J5V

It's Richie Halls D, which may not be a bad thing. The bad thing might be Richie Hall calling the plays for the D. Can we get Glen Young to continue to do that job? Judging by last game, he seems more willing to make changes and adjust to game situations on the fly than Richie Hall does. If I was MOS that's exactly what I'd be demanding.

That team and their fans are going to hit the ground hard when we slam them to the canvas like we did last year. I only hope that until then they continue to show no class and are brazenly trolling and trash talking right up until the moment the bottom drops out. It's going to make the moment oh so sweet.

and not have to face Reilly. Riders have used up a lifetime of luck this season. I predict many very tough seasons ahead for that organization.

QFT and that's why Lapo has to be gone after this year.

Well said. You could say it's a crying shame.

How good would Burnham look in blue & gold?

O'Shea has done enough good things to remain as head coach. The problem is that because of his stubbornness he has hurt the team enough to be fired. For me, in order for O'Shea to stay, he has to be over-ruled regarding his loyalty to Lapo and Hall. One or both of them need to be gone. If O'Shea insists on keeping both of them, then he needs to go to.

The only reason for firing O'Shea would have to be lack of playoff success. If that happens it is a self-inflicted wound and therefore deserved because he wouldn't upgrade his coordinators.

You mean if we fire O'Shea for lack of playoff success? Well yeah, that could happen I suppose, but he may very well leave anyway, in which case we'd have to move on, but I don't see it happening. At minimum, I want to see Lapo gone. If Hall was relieved of his duties that wouldn't bother me either. For me, if O'Shea leaves, we get a new head coach and new coordinators, and I'm okay with that. If O'Shea stays, I want Lapo gone and maybe Hall too or I won't be happy, unless we win a cup this year. Then no matter what happens I won't really care. Just win, baby.

If he stays, no matter what happens this year, I'm okay with it. We could do worse. I just wouldn't hold out a lot of hope that things would change much.

You're overreacting. O'Shea, and/or Lapo and Hall, could very well be gone after this season but that doesn't mean we immediately collapse into chaos and turmoil. Walters has done a decent job of upgrading the talent on this team, although I wish he had found some stud receivers, and a new HC and some new assistants might be a good thing. Some new approaches, different schemes, better roster management, and more flexibility and in-game adjustments to what other teams are doing, might be just the thing to put us over the top. Why be so negative about it?

I remember that. Jonas had skills. My first J5V was a Don Jonas signed ball that I got when I ran track at Polo Park oh so many years, and a few pounds, ago. Got to shake hands with the man. My gawd, his hands were enormous! He could throw a ball an awful long way. Deiter Brock reminded me of Don Jonas in terms of arm strength. Both of those guys could throw a ball on a rope to the sidelines with little effort. I don't think people realize the arm strength it takes to do that. Another of the big differences in our game compared to the NFL.

I remember those days well and Bob Larose was no joke. Thorpe's athleticism was a special treat to behold, that man could go get a ball, and Mack Herron was simply incredible given his size. Memories.

Because more of the same would be so much better.

I like O'Shea. Really do. He has done a lot of good here. He is loyal to a fault and far too inflexible for my liking however. I'd find it refreshing to get some new blood and a fresh young mind in here.

Duh, yeah! Lol!

He had Jim Thorpe to throw to and Mack Herron to hand the ball off to. Hell of a 1-2 punch. I wish we had a Jim Thorpe now.

That's fair. Looking at this team my priority would be on getting some stud receivers in here. We dont have a Duke Williams, Reggie Begelton type. A couple of those would make any QB look good. 🙂

QFT. So, last year, Lapo was refused an opportunity to be interviewed by the Riders for a HC job. It might be different this year. Lapo could be gone next year with or without O'Shea's blessing. Richie Hall I'm not so sure about.

The thing that concerns me most is the M.O. hasn't changed -- defensive collapses when we need a stop and anemic offense when we need to move the sticks. It has been this way since forever with this regime and this year has been no different.

Come on! He calls the plays he's given. It's written on his little playbook attached to his sleeve. You know how it works on this team -- you play the way you're told to play, no exceptions. Start freelancing and you're sitting on the bench. He's smart enough to do as he's told isn't he? How many of the QBs you've listed above have had to play for Lapo? What kind of receiving corps did the QBs you've mentioned have? The kid is saddled with a timid OC and a weak set of receivers and you know this so why keep dumping on him? The fact he has been as successful as he has proves his intelligence given what he has done with what he has been given. If he had Rogers, Walker, Begelton, Banks, Myala, Ellingson, Green, Williams, Posey, etc. to throw to how smart would he look then? Because he can't make great tasting chicken salad out of chicken **** doesn't make him stupid!

Wow!

Don Landry said something interesting while talking about the Bombers run-game against the Als. "There were some design nuances in those runs, certainly. But most of what Winnipeg accomplished along the ground came from brute force and sheer will and you can be sure that that is the identity they’ll stick with in these two gargantuan games upcoming against Calgary. BONUS TAKEAWAY: Brandon Alexander looks good at safety." Yes he does. “We’ll watch the film and see the corrections, but we know we’re still going to have to be better,” said safety Brandon Alexander. “We know the team we’re playing next week has been there before, they’ve been there every single year for the past four-five years now. We understand what’s at stake. We know we’ve got to go in there and play Bomber football.” Is Calgary's D able to stop our running attack? Unless Lapo outsmarts himself I don't see how. We lead Calgary in almost every statistics next to passing yards. Some of the more interesting ones are ... Rushing yards per game: 148.9 to 77.9, Forced Fumbles per game: 1.4 to .8, Sacks per game: 2.9 to 2.2. Further, Andrew Harris has 1261 yards rushing and Ka'Deem Carey has 422. Winnipeg is ranked #2 in defense behind only Hamilton. Calgary is #4. Winnipeg has scored 49 TDs, Calgary 39. Winnipeg is ranked #1 in rushing TDs. Calgary #7. Winnipeg is #1 in knockdowns, Calgary #5. The last game we played against Montreal prompted Ed Tait to say ... "smash-mouth football is what the Bombers do better than any team in the country." And then ... “We feel like that’s our identity. We’re a physical football team up front,” began guard Pat Neufeld after the win Saturday night. “It’s just something we’re comfortable with… it’s not like we can’t win in other ways, it’s just something we like to do. We were hoping for a little snow on the field, to be honest, but we had a group mentality that we really wanted to run the ball today and effectively do that. We finally got back to that bully ball that we’ve done before.”

I suspect that one of the reasons Calgary does as well as they do, especially with QBs and the offense, is that both Hufnagel and Dickenson were QBs as players. I don't think it's coincidence that Montreal's surge in fortunes came when Khari, another former QB, took over. Others are/were Joe Paopao, Kent Austin, Jason Maas, Tom Clements, Danny Barrett, Matt Dunigan, June Jones, although admittedly not all were all that good. :-)

Agree that this all factors in. What's between a guys ears and beats in his chest means more than body mechanics. That's what I love about Streveler. Extremely intelligent from all reports and a burning desire to win.