Blue Bombers Forum

In the July 5 HAM game we started a 4 IMP OL for the first time in... probably ever?

Not much talk about it on the threads, which is a bit strange.  So talk about it here.

I'm not giving a "too early to tell" option, as many people would wimp out and take that option.  :D

Plus, there's really 2 questions here: better at run block, and/or better at pass pro.  And yet another question (future poll?) of whether we should continue with it, and our prediction of what Mafia will do.  But for now we'll keep it to one simple "yes/no" answer.

IMHO, I think it's obvious they were way better at run block.  Brady was able to steamroll to seal the game when he wasn't able to in the other games.  When teams wanted to stop him before, they did.  But in this game they couldn't.  That says something.

I saw a lot more creativity and trickier schemes.  Some real complex stuff going on, which is a bit odd when you just changed up your LG to a rookie!?  Why did they feel able to do crazy stuff with just 1 new IMP swapped in for 1 experienced NAT?

IMHO, pass pro was about the same as game 1 & 2.  I am convinced the Zach crush hit had nothing to do with the 5, but was Brady/Daniels fault, so back that out of the equation.  We can't just kneejerk say pass pro was worse because Zach got creamed.

Too early to tell  ;)

I'd give them a B as a whole, that last drive was a thing of beauty though.

I didn't pay much attention to that big new guy Maccuza, How'd he look?  I was away for most of lastweek, what was Wallace hurt or did they make him sit? 

I am gonna say that last drive when we ran down their throats convinced me. Keep it as is.

the super slim playbook grounded in the basics may have helped - Zach did get creamed behind this line though...prob a bit too early to make any sort of accurate assessment (sometimes the truth is wimpy)

It's really impossible to tell. I'd say they didn't really perform that well until the 4th quarter run blocking on that single drive.

But this is also the third different OL configuration in the last 3 games, so better than what? It's been inconsistent from game to game.

I did think there was less pressure from the interior , while tackles seemed to give up too much esp Bryant. It is stronger overall and with a healthy wallace backing up could be doable
 The question is would the benefit outway not having Ayers or another lb, or even a quality reciever

Collaros' hit says nope. 

Quote from: Waffler on July 08, 2026, 01:40:21 PMI am gonna say that last drive when we ran down their throats convinced me. Keep it as is.

That was reminiscent of the good old days when Willard reeves and friends would pound it down the field and could not be stopped.

I don't think any of our O lines over the last few years have been able to do that.

So great.



Keep it.

Was that the largest Oline we've fielded?

1641 pounds of beef on the line, Skinny Stan was the lightest at 314...

I guess we'll see what we do with Wallace this week. If we take off an import OL, then who do we add back on the AR?

It's tough to say the O line played better when your starting Qb was knocked out of the game. With the 3 IMP O line games he played this year, he stayed healthy, so I'd say no it wasn't better ,

Too early to know, showed flashes, as I predicted this line needs time to gel and find its ideal grouping, some roasted me for saying that but its become evident partially due to injury and players needed to be away for personal reasons.  We got a decent line once it settles in.  At half way point if healthy will be aok.

Good poll, gets us talking about the most important group on the club! Thanks bud.  I didn't think of this one.

I'm a big Wallace fan, he's only in his second year starting, if I'm the GM I'd give him every opportunity to grow as he's the most valuable long-term asset on the O-line. He already lives in Wpg. year round and could become a Bomber for life if handled well, wouldn't want to see him seek opportunity elsewhere if his assets are not appreciated, as the Als did with Walby.

Quote from: Throw Long Bannatyne on July 08, 2026, 05:18:08 PMI'm a big Wallace fan, he's only in his second year starting, if I'm the GM I'd give him every opportunity to grow as he's the most valuable long-term asset on the O-line. He already lives in Wpg. year round and could become a Bomber for life if handled well, wouldn't want to see him seek opportunity elsewhere if his assets are not appreciated, as the Als did with Walby.

