Can you win with a no-edge RB?

[Sir Blue and Gold]

Brady if paired with a more mobile QB can work.

I think we've seen enough sample size to know that Brady with an aging Collaros makes things really easy for the defense to take away the middle of the field and make things one dimensional. We have a really hard time getting teams out of that look right now but the counter is pretty easy in theory and harder in practice.

The reverse is also true. We'd be a much more effective offense if had a running back who could done some perimeter and zone read runs with Collaros back there. It would widen things and unlock more of the middle of the field which is where Collaros likes to throw at this stage of his career.

[Cool Spot]

We could also seek out a 2021-style league-best-by-a-mile OL, which could force holes where there are none, even through the LBers.

That's my solution.

[RebusRankin]

I'm going to disagree on your comments on the ratio, we lack quality starting Canadians and quality Canadian depth. The Mafia may trot out Kelly, Cobb and Corcoran as starters but they're not. Daniels is in the same boat.

[Pete]

Yeah the trouble with our running game is twofold
1 Brady is likely at 75 percent., I wouldn't be surprised if its something that makes quicker cuts difficult, and with Bryant not being effective that side for running Brady ior any running back isnt a great option
2 our interior line is weak, Wallace has been a disappointment, with his size you think he could move people, but he seems to lack in strength and mobility has always been an issue
Both our centers are not great either leaving an aging Neufeld.
I will commend Condell on his use of Wilson, and White in running wide sweeps. We should be doing more of these vs the long outs which seldom work out

[Tecno]

I'm going to disagree on your comments on the ratio, we lack quality starting Canadians and quality Canadian depth. The Mafia may trot out Kelly, Cobb and Corcoran as starters but they're not. Daniels is in the same boat.

Smith Kramdi Lawson
Wallace Neuf Nield Demski

I think the D side is set in stone for '27, so that D takes 3.  Replace Wallace and Nield with whoever we can get who's better if you want.  That's still 4 on O.  And if we go 3 NAT OL like we did last game (maybe with better players bought in FA) then we're +1 again.

Brady is the 8th.  Yes, we could totally switch to IMP RB if we wanted to obtain Rankin in FA (yes, impossible, but just pretend).

The ratio is not a problem because for like 3 years we've always been over-ratio, often by +2 or even +3!!  So "ratio" is not a reason to keep Brady anymore.  It's gravy, not an imperative.  If you wanted to stop a Brady->Rankin trade (yes, impossible, but just pretend) you'd need a better reason than "ratio".

And keep in mind the "Brady = better ratio" is why Brady is gobs more money than Rankin.  So if we don't NEED the ratio help, why are we paying for it?  So many other teams are in ratio heck because they didn't dev the NATs on D like we did.  They'd pay a p.r.e.t.t.y penny to get ratio-busting Brady: that would both save us money AND make Brady richer as he should be getting more like $400k in '27-'28 once the cap goes up.

[Tecno]

1 Brady is likely at 75 percent., I wouldn't be surprised if its something that makes quicker cuts difficult

But no one has ever said that except prognosticators on the forum.  It's all conjecture, and frankly wishful thinking!  "Oh Brady is mediocre in most games because surely he's hurt".  It would be very hard for most people to hear & accept "Brady is 100% and he's simply not capable of doing 1/10th of what Rankin can do for less money".  I don't know what the reality is.  Maybe something in between.

If Brady is so nicked that he can't perform even half as well as the other team's back in a given game, like the EDM game, then MOS should be running cover for him by admitting he's nicked.  Why make Brady take all the grief if it's not his fault?  And surely at this late stage of the season Rankin is equally as nicked as Brady?  Heck, he probably has double the touches (and thus tackles).

And I don't believe for a minute that the "ankle" injury list and lack of practice means anything at all.  Heck, he's never even a GTD, which is what he would be if "ankle" meant anything other than a small annoyance.  It's probably just cover so all the poor sod ELCs don't mutiny over the senior guy getting to skip practice!!

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

But no one has ever said that except prognosticators on the forum.  It's all conjecture, and frankly wishful thinking!  "Oh Brady is mediocre in most games because surely he's hurt".  It would be very hard for most people to hear & accept "Brady is 100% and he's simply not capable of doing 1/10th of what Rankin can do for less money".  I don't know what the reality is.  Maybe something in between.

If Brady is so nicked that he can't perform even half as well as the other team's back in a given game, like the EDM game, then MOS should be running cover for him by admitting he's nicked.  Why make Brady take all the grief if it's not his fault?  And surely at this late stage of the season Rankin is equally as nicked as Brady?  Heck, he probably has double the touches (and thus tackles).

And I don't believe for a minute that the "ankle" injury list and lack of practice means anything at all.  Heck, he's never even a GTD, which is what he would be if "ankle" meant anything other than a small annoyance.  It's probably just cover so all the poor sod ELCs don't mutiny over the senior guy getting to skip practice!!

