injured list, while Bryant has been placed on the one-game injured list. Other players who remain on Winnipeg's six-game injured list include American offensive lineman Eric Lofton, American defensive lineman Jamal Woods, and Canadian defensive backs Jake Kelly and Enock Makonzo.
The Blue Bombers have also promoted edge rusher Jay Person to the active roster, which means he will make his CFL regular-season debut. The six-foot-two, 233-pound defender was a two-time AP All-American at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga where he was twice named the Southern Conference Defensive Player of the Year.
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers (3-1) will host the Calgary Stampeders (4-1) at Princess Auto Stadium on Friday, July 18 with kickoff slated for 8:30 p.m. EDT. The Stampeders are coming off double-digit wins over Winnipeg and Saskatchewan, while the Blue Bombers spent last week on a bye.
The weather forecast calls for a high of 21 degrees and a 60 percent chance of showers. The game will be broadcast on TSN and RDS2 in Canada, CBS Sports Network in the United States, and CFL+ internationally. Radio listeners can tune-in on 770 CHQR in Calgary and 680 CJOB in Winnipeg.
https://3downnation.com/2025/07/17/dalton-schoen-stanley-bryant-out-for-winnipeg-blue-bombers-vs-stampeders/
Calgary Stampeders lose starting corner Tyler Richardson for matchup with Bombers
By 3Down Staff -July 17, 2025
The Calgary Stampeders will be without starting boundary cornerback Tyler Richardson when they take on the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Friday night.
Richardson was placed on the one-game injured list after exiting last week's win over Saskatchewan with a tweaked groin. The second-year man out of Tiffin has started all five games this season, recording 29 defensive tackles and one special teams tackle. In 10 appearances in 2024, he made 30 defensive tackles, two special teams tackles, and one interception.
Rookie American Anthony Johnson will get the start in his first career appearance after being activated off the practice roster. The six-foot-two, 180-pound DB was named first-team All-ACC during his senior season at the University of Virginia in 2022. In 55 career games split between Virginia and Louisville, he amassed 138 tackles, five tackles for loss, 31 pass breakups, and seven interceptions.
The native of Plantation, Fla. spent time with the New Orleans Saints, Green Bay Packers, and Atlanta Falcons but never made an active roster. He attended both the prestigious Senior Bowl all-star game and the NFL Combine, but went undrafted anyway.
In additional depth moves, rookie Canadian linebacker Nicky Farinaccio (knee) has been placed on the six-game injured list, while veteran fullback William Langlais will be a healthy scratch. They will be replaced by linebacker Justin Herdman-Reed and offensive lineman Tomas Jack-Kurdyla.
The Calgary Stampeders (4-1) will visit the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (3-1) at Princess Auto Stadium on Friday, July 18 with kickoff slated for 8:30 p.m. EDT. The Stampeders are coming off double-digit wins over Winnipeg and Saskatchewan, while the Blue Bombers spent last week on a bye.
The weather forecast calls for a high of 21 degrees and a 60 percent chance of showers. The game will be broadcast on TSN and RDS2 in Canada, CBS Sports Network in the United States, and CFL+ internationally. Radio listeners can tune-in on 770 CHQR in Calgary and 680 CJOB in Winnipeg.
https://3downnation.com/2025/07/17/calgary-stampeders-lose-starting-corner-tyler-richardson-for-matchup-with-bombers/
Quote from: The Zipp on July 17, 2025, 03:01:31 PMCrystal ball but should we have let Schoen go and sign Kenny? Love the guy but injuries have been a challenge for him. It's Case's opportunity - maybe he is the next Schoen...some great highlights here:
https://youtu.be/2jT4oG2jn4o?si=Z12LkO1ApCIwLSlE
Maybe Friday night fans around the league are going to be saying "How do the Bombers find these receivers..."
Hindsight is always 100%. That said, no I don't think so. Lawler is over paid. Paying so much has a potential domino effect on the roster. He doesn't play the same position as Schoen so that's another issue.
Just massively disappointing with the Schoen thing.
This is not what we had all hoped for.
Now is injury prone for sure.
A darn shame.
Incredibly Hip pre game is awesome. Solid cover band!
I'm honestly a little shocked that not just Case but Person was added to the AR over Mitchell and Jones.
We obviously have a bunch of LB's so we don't really need another, but I really thought Jones would be a starter going into the season.
That does hype up Person a little though. Having more guys to rotate on the DL also means that Willie can stay a little fresher.
Quote from: LXTSN on July 17, 2025, 03:32:15 PMI'm honestly a little shocked that not just Case but Person was added to the AR over Mitchell and Jones.
We obviously have a bunch of LB's so we don't really need another, but I really thought Jones would be a starter going into the season.
That does hype up Person a little though. Having more guys to rotate on the DL also means that Willie can stay a little fresher.
It was more shocking that we choose an ST player in Ayers over any choice at beefing up our DL rotation though 4 games. I think we all like Ayers but we have 10 or 11 LB's and no depth on the DL and it's showed. Qb's getting too much time to throw.
I don't know if Person will live up to the hype. He was brought back to the PR after a similar stint in 2024. I suppose a positive spin is that Ayers is still on the AR as well as Person. The hit is on the OL both starting and depth.
Game 5: Stampeders (4-1) at Blue Bombers (3-1)
Kickoff: Friday, July 18th, 7:30 p.m. CDT; Princess Auto Stadium, Winnipeg
TV/Streaming: TSN 1/3, RDS2, CBS SportsNetwork; CFL+
Radio: 680 CJOB (pre-game begins at 5:30 p.m. CDT); Play-by-play: Derek Taylor/analyst: Doug Brown; Sirius XM (ch. 167)
Scene Setter
They took a punch — a series of them, actually — right to their collective mugs and then had almost two weeks to gaze at the black eyes and busted lips staring back at them in the mirror.
So, as the Winnipeg Blue Bombers sat and stewed following their first defeat of the season a couple weeks ago in a 37-16 loss to the Calgary Stampeders which then led into a bye week, we now get the chance to see how well this 2025 edition can take a punch and then get up off the mat.
"We're going to show what we're about coming off this loss with the bye week and having a chance to rest," said veteran defensive end Willie Jefferson. "Plus, it's a chance to play at home so this is a chance to show the league we can bounce back and how we bounce back.
"You've got take a punch, but you've got to get up and keep swinging."
Now 3-1, the Blue Bombers will play the Stampeders for a second straight game in what will be the fifth consecutive matchup against a divisional opponent. That's especially critical Friday night with the club already having swept the season series with the B.C. Lions and being up 1-0 on the Edmonton Elks. Winnipeg will face Calgary again — in Cowtown — on August 9th in what will be the final regular-season matchup between the two clubs of the year, meaning this week is massive for any potential tiebreaker down the road....
https://www.bluebombers.com/2025/07/17/game-preview-5-cgy-at-wpg/
Quote from: Blue In BC on July 17, 2025, 03:46:03 PMIt was more shocking that we choose an ST player in Ayers over any choice at beefing up our DL rotation though 4 games. I think we all like Ayers but we have 10 or 11 LB's and no depth on the DL and it's showed. Qb's getting too much time to throw.
I don't know if Person will live up to the hype. He was brought back to the PR after a similar stint in 2024. I suppose a positive spin is that Ayers is still on the AR as well as Person. The hit is on the OL both starting and depth.
It is a bit puzzling - we have 17 players dressed for 7 positions on DL and LB...and very little depth on O line and receiver (1 for each)...just seems a bit lop sided to me. If we lose I am going to question this strategy.
Quote from: Blue In BC on July 17, 2025, 02:33:04 PMSchoen moved to 6 game IR and Bryant to 1 game IR. Those are big blows to the roster. I don't know what that will mean for Schoen who could be gone for longer and potentially for the season. We never will get a straight answer.
Obviously players headed to the 1 game IR may also be gone longer so it's all TBD.
I'm excited to see Person on the AR and that depth created on the DL. OTOH, still wondering why Bailey hasn't been able to make the AR after all the hype.
Two open spots on the PR now.
Tough break for DS83. Will be interesting to see what Person can do.
Quote from: The Zipp on July 17, 2025, 02:29:35 PMNo Schoen, No Bryant, Case in, Person in. Eli is our only backup O-lineman.
https://static.cfl.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/CALGARY-at-WINNIPEG_JULY-18.pdf
I am starting to lose patience with the Schoen situation. Off all last year with injuries, back for a short while this year and now back on the 6 game. Maybe second thoughts would have been better to have signed Lawyer even if costly and move on from Schoen. I guess time will tell if Bomber management made the right decision.
Quote from: The Zipp on July 17, 2025, 04:02:13 PMIt is a bit puzzling - we have 17 players dressed for 7 positions on DL and LB...and very little depth on O line and receiver (1 for each)...just seems a bit lop sided to me. If we lose I am going to question this strategy.
DL and LB required for defensive flexibility and more pressure on QB. Disagree, we are dressing our best options imo. Win lose or draw, this is how we approach our defense. Overload on LBs as they rotate and DL need to be fresh.
Some were hard on Case for even making the PR. Goes to show the Bomber brass knew what they were doing. Case can step in quickly, knows the playbook and should catch a few balls. I am on the fence on him but hopefully takes the next step. His ability to return kicks is a big bonus. I see 4 catches for 45 yards. I am hopeful he can progress. Might take a few games.
I know nothing about Person but hopefully gets reps and keeps us fresh.
Quote from: DM83 on July 17, 2025, 02:42:47 PMI admire our members optimism.
However, based on previous performance, I have to refer back to the old Pool billiards activity. Once upon a time, my girlfriend and I went out for drinks and some pool playing. She won every game except the last one. How embarrassing. She let me win I suspected. Anyway, "it's not what you make it's what you leave".
We see the same with some good football teams." Why are we punting?" Of course, if we turn it over. The opponent is left with great field position. So, as I comment on what we have left, it isn't a view of optimism. And I note I stated this as a last hurrah! For many of our heroes.
Also, we don't have adequate replacements....or they have not played if they are. In short, I earlier predicted, our stars would gradually, become injured, and we would lose a lot of agonizing games.
However, I don't coach or recruit this group, so obviously, we all defer to the guys hired to coach who ever. I don't mean to be such a pessimistic s.o.b. it's Just that, I personally don't like any passive football demeanor. I believe in attacking. However, the DC, has decided to be passive. I mean Jefferson, doesn't want to engage. He thinks he's a knockdown of passes guy. The fellow they git from Calgary, as much as the writers wanted you to believe, hasn't even gotten off the line of scrimmage. We have no pass rush, that makes anyone nervous. I mean did we watch Adams last week? He looked like Patrick Mahones back there. He looked like he could read a defense! No pass rush leaves whoever lb, to cover amped RB out of the backfield. Didn't the coaches see any film? A rb who runs a 4.6 forty vs a linebacker who in all truth is probably 5.1? That's a joke.
Offensively, as I also mentioned, our aged vets and heroes, are old and hurt. We have an alphabet of an O line. Really? Who do you put your faith in?
Secondly, Zac is a finesse passer. Some of the QB are finesse guys. Throw the ball up, and give your outstanding receiver go get it. When we had Lawler and Schoenberg, with Demski and Wolitarski, sure. But we only have one of those guys.
Done....Schoen before an ill advised rushed return, was slow after in my opinion, was over weight coming back from the NFL. He was slower. The he got hurt. He was really playing on one leg in the Grey Cup last year. He was deemed "OK" this season. But how many practice days was he DNP? Then horrifically, last game he jumped up for another floater from Zac, simply landed, and his repairs snapped. As a pro football player, I suspect the whatever is not repairable. For the average guy, sure, he'll be fine. Just don't sprint, cut or yikes jump. Sort of what you don't want one of your grand parents not to do.
We lost Bighill. Can he resurrect his career? He tried and failed, but he will keep. Trying.
Pros are not meant to keep playing much after 25-30. So the end, has appeared to be coming.
I will miss Schoen. So amazing was his one year. Will we see some great new guys.
Its ok to be negative, you provided a lot of your thought on the team. I disagree with most of it.
Willie is still a top player. He does it all and well. Aging but don't count him out. To suggest that he doesn't engage is full stop wrong imo. Our pass rus is average, will improve. Vaughters has been good to great. He gets pressure.
Zach will bounce back, agree he is a finesse thrower and that what makes him great.
Offensive is not as bad as you suggest, imo. OL is average and good when healthy. Will take time for us to figure out the new normal. Will be a tough game likely for this unit.
We don't have that many injuries (yet). I don't see us losing that many games. Middle of the pack likely. Schoen out hurts bad.
Our defense is not passive. We have one of the best defensive duos coaching a good to great unit. You wanted Hall fired before our great run and all we did was win cups and make it to the cup. Our run on D is one of the best ever for this club imo.
Bombers have hope, we are just not the powerhouse we used to be. Friday will tell a story. Time to fight back.
Quote from: Blueforlife on July 17, 2025, 07:15:20 PMDL and LB required for defensive flexibility and more pressure on QB. Disagree, we are dressing our best options imo. Win lose or draw, this is how we approach our defense. Overload on LBs as they rotate and DL need to be fresh.
Some were hard on Case for even making the PR. Goes to show the Bomber brass knew what they were doing. Case can step in quickly, knows the playbook and should catch a few balls. I am on the fence on him but hopefully takes the next step. His ability to return kicks is a big bonus. I see 4 catches for 45 yards. I am hopeful he can progress. Might take a few games.
I know nothing about Person but hopefully gets reps and keeps us fresh.
Its ok to be negative, you provided a lot of your thought on the team. I disagree with most of it.
Willie is still a top player. He does it all and well. Aging but don't count him out. To suggest that he doesn't engage is full stop wrong imo. Our pass rus is average, will improve. Vaughters has been good to great. He gets pressure.
Zach will bounce back, agree he is a finesse thrower and that what makes him great.
Offensive is not as bad as you suggest, imo. OL is average and good when healthy. Will take time for us to figure out the new normal. Will be a tough game likely for this unit.
We don't have that many injuries (yet). I don't see us losing that many games. Middle of the pack likely. Schoen out hurts bad.
Our defense is not passive. We have one of the best defensive duos coaching a good to great unit. You wanted Hall fired before our great run and all we did was win cups and make it to the cup. Our run on D is one of the best ever for this club imo.
Bombers have hope, we are just not the powerhouse we used to be. Friday will tell a story. Time to fight back.
If Case gets 4 for 45 yards, I'd quality that as a success. Schoen had 4 receptions for 46 and 47 yards in 2 of his games this season. One game at only 29 yards and one at 75 yards.
He caught about 2 of 3 thrown his way, although not every miss is on the receiver. His last game he was only 4 of 10 and IIRC a couple of those may have been on him.