Doug Brown didn't have kind things to say about Wallace in the pregame show. Thought this was a benching not an injury.

Quote from: Jesse on July 08, 2026, 05:33:03 PMDoug Brown didn't have kind things to say about Wallace in the pregame show. Thought this was a benching not an injury.

But he's huge and Canadian will only get you so far for so long.

I'll go on record as saying it was better. It just looked better. Good example: The first play pick that Zach threw was blitz. Zach read it and threw the relief but it had been picked up perfectly. Had he trusted it he might have had a big play instead of a big interception. Offensive line play is so important and even though it wasn't perfect against Hamilton it was largely better... but better outcomes take everyone or the results won't actually be any better.

Quote from: theaardvark on July 08, 2026, 03:06:48 PMWas that the largest Oline we've fielded?

1641 pounds of beef on the line, Skinny Stan was the lightest at 314...

Yikes, the team (and I) call him Big Stan.  I'm really going to have to change to call him Slim Stan??  Get that dude some bologna!!

Quote from: TBURGESS on July 08, 2026, 02:59:05 PMCollaros' hit says nope.

Wasn't the OL's fault.  Go watch.  Brady & Daniels (mostly Brady).  So that hit should have zero bearing on this poll.

Quote from: Pete on July 08, 2026, 02:30:41 PMIt is stronger overall and with a healthy wallace backing up could be doable

Ya, we should remember that we used to have 2 extra OL dressed, for most of a season, for jumbo: Wallace & Eli.  That's when Dobson was here.  That was the last time our OL was pretty dominant.

I have zero problems with demoting Wallace to 6th.  When I grade them out he's never very bad, but he also isn't doing much very well.  He often misses downfield blocks.  And the scouting/Mafia has always said he has weak pass pro: working on it, etc.

If he really was benched a week as punishment ("sit back and watch, you're not doing well enough"), and he's now back in, it could also point to an effort/complacency thing.

Quote from: BomberFan73 on July 08, 2026, 01:34:47 PMI didn't pay much attention to that big new guy Maccuza, How'd he look?  I was away for most of lastweek, what was Wallace hurt or did they make him sit?

Maccuza had 2 exemplary plays, and 0 bad plays, in my little grading scheme.  That's better than Wallace usually gets from me.  Not bad for a guy on his 1st CFL start vs 20th!!

We've never really talked about the plan for Maccuza... I assume as an IMP he's being groomed for OT, not OG.  So until we see him at OT (which may be a long time!) we can't really know if he'll be a success.  It's not really hard for most IMPs to come up here and be really good OGs.

As always, the ratio is the limiting factor, and 4 IMP OL is likely an impossible thing to sustain without Elgersma as our franchise starter.

Quote from: Tecno on July 09, 2026, 03:29:50 AMMaccuza had 2 exemplary plays, and 0 bad plays, in my little grading scheme.  That's better than Wallace usually gets from me.  Not bad for a guy on his 1st CFL start vs 20th!!

We've never really talked about the plan for Maccuza... I assume as an IMP he's being groomed for OT, not OG.  So until we see him at OT (which may be a long time!) we can't really know if he'll be a success.  It's not really hard for most IMPs to come up here and be really good OGs.

As always, the ratio is the limiting factor, and 4 IMP OL is likely an impossible thing to sustain without Elgersma as our franchise starter.

Speaking of Maccuza, he was transferred to the PR along with Bouliane yesterday, Dylan Hazen an American LB has been transferred from the PR to the active roster. I don't recall that name in TC and not sure why they would be activating him unless Kyrie or Tony Jones is injured.

Vanterpool re-appears on the Bomber 6 game after a brief disappearance.

Quote from: Throw Long Bannatyne on July 09, 2026, 03:56:38 AMSpeaking of Maccuza, he was transferred to the PR along with Bouliane yesterday, Dylan Hazen an American LB has been transferred from the PR to the active roster. I don't recall that name in TC and not sure why they would be activating him unless Kyrie or Tony Jones is injured.

