Official Game Day Thread - Winnipeg at Saskatchewan, September 3, 2023

[Blue In BC]

Bombers averaged 9 yards per kickoff return!

Collaros with another off game. Schoen with probably his worst (1/2) game of his life.  Lawler average/underutilized again.


The terrible play to give up the single and let Sask within 3 points.

HUGE rebound game needed now.

That punt bounced on the 2 yard line. You give up a point when that happens. I don't have an issue with that. However we've seen this scenario before.  Under 3 minutes to go and we run the very predictable run straight up the middle for a nominal gain. Then an unsuccessful pass into coverage. Punt with the usual poor coverage and the opponent is within striking distance.

All we needed was a 1st down, maybe 2 and that kills the clock and or flips the field.

The OT series for the Riders: soft coverage and poor tackling. We see exactly the same thing against the Redblacks.  I did think their 2 point convert was a trap. Our 2 point effort was poorly conceived and even more poorly executed.

How do you lose 2 games in OT in one season when you had the lead and the ball with less than 3 minutes left in the game?

[Blue In BC]

My take:

Riders beat Calgary & Winnipeg in the last two games. Looks like they are for real.

They should have thrown out the dipshyte who head butted Collaros. Dangerous play.

We need to start showing up at the first play of the games. We won't get away with playing half a game against half the league.

Worst game that Collaros has had in Blue and Gold. He hasn't looked the same since his neck injury.

We should have leaned on Brady O more and stopped going deep.

It wasn't a mistake to give up the single. It was a call to get the ball out to the 40. A couple of first downs and we'd have won the game.

Riders win their personal Grey Cup game. They won't win the real one tho.

I don't think the Riders are for real. It happens some time when a new QB is starting his 1st few games and there is little film to review.

Bombers have some issues. I don't see the coaches working to resolve them. Definition of insanity comes to mind.

[Blue In BC]

I re-watched the last 5 minutes or so of the game then deleted the saved copy. Losing is never a good feeling but losing games like this is very frustrating. Not playing well in the 1st half is becoming an unsettling pattern. Having the lead and the ball with little time left and still losing? Yikes!!

I would be less concerned about one game but like I said it's the pattern and it needs to be corrected. Need to make a big comeback for Banjo Bowl. Either we're fighting for 1st or settling for just a playoff spot.

[Lincoln Locomotive]

I re-watched the last 5 minutes or so of the game then deleted the saved copy. Losing is never a good feeling but losing games like this is very frustrating. Not playing well in the 1st half is becoming an unsettling pattern. Having the lead and the ball with little time left and still losing? Yikes!!

I would be less concerned about one game but like I said it's the pattern and it needs to be corrected. Need to make a big comeback for Banjo Bowl. Either we're fighting for 1st or settling for just a playoff spot.

The Bombers certainly didn't play like a team wanting to put a strangle hold on first place......sad part is we were out coached by Dickenson in this game....
Give credit to the Rider defence that didn't allow Brady to play "Bully Ball".
We have seen this where the Bombers were able to close out games with this style but not in those last two minutes.    We had to make at least 1 or two first downs and we went 2 and out.    Then we allowed them to get another decent punt return and they have 2 minutes left to tie it....for a moment it looked like maybe they'd score a TD but our D at least managed to force OT.    We played very soft D from then on and allowed the two point conversion.    This game was eerily similar to the Ottawa loss.....what have we learned?

[dd]

Being out coached by dickenson, OUCH!

[Blue In BC]

The Bombers certainly didn't play like a team wanting to put a strangle hold on first place......sad part is we were out coached by Dickenson in this game....
Give credit to the Rider defence that didn't allow Brady to play "Bully Ball".
We have seen this where the Bombers were able to close out games with this style but not in those last two minutes.    We had to make at least 1 or two first downs and we went 2 and out.    Then we allowed them to get another decent punt return and they have 2 minutes left to tie it....for a moment it looked like maybe they'd score a TD but our D at least managed to force OT.    We played very soft D from then on and allowed the two point conversion.    This game was eerily similar to the Ottawa loss.....what have we learned?

