Way Too Early Power Rankings (by 3rd DownNation)

[ModAdmin]

Seems, as the writer says in the article below, It's Way Too Early, but here is their prognostication for 2024.  Note our Blue Bombers rank #4...

https://3downnation.com/2023/11/27/3downnation-power-rankings-als-climb-to-the-top-of-the-fking-mountain/#google_vignette

[dd]

Ya, its waaaay too early, and until teams navigate through Free Agency and retain/acquire players for their rosters, its a complete guess at this point in time, still, having the Bombers ranked 4th is a complete joke. And the Als-the Cinderella story of 2023, will not repeat in 2024

[Jesse]

Seems, as the writer says in the article beloiw, It's Way Too Early, but here is their prognostication for 2024.  Note our Blue Bombers rank #4...

https://3downnation.com/2023/11/27/3downnation-power-rankings-als-climb-to-the-top-of-the-fking-mountain/#google_vignette

What a hilarious batch of turds they?ve got over there.

[Jesse]

What a hilarious batch of turds they?ve got over there.

Man, I made this comment before reading, but it was so much worse than I thought. What a bunch of nonsense, lol.

[Lincoln Locomotive]

At this point regarding Grey Cup predictions you might just as well place all the teams on the wheel of fortune and give it a spin.   I can point to the Als winning it all this season when they looked like a complete and utter dumpster fire early in the season.  Who on this forum would have predicted that Cody Fjardo under coach Jason Maas and GM Danny Maccocia would take the coveted prize back to Montreal??    

I was just watching a 1962 replay of the second game of a best of 3 western final between the Stamps and the Bombers.   The Stamps had a formidable defence anchored by MLB #55 Wayne Harris and they beat the Bombers in the first game by a score of 20-14.  In the second game played at the old Winnipeg stadium,  the temperature was 20 Fahrenheit (-7 C) and the wind gusting out of the NW @ 29 MPH (50 KPH).  The field was frozen sod hard as concrete and dry.    There were approximately 13K fans in the stands, mostly drunk and very Loud!   In fact in those days, the team could be assessed a penalty if the fans were too noisy and interfering with the signal calling....and they were actually warned in this game.   Getting back to the game, the Bombers used 5 different running backs in this game, Leo Lewis, Hagberg, Charlie (choo choo) Shepherd, Ron (Pepe') Latourelle and Kenny Ploen who ran one in for a TD.    We trailed most of the game and Calgary's D was outatanding however they missed on 3 FG attempts and Shepherd made all 3 of ours.    Ploen who threw wobbly balls completed a 57 yard pass to Farrell (Fungi) Funston who got down to the 5 and Ploen ran it in on a bootleg play for the score to pull ahead by 2 and then Shepherd missed the convert because of a bad snap with Ploen almost taking it in for the extra point but was tackled at the 5 YL.   At the end of the 4th quarter the Stamps turned the ball over and then Leo Lewis pounded the ball on 3 or four different plays and the Bombers scored to pull ahead by 9 points with only 11 seconds in the game.   I remember watching this game and thinking the Bombers were going to lose it however, we prevailed and then went back to Calgary and beat them in their barn, winning the 3 game series.....

And then it was off to Toronto to play in the "Fog Bowl" at CNE stadium which was actually played over 2 days as they had to call the game because they simply couldn't see the players or the field.   Leo Lewis and Kenny Ploen were the stars in this game and the score remained the same the next day and the Bombers won 28-27.    Hamilton lead by Angelo Mosca on defence and Joe Zuger at QB were heavily favoured to win however we prevailed over 2 days to win the Cup!    Ironically the Cats coach Jim Trimble replaced Zuger at QB for that last 9 minutes in the 4th quarter with Frank Cosentino....who failed to score.

It's the magic and the mystery that is the CFL and what makes it so special for Canadian football fans....and you just never know who will  take the Cup home.   The upcoming season will be no different and we may see two different teams in the Cup final in Vancouver.....that's my prediction.    Maybe it'll be the Riders and the Renegades?!   

[TecnoGenius]

MTL #1, hahahaha.  Good luck with that.  Out of the top-4 teams listed, Cody is by far the worst QB.  Maybe you luck into a GC win with 3rd & a 20Y hail mary, but that doesn't translate into good regular season success.

