Official Game Day Thread - Winnipeg at Ottawa - June 13, 2024

[Road Griller]

Hopefully they start Streveler next game at home and never look back.  He was good when he left, no question the years in the NFL have made him better.

Time to move forward and let 17 develop his game here.

[Blue In BC]

Ok, Ottawa deserved to win. No question about that. A common trend for the Bombers ( even last year ) is a slow start and it happened again. Ottawa scores and we go 2 and out IIRC.

The difference in the game ( and there were many ) is that we could not establish the run and we couldn't stop the run. There didn't seem to be any real attempt to stick with the run game even if there were problems with the OL.

As we lost 3 more starters on defence, Ottawa controlled the game with their run game. TOP was brutal and that didn't help keep our defence off the field. Many of us questioned why we rostered so many LB's and didn't keep Woods on instead.

Wheatfall looked good. Adams, Bond, Kramdi and Ford played better.

Mitchell and O. Wilson did not impress and Wilson seemed to give up on a pass late in the game. He might be on a short now and / or may have been nicked as well.

[Blue In BC]

Questions / comments:

1. How long will Oliveria be out or playing hampered by his injury? Is it fair to say Augustine didn't produce or was that due to OL and play calling?

2. ST's improved somewhat. Kicking game better. Coverage still an issue at times and returns leave a lot to be desired.

3. Play calling was bland to put it politely on both sides of the ball.

4. What were they thinking on the 7 yard line. Running down the clock was nearly as important as scoring a TD. They should have run on 1st down IMO. Possibly using Streveler. On 2nd and 3rd down, slow developing pass attempts were doomed from the start.

5. I think we may see a small airlift this week to replace mounting injuries. TBD to see who can play next week.

[Sir Blue and Gold]

Ok, Ottawa deserved to win. No question about that. A common trend for the Bombers ( even last year ) is a slow start and it happened again. Ottawa scores and we go 2 and out IIRC.

The difference in the game ( and there were many ) is that we could not establish the run and we couldn't stop the run. There didn't seem to be any real attempt to stick with the run game even if there were problems with the OL.

As we lost 3 more starters on defence, Ottawa controlled the game with their run game. TOP was brutal and that didn't help keep our defence off the field. Many of us questioned why we rostered so many LB's and didn't keep Woods on instead.

Wheatfall looked good. Adams, Bond, Kramdi and Ford played better.

Mitchell and O. Wilson did not impress and Wilson seemed to give up on a pass late in the game. He might be on a short now and / or may have been nicked as well.

Totally agree on all points. I'll also add that Mitchell played a bit better yesterday than week one but nowhere near Janarion Grant level (I suppose it's unfair to compare him). There was improvement both in fielding the balls and trying to attack vertically. I'd give him another game or two and see if there's more there.

Sheahan out dueled Leone pretty handily which is good value for a global (or national if you want to count him as the second).

Overall, it should be clear to most people that we're starting from a position more reminiscent of 2017 or 2018 than the last 4-5 years. That's the way it goes. What we want to see is improvement each week and teams that do that usually have good seasons.

Although I'd take the win, losing the games you're supposed to lose, especially early is okay. This is one that even if we won it wouldn't have felt very good. 0-2 sends a strong message to O'Shea that they are pretty far off the mark.

[Doublezero]

O-Line needs remedial pass pro classes. And even smash-mouth run blocking is a major challenge with this group.
Look at the trouble Bombers had gaining inches on 3rd down conversions. Zero push from the hogs. They got molested vs Montreal too and so it looks like a pattern might be developing. Where is Eli? Bring back Geoff Gray - get him in here. How long is Dobson out?
This must be why Buck called only 14 runs plays that averaged 3 YPC for a funky 42 total yards in a RAIN GAME ***. And if that is not the reason then Buck and MOS both need take a football IQ test.
If I am Strev or Augustine - a pair of terrific runners - I am pissed at such squandered opportunity.

[LXTSN]

I want to put a lot of blame on Buck and Collaros for this game.

Buck so far this season hasn't taken the reigns. He needs to get the team into a rhythm with some quick-hitter plays. We seem to get caught up in running for 3 yards on first down (whole other problem), and then letting Collaros read the field and make a play. It's a lot easier to do that when you have the defence on their heels. That first drive after the rain delay was a great example of how we should be playing. Quick hitter to Wheatfall and Schoen with a 10yd hook on man coverage. Buck needs to put a little less trust into his star QB and build a discipline game plan.

I'd put Collaros at fault for a few of his sacks.
In past years, he has been able to scramble or navigate the pocket extremely well to buy time. In these first 2 games of the season, he's struggled in the pocket, basically running into sacks. I think it was third down and goal on that same drive where it looked like he was seeing ghosts, but he had a pretty clean pocket!

