We Are League Worst (officially)

TecnoGenius · July 01, 2024, 02:38:42 AM

Quote from: Jesse on July 01, 2024, 01:57:01 AMOur draft picks haven't been working out.

Always the option of getting a monster interior IMP OL... no other CFL team wants them, so they must be out there in droves somewhere.

Back when we stunk, hiring & starting Bond made an instant impact on our W/L record. Why not do that again? Easy peazy end-zone squeezy. I'd even consider a C...

Sir Blue and Gold · July 02, 2024, 02:35:08 PM

Quote from: TecnoGenius on July 01, 2024, 02:38:42 AMAlways the option of getting a monster interior IMP OL... no other CFL team wants them, so they must be out there in droves somewhere.

Back when we stunk, hiring & starting Bond made an instant impact on our W/L record. Why not do that again? Easy peazy end-zone squeezy. I'd even consider a C...

It's not a bad idea although O'Shea appears to be set on winning the national snap Olympics. One thing is for sure, this off-season we need a course correct in SMS. Refocus and reallocate towards both lines at the expense of some of our skilled positions. I'll give them a pass for doing that mid-season but needs to be done next year even if at the cost of some fan favourites.

BLUEBOMBER · July 02, 2024, 06:04:24 PM

It was a big mistake to cut Brown and Prukop to go with Streveler. He sells tickets but he can't play consistently well enough to be a starter.

Pete · July 02, 2024, 06:47:18 PM

Quote from: BLUEBOMBER on July 02, 2024, 06:04:24 PMIt was a big mistake to cut Brown and Prukop to go with Streveler. He sells tickets but he can't play consistently well enough to be a starter.

It wasn't a choice, Brown wanted to start ,Ottawa gave him the opportunity and money to do so
We couldn't give him 350k to be a backup

theaardvark · July 02, 2024, 06:52:11 PM

Quote from: Pete on July 02, 2024, 06:47:18 PMIt wasn't a choice, Brown wanted to start ,Ottawa gave him the opportunity and money to do so
We couldn't give him 350k to be a backup

The missed opportunity was moving on from Zach and sticking with Dru. Streveler is a direct upgrade on Prukop.

Still needed a #3. Cutting Zach in favour of Dru, we could have saved a lot of $SMS and built for the future.

But no one knew whether Zach had 2 more years in him. We did know we had 2 GC losses in a row... and that's not 100% on Zach. But it is some on Zach.

Jesse · July 02, 2024, 07:18:41 PM

I wouldn't have faulted the Bombers for sticking with Brown. But I also don't fault them for letting Zach go as long as he can - the last four years have been worth it.

That said, with all our troubles we've had so far, I don't believe Brown would be faring any better had we gone with him. We'd probably all be wringing our hands going, "why didn't we stick with Zach?!?!"

theaardvark · July 02, 2024, 08:07:19 PM

Quote from: Jesse on July 02, 2024, 07:18:41 PMI wouldn't have faulted the Bombers for sticking with Brown. But I also don't fault them for letting Zach go as long as he can - the last four years have been worth it.

That said, with all our troubles we've had so far, I don't believe Brown would be faring any better had we gone with him. We'd probably all be wringing our hands going, "why didn't we stick with Zach?!?!"

I'm not sure Ott is overall better than we are outside the QB spot, so I may have to differ with you on that.

Jesse · July 02, 2024, 08:20:02 PM

Quote from: theaardvark on July 02, 2024, 08:07:19 PMI'm not sure Ott is overall better than we are outside the QB spot, so I may have to differ with you on that.

Well, Zach and Dru have virtually identical pass attempts/completions/average yards per pass/pass percentage/yards. It's actually eerie how close the numbers are.

J5V · July 02, 2024, 10:05:06 PM

Quote from: Jesse on July 02, 2024, 07:18:41 PMI wouldn't have faulted the Bombers for sticking with Brown. But I also don't fault them for letting Zach go as long as he can - the last four years have been worth it.