You've gone off the deep end with your criticism of Brady, he's a future HOF and may become the leading Natl. RB to ever play in the CFL within a few years, but more importantly he is what he is. He has his own style and methods which have earned him great success and economic rewards, a remake of those intangibles at this point in his career would not be a recommended path to improvement.

[RebusRankin]

Smith Kramdi Lawson
Wallace Neuf Nield Demski

I think the D side is set in stone for '27, so that D takes 3.  Replace Wallace and Nield with whoever we can get who's better if you want.  That's still 4 on O.  And if we go 3 NAT OL like we did last game (maybe with better players bought in FA) then we're +1 again.

Brady is the 8th.  Yes, we could totally switch to IMP RB if we wanted to obtain Rankin in FA (yes, impossible, but just pretend).

The ratio is not a problem because for like 3 years we've always been over-ratio, often by +2 or even +3!!  So "ratio" is not a reason to keep Brady anymore.  It's gravy, not an imperative.  If you wanted to stop a Brady->Rankin trade (yes, impossible, but just pretend) you'd need a better reason than "ratio".

And keep in mind the "Brady = better ratio" is why Brady is gobs more money than Rankin.  So if we don't NEED the ratio help, why are we paying for it?  So many other teams are in ratio heck because they didn't dev the NATs on D like we did.  They'd pay a p.r.e.t.t.y penny to get ratio-busting Brady: that would both save us money AND make Brady richer as he should be getting more like $400k in '27-'28 once the cap goes up.

You're missing my point, we play a lot of guys who are borderline.

Wallace is average at best. Neufeld has lost a step. Lawson is at best an average DT. Nield has been a disappointment and really shouldn't start. Demski is on the decline.

We have Smith who is excellent and young, Kramdi and Brady above average.

Look at BC. Canadian QB who is a top 2 QB. Star Canadian WR in McInnis. Star DE in Betts who is Canadian. Plus Cottoy at WR, Couture.

How about the Riders with Emilus and KSB? Both better than any of our Canadian wrs. Ferland is better than anybody on our offensive line. Campbell an above average starting Canadian on D.

Just because the Mafia trots guys out and plays them doesn't mean the guys should play or that they're good.

[ModAdmin]

Brady has a well-established and proven record with the Bombers.  The issues with the Bombers are several as I see it all of which would/should affect his performance. 

- The Oline has been aging and weaker during the past two seasons. 

- The defense also has been changing and appears to be weaker. 

- There are questions about coaching, particularly in the coordinator area.

All of which affect overall team performance including Brady's performance. 

Yet, he has recorded 5 consecutive years of rushing for over 1,000 yards up to and including this year despite being injured.  Would he be even better without those injuries and the 3 areas of concern listed above?  The odds are "yes".

I think we need to focus on real areas of concern.  Brady will be just fine with the right supporting cast around him.

[Tecno]

You've gone off the deep end with your criticism of Brady, he's a future HOF and may become the leading Natl. RB to ever play in the CFL within a few years, but more importantly he is what he is

But you don't address any of my points.

How about this... The moneyball take: If Brady is a winning rb, why doesn't he win?

Rankin won the game. He's done it all year. At least twice against us. Many times against other teams.

How many has Brady won us a game this year? I can think of one... Maybe. And it certainly wasn't in the style of Rankin.

Ya ya, team game yada yada. But you know it when you see it that someone is doing special things and putting the game on their back. You know, like ah33 used to do 2019-2022, and Cornish in cgy. I'm not sure I've EVER seen Brady do that.

It's not going too far, because when you take the emotion out of it we have to be able to look at what's in front of us and voice constructive criticism.

In no way am I ever just slagging on any player, including Brady. I haven't even said ditch him, or that I'd prefer Rankin.

But something is badly broken, and Brady is a part of that. Thus he shouldn't be immune from criticism.

As for changing Brady's style, or more appropriately having him make marginal improvements, I think it's a valid request. Clearly wfc thinks so too as shown by their attempt to get him to the edge last game. Why not work on that more. And Brady can also change his physical form a bit to maybe get more speed, like Ouellette did when he stopped trying to be a wrestler 2 years ago.

All things are possible. I just want to see us winning again. I was done with 2013 Bombers in 2013. We're going back to that, and I'll still be here, but it sure won't be as fun as the dynasty years.

[Tecno]

Wallace is average at best. Neufeld has lost a step. Lawson is at best an average DT. Nield has been a disappointment and really shouldn't start. Demski is on the decline.

We have Smith who is excellent and young, Kramdi and Brady above average.

Look at BC. Canadian QB who is a top 2 QB. Star Canadian WR in McInnis. Star DE in Betts who is Canadian. Plus Cottoy at WR, Couture.