Vanterpool re-appears on the Bomber 6 game after a brief disappearance.

It's so hard to tell what Mafia is up to.  But they are usually pretty straight-laced with 6G, etc.  So Vant may really be injured.

If Kyrie got injured that could explain why he was MIA most of the game.  It was really odd how much Smith we saw.  Other teams can see rookies play their way in front of a vet, but that's pretty rare in Mafia-land.

Jones is fine.  He was flying around creaming players all game.  He's a wild beast tackling machine.  Anyone who says he isn't good enough (regardless of position) isn't paying attention.

Quote from: Tecno on July 09, 2026, 03:22:49 AMWasn't the OL's fault.  Go watch.  Brady & Daniels (mostly Brady).  So that hit should have zero bearing on this poll.

Shouldn't our Elsbury be calling this out to make Brady aware?

Quote from: jdrattops on July 09, 2026, 12:36:57 PMShouldn't our Elsbury be calling this out to make Brady aware?

Luckily enough for us TSN (for once) cut to the all-24 well before the snap.  Elsbury is doing some hand signal, but it might be more of a silent count thing.  Bryant and Broxton also are hand signalling.

The dude who hits Zach is coming from a WILL position, and he doesn't start moving forward until Zach lifts his leg to signal the beginning of the final snap sequence.  By that time all OL are in their freeze and can no longer hand-signal threats.

So I'm not sure how Elsbury could have sniffed out the extra pass-rusher in time.

Brady does see it in time and waves his hand to Daniels.  My take is Brady is saying "you need to take that Daniels" because Brady is already eyeing the 3 on 2 developing on the right side.

Daniels doesn't see it, or doesn't react.  You'd think Brady would yell something at Zach, but I don't see an indication of that, and Zach doesn't seem to respond.  If Brady thought Daniels had it then why tell Zach?

One thing I didn't notice before is Daniels seems to be laser-focused on the RECs on their waggle on the strong side.  Like he's keying off what they do.  That's probably by design.  Though Brady sees the threat I don't think Daniels does until it's running past his facing-strong-side face!!  That may be why Daniels doesn't see Brady, too.

They need a better system to handle this.  It's a timing gap that HAM is exploiting.  Or Daniels is being given too many "if this, then this, but not when this..." things to remember, and he's too green to keep it all straight.

One thing I do know, this ain't Big Stan blocking air or covering the wrong guy.  He's taking the inside-most guy that would otherwise be free.  He did the right thing.  Brady is most to blame because he's the vet guy who needs to spot the hole and ensure Zach's safety on the blind side.  In the end Brady ends up blocking air -- he's never needed on the strong side.

HAM DC must be very smart and be poring over film to find these system-timing gaps.  I sure wish our DC('s) would do more some of this!

Quote from: Tecno on July 09, 2026, 03:22:49 AMWasn't the OL's fault.  Go watch.  Brady & Daniels (mostly Brady).  So that hit should have zero bearing on this poll.

Tackle takes his man, RB takes the next man closest to the inside of the line. QB has to know there is an unblocked man and get the ball out before taking the hit. The hit on Collaros was on Collaros. 

We had a single drive in the game, the last one. It was all Brady, not the O line opening big holes for him. TE was throwing 5 yard passes, meaning the O line didn't have to do much to protect him. 

Quote from: Tecno on July 09, 2026, 04:58:55 AMIt's so hard to tell what Mafia is up to.  But they are usually pretty straight-laced with 6G, etc.  So Vant may really be injured.

If Kyrie got injured that could explain why he was MIA most of the game.  It was really odd how much Smith we saw.  Other teams can see rookies play their way in front of a vet, but that's pretty rare in Mafia-land.

Jones is fine.  He was flying around creaming players all game.  He's a wild beast tackling machine.  Anyone who says he isn't good enough (regardless of position) isn't paying attention.

Smith isn't a rookie anymore.

