Doublezero

OK. If that is so then just to add to the intrigue and slather on some conspiracy for good measure - is Lapo purposely trying to deep six MOS? I guess MOS is smart enough to see if that is the case. And Lapo will be gone sooner rather than later.

I agree with this. Also, pulling Streveler out when we were knocking on the door 1st and goal from Riders 9 - only to replace him with Nichols who immediately shuffled it for a pick-6 - that too ranks up there as a seriously bad coaching move. I know it's hindsight but I was there in the stands and shook my head at the time and even before the snap wondered WTF - why is he pulling Streveler?

The smell of manure was wafting strongly into the stadium grandstands today, which appropriately added to the overall ambience. At first we thought it was just the Sask fans who brought it with them but no, it was permeating around the Bombers. One highlight was that some of the Jets were there: Nik Ehlers, Adam Lowry and Andrew Copp. After Nichols threw his second I/C (or was it his fifth?) a few of my seatmates were calling for Copp to go in as QB - apparently he was a hell of a high school quarterback at Michigan. It was fun to see Ehlers throwing those little souvenir smurf footballs into the stands to fans however. I guess at $6M/year he earns more than the entire Blue Bombers roster

Here is a rundown of how BB board of directors is constituted and how members are appointed. https://www.bluebombers.com/board-of-directors/ If you mean that a board can't move as nimbly as a single private owner then that is true. But they can fire Wade anytime. Would firing Wade demonstrate the club is all-in? What moves would be necessary to demonstrate all-in?

I've been saying this for weeks now. Imagine a formation with Harris Demski Flanders Streveler that's bent on running the football with some hand-off misdirection/play option at the core. That's gotta be hard to defend.

Stamps = horseshoes.

Darby picks up a Green fumble and runs for a TD but Masoli chases him 40 yards and tries to cut him off to prevent the score. Love to see that in a QB.

Amen.

They just keep finding ways to disappoint.

Matt Noodle-Arm Nichols.

Maurice Leggett got checked out by doctor today, according to O'Shea. Hope he's okay but that achilles from last season is a hard injury to come back from 100%

Yes, injuries have limited his mobility that's for sure. He still could have made some kind of effort after tossing a dump pass right into the arms of the defender. Davis must've have been his 4th or 5th read lol.

Mad at the whole bunch of them - players and coaches - after two crap losses. But the way whiny Nichols didn't even bother to chase Ja'Gared Davis after his bonehead pass was intercepted has put me permanently off that dude. I want Streveler in there next time, anyone but Nichols truth be told.

Don't forget that after the D finished last in just about every statistical category last season, that MOS said he would be taking a larger role in running the D this year. So don't be layin' it on Richie alone. Mike "we need more pressure Richie" O'Shea is involved in helping keep the D a finely-tuned machine.

He has no interest or knowledge of much of anything on the offensive side of the ball. Didn't you hear his comment when he was mic'd up during the Stamps game? "Defence is No. 1 always!" That is his passion and interest and expertise.

Stamps just followed the same max protect recipe as Ham and Ott. Sad Bombers didn't see it coming. Walters is probably a good scout of Canadian draft talent. MOS probably a good special teams coach. "We need more pressure Richie." lol about 20 mins too late. Way over their heads in their current roles with this club.

Richie Hall will fall this week. But there are deeper problems.

Second week in a row Harris has been repeatedly, repeatedly, stuffed running straight dive plays up the gut. You'd think they'd try something else after awhile. He looks slow and plodding. Is he hurt? Even when he gets a bit of space he's neutralized. We need some misdirection. Also, the O needs some other legit run threats to keep opponents guessing. Which is why Streveler and Flanders should start next game, along with Harris and Demski.

But Matt Nichols still gives us the best chance to win.

Love it when we beat the Stamps. Doesn't happen too often but when it does - it's a beautiful thing. Go Blue!

After the final whistle when Riders thumped the Stamps the other night, Calgary HC Dave Dickenson and his brother Riders ST Coach Craig Dickenson shook hands. Camera caught the jubilant Riders coach say to his deflated Calgary brother: 'We had to work for it. You'll take Winnipeg next week." Dave Dickenson replied: "We'll see." Calgary is an elite team but Riders showed Stamps are probably not as good as their 7-1 record shows. They are beatable. Nichols will have to be his best, make plays and shake off contact when the pocket shrinks. Bombers will have to get and early lead and limit turnovers and penalties. Bombers front 7 will have to seriously pressure BLM and limit the explosion plays. Crystal ball says Bryan Bennett might play a factor on specials.

Win-Loss isn't always directly correlated to QB play. Look at 2014. Drew Willy got credit for 5 wins in the first 6 games that year when it was actually defence and special teams that won those games for Winnipeg. People bought Drew Willy jerseys, despite the fact his play was actually pretty shaky. The Bombers then proceeded to lose the next 10 games out of 12. Those losses obviously weren't attributed to Willy either since Walters and MOS kept trotting out a futile and soul sucking Drew Willy as starter for another painful year and a half. Personally, I'd prefer to take entertainment value as the criteria for deciding which QB should play. Based on that, I bet most fans would take Streveler over Nichols. That's why they booed the decision to pull Streveler in the Redblacks game. Compared to Nichols, Streveler moved the ball, was fun to watch. Brought hope.

I won't speculate on why Nichols performance has been so lackluster compared with, say, last year. It's definitely not related to "talent". But if it is due to an undiagnosed or undisclosed physical limitation then he is not helping his team by not being forthcoming about it. If the problem is psychological then let's hope he turns it around. Either way, he probably would benefit from sitting and watching for a couple of games. O'Shea says Nichols gives us the best chance to win. Not sure that's necessarily true.

Nichols completion percentage in 2018, among QBs who have played 5 or more games, is 62.4%. That puts him behind Harris Reilly Masoli Mitchell Franklin Bridge and Streveler. For a starting CFL QB that is pretty much the bottom of the heap.

Ironically, the BBs whining about the boo-birds could precipitate even louder and more sustained negative vocality from the IGF grandstand if Bombers lay another egg at home.