TrueBlue4ever

That is such a ridiculous comment. You say that LaPo did well only because he had great players in 2002 (I believe you said even you could have crafted a great offensive game plan with that talent). So when he does well (like 14 club records on offence in 2002) all the credit goes to the player, not him. But if a player does not do well, it's because LaPo has not "elevated" them, so he gets all the blame. Maybe, just maybe, the "talent" right now is not as earth shattering as some think. But for the sake of argument, let's look at the talent LaPo has had in the past and now. In 2002, he took an MVP QB and that QB produced even better numbers than the year before and according to Milt Stegall should have won MOP that year too. He took an all-star receiver and got him to the greatest receiving season of that receiver's career and lifted him to MOP status and league records. He took a part-time running back and made him a star in the backfield, and the next year got him his first league rushing title. Also the 2 best receiving years of Roberts' career those 2 seasons. He went to Saskatchewan and turned Darian Durant into an all-star and got them to the Grey Cup. He came to Winnipeg and found a way in 2011 to keep Buck Pierce healthy long enough for Buck to have his most productive season ever and get to a Grey Cup. Like with Khari before him, once he lost his effective starting QB due to injury, the lesser talent at back-up hindered him. Now that he is back, he has "elevated" Andrew Harris into bar none the best running back in the CFL. Harris had zero rushing titles and two 1,000 yard seasons before coming here, will get his 3rd consecutive 1,000 yard year (and second 1,300+ yard year), and his 3rd rushing title, on top of becoming the best receiving running back in CFL history in 2017. He took Matt Nichols and devised a system that minimized his weaknesses (average arm strength, low mobility) and fed off his strengths (passing accuracy, "game manager", low turnover risk) to create the most efficient QB in the CFL this year who had the team #1 in the CFL standings before he got hurt. But you expect the entire playbook to be thrown out to cater to a new QB who does little else but run the ball and hasn't shown he can pass very well rather than expect management to have as a back-up someone who can step into the existing system and execute it to relatively the same degree, like Calgary, Sask, and Hamilton did. And LaPo to a great extent has tweaked that playbook to incorporate more runs and option/pass from his QB. But having a QB who can't throw very well or get into his second or third progressions efficeiently does not seem to have gotten us very far. So how about you tell us who has suffocated under LaPo only to have their obvious underdeveloped talents shine elsewhere? It is possible, but no one obvious springs to mind for me.

That was one of the best offences ever. Who was the O.C. that year?

Oops...misread the original post. My bad. Apologies.

What do you think Fajardo, Evans, Arbuckle, Streveler, MBT and Adams are? Even Harris and Masoli, who are more established, have growing to do and will be better. Given the lack of experience and young age of so many QBs now (remember, all pressed into emergency duty due to injury) I'd say they for the most part have acquitted themselves well. This argument about lousy QBing comes up every so often when the old guard goes down. Brock, Moon, Wilkinson, Holloway all leave and then it's "there are no good QBs other than Clements - Dunigan, Ham and Allen are too raw, Dewalt is a flash in the pan", then they mature into great QBs, some get injured and replaced by rookies, and then McManus is no good, Calvillo is no good, Khari Jones is a third stringer, Kevin Glenn is below average, once Flutie (then Garcia, Dickenson, Burris, Mitchell, etc.) is gone there will be no one in Calgary, other than Ricky Ray there is no one good, then Ray is no good, Lulay is washed up, Pierce is a waste, ad nauseum. I'd say the fact that we had back-ups step up in every single CFL city this year, and right now 3 of those back-ups (Evans, Fajardo, and Adams) are the new unquestioned starters going forward, with a 4th (Arbuckle) being able to likely start on any team needing help, and 2 more (Streveler and MBT) being young enough and with enough upside that they are worth keeping around to see if they can morph into a #1, that the league is in OK shape. Add the remaining old guard of top tier Reilly, Mitchell, Masoli, and - if they can overcome their health issues - a competant middle tier of Nichols and Collaros as starters, and that is a decent load of talent. And who knows if one-time "next big things" Jennings and Franklin can re-discover magic like Calvillo did after starting big in Vegas and then crashing and burning in Hamilton?