Quote from: CrazyCanuck89 on July 09, 2026, 04:19:50 PMSmith isn't a rookie anymore.

From a playing point of view he is a rookie.

I'm not sure suggesting Jones is making a lot of tackles is the only measurement. We'd need to know the assignment and where the tackle is being made. A tackle 6 yards after the LOS is not a good thing compared to a tackle 1 yard after the LOS.

Quote from: jdrattops on July 09, 2026, 12:36:57 PMShouldn't our Elsbury be calling this out to make Brady aware?

The Center is only signalling to the guys on the O-line and maybe the QB.

the experiment is over - for now...

Quote from: Tecno on July 09, 2026, 01:11:44 PMLuckily enough for us TSN (for once) cut to the all-24 well before the snap.  Elsbury is doing some hand signal, but it might be more of a silent count thing.  Bryant and Broxton also are hand signalling.

The dude who hits Zach is coming from a WILL position, and he doesn't start moving forward until Zach lifts his leg to signal the beginning of the final snap sequence.  By that time all OL are in their freeze and can no longer hand-signal threats.

So I'm not sure how Elsbury could have sniffed out the extra pass-rusher in time.

Brady does see it in time and waves his hand to Daniels.  My take is Brady is saying "you need to take that Daniels" because Brady is already eyeing the 3 on 2 developing on the right side.

Daniels doesn't see it, or doesn't react.  You'd think Brady would yell something at Zach, but I don't see an indication of that, and Zach doesn't seem to respond.  If Brady thought Daniels had it then why tell Zach?

One thing I didn't notice before is Daniels seems to be laser-focused on the RECs on their waggle on the strong side.  Like he's keying off what they do.  That's probably by design.  Though Brady sees the threat I don't think Daniels does until it's running past his facing-strong-side face!!  That may be why Daniels doesn't see Brady, too.

They need a better system to handle this.  It's a timing gap that HAM is exploiting.  Or Daniels is being given too many "if this, then this, but not when this..." things to remember, and he's too green to keep it all straight.

One thing I do know, this ain't Big Stan blocking air or covering the wrong guy.  He's taking the inside-most guy that would otherwise be free.  He did the right thing.  Brady is most to blame because he's the vet guy who needs to spot the hole and ensure Zach's safety on the blind side.  In the end Brady ends up blocking air -- he's never needed on the strong side.

Daniels is a raw rookie, probably struggling to absorb too much information, it's his job to recognize the situation he sees in front of him and react correctly.  Brady telling him what to do before the play is just trying to help him out, his obligation is to execute his assignment well, he can't babysit or correct others mistakes.

Full credit to the pass rusher he slipped around from behind the D-line and timed his dash perfectly.

Quote from: Blue In BC on July 09, 2026, 04:23:46 PMI'm not sure suggesting Jones is making a lot of tackles is the only measurement. We'd need to know the assignment and where the tackle is being made. A tackle 6 yards after the LOS is not a good thing compared to a tackle 1 yard after the LOS.

Trust me, after studying the footage from the last 3 games heavily, Jones is making superb plays everywhere.  Behind LoS, at LoS, just after LoS.  I think he's our most effective piece on D.  And he hustles to the ball even when it's not his area.  He's good at shedding blocks to get to the carrier.  He's fast.  Half the time I feel like he's the only one trying out there.

Quote from: TBURGESS on July 09, 2026, 02:16:21 PMTackle takes his man, RB takes the next man closest to the inside of the line. QB has to know there is an unblocked man and get the ball out before taking the hit. The hit on Collaros was on Collaros.

It's called the "blind side" for a reason.  He's counting on protection.  Everyone knows the play.  Zach was fixated on the reads on the other side.  He's not losing focus to watch the blind side for an hour just to see if someone blitzes at the last second.

Since Brady knows the play too, he should know Zach will be focused away, and be doubly sure the blind side doesn't cream him.