Anyway total catches and yardage are only part of the comparison / analysis. Difficulty and blocking need to be assessed as well.
Quote from: Blue In BC on July 17, 2025, 08:24:21 PMIf Case gets 4 for 45 yards, I'd quality that as a success. Schoen had 4 receptions for 46 and 47 yards in 2 of his games this season. One game at only 29 yards and one at 75 yards.
He caught about 2 of 3 thrown his way, although not every miss is on the receiver. His last game he was only 4 of 10 and IIRC a couple of those may have been on him.
Anyway total catches and yardage are only part of the comparison / analysis. Difficulty and blocking need to be assessed as well.
That's a valid concern, they've lost focus on retaining the blocking component of the receiving corps and how important it is supporting the running game. 200+ lb receivers block more effectively than 180 lbers that avoid the weight room.
Quote from: Blue In BC on July 17, 2025, 08:24:21 PMIf Case gets 4 for 45 yards, I'd quality that as a success. Schoen had 4 receptions for 46 and 47 yards in 2 of his games this season. One game at only 29 yards and one at 75 yards.
He caught about 2 of 3 thrown his way, although not every miss is on the receiver. His last game he was only 4 of 10 and IIRC a couple of those may have been on him.
Anyway total catches and yardage are only part of the comparison / analysis. Difficulty and blocking need to be assessed as well.
Sounds like your making excuses for him before the game even starts. Sure Schoen wasnt the impact we thought hed be yet, 45 yds a game wasn't good for him
As far as intangibles Case isn't built to be a blocker, what he can bring is speed and quickness to our short game which we need.
It comes down to how we use him, to make use of strengths rather tha n just replacing Schoen
Quote from: Pete on July 17, 2025, 09:01:16 PMSounds like your making excuses for him before the game even starts. Sure Schoen wasnt the impact we thought hed be yet, 45 yds a game wasn't good for him
As far as intangibles Case isn't built to be a blocker, what he can bring is speed and quickness to our short game which we need.
It comes down to how we use him, to make use of strengths rather tha n just replacing Schoen
Not at all. I'm just point out that the pure math or yardage is only part of the equation. I did qualify that as I'd consider it a success. However also just making a comment about how that was relative to Schoen's contribution in 2025. We know that was low for him , but it is what it is. Schoen was part of our offence that struggled quite a bit in 2025. Collaros missed game one and wasn't clicking at 100%.
True that Case is smaller and doesn't look to be suited as a blocker but size is not everything. He doesn't have to put an opponent on his back to be effective.
I've never seen him practice so I have no idea what his skill set looks like aside from what O'Shea says.
Kudos or complaints come after some games played.
Quote from: Blue In BC on July 17, 2025, 09:10:40 PMNot at all. I'm just point out that the pure math or yardage is only part of the equation. I did qualify that as I'd consider it a success. However also just making a comment about how that was relative to Schoen's contribution in 2025. We know that was low for him , but it is what it is. Schoen was part of our offence that struggled quite a bit in 2025. Collaros missed game one and wasn't clicking at 100%.
True that Case is smaller and doesn't look to be suited as a blocker but size is not everything. He doesn't have to put an opponent on his back to be effective.
I've never seen him practice so I have no idea what his skill set looks like aside from what O'Shea says.
Kudos or complaints come after some games played.
Watch the video on Case posted earlier today, it shows he had a high level of skill, good hands and speed in college.
Quote from: BBRT on July 17, 2025, 04:34:48 PMI am starting to lose patience with the Schoen situation. Off all last year with injuries, back for a short while this year and now back on the 6 game.
And his "injury" was another non-contact in the last game, right? It's a total disaster. Almost certainly out the whole 6G, and possibly the season. I'll have to go back and check to see if it was the same knee. Does anyone remember which knee was busted in '24?
So here's the thing, most teams are moving to huge/tall RECs, like that new CGY guy, McInnis, Cottoy, etc. Most teams have one. Some teams have 3+.
Schoen wasn't tall, but at least he had some beef. Without Schoen we're a team of water bugs now. Ya, Wheatie is a tall Kenny-type, and Clercius is huge but he's a 5th read NAT. But Demski, Sterns, Case are all water bugs. Easily thrown aside in blocking, and can't catch in close coverage because they are not tall.
They will all need superior routes and separation to get anything done. And they can't be used in the middle taking widowmakers because they are too tiny with no beef.
We're in a heap of trouble against any good team right now.
We picked a great time to try out a completely new OL lineup, against the league best team who gets tons of pressure and 100% shuts down the run game. Vanterpool's first start at LT I think. Still no Lofton at RT. Wallace with very few LG starts.
I think only 2 guys are starting in their original "desired lineup" spots: Ko-man and Neuf.
Pair that with a brand new starting REC who has zero gel with Zach in the most critical #1 REC spot and I hate to say it, but there's going to be a heck of a lot of groaning, boos, and early leavers on Fri night, maybe putting an end to our streak of sell-outs.
If we have any hope of winning, it'll have to be the D that does it with +3 takeaways.
Any chance we can trade away all our '26 DPs for E.Lewis right about now?
CGY already dressing Herdman-Reed in his first week as a Stamp. Biggie never gonna play...
Quote from: TecnoGenius on July 17, 2025, 11:20:40 PMWe picked a great time to try out a completely new OL lineup, against the league best team who gets tons of pressure and 100% shuts down the run game. Vanterpool's first start at LT I think. Still no Lofton at RT. Wallace with very few LG starts.
I think only 2 guys are starting in their original "desired lineup" spots: Ko-man and Neuf.
Pair that with a brand new starting REC who has zero gel with Zach in the most critical #1 REC spot and I hate to say it, but there's going to be a heck of a lot of groaning, boos, and early leavers on Fri night, maybe putting an end to our streak of sell-outs.
If we have any hope of winning, it'll have to be the D that does it with +3 takeaways.
Any chance we can trade away all our '26 DPs for E.Lewis right about now?
dude - did you have an extra helping of lemons with your supper ?? pretty sour on the big blue. it is going to be a rough game but i think we will compete and win an ugly one.
Quote from: The Zipp on July 17, 2025, 11:45:02 PMdude - did you have an extra helping of lemons with your supper ?? pretty sour on the big blue. it is going to be a rough game but i think we will compete and win an ugly one.
Ya, the Schoen news is hitting me pretty hard. I'm very bummed out. Only a return of Schoen or Pokey, or a theft of a top-5 REC from somewhere else will change my mind.
We have a non-mobile QB and now no top REC threat, possibly for weeks/season. We have no REC that will demand top respect/coverage. Ya Demski, and even Wheatie, will be respected, but not like Schoen or Kenny would. This allows more blitzing and even more attention to Demski, assuring he won't be open. You need that one elite top guy (like yards-leader in '22/'23 Schoen) to keep a D honest.
Put it this way, we stunk against CGY with a "better" OL, and better REC corps last week. How can it be better this week with worse talent?
The only hope is scheme, if Younger/Hall can do to VAJ what they have in the past when he was in BC. Possible, yes. I guess Hogan could also out-scheme CGY's D, but he may be too green to pull it off. It'll take a completely different look to get it done.
In football, maybe more than any other sport, intensity is everything. Last game Calgary had it and we didn't. We took to many inopportune penalties and got behind early.
I don't think that will be the case this week.
I just hope Zac trusts his o line , I've seen when he doesn't and he rushes his plays to a poor end result
Quote from: TecnoGenius on July 17, 2025, 11:55:46 PMThe only hope is scheme, if Younger/Hall can do to VAJ what they have in the past when he was in BC. Possible, yes. I guess Hogan could also out-scheme CGY's D, but he may be too green to pull it off. It'll take a completely different look to get it done.
I believe the exact opposite. Scheme was fine. There were just multiple mental errors from players that cost us big.
Brady was dragging us to a TD on our first drive until a holding call held us to a FG. Multiple coverage breaks where receivers weren't handed off as they left the zone. Vaval not conceding a single. Zach turning the ball over.
Player mental errors. Not scheme.
Quote from: TecnoGenius on July 17, 2025, 11:55:46 PMYa, the Schoen news is hitting me pretty hard. I'm very bummed out. Only a return of Schoen or Pokey, or a theft of a top-5 REC from somewhere else will change my mind.
We have a non-mobile QB and now no top REC threat, possibly for weeks/season. We have no REC that will demand top respect/coverage. Ya Demski, and even Wheatie, will be respected, but not like Schoen or Kenny would. This allows more blitzing and even more attention to Demski, assuring he won't be open. You need that one elite top guy (like yards-leader in '22/'23 Schoen) to keep a D honest.
Put it this way, we stunk against CGY with a "better" OL, and better REC corps last week. How can it be better this week with worse talent?
The only hope is scheme, if Younger/Hall can do to VAJ what they have in the past when he was in BC. Possible, yes. I guess Hogan could also out-scheme CGY's D, but he may be too green to pull it off. It'll take a completely different look to get it done.
i am worried about Hogan HOWEVER don't forget that zach served up 2 pick 6's and the bombers looked non interested. we are at home and i hope riled up.
Quote from: Pete on July 18, 2025, 12:07:54 AMIn football, maybe more than any other sport, intensity is everything.
Intensity, physicality and violence. The problem is our whole team is very "small". CGY clearly went for the beef this season. Huge R's, massive OL, massive front 7 guys. Do they have anyone "small".
We can try to match them, but we may not have the guys to do it. That leaves out-braining them. We've often done it in the reg season, and WDFs, but then we brain-toot in GCs. What kind of game will this be?
Quote from: Jesse on July 18, 2025, 12:09:09 AMI believe the exact opposite. Scheme was fine. There were just multiple mental errors from players that cost us big.
Non-dive attempts by Schoen, whiffs by a couple of RECs, inaccuracies by Zach, etc. Ya, execution was bad, but I don't think it was enough to change the result. Look at how effortlessly CGY's O moved the ball in massive chunks...
And I also worry after seeing CGY destroying SSK's run game (with resurgent Oullette and healthy Yoshi!), as well as neutering our run game 2 weeks ago. CGY clearly is able to stop the run. Without the run, and no Schoen, there is no hope.
Quote from: TecnoGenius on July 18, 2025, 12:14:55 AMNon-dive attempts by Schoen, whiffs by a couple of RECs, inaccuracies by Zach, etc. Ya, execution was bad, but I don't think it was enough to change the result. Look at how effortlessly CGY's O moved the ball in massive chunks...
And I also worry after seeing CGY destroying SSK's run game (with resurgent Oullette and healthy Yoshi!), as well as neutering our run game 2 weeks ago. CGY clearly is able to stop the run. Without the run, and no Schoen, there is no hope.
Full disclosure: I think Sask are pretenders and they'll have their usual 7 game losing streak at some point.
Calgary is much improved but I fully expect a very different game with us at home and coming off a bye.
Quote from: Jesse on July 18, 2025, 12:17:58 AMCalgary is much improved but I fully expect a very different game with us at home and coming off a bye.
You're assuming anyone did any extra work during the bye to make anything different...
As for SSK, I agree, I think we shut them down real good when we face them 3 times. But it's starting to look like they aren't the ones we have to worry about to win the W this year.
Quote from: TecnoGenius on July 18, 2025, 12:20:38 AMYou're assuming anyone did any extra work during the bye to make anything different...
WOW Dude, step off the ledge.
We're like 14-0 coming off the bye week. And still 3-1 this season. Keep it together.
Quote from: TecnoGenius on July 18, 2025, 12:11:52 AMIntensity, physicality and violence. The problem is our whole team is very "small". CGY clearly went for the beef this season. Huge R's, massive OL, massive front 7 guys. Do they have anyone "small".
We can try to match them, but we may not have the guys to do it. That leaves out-braining them. We've often done it in the reg season, and WDFs, but then we brain-toot in GCs. What kind of game will this be?
calgary played bigger last game but our oline isnt any smaller than theirs maybe een a bit bigger Similarly the dline. It comes down to playing big or intensity
The only area calgary is significantly bigger is in their secondary really
poor tecno is in the feels...this is like that one buddy who gets dumped by his girlfriend and he is crying and trying to play his guitar and say how much he loved her.
snap out of man it isn't that bad - let's see them play in 24 hours.
One word: Case
I rest my case.
to bad the bombers didnt. I would have liked to see mitchell
If we can come out of the gate smacking mouths like weak TOR is doing to the far better MTL in the first half, we have a shot. That's literally what it will take to win this.
I'll hand it to Dinwiddie, he'll put the fear of God in his players to get them to perform. MOS, not so much.
Quote from: Pete on July 18, 2025, 12:37:46 AMto bad the bombers didnt. I would have liked to see mitchell
Ya, if Mitchell doesn't get in in a perfect situation like this (literally what he was hired for), then one would think that's it for D.Mitchell in WPG.
the toronto/montreal game is an example of intensity trumping talent as well as a good game plan
Football is all about intensity. Come out and just go through the motions and you get it handed to you like we did last week. I m thinking playing at home in front of 30,000 fans is going to amp up the bombers and we ll beat the Stamps tomorrow
Don't count Zach, Brady and our defense out. A big challenge but we have a decent chance to show the league we still can throw the knockout punch.
Quote from: TecnoGenius on July 18, 2025, 12:50:00 AMYa, if Mitchell doesn't get in in a perfect situation like this (literally what he was hired for), then one would think that's it for D.Mitchell in WPG.
Patience grasshopper. Case is next man up for now. Trust the mafia.
It's just still really early in the season and teams are still figuring things out and gathering more tape in each other.
Montreal was unbeatable for 3 games and Grey Cup favourites, now they're about to finish a 3 game losing streak to be 3-3.
Then it was Saskatchewan who was dominating. 4-0, but they run into Calgary and wilt in their first challenge.
Now everyone thinks Calgary is amazing, but they also lost to Ottawa, their one big addition is Vernon Adams Jr, and as much as he's gotten a raw deal for most of his career, we've never seen him complete a full good season before.
The next shoe will drop.
Quote from: Jesse on July 18, 2025, 01:38:00 AMIt's just still really early in the season and teams are still figuring things out and gathering more tape in each other.
Montreal was unbeatable for 3 games and Grey Cup favourites, now they're about to finish a 3 game losing streak to be 3-3.
Then it was Saskatchewan who was dominating. 4-0, but they run into Calgary and wilt in their first challenge.
Now everyone thinks Calgary is amazing, but they also lost to Ottawa, their one big addition is Vernon Adams Jr, and as much as he's gotten a raw deal for most of his career, we've never seen him complete a full good season before.
The next shoe will drop.
Montreal didn't drop the shoe yet. Terrible start but battled back like the kings they are. Now Alexander is hurt again and that will be tough. Agree on the rest.
With a healthy Alexander Montreal is very deadly but don't sleep on Toronto once Kelly is back. Lots of parity, just the way I like it.
