CFL 2024

[rboomercat90]

Talent pool is pretty thin and recycle machine is always in use. Lapolice might be a candidate I guess. Snappy dresser.

The best part of hiring LaPolice is that it will get him off tv.

 

[rboomercat90]

Sure, but with the worst possible play a reciever can make in a game. Blowing a catch AND popping it up for a pick. He was guilted into being better off of that play. That and the Bede miss FG turned out to be margin of victory.

Fair enough. I missed this play. I had people over and we were back and forth all day between this game and the mlb playoffs. What I was referring to most was the two big plays he made on a touchdown drive in the first half.

 

[rboomercat90]

Whatever happened to Edmonton being able to bring in a top-notch QB?
Were we not a hotbed at one time?

Norm Kimball retired.

 

[tardigrade81]

Nah. Like I said O'Shea himself is one for the ages. Both as a player and coach. The single best longterm guy in the league. Wish we had a guy like that behind the bench. Or on the field. A lot of respect for that guy and teams LOVE to play for him. I take or leave Collaros, he's good, and he's money at times but Bombers don't win because of him. They win because of being solid on all 3 units and being disciplined. They're class of the league.

ps the only NFL team I liked was the Patriots. Its OK to respect good teams and legends like Brady. heh

Man, you should never cheer for the East in Canada. In anything.

lol I will never cheer for Winnipeg ever. Sorry man. I don’t normally cheer for the East if Edmonton, Calgary, BC got in. But Winnipeg. I’ll cheer for anyone else. I honestly find them to be a dirty team, Collaros is a loser. Winnipeg is a bunch of cry babies. They play dirty to other teams, but if one of their players gets hurt they cry like my 1 year old daughter. It’s embarrassing. I respect how good that franchise is, but that’s it. I will take the Argos, Als, Redblacks, Cats any day winning over another Bombers win.

Patriots. Nothing wrong with that. I am a colts fan and they were a huge rival to us and always beat us (up to 2005). So I naturally didn’t like them, but it’s not the same as Winnipeg. I have a lot of respect for the patriots and Tom Brady. They gave the Colts some of the best and most entertaining matches of all time. I still go back and re watch games from 03, 04, (especially 06 haha)

Believe me. Winnipeg I am sure thinks the same about the Riders and would cheer for almost anyone else to beat us so I’m sure the feeling is mutual lol

 

[bellagiobob]

Would be hilarious if JJ announces that Ford is the starter for the rest of the year. The last kick in the teeth before he departs.

 

[Stoneman89]

He hasn't done no good, but he's been the top paid receiver in the league during his tenure here and hasn't often moved the needle. I think the money could be better spent in other areas.

He seems like Kenny Lawlor - Part Deux

 

[Stoneman89]

Haven't seen the game yet, but will take a look at the taping and give an opinion. (usually bad but hey, lol)

I will say this without even seeing it but reviewing the season so far and even last year. I wonder how many games we would have won this year if we had the much maligned Sean Whyte kicking balls through the uprights? He was never going to pound 55 yarders through, but really consistent from around 45 and in. Too bad he got basically run out of town, but seems to be pretty decent in BC.

 

[MoontoScott]

Norm Kimball retired.

Laughed when I read your post but the reality is that in today's world there's no way that Warren Moon would have come north of the border to play football.

No way would Joe Theismann play 3 seasons with the Argos.

The CFL is a much tougher sell than it used to be.

 

[Kyle McMahon]

Except Ford hasn't been a legit running threat in any other than one game this season. He just hasn't been. 97yds rushing. Half of that in the one game. The Broadcast all day is trying to attribute the ground attack to RPO but thats giving an abundance of credit to Ford who hasn't even had success running this season. I credit Rankin mostly, and Leake for the few games he was on.

CFL correction has occurred regarding Ford. Pretty simple for good clubs to just spy a linebacker and it shuts down the RPO.

