BC Lions / Nathan Rourke discussion

[TecnoGenius]

Rourke is great, but remember we already beat him once on pretty even terms (they had Lucky but not Burnham I don't think?).  What Rourke does is turn a middling team (yes, middling, ex-WRs) into a contender.  But the rest of the team is still middling.

And Rourke is still in his first real "starting" year, and those QBs are always susceptible to wily DCs (see Dru's performance).

I am fully confident Hall can rip apart Rourke again in the WDF... if Rourke starts.

[dd]

I dunno if BC is middling. I don?t consider Rymes or Burnham middling receivers -they are elite. I don?t think Butler is a middling running back, he is a threat every time he carries the ball. I don?t think Williams is a middling returner , he burned us big last game. And Rourke is far from middling, if he?s 100% it is on and we ll have to play at a high level to beat them. Can?t afford no 3 interception or missed kicks game against them

[pjrocksmb]

Rourke is great, but remember we already beat him once on pretty even terms (they had Lucky but not Burnham I don't think?).  What Rourke does is turn a middling team (yes, middling, ex-WRs) into a contender.  But the rest of the team is still middling.

And Rourke is still in his first real "starting" year, and those QBs are always susceptible to wily DCs (see Dru's performance).

I am fully confident Hall can rip apart Rourke again in the WDF... if Rourke starts.

Hall genius will destroy the competition.  All about execution by the players and limiting turn overs.  Our DL and OL are elite and if those two units play to their full potential, nobody can touch us.

[Lincoln Locomotive]

Hall genius will destroy the competition.  All about execution by the players and limiting turn overs.  Our DL and OL are elite and if those two units play to their full potential, nobody can touch us.

I like your confidence, albeit somewhat misguided.  You said the same thing about the Riders and Cats last year and we escaped both of those games by the narrowest of margins....one in OT no less. 
I suggest the WF will be a similar dog fight whether we play BC or Calgary, although not beating us this year were in every game we played them down to the wire.   

[Waffler]

If Rourke is 75%, he is at risk getting injured worse, either exacerbating current injury or suffering a new one because he cannot effectively evade tacklers.

He just has to play more of a quick release game, adjust to what he CAN do and avoid hits. That said, he is young and in the heat of battle is likely to play sometimes on instinct.  I really think though he will be close to 100% by Nov 13. BC has to make it there first though and Calgary is not exactly chopped liver. They have 2 QB's they can win with also.

[theaardvark]

He just has to play more of a quick release game, adjust to what he CAN do and avoid hits. That said, he is young and in the heat of battle is likely to play sometimes on instinct.  I really think though he will be close to 100% by Nov 13. BC has to make it there first though and Calgary is not exactly chopped liver. They have 2 QB's they can win with also.

They would need him to make it to Nov 13... and I don't see him at 75% before then.

Yes, he has a quick throw ability, but it was his scramble that set him apart.  If he has reduced mobility, DL pins its ears back, every WR is bumped in the 5 yard zone and he's done.

[GCn19]

Let's not forget Rourke is first and foremost a Canadian and has played in the "elements".    The guy borders on supernatural abilities and if he plays in the last game against us at home he will be a factor even if Zach plays.   Win or lose this last season regular game, we still play on Nov. 13 at home and a few weeks ago we thought for certain it was going to be against Calgary.   If Rourke is in that certainly tilts the tables in their favour.   He is THAT good!   
THAT being said, I still like our chances of playing for a 3rd consecutive Cup in Regina!

We absolutely destroyed a superhot Rourke and BC Lions, and that is when he was 100% healthy in perfect weather. I see no reason to believe that he, or the Lions, can beat us at home in the WF. The only team that can beat the Bombers is the Bombers themselves.

[GCn19]

Rourke is great, but remember we already beat him once on pretty even terms (they had Lucky but not Burnham I don't think?).  What Rourke does is turn a middling team (yes, middling, ex-WRs) into a contender.  But the rest of the team is still middling.

And Rourke is still in his first real "starting" year, and those QBs are always susceptible to wily DCs (see Dru's performance).

I am fully confident Hall can rip apart Rourke again in the WDF... if Rourke starts.

QFT

[GCn19]

This is exactly what they will do. They must think Rourke at whatever % is greater than Adams at 100%.

We will know a lot more this week, if he is able to practice again and what happens with that.

I would think that Rourke at 75% is slightly better than Adams....but that isn't exactly all star level by any stretch of the imagination. I don't see a rookie QB, coming off a serious injury who is highly unlikely to be 100% being any more of a threat in the playoffs than any other QB we may face on our road to the 3peat.