Now, might MTL attract some top talent and get better?  Maybe.  And with all their new guys on 2-year ELC they'll have the SMS space to make some splashes.  In 2025 they'll have big challenges though because all these noobs will be into FA and looking to get paid.

WPG #4, ahhahahahhaha.  We'll see about that come week 1.

P.S. The rest of the list is messed up too.  Has anyone ever tried to do power rankings before FA even started before?  It's rather silly.

[Lincoln Locomotive]

MTL #1, hahahaha.  Good luck with that.  Out of the top-4 teams listed, Cody is by far the worst QB.  Maybe you luck into a GC win with 3rd & a 20Y hail mary, but that doesn't translate into good regular season success.

Now, might MTL attract some top talent and get better?  Maybe.  And with all their new guys on 2-year ELC they'll have the SMS space to make some splashes.  In 2025 they'll have big challenges though because all these noobs will be into FA and looking to get paid.

WPG #4, ahhahahahhaha.  We'll see about that come week 1.

P.S. The rest of the list is messed up too.  Has anyone ever tried to do power rankings before FA even started before?  It's rather silly.

Pretty silly, indeed!

[Lincoln Locomotive]

MTL #1, hahahaha.  Good luck with that.  Out of the top-4 teams listed, Cody is by far the worst QB.  Maybe you luck into a GC win with 3rd & a 20Y hail mary, but that doesn't translate into good regular season success.

Now, might MTL attract some top talent and get better?  Maybe.  And with all their new guys on 2-year ELC they'll have the SMS space to make some splashes.  In 2025 they'll have big challenges though because all these noobs will be into FA and looking to get paid.

WPG #4, ahhahahahhaha.  We'll see about that come week 1.

P.S. The rest of the list is messed up too.  Has anyone ever tried to do power rankings before FA even started before?  It's rather silly.

Just as regular season success doesn't always translate into playoff or GC success.    You really do have it in for CF and albeit I'm not a big fan of his, I did recognize his leadership ability to lead a team.    In 2019, he was one goal post away from getting the Riders to the Cup and instead we made it and won our first in 29 dismal years without one.    His fate was was directly tied the Riders fate who had both Zach and Cody at one time but have since 2019,  more or less imploded.    Fact is he outplayed Zach in the Grey Cup who in 4 appearances hasn't played up to his regular season level or capabilities.  He hasn't thrown one TD pass in four appearances meanwhile throwing 4 picks.  So, there's that as far as the "Zach factor" goes.

Do I think Zach is the better QB of the two?   Certainly!   However Zach has had one of the best OLs and in general, a great team in front of him since signing with us, which has been instrumental in his success.   
If Montreal is able to keep the core of their team together, I'm predicting they will once again be one of the east teams to make it to the East final.   Toronto, with Chad Kelly will likely be the other team however that's not a guarantee either, pending his NFL tryouts this off season.

[blue_or_die]

The pushing of nonsensical narratives is hilar-balls.

The reach is far 

[GOLDMEMBER]

Do these writers know pieces like this makes them look like idiots? Pure comedy.

[Stats Junkie]

There were approximately 13K fans in the stands, mostly drunk and very Loud! In fact in those days, the team could be assessed a penalty if the fans were too noisy and interfering with the signal calling....and they were actually warned in this game.

It was stadium announcer Hal Perry who drew the ire of commissioner Syd Halter. In a game on September 27, 1962, Hal encouraged fans to clap as a means to keep warm. Roger Hagberg ran 64 yards for a TD on the next play. Halter, who was on site, visited Perry in the press box soon after and told him to stop. As the stadium announcer, Perry was considered an off field official and fell under the jurisdiction of the commissioner. Winnipeg could be penalized if Perry asked the fans to make noise but there wasn't anything against the noise if the fans initiated it.

We trailed most of the game and Calgary's D was outatanding however they missed on 3 FG attempts and Shepherd made all 3 of ours. Ploen who threw wobbly balls completed a 57 yard pass to Farrell (Fungi) Funston who got down to the 5 and Ploen ran it in on a bootleg play for the score to pull ahead by 2 and then Shepherd missed the convert because of a bad snap with Ploen almost taking it in for the extra point but was tackled at the 5 YL.

