Tracker

Of all the woes the Alouettes have, their D-line and linebackers are the least. If the Bombers want to run a lot tonight, they are going to have to work for it. Maybe some screens and flare passes will soften the defense up.

I'd say they are well past anything that was wrong with the Bombers last season. On behalf of the Alouettes, ouch. That was a low blow.

I doubt if we're going to lose all that much. Our return game has been pretty mediocre at best so far this year, so if there are no fumbles, we'll be OK.

Anyone can have a bad game, but the true test is the game after that. So far this edition of the Bombers has shown resiliency, but as someone said, there is only the next game, so we will have another measurement of our team tonight. Two clangers in a row would be very bad, but again, it is how much heart and effort is seen.

The Gielberguys were the worst, but there was also Feterik, Skalbania, Ryckman and the list goes on....

And that is at it should be. Starting Canucks and quarterbacks have always been in short supply, but it should be possible to bring in a couple of top-notch O-linemen and a heavy-duty running back like Ron Williams.

Kudos to TSN for producing a brief but very professional piece on Grigsby.

Won't it be even more sore after he sits? Could be the butt of many jokes.

I feel for Smith, but not too much- he seems like a decent guy who has lost whatever he had last year and looks lost altogether this year. This not going to be Montreal's year after so many great seasons with Calvillo. It sucks for the Alouettes but we sure know what that scenario is all about.

Matty had as much of a chance in Cowgary as Reinbold had in Winnipeg for exactly the same reasons. Someone like Huffer or Wally who can step up into both roles right off the hop are pretty darned rare.

What did Brink do to deserve this promotion? Or do they want to give Smith a chance to watch the game unfold before plugging him in?

Ricky Ray always gives his team a chance to win unless he is on his back or the sidelines, but Sinkfield looked pretty dangerous in the preseason games, but we shall see how he performs in the real season. Bombers have to have a headlock on this game before halftime or TO could sneak a win out with a couple of long plays.

I sure hope that the Bombers look on this game as a sort of revenge game for the last one slipping away from them instead of a practice session. If the Bombers put out a good effort and maybe even give Toronto a good thumping, it will restore any lost confidence they might have. Another loss would be very bad for team morale and confidence and going into a tough stretch of games, we need the biggest head start possible. Barring some sort of miracle acquisitions, the core of the team is not going to change all that much from here on in, and in some of those games, the difference between winning and losing might be confidence.

Scary that you can weigh 243 lbs and still have O-linemen coming at you that outweigh you by 100 lbs

JOHN WOODS / THE CANADIAN PRESS Winnipeg Blue Bombers' head coach Mike O'Shea during the second half of CFL action against the Saskatchewan Roughriders in Winnipeg Thursday, August 7, 2014. With a couple of days now between the Blue Bombers and their 23-17 loss to the Saskatchewan Roughriders, head coach Mike O’Shea sees things clearer. For instance, the offensive line needs some work when it comes to run blocking, O’Shea agreed. (Tailback Nic Grigsby only mustered seven yards on 10 carries on Thursday, and actually had negative yardage after eight.) Coach also thought the special teams are coming along, though they remain a work in progress. "When you go through it with fine-tooth comb, you recognize opportunities we had that we let slip through our fingers," O’Shea said on Saturday, after a film and workout session at Investors Group Field. Well, the Bombers don’t have to wait long before getting another shot. The team is set to head to Toronto to play the Argonauts on Tuesday, a rare five-day turnaround. That means the Bombers will only practice once this week, on Sunday. Originally, O’Shea had planned to squeeze two practices into this narrow time frame. That was "probably a pipe dream," he said, admitting he was probably overzealous as a new coach to cram work in. Still, the coach isn’t too concerned. "I’m fired up to have our guys get back on the field and in a game situation as quick as possible," he said. "It’s our job as coaches to make sure they’re given enough, in terms of the playbook, to allow us to win the game, and also pare it back enough so they’re able to physically execute their assignments at a high level. I think the players really enjoy short weeks, it means they get to get on the field more quickly." INFIRMARY REPORT Although receiver Clarence Denmark took some punishment in Thursday night’s game, he’s a-OK, O’Shea said. Teague Sherman also took a beating, but "he seems to battle through everything." Offensive lineman Patrick Neufeld, who was out with injury last week, is hopeful to return. Johnny Sears, Dan Knapp and Donovan Alexander are a week away, and punter Mike Renaud will need at least that time. It’s not clear yet if receiver Nick Moore will play on Tuesday.

These things look like garbage bags. And yet they are far and away from the ugliest jerseys seen as evidenced by the previous thread.

New standards for ugly that continue to be broken.

Weren't we supposed to have a genius O-line coach able to make chicken salad out of chicken feathers? And yes, I mean a genius like Norman Einstein.

All that remains is for the Esks to kick sand in the Alouettes' faces.

Okay, since there are many who would have loved to see Messam in Blue and Gold (me too), but there is no consensus on that, can we agree that a power back who can break tackles and get the tough three-yard plunge would have been good to have on hand? If so, its pretty obvious that there are few NI's who have the abilities that Messam has, right? Well, it ought to be possible to find such a back in the US so that we have the option to use a scat-back or a power back.

Mission accomplished.

In spite of the 5 turnovers, the Bombers lost by only a small margin, so all is not lost. That said, it all came down to three big plays that cost us the game: the two fumbles and the last interception, all of which have been atypical this season. The frustrating thing is that the game was winnable, and the obvious problems which we have been fortunate to dodge thus far bit us on the collective butts. The coaches know better than we that the running game is pathetic and what needs to be done- this has to be the worst in the CFL and the worst performance of our ground game in years-all season apart from the first game. I don't know of the O-line was that bad last game (all season, really) or Sask's D-line was/is that good, but our tackles looked terrible last night. Willy was the better quarterback last night, our receivers were as good or better than Sask's but Messam wrecked us when it really counted and the smallish D-line and linebackers' vulnerability to power running between the tackles was exposed and will give a blueprint to the rest of the league on how to wear us down. Someone said Messam is a disruptive influence in the locker room, but if it comes down to him or Volny, what has Volny done for us besides fill out the IR roster? Kuale could have turned the game around all by himself but didn't. Had he taken the ball to the house, the game would have been over, or even if he hung on and fell down. I didn't see lack of effort last night, just some big mistakes which cost us and some team problems were exposed.

Lets consider this a first strike and move on. Maybe some here still have a mad-on for him since the dirty hit on Pierce which may well have shortened Pierce's career.

It ain't about losing. Its about getting humiliated repeatedly and having no hope of things getting better. We can accept a few losses and probably will have those as long as we see progress and effort.

but no one is going to do anything with that? I'm setting you up, you just have to knock it down. Let me guess, you wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole. Is this a slur against tall guys from Warsaw?