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

Hall genius will destroy the competition.  All about execution by the players and limiting turn overs.  Our DL and OL are elite and if those two units play to their full potential, nobody can touch us.

This is pretty unrealistic, the O-line is solid but diminished from last year's version and Willie may be the only Bomber D-lineman that receives all-star votes this season, he might make the Western team but I doubt he's selected for the CFL all-star team this year.

[blue_gold_84]

This is pretty unrealistic, the O-line is solid but diminished from last year's version and Willie may be the only Bomber D-lineman that receives all-star votes this season, he might make the Western team but I doubt he's selected for the CFL all-star team this year.

As a unit, the D-line has remained pretty effective. They don't all need to be all-stars.

And Jefferson's stat line isn't all that different from last season.

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

As a unit, the D-line has remained pretty effective. They don't all need to be all-stars.

And Jefferson's stat line isn't all that different from last season.

I'm going to disagree with you on this point, I think the D-line has shown significant slippage from last year, in run stopping and QB sacks, though most of it can be attributed to losing Richardson and Kongbo and the injuries to Jeffcoat and Hansen.

As for Willie, Shawn Lemon has had an outstanding season and outperformed him in a number of stat. categories this year, and will probably be rewarded as a nod to his lengthy CFL career.  I'd still take Willie over any DE in the league for his versatility and big play ability.

[TecnoGenius]

I dunno if BC is middling. I don?t consider Rymes or Burnham middling receivers -they are elite. I don?t think Butler is a middling running back, he is a threat every time he carries the ball. I don?t think Williams is a middling returner , he burned us big last game. And Rourke is far from middling, if he?s 100% it is on and we ll have to play at a high level to beat them. Can?t afford no 3 interception or missed kicks game against them

But you could say the same thing about EDM.  Lawyler/Mitchell instead of Rhymes/Burnham.  Brown instead of Butler.  Salisbury vs T.Williams.  VAJ vs Corney.  But no one would say EDM is a great team.  Heck, even calling EDM "middling" is a stretch.

The only reason BC is in the shape they are in right now is because of Rourke blowing up every team (except us) for 40-60 points the first half of the season.  Then, like most mobile young QBs, he gets injured.

If Rourke plays, they look like a great team, but it's still just a middling team with a superb QB.  The proof is right in front of our eyes: just look at how BC does with VAJ starting!  I think he had one really good game, but still looked poor compared to Rourke.

That said, I think BC is on the way up, and probably will be a top-3 team next year, and not just because of QB play.  Campbell and their GM are making all the right moves.  They are building a very competent D.  But to say BC is "great" now is too much of a stretch because they are still in rebuild mode off of a horrific 2021 season (with many of the same players!).  I think when BC truly "arrives" we'll know it by them starting 3+ NAT OL like every other team.  (They are still using the "crutch" of a 3rd IMP OL.)

I get the sense Rourke & the BC out-performance (likely 2nd in W) took even Campbell/GM by surprise, and they are smart enough to try to capitalize right now with urgency to get to and win the GC.  In that sense I see BC starting Rourke in the WSF even if it injures him further, because they know they have an unexpected, legit shot at the cup... BUT only with Rourke.

[TecnoGenius]

I like your confidence, albeit somewhat misguided.  You said the same thing about the Riders and Cats last year and we escaped both of those games by the narrowest of margins....one in OT no less. 
I suggest the WF will be a similar dog fight whether we play BC or Calgary, although not beating us this year were in every game we played them down to the wire.   

What does Milt say?  They won baby!  They won!  That's all that matters    "Close" didn't get SSK to the GC, did it.

I'm not confident in that we'll blow them up.  It probably will be a dogfight just like you say.  But what I am confident on is that we pull out the win.  Because if we play Bomber ball and the other team doesn't get insanely lucky our quality will beat their lack of it after 60 minutes.

[TecnoGenius]

We absolutely destroyed a superhot Rourke and BC Lions, and that is when he was 100% healthy in perfect weather. I see no reason to believe that he, or the Lions, can beat us at home in the WF. The only team that can beat the Bombers is the Bombers themselves.

Ya, the Rourke/BC "is the next Flutie or '78-'82 Eskimos" people all seem to forget the easy trouncing we put on Rourke/BC mid-season.  We shut that kid down big time.

It's not just Rourke vs our D, it's Maksymic vs Hall.  It's a battle of the brains as much as brawn.  My money is on Hall's brain.  Dude is my hero.  No matter how good Rourke is, he's still basically a 1st year starter and is susceptible to all the 1st year starter mistakes and confusion that Hall can induce.  All we'll need is our D to execute at a consistent level and keep their heads.  And for Zach to keep up with any scoring that even a great D can't stop.