Official Game Day Thread - WDF -Saskatchewan at Winnipeg - November 9, 2024

[The Fresh Prince Of Belair, MB]

If we are going to talk about gifts, how about the gift from mother nature the bombers go to secure the WF, no wind, and we would be seeing this game in Sask tomorrow. Talk about back dooring in to first place.

"It's official. God is a Bombers fan."
-Duane Forde

Riders still would have lost to the Stamps in week 21 

[blue_gold_84]

Can't say I expected Cole to be bumped off the AR.

Very unexpected.

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

This looks like Bridges, Woods and Cole are out. Alexander and Haba are back in. N. Taylor is in.  K. Wilson is a GTD so that means if he's in then that explains why Cole is not shown?

Taylor in for Bridges gives us some veteran experience and he can play multiple roles. At worst he's a rotation player than can aid our secondary.

Can't say I expected Cole to be bumped off the AR. Also the changes on the DL surprised me as well.

Woods went down twice in the game last week, Haba receives one more chance to prove his worth. Taylor will probably come in on the double Safety plays alongside BA, a role Cole should have been able to adapt to as he's primarily a DB.

[Blue In BC]

Woods went down twice in the game last week, Haba receives one more chance to prove his worth. Taylor will probably come in on the double Safety plays alongside BA, a role Cole should have been able to adapt to as he's primarily a DB.

I like what Taylor could bring to the defence but I expected it would be him or Alexander. This is not a complaint but disappointed we couldn't keep Cole on the AR. That's just a factor of the ratio compliance.

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

I like what Taylor could bring to the defence but I expected it would be him or Alexander. This is not a complaint but disappointed we couldn't keep Cole on the AR. That's just a factor of the ratio compliance.

Agree, I think Cole would be more handy than Taylor in this situation, it doesn't show much confidence in Kelly or the Hallet boys to fill in when needed.

[Blue In BC]

Agree, I think Cole would be more handy than Taylor in this situation, it doesn't show much confidence in Kelly or the Hallet boys to fill in when needed.

Harris is going to throw a lot of passes if the defence doesn't get him off the field. Bomber success on offence could achieve the same result

In that sense I wouldn't say Cole would be more handy than Taylor. It's a ratio issue. If Woli was healthy we could have bumped Wheatfall for example. He could have a good game making space for other receivers or getting some looks in the passing game. The preference would have been to drop a Canadian, probably one of the Halletts since we added Taylor and Alexander.

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

Harris is going to throw a lot of passes if the defence doesn't get him off the field. Bomber success on offence could achieve the same result

In that sense I wouldn't say Cole would be more handy than Taylor. It's a ratio issue. If Woli was healthy we could have bumped Wheatfall for example. He could have a good game making space for other receivers or getting some looks in the passing game. The preference would have been to drop a Canadian, probably one of the Halletts since we added Taylor and Alexander.

I don't see your ratio angle, both Cole and Taylor are Imports, when the extra DB comes on it will coincide with Jake or Schmeck being on the field.  Also Harris won't be throwing deep very often, relies on short and mid-range passes with plenty of YAC to move the ball downfield.

[Blue In BC]

I don't see your ratio angle, both Cole and Taylor are Imports, when the extra DB comes on it will coincide with Jake or Schmeck being on the field.

That's not quite what I meant. We took Bridges (-1) off but added Taylor and Alexander (+2). In effect that forced removing an import elsewhere. That appears to have been Cole at the moment. So ratio issue on the roster not about the mix on the field.

We'll see several different defensive sets which include that double safety idea.

Note that Alexander is 2" shorter than Cole and 15 lbs lighter. He's been playing a lot close to LOS so he may take on what we might consider as Cole's LB  role in a 34 formation with Taylor as the actual safety.

Having gone to that 9 man secondary and 3 man DL makes " title " as little less accurate if you know what I mean.

[Pete]

Personally, when I saw the proposed depth chart I was disappointed. Once again we are putting in vets that are barely healed. We've seen it over and over again with Wilson and previously Jeffcoat who say they are ready to go so OShea automatically inserts them only to watch at half time that they are no longer able to go.
I hope that this isn't the case with Alexander and Wilson this time around. (I wonder if Cole is hurt?)
At least it looks like they aren't willing to chance Woods making it thru the game.

I get Adams being sat out as well rather than Fox, recent games he just hasn't performed  (1 tackle against mtrl) Haba needs to return to the form he showed early in the season.

With Wilson, Taylor all having so few games played, and Alexander still recovering defensively it makes me nervous.

Sask on the other hand is following argo example and dressing 8 dline 6 of which are imports so easy to see what their game plan will be.

[gobombersgo]

[gobombersgo]

[Blue In BC]

Personally, when I saw the proposed depth chart I was disappointed. Once again we are putting in vets that are barely healed. We've seen it over and over again with Wilson and previously Jeffcoat who say they are ready to go so OShea automatically inserts them only to watch at half time that they are no longer able to go.
I hope that this isn't the case with Alexander and Wilson this time around. (I wonder if Cole is hurt?)
At least it looks like they aren't willing to chance Woods making it thru the game.

