We're An O Focused Team - so act like it!

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

We should focus on being a Time of possession team. If you honestly think this team can consistently score 40 points a game you're in worse shape than I thought. We are lucky to score 25 points so grind it out and prey on turnovers as our special teams ain't scoring any punt or kick return TDs our D might score the odd one but I wouldn't count on it

Need to bring LaPo back on as an offensive consultant to restore much of his ball control offence that Buck has thrown out.  Relying on roll to the right and shoot from the hip isn't working for Zach any longer, and it isn't fooling DC's either.  Smart football wins.

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

Injuries and players not signed have played a significant factor in the 2 losses.

Consider...

Unsigned...

Walker
Jeffcoat
Bailey
Gray
Grant
Hardrick
Houston

Injured...

Oliviera (1 game)
Lawler (6 game)
N. Hallett (6 game)
Garbutt (6 game)
J. Kelly (6 game)
Haba (6 game)
Lawson (6 game)
Parker (6 game)

This has to have had a major impact on effectiveness and performance of the team early in the season.

Fiscal mismanagement, ignoring the budget and spending too much in some areas at the expense of balanced spending in other areas.  Flipping so many seasoned veterans for less experienced players leaves them downgraded and weaker at too many positions to overcome easily. While the money saved on their salaries added nothing that wasn't already in house.

Jeffcoat
Bailey
Gray
Grant
Clements
Walker
Rose

[theaardvark]

Fiscal mismanagement, ignoring the budget and spending too much in some areas at the expense of balanced spending in other areas.  Flipping so many seasoned veterans for less experienced players leaves them downgraded and weaker at too many positions to overcome easily. While the money saved on their salaries added nothing that wasn't already in house.

Jeffcoat
Bailey
Gray
Grant
Clements
Walker
Rose

Well, your point would be better made if more than the 2 bolded players were playing...

"While the money saved on their salaries added nothing that wasn't already in house."

Well, sign those guy to not play this year, and you lose Schoen or Oliviera, or both.

Losing Bailey and Grant stung, for sure.  But losing either of Schoen or Oliviera would have hurt far worse.

[TecnoGenius]

I agree we are built to be stronger on O, however I don't think all the blame is to be on the new guys.  Our highly priced players are not playing at a level as they were previous years, unless if they start pulling their weight expect the same results.

Of course, 100%.  I keep hammering on Kenny, but it's really all of the super-high-pay vets.  Kenny wasn't doing any worse than the rest, he just cost us most visibly by whiffing on a catchable TD and then getting 6GIRd (again).

Massive pay Demski: virtually invisible, whiffing; 1 good open catch in 2 weeks.
Massive-r pay Schoen: virtually invisible, whiffing, not getting open.
Massive pay Brady: stats just a bit better than Johnny, yikes; probably injured. 1.6Y less YPC than JA27!!!!!!!
Massive-est pay Zach: playing like a bottom-3 starting QB: I've seen better this season from BLM, T.Harris, VAJ, and even Dukes and maybe Dru and MBT!  And Cody, barf.  Cody out-playing Zach by a country mile at probably $200k less salary.

All that said, they are still the best grouping in the whole CFL!  There is zero reason for all of this, unless our OL is complete garbage this year (and if it is, get some solutions FAST).  Therefore rather than worry or moan, these massively paid guys need to start earning their pay.

If the problem really was vets not practicing in TC and playing in PS #1 & 2, then YAY, week 1 & 2 were "their PS #1 & 2".  Therefore in week 3 we should just as good as all the other O's were in week 1.

No more excuses now for the O!  I want 40 points on Friday, and then the D just has to be mediocre, which I am sure they can meet or exceed.

If we still suck, time to airlift radical OL solutions and a legit vet 3rd IMP R.  Oh ya, and also the restructures I asked for... you want your exorbitant team-wrecking  money?  Earn it.

[TecnoGenius]

We actually have to run the ball, so our OL can get better at run blocking. JA27 with 7 carries in Ottawa.

Yes.  But, unless Brady is in and 100%, we need to run it when they don't expect it.  And some edge-arounds.  Just Johnny going up A-gap every first down won't get us much.  That's why Buck ditched it early in week 2.

We never do QB draws or draw screens or delayed RB draws.  We never do the QB/RB out option.  We never do anything to fork or pin.  We're playing checkers while everyone else plays chess.  95% of receivers are fully blanketed 95% of the time.  Or more.

Get back to winning the chess match!

[TecnoGenius]

We have to call a game plan that reflects our current talent level and struggling Qb.

I disagree, well partially.  We need to up the game plan and open up the full playbook as our "current talent level" at skill O positions should be league-best (with Kenny in).  And if Kenny out means we suddenly have to play rookie-QB bad-receivers ball, then things are in worse shape than I think.

Zach can't be a "struggling QB".  There's no injury we're aware of.  No excuses.  One of the highest paid CFL players, voted #1 in top 50, the option to suck and go back to square one to a simpleton playbook is, frankly, not an option.

He needs to dial it in, whatever it takes.  That's the job of him and the QB coach and Buck.  None of them should be sipping margaritas by the pool until they fix this.

Now, if it's all due to garbage OL performance, then air drop vet replacements.  We will not win if our O is "struggling", because the no-money D wasn't built to win games by themselves.

Must. Get. 40. Points.

[TecnoGenius]

Buck also has to figure out how to us Strev17. He can be a excellent weapon for this team.

