Beating SSK

[BBRT]

OK brainiacs, what did you see in the WSF and all season that can help us beat SSK in the WDF?

I noticed SSK stuck 100% to what made them successful, and I expect they continue that.  They had nothing new, added no new wrinkles, and didn't play outside their capabilities.

It's dink & dunk & run all the way.  So let's roster and position our fastest guys to cut short routes.

DL guys need to get in lanes and hands up.  No sense trying to get to the QB, as he'll just get rid of the ball too fast, and we suck at sacks anyhow.

LBers need to get in lanes and cut off hot routes.  Blitzing won't be helpful.  Also need to keep contain at the 2nd level for when the RBs bust through gaping holes, which they will.  Hole stuffing won't help here.

DBs need to play tight zone or man.  Soft zone is what allows Trevor to get his only "deep" 15-20Y passes.  Soft zone plus our zero-pressure will not win us anything.

DBs need to cheat up to cut off the shorter routes.  Trevor will rarely go deep and most go routes will just be decoys.  I can't recall the last time I saw SSK/Trevor chuck a 50Yer (excluding YAC of course).

As for our O, which will need to put up points (probably 2 TD), it would be nice if we can get Brady going, but I won't be money on it.  Our wildly mixed game should work just like it did before vs SSK.  I'm not scared of any player, not even Milligan.  Our nice usual mix of short/mid/deep + Brady should win it as long as Zach is smart with the reads.

SSK D is not a smoke & mirrors D like MTL.  They are very plain and straightforward.  They just execute well and can get pressure.  That should help Zach, as it's D's like MTL that give him problems.

Our OL needs to have their best game yet and prove they aren't the weak link.

Post your best thoughts on SSK weaknesses and good ideas!

I distill this down to a very few key points:

Point 1 - Zach has to play error free and not give up any dumb plays etc. Needs to have a game that matches Harris who is playing lights out. Zach needs to play his best game of the year
Point 2 - We need our DL and LB to have a great game and shut down both the run and the short passing game.
Point 3 - No missed FG's
Point 4 - DB's need to play tight. No easy completions
Point 5 - And lastly we just need to focus on what we do best and run the ball to establish TOP.

[dd]

Riders are a good team. Our DL does not get the pressure we need to disrupt the sask dink and dunk possession O. We ll come out smashing it with Brady. The team that doesn't turn the ball over wins. It's going to be a wickedly close game down to the wire. We have the better kicker and I think it comes down to that, Castillo outkicks lauther

[BomberFan73]

Sask is very good vs the run.  Will we be often 2nd & long, and can we convert?  That will be key.

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

Riders are a good team. Our DL does not get the pressure we need to disrupt the sask dink and dunk possession O. We ll come out smashing it with Brady. The team that doesn't turn the ball over wins. It's going to be a wickedly close game down to the wire. We have the better kicker and I think it comes down to that, Castillo outkicks lauther

Unfortunately the Bomber pass rush has been dismantled, they are last in the league in sacks at 26 and are unable to ramp pressure up even when it's needed. Maybe Younger will surprise everyone by going heavy LB blitz, but I doubt it. This gives teams scheming against them a serious advantage, as long as they throw away from Willy they know they'll have plenty of time to go through their reads and find the open receiver. BC was second best in sacks with 39 this season and they managed to sack Harris only once yesterday. There's little chance the Bombers will be able to rattle his cage, so they're going to have to play very good pass defence to limit the damage.

[dd]

Unfortunately the Bomber pass rush has been dismantled, they are last in the league in sacks at 26 and are unable to ramp pressure up even when it's needed. Maybe Younger will surprise everyone by going heavy LB blitz, but I doubt it. This gives teams scheming against them a serious advantage, as long as they throw away from Willy they know they'll have plenty of time to go through their reads and find the open receiver. BC was second best in sacks with 39 this season and they managed to sack Harris only once yesterday. There's little chance the Bombers will be able to rattle his cage, so they're going to have to play very good pass defence to limit the damage.

Agree totally. Our backend is going to have to outplay their receivers and that's a tough ask, especially with Kelly at safety. We ll have a pa kid house which is probably the most effective thing in disrupting their offense. If the riders get up esrly and take the crowd out of it, it's over. Fans have got to stay strong as they're going to need fan support in this game

[Blue In BC]

Roster choices might be important if we have choices we could make. There was some comment that K. Wilson or Alexander might be available. While I'm not suggesting either should necessarily start, at worst that would improve depth.

I'm waiting to see if Woli practices this week. Beyond that is will we lose anyone to injury from the last game? I didn't see anything definitive but Woods was nicked for example.

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

Roster choices might be important if we have choices we could make. There was some comment that K. Wilson or Alexander might be available. While I'm not suggesting either should necessarily start, at worst that would improve depth.

I'm waiting to see if Woli practices this week. Beyond that is will we lose anyone to injury from the last game? I didn't see anything definitive but Woods was nicked for example.

Yes, I hope Woli and BA are ready to come back for the WF, not that concerned with Wilson as Ayers has done a good job in his place. I don't know about Cole, first game back he looked great, second game he was inconsistent and got burned numerous times. Still think he's good to have on the roster for odd jobs in odd situations.

[Pete]

With the way Harris gets rid of the ball not sure any dline will be successful.
Big emphasis on stopping run on first down and the playing tight on short passes. The more we can do disrupt his line of sight the better. Offensively give zac time

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

With the way Harris gets rid of the ball not sure any dline will be successful.
Big emphasis on stopping run on first down and the playing tight on short passes. The more we can do disrupt his line of sight the better. Offensively give zac time

Yes, LB's are going to have to wrap up Oullette and Armstead and not bounce off. Plug them gaps!

