Argos at Blue Bombers GREY CUP pregame thread

[GOLDMEMBER]

Ya but those stats are misleading. How many times did the Argos play the bombers, Stamps and lions ie the top 3 teams in the league, and how many times did they play train wreck Hamilton and Ottawa?? They?re good, but I?d take our secondary over theirs any day of the week and twice on game day!!

^This! Gotta look deeper than just a plain old stat.

[The Zipp]

If we stop the run and don't turn the ball over we should win.  Richie hall needs to develop a plan to stop AJ...Argos are very good at taking the ball away.   Collaros didn't play exceptionally well and we beat a decent team - home field helps

We have better coaches...I think it will be close

[TecnoGenius]

It's in the best interest of the CFL for the Argos to win.  I'm not suggesting any bias there, it's simply fact.  A third win in a row for the Bombers does nothing for the league outside of Winnipeg.

If it was any other team, I'd agree with you.  But we saw this before: an Argos GC win will do nothing for Argos ticket sales.  Nothing.  It'll be just as dead next year.  It's not the winning or lack thereof that's keeping fans away.

And fans will still tune in to see if someone can stop the WPG juggernaut.  The good thing is none of our guys is cocky on TV.  People want to see cocky get punched in the mouth (see: BLM).  Zach is eminently likeable and has been in nearly as many teams as Glenn.  Even the Greenies like Zach (and wish he hadn't been run out of town).  The only player a few people ever got a big hate-on for is AH33, and he's now with the "enemy".

Do the Argos deserve to be in the game?  Honestly, no, they are the beneficiaries of an antiquaited divisional system that has failed this year.  Both the Stamps and Lions are far more deserving than the Argos, and their only fault is they are in the same division as the Bombers.

Argos aren't at west-team standards, no.  But they are probably at least as good as CGY.

Here's the thing: the Argos are super lucky in the post-season historically.  They come out of nowhere, win the cup, then go back into oblivion for years.  They are the anti-CGY and anti-MOS philosophy.  But, it works for them.  Don't underestimate TOR.

[TecnoGenius]

Is it? Better than ours? Better than Lions? Better than Calgarys? Hmmmm

On paper BC DBs are miles above TOR.  If TOR got better stats, that's because they must have a better DL and cause more QB mistakes (kind of the WPG M.O.).

WPG's DB corps is beat up since the FA loss from the '21 GC, and from multiple injuries this season.  Our DB corps is not our strong suit.  But they are a close group with good leaders, so you can't just pick on them.  Our DL will make our DBs more effective in the GC.

Also, once again, the weather favors us.  TOR with all their "lake effect" is still nothing compared to prairie cold.  They will get a rude awakening in Regina.  It'll hurt our team too, but it'll hurt us less than the other guys, just like in the WDF.  Oullette might have no idea what to do in the cold; but AH sure will.

And TOR receivers are a pretty sad bunch on paper.  Just cover Gittens; boom done.  Though I am a bit worried that Banks has woken up.  Just need to get him down 2 scores and he'll cry off like he always does.

[TecnoGenius]

Lets do this 3-peat eh!

Yeah, eh!

[TecnoGenius]

About TOR's INT record:  They remind me of us circa 2014.  Remember how we were high up in the INT department for about 3 years?  We were kind of known for our turnover margin.  That's around the Fogg/Heath era.

To me that's a sign of a weaker / developing team.  They rely on turnovers to have a chance because they can't win playing plain hardnosed, straight-up ball.  TOR is to WPG now what WPG was to CGY in '14.

The fact TOR is going to the cup whilst at this stage of development is a testament to something: luck, weak east, some choice talent, dunno.  We weren't even close to a cup in '14.

My point is, I'm not scared of TOR because of their turnover margin, to me it marks them as weak.  That means beatable if we play Bomber ball and limit our risks.  They won't win with normal ball.  I think they will sense this and that's why they might be taking a lot of risks; like heavy pressure, all-or-nothing DB INT attempts, tricky plays, and tons of deep balls.

BC tried to beat us with straight-forward ball, and look where that got them.

[BLUEBOMBER]

The Bombers are a better team no doubt but upsets are always possible especially in a championship game where the underdogs have nothing to lose.

[pjrocksmb]

Argos are average in most areas.  Strong at Rb.

Their D is good against the East

If things go our way Blue by 12

[ModAdmin]

The Bombers will focus on the run game regardless of who is at QB.  Who controls the line of scrimmage will be the winner of this game.

[Pigskin]

I just noticed that Winnipeg has never beaten Toronto in a GC. Toronto is 7-0 against Winnipeg in GC. Last time we played Toronto in a GC was 1950. Would be nice to break that goose egg. 

[BLUEBOMBER]

I believe we certainly have an edge on this one but 2001 Grey Cup still lingers on my mind all the time. Dinwiddie is certainly not a Wally Buono though...

[Tee42]

Argos have a lot of ego on that team, hot heads. Get them rattled, they will draw penalties. Don't give MBT too much time to throw. Rourke had lots and lots of time to get the ball off last game.

[blue_gold_84]

I just noticed that Winnipeg has never beaten Toronto in a GC. Toronto is 7-0 against Winnipeg in GC. Last time we played Toronto in a GC was 1950. Would be nice to break that goose egg. 

The last time they met in the championship game was over 70 years ago and eight years before the CFL even came into existence.

An interesting stat but that's all it is, IMO.

I believe we certainly have an edge on this one but 2001 Grey Cup still lingers on my mind all the time. Dinwiddie is certainly not a Wally Buono though...

The 2022 Blue Bombers aren't the 2001 Blue Bombers.

[BBRT]

I just noticed that Winnipeg has never beaten Toronto in a GC. Toronto is 7-0 against Winnipeg in GC. Last time we played Toronto in a GC was 1950. Would be nice to break that goose egg. 

Was Goldmember at the game? 

[GOLDMEMBER]

Was Goldmember at the game? 

No but I was at the Dinwiddie in TO one where he choked on it at the end. Maybe Dinwiddie will choke on it again at coach now?

I did read up on that 1950 game though. We were at a very big disadvantage with footwear in the game or what has been referred to as the mud bowl game. TO had a big snow fall the day before. Indian Jack Jacobs and the Blue Bombers had a great year but it was a disappointing loss in the end. Jacobs only completed a couple passes all game.