Montreal will struggle without Alexander and be lucky to go 500 without him. Toronto wins the east when kelly gets back
Quote from: TecnoGenius on July 17, 2025, 11:20:40 PMWe picked a great time to try out a completely new OL lineup, against the league best team who gets tons of pressure and 100% shuts down the run game. Vanterpool's first start at LT I think. Still no Lofton at RT. Wallace with very few LG starts.
I think only 2 guys are starting in their original "desired lineup" spots: Ko-man and Neuf.
Pair that with a brand new starting REC who has zero gel with Zach in the most critical #1 REC spot and I hate to say it, but there's going to be a heck of a lot of groaning, boos, and early leavers on Fri night, maybe putting an end to our streak of sell-outs.
If we have any hope of winning, it'll have to be the D that does it with +3 takeaways.
Any chance we can trade away all our '26 DPs for E.Lewis right about now?
Last game Vanderpool replaced Stanley sometime in the 4th Q, Wallace has played a fair bit of LG as has Randolph at RT, so nothing really new. They're coming together as a unit and no one has been thrown into the fire untried yet, which is a game Sask plays all the time.
Disclaimer: one more injury on the O-line and they're in deep trouble.
Quote from: dd on July 18, 2025, 03:02:13 AMMontreal will struggle without Alexander and be lucky to go 500 without him. Toronto wins the east when kelly gets back
TOR's hole is huge. MTL now has one of the critical divisional games vs TOR. MTL can afford to lose a few of the next 5 vs West games and still win the East.
And Kelly may be full of rust for a few games, too. It's been nearly a year. And who knows, if he got the plate & bolts things like many bad breaks do, he may be way less mobile, and then he'll be "just a" pocket passer like Zach.
Quote from: Jesse on July 18, 2025, 01:38:00 AMNow everyone thinks Calgary is amazing, but they also lost to Ottawa
The OTT loss in the +7C rain means nothing. No one had any grip, no one could throw the ball. It was like the mud bowl. OTT was genius to start Crum, a pure running QB. CGY should have started a "running QB" too.
VAJ has always stunk in inclement weather. And in a game you can't throw, he's literally the worst QB you could start.
This is why VAJ will choke again in this post-season: he'll suck in the cold weather.
Interesting how CGY is playing the "DNA/DNS" game with Moncrief, their DNA. He's in there most of the game wreaking havoc (SSK fans sure noticed), but he's on the chart as "backup" SAM.
Teitz/Sambu are the DNS's who have to come off for Moncrief to get his 25 snaps. Yet I thought Wilson was on the field a whole ton as MLB?
How are they getting Wilson + Moncrief on the field at the same time? Or is it Wilson in on 1st (run) and Moncrief in on 2nd (passing)?
If I'm Hogan/Zach, I'm attacking those DBs. Webb may be good, but the rest are nothing special. Gotta take shots on one-on-ones, BUT UNDER 45YD!
And no wide outs without being wide open, please. For the love of all that is holy, bait their wide-out jumps with pumpfakes and double-moves and 2nd layer routes, please!! Make them bite for the pick and get behind them.
If they shut down the run game completely, then get the max pro set in and get creative on the 20-45 yarders.
all this talk about losing Schoen, but really, what did we really lose?? The guy hasn't produced worth beans this year. Did he even have a single 100 yd game??
It's frustrating for sure when you think we could have kept Kenny and had the league best receiver--I can't even go there!!!, but we let him go, yes we did, mistake for sure and that hurts more than anything, Schoen getting hurt is just salt in the wound.
We'll be fine without Schoen, the guy's a total bust, Adarius Bowman V2, others will step up and produce given the opportunity.
Quote from: dd on July 18, 2025, 01:40:23 PMall this talk about losing Schoen, but really, what did we really lose?? The guy hasn't produced worth beans this year. Did he even have a single 100 yd game??
It's frustrating for sure when you think we could have kept Kenny and had the league best receiver--I can't even go there!!!, but we let him go, yes we did, mistake for sure and that hurts more than anything, Schoen getting hurt is just salt in the wound.
We'll be fine without Schoen, the guy's a total bust, Adarius Bowman V2, others will step up and produce given the opportunity.
Even at his reduced output he's averaged 50 yards per game. It wouldn't be unreasonable to expect him to achieve a 1,000 season. If he stayed healthy he might have regained his previous form and done better.
Hindsight is always 100% but that's what we lost. Now we're replacing him with Case that has a grand total of 1 reception for 5 yards. There is no guarantee that Case doesn't do well and become the next Wilson. There is also no guarantee that he doesn't get injured in his next game or this season.
It's football and getting injured is always a risk whether there was a previous injury or not.
I didn't expect Oliveria to get injured after 4 plays in game 1 and then miss 2 more games.
Quote from: dd on July 18, 2025, 01:40:23 PMall this talk about losing Schoen, but really, what did we really lose?? The guy hasn't produced worth beans this year. Did he even have a single 100 yd game??
It's frustrating for sure when you think we could have kept Kenny and had the league best receiver--I can't even go there!!!, but we let him go, yes we did, mistake for sure and that hurts more than anything, Schoen getting hurt is just salt in the wound.
We'll be fine without Schoen, the guy's a total bust, Adarius Bowman V2, others will step up and produce given the opportunity.
he is a great 2nd down conversion guy. talent and production isn't an issue - staying healthy is
Does Zach have a pattern?
After a bad game, does he tend to play well?
Cause if he plays like last week, we probably lose.
I looked at one NFL scouting report for Mitchell, it wasn't complimentary regarding his work ethic. Anonymous source though so who knows.
https://www.nfl.com/prospects/dillon-mitchell/32004d49-5422-8980-b5b6-45b020209f4e
I might be wrong but I'll attribute Schoen's lack of pizazz so far this year due in part to being zoned in on given he's viewed as our rec1, which is probably one of the reasons why a guy like Wheatie can have some big games. So even though I'd like to see him in and getting 100 yards and a TD or 2 a game, the part I think hurts the most is that we don't have a true #1 guy to take attention away and open it up for others.
My worst-case ontario is Hogan tries to mask this with the short stuff again, which has been ineffective. I'd like to stretch the field more but I don't know if Hogan/Zach have the confidence in our rec core to do this. My best-case ontario is we open the playbook and take some risks - not in the sense of long bombs or anything (although some of that on second and inches!) but by using all our tools even if we risk subpar execution by some less experienced/talented receivers. I don't want to play the conservative game. I'd like to see an offense tonight built for long drives and not Brady up the gut for 3 yards followed by a toss to Demski all the way to the sidelines with the play taking 15 seconds to develop for no gain and then punt.
Let's play for revenge!
Quote from: blue_or_die on July 18, 2025, 05:59:35 PMI might be wrong but I'll attribute Schoen's lack of pizazz so far this year due in part to being zoned in on given he's viewed as our rec1, which is probably one of the reasons why a guy like Wheatie can have some big games. So even though I'd like to see him in and getting 100 yards and a TD or 2 a game, the part I think hurts the most is that we don't have a true #1 guy to take attention away and open it up for others.
My worst-case ontario is Hogan tries to mask this with the short stuff again, which has been ineffective. I'd like to stretch the field more but I don't know if Hogan/Zach have the confidence in our rec core to do this. My best-case ontario is we open the playbook and take some risks - not in the sense of long bombs or anything (although some of that on second and inches!) but by using all our tools even if we risk subpar execution by some less experienced/talented receivers. I don't want to play the conservative game. I'd like to see an offense tonight built for long drives and not Brady up the gut for 3 yards followed by a toss to Demski all the way to the sidelines with the play taking 15 seconds to develop for no gain and then punt.
Let's play for revenge!
The sample size sucks, it could be he just never got to have his breakout game in a 4 game window that had 2 bye weeks and a revolving door of offensive pieces and now he's out.
Lean on Brady. Look for Wheatie deep. Have Demski running around doing Demski things. This shouldn't be difficult with some of the guys we have.
Shaping up to be an absolutely perfect night for football though.
Quote from: Jesse on July 18, 2025, 06:25:08 PMThe sample size sucks, it could be he just never got to have his breakout game in a 4 game window that had 2 bye weeks and a revolving door of offensive pieces and now he's out.
Lean on Brady. Look for Wheatie deep. Have Demski running around doing Demski things. This shouldn't be difficult with some of the guys we have.
The Brady point is important. In this situation more than ever (actually, in pretty much every situation) we should be gameplanning around the best back in the league. Do what it takes to make him successful and get us in second and short early and often so we can do more with the playbook. I feel like we panic every time we do an up-the-gut and then do something silly on our next chance and then boom we're punting.
I guess I'm being too negative here though. Whooooo go Blue!! I really do expect to exact revenge tonight and come home happy.
Quote from: blue_or_die on July 18, 2025, 07:49:52 PMThe Brady point is important. In this situation more than ever (actually, in pretty much every situation) we should be gameplanning around the best back in the league. Do what it takes to make him successful and get us in second and short early and often so we can do more with the playbook. I feel like we panic every time we do an up-the-gut and then do something silly on our next chance and then boom we're punting.
I guess I'm being too negative here though. Whooooo go Blue!! I really do expect to exact revenge tonight and come home happy.
Seriosly tho. He drove up the whole field on the first drive of the game single-handedly. A holding call takes away a potential TD and then we really never handed the ball off again.
Quote from: Jesse on July 18, 2025, 07:51:58 PMSeriosly tho. He drove up the whole field on the first drive of the game single-handedly. A holding call takes away a potential TD and then we really never handed the ball off again.
Time for Brady to put up a big game if he still expects to win the rushing title, that being said running the ball needs to be complimented by a good passing attack to be successful. Hope to see Peterson and Strev in bigger roles tonight, expand Hogan expand!
Quote from: Throw Long Bannatyne on July 18, 2025, 08:30:02 PMTime for Brady to put up a big game if he still expects to win the rushing title, that being said running the ball needs to be complimented by a good passing attack to be successful. Hope to see Peterson and Strev in bigger roles tonight, expand Hogan expand!
True but the first step is to have an OC that actually utilizes him properly. Not ragging on Hogan (yet) but this is a requirement. Was not the case in the Grey Cup.
Quote from: Jesse on July 18, 2025, 07:18:04 PMShaping up to be an absolutely perfect night for football though.
absolutely brilliant if you're warm blooded. Or built for winter.
Perfect night for Milton.
Quote from: Throw Long Bannatyne on July 18, 2025, 08:30:02 PMTime for Brady to put up a big game if he still expects to win the rushing title, that being said running the ball needs to be complimented by a good passing attack to be successful. Hope to see Peterson and Strev in bigger roles tonight, expand Hogan expand!
I certainly would like to see Hogan step it up with a massive running attack but not banking on it either.
How about Zach just not throwing it at the other colour sweaters.
Blue or die is right. Schoen draws all the respect and coverage. Stats aren't as important. Now Demski will be our top REC, and he'll be blanketed. It's all downhill from there.
Look at how blanketed Lewis is in Ottawa. This is that situation. And when you force balls in anyhow, the guy gets destroyed.
A lot of Schoen's value was his telepathy with Collaros on broken plays. It was remarkable.
hogans hero's or hogans zero's...that is the question
can't disappear for a quarter with 0 - 2 first downs and being bogged down offensively.
spider cam is in the house tonight!!
great ovation for milt - it was the fastest i have seen people at the stadium get on their feet.
2nd and three - run the ball
just some bad play calling, you only need to get maybe 2 yards and then gamble. come on Hogan !!
Quote from: The Zipp on July 19, 2025, 12:45:02 AM3nd and three - run the ball
just some bad play calling, you only need to get maybe 2 yards and then gamble. come on Hogan !!
Exactly my thoughts. Stop trying to be too clever. Or at least do play action.
Had to run it there on second and short. This reminds me of last season. :(
wow.
defence just got cooked on that drive
outplayed to a high degree
our 17 players on DL and LB didn't help at all.
Well, I hated everything about that.
that td drive was too easy, on all fronts
This is not good. We don't look at all prepared to play this Calgary team tonight. Whatever we're doing, or trying to do, on defense is not working at all. They seem to know exactly what we are doing.
we are so bad at that short game We need to trust our oline to give Zac some time and play our game
58!!!
impressive
Quote from: The Zipp on July 19, 2025, 12:37:12 AMgreat ovation for milt - it was the fastest i have seen people at the stadium get on their feet.
Just spoke to @MiltStegallTSN -- who was brought to tears -- about the ovation: "That tops everything in my Winnipeg Blue Bombers career right there. When I broke the touchdown record, when I had that last second catch (100 yarder), anything, that tops everything. I wasn't expecting the emotion. It wasn't just cheers, it was 'We're with you, Milt."
we can't cover the out routes - high percentage plays are cooking us as we don't have pressure
good challenge
he was so open though
why do we take adams out and go with 3 lineman?
How do you let him get so open deep with 9 guys in coverage. Luckily overthrown and not a catch. Younger better get these guys to wake up.
we look very tentative
air it out
thats bomber football!
stay on your feet Kody
***!
Bridges beat again
They are burning bridges
no pressure
no coverage
#9 defence
We can't cover anyone!?!
Younger needs to find a way to make Adams uncomfortable
an embarrassing effort on defence in that first quarter
younger should be fuming - not Bomber football - soft, soft, soft
offence aint gonna be able to keep up with stamps offence at this rate.....no pressure and no pass defence....not lookinh good....bombers got to keep this game within reach by half time or its over
hard to do when your corners cant cover
they might win this challenge - looking live i thought there was maybe PI
No PI there.
there was no way he impeded the receiver
Quote from: The Zipp on July 19, 2025, 01:17:51 AMthey might win this challenge - looking live i thought there was maybe PI
whew !!
we brought some heat on that play
hard to get yards up the middle
gotta rethink first down
demski #1
This team is not good. No pass rush and poor pass protection.
not for demski..game would be over
Quote from: Ducky on July 19, 2025, 01:25:40 AMThis team is not good. No pass rush and poor pass protection.
we just drove the field and scored
defense does stink so far though
Bombers need to keep bringing heat on Adams. When he has time he is shredding them. A couple bombs missed, but some will eventually get completed.
The best they have to replace Shoen is CASE? He was hot garbage last season already. Surprised he is still hanging around. They better hope Pokey Wilson gets cut in the NFL if Shoen is done for the year. Demski only receiver left that scares anyone. Wheatfall an up and comer maybe, but short track record.
Quote from: Ducky on July 19, 2025, 01:25:40 AMThis team is not good. No pass rush and poor pass protection.
Yes, but Calgary is not that bad.
our corners are terrible with our defensive line not much better. Jefferson is invisible
our DB's look tiny compared to Alford - he is not playing like a rookie - dude is NFL bound.
they are exploiting our zone coverage
defense is terrible
Defence is terrible. Bridges and Thomas don't belong on the field.
the intrepid 17 are not delivering on thor mission.