Let's get back to the crossfield motion plays to spread things out and keep the defence guessing. Let's make it easier on Collaros and the OL by rolling out and throwing on the run once in a while or tossing in Streveler for a couple no-huddle plays after a QB sneak like we used to! Get CREATIVE

[LXTSN]

One thing to add actually that I haven't seen much talk of... Paddy Neufeld looked BAD out there. On that one replay he completely ran away from his guy and gave up a sack.
Dobson wasn't great either but I don't think he was the worst OL tonight.
Didn't hear Lofton's name get brought up once either, which is a good thing for a right tackle. Seems to be a solid piece of our OL.

[theaardvark]

Bad weather, on the road, missing highest paid receiver and MOC, losing 3 D starters in the first half.

In it until the last play.

I think this was a "moral win".  Doesn't count on the scorecard, but an improvement on last week, and got some glimpses of new players next man upping.

Wheatfall surprised me in being our best rec.  JA27 did not bad considering the maulers Ott has on the Dline.  Ford made some great plays.  Biggie was there, but you could see the rust, especially on teh short yardage.  Kramdi whiffed a couple times, but made great plays as well. 

Buck does need to work on varying his game, and Jordan needs to step his game up.  ST's were not bad, much improved over last week.  Some very nice punts, not just boomers, but aussie specials too.

I'm not saying I'm happy with the loss, but had it been a beatdown like last week, I would be very upset.  The team rallied back in the face of adversity. 

[theaardvark]

One thing to add actually that I haven't seen much talk of... Paddy Neufeld looked BAD out there. On that one replay he completely ran away from his guy and gave up a sack.
Dobson wasn't great either but I don't think he was the worst OL tonight.
Didn't hear Lofton's name get brought up once either, which is a good thing for a right tackle. Seems to be a solid piece of our OL.

Oline takes time to sync up.  "Running away from a guy" happens when miscommunication over rushers happens.  Once it becomes second nature, and done without having to listen and interpret communications (which may take too long and be too late), these breakdowns will get less frequent.

We have he parts and talent for a great oline.  We just need reps.

[Blue In BC]

O-Line needs remedial pass pro classes. And even smash-mouth run blocking is a major challenge with this group.
Look at the trouble Bombers had gaining inches on 3rd down conversions. Zero push from the hogs. They got molested vs Montreal too and so it looks like a pattern might be developing. Where is Eli? Bring back Geoff Gray - get him in here. How long is Dobson out?
This must be why Buck called only 14 runs plays that averaged 3 YPC for a funky 42 total yards in a RAIN GAME ***. And if that is not the reason then Buck and MOS both need take a football IQ test.
If I am Strev or Augustine - a pair of terrific runners - I am pissed at such squandered opportunity.

Did Dobson get nicked as well? I missed that info.

Ironically we had a chance to win in the last 1 1/2 minutes but failed. Conversation would be a little different if we pulled it out of the fire. Sometimes you win a game where you were out played and other times it's the opposite.

We lost the battle at the LOS on both sides of the ball.

We don't really know which players are battling injuries of just not in game condition yet.

I put a lot of the problems on the coaches for play calling and lack of preparation.

[kkc60]

One thing to add actually that I haven't seen much talk of... Paddy Neufeld looked BAD out there. On that one replay he completely ran away from his guy and gave up a sack.
Dobson wasn't great either but I don't think he was the worst OL tonight.
Didn't hear Lofton's name get brought up once either, which is a good thing for a right tackle. Seems to be a solid piece of our OL.

Neufeld wasn't good last year either. His West All-star was much more off name and team record than individual performance. He's older for his position and didn't practice at all in TC. Dobson is at least young.

[kkc60]

Oline takes time to sync up.  "Running away from a guy" happens when miscommunication over rushers happens.  Once it becomes second nature, and done without having to listen and interpret communications (which may take too long and be too late), these breakdowns will get less frequent.

We have he parts and talent for a great oline.  We just need reps.

I think coaching is definitely an issue as well, especially is miscommunication is an issue here. Dobsons in his third year, it's not as if he's brand new to the team.

Costello gets hyped as one of the best in the biz, but I'm not too sure whether the OLs past success is too much him, at least in terms of development. Guys like Gray and Dobson don't seem to hit on their potential (Dobson does still have time though) while guys like Broxton and McGloster have passed right through the system and are now quality tackles with their teams.

[3rdand1.5]

Strevy, must be injured. There is no other logical reason he was not used this game.....he must be....

[theaardvark]

Strevy, must be injured. There is no other logical reason he was not used this game.....he must be....

Nope.  You can't expect to win with Streveler / Wilson the way you'd expect to win with Collaros.  Pulling Collaros at all will just make matters worse.  You have to let him play through it, to get in tune with his guys.  lots of change, and he's getting more on the same page.  Big plays threading the needle to Demski, hitting Wheatfall. Didn't see that last week.  He's improving, and needs a few more games in an 18 game season where 6 of 9 teams make the playoffs. 

"Must win" is a far ways off.  We just need to get to the playoffs to have a chance to win the GC.  Far too early to be thinking Streveler.  Although I am surprised we haven't seen any packages yet.  Comes in for SY, and stays in for a couple plays.

[Horseman]

So far after 2 games, we are looking/playing like the "Free" space on the ole bingo card. Still time to turn it around but Zack needs to play like Zack.