billfrank

They're offering 20% off adult booster seats.

The Stamps have Maier, Shiltz, Stevens, Bonner + rookie Vantrease who didn't look too bad, if they keep Stevens for 3rd downs they'll be forced to put Bonner on the PR or cut him, and I think he has the potential to be the best of the bunch.  He spent last season on the PR so I doubt he wants to spend another year treading water, timing wise this could be an opportunity for the Bombers to acquire a potential future replacement when Zach calls it a day, which is a harder case to make for Strev. or Wilson.  

This thinking is fundamentally flawed in that you aren’t projecting past the immediate change this year. We free up $600,000 by making Collaros a marquee player. Same difference if we increase the salary cap $600,000. Suddenly we have enough to give Schoen a $230,000 raise to 300K, Brady a $100,000 raise to 200K, maybe we would have added $20K to Wolitarsky because Canadians are a premium. Maybe Bailey goes up to $160K (if he got offered $140K last year). Maybe Bryant stays at last year’s salary rather than a reduction since we’d have the extra room. Etc etc.  That works fine for this year, but then next year when comes time for free agency, we are short cash again because we are already up against the “new” cap (or the 44 player cap as opposed to the 45 player cap if you want to insist that the marquee rule is totally different than a matching increase in cap space - it is not)
It is ridiculous to say GMs will stay within a budget and wages won’t increase. If the cap is $5 million GMs will spend that $5 million. If it jumps to $5.5 million the GMs en masse are not going to agree to keep spending to $5 million and not go any higher because “that’s our budget” to keep wages from climbing. That is called collusion and it was already tried in baseball to control salaries and they lost a lawsuit because of it. And if one GM like Kyle Walters decided to only spend to $5million to keep within his pre-set budget, I can guarantee you 8 other GMs would happily spend to $5.5 and take Brady, Dalton, Streveler, Kolankowski, Eli, and anyone else off our hands, and the fans here would have a fit if we said our excuse for not bidding was “but we are keeping wages from increasing irresponsibly, so give us credit for that”.  
The cap goes up $600,000 than Brady’s price probably jumps to $250K easily simply because the GMs have the extra cash, and someone will look at the Canadian RB who is a ratio breaker and who put up the best CFL season in a decade, and will say “if the top end price for an American RB was $170K last year, and this Canadian outperformed him by 50%, then a market re-set is in order, and we have the money to spend, so we will spend it”. So a $200K offer is easy to swallow, because hey an extra $500K in our budget. Then another team looking to help its ratio issue jumps in and a bidding war starts. Suddenly $250K doesn’t seem so implausible, because teams will spend what they have to get a top end player, and now we have a new established market price for running backs. If that sounds ridiculous, remember when receivers’ top end was maybe $225K, and Lawler getting $300K from Edmonton seemed outrageous. Then the Bombers matched that amount, and now we throw that out for Schoen as the accepted going rate. The market shifted because one team overpaid, but instead of correcting back to the previous level, a new top end has been established and is the accepted going rate.
If the cap jumps, it will become accepted that you pay $600,000 for two receivers, or you pay $200,000+ for an MOP running back, or $300K instead of $250K for a top end defender, or $150-180 K for a game-changing kicker like Medlock instead of $130K. Getting a bonus $600,000 this year will simply defer the problem of being up against the cap to next year and beyond, and every team’s profit margin suddenly shrinks by over $500,000 in a league where most teams are not running in the black if recent financial reports are to be believed. Unless you are prepared to add a player to the marquee list every year (and if you do that, then you might as well scrap the cap altogether right now), your one-time cap circumvention has not solved the problem at all for next year, you still won’t be able to  pay all your pending free agents come Feb. 2025, and team profits have shrunk across the board. 

Who exactly do you think we got from reputation?
Bailey hit the market and didn't have much for offers.  For an example, a guy like Bane was already getting better offers than him last year.  A guy like Alexander has been kind of a mess with injury and diminishing returns.  Didn't have much of a market.
Everyone got paid.
Brown needs to play.