This isn't a Zach thing because many QBs take big whacks from the blind side.  Many examples this season.  They never know the hit is coming.  Are they all bad QBs?

Quote from: Tecno on Today at 01:20:15 AMIt's called the "blind side" for a reason.  He's counting on protection.  Everyone knows the play.  Zach was fixated on the reads on the other side.  He's not losing focus to watch the blind side for an hour just to see if someone blitzes at the last second.

Since Brady knows the play too, he should know Zach will be focused away, and be doubly sure the blind side doesn't cream him.

This isn't a Zach thing because many QBs take big whacks from the blind side.  Many examples this season.  They never know the hit is coming.  Are they all bad QBs?

Why do you continue to blame Brady when the block was the responsibility of Daniels?  What do you see Brady doing on that play?  It's not like he snuck out of the backfield and ignored his block on the right side.

Quote from: Tecno on Today at 01:20:15 AMIt's called the "blind side" for a reason.  He's counting on protection.  Everyone knows the play.  Zach was fixated on the reads on the other side.  He's not losing focus to watch the blind side for an hour just to see if someone blitzes at the last second.

Since Brady knows the play too, he should know Zach will be focused away, and be doubly sure the blind side doesn't cream him.

This isn't a Zach thing because many QBs take big whacks from the blind side.  Many examples this season.  They never know the hit is coming.  Are they all bad QBs?

It's QB's fault when the defence overloads 1 side and there aren't enough blockers to pick all of them up. It's the blockers fault if there are the same number of defensive players coming as there are blockers. 

Quote from: TBURGESS on Today at 01:46:19 AMIt's QB's fault when the defence overloads 1 side and there aren't enough blockers to pick all of them up. It's the blockers fault if there are the same number of defensive players coming as there are blockers.

3 showed/came on right side.  2 showed / 3 came on left side.  It's that 3rd (outermost) that got Zach.

So according to your rules, that's on the blockers.  And that's what I've been saying since the GDT.

Well, I guess it depends on if you consider Daniels a blocker or a SB.  He was in the slot and doing the waggle and went out into the flat for a quick pass target.  But he was/is probably supposed to switch to blocking if heat is coming.

Quote from: Throw Long Bannatyne on Today at 01:39:02 AMWhy do you continue to blame Brady when the block was the responsibility of Daniels?  What do you see Brady doing on that play?  It's not like he snuck out of the backfield and ignored his block on the right side.

I would blame Brady first/more for the simple fact that he's the experienced uber-vet, and higher paid player.  Daniels knows nothing (yet) because he's raw and green and learning.

Also, Brady was already on that blitz side.  If he just stays in place (where he can reach the attacker faster anyhow) he makes that block.  Even if he goes to the other side, he may be too late to help someone free off the edge, and that's basically what ended up happening.  He would have to know this free WILL blitzer would be a straight sprint to the QB!

If they were both equally as vet a player?  Ya, we'd have to know the scheme to know for sure who to blame.  Also, it's probably correct to blame both guys, to some extent.

My #1 main point, to counter the GDT, is this is NOT Big Stan's fault, nor the fault of the 4IMP OL experiment.

Quote from: Tecno on Today at 04:10:18 AM3 showed/came on right side.  2 showed / 3 came on left side.  It's that 3rd (outermost) that got Zach.

So according to your rules, that's on the blockers.  And that's what I've been saying since the GDT.

Well, I guess it depends on if you consider Daniels a blocker or a SB.  He was in the slot and doing the waggle and went out into the flat for a quick pass target.  But he was/is probably supposed to switch to blocking if heat is coming.

Tackle takes the first one, rb takes the 2nd one. The 3rd is free. IIRC Daniels was outside of the 3rd guy meaning he had no blocking responsibility. 

Quote from: TBURGESS on Today at 01:30:32 PMTackle takes the first one, rb takes the 2nd one. The 3rd is free. IIRC Daniels was outside of the 3rd guy meaning he had no blocking responsibility.

It's just easy for fans to blame the rookie.