Charlie Shepard was the Bombers punter. It was 'Kid Dynamite' Gerry James who did the field goals and converts.

In 1962, Gerry James was limited to kicking in several games when games were played in short order (doubleheader weekends, playoffs). In 1963 the Blue Bombers asked James to take a pay cut because he wasn't a full time player. James countered by stating it was Bud Grant's decision to limit his play - James felt he could still be a full time fullback. Gerry James attended 1963 training camp out of good will - he had no contract. In the end, the two sides couldn't come to an agreement.

[Lincoln Locomotive]

Thanks for the corrections.....yes Gerry James it was.    That's why you get paid the big bucks to be our official Stats Junkistician!   

[TecnoGenius]

Just as regular season success doesn't always translate into playoff or GC success.    You really do have it in for CF and albeit I'm not a big fan of his, I did recognize his leadership ability to lead a team.    In 2019, he was one goal post away from getting the Riders to the Cup and instead we made it and won our first in 29 dismal years without one.

Ya, you're right, but I don't hide it.  I'm a Cody anti-fan, just like I was a BLM anti-fan.  I watched Cody linger and wither on other teams as #3 and #2 for so many years, always looking meh every time he got some garbage time or the odd injury relief.  He's kind of like Prukop... he really never was star #1 material.  He'll win you some games like Arbuckle or Dane, but he won't win you the post-season consistently.  And he's never had, and will never have, a deep ball.

To me the GC win doesn't change too much.  Their D won vs TOR, and you could argue their D won vs WPG, by stopping Buck & Zach on our final (real) drive, where 2 first downs seals the game even if we don't score.

I fully understand Cody is moving up in many people's eyes, and my stance may be starting to look irrational.  But it's just the way I see it and it'll take more than a fluke end-of-season streak to change my mind.  Does Cody deserve a chance to start?  Heck ya, he's probably the 5th-6th best QB in the CFL because the pickins' are slim.  But I wouldn't want him as my #1 guy.

As for 2019 post doink... everyone gets this wrong: they were a goal post away from TYING.  Who knows if SSK beats us in OT that game.  HAM didn't beat us in OT in the next GC...  Too bad we didn't get OT in the MTL GC (as it should have been after the 3rd down conversion).

[blue_gold_84]

Man, I made this comment before reading, but it was so much worse than I thought. What a bunch of nonsense, lol.

Gotta try and keep traffic up somehow on that clownshow of a website.

It's even funnier seeing the mental gymnastics at play here trying to defend those rankings. LOL

[Lincoln Locomotive]

Ya, you're right, but I don't hide it.  I'm a Cody anti-fan, just like I was a BLM anti-fan.  I watched Cody linger and wither on other teams as #3 and #2 for so many years, always looking meh every time he got some garbage time or the odd injury relief.  He's kind of like Prukop... he really never was star #1 material.  He'll win you some games like Arbuckle or Dane, but he won't win you the post-season consistently.  And he's never had, and will never have, a deep ball.

To me the GC win doesn't change too much.  Their D won vs TOR, and you could argue their D won vs WPG, by stopping Buck & Zach on our final (real) drive, where 2 first downs seals the game even if we don't score.

I fully understand Cody is moving up in many people's eyes, and my stance may be starting to look irrational.  But it's just the way I see it and it'll take more than a fluke end-of-season streak to change my mind.  Does Cody deserve a chance to start?  Heck ya, he's probably the 5th-6th best QB in the CFL because the pickins' are slim.  But I wouldn't want him as my #1 guy.

As for 2019 post doink... everyone gets this wrong: they were a goal post away from TYING.  Who knows if SSK beats us in OT that game.  HAM didn't beat us in OT in the next GC...  Too bad we didn't get OT in the MTL GC (as it should have been after the 3rd down conversion).

Montreal's defence is one of the better Ds in the CFL and you can get away with a less than stellar game manager for a QB and still win it all.    Bombers have had teams where our D was strength and our offence and QBs just good enough.    We had the most prolific offence in the CFL last season and it was our D who couldn't make the BIG play when we desperately needed one.    We were a missed tackle away from sacking Fjardo on second and 18 and instead he gets 13 yards escaping the pressure putting them in a 3rd and 5 situation instead of a 3rd and 20 something......missed opportunities that will haunt our Bomber D for the entire winter.