Not as big a Star Wars geek as many, but can respect the influence of the series on pop culture. But I would disagree about Attack being better than Sith. Curious how you would rank the entire series (include the spinoffs like Rogue or Solo if you wish). For me: 1) Empire Strikes Back - beyond the "spoiler" that defined the whole series, the whole Hoth sequence and asteroid chase was really cool. 2) Return of the Jedi - Ewoks never bothered me much, the Jabba palace and space barge was the cantina re-done much better (before the CGI re-do messed it up a bit), the bike race through the trees was the trench fight done better with obstacles, and the 3 simultaneous battles at the climax are great. 3) New Hope - actually a pretty thin story, but it created the universe, so high marks there. But just not as visually dazzling as the two above it. *I would place Rogue One here I think, only saw it once in theatres but had low expectations and was pleasantly surprised by the tight story. My son hated it because all the characters were disposable in the end. 4A) Revenge of the Sith - hate to give any credit to the middle trilogy as it cheapens the whole franchise, but this was far superior to the other two installments, so maybe I unfairly grade it higher by comparsion. 4B) Force Awakens - felt like a re-tread of the original film, so I grade it lower for no originality, but nostalgia and cool effects rank it in the middle. On any given day might put it above Sith depending on my contempt for the whole middle trilogy. 6) (and dropping) Phantom Menace - thought it was OK when I first saw it, but it has not aged well with me on repeated viewings. Like the movie Scream said, "the best movie villains, like Hannibal Lecter and Darth Vader, are the ones that don't explain why they are villains". This movie destroyed that, and my God is George Lucas bad at casting child actors. *Would place Solo here because it was so unnecessary in the grand scheme of things. 7) Attack of the Clones - if you can't fake chemistry with Natalie Portman of all people in a love story, then you and your entire movie suck. This is awful. 8) Last Jedi - Maybe because each movie since the original trilogy seems to have tarnished its legacy more and more each time, I put this below Clones. But this movie tried to do too much and could have had 4 different stopping points (again was expecting a re-tread of Empire, which it started out as, then morphed into a re-do of Return/Jedi, then tacked on another hour of, what exactly?) Maybe the final installment will give meaning to the middle story and make it better in overall context.

Bo Levi stood in the pocket all last game. Should we reflexively rip his offensive coordinator for trying to get him hurt too?

I could see voters splitting hairs there too, since Banks got busted for MDA (ecstasy - but still a stimulant) and Harris got nabbed for steroids.

No, he was suspended for breaking the rules, like Harris. But obviously "it wasn't performance enhancing, so we can trust his numbers and not Harris' !" So, Simoni Lawrence got suspended for his illegal hits, which is part of his performance and his style of play. Will he get knocked for his illegal style of play which could enhance his play-making (receivers fear the big hit?) Obviously apples and oranges, but if selective morality is going to be a factor in voting and not performance-based, then consider 2 things: 1) Brandon Banks got busted for violating the league's drug policy in 2016 and still got the team and Eastern nominations for Best Special teams player, and was voted as a divisional all-star, and he is a leading candidate for east MOP this year, so how do voters reconcile that if they ignore Harris on principle? 2) Here are Harris' numbers before the positive test, after the test and before the suspension (appeal period when he knew he'd been caught), and after the suspension: BEFORE TEST: (4 games) rushes 58, yards 378, avg. 6.5, TDs 0, long 52, rush per game 14.5, yds. per game 94.5 receptions 18, yards 101, avg. 5.6, TDs 2, long 20, rec. per game 4.5, yds. per game 25.3 touches 76, yards 479, avg. 6.3, TDs 2, long 52, touch per game 19, yds. per game 119.8 AFTER TEST/PRE-SUSPENSION: (6 games) rushes 83, yards 530, avg. 6.4, TDs 3, long 56, rush per game 13.8, yds. per game 88.3 receptions 28, yards 236, avg. 8.4, TDs 1, long 34, rec. per game 4.7, yds. per game 39.3 touches 111, yards 766, avg. 6.9, TDs 4, long 56, touch per game 18.5, yds. per game 127.7 AFTER SUSPENSION: (5 games) rushes 69, yards 408, avg. 5.9, TDs 1, long 21, rush per game 13.8, yds. per game 81.6 receptions 21, yards 171, avg. 8.1, TDs 1, long 74, rec. per game 4.2, yds. per game 34.2 touches 90, yards 579, avg. 6.4, TDs 2, long 74, touch per game 18, yds. per game 115.8 So has there been a significant enough drop-off to suggest he was getting enhanced play because of the drugs in his system? This of course assumes he isn't still using, which would be quite surprising given he got caught once, is likely being tested more closely now, and given his stance that this was accidental would REALLY be taking a risk of destroying any of what is left of his reputation if he got caught again. I make no determination personally if he should or should not be left off for his conduct, but if I were a voter these are questions I would ask myself and expect to explain if asked by others.

Wonder if that "disqualify Harris for his suspension" attitude would carry over to Vernon Adams Jr. in Montreal?

Actually it's also Roberts' fault for fumbling in the first place and causing Glenn to dive for the loose ball.

Admit that Streveler and not LaPo was the problem? This board would have a meltdown.

Would need to beat Calgary and then they would have to lose to BC the following week.

It's time for the Streveler experiment to be put on hiatus and McGuire and/or Collaros should play the last game against Calgary.

By that rationale, 8 head coaches should be fired at year's end.

Don't take the bait. Ignore them.

