So many games this year we are doing great or keeping close near the end, or at least until the 4th Q. But then we find a way to lose. We're kind of like OTT sometimes is this year, and EDM was in '25. We just can't finish.
Remember in '21-'23 when we'd win almost every close one? Or we'd be the team taking over in the 4th? I don't think this "will to win" is as much a talent issue (though we were better in '21) as it is a mental issue.
SSK reached deep down and willed themselves to a win. We did what we've done most of the year and rolled over. I'm not saying it's every player, but enough of our team is thinking "we're never gonna win" vs "we've got them right where we want them". Did you see the SSK OL and RECs and RB step up for their OT drive? And their smash-mouth D? Where were our guys?
And the coaching staff is clearly letting us down by not having special things planned for important situations. You're going to tell me our OT O drive was "scripted"? It was beyond useless. Why not smack them in the mouth when we had them on the ropes by going for 2?
Pulling out the win is a learned behavior, and we've completely lost it. We're now EDM '25, finding a way to lose most close ones. And most of the team is missing the will to win. If our current team was playing the '19 WSF vs CGY, down slightly at halftime, we probably just roll over and die.
What's the solution? If we can't solve it we're going to miss the playoffs, or be 1 & done in a winnable game like the '25 ESF.
The Bombers have failed to close many games this season. If you look at each loss this season the Bombers fell apart in the fourth quarter in 4 of those games. The Bombers led after 3 quarters in the game on the weekend. The Bombers were in a tight battle against BC and just absolutely collapsed defensively. The two Edmonton games were both winnable but the Bombers came up short in the late going.The lack of turnovers from our defense is hurting us. The bend but don't break defense is not working.
I don't think it's a "will to win" kind of thing. We simply just aren't as good as we once were. We have a QB who is aging out. An oline that can't protect. Mid level receivers. DB who can't tackle. And coaches with poor systems.
Quote from: bluengold204 on September 08, 2026, 01:01:04 PMI don't think it's a "will to win" kind of thing. We simply just aren't as good as we once were. We have a QB who is aging out. An oline that can't protect. Mid level receivers. DB who can't tackle. And coaches with poor systems.
And yet in almost every game we're right there. In positions to win near the end if we can just move the ball a bit, or get an extra stop or 2 on d.
I still think it's something internal to the players and the mindset. They are getting tired late, whether mentally or physically. Maybe the higher than average player age is stealing that edge. Maybe some are just lazy.
All I know is ssk reached deep down to claw for the win, and we didn't. Did our d on their final drive look pumped? Did our o look jacked and dialed in on their OT drive? Now ask the same question about the riders.
That's not lack of talent. That's lack of the will to win. I have no idea why mos can't sense this and do something about it. Like go for 2 in that last game. Or rah rah the guys in the break before OT, or delegate such things to the leaders.
Quote from: Tecno on September 08, 2026, 01:57:18 PMAnd yet in almost every game we're right there. In positions to win near the end if we can just move the ball a bit, or get an extra stop or 2 on d.
I still think it's something internal to the players and the mindset. They are getting tired late, whether mentally or physically. Maybe the higher than average player age is stealing that edge. Maybe some are just lazy.
All I know is ssk reached deep down to claw for the win, and we didn't. Did our d on their final drive look pumped? Did our o look jacked and dialed in on their OT drive? Now ask the same question about the riders.
That's not lack of talent. That's lack of the will to win. I have no idea why mos can't sense this and do something about it. Like go for 2 in that last game. Or rah rah the guys in the break before OT, or delegate such things to the leaders.
It's a lack of talent. Riders went out in overtime and executed their plays both on offence and defence... we did not.
You really think after getting the touchdown to tie the game, our team just waved their hands and said ah good enough we don't need to try in overtime.
We've had a walk-off FG win & an OT win. Those are the definition of finding ways to win when the chips are down. It's not that we've lost the will to win; it's that we've lost the ability to.
Quote from: TBURGESS on September 08, 2026, 02:18:52 PMWe've had a walk-off FG win & an OT win. Those are the definition of finding ways to win when the chips are down. It's not that we've lost the will to win; it's that we've lost the ability to.
With that comes the fact, they IMO teams are not afraid of the bombers any more. Couple years ago, you knew they were going to win or find a way to win, now it is, just stay a head of them.
Agree it's not the lack of will, it's the lack of ability and talent. We ve never replaced Lawler, Bighill or Jeffcoat with equally talented players, we ve always underfilled those positions. Those 3 players used to dominate games, in addition to Brady, Demski, Jefferson etc, but now we ve lost 3 dominating players in our cast and you can't expect the same outcomes.
MOS has the Bombers play as a team. We are strong there. Individually, other teams have more talent.
Quote from: TBURGESS on September 08, 2026, 02:18:52 PMWe've had a walk-off FG win & an OT win. Those are the definition of finding ways to win when the chips are down. It's not that we've lost the will to win; it's that we've lost the ability to.
This. It's not about will; it's that the team just isn't as talented and deep as it once was. And there's also the age factor to consider.
This team is simply no longer the dominant force it was in 2021, 2022, and 2023, with perhaps a few blips in 2024.