What in the world were we doing to prepare for this team? We had two weeks to get ready and we're playing like chumps.
you can see Calgary taking away the momentum
yeah putting in case was such a good move, Zacs afraid to go to anyone other than demski
zachs head bounced on the turf
strev time
not optimistic
Streveler bailed too early
now we are taking bad penalties
This is going to get UGLY.
That was such a BS penalty. There was nothing nasty there. C'mon ref.
Wasn't the hit on zach after the ball was gone? That's a penalty.
Time for our GM to earn his money and find a couple D corners and recivers with size
I have little faith in Strevler outside short yardage. His wheels are gone. Give Wilson a shot if collaros done for the game.
Nice play by Strev and Stearns.
They call that BS penalty against Cadwallader and they don't call that throw out of bounds? That's some BS right there.
it feels like we were outplayed by more than 4 points, we were definitely outcoached
Basically no blocking whatsoever on the quick throws to the sideline along the line of scrimmage.
It's impossible for that play to work the way they are doing it.
We are not accustomed to seeing poor coverage by the secondary...but it seems to be standard now. Some of them do not seem to know where, what to do.
Zach... what is his injury?
Quote from: markf on July 19, 2025, 01:59:11 AMBasically no blocking whatsoever on the quick throws to the sideline along the line of scrimmage.
It's impossible for that play to work the way they are doing it.
Other than Clercius, our receivers are smerfs
Younger needs to shut down Calgary in the second half. Streveler needs to show he's developed as a QB in the CFL.
QuoteOther than Clercius, our receivers are smerfs
But there isn't even a player there attempting to block. Two tacklers, and the ball carrier.
I dont believe the Stamps are a juggernaut, we can beat them, just have to smarten up a bit.
Hogan needs to step up.
Quote from: ichabod_crane on July 19, 2025, 01:50:07 AMI have little faith in Strevler outside short yardage. His wheels are gone. Give Wilson a shot if collaros done for the game.
exactly. strev's sidearm throws to the sideline are going to get old really fast
Not very impressive.
Our CB's and Kramdi can't cover.
Our new OL version can't block. Collaros injured as a result. Concussion protocol possibly and may not play in 2nd half?
No pressure DL. I think I saw Person once in the 1st series.
Once again, we gave up a TD drive on the Stamps 1st possession.
What's up with the mental errors taking penalties.
After the last game and this game so far, I think Vaval loses his role to Logan when and if he's healthy.
Kody Case falls down on a simple route. That takes us out of a scoring chance and the Stamps march for a FG. On his 2nd target he gets almost no yardage. So far I'd call him a bust so far. I know it's his 1st start but that's only an excuse.
Although I've never had much faith in Streveler as a good # 2 QB, I think our defence will be our demise tonight. Can't stop 2nd and 10 when we know it's a pass to the sidelines.
We may find a way to win this game but this was a really disappointing effort, lack of coaching adjustments from the 1st game and errors.
Rant off for the moment.
This Calgary team is a completely different one from what we saw in the last few years. As time goes by they'll get figured out. Let's see where they are at season's end.
as per bombers twitter :
Zach Collaros will not return to tonight's game.
streveler is so bad at throwing
brady is picking the ball off the turf
Ahhh Strevy! You gotta know not to throw that ball, my man.
the one thing he couldnt do Strev does, throw an interception. For goodness sake hand the ball off to Olivera.
brady has to be sick - he carried the team on that drive and strev threw it away with a terrible decision
Bonds just missed that!
we have no answer for calgary's offense. the only way we get a stop is if they make a mistake
wow.
what was bridges doing??
time for an airlift of talent
the super 17 is really working
Maybe move Parker to the corner as he hasnt been doing much at safety
how many times does Bridges have to get beat long before OSHea sees what weve been saying all along Bridges is a liability. I havent seen a db get beat long so often '
Bridges the weak link. Good grief. I hope he figures it out soon.
Bad secondary, bad linebackers, no pass rush. Yikes
Bridges is getting owned
Quote from: J5V on July 19, 2025, 02:36:54 AMBridges the weak link. Good grief. I hope he figures it out soon.
i'm no
Quote from: Pete on July 19, 2025, 02:36:44 AMhow many times does Bridges have to get beat long before OSHea sees what weve been saying all along Bridges is a liability. I havent seen a db get beat long so often '
to come out of a bye week after getting demolished, make minimal changes and come out awful again defensively is simply coaching malpractice
That's probably the game right there unless Calgary beats themselves with turnovers. I have no faith that Strev will be able to get minimum 20 points and play mistake-free to give the Bombers a chance
The D is crap. Dont feel they can get a stop on any play.
i was going to say give vaval a shot in the secondary but he is out cold after a hard hit
Calgary is going to beat lots of teams so don't feel bad. They're on a roll right now, just like we were when we won ten in a row last year. The Grey Cup isn't won in July.
Streveler has less mobility that Zac he hasnt just lost a step hes lost a lot more
Maybe neufeld is hurt?
Logan needs to get off the line cause Vaval stinks. Granted, everyone stinks minus Demski and maybe Holm. Better hope Toronto keeps sucking
Our D backfield are playing Hall type game. Playing 5-10 yards off the receivers compared to Stamps D
Jefferson is getting some foolish penalties this season.
should have challenged that PI
You gotta be kidding me. That's a terrible PI call on Holm.
Nobody anywhere near rhymes. This secondary is quite bad. Our former strongest point on D.
Imagine if we this team didn't have time to prepare?
I'm already looking forward to beating this team when it really matters.
i was hoping it was terry time...
Where was our D corner on that play. Back the BUS Miller need some players gone and some coming in
Quote from: The Zipp on July 19, 2025, 02:56:03 AMi was hoping it was terry time...
and that was why. the streveler charade is over
Quote from: J5V on July 19, 2025, 02:55:10 AMI'm already looking forward to beating this team when it really matters.
Yup...the players change, but the team is always a bunch of jerks. Wonder why that is.
we could be looking at 4-6 game losing streak
Everybody wants to beat the Bombers, even the officials. That's okay, sooner or later they'll have to play us when we're at our best and it'll be delicious breaking their hearts.
when your backup Qb isn't a QB...
stamps have a really good receiving corp...something the bombers lack...among other things
if a qb hasnt preped for the game...it s not gonna be easy
clercius was wide open for a td and streveler didn't see hin
Quote from: The Zipp on July 19, 2025, 02:58:39 AMwe could be looking at 4-6 game losing streak
I doubt that.
Quote from: J5V on July 19, 2025, 03:02:06 AMI doubt that.
we stink in TO, and zach may be out for a while. strev isn't a qb
Shameful. Absolutely shameful. Doing this on Milt Stegall's night.
We dont have the receivers to help our QB
Quote from: blueandgoldguy on July 19, 2025, 03:06:12 AMShameful. Absolutely shameful. Doing this on Milt Stegall's night.
I agree. ******** about our team like this and piling on when they're having a bad night is a bad look. You'd think we'd never won a Grey Cup before.
I guarantee you Milt will flush this game and look forward to better in the future. The Bombers we know and love will be back.
1st time I've stopped watching a game before it was over for several seasons.
The trend continues. Our front 7 can't get pressure on the QB and our secondary plays too far off the receivers. 2nd and long is too easy. Overall the talent is not there on defence. Too many LB's and no depth on the entire roster on the front 4.
Streveler took too long to throw and that resulted in a pick. The receiver should have been more aware and moved up to block out any defender. Regardless, many of us said before the season that Streveler is not the answer in the short ter,
If Collaros is out, I'd like to see if Wilson might be the future.
Laval might have been injured but more likely concussion protocol. Regardless, I think when Logan is healthy he loses his role.
Bridges has had two horrible games in a row and overall not played great. Bonds also didn't play well but not as bad as Bridges.
Will we consider moving Parker to CB and having Allen play safety next week?
We don't know if or when Bryant will be able to play but our OL suffered as a result.
I haven't been overly impressed with Sterns and didn't see much value in Case. You can't win only throwing to Demski and running with Oliveria.
I'm not panicking but it's time for an airlift.
tecno and his bag of lemons was right
Oliveria had 40 yards in 5 receptions. That was 11 yards more than Sterns, Case, Clercius and Corcoron combined in 5 receptions ( game not quite finished ) but that tells you something.
Once again Thomas did not record a stat although I think they might have given him credit for a tipped ball. In any case, he may as well spent the game on the bench.
Case gets an 8 yard TD after the Stamps showered and were headed to the bus. Finished 2 catches for 10 yards. Whoopee. lol He may be the returner next week if Vaval is injured and / or if Logan doesn't come off the IR.
I'm not sure that Collaros won't miss a couple or more games with his concussion history.
Where is Willy 5 this year, bad penalties or not even in the game, This team is slow and small this year
To me, this comes down to a lack of talent throughout the roster, both lines, secondary, receivers, returner, back up QB. It's not one thing. And it falls on Walters. Lost Grant and Lawler, Bighill and Alexander aged out, Collaros, Bryant and Jefferson past their prime, no impact players brought in for several years other Wilson who's now gone. Spent 300,000 on Mitchell and Jones getting paid to sit. Oh, and he resigned Jake Thomas. A pretty sad spectacle tonight. Hopefully we show better against teams not as good as Stamps.
Quote from: bunker on July 19, 2025, 03:39:44 AMTo me, this comes down to a lack of talent throughout the roster, both lines, secondary, receivers, returner, back up QB. It's not one thing. And it falls on Walters. Lost Grant and Lawler, Bighill and Alexander aged out, Collaros, Bryant and Jefferson past their prime, no impact players brought in for several years other Wilson who's now gone. Spent 300,000 on Mitchell and Jones getting paid to sit. Oh, and he resigned Jake Thomas. A pretty sad spectacle tonight. Hopefully we show better against teams not as good as Stamps.
The telling story to me is how well Calgary recruited in the offseason and how poorly we recruited. Calgary at this point in time is far better than the Bombers talent wise on both sides of the ball. It is a long season and things may come together but at the moment Calgary, Saskatchewan and even BC are better teams than the Bombers.
Quote from: bunker on July 19, 2025, 03:39:44 AMTo me, this comes down to a lack of talent throughout the roster, both lines, secondary, receivers, returner, back up QB. It's not one thing. And it falls on Walters. Lost Grant and Lawler, Bighill and Alexander aged out, Collaros, Bryant and Jefferson past their prime, no impact players brought in for several years other Wilson who's now gone. Spent 300,000 on Mitchell and Jones getting paid to sit. Oh, and he resigned Jake Thomas. A pretty sad spectacle tonight. Hopefully we show better against teams not as good as Stamps.
You're right, We knew this day was coming, and now its here. Tough times are coming our way. We are at best a 0.500 ball club and that's if Collaros is healthy, if he's out, we're going on a losing streak !! But we had a bad night (again) tonight, I don't think we would have beaten Ottawa or Edmonton tonight
Booooo
Not good
Quote from: BBRT on July 19, 2025, 03:55:00 AMThe telling story to me is how well Calgary recruited in the offseason and how poorly we recruited. Calgary at this point in time is far better than the Bombers talent wise on both sides of the ball. It is a long season and things may come together but at the moment Calgary, Saskatchewan and even BC are better teams than the Bombers.
I guess Danny Mac is having a poor recruitment class. Wow, not good at all.
Zach looks like a shadow of his former self.
Quote from: BBRT on July 19, 2025, 03:55:00 AMThe telling story to me is how well Calgary recruited in the offseason and how poorly we recruited. Calgary at this point in time is far better than the Bombers talent wise on both sides of the ball. It is a long season and things may come together but at the moment Calgary, Saskatchewan and even BC are better teams than the Bombers.
I wouldn't go that far, Stamps are currently the best team in the West, not worried about Sask. as long as the Bombers play up to their potential they should be able to beat them, twice.
Quote from: GOLDMEMBER on July 19, 2025, 04:38:45 AMI guess Danny Mac is having a poor recruitment class. Wow, not good at all.
Zach looks like a shadow of his former self.
Our stars are aging out before our eyes and it's painful to watch. Zach, Bryant and Willie are all shadows of their former selfs, and we got nobody new coming in to give us a boost.
Demski had a great first half, but other than that, this one stunk. Our D line is beyond brutal, zero pressure again.
Oh well, we have a home and home with the Argos, I'm hoping Collaros is ok so maybe we can win at least the home game vs the arblows
Quote from: markf on July 19, 2025, 02:43:13 AMMaybe neufeld is hurt?
No, Neufeld is old. He and Bryant have been liabilities all season
Quote from: Throw Long Bannatyne on July 19, 2025, 04:45:23 AMI wouldn't go that far, Stamps are currently the best team in the West, not worried about Sask. as long as the Bombers play up to their potential they should be able to beat them.
I think we ll be in a battle with the criders for 2nd this year. We have beaten BC twice already so not too concerned about them
The bandwagon is getting a workout ! Ebbs and flows of pro team. Hard not to get spoiled but let's support the team and fills the stands.
Quote from: Blue In BC on July 19, 2025, 03:29:07 AMOliveria had 40 yards in 5 receptions. That was 11 yards more than Sterns, Case, Clercius and Corcoron combined in 5 receptions ( game not quite finished ) but that tells you something.
Once again Thomas did not record a stat although I think they might have given him credit for a tipped ball. In any case, he may as well spent the game on the bench.
Case gets an 8 yard TD after the Stamps showered and were headed to the bus. Finished 2 catches for 10 yards. Whoopee. lol He may be the returner next week if Vaval is injured and / or if Logan doesn't come off the IR.
I'm not sure that Collaros won't miss a couple or more games with his concussion history.
Case looked like he belonged, he ran a very nice sweep and filled in well for Vaval on punt returns at the end of the game. Don't know how long he'll stay on the game-day roster but he's a decent guy to keep in reserve when injury strikes.
Walters needs to go shopping for bigger receivers to increase the muscle quotient, as so many other teams are demonstrating their value in making the big plays. It's amazing how many high quality Natl. receivers with good size have appeared in the last 5 years, and this Alford looks great right out of the gate.
The problem is our team very seldom brings in players and play them during the season, Calgary is still bringing in players and it shows how they are improving. Why bring in vet players and have them sit, play guys like Case at WR just doesnt work being short and small. Again is it the players or the rookie coaches
Quote from: bunker on July 19, 2025, 03:39:44 AMTo me, this comes down to a lack of talent throughout the roster, both lines, secondary, receivers, returner, back up QB. It's not one thing. And it falls on Walters. Lost Grant and Lawler, Bighill and Alexander aged out, Collaros, Bryant and Jefferson past their prime, no impact players brought in for several years other Wilson who's now gone. Spent 300,000 on Mitchell and Jones getting paid to sit. Oh, and he resigned Jake Thomas. A pretty sad spectacle tonight. Hopefully we show better against teams not as good as Stamps.