[ichabod_crane]

Jump on the Cryders early and get a 2 td lead. The longer the Bombers keep that lead, the more the stubble jumpers will be forced to exit the dink and dunk game...then we have them in our rifle scope where we want them! Try a  few blitzes UP THE MIDDLE on D when they are in second and long just to rattle Harris's cage. Is that not his Achille's heel? Get pressure on him and he has caved for many years already. MANY players have made this comment over the years about him. He can't run so he either tosses it away or tries a risky longer pass which out ball hawks can either knock down or pick.

Bombers shut them down all regular season, so don't need to change much yet need a few wrinkles as Sask O will certainly come up with a few wrinkles themselves. Their bowling pin RB scares me a bit, but if knicked that makes him less a thread. I HAVE SAID all year the Blue needed a BIG BULL DL to plug the hole Stove once covered.

Lucky almost broke a return to the house last game vs Montreal....I think he is ready to bust ALL THE WAY for the WF or GC....just at the perfect time!

As colour man Jack Gotta said after the 1984 Western Final in BC....IT WAS A HAMMER JOB BY THE BOMBERS!!! Lay the lumber down lads....no holding back now!

[TecnoGenius]

We ll have a packed house which is probably the most effective thing in disrupting their offense.

I don't recall Trevor having much success in IGF/PAS.  He wasn't great in the BB this year.  Last year I think he was injured when we played them.  How about when he was with other teams?  What's his record @ IGF/PAS?

I'm not sure he can manage the noise.

We all have to be loud all the time.  No breaks.  Get loud right when the 20s clock is blown in -- or before!  Get louder on 2nd down!

We haven't racked up any PAS IP/TC penalties in the last few games... let's change that next week!

[TecnoGenius]

In past years it was noticeable that Richie went from a bend but don't break D to a more creative pressure scheme in waves in the playoffs. One can only hope for more of the same this year.

SSK is the exact same McAdoo O they've run since 2019.  Stopping it is precisely the same.  They've usually had a decent run game.  Literally nothing is new.  Beat them the way we always beat them.

[TecnoGenius]

a run blitz or any kind of blitz would be nice to see...I think we blitzed once against Mtl and it almost resulted in Ty Ford getting a pick 6...having said all that...I trust JY and Richie.  I'm sure if they feel we need to be more aggressive and blitz in different situations...we'll be doing it...

We don't do much run blitz, and that's probably a good thing because we need to keep a second level in the flat to stop their RBs from busting big TDs like they did against BC.  We've gotten bitten by runs like that in the GCs we lost.

As for pass blitz, there are (only) around 5-7 plays a game Trevor will take longer than 2.7s looking for a mid/deeper shot.  If we guess those ones right we may be able to get to him on a pass blitz.  Maybe.

It should help that their LT is likely done for the year, and I think they will have to put a natural guard there(?) meaning they will be weakened.  Put Willie on that side pushing wide.  Maybe get the double-team on him and get a delayed blitzer MBL/WILL in through the resulting hole.

But I wouldn't expect nor fret about our blitz too much.  It hasn't been a staple of ours, and we don't need it to win.  We get the added advantage this game of not having to have a dedicated QB spy waiting in the flat.  Trevor won't run, and if he does, he's slow as molasses and any hit will likely ruin his day.

I'm really extremely confident we can handle their O.  It's just a matter of our O putting up some decent points and hopefully Brady having a 100Yer.

[TecnoGenius]

Outlette was getting stuffed in the 2nd half. Either he re-aggartvated his hip injury and was less effective, he did seem to be limping again, or BC started plugging up the line. Correct me if I'm wrong but I didn't see armstead getting much time in the 2nd half, injured again?

I don't recall seeing Armstead even once in the 2nd H.  Lots of Oullette.

Oullette is always getting hurt.  He's kind of like Schoen: gets up limping and wincing every single hit.  But Schoen just shakes it off and it's a nothingburger.  I think Oullette actually gets injured all the time. 

I expect Oullette will be only 75% for this game.  He won't leave the game.

It's totally clear the SSK plan is:
- tough gut-runs: Oullette
- edge/speed runs: Armstead

You can bank on this 90% of the time.  So adjust the D based on who they slot in.

[Mick]

I don't recall seeing Armstead even once in the 2nd H.  Lots of Oullette.

Oullette is always getting hurt.  He's kind of like Schoen: gets up limping and wincing every single hit.  But Schoen just shakes it off and it's a nothingburger.  I think Oullette actually gets injured all the time. 

I expect Oullette will be only 75% for this game.  He won't leave the game.

It's totally clear the SSK plan is:
- tough gut-runs: Oullette
- edge/speed runs: Armstead

You can bank on this 90% of the time.  So adjust the D based on who they slot in.

I don't recall seeing Armstead even once in the 2nd H.  Lots of Oullette.

Oullette is always getting hurt.  He's kind of like Schoen: gets up limping and wincing every single hit.  But Schoen just shakes it off and it's a nothingburger.  I think Oullette actually gets injured all the time. 

I expect Oullette will be only 75% for this game.   He won't leave the game.

It's totally clear the SSK plan is:
- tough gut-runs: Oullette
- edge/speed runs: Armstead

You can bank on this 90% of the time.  So adjust the D based on who they slot in.

I agree. This game will be won on the ground, and we, without question have the best RB in the league. I'll be watching the injury reports, that will tell us everything we need to know. Highly likely they lost a couple players.