OK, I am ready to ban bluto. This understated arrogance vibe he is bringing is starting to get under my skin.

The coaches devote 60+ hours a week to working closely with the players and reviewing game and practice film. Our exposure to the players is limited to brief media clips and a 3-hour game each week. It would be asinine to presume that we possess even a fraction of the insight into player personnel decisions that the coaching staff has.

I've seen this a couple times, but this seems overstated. There's nothing he can teach them that they don't already know from film study. Couture giving them "intel" doesn't just suddenly obliterate the best OL the league has seen in years. There's a lot more to it than that. Something was really really wrong. 

there's a lot of talk about how the offense was terrible last night, but I think it's important to acknowledge that the offense, as a whole, never had a chance to do anything because Zach was under duress the entire night. He had no time to think even with a simple 3 on 5 rush against. I don't know enough to know if it's scheme or personnel, but the game was lost along the LOS on offense....

Bailey amongst his teammates: 2nd in targets (4th TPG), 3rd in receptions (4th RPG), 5th in yards (6th YPG), 7th in avg. yards per catch, 3rd in TDs. His numbers are down on average from his last two seasons (about 0.5 targets, 1 catch, and 15 yards per game), so it is fair to say he has underperformed statistically this year. And all of those numbers for this year were buoyed by the last game, his best of the year.  So saying he hasn’t performed well is in fact an opinion up for debate and can be bolstered by certain numbers, just as the eye test of other factors such as blocking and character and effort can be pointed out in favour of the opinion that he is playing well. But to say “he isn’t playing well is not an opinion it’s just wrong” is inaccurate, and calling it “a crock of s*it” and insulting other posters by saying they should feel bad for having a differing “wrong” opinion is unnecessary. Maybe we can strive for more civilized debate around here, seems there has been a lot more mud-slinging , bad language, and general mean-spiritedness in posts in the past few weeks IMO (maybe back-to-backs with the Riders and all the vitriol spewed about them, their players, coaches, and their fan base has carried over). Let’s all try to be as classy as we say this Bomber team is, and not be as low class as we say the Riders are, can we?
Anyway, here is a picture of a puppy and a bunny to hopefully make everyone more pleasant.

 

I would look at Maas as an OC.  However, I still hold by my belief that Buck should be the next OC.   Unless for some reason he doesn't want to move on from QB's coach.

008?

Bombers get off an opening drive......
...but big gain on Harris draw play wiped out by Chung penalty...
....followed by a sack.
Masoli throws a sideline pass, up for grabs.....
Sayles comes down with the INT...
Hamilton penalty on 2nd down play, takes ball to the 10
Harris punches it in on 2 carries.....7-0 Blue
Bombers running some blitzes, but not getting in there....
Loffler bites on fake hitch....opened up for big gain
Timmins beats indifferent Bomber tackling, down to the 1
TD next play, capping 88 yd drive....ugly series on D...
Streveler standing well in the pocket....then a scramble..
Drive stalls - but fake punt hand off to Briggs gets FD...
Neufeld struggling with some run blocking....
Medlock makes it 10-7
Masoli getting to just pitch and catch.....
...to wide open receivers.....
3 offside penalties not helping on D
Ham FG makes it 10-10
Bombers still trying predictable blitz package
....but Masoli still getting plenty of time....
Hamilton's punter can just go for a sandwich...
.....while Hamilton O, eats up our D...
Loffler not involved in defending plays at all.....
10 play drive - Bighill finally stuffs short 2nd play
FG for the cats....13-10. 
Streveler taking some serious pops....Hamilton punter kicks first one - at the 1:30 mark
This half just can't end fast enough...
TSN live mike...lots of swearing,,,
Our Mike may need lots, back in the room
Score close....play not.
2nd half.  Make some adjustments please.....
Or not.  Another Ham. drive
Dropped snap forces Tigercats to settle for 3
Bomber O not spreading the field....no medium or long passes
Hamilton D back 7 running right downhill on us....
Bighill ISO'd on Banks....that won't work
5th completion of drive, sets up Hamilton short run TD
22-10...score starting to look like actual play.
Wide field throws easy as pie, for Masoli...
...with Bomber DB's still giving the ole 10 yard cushion..
Masoli then pump fakes Sayles out of positon....
...and goes 30 yds for easy TD to Tolliver.....
28-10.  Wonder what the new record for completions, will be...
Meanwhile on O.  5 straight 2 and outs.....
Now 31-10 on another FG.   Warm up the bus....
...as it appears some guys have begun to pack....
Bombers ran THREE plays from scrimmage in 3rd Q.
Santos Knox makes a nice tackle....huge moral victory
Defending balls thrown in air...not a Bomber specialty...
Streveler breaks off a big scramble.....and then another
...for a 25 yd TD run.  31-17.   Bombers get some lipstick
Could use a stop on D.  Bighill provides one.
Bombers finally move the ball a bit...
...but a penalty and 2 incomplete passes set up a...
...wait for it - 59 yd FG attempt, for some reason or another ...
Streveler still giving it the ole college try...O marches downfield..
...right to the 5.  Offside and two incomplete, put paid to that..
Inept end to inept performance.  31-17
Somehow feels like 310-17.  
Streveler played hard, but like Nichols....
...is currently expected to outscore the Richie Hall D.
Just not enough from a number of Bomber vet players...
Just not enough gin to cover for it.
 