Not concluding. Also Ford has been granted 3 starts and was also injured which seems to be a problem with him. Both times he's been handed the ball in successive seasons he's been injured before he can get established.

There was nothing spotty about MBT i the first 3 games passing for nearly 1K yds. The team around him was playing spotty. MBT has now been in for games 5X that were settled by a FG. Lost all of them. But in each of those games the losses were due to somebody else. Bede at fault in 3 of them. MBT also salvaged the game in one of the Ford starts. MBT should have around half a dozen wins this season. Its not on him imo that he doesn't.

Generally you can't ask for more than MBT gave today. He has well over 400yds passing if his receivers don't flat out fumble and botch receptions, the one being an int due to Lewis flubbing up.

man look around the league this year for some real dog performances by QB's. Maier in Calgary constant with them. Rourke playing like shit. Its no accident MBT is in a dead heat with Collaros in yds passing. He's one of the best aerial attack QB's the league has. If we didn't have MBT we would have worse.

Ford has played 2.5 games...half his rushing yards occurring in one of them is nothing noteworthy. The terrible Winnipeg game two weeks ago is really the only instance of Ford playing poorly this season...so the best team in the league shut him down, and he was otherwise fine in limited viewings. The jury is still out on him, and it's incredibly disappointing that he received so little playing time in another failed season.

MBT threw some bad picks and killed some crucial drives with missed easy passes in the first month of the season. Going by memory, but he tossed unforced redzone picks in two of those early losses. Of course those were not the only mistakes in those games, but they tilted would-be close wins into losses, similar to Gittens and Lewis yesterday. MBT then blaming the schedule makers for the poor start to the season being icing on the cake.

I give MBT a lot of credit for turning his attitude around and being a real leader after Jones got fired. Could have easily mailed it in at 0-7 with everyone calling for Ford to start, but he dug in and played some good ball to get the team back in the race. He wasn't innocent in digging the hole though, just far from the worst culprit.

Honestly though, if Ford tells the organization to f*** off, bringing back MBT for 2025 is probably the best likely option. I think he's basically what an average QB should look like, but an average QB who stays healthy has 80-90% of the competition beat at this point. No Ray's or Calvillo's under centre these days.

 

[Kyle McMahon]

Haven't seen the game yet, but will take a look at the taping and give an opinion. (usually bad but hey, lol)

I will say this without even seeing it but reviewing the season so far and even last year. I wonder how many games we would have won this year if we had the much maligned Sean Whyte kicking balls through the uprights? He was never going to pound 55 yarders through, but really consistent from around 45 and in. Too bad he got basically run out of town, but seems to be pretty decent in BC.

Or how about Sergio Castillo, who Jones cut to save money (like what, 20 grand?)...seems Winnipeg found good use for him. Curious as to whether or not Julien can kick FGs...last two games would be a nice tryout. Maybe he can be another Sean Fleming. Bede better be nowhere near Commonwealth next year, that much is obvious.

 

[Drivesaitl]

Ford has played 2.5 games...half his rushing yards occurring in one of them is nothing noteworthy. The terrible Winnipeg game two weeks ago is really the only instance of Ford playing poorly this season...so the best team in the league shut him down, and he was otherwise fine in limited viewings. The jury is still out on him, and it's incredibly disappointing that he received so little playing time in another failed season.

MBT threw some bad picks and killed some crucial drives with missed easy passes in the first month of the season. Going by memory, but he tossed unforced redzone picks in two of those early losses. Of course those were not the only mistakes in those games, but they tilted would-be close wins into losses, similar to Gittens and Lewis yesterday. MBT then blaming the schedule makers for the poor start to the season being icing on the cake.

I give MBT a lot of credit for turning his attitude around and being a real leader after Jones got fired. Could have easily mailed it in at 0-7 with everyone calling for Ford to start, but he dug in and played some good ball to get the team back in the race. He wasn't innocent in digging the hole though, just far from the worst culprit.