Given the snow hit from Wednesday/Thursday to Saturday, we were closer to a state of emergency on Sunday, and that game sold out, so...…….

How I envision the response every time Trump tries to talk tough with an actual dictator.

Yep. That first INT on the deep toss to Adams was an underthrow, but I put responsibility on Adams for not adjusting to or fighting for the ball. And I liked the decision to push for the end zone late in the half, it just wasn't executed well, and I can live with a physical mistake once in a while. It's the mental error of throwing into triple coverage or not looking off the DB and telegraphing the throw that needs to be corrected. But again. that is not the coordinator putting the QB in a position to fail, it's just a lack of execution on a certain play.

Your consistent, repeated, obscenity-laden posts would seem to indicate that you very much DO give a **** what Rider fans think, otherwise you wouldn't give them the satisfaction of a response letting them know how much it gets under your skin. They must laugh at how much they can trigger many members of this board. Rise above, people.

The Bomber chain looks like the one Jamarcus Hardrick had 2 years ago for his player profile video they put up on the jumbotron when they highlight a player. He was wearing this big thick chain and did the "junkyard dog" crawl if the offence scored a TD. Maybe it morphed into the "links in a chain" thing, maybe they co-opted the Sask. "Chain of honour" idea and just made up the story to fit it, who knows, but I think the actual chain has been around a while, just going public with it now.

On an underthrow. The one completed deep ball was also an underthrow. So was the second INT in Sask. At least in the Hamilton game Streveler's 2 deep attempts to open receivers were overthrows. It's nice to say push it deep, but we also have to execute the plays with either open receivers or on-target throws. And who knows how many drop back plays have a deep target as one of the options, but the QB opted not to take the shot? The OC can be responsible for many things, but running through progressions and taking the deep shot is not all on LaPo unless the play call is "throw it to this one guy no matter what because there is no secondary option". Now I don't have the playbook , so I don't know if that is the case in which case it is all his fault, but neither does anyone else who is certain that Streveler is not responsible because it has to be the play call and nothing else.

What I meant was, since he is not proving to be a deep threat and being able to create separation on his downfield routes despite this supposed speed, then give him those hitch screen passes at the line of scrimmage where he isn't covered, and see what he can do to make people miss once the ball is in his hands.

Nichols' slump last year in my mind was a mental thing, especially in the Banjo Bowl where he threw awful picks because he was forcing things, not because of the play call. The game in Montreal was going gangbusters for the offence until Streveler threw that late pick and momentum shifted with the Als' TD. Of course, not all his fault at all as the secondary couldn't cover to save their lives, but it was a factor. Same against Hamilton. The defence put us behind the 8 ball for sure, but that Streveler pick when we could have gotten within a TD was all on him, not the play call. The game in Saskatchewan, we managed to out-produce Sask. in offence, and blame LaPo all you want but you are kidding yourself if you think that and not Streveler's 3 turnovers in the red zone were the reason we lost. I think also that posters need to re-consider the "weapons" we have. Whitehead for all his speed has not been getting separation on the DBs on his routes lately, so getting the ball into his hands in space seems like a good option, no? And I don't see Demski as the star wide receiver you do. Same goes for Wolitarsky and Petermann. They are decent, but not game-breakers. Our weapon is clearly Harris, and our offence is designed around him. I too would like to see more balance, but maybe it's personnel driven. After all, there was some panic about our receiving corps before Matthews was signed late, and he turned out to be a bust (and if LaPo is solely to blame for his failure, then why has he been benched in Montreal too?) As for LaPo keeping it simple, yeah, the game plan is limit turnovers and we win games, Nichols excelled at that. And many here ***** when LaPo "outthinks himself and gets away from the game plan, and those same people ***** and moan when he "runs the predictable plays to Harris" and doesn't mix things up. So I see a lot of whining no matter how the game is called. Yet all his offense has done over the years is put up points and wins games with a non-marquee QB like Durant and Nichols. But that isn't enough excitement for some fans, I suppose. Me, I'll take efficient, boring wins, thank you very much.

Well, I see Streveler's style as "if I have to throw, then I'll make the first read and then run" versus Nichols, who would go through his progressions. LaPo did adjust for Streveler in my mind, and it did work to an extent against Edmonton (although Willie Jefferson almost single-handedly won that game) and more so in the Banjo Bowl and in Montreal (4 TDs in the first 4 drives). The trouble is that it is easier to game plan against a runner at the QB position (I won't call him a running QB because he relies more on his running than passing, rather than using his legs as a weapon when the pass breaks down). You just get the MLB to spy the QB no matter what. Hamilton and Saskatchewan in the last 2 games both did that. So maybe Streveler needs to learn a different style as a QB, one that, you know, involves being able to throw more effectively, make better reads, and trust his progressions. Because other teams figured out how to defeat his run game. LaPo clearly had to make adjustments, and did so. Streveler will have to as well.