 
 
 



 
 
 
 
 
 
 

If that's the case, then why would the Bombers bother with press stuff at all?  If the only point of the interview is to sell papers/advertising, why would the Bombers be obligated to help out the Free Press or any other media outlet that they do not hold some sort of partnership with?  The answer, to me at least, is because what you are proposing is not really true.  The team knows that fans connect with them via the media, and it is therefore in the teams best interests to do these interviews, as painful as they might be.  
And I have to admit that I don't read or listen to every interview that O'Hea does, I've heard nothing beyond platitudes when it comes to problems with the team.  For example, the only thing I've heard about in regards to the 3rd and 15 fiasco is justifications.  Or lamentations that things didn't work out exactly as hoped.  I've not heard O'Shea even hint that maybe, just maybe, that was a real dumb decision made at the worst possible moment.
Look, I do think that Weicek's article was by and large, unfair.  You can always go out and find people that are willing to complain about any given thing/person.  Nor are comments about O'Shea's facial expressions or wardrobe choices anything more than petty.   Likewise, pinning attendance on O'Shea directly.  But there are some parts of the article that, for me at least, seem to ring true.  As I said, I don't think that O'Shea is a bad coach, but there are blindspots.  Weicek does seem to have an agenda, but that doesn't mean that everything he writes is automatically wrong because of it. 

I know I'm going to get roasted for this, but here goes...  I do see some truth in the way that Weicek describes O'Shea.  To me, he really does come across as "talking down" to people.  I get the impression that he feels that having to talk to people is beneath him or that, in order to protect the players, he needs to stand there and refuse to acknowledge the painfully obvious.  No, I'm not saying that he should get fired, but I'd really like someone, maybe Walters, to take him aside and explain that the media represent the fans and the fans are the ultimate boss because the fans pay the freight.  They deserve better than "everything's fine, don't worry yourself about it." even when reporters are asking dumb questions.
So it's ok to admit that someone had a bad night when everyone in the entire stadium can see that he did.  O'Shea doesn't have to throw anyone under the bus, but to say something like "Ya, Medlock struggled a bit tonight, but we know that he'll bounce back" acknowledges reality, nothing more, nothing less.  Or to say something like, "Ya, my decision to gamble on 3rd and 15 is one I'd like to have back.  It wasn't a smart decision and I'm disappointed in myself." would demonstrate just a bit of humility.  When his QB is willing to step up and do that I'm surprised that O'Shea can't recognize that Nichols is being a true leader and displaying a trait that most adults value: accountability.
It's a real ***** in his armour and if he really wants to become a top level coach, he needs to fix it.