Yeah, this free agency class has turned into an embarrassment. Especially disappointing in a year where the team actually had wiggle room and also is hosting a grey cup, we have a swiss cheese secondary, no pass rush and a questionable at best OL with two of the biggest names being healthy scratches all year. On top of that, guys like Bridges went essentially unchallenged, guys like Neufeld, Thomas and Kolankowski were treated as if they are in their prime and not past it, and
apparently no one could beat out Jerreth Sterns, who is too small to be a reliable blocker and who they only trust giving the ball either behind the LOS or within five yards of it. Even Mitchell, a big FA signing, for some reason can't play the slot? Or they can't move guys around? It makes no sense. I really don't think Walters had a vision.
Quote from: Throw Long Bannatyne on July 19, 2025, 05:01:42 AMCase looked like he belonged, he ran a very nice sweep and filled in well for Vaval on punt returns at the end of the game. Don't know how long he'll stay on the game-day roster but he's a decent guy to keep in reserve when injury strikes.
Walters needs to go shopping for bigger receivers to increase the muscle quotient, as so many other teams are demonstrating their value in making the big plays. It's amazing how many high quality Natl. receivers with good size have appeared in the last 5 years, and this Alford looks amazing right out of the gate.
Bring back White and drop Sterns!
Quote from: Throw Long Bannatyne on July 19, 2025, 05:01:42 AMCase looked like he belonged, he ran a very nice sweep and filled in well for Vaval on punt returns at the end of the game. Don't know how long he'll stay on the game-day roster but he's a decent guy to keep in reserve when injury strikes.
Walters needs to go shopping for bigger receivers to increase the muscle quotient, as so many other teams are demonstrating their value in making the big plays. It's amazing how many high quality Natl. receivers with good size have appeared in the last 5 years, and this Alford looks amazing right out of the gate.
not sure 2 receptions for 10 yards is impressive as well as not being able to stay on his feet.
Once again OShea goes with guys he feels work hard regardless of talent Reminded me more of a kick returner inserted for one play to make use of speed as we used to do with Grant
Quote from: Pete on July 19, 2025, 05:16:03 AMnot sure 2 receptions for 10 yards is impressive as well as not being able to stay on his feet.
Once again OShea goes with guys he feels work hard regardless of talent Reminded me more of a kick returner inserted for one play to make use of speed as we used to do with Grant
Case is a temp player, he may fill in for awhile but unlikely he's ever going to earn a job as a starting receiver.
Ah the panic is back. Deep breath. Two horrible games. Need Zach back and gotta get better in a few areas but not as bad as some making it out to be.
Quote from: The Zipp on July 19, 2025, 02:58:39 AMwe could be looking at 4-6 game losing streak
I'll take money on that. Doesn't surprise me you take.
Quote from: The Zipp on July 19, 2025, 02:59:58 AMwhen your backup Qb isn't a QB...
We have 3 decent backups. Strev played terrible, no need to pile on. He is better than how he played today.
Quote from: J5V on July 19, 2025, 02:58:50 AMEverybody wants to beat the Bombers, even the officials. That's okay, sooner or later they'll have to play us when we're at our best and it'll be delicious breaking their hearts.
The suggestion that the officials want to beat us is false imo
Quote from: kkc60 on July 19, 2025, 02:36:57 AMBad secondary, bad linebackers, no pass rush. Yikes
Secondary is average but Bridges got beat badly imo
Lbs are slightly above average imo
Pash rush inconsistent
When we did get there took penalties
Quote from: Ducky on July 19, 2025, 01:25:40 AMThis team is not good. No pass rush and poor pass protection.
3 and 2 we are decent and laid two eggs against a superior team that is red hot
Yup two areas of concern
Quote from: The Zipp on July 19, 2025, 01:13:54 AMno pressure
no coverage
#9 defence
Our defense is middle of the pack imo
Quote from: Pete on July 19, 2025, 01:00:09 AMwe are so bad at that short game We need to trust our oline to give Zac some time and play our game
Haha! Trust our OL... <wipes tears away>
(tears of laughter... then tears of sorrow)
Quote from: The Zipp on July 19, 2025, 01:11:26 AMstay on your feet Kody
Say what you want about Zach's other INTs. That one is fully on Case. But man that CGY zone is tiiiiight. The windows are so small. Need to find ways to fake the zone sit and get it outside those tight boxes.
If each rookie makes you lose one game, let's call that Case fall his one lost game. So that's out of the way...
He fell down a couple/few times in the game. First-start jitters? Tripping over himself. Not comfortable.
Quote from: The Zipp on July 19, 2025, 01:35:03 AMour DB's look tiny compared to Alford
He looks exactly like I do swatting at mosquitos around my fire pit. He doesn't take the DBs seriously (especially not our corners!), he just swats them away or pushes them to the turf.
Quote from: Pete on July 19, 2025, 01:37:49 AMyou can see Calgary taking away the momentum
There was momentum? On our side??
Quote from: The Zipp on July 19, 2025, 01:43:44 AMand that is why
Every half-fast DE and LB is now faster than Strevy. He cannot escape the pocket because everyone will give him a spy or contain who is faster than him.
He used to be able to outrun all but the fastest. But with his knee surgery and, I'm guessing, brace, he just can't beat hardly anyone.
So we need to eliminate all the outside runs and bootlegs for him. Or they'll just do like they did here, many times. What did work was the Brady-follow up the gut. He can still plow, so have him plow, not speed or deke.
Edit: OMG #86 mr heavy DT for CGY chased him down on the very next play. Strev has zero speed right now (if ever). He must stay in the pocket or up the gut. He cannot escape anyone if he can't escape a near-300lb DT.
Quote from: J5V on July 19, 2025, 01:47:06 AMThat was such a BS penalty. There was nothing nasty there. C'mon ref.
It was on my Cadwall too. It was weak, but basically "ref mistake payback" for the weak UR they called on CGY in the pile earlier on. Both cases it was some guy pushing another player to the ground. However, the CGY guy did it with a "punch" motion, Cadwall just sort of did a push.
Refs feel bad for botching things with weak calls and often look to equal it out later. Rightly or wrongly, we see this all the time.
Quote from: markf on July 19, 2025, 01:48:41 AMWasn't the hit on zach after the ball was gone? That's a penalty.
In all 3 RTPs in this game, the Zach one was the "closest" in timing. It was a couple of tenths of a second (I can time it later). The VAJ ones that were called RTP were a couple of tenths more than that.
It's rather arbitrary and up to the ref when they call it. No one is sitting there with a tenths stopwatch saying 2 10ths is ok but 4 10ths is RTP. However, that's basically the end result.
Just 5 years ago all of these hits would NOT be RTP. Oh well. The difference for us is 1 Zach head on the turf equals 2 weeks of protocol and 2 VAJ hits equals nothing because he's a fair bit younger and has zero concussion history (is there a brain in there to rattle?).
Quote from: BlueFire on July 19, 2025, 04:53:51 AMThe bandwagon is getting a workout ! Ebbs and flows of pro team. Hard not to get spoiled but let's support the team and fills the stands.
what do you think it looked like tonight? Place was bloody sold out!
Quote from: GOLDMEMBER on July 18, 2025, 09:10:31 PMI certainly would like to see Hogan step it up with a massive running attack but not banking on it either.
How about Zach just not throwing it at the other colour sweaters.
both QBs failed in an epic fashion. Interception beasts. :D
Quote from: Blueforlife on July 19, 2025, 05:48:58 AMAh the panic is back. Deep breath. Two horrible games. Need Zach back and gotta get better in a few areas but not as bad as some making it out to be.I'll take money on that. Doesn't surprise me you take.
We have 3 decent backups. Strev played terrible, no need to pile on. He is better than how he played today.
The suggestion that the officials want to beat us is false imoSecondary is average but Bridges got beat badly imo
Lbs are slightly above average imo
Pash rush inconsistent
When we did get there took penalties 3 and 2 we are decent and laid two eggs against a superior team that is red hot
Yup two areas of concernOur defense is middle of the pack imo
our halfbacks are average to above. Our corners are getting fried and I don't know where Parker is 90% of the time. Same thing with our LBs, especially in the passing game. All they are good for is blitzing and even then, they don't seem to be getting home like they used to
Re the defense, I think I'd feel 1% better if we were able to have gotten pressure against VAJ and forced him to run for first downs. But we made him look like a bona fide pure pocket passer out there most of the time. Got lots of time and made difficult completions when it counted.
Player deficiencies aside, The offence seems to be very predictable. Seemed like their defence knew what we were doing almost as well as we did.
It seems to me that they are up close to the line on d, shouldn't something be open across the middle ten yds downfield .
Never see even an attempt at that.
Missing Bailey's blocking on the short passes. These guys either can't block, wont block, or aren't asked to block.
Their D backfield is really good. Similar to ours when it was the best. Seemed like Our receivers were smothered. Even on the completions to Demski, he had to make outstanding plays. On the int, he had the ball, their guy just wrenched it away. Great play by them.
Meanwhile their receivers were uncovered at worst, or given too much room at best.
Holm is still at the top playing level. The other backfield guys. Not sure. I guess if one guy back there is confused, the whole thing breaks down.
Also the o line and Brady got some nice runs... yet they go away from it.
Also,having Willie drop back.... Always seemed silly to me. Too cute by half.
Their punter made some great kicks to keep us deep. No chance for return on some of those.
Va was always good, except for his int. Maybe he's finally got it together.
Oh well, interesting season shaping up now. This is not what I expected.
Hope Zach is ok, I wish he would wear the extra helmet protection if he does come back.
O'Shea commits to vets and players that were here on the PR in 2024. All those DB's and receivers brought in for TC and looked at in tryout camps. Vaval only made the roster due to an injury to Logan. Did those on the roster actually win their spots or were they given a free pass by O'Shea /Walters?
Many of the posters felt we wouldn't see too many real changes going into 2025. Now injuries are adding up.
As usual we'll have to see who might be returning from IR or who is going onto IR this week. Collaros is the 1st concern about being lost for at least 1 game.
I think a couple of players have played their way off the starting roster. I wouldn't go as far as saying they should be cut outright but bumped to the PR. OTOH, I don't know if we have anyone better to replace them.
IMO we should bump Parker back to CB and start Allen at safety. That might solve part of the problem. However our biggest weakness is the front 7. We don't even have bodies to consider much in the way of change.
I'm just going to give credit to Calgary. They are red hot right now and won consecutive weeks in the hardest stadiums to play in. Adams has always been streaky but I always think one of these years he'll figure that out, maybe he finally has. The only other thing that could stop him is an injury. He was a steal at less than 500k. There is a long way to go yet though.
Free agency is huge for us and by that I mean all the talent we lost over the years. You can't watch a game without seeing former Bombers that other teams poached.
We are still a playoff team, that might be a cross over though. Assuming Edm and Ott don't qualify that leaves just one other team to be eliminated.
Draft picks 8 and 17. Why are they gifted to Calgary? I still cannot wrap my head around the unfairness of that.
Not sure what happened to our secondary. We've always had pretty elite pass coverage and these are the same guys out there but they look absolutely atrocious.
It's been discussed before but our two most expensive free agent signings are sitting on the 1 game IR but healthy. The coaches seem to be reluctant to change anything unless we have an injury that forces something.
The time has come to reconsider our overall roster. Has anyone shown more in practice than a current starter and / or has a current starter played his way off the roster? I don't go to practice so I can't specifically speak to that aspect but I can say some starters are on thin ice IMO.
At the very least we should be bringing in some new faces for out PR. If that means cutting someone to make room, I'm ok with that.
main comments
We were outcoached badly, Calgary came in with a game plan to exploit our defensive weaknesses( did Biggy have a role in this as who knows them better) We didnt change our game plan much with a similar result
The contrast was dramatic in that while we were content to keep trotting out the usual suspects vs calgary revamped whole defense to get younger and more aggressive
Our failure to address known issues effectively in off season is hurting us. We knew we were gonna lose Dobson, Ford , Lawler. We knew our dline wasn't good enough and we tried to fix it with budget replacements
Our secondary with Bridges and Parker has been porous. Every year OShea plays someone who "works hard" but that to any knowledgeable fan lacks the talent ie Jackson, Johnson,Bridges, and Thomas / Kornelson
Re Strev: When he was first with us his biggest strength was he was a threat to take it to the house on any given play. Teams had to respect him taking off every play and receivers would get left wide open. Strev doesn't have that speed anymore... he's still tenacious but lbs can keep him in check now. He is what he is, a 60% completion passer despite the majority of his passes being short dumps. His accuracy and decision making on longer throws has always been a concern. I hope Wilson and Chase are getting some good reps this week because our offense is going to be pretty easy to stop if all we have is a run game and short passes.
The Stamps are the big dogs now. We hung with them for a half, then got owned... again.
Folks who said Strev should be starting were wrong.
Our DB's look bad when we can't get pressure on the QB... and we can't do it with the D line we have.
We might have the weakest group of receivers in the league right now.
Flush this game and focus on Toronto next week. Lose to a 1-5 team and this place will go ballistic.
outplayed
out coached
out talented
stamps are motivated and are feeding on their success.
we lost in the trenches and their recievers ran crisp high percentage routes and we had no answer cause he had no pressure.
roster mismanagement, refusal to use the rules to our advantage, sticking with "favs" and not having quality depth.
17 players rostered for 7 positions and this Person dude played 8 snaps according to the post game show.
fat and sassy is what we have become - believing the press clippings and two games in a row we got punched in the mouth and beat up by the better team.
the game Strev played against BC was the aberration - what we saw last night is the real Strev.
we should have signed Fajardo when available.
I don't think there is anything we can do but look at the long view. The best players here are the ones already playing. The possible exception would be D Mitchell but that's a big if. I am ready to give him a game though, we need to know. Either way that is not a season changer. No one of value will be available at this time of year as a free agent. I am pretty sure Ontaria Wilson will be back sooner than later due to his 40 time of 4.6. If he is cut in New York I feel that will be the end of his NFL chances. I am hoping he makes it though. What we need to do is get Zach healthy as long as that takes. Long view. The worst thing we can do is bring him back early to win a game that may not mean much in the end. Montreal did this and is probably sorry now.
It will help Strev a lot if he gets starter reps this week. That's the way it works here, the starters get the quality and quantity of reps. We will get better. Same as last year.
To the people saying we got no pressure, Willie Jefferson, MOS and I disagree. I credit Adams for being a slippery and elusive guy. The new guy Person, didn't even notice him though. I was hoping he was some kind of pass rush specialist and that's why he played.
