Potential Miracles ('cause we're gonna need one!)

[Tecno]

What are some miracles that could occur to turn our season around?

How about a couple of our last-3-season DP NFL OL flyers coming up north?  What's the name of these guys?  How many are there?  Any word on them?  When would it be known they're done with the NFL?

I think we had one DP in FA26, and one in FA24?  Any others?

Suddenly getting a NFL-caliber NAT OG would sure help out!  Wallace goes back to jumbo.  Or even an OT!  (Or C...)

[Jesse]

No incoming OL is going to come in and suddenly start over our established guys, soI wouldn't even count that as a miracle possibility.

But you're talking about Giovanni Manu who we drafted in 2024. He's a tackle who was drafted by the Detroit Lions in the 4th round of the NFL draft and looked like he was 100% never coming to the CFL. But he's dealt with a lot of injury trouble. And apparently he injured himself over the summer but didn't tell the team about it, so he's physically out right now for the next few months, but we'll see if he got himself in enough trouble to be released. Anyway, he's not a 2026 option and still likely a never option.

And then there's Kevin Cline from this year, who a lot of people said was another wasted draft pick. He's obviously made it to the main camp and the pre-season games haven't even started. I think he's a good bet to hit their practice roster and be off of our radar until at least the later part of 2027.

[Jesse]

Our miracles that we're hoping for:

MOS and co realize this is not 2021. MOS used to be a much more aggressive coach because he knew he had to gamble to win games. Then he got complacent because for a couple of years we were head and shoulders above the rest of the league. Covid made all the other teams reset while we kept our veteran roster around while still in their primes. He's still coaching like we're just going to coast over teams or take over in the 4th quarter but we are not capable of doing that.

As an addendum to that, MOS got this job by being a creative STC that took advantage of the rules, made cool, exciting plays, and tried to outsmart everyone else. We saw a continuation of that in the early days here in Winnipeg, but now he literally scoffs at the idea of "trick plays", saying they're not real football plays. Get over yourself and try something.

Both our OC and our DC need to simplify things. Focus on a couple clear targets and run them to the ground. You're not outsmarting anyone right now. Brady should be involved early and often and available to the QB as a hot route if needed (and we need it). Defence needs to tighten up. If the defence is actually creating pressure, our DBs shouldn't need to playing so far off their targets.

So - Miracle #1 - some self-awareness by the coaching staff. They have the ability, but they haven't had a clear unbiased look at our team in a while. Maybe the bye week after a couple pathetic performances can shake it loose.

Brady is leading the league in yardage. We have 3 receivers on a 1000 yard pace. Our possession time numbers are usually positive. We're moving the ball. The issues are three-fold: Lack of explosive plays, turnovers, and red zone numbers. This is a combination of the OL struggling, OC calling predictable routes that focus on one part of the field, and an inexplicable inability to run the short game.

Miracle #2 - Zach comes back and can operate Condell's system better than Dru. This comes with the caveat that we recognize what is ineffective and make the necessary changes (aka. miracle #1).

Special players make special plays.. We haven't had a whole lot of that. I don't think we can expect any saviors coming from outside the organization to save our year. So we need certain players to step up. Who can come out of no where and take over the second half of the year? Can we see Vaval get some snaps on offence or defence and try to put the ball in his hand more than a couple times a game? Can Zach come back and turn White or Demski into a more consistent weapon than under Dru? Does Brady get back involved in the passing game, allowing us to extend our stalled drives?

Miracle #3 - Can the real Blue Bombers please stand up?