They let Willy go because there were other teams who were going to offer him starter money and they couldn't because Durant was their starter.  

took ten minutes to first look up the free agent QBs and then skim 9 rosters .... another 2-3 minutes to guess the chances of any QB moving sometime in 2017

For his era, lancaster was as much an nfl style qb as existed. Dont forget that era the nfl wasnt nearly as rigid as its perceived currently for passers. 
Brian brohm ran a spread offense in the ncaa. Not a pro type offense. BLM is 6'2 brohm was 6'3. Drew willy also wasnt an nfl prototype for qb. Good size and tenure but QBs who struggle to throw to an area of the field (deep in his case) are low ceiling dime a dozen. Buffalo isnt exactly an nfl puppy mill either.
Not so many schools run the old I form/pro form 2 wr set constantly any more. The NFL has made a lot more use out of 3 wr packages on the whole with some even running a spread offense. The line between an NFL, CFL, and NCAA "Style" qb is very blurred now. The NFL has more running qbs then the cfl. Which starter in the cfl is a threat to rush for 800+ yards any more?
It makes it even harder now then it used to be to find qb talent young. Guys will get a year on the PR to see how they learn and adapt that never would have gotten a sniff of the NFL in the past. 
So small schools do yield some benefit. Those guys tend to get over looked more. And having a small school QB who crushed his competition level is better imop then having a big school guy who was mediocre.
A guy like gage gubrud (eastern washington) with his performance in his first year starting will probably still get a decent NFL look. The key to finding qbs imop is to prioritize skill set and to aim back at guys who are running out of NFL time. Dont fall soo much in love with the amazing athlete who cant toss it down field, find the guy who doesnt have the NFL bulk weight, has a good arm but not a crazy arm but the accuracy and touch to complete a pass to any part of the field. Despite the long time prototype of the NFL looking for rocket laser arms playing a pro offense and facing top competition, today the NFL looks for guys who put in a lot of starts in college, has great accuracy, and adequate arm strength. The physical attributes that make it hard to get picked up these days physically are under 6' and 200 lbs or under. But you dont see those guys with the regularity you used to even in the ncaa.  

You are a tool.   You call out another forum member that consistency adds to the discussion that many people are enjoying for likely another team.... He says he is a bomber fan, and yet you say he isn't because he moved away and likes the stamps while loving the bombers.
 
then you continue your tirade and ignore a challenge from said poster and try to deflect his defence  of your accusations and try to play it off that we should all let it go for iso's health ,when really it's just you attacking him and failing to accept what you did.  sounds like you are in your teens and shoot your mouth off when in person you probably wouldn't say ****.  
 
Its an Internet forum with a close knit community.  It's not like this is reddit where people are using throw away accounts and blasting off on people or threads for **** and giggles.
 
sure sounds like he meets the definition of a fan as he cheers for the team over the city his lives in, drives Ina for a game or two (1300km drive) and buys merchandise.   The idea that someon can only enjoy watching or cheering for a single team is ********.

The simple fact is that if Willy had connected on a bunch of those deep throws the Als would have had to back off. You beat the blitz with execution and it simply wasn't  there last friday

Should never have cut Don Unamba as it led to the Bombers downfall and ultimately to Brexit.

The trend for Drew Willy's play has not been good for awhile. He's establishing a pattern of poor, or slow decisions, and they are costing us. This pattern had started long before his injury and with the newly installed rookie camp where he had tons of time to throw the ball and get his timing down. Slow start pre-season games 1 and 2, and an inexplicably bad throwing performance yesterday.
As Willy goes...so does our offence. It's backyard football logic.
Hes going to have rip off that shell of a former player and put on a cloak, because, right now, he's the 9th best starter in the league.

Name guy.
TSN.
Living in Winnipeg.
Step up
Or lateral?
LaPofeuille.
Bald.
No excitement.
Coach's playbook.
Rerun.
Leery, I am.

Wasn't he the propaganda minister for Adolf Hamster?

Well deserved.   Let's strive for 6 all stars next season.