"I felt like we got some good pressures and stuff like that. We got in his face, got him off his spot, got him moving around and things like that," said Jefferson. "I don't think he necessarily had any rushing yards as a quarterback. We tried to get to him. We had some good pressure, just couldn't get home and put him down."
Mike O'Shea seemed to agree with his star pass rusher.
"Vernon was very slippery, so we get pressure, and then he manages to spin around and escape. He's always done that — he's pretty good at it — and he made us pay a couple times with it. He is pretty slippery. You can get pressure, it's just hard to bring him down."
Quote from: Waffler on July 19, 2025, 02:33:54 PMTo the people saying we got no pressure, Willie Jefferson, MOS and I disagree. I credit Adams for being a slippery and elusive guy. The new guy Person, didn't even notice him though. I was hoping he was some kind of pass rush specialist and that's why he played.
"I felt like we got some good pressures and stuff like that. We got in his face, got him off his spot, got him moving around and things like that," said Jefferson. "I don't think he necessarily had any rushing yards as a quarterback. We tried to get to him. We had some good pressure, just couldn't get home and put him down."
Mike O'Shea seemed to agree with his star pass rusher.
"Vernon was very slippery, so we get pressure, and then he manages to spin around and escape. He's always done that — he's pretty good at it — and he made us pay a couple times with it. He is pretty slippery. You can get pressure, it's just hard to bring him down."
The Stamps continually managed to convert 2nd and 10 or more into 1st downs. That suggests whatever pressure they achieved was insufficient. Getting him off his spot only helps if he is forced into errors and fails sustaining drives. Didn't they drive the length of the field for a TD on their 1st possession?
We also only forced the Stamps to punt 4 times.
Quote from: Blueforlife on July 19, 2025, 05:48:58 AMAh the panic is back. Deep breath. Two horrible games. Need Zach back and gotta get better in a few areas but not as bad as some making it out to be.I'll take money on that. Doesn't surprise me you take.
We have 3 decent backups. Strev played terrible, no need to pile on. He is better than how he played today.
The suggestion that the officials want to beat us is false imoSecondary is average but Bridges got beat badly imo
Lbs are slightly above average imo
Pash rush inconsistent
When we did get there took penalties 3 and 2 we are decent and laid two eggs against a superior team that is red hot
Yup two areas of concernOur defense is middle of the pack imo
Quote from: Blueforlife on July 19, 2025, 05:48:58 AMOur defense is middle of the pack imo
What?!? #1 D you said! now not so much.
Adams was getting way too much time. I would ignore MOS and Willie, who are not objective in the least. Adams was getting to his second, third and fourth reads. Jake Thomas played the majority of snaps at DT. He has one move, a bull rush against the centre or guard, where it take him at least 3-5 seconds to even push the pocket back, and even if he gets through eventually the ball is either out of the QBs hands, or a QB like Adams easily evades him because he's so slow. Our DE's seem to play a disciplined game where they stick to their lanes. This prevented VA from escaping the pocket, but made them pretty predictable, and easy to block. Calgary's O-line looked very good.
Our secondary is better than it looked. I think Bridges is the major weak link there. Parker is not great so far. I think Holms and Nichols are solid. No secondary can cover effectively forever. If Bridges is starting next week, (and my prediction is that he will), its a sign that we will carry on with what were doing regardless of result. Luckily, there are enough weak teams in the league that we have a good chance at the playoffs, provided Zach gets healthy.
I attributed our success since Zach got here to a a good system of scouting and coaching by Walters and MOS. Now I'm not so sure. I think part of it was a one off series of great FA signings (Bryant, Jefferson, Bighill, Lawler, Demski), most of whom are now contributing nothing or less due to aging. We are not bringing in enough talent now to sustain our success.
Its early in the season, and things can and will change by the fall. I'm hoping Calgary made us look worse than we really are, and that they are on a roll and not quite as good as they looked.
From my view of the game, the following players need to have their play reviewed and pointed out:
Neufeld, has a player lined up directly in front of him on the snap of the ball Neufeld moves to his right to double team on the end with Randolf leaving the Cal player lined up on him a free run to the QB, inexcusable. I also observed Neufeld whiffing on a number of other blocks. His time here is done.
Bonds, Nichols, Bridges are by far our worse DB's especially Bridges trying to cover a rookie receiver #80 (Moose) embarrassing. He made Bridges look foolish. These three again need to have their performance reviewed and action taken.
Quote from: Blue In BC on July 19, 2025, 03:01:34 PMThe Stamps continually managed to convert 2nd and 10 or more into 1st downs. That suggests whatever pressure they achieved was insufficient. Getting him off his spot only helps if he is forced into errors and fails sustaining drives. Didn't they drive the length of the field for a TD on their 1st possession?
We also only forced the Stamps to punt 4 times.
I agree with you. I am giving credit to Adams. He slipped away and made us pay. He did it in Sask too. How many times has he been sacked this year? I'll bet not many. He's like Ford but with accuracy. I credit him with learning the game too. He plays smart now.
Quote from: kkc60 on July 19, 2025, 11:48:15 AMour halfbacks are average to above. Our corners are getting fried and I don't know where Parker is 90% of the time. Same thing with our LBs, especially in the passing game. All they are good for is blitzing and even then, they don't seem to be getting home like they used to
Agree, not sure the Parker at Safety experiment has worked, he's rather inconsequential in size and has a penchant for falling down at the worst possible times. Communication in the secondary has been terrible and mistakes are happening multiple times per game, the worst example being Holm left on his own to cover 2 receivers on the goal line. The two young corners are being exposed badly but it's not physical inadequacy hampering them but mental mistakes, so hopefully those can be fixed.
Game Recap | CAL 41 WPG 20- Ed Tait
"...The Blue Bombers second straight defeat of the 2025 Canadian Football League season had so many similarities to the first meeting — a 37-16 beatdown in Calgary two weeks ago — and not only drops the club to 3-2, but has them falling behind the Stamps, now 5-1, while the Saskatchewan Roughriders, 4-1, are in action Saturday in Vancouver against the B.C. Lions.
Winnipeg has now also lost the season series to the Stamps, with the two clubs meeting for a third time in Calgary on August 9th.
"Not very good," said head coach Mike O'Shea afterward. "I thought we weren't very smart in the first half and then we just weren't very good in the second. So, you add those two ups and this is the outcome."
More on the Blue Bombers second straight loss to the Stampeders from our view in the press box..."
https://www.bluebombers.com/2025/07/19/game-recap-cal-41-wpg-20/
Quote from: Horseman on July 19, 2025, 03:15:48 PMWhat?!? #1 D you said! now not so much.
Defense started the year good and has had a couple bad games. We are middle of the pack. You wanted the entire club blown up the years leading up to our mini dynasty. We have had the best D or close to it for many years. Can't be the best forever but I still believe in this unit. Need more pressure and gotta fix the explosion plays. My biggest concern is Bridges who will learn from his mistakes and continue to grow hopefully.
Quote from: Horseman on July 19, 2025, 03:31:00 PMFrom my view of the game, the following players need to have their play reviewed and pointed out:
Neufeld, has a player lined up directly in front of him on the snap of the ball Neufeld moves to his right to double team on the end with Randolf leaving the Cal player lined up on him a free run to the QB, inexcusable. I also observed Neufeld whiffing on a number of other blocks. His time here is done.
Bonds, Nichols, Bridges are by far our worse DB's especially Bridges trying to cover a rookie receiver #80 (Moose) embarrassing. He made Bridges look foolish. These three again need to have their performance reviewed and action taken.
Bonds and Nichols are good to great imo. No action needed other than regular learning and adjusting after a couple bad games. Bridges is young and patience should should pay off with him. He will take time and we shall see.
Quote from: The Zipp on July 19, 2025, 02:22:14 PMoutplayed
out coached
out talented
stamps are motivated and are feeding on their success.
we lost in the trenches and their recievers ran crisp high percentage routes and we had no answer cause he had no pressure.
roster mismanagement, refusal to use the rules to our advantage, sticking with "favs" and not having quality depth.
17 players rostered for 7 positions and this Person dude played 8 snaps according to the post game show.
fat and sassy is what we have become - believing the press clippings and two games in a row we got punched in the mouth and beat up by the better team.
the game Strev played against BC was the aberration - what we saw last night is the real Strev.
we should have signed Fajardo when available.
The negativity and worry is a 12/10 here, while yes we had two terrible games I don't think it's as bad as it make it out to be. The tone of your post doesn't surprise me and you are allowed to be critcal but I don't agree with most of it. 100%, against having Fajardo here. Can't throw a deep ball. Give Person time, it's his 1st game.
I see no roster mismanagement, I see a team with at least average depth at most areas. Fat and sassy disagree. Disagree about Strev he will have terrible and good games. Will be on average, below average. We roster the best mix each game, while not perfect that not our main issue. Disagree about dressing favs. Much more complex process than that.
Quote from: DM83 on July 19, 2025, 11:39:05 AMGreat game.
Lol!
My hero from 2022?!
Strvlor is what he is. A rushing QB. Let's call a spade a spade. He sucks. He lost. The game for us.
In a post I made a few months ago, I suggested we would get injuries upon injuries. I thought it would be a bit later
But the the team is awful. Everywhere there are guys past their prime. I don't see them winning another game. The Bombers have poor players. Calgary across the board embarrassed a lot of players and coaches.
Rebuilding should start immediately. Plus re-signing some previous players. Our linebackers really sucked, the defensive line should be defensive after a pressure performance. Time to trade a Quarternack. Zac is an accident waiting to happen. Hello Fajardo.
What a shocker this game was. After a bye they shot the bed.
Plus as I complained a few months ago, the defensive co-ordinators, are in over their heads. Not sure what O'Shea does, so I can't identify him in that group of ill suited things. What a bad performance.
Sure missed these types of posts lol
Rebuild nope, retool
Won't win another game? I'll give 5 to 1 odds we do
Bombers don't have poor players we have a good mix of studs and a few duds imo
Our DC coaching mix is near best in league imo
Zach like all QBs will be hurt from time to time
Calling for us to move on from him is laughable imo
Full stop no on Cody
Team is not awful, middle of pack 3 and 2
Take a deep breath, couple terrible games, we are better than that
Give some credit to a good to great Calgary team
Bridges has had time, 2nd year with us and continues to make same mistakes. We cant afford to take a wait and see attitude
That applies to our dline as well
How we brought in so few options is beyond me
Quote from: DM83 on July 19, 2025, 11:39:05 AMGreat game.
Lol!
My hero from 2022?!
Strvlor is what he is. A rushing QB. Let's call a spade a spade. He sucks. He lost. The game for us.
In a post I made a few months ago, I suggested we would get injuries upon injuries. I thought it would be a bit later
But the the team is awful. Everywhere there are guys past their prime. I don't see them winning another game. The Bombers have poor players. Calgary across the board embarrassed a lot of players and coaches.
Rebuilding should start immediately. Plus re-signing some previous players. Our linebackers really sucked, the defensive line should be defensive after a pressure performance. Time to trade a Quarternack. Zac is an accident waiting to happen. Hello Fajardo.
What a shocker this game was. After a bye they shot the bed.
Plus as I complained a few months ago, the defensive co-ordinators, are in over their heads. Not sure what O'Shea does, so I can't identify him in that group of ill suited things. What a bad performance.
Sure missed these types of posts lol
Rebuild nope, retool
Won't win another game? I'll give 5 to 1 odds we do
Bombers don't have poor players we have a good mix of studs and a few duds imo
Our DC coaching mix is near best in league imo
Zach like all QBs will be hurt from time to time
Calling for us to move on from him is laughable imo
Full stop no on Cody
Quote from: Blue In BC on July 19, 2025, 12:57:50 PMO'Shea commits to vets and players that were here on the PR in 2024. All those DB's and receivers brought in for TC and looked at in tryout camps. Vaval only made the roster due to an injury to Logan. Did those on the roster actually win their spots or were they given a free pass by O'Shea /Walters?
Many of the posters felt we wouldn't see too many real changes going into 2025. Now injuries are adding up.
As usual we'll have to see who might be returning from IR or who is going onto IR this week. Collaros is the 1st concern about being lost for at least 1 game.
I think a couple of players have played their way off the starting roster. I wouldn't go as far as saying they should be cut outright but bumped to the PR. OTOH, I don't know if we have anyone better to replace them.
IMO we should bump Parker back to CB and start Allen at safety. That might solve part of the problem. However our biggest weakness is the front 7. We don't even have bodies to consider much in the way of change.
Not ready for Allen at safety yet. Might bring more problems than it solves. Parker is good but might not be good enough at corner at this stage. Allen likely better slowly developed than brought into the fire. Did cross my mind yesterday. Maybe later in the season.
We don't bump guys to the PR unless a better option is available. Don't get better by deletion unless the addition is greater.
Agree biggest concern is Zach.
Quote from: TBURGESS on July 19, 2025, 02:11:51 PMThe Stamps are the big dogs now. We hung with them for a half, then got owned... again.
Folks who said Strev should be starting were wrong.
Our DB's look bad when we can't get pressure on the QB... and we can't do it with the D line we have.
We might have the weakest group of receivers in the league right now.
Flush this game and focus on Toronto next week. Lose to a 1-5 team and this place will go ballistic.
Place is already ballistic imo by some but yes will go 100% manic if we drop another egg lol
Agree with some of your points
Toronto will be hungry and a tough out, without Zach really tough.
Quote from: Blueforlife on July 19, 2025, 04:46:01 PMSure missed these types of posts lol
Rebuild nope, retool
Won't win another game? I'll give 5 to 1 odds we do
Bombers don't have poor players we have a good mix of studs and a few duds imo
Our DC coaching mix is near best in league imo
Zach like all QBs will be hurt from time to time
Calling for us to move on from him is laughable imo
Full stop no on CodyNot ready for Allen at safety yet. Might bring more problems than it solves. Parker is good but might not be good enough at corner at this stage. Allen likely better slowly developed than brought into the fire. Did cross my mind yesterday. Maybe later in the season.
We don't bump guys to the PR unless a better option is available. Don't get better by deletion unless the addition is greater.
Agree biggest concern is Zach.Place is already ballistic imo by some but yes will go 100% manic if we drop another egg lol
Agree with some of your points
Toronto will be hungry and a tough out, without Zach really tough.
We don't know if Allen wouldn't be better at safety or whether Parker would falter at CB. What we do know is that Bridges is struggling every game and is the weakest link in our secondary.
Yes you can get better by deletion. Look at what Calgary did in the off season. Bumping / cutting vets and going with 2nd year or rookies starting. If we don't have better choices on our PR then that's a failure in scouting and TC choices.
Whether we have players that might be available by next week is TBD. Logan, Kelly ( also possible safety choice ) and Woods might be ready this week or next. That would bump someone to either PR, IR or released. Griffin is also a choice at safety.