That said, with all our troubles we've had so far, I don't believe Brown would be faring any better had we gone with him. We'd probably all be wringing our hands going, "why didn't we stick with Zach?!?!"

I share your opinion on this. Zach and Dru both would have struggled having lost 3 of the 4-heads that was the beast of Lawler, Demski, Shoen, and Bailey. That really has been a devastating blow to our offense. We simply must find adequate replacements and I have no doubt scouting is beating the bushes frantically.

theaardvark · July 03, 2024, 04:25:55 AM

Quote from: Jesse on July 02, 2024, 08:20:02 PMWell, Zach and Dru have virtually identical pass attempts/completions/average yards per pass/pass percentage/yards. It's actually eerie how close the numbers are.

Except for:
TD INT
Zach 0 4
Dru 3 1

Throw Long Bannatyne · July 03, 2024, 04:40:30 AM

Quote from: J5V on July 02, 2024, 10:05:06 PMI share your opinion on this. Zach and Dru both would have struggled having lost 3 of the 4-heads that was the beast of Lawler, Demski, Shoen, and Bailey. That really has been a devastating blow to our offense. We simply must find adequate replacements and I have no doubt scouting is beating the bushes frantically.

The difference is, if they would have shed Zach's salary for Brown in the off-season, they potentially could have retained, Bailey, Grant, Jeffcoat, Clements and possibly Gray. The team bit off more than they could chew with so many changes all at one time.

TecnoGenius · July 03, 2024, 07:40:38 AM

Quote from: BLUEBOMBER on July 02, 2024, 06:04:24 PMIt was a big mistake to cut Brown and Prukop to go with Streveler. He sells tickets but he can't play consistently well enough to be a starter.

The jury is still out on that. We only need Strev to do Strev things (see: 2019 playoffs) and be able to be ~.500 if Zach is injured for a few weeks. Anything else is gravy. I think Strev can do that for us, and maybe some of that gravy. We don't know yet. One half of a game isn't enough.

TecnoGenius · July 03, 2024, 08:44:43 AM

Quote from: Throw Long Bannatyne on July 03, 2024, 04:40:30 AMThe difference is, if they would have shed Zach's salary for Brown in the off-season, they potentially could have retained, Bailey, Grant, Jeffcoat, Clements and possibly Gray. The team bit off more than they could chew with so many changes all at one time.

Woulda Coulda Shoulda. Hindsight. Yada. Yes, it's a big consideration, and a worthy one to ponder. But Dru hasn't lit anything up like he did when he was here in those relief games.

We know Zach can light things up. Give him a proper OL and my guess is he'll be great again. It's not like he's lost his arm strength like we've seen with other QBs. I think the OL problems are ruining his headspace and that's the biggest problem right now.

I'm fine with Zach, the bird in the hand.

Waffler · July 03, 2024, 12:48:21 PM

Quote from: TecnoGenius on July 03, 2024, 08:44:43 AMI think the OL problems are ruining his headspace and that's the biggest problem right now.

I'm fine with Zach, the bird in the hand.

What's done is done. One was the future and one was now. We've been a win now team for a long time, perhaps too long. We will have to win with what we got.

I would agree with you because I feel his confidence is not what it was. He is NOT the kind of guy that can take a bunch of hits as we saw last game. When he dominated he always had a clean or near clean jersey.

blueandgoldguy · July 03, 2024, 07:57:01 PM

Getting Kolankowski out of there and inserting the superior Eli at Centre would make a world of difference to the o-line, but O'shea is stubborn and overly loyal to inferior players who are not good enough or past their best-before date. Played a big role in us losing the Grey Cup last year.

As for Zach, he has lost his elusiveness to extend plays. Look back at his very first start against Calgary in 2019 and that TD pass late in the game. Today's Zach would not be able to extend the play like that in a similar situation. His mobility has regressed significantly. This actually started to become a little noticeable in 2022, but now it is very obvious. It's unlikely Zach does as well as Strevelor in the fourth quarter.