100%.  Buck needs to go watch 2019.  That's it.  I have it on PVR if he needs. 

Lapo knew what to do, and we all thought we'd be straight back to that.  But noooooo, let's use Strevie like he's only Can't-Throw Prukop.

Strevie needs to be taking 5-10% of snaps.  Doing his stay-in thing.  And for xxxxx sake's have him switch up the gaps and run outside and chuck the ball sometimes!  And take every 2nd & 1 shot you get, with strict instructions to chuck it into the stands if 1st read isn't open.  This isn't rocket science.

[TecnoGenius]

Fiscal mismanagement, ignoring the budget and spending too much in some areas at the expense of balanced spending in other areas.  Flipping so many seasoned veterans for less experienced players leaves them downgraded and weaker at too many positions to overcome easily. While the money saved on their salaries added nothing that wasn't already in house.

Bailey
Gray

Bailey was the only skill O guy lost.  As the weakest R he should have been somewhat easy to replace, at least to 80% standard.

So let's ignore Bailey.  And ignore the Kenny injury because the week 2 air show was basically the same as the week 1 air show, meaning Kenny being out didn't kill us and can't be used as the sole excuse.

That leaves OL, and you list Gray (but forgot Yoshi).  Gray wasn't Desjar.  And Dobson isn't Gray.  If all these woes are all OL then we need to change plans on OL.

The old Sherlock Holmes adage: When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.  Or for us: when you have eliminated the skill O being to blame as impossible, the OL that remains, however improbable, must be the UNIT BRINGING US DOWN.  I won't go there yet, but when Kenny is back and there are once again no excuses for the skill players, I will scream that loud and clear if the O continues to suck.  (Or if we airlift an IMP LG and we suddenly put up 45 points: amounts to the same thing.)

[TecnoGenius]

Losing Bailey and Grant stung, for sure.  But losing either of Schoen or Oliviera would have hurt far worse.

Losing Bailey shouldn't have stung the O at all.  (Ignore Grant, he had virtually no role on O last season.)

Picture this:
It's early 2023 and we're winning nearly all of our games and putting up 35+ every game.  Suddenly Bailey is out, but we put in McCrae or our best runner-up WR IMP from TC.  Picture it.  What would we expect?  In other words, all else being equal, what would we expect?

We'd 100% expect the O to keeping blowing up opponents and winning games.  And that's pretty much what we did when we had various short-term O injuries/DUI-problems last season.

So... using logic, what is the only other thing that changed besides Bailey (again, assuming Lawler in)?  2 OL.  Since we all agree Bailey was the weakest IMP WR on the AR, losing him for the next big hopeful rookie shouldn't be killing us!  You swap out a tier 3 talent for a tier 4 talent, it shouldn't drag you from hero to zero.  So it's got to be OL!!

And if, on the off chance, I'm wrong and the OL is just as good as 2023, then the only thing left is the 5th WR!  And that means we should airlift a stout vet WR.  Or, heck, maybe it's 2 OL + 1 WR!  Sure, possible.  Airlift 1 every 2 weeks until the problem is solved.

We're a leaky dike.  Keep plugging the holes until we find the one that fixes it all.  Completely ignore upgrading the D, all SMS savings needs to go into OL or 5th WR.

[BLUEBOMBER]

I have confidence the Bombers will right the ship... eventually.  We just need to have enough points to make it into the playoffs, then it's anyone's chance to win the cup.

[Jesse]

I have confidence the Bombers will right the ship... eventually.  We just need to have enough points to make it into the playoffs, then it's anyone's chance to win the cup.

Three teams miss the play-offs.

The bad news is that, right now there are three winless teams. The good news is that there are three more teams who only have two wins each. There is not that much ground to make up and a lot of time in which to do it.

[J5V]

So... using logic, what is the only other thing that changed besides Bailey (again, assuming Lawler in)?  2 OL.  Since we all agree Bailey was the weakest IMP WR on the AR, losing him for the next big hopeful rookie shouldn't be killing us!  You swap out a tier 3 talent for a tier 4 talent, it shouldn't drag you from hero to zero.  So it's got to be OL!!

Agree 100% We need to find a way to get this OL in sync. Here's hoping they can figure it out.

[DM83]

Personnel is the issue.  We simply ain't good enough!
I love Strev.  But as we saw a couple years ago he is a specialist.  He is limited.
Sad to say we are playing others who were not even at training camp. We knew back then, that the guys who were cut, were not good( consistent).

Who remains as difference makers? Or maybe just as a competent position player who can not. "F" up?

To defend us, as has been noted, clog up the box, stop the run, and dare Strev to throw something over 5 yards. Can he complete some passes over 20 yards?

It's going to be a challenge

[dd]

Personnel is the issue.  We simply ain't good enough!
I love Strev.  But as we saw a couple years ago he is a specialist.  He is limited.
Sad to say we are playing others who were not even at training camp. We knew back then, that the guys who were cut, were not good( consistent).

Who remains as difference makers? Or maybe just as a competent position player who can not. "F" up?

To defend us, as has been noted, clog up the box, stop the run, and dare Strev to throw something over 5 yards. Can he complete some passes over 20 yards?

It's going to be a challenge

Its going to be a challenge alright. I am hoping we have cleaned up the procedure and offensive offside penalties from last game, but holy smokes, we got new recievers and Strev starting his 1st game, it definitely looks bleak. They're going to key on the run and force us to pass it to a double teamed Demski and some rookies?? I just don't see it happening