Calgary started Johnson at CB yesterday as a rookie. 4 DT's and a pick. Small sample size, but he had his assignments covered. Arnold and Grant are also CFL rookies.
The patience and the status quo is clearly on a downward trend. We can't stop the rush ( 129 yards by Stamps ) and we can't stop 2nd and 10 yards. Same problems as a week ago.
The Stamps ran a nearly balanced offence. 24 pass attempts and 21 rushes. Getting pressure on the QB if he still gets too much time, no sacks and can't stop the run, then that's a total failure. We didn't record a TFL, again. Essentially the Stamps marched at will on our defence two games in a row.
Quote from: Blue In BC on July 19, 2025, 05:48:20 PMWe don't know if Allen wouldn't be better at safety or whether Parker would falter at CB. What we do know is that Bridges is struggling every game and is the weakest link in our secondary.
Yes you can get better by deletion. Look at what Calgary did in the off season. Bumping / cutting vets and going with 2nd year or rookies starting. If we don't have better choices on our PR then that's a failure in scouting and TC choices.
Whether we have players that might be available by next week is TBD. Logan, Kelly ( also possible safety choice ) and Woods might be ready this week or next. That would bump someone to either PR, IR or released. Griffin is also a choice at safety.
Calgary started Johnson at CB yesterday as a rookie. 4 DT's and a pick. Small sample size, but he had his assignments covered. Arnold and Grant are also CFL rookies.
The patience and the status quo is clearly on a downward trend. We can't stop the rush ( 129 yards by Stamps ) and we can't stop 2nd and 10 yards. Same problems as a week ago.
The Stamps ran a nearly balanced offence. 24 pass attempts and 21 rushes. Getting pressure on the QB if he still gets too much time, no sacks and can't stop the run, then that's a total failure. We didn't record a TFL, again. Essentially the Stamps marched at will on our defence two games in a row.
Don't get better by deletion unless the addition is greater. At the moment I am not sure if we have better option. We might want to shop for a DB, safety and receiver. NFL cuts maybe could bring us a bump.
Agree us fans have no clue what Allen would bring. Likely 50/50 shot Parker is a better corner than Bridges. The long term thinking in me says let Bridges slow cook. Likely would pay off.
Status quo is being questioned. Patience should still be considered with a lot of our lineup. Too early to make any concrete judgments. Lots of time left and lots of guys we haven't given a shot yet. Will be a very interesting practice week and telling game this week. Calgary told us we are nowhere near top dog at the moment. That's ok, we can get hot later. I think they and Adams will fizzle out when it matters most.
Woods would be welcome. Yes Kelly might be an option but would need a few weeks to get up to speed. I really like Griffen not sure how versatilile he would be.
Hard to argue with a lot of your post. Very insightful.
Logal would give us a spark but would take him 2 or 3 games I think to make an impact. Can he play receiver? Stats tell me no.
Will be interesting to see if someone gets bumper off our PR.
Bridges is a 2nd year player but 1st year starter and errors are to be expected. It's a fine line between letting him play through it or just get more time developing in practice. PR or 1 game IR.
Parker is not very big and we're being beaten by receiver height often
Allen is a pure rookie so we don't know how he'll do. OTOH, the Argos are starting Slywka and he's a rookie doing very well. I wonder if Allen is a candidate at CB?
All that said, I'd move Griffin to safety if we switch Bridges with Parker. Somebody must be the next man up at CB? Interestingly Vaval is listed at CB on the depth chart. That may or may not mean something and he may or may not be injured.
Quote from: Strevy on July 19, 2025, 05:39:09 PMGuessing he is gone by Banjo Bowl. Players are just going through the motions. Jackson is here and ready to go.
I'll put money against the prediction
Quote from: Blue In BC on July 19, 2025, 06:54:01 PMBridges is a 2nd year player but 1st year starter and errors are to be expected. It's a fine line between letting him play through it or just get more time developing in practice. PR or 1 game IR.
Parker is not very big and we're being beaten by receiver height often
Allen is a pure rookie so we don't know how he'll do. OTOH, the Argos are starting Slywka and he's a rookie doing very well. I wonder if Allen is a candidate at CB?
All that said, I'd move Griffin to safety if we switch Bridges with Parker. Somebody must be the next man up at CB?
Griffin shows promise but I wouldn't play him a safety. He is already a big part of our rotation and is doing well imo.
I think we give Bridges more rope, yes fine line to be sure.
Slywka looks like a stud!
Quote from: Blue In BC on July 19, 2025, 06:54:01 PMBridges is a 2nd year player but 1st year starter and errors are to be expected. It's a fine line between letting him play through it or just get more time developing in practice. PR or 1 game IR.
Parker is not very big and we're being beaten by receiver height often
Allen is a pure rookie so we don't know how he'll do. OTOH, the Argos are starting Slywka and he's a rookie doing very well. I wonder if Allen is a candidate at CB?
All that said, I'd move Griffin to safety if we switch Bridges with Parker. Somebody must be the next man up at CB? Interestingly Vaval is listed at CB on the depth chart. That may or may not mean something and he may or may not be injured.
I'd put Allen in place of Bridges to get him some plays & experience. A little more size back there couldn't hurt.
Quote from: Blueforlife on July 19, 2025, 06:56:04 PMGriffin shows promise but I wouldn't play him a safety. He is already a big part of our rotation and is doing well imo.
I think we give Bridges more rope, yes fine line to be sure.
Slywka looks like a stud!
I like what Griffin is doing as a LB but J. Jones might be capable of doing his role. That has ratio implications but if we take Bridges off the AR that's a choice.
Unfortunately Bridges is currently the weakest link in the secondary. He has upside but his time might not be NOW.
If we could improve the DL, the secondary would improve by default. Woods is our only possible choice but he's on 6 game IR.
Quote from: BomberFan73 on July 19, 2025, 06:58:44 PMI'd put Allen in place of Bridges to get him some plays & experience. A little more size back there couldn't hurt.
You'd put him in at CB or safety?
Quote from: Blue In BC on July 19, 2025, 07:01:37 PMI like what Griffin is doing as a LB but J. Jones might be capable of doing his role. That has ratio implications but if we take Bridges off the AR that's a choice.
Unfortunately Bridges is currently the weakest link in the secondary. He has upside but his time might not be NOW.
If we could improve the DL, the secondary would improve by default. Woods is our only possible choice but he's on 6 game IR.
Ah now you speaking my language, I don't mind that now. Jones would be a good replacement!
Woods is a decent upgrade imo.
I wouldn't put Allen on the corner, he would get shell shocked likely. Need to slowly develop. Seen the Oilers rush and ruin guys.
Quote from: Blueforlife on July 19, 2025, 07:05:00 PMAh now you speaking my language, I don't mind that now. Jones would be a good replacement!
Woods is a decent upgrade imo.
I wouldn't put Allen on the corner, he would get shell shocked likely. Need to slowly develop. Seen the Oilers rush and ruin guys.
The thing about Bridges at the moment is he's biting on some 1st moves by receivers. Ok, he's up against some receivers that will beat DB's. I may have a larger issue in that he seems to miss a lot of tackles.
Griffin by definition is our back up SAM and that means he's cover guy and can lay the wood on receivers.
Somebody goes to practices will have to provide input on who else gets reps at safety and CB.
We could argue that Hallett might be a consideration at safety and he does have experience there. A short term solution but possibly allows other options and he's a ratio advantage.
If and when Woods is healthy he doesn't have to be a direct replacement to start but he could be a replacement as a DI on the DL.
Quote from: Blue In BC on July 19, 2025, 07:02:39 PMYou'd put him in at CB or safety?
Start him off at DB, then maybe get him some time at safety and swap with Parker
Sure were plenty of Stamps fans in attendance last night. I had the displeasure of sitting behind a couple of obnoxious ones.
Man, that was a stinker.
What is sad is that it takes only one player to whiff on a play to bring the whole play down. On many busted plays, a number of players get that whiff out of their system. Seems like last night each bad play was only one player missing. So, there were a lot more bad plays.
Defenders and receivers falling down was a big issue.
Losing your QB was an issue, and I love Strevy, but he was not good last night. The occasional nice run or good pass does not make up for the rest of the problems.
I would have liked to see Wilson in the 4th. No points and no positive progress for Strevy for the last part of the first half and the entire 3rd quarter should have triggered the hook in my book. Wilson is not here to be the SY guy, he's supposed to be the next one. Give him that chance. Or find another guy that you are willing to do that with.
Here's a thought I had last week. Move Clercius inside to SB and add Mitchell at WR. We aren't getting enormous production outside with him or from either of our SB choices. Clercius might be a better blocker inside.
If the issue is that Mitchell can't play SB then replace either Sterns or Case at SB for this combination of changes. We were also back to 8 Canadian starters so Mitchell could be that starter and Clercius could be the rotation receiver.
Based on the last game that would take Person off the AR to add Mitchell as a WR. Mitchell is going to be faster, slippery and good at YAC.
Quote from: theaardvark on July 19, 2025, 07:53:26 PMMan, that was a stinker.
What is sad is that it takes only one player to whiff on a play to bring the whole play down. On many busted plays, a number of players get that whiff out of their system. Seems like last night each bad play was only one player missing. So, there were a lot more bad plays.
Defenders and receivers falling down was a big issue.
Losing your QB was an issue, and I love Strevy, but he was not good last night. The occasional nice run or good pass does not make up for the rest of the problems.
I would have liked to see Wilson in the 4th. No points and no positive progress for Strevy for the last part of the first half and the entire 3rd quarter should have triggered the hook in my book. Wilson is not here to be the SY guy, he's supposed to be the next one. Give him that chance. Or find another guy that you are willing to do that with.
100% on T Wilson getting into the game. he should be the backup - he can do everything Strev can at this point - get him some experience in game.
Quote from: BomberFan73 on July 19, 2025, 07:18:58 PMStart him off at DB, then maybe get him some time at safety and swap with Parker
DB usually refers to the halfbacks Nichols and Holms. No way I'd make that change if that's what you are suggesting. We don't have the luxury of adding an extra DB as a DI. So someone has to be replaced.
Quote from: Blue In BC on July 19, 2025, 07:12:06 PMThe thing about Bridges at the moment is he's biting on some 1st moves by receivers. Ok, he's up against some receivers that will beat DB's. I may have a larger issue in that he seems to miss a lot of tackles.
Griffin by definition is our back up SAM and that means he's cover guy and can lay the wood on receivers.
Somebody goes to practices will have to provide input on who else gets reps at safety and CB.
We could argue that Hallett might be a consideration at safety and he does have experience there. A short term solution but possibly allows other options and he's a ratio advantage.
If and when Woods is healthy he doesn't have to be a direct replacement to start but he could be a replacement as a DI on the DL.
Maybe Jake Kelly once healthy, I think Hallett has already been surpassed, could also groom draft pick Smith for that specific role, important position from a ratio flexibility standpoint. Trending, young CDN Safeties dominating, Dequoy, Katsantonis, Royce Metchie, Cristophe Beaulieu in BC look like he is going to be a stud.
Quote from: Blue In BC on July 19, 2025, 07:59:19 PMDB usually refers to the halfbacks Nichols and Holms. No way I'd make that change if that's what you are suggesting. We don't have the luxury of adding an extra DB as a DI. So someone has to be replaced.
LOL, no I'm not suggesting replacing Holm or Nichols. HB is HB, I guess I could have said CB
I even said I'd replace him with Bridges. Your confusion is confusing.
It seemed like the Stamps were playing with 4 extra players on D, Every time our receivers tried to catch a ball there seemed to be at at least two defenders on them NOT 5 yards back but on them. While our Defenders were not even close to their receivers except for Holms.
Quote from: Blue In BC on July 19, 2025, 07:12:06 PMThe thing about Bridges at the moment is he's biting on some 1st moves by receivers. Ok, he's up against some receivers that will beat DB's. I may have a larger issue in that he seems to miss a lot of tackles.
Griffin by definition is our back up SAM and that means he's cover guy and can lay the wood on receivers.
Somebody goes to practices will have to provide input on who else gets reps at safety and CB.
We could argue that Hallett might be a consideration at safety and he does have experience there. A short term solution but possibly allows other options and he's a ratio advantage.
If and when Woods is healthy he doesn't have to be a direct replacement to start but he could be a replacement as a DI on the DL.
Forgot about Hallet good point, yes good temp. Option
Quote from: Blue72 on July 19, 2025, 08:08:55 PMIt seemed like the Stamps were playing with 4 extra players on D, Every time our receivers tried to catch a ball there seemed to be at at least two defenders on them NOT 5 yards back but on them. While our Defenders were not even close to their receivers except for Holms.
They were using 4 man rush and a zone D.
For the next game, we should have a completely new way to attack that. Zone D's have a lot of ways to be taken advantage of. Hogan needs to figure that out.
It really exposed Streveler's reading ability. Again, we have to see if Wilson can read a D, that would have been a big opportunity for that.
I asked myself, when we get to the off-season, which Bombers would be considered highly sought after free agents? There aren't many. I believe Demski, Brady, and Schoen are all still under contract for next year. Holm would be sought after. Nichols will be 32 next season, so though he's good, he's getting on for a DB. Maybe Wheatfall, although he's slowed his production recently. Other than that, ? Willie based on past reputation. ? Castillo based on his strong leg. Anyone else? Collaros is signed, but not sure too many teams would be interested in him at 600.000+ at age 38. To me, that really speaks to the absence of talent on our roster. There just aren't many difference makers. I have my issues with O'Shea sometimes, but to me, thats on Walters and the scouting.
Well, that was a slap in the face. TSN turning point Strev Int on the goal line.
This no #1 D. DBs are blowing coverages every game. Said after the second BC game do this against a good team and they will burn you.
DT missing in action. Vaughter 5 DTs, Willy with 2.
ZC8 before the injury 8/11, 151, 1 TD, but another 2 Ints.
Bombers rushed for 146 yards. Case, Demski, and Strev chipping in with 75 yards.
6 Turnover, is far to many.
Lawson 7 DTs, Kornelson 3, and Thomas 2. 12 Tackles in 5 games just not good enough.
And some bad penalties at the wrong time.
Just some musings on the state of affairs in Bomberland at this point.
Last year the injuries piled up on us early in the season and led to an ugly 0-4, 2-6 start. This year after a 3-0 start we've now lost Dalton Shoen and Zach Collaros, two of our star players. Sooner or later all teams face adversity. Montreal with Alexander and Toronto with Kelly are two examples. The losses of receivers Lawler, Shoen, O. Wilson, and now #1 QB Collaros, is a lot to overcome on offense. The loss of Tyrell Ford and Brandon Alexander is noticeable to our secondary also.
