Official Game Day Thread - Winnipeg at BC October 6, 2023

[ichabod_crane]

The 2005 Grey Cup (I think) went into at least double OT.

Was that the dancing Danny maciocha grey cup? 

[ichabod_crane]

The 2005 Grey Cup (I think) went into at least double OT.

According to this, it did go double overtime. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/93rd_Grey_Cup

[John T.]

What would happen if the Grey Cup game ended the regular time in a tie?

Guys, don't you remember? That happened two years ago, in 2021. The Bombers beat Hamilton.

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

I thought Eli did an exceptional job in his first real start.  I almost wouldn't have noticed Neuf was gone.  I don't think he whiffed any more than Neuf has been lately.  This is remarkable for a guy basically in his second season of real reps.  Snapping him up again was a brilliant move.

I believe Eli took 2 penalties for tackling a D-lineman before he got through to Zach, so that would be the only negative I could see over Neufeld.

[TecnoGenius]

Guys, don't you remember? That happened two years ago, in 2021. The Bombers beat Hamilton.

Oh I thought he meant if after the 2 mini games there was still a tie.  Ya, if reg is tied then they play a infinity # of mini-games until someone wins.

[TecnoGenius]

I believe Eli took 2 penalties for tackling a D-lineman before he got through to Zach, so that would be the only negative I could see over Neufeld.

I remember only 1?  I'll check later.  Still, taking 1 or 2 penalties probably when they were necessary to save Zach from a hellacious hit is not too shabby for a NAT guard's first real start.  Especially against that much-vaunted probably-number-3-in-league BC DL and Mr. Potential Defensive-MOP smirky Betts.

To think of what our worst fears were regarding Eli in for Neuf at the last minute, I think most of us can be very pleased with the result.

(P.S. I don't know why, but Betts to me has the face and looks of a hockey payer. Weird.)

[Lincoln Locomotive]

I remember only 1?  I'll check later.  Still, taking 1 or 2 penalties probably when they were necessary to save Zach from a hellacious hit is not too shabby for a NAT guard's first real start.  Especially against that much-vaunted probably-number-3-in-league BC DL and Mr. Potential Defensive-MOP smirky Betts.

To think of what our worst fears were regarding Eli in for Neuf at the last minute, I think most of us can be very pleased with the result.

(P.S. I don't know why, but Betts to me has the face and looks of a hockey payer. Weird.)

not a fan of Betts demeanour and that arrogant smirk of his....mind you he likely will break or tie Johnson's record of 18.

[Blitzer]

Dakota Prukop is a great replacement for Streveler. He runs like an experienced running back. I love the way he waits for the line to collapse to see where the opening is going to be instead of plowing into the line and relying on the O line to make a hole. He's a very good player. Very intelligent.

[TecnoGenius]

Could it be that because of age, they're not as physically dominating as they were a couple of years ago? Don't get me wrong, they're still far above average, and possibly the best in the league, but some of them have lost a step.

Love the level of thought going into your question.  My 2c on a few things:

Dominating: ask the other players around the league if WPG players are still high on the "dominating" scale.  I'm not positive, but I think most would say we're up there.  Are we maybe a bit less than '21 and '22?  Maybe they'd say yes, but if we're still the 1st or 2nd most dominating, does it matter?

Here's the result: Our players are not quite as able to physically counteract unexpected schemes thrown at them. Other teams know this, and start most games against us with something the Bombers haven't seen before. Because they're a couple of years older and maybe a step slower, it's harder for the Bombers to cope with this, and they fall behind.

I think other teams do spend an extraordinary amount of time coming up with schemes to exploit our weaknesses, and/or throw us curve balls we haven't seen.  Clearly the teams that go nuts on the scheme side tend to do better against us vs those who just show up and hope for the best.  There's a reason why TOR and BC are the hardest for us to beat.

But the idea this wouldn't happen if we were younger more still more dominant or whatever?  I would counter that if we were younger with more rookies who "haven't seen it all" we may be more vulnerable to this effect.

However, because we have vastly superior coaching compared to everyone else, our coaching staff usually figures out what's happening and make adjustments, which is why, so many times, the Bombers get slapped around for the first half, but then play lights out football in the second half and win the game. The last two weeks, against the other two best teams in the league, are a textbook example of exactly this.

Maybe.  Except in a few of our losing battles we haven't been able to adjust or figure out anything.  For instance, the 1st BC game @IGF: we had no answer and we had no adjustments the whole game.  We were just as useless after halftime as before.  The HAM game also showed little in the way of 2nd H adaptation, and maybe the SSK LDC too.

But there were also games where we did see massive changes to tactics after halftime, like the @BC game.  And that is probably 70% coaches, 30% players.  So for games like those it would appear you are correct.


How about a wilder theory... we purposely "dummy" teams showing certain looks and same-old same-old for a quarter or two to lull them into complacency.  Maybe we are playing super-conservative early in the game so we can get a full picture of what the opponent is bringing to the table and what their mindset is.  Like Rocky IV, maybe we are trying to let them blow their load and think they have us before we show our true form to beat them down.

Look at the Hall D in the @BC game.  It's like at halftime they put Hall out to pasture and Coach X stepped in with a completely different book.  First half we had no pressure, no answer for VAJ's quick or mid pass game, just let them march the field at will hoping and praying for a stop to force a FG.  Everyone in this GDT was noting the insanely soft zone and zero pressure.  If it was a pass under 13 yards we were going to give it to them with zero resistance.

Then the 2nd H comes and Mr Hyde comes out and we're pasting and harassing VAJ every 2nd or 3rd snap.  Completely nuts.

What if this was all part of the plan?  Make VAJ think easy sailing and he's Mahomes, and then crush his spirit.  I don't know, but it is possible.

Nothing against the players, who are still the best in the league, but maybe the MOP award should be shared by Ritchie Hall and Buck Pierce.

They've taken turns stinking up the joint in a few games each, but overall there is no coordinator team I'd rather have.  Best duo in the CFL.  (Though if Buck died tomorrow, I'd also be happy with Lapo returning.)

[Pete]

my theory for the defense is that with the other teams scheming to try to beat our defense, Hll employs more of a vanilla coverage to see what they are doing, then implements what he thinks will work.

[Blue In BC]

my theory for the defense is that with the other teams scheming to try to beat our defense, Hll employs more of a vanilla coverage to see what they are doing, then implements what he thinks will work.

Every team schemes to beat the other teams defence. DC's make adjustments accordingly. However it shouldn't take an entire half of football to do so.

[TBURGESS]

if a player steps out of bounds and holds the ball out in front ..does the ball get spotted where he went out or where the ball is?

It's where the ball is when he steps out.

[peg_city]

Anyone else catch the game on Friday night?

It was pretty good.

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

It's where the ball is when he steps out.

I don't know about that, when a players knee touches the field on a tackle they spot the ball where his knee landed, not how far he reached forward with the ball. 

[TBURGESS]

I don't know about that, when a players knee touches the field on a tackle they spot the ball where his knee landed, not how far he reached forward with the ball. 

No they don't. They spot the ball where it was when the knee hit, not where it ends up after falling forward.

Use a TD as and example. Players knee down on the 1/2 yard line & ball breaks the plane = TD. Same thing on any other play that's not a TD. It's where the ball is that matters.