I get Adams being sat out as well rather than Fox, recent games he just hasn't performed  (1 tackle against mtrl) Haba needs to return to the form he showed early in the season.

With Wilson, Taylor all having so few games played, and Alexander still recovering defensively it makes me nervous.

I see your concern but I think it's unfair to suggest we are putting in vets that are barely healed. That's a TBD to see how they performed.

Alexander had a hand injury and might be wearing a cast. That's not that unusual depending on what exactly was hurt and to what extent.

Wilson has missed a couple of months with a calf injury. That's normally sufficient time to heal. In his case the bigger question is game speed and conditioning.

Taylor was healthy to finish 2023 IIRC. Having a year off and back to the Bombers is a reasonable concern about game readiness but he's a veteran guy.

I don't know if we would have blinked if Woli practised this week and was added.

[gobombersgo]

Brandon Alexander returns for Winnipeg Blue Bombers in West Final
By John Hodge -November 8, 2024

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers will have Brandon Alexander back in the starting lineup when they host the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the West Final.

The 31-year-old native of Orlando, Fla. has missed the past month due to a hand injury he suffered in the team's win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. He made 57 tackles and one forced fumble over 16 games this season before being replaced in the starting lineup by Jake Kelly. Alexander is one of the team's longest-tenured players, having made 268 defensive tackles, 20 special teams tackles, eight interceptions, and seven forced fumbles over 89 career CFL games since joining the Blue Bombers in 2017.

The club may also have Kyrie Wilson back as their starting weak-side linebacker, though he's been listed as a game-time decision. The 32-year-old native of Fresno, Calif. played only eight regular season games this year and has dressed just once since the end of July. He recorded 28 tackles and one sack this season, making seven starts at weak-side linebacker and one start at middle linebacker. In total, Wilson has made 161 defensive tackles, 15 special teams tackles, six sacks, one interception, and one forced fumble over 51 career CFL games.

Winnipeg has also made a change along the defensive line, moving defensive tackles Jamal Woods and Devin Adams to the one-game injured list. Miles Fox will start alongside Jake Thomas despite dressing for only three games during the regular season due to injury, making three defensive tackles.

The Blue Bombers will dress only six defensive linemen, which seems fitting based on head coach Mike O'Shea's comments following the Banjo Bowl in September. When asked about his team's lack of pressure on Trevor Harris, he credited the quarterback for getting rid of the ball quickly, joking that he sometimes wants his team's defence to rush only one defender on obvious passing downs. As such, expect Winnipeg to often drop nine defenders back in coverage on second-and-long.

Nick Taylor, who signed with the team last month, will dress in a depth role at boundary halfback. The 36-year-old won a Grey Cup as a member of the Blue Bombers in 2021 but hasn't played a game all year. He made 25 defensive tackles, one special teams tackles, one interception, and one forced fumble over 11 games with the Calgary Stampeders last season. O'Shea credited Taylor's speed and communication skills this week, so it wouldn't be a surprise if he came in as an extra defender on passing downs.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers (11-7) will host the Saskatchewan Roughriders (10-8-1) for the West Final on Saturday, Nov. 9. Kickoff is slated for 6:30 p.m. EST and the game has already sold out.

https://3downnation.com/2024/11/08/brandon-alexander-returns-for-winnipeg-blue-bombers-in-west-final/

[gobombersgo]

Riders lose left tackle Trevor Reid for West Final
By 3Down Staff -November 8, 2024

The Saskatchewan Roughriders will be a little weaker on Trevor Harris' blindside for the West Final.

Rookie American left tackle Trevor Reid will be unable to play on Saturday after a knee injury while being rolled up on. The Louisville product has started all 18 regular season games plus one postseason contest in his first season in the CFL.

Veteran American Trevon Tate, who was acquired mid-season after being released by the Calgary Stampeders, will bump across the line from right tackle to serve as the blindside protector. The West Division finalist for Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman, Logan Ferland, will move out to right tackle after playing centre last week and will be replaced by Peter Godber, who served as the sixth man in his return from injury last week. Former all-star guard Ryan Sceviour will dress as insurance.

The Riders will get a boost on the other side of the line of scrimmage, as veteran defensive tackle Anthony Lanier II is set to dress in a rotational role after sitting out the past few games as a healthy scratch. The 31-year-old has had a down year, recording just 10 defensive tackles, two sacks, and one forced fumble. However, the former NFLer has recorded 16 sacks in 42 career CFL games.

Rookie Canadian linebacker Melique Straker will return from a hip injury and can be expected to contribute on special teams after recording nine tackles in 10 games. Canadian defensive back Jaxon Ford (knee) has been placed on the one-game injured list, while running back Thomas Bertrand-Hudon has been moved to the practice roster.

The Saskatchewan Roughriders (10-8-1) will visit the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (11-7) for the Western Final on Saturday, November 9. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. EST at Princess Auto Stadium.

https://3downnation.com/2024/11/08/riders-lose-left-tackle-trevor-reid-for-west-final/

[markf]

Cole was a force,made a lot of plays last few games. He is on the one game injured list.

Taylor has not played this season.

seems strange to me. No doubt a full elaboration is in store for is lol.

O'Shea is the George Allen of the CFL as far as using veteran players goes.