Bully ball works when you have won TOP and are leading. The opponent is gasping for air. That wasn't the situation we were in yesterday.

I agree we were out coached yesterday.

[Doublezero]

Hate to say it but this feels like the start of an inevitable decline for the Bombers. Who's in the wings to replace this club's aging vets? Who has the cojones to tap some of these oldsters on the shoulder and tell them they're no longer part of the plan? I would include some of the Oline, linebackers and even our MOP QB in the list for careful review. And who is going to be around to manage that? Will Goveia and/or McManus be taking over for Kyle Walters? I don't think he'll be GM next season.

[DM83]

The Bombers look complacent.
The Cormers are unsound fundamentally
Steagall is full of crap about his statement on DBs under cutting passes.  They cost us the game.  Chaz for the first time said something accurate.

Agreed, aging guys can not do it consistently. This team will be. Awful when a dozen guys drop dead or retire.
Why is Collaros under throwing everyone?
Why is Buck not creating anything for Lawler.  Granted Lawler was standing around not hustling.?

The Bombers will lose in the playoffs because they have poor play in Special teams.
Hard to watch ..too many guys seem to be ?playing out the string? and they are on special teams.

[dd]

I see big hill as the only aging vet who?s lost a step. Stanley Bryant is still a beast at left tackle and I wouldn?t be pushing him out the door. Same for Hardrick. Same for Collaros.  I don?t see who else on our starting lineup is ?too old???

[Doublezero]

Woah, take your hand off the panic button. We aren?t going to clean house over an overtime loss in the LDC. We showed flashes of brilliance yesterday and then stretches where we couldn?t do anything. Very strange game. Lawler was invisible for most of the game, then boom 1 play TD in overtime. Strange game.

Not just this game. This game was just further confirmation of a directional trend.

[dd]

Our defense is above average, not dominating but above average, our special teams below average and our offense is inconsistent at best. They show flashes of dominance and great plays and then turn around and drop gimmee catches (Schoen in particular yesterday).

If our ST is going to continue their sub par ways, it will be up to the offense to makeup the yards lost on ST and when they can?t or they struggle, we lose those ball games.

[northof30]

That punt bounced on the 2 yard line. You give up a point when that happens. I don't have an issue with that. However we've seen this scenario before.  Under 3 minutes to go and we run the very predictable run straight up the middle for a nominal gain. Then an unsuccessful pass into coverage. Punt with the usual poor coverage and the opponent is within striking distance.

All we needed was a 1st down, maybe 2 and that kills the clock and or flips the field.

The OT series for the Riders: soft coverage and poor tackling. We see exactly the same thing against the Redblacks.  I did think their 2 point convert was a trap. Our 2 point effort was poorly conceived and even more poorly executed.

How do you lose 2 games in OT in one season when you had the lead and the ball with less than 3 minutes left in the game?

I disagree that you give up the single. Regardless of field position, that late in the game you're allowing your opponent to tie with a field goal. Even with a two and out and a decent punt our defence was playing well enough to thwart a touchdown needed drive.

[dd]

Exactly yet when asked after the game O?Shea said he?d do it again snd there in the problem lies. If our offense was in groove then yes give up the single and let your offense go score some points. But our offense struggled yesterday. I would have bet on our defense not allowing a touchdown vs relying on our offense to score

[Jesse]

I see big hill as the only aging vet who?s lost a step. Stanley Bryant is still a beast at left tackle and I wouldn?t be pushing him out the door. Same for Hardrick. Same for Collaros.  I don?t see who else on our starting lineup is ?too old???

Obviously none of us can judge OL play, but we're consistently playing with 6 or 7 OL up front, which takes receivers off of the field.

The coaching staff no longer trusts our starting 5 like they used to.

[Tiger]

Brady ran hard, when he had help and did not.