These two losses to the Stamps have come against the league's best team so far in 2025. It's unfortunate we have to face that team 3 times in such a short period of time when we're not at our best is not ideal but this is one of the worst schedules I've seen with both our byes already behind us.
If there's a silver lining it's that we're only 5 games into this 18 game season and Wilson and Collaros should be back at some point.
Quote from: Throw Long Bannatyne on July 19, 2025, 08:02:29 PMMaybe Jake Kelly once healthy, I think Hallett has already been surpassed, could also groom draft pick Smith for that specific role, important position from a ratio flexibility standpoint. Trending, young CDN Safeties dominating, Dequoy, Katsantonis, Royce Metchie, Cristophe Beaulieu in BC look like he is going to be a stud.
Hallett has peaked but he might still be a short term solution if they decide to move Parker to CB. Now I think we all think Kelly would be a better choice and have upside. He's started to practice but he's been out for 8 months. Healthy and game shape means maybe another few weeks? So it's a question of timing not about the longer term options.
Smith might be a candidate in 2026 but not if he isn't getting any reps in 2025 IMO.
Quote from: theaardvark on July 19, 2025, 08:26:42 PMThey were using 4 man rush and a zone D.
For the next game, we should have a completely new way to attack that. Zone D's have a lot of ways to be taken advantage of. Hogan needs to figure that out.
It really exposed Streveler's reading ability. Again, we have to see if Wilson can read a D, that would have been a big opportunity for that.
The problem is that most of our receivers aren't scaring anybody. Our OL isn't giving Collaros time to find receivers that are taking too long to run routes and / or get open.
I wasn't at the stadium but maybe someone can give input to Sterns, Case, Corcoron and Clercius being open etc. I think I pointed out they only had 6 receptions as a group. Oliveria had more yardage then them combined.
That group had 13 attempts in their direction that only resulted in the 6 completions. It may not have all been on them but Clercius had 1 catch in 4 attempts for 6 yards.
This should be the last year for the following players in Blue and Gold:
1) Neufeld (getting beat consistently)
2) Bryant (getting beat consistently)
3) Willie Jefferson (not enough production from him on the pass rush)
4) Zack Collaros (age has caught up to him and now is getting concussed)
With Zack their is no clear #1 QB available BUT I would take a chance on Fajardo out of Edm. Fajardo plays with heart and does what it takes to win, only a matter of time where he will be starting in Edmonton.
That #80 for Calgary is their Lawler, makes the tough long catches look easy.
Strev is our SY Qb, agree to move on and give Wilson a shot, especially when Stev stinks , move on already
Quote from: Strevy on July 19, 2025, 10:14:06 PMMight get one more win before BB. Toronto sweeps us, Calgary destroys us again. Might beat Ottawa, their coaching is almost as bad as ours. BUT I think they still win. Dyce is terrible but still better than Oshay.
I'll take that action with Zach we are middle of the pack. Without we will be a little under 500.
Quote from: Blue In BC on July 19, 2025, 10:02:36 PMThe problem is that most of our receivers aren't scaring anybody. Our OL isn't giving Collaros time to find receivers that are taking too long to run routes and / or get open.
I wasn't at the stadium but maybe someone can give input to Sterns, Case, Corcoron and Clercius being open etc. I think I pointed out they only had 6 receptions as a group. Oliveria had more yardage then them combined.
That group had 13 attempts in their direction that only resulted in the 6 completions. It may not have all been on them but Clercius had 1 catch in 4 attempts for 6 yards.
Case was open on a few occasions but not being the primary hurts the chances of taking advantage of that. Didn't watch the others.
Quote from: Strevy on July 19, 2025, 11:10:31 PMZach is washed, has been for awhile. Dude is a pick six machine. We are not middle of the pack lol. Slightly better than the Elks. This team is really bad from the top down. 2015 all over again, 5-13.
Zach having a decent start. Good year last year after a rough start. Not a pick six machine, career stats indicate otherwise. Elks are a bottom feeder, we are light years ahead of them, like most the league. We are an average club that still has a chance to improve. I'll take action that we are considerably better than 2015. Your previous suggestion that MOS is a worse coach than Dyce is laughable. Dyce is learning, MOS is close to being a legend in these parts and will go down as one of the best in Bomber history. Your posts are as overstated on the negative as I have seen and make very little sense imo.
Quote from: Strevy on July 19, 2025, 11:36:52 PM7td, 6int. Zach is trash now, Oshay is a garbage HC. The compete level is embarrassing. Thinking this team is middle of the pack makes no sense. But carry on.
Not trash in anyway shape or form. Go to practice and call him that. Report back.
MOS is not garbage. Remarkable playing and coaching career. Your posts on here are disrespectful and have no place on here. I'll take bets on your predictions which are laughable at best. 3 and 2, which is middle of the pack.
Okay so with Zach we were in the game. The Strev17 goal line Int really changed the game. However with that said, I was disappointed with 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter and there was no way we were coming back. Why doesn't MOS play the backups.
Our 3 Canadian LBs Shay, Smith, and Novak. Corcoran in for one of the RWs. And, Patterson had zero touches. Not that Brady is playing bad or that our running game wasn't working, 146 yards, but just a change of pace.
We also have a very small group of DBs who just haven't done well against big RWs. Parker 5'8", Nichols 5'9", Bonds 5'8", add in we are getting very little pressure from our DL.
Our 4 DTs, have made 17 tackles. JT95 with only 2 of those. Willy and Vaughters have 21 and one sack.
Tony Jones leaders the team with 31 DTs and 1 sack.
Quote from: Pigskin on July 20, 2025, 03:57:59 PMOkay so with Zach we were in the game. The Strev17 goal line Int really changed the game. However with that said, I was disappointed with 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter and there was no way we were coming back. Why doesn't MOS play the backups.
Our 3 Canadian LBs Shay, Smith, and Novak. Corcoran in for one of the RWs. And, Patterson had zero touches. Not that Brady is playing bad or that our running game wasn't working, 146 yards, but just a change of pace.
We also have a very small group of DBs who just haven't done well against big RWs. Parker 5'8", Nichols 5'9", Bonds 5'8", add in we are getting very little pressure from our DL.
Our 4 DTs, have made 17 tackles. JT95 with only 2 of those. Willy and Vaughters have 21 and one sack.
Tony Jones leaders the team with 31 DTs and 1 sack.
My main question to the Bomber Management is how do the other teams seems to recruit these large receivers while we can not seem to do so. This guy they call Moose with the Stamps is huge. The entire Stamps OL and DL seem new or at least only a few years under their belt while we stay with the same old troops. Our recruiting efforts are very suspect this year IMHO.
Quote from: BBRT on July 20, 2025, 04:05:29 PMMy main question to the Bomber Management is how do the other teams seems to recruit these large receivers while we can not seem to do so. This guy they call Moose with the Stamps is huge. The entire Stamps OL and DL seem new or at least only a few years under their belt while we stay with the same old troops. Our recruiting efforts are very suspect this year IMHO.
moose was the number one pick in the draft - going to the grey cup 5 years in a row isn't getting you the number one pick. this isn't "recruiting" it's draft picks and it isn't fair to complain about not having the first pick
Quote from: The Zipp on July 20, 2025, 04:18:58 PMmoose was the number one pick in the draft - going to the grey cup 5 years in a row isn't getting you the number one pick. this isn't "recruiting" it's draft picks and it isn't fair to complain about not having the first pick
He didn't complain about not having the #1 draft pick, he asked why we don't have some size in our receiving core.
Quote from: Jesse on July 20, 2025, 06:52:26 PMHe didn't complain about not having the #1 draft pick, he asked why we don't have some size in our receiving core.
specially made it sound like calgary "recruited" Alford. he wasn't recruited - he was drafted. should the Bombers find some larger receivers ? sure but don't use a canadian draft pick who was clearly going in the top 2 or 3 as an example. Clercius isn't tiny he is 6'3"...alford is an uncommon 6'6"...those guys are rare.
Alford aside the recruitment of dline personnel has been awful. We haven't found an adequate de since Jeffcoat left
Even in training camp for some reason we bring in 20 dbs 20 reciever and only 4 dlinemen. Yet Argos and Stamps can rebuild their entire line. We cant find a replacement for Thomas who is clearly done. The oline has its issues as well. Instead we stock up on LBs who we dont play
Quote from: Pete on July 20, 2025, 08:02:39 PMAlford aside the recruitment of dline personnel has been awful. We haven't found an adequate de since Jeffcoat left
Even in training camp for some reason we bring in 20 dbs 20 reciever and only 4 dlinemen. Yet Argos and Stamps can rebuild their entire line. We cant find a replacement for Thomas who is clearly done. The oline has its issues as well. Instead we stock up on LBs who we dont play
roster mismanagement is an issue.
gm - fat and sassy
coach - fat and sassy
players - fat and sassy
less urgency = losses to teams who are fired up and focused
I just see it being MOS wants to keep "his" guys, the ones that have been there before with him and won (mostly). Unfortunately, there are fewer over all league best players here now. Probably just Oliveira left of a long list. We have been bled to "death by a thousand cuts". Years of low draft picks and losing players in free agency is our reward for winning too much. If they wanted to win the Cup here this year, the way to do it was a major over haul two years ago, when we let Dru Brown walk. I can't complain too much though we made it to the Cup last year. Coulda, shoulda.
Quote from: The Zipp on July 20, 2025, 07:27:16 PMspecially made it sound like calgary "recruited" Alford. he wasn't recruited - he was drafted. should the Bombers find some larger receivers ? sure but don't use a canadian draft pick who was clearly going in the top 2 or 3 as an example. Clercius isn't tiny he is 6'3"...alford is an uncommon 6'6"...those guys are rare.
Sask. has done an excellent job drafting big Natl. receivers, started with McInnis, Brayden Lenius, Schaffer-Baker, Emilus, Ajou Ajou and this year they signed 6'-3 200+ lbs Tommy Nield away from the Argos. It can be done if made a priority to pick one tall receiver in the draft every year, some hit others miss, just like any other position. Starting 3 or more natl. receivers allows the Riders to cheat the ratio in other critical positions like the O and D-lines.
Quote from: Pete on July 20, 2025, 08:02:39 PMAlford aside the recruitment of dline personnel has been awful. We haven't found an adequate de since Jeffcoat left
Even in training camp for some reason we bring in 20 dbs 20 reciever and only 4 dlinemen. Yet Argos and Stamps can rebuild their entire line. We cant find a replacement for Thomas who is clearly done. The oline has its issues as well. Instead we stock up on LBs who we dont play
We have some good talent at LB (and some good prospects in the pipe), pillar of strength for us imo. We use most of them. Our talent at DB is reasonable. Our DL will get a boost when Woods comes back. Our defense is build on the flexibility that our LB corps bring. Has been a receipe for success for half a decade. Yes we had a couple terrible games and could use improvement on our DL and Bridges needs to continue his development.
Vaughters has been good. Woods and Adams are still developing but are decent. Lawson will replace Thomas. Believe you are being a little harsh about our approach on the DL. Yes would be nice to have another stud but studs are expensive. We lost some talent on the DL as we got priced out / moved on with a few guys.
Quote from: The Zipp on July 20, 2025, 08:24:13 PMroster mismanagement is an issue.
gm - fat and sassy
coach - fat and sassy
players - fat and sassy
less urgency = losses to teams who are fired up and focused
Roster hasn't been mismanaged. We have dressed our best options thus far imo.
GM is excellent
Coaching is good to great
Players are at least average as a whole
I agree on the intensity part
I don't agree with the name calling. Try bringing up that language at practice, let me know the outcome. Overstated on the negative with little to no evidence to back your claim. We laid two eggs, deep breath. Not surprised at your take here, pretty consist with your posts as of late which is ok, that's your take/posting style. I'm still half positive we will have a good season. Need the OL to shore up, get more pressure on DL and reduce the explosion passing plays. In 2 to 3 games I expect 2 out of the 3 to be at least partially resolved, pending the health of the club. Our course we live or die on Zach's health.
Clearly Bombers need help in the recruitment department. But most importantly, it doesn't seem like the Bombers have that edge on defence anymore. Hall's defences would never casually allow 40+ points.
Quote from: BLUEBOMBER on July 20, 2025, 09:43:51 PMClearly Bombers need help in the recruitment department. But most importantly, it doesn't seem like the Bombers have that edge on defence anymore. Hall's defences would never casually allow 40+ points.
Scouting will be better going forward as we made changes last year. Defense got lit up but was pretty good to start the season. We don't have the top D like in the past but there is still potential here. I see us as better than BC but need a bit of work to get to Cgy / Sasks / Mtls level. Gotta punch TO in the mouth here. After that schedule near term is tough, other than Ottawa.
If Collaros and Schoen are out, this team isn't punching anyone in the mouth, we will struggle to score 20 points.
Tough times are upon us
Quote from: dd on July 20, 2025, 10:44:01 PMIf Collaros and Schoen are out, this team isn't punching anyone in the mouth, we will struggle to score 20 points.
Tough times are upon us
Schoen is out for a bit and that hurts big time. Yes offensive will struggle without Zach. I think our backups could put up 25 pts on a good night. Could get lucky with pts off turnovers or ST.
Quote from: dd on July 20, 2025, 10:44:01 PMIf Collaros and Schoen are out, this team isn't punching anyone in the mouth, we will struggle to score 20 points.
Tough times are upon us
All teams have to deal with adversity at some point in the season and we're up against it right now. As dominant as they've been, how good would Calgary be without Vernon Adams and Moose Alford, for example? Montreal has struggled without Alexander also. Same with the Argos missing Kelly. Let's hope our fortunes turn around, we start to gel, and we get on a roll like we did in '19.
Quote from: dd on July 20, 2025, 10:44:01 PMIf Collaros and Schoen are out, this team isn't punching anyone in the mouth, we will struggle to score 20 points.
Tough times are upon us
strev will be a challenge. the rest of the team is going to have to adjust and play much better
I think it's fair to say the Stampeders are the class of west right now. The home team had no answers on Friday night.
Friday's loss should be a wake-up call for this organization.
Quote from: J5V on July 21, 2025, 12:22:42 AMAll teams have to deal with adversity at some point in the season and we're up against it right now. As dominant as they've been, how good would Calgary be without Vernon Adams and Moose Alford, for example? Montreal has struggled without Alexander also. Same with the Argos missing Kelly. Let's hope our fortunes turn around, we start to gel, and we get on a roll like we did in '19.
Might be the only thing that is going to slow down the Stamps is an injury to Adams, which would put a dead stop to their chances of winning any games with inexperienced PJ Walker as the backup, at least they had Shiltz last season. The Als may have the only D capable of containing them, if they can get their pass rush firing on all cylinders they could have Adams running for his life.