It's been basically .500 football the last two seasons.
There was a pass to Singer (I think) in the end zone, he was past two defenders, the ball was thrown short and knocked down.
It would probably have been a touchdown if thrown better.
The quarterback has to have confidence in the receiver, but it works both ways.
Quarterback play is the biggest difference between this team and the winning bomber teams.
Wouldn't say we've forgotten. I think we've just swung the pendulum much to far to the culture side of things versus talent. They aren't usually two seperate ends of a spectrum but for the Bombers it seems like they are.
O'Shea came in and changed the culture of our team and he deserves all the credit for that. Second to none. It needed to happen and he scores big there.
Where we've failed in recent years is making hard roster choices for the games in front of us and not putting more emphasis on youth and talent.
O'Shea is an excellent coach. But the roster management (and the coordinator management) is too insulated and not honest enough.
It's how it goes. When you are middle tier, the close ones are a coin flip at best. The club has shown some resilience here, now its time to build some consistency.
Quote from: bwiser on September 08, 2026, 12:42:53 PMThe Bombers have failed to close many games this season. If you look at each loss this season the Bombers fell apart in the fourth quarter in 4 of those games. The Bombers led after 3 quarters in the game on the weekend. The Bombers were in a tight battle against BC and just absolutely collapsed defensively. The two Edmonton games were both winnable but the Bombers came up short in the late going.The lack of turnovers from our defense is hurting us. The bend but don't break defense is not working.
Those defensive collapses in the 4th Q are often related to offensive impotence in the second half, unable to stay on the field and too many 2 and outs leads to exhaustion and mental breakdowns.
Poor play-calling, poor O-Line, and lack of turnovers leads to the defense being on the field much longer than they should be. This leads to the poor 4th quarters we've been seeing from our D. It was laughable that Nichols was given credit for the missed 2-pt convert. He was beaten clean.
Why put a zone defense out against Harris? The guy turns into a shell of himself once he gets sacked.
I'm going back to my "Zach out of gas" hypothesis for this thread.
In that OT, he had a timecount and some bad throws.
Quote from: theaardvark on September 08, 2026, 07:26:49 PMI'm going back to my "Zach out of gas" hypothesis for this thread.
In that OT, he had a timecount and some bad throws.
In Zach's defense, the timecount was a function of Pokey being off and the RECs being out of position, and the non-starter being on out of position.
It was a no-end issue caused by the confusion of the above, and the noise making it hard to fix.
If we didn't let SSK just injure 4-5 of our players at will (on purpose) without any retaliation, maybe we wouldn't have been in that situation.
Quote from: Blueforlife on September 08, 2026, 03:31:27 PMIt's how it goes. When you are middle tier, the close ones are a coin flip at best. The club has shown some resilience here, now its time to build some consistency.
Except it's not a coin flip. The teams that have learned how to win (which is most teams minus CGY, OTT, TOR, HAM) rig that coin and will come out on top 90% of the time.
We will not win a single close one against a non-losing team unless we find this will to win. And if the consensus here is correct, that's impossible and thus we will not even finish the season .500, because we lack the talent.
Quote from: jayrock on September 08, 2026, 02:24:32 PMWith that comes the fact, they IMO teams are not afraid of the bombers any more. Couple years ago, you knew they were going to win or find a way to win, now it is, just stay a head of them.
So true. You could tell a couple of seasons ago when teams stopped being afraid to come to IGF. I think the air of invincibility makes a team seem better than it is, and it lingers for years, because the belief of inevitability on both sides often becomes reality.
That's gone now for WPG. Now SSK has that, especially at home. And MTL. No one has beaten Alexander at home. And often that belief is all it takes for them to win.
Quote from: bluengold204 on September 08, 2026, 02:10:07 PMIt's a lack of talent. Riders went out in overtime and executed their plays both on offence and defence... we did not.
You really think after getting the touchdown to tie the game, our team just waved their hands and said ah good enough we don't need to try in overtime.
I believe no one was pumped up. No one was running around the sideline screaming "let's go kick these losers' butts!". It was more business as usual, and our usual business this season is to lose to good teams in close ones.
I also believe Younger/Hall have zero special plan for OT. That too is business as usual. Just another let-them-d&d drive.
SSK D was clearly jacked up. Why couldn't we be? No will to win. No special plan.
:-[
Quote from: Tecno on September 09, 2026, 01:28:42 AMI believe no one was pumped up. No one was running around the sideline screaming "let's go kick these losers' butts!". It was more business as usual, and our usual business this season is to lose to good teams in close ones.
I also believe Younger/Hall have zero special plan for OT. That too is business as usual. Just another let-them-d&d drive.
SSK D was clearly jacked up. Why couldn't we be? No will to win. No special plan.
Younger's defense must have horrible stats at the end of games and halfs and overtime.
Whatever they do just doesn't work at all and if they've tried to change things it's difficult to see what or the players can't execute it.
Quote from: theaardvark on September 08, 2026, 07:26:49 PMI'm going back to my "Zach out of gas" hypothesis for this thread.
In that OT, he had a timecount and some bad throws.
He is a bottom-2 starting qb in the league at this point.