How about the Riders with Emilus and KSB? Both better than any of our Canadian wrs. Ferland is better than anybody on our offensive line. Campbell an above average starting Canadian on D.

But you're comparing team-best NATs to our "ratio-busting" positions.

Lawson may be an average DT, but he's basically elite when compared only to NAT DTs.  Smith is soon going to be elite among NAT SAMs.  Kramdi is elite among "QBs of the D" -- there's no other NAT who does that.

So you can't pit McInnis or Betts against these guys.  You need to pit McInnis against Demski (wash in my books, rather have Demski), and Betts against another NAT DE.

To be fair you should be comparing the 3-4 other BC starting NATs that nobody can name against some of our weaker NAT starters.  THAT is what's fair.

Every team has among the 7 starters: 1-4 NAT "stars", 1-2 NAT "goods", and 1-3 wastes of space.  Such is the nature of the ratio, the cap, and limited quality NATs.

If anything, our starter NAT "average" is much higher than other teams, who usually have 3-4 stars and 3-4 forgettables.  This is a good thing.  Look at the whole and compare to the whole in BC, and you'll probably come to the same conclusion. ( * excluding Rourke, because that's "cheating" ) 

[Tecno]

Yet, he has recorded 5 consecutive years of rushing for over 1,000 yards up to and including this year despite being injured.

No one has come out even once this season and said "Brady has a broken ankle" or "Brady is definitively injured".  It's only the usual MOS "we're hopeful", "he doesn't need to practice", whatever.  That doesn't spell "real injury" in my books.  Unless some people have inside information...

So many people just repeat "he's injured!" like he's missed weeks and is always a GTD (and doesn't start!) or something.  But Mafia has never come out and said it other than deflecting and making scribbles on the weekly injury report.

I watch guys when they get tackled, and when they get back up.  I'm eyeball-hawking for hints of injury.  Tiny limps, favoring something, wincing, or moving awkwardly.  Haven't seen even a hint of this all season from Brady!!  He's never been in the tent, AFAIK.

I'm sure he's nicked to the extent everyone is, including his RB peers.  But as such he should be able to perform to the same level as his peers.

One thing's for sure, he's not trudging through a broken foot like Strev was in '19!!  I wish we'd all stop pretending like he is.  And even if he DOES have a broken foot, he needs to Strev it out for probably the last game this year and PRODUCE.  Keep in mind what he's being paid...

[Waffler]

And I don't believe for a minute that the "ankle" injury list and lack of practice means anything at all.  Heck, he's never even a GTD, which is what he would be if "ankle" meant anything other than a small annoyance.  It's probably just cover so all the poor sod ELCs don't mutiny over the senior guy getting to skip practice!!

This has got to be the most outrageous thing you've ever said. Either you are saying Brady is too lazy to practice or the coaches don't want him to practice and lie about the reasons.

If he is just tired, all they have to say is maintenance day or vet day. Milt never practiced in his final year. No one complained. He showed up on game day and Brady does too. I think he is hurt, anyone would be running inside every game to the tune of 1,344 yards and counting. That's a heart and soul guy that doesn't deserve what you are implying.

[Tecno]

This has got to be the most outrageous thing you've ever said. Either you are saying Brady is too lazy to practice or the coaches don't want him to practice and lie about the reasons.

The coaches pretty much lie about everything -- by omission.  We have the least transparent staff in the CFL.  We know this and are ok with it and even laugh about it.  It is what it is.  I don't fault MOS for being MOS.  I take it as a personal challenge to read his tea leaves and chicken entrails every presser.

And I never called Brady lazy.  And I didn't say he wasn't nicked.  But I do believe he's no more nicked than any of the other perennial DNPs or any other dressed-17-games peer RBs in the league.

He's nicked like Big Stan is nicked, or Demski is nicked.  Nicked in a way that shouldn't impede their performance to a large degree.  If Brady was so badly injured for this last half of the season then we should have started Peterman BEFORE we were down to the do-or-die game, so that Brady could be healthier for this precise moment, and the post-season!

I'm not being unfair to Brady, I like Brady, I'm happy we'll keep Brady.  I just expect more, and I covet the performance from the game-changing RBs.  I don't want to drag Brady down, I want him to be lifted up!  But right now he's not helping us win.

[Waffler]

Not sure when you got the medical degree, the offseason I guess. Kidding aside how can you possibly know what players have? I think of the injury report when an NHL team is eliminated it is often shocking to hear what people have been playing through. Brady is one of those guys that can play hurt and you don't know it. I trust the coaches to listen to the team Dr and are doing the right thing.

MOS is NEVER going to say anything he doesn't have to. I worry about him, he is so secretive now it's not healthy. Paranoia. And no, I don't have a medical degree either.

Brady is one guy in a team game. The best rusher I ever saw, Willie Burden (1,896 yards in a 16 game season), couldn't win a Grey Cup all by himself either.