The score flattered the Bombers. Saskatchewan had almost 160 more yards of offense than the Bombers. The scoreboard wasn't indicative of the play on the field.
Quote from: blueandgoldguy on September 09, 2026, 05:39:33 AMThe score flattered the Bombers. Saskatchewan had almost 160 more yards of offense than the Bombers. The scoreboard wasn't indicative of the play on the field.
It's something like that the HC should be looking at when deciding whether to go for 2 or OT.
The EDM@CGY game was an example of the will to win. EDM has it in spades this year. Not only do they will close ones into wins, they also will soon-to-be-blowout losses into wins! That was a mirror game of our game vs them in so many ways it isn't funny. (And thus we don't need to feel that bad that they did it to us too.)
What's the secret sauce? Answer that question and we can start winning again. And no, Cephus & BOO weren't particularly dangerous, and Rankin had -1 until late in the 4th. And KJG dropped nearly everything. And Robustelli stunk until late.
Boy has CGY lost the will to win. A rising team last year with newly minted VAJ, and now they lose every close one just like us.
No one rushes Edmonton or Sask. That's why Edmonton did good against Calgary. Put pressure on Fajardo see how he does.
Quote from: buckzumhoff on September 09, 2026, 11:49:48 AMNo one rushes Edmonton or Sask. That's why Edmonton did good against Calgary. Put pressure on Fajardo see how he does.
If history is any guide, he does a 17 yard run. Kinda like in cgy.
Cody is an odd qb. He's not fast enough, Ford enough, to warrant a spy. But yet he runs all the time. He lumbers, but well enough, and he's got a good feel for where the least heat is. And so he's very effective.
You could argue Cody's running, vs vaj who can't do it anymore, is what won them the game.
Why would you go for 2 , they lost by 7. . you go for the tie. You don't get that 2 points you're down by 1. Could be like Calgary used to be and go for 2 every time
This season is all on the coaches, and their systems. It will come in play again on Saturday:
1) the crowd will be wild, and Sask offense will have to deal with the noise
2) their communication will be tougher than last week
3) their timing will very well be off on several plays
So what does a JY defense do? The answer, rush 3 give Harris time to reset and sit in a zone probably 3-5 yards to deep. Where last week Sask brought pressure when the Bombers were dealing with points 1-3 and succeeded. Miller needs to clean house at the end of the season, this regime has run its course.
Quote from: jdrattops on Today at 03:10:21 AMThis season is all on the coaches, and their systems. It will come in play again on Saturday:
1) the crowd will be wild, and Sask offense will have to deal with the noise
2) their communication will be tougher than last week
3) their timing will very well be off on several plays
So what does a JY defense do? The answer, rush 3 give Harris time to reset and sit in a zone probably 3-5 yards to deep. Where last week Sask brought pressure when the Bombers were dealing with points 1-3 and succeeded.
Re-watched the game and Younger reverted to the 3 man rush for most of the game and when he did use 4 the additional rusher was usually Jones.
I guess this is what he was explaining in his interview earlier this week, Harris knows the Bomber D better than any QB in the league and Younger doesn't believe they can effectively pressure him so he opts for extra pass coverage. In hindsight maybe he's right, Harris didn't pick them apart that badly it was mainly broken plays that did the most damage.
Quote from: Throw Long Bannatyne on Today at 03:52:15 AMIn hindsight maybe he's right, Harris didn't pick them apart that badly it was mainly broken plays that did the most damage.
And that's the SSK M.O., they keep throwing the d&d at you non-stop for 3-6Y each and wait for the 1-in-4 or so that break out. All they have to do is get 8 in 2 tries and they have Stevens come in and get the final 2. Compare to our O where the carrier NEVER EVER breaks out. So is it SSK O (Busby and D.wiebe??) are better than our O? Or is it SSK D is better than our D? Or both. All I know is we never ever bust one, and they do.
Basically the only way we stop it is when Trevor is off his game enough that he throws it slightly badly and the REC drops it.
We weren't even getting any Willie batdowns. Which means our entire off-season brainstorm on how to beat SSK amounted to "more, and more creative, cover". I wanted to see '19-'22 Hall lane-clogging! Rushing the edge to batdown the screen pass. Having LB or DL clog the slant lanes, in front of the RECs. We did none of that.
We did have one-on-ones where the LBs were running the short routes for the SSK RECs, and that messed with Trevor. But he just found the other open guy somewhere else where the D guy didn't win his battle.
Quote from: Throw Long Bannatyne on Today at 03:52:15 AMRe-watched the game and Younger reverted to the 3 man rush for most of the game and when he did use 4 the additional rusher was usually Jones.
I guess this is what he was explaining in his interview earlier this week, Harris knows the Bomber D better than any QB in the league and Younger doesn't believe they can effectively pressure him so he opts for extra pass coverage. In hindsight maybe he's right, Harris didn't pick them apart that badly it was mainly broken plays that did the most damage.
How does Harris know our defence so well? Probably because it is a stagnant non-organic defence that has zero imagination. On the road if you want to drop to deep zones and keep everything underneath, then fine. At home with the noise only helping the defence out you have to dial up something different. Younger won't.