Honestly though, if Ford tells the organization to f*** off, bringing back MBT for 2025 is probably the best likely option. I think he's basically what an average QB should look like, but an average QB who stays healthy has 80-90% of the competition beat at this point. No Ray's or Calvillo's under centre these days.

Ford has played in 5 of the games. He's played appreciable minutes in 4 of the games. He started 3. Its his own injury that prevented him from playing more. The club had handed him the ball. It seemed as if he would continue to get the starts had he not been injured.

Of course the lack of Ford rushing yds and rushing attempts is noteworthy as he's running far less times per game and when he runs his average is down from a high of 9yds to the present 6yds He's no longer burning clubs with the run as he did when he first started.

Not sure where people feel MBT wasn't being a leader. All the comments coming from the room say he is.

But yeah, of course as I stated if we don't have MBT we have worse. What a club has in MBT anytime is a strong guy that doesn't get injured, doesn't fumble, and who is ready to start every game. None of those things can be stated about Ford and it was hoped that Ford would be more resilient as he grew older well he's going to be 27 next season and he still looks less solid than he should for a QB and gets hurt nearly every game he plays. Ford doesn't survive contact nearly as much as a running QB should. To that degree previous comparisons to Tracy Ham, (not you) are ridiculous. If anything Ford is now dissuaded from running and possibly due to now knowing what its like to be hit at this level.

Look. Fords top rushing game this season isn't even in his top ten rushing yds games that he's had here. Its notable how less effective he is at this. Undeniable. This is a guy that ran for 25yds in a game. Has had 8oyd rushing games, several 60 or 70yd rushing games. Ford used to be able to take the ball himself on broken plays or when nothing is there and gain a first down himself. That is rare now even when he's playing. Two of his starts this season he rushed for 9 and 11yds. I stress the rushing game for Ford as important because its what opens up games for him. Without it he's not that dangerous.

 

[bellagiobob]

Or how about Sergio Castillo, who Jones cut to save money (like what, 20 grand?)...seems Winnipeg found good use for him. Curious as to whether or not Julien can kick FGs...last two games would be a nice tryout. Maybe he can be another Sean Fleming. Bede better be nowhere near Commonwealth next year, that much is obvious.

Julien can punt the snot out of the ball, but he’s out kicking the coverage too often. Was quite noticeable yesterday. A second or two more hang time would make a huge difference.

 

[MoontoScott]

Or how about Sergio Castillo, who Jones cut to save money (like what, 20 grand?)...seems Winnipeg found good use for him. Curious as to whether or not Julien can kick FGs...last two games would be a nice tryout. Maybe he can be another Sean Fleming. Bede better be nowhere near Commonwealth next year, that much is obvious.

My thoughts exactly.

It was a huge mistake to cut Castillo so why not try Julien at place kicking and see how he does?

I don't think Bede is returning next year so now that the EE are out of the playoffs why not experiment a little bit and see if he can take on both roles? What is there to lose?

Would be hilarious if JJ announces that Ford is the starter for the rest of the year. The last kick in the teeth before he departs.

I don't think it will happen. For whatever reason Ford has really gotten offside with the coaching staff. Whether that's justified or not I don't know but its clear to me that the EE are looking for some new arms before the start of training camp 2025.

 

[Kyle McMahon]

Ford has played in 5 of the games. He's played appreciable minutes in 4 of the games. He started 3. Its his own injury that prevented him from playing more. The club had handed him the ball. It seemed as if he would continue to get the starts had he not been injured.

Of course the lack of Ford rushing yds and rushing attempts is noteworthy as he's running far less times per game and when he runs his average is down from a high of 9yds to the present 6yds He's no longer burning clubs with the run as he did when he first started.

Not sure where people feel MBT wasn't being a leader. All the comments coming from the room say he is.

But yeah, of course as I stated if we don't have MBT we have worse. What a club has in MBT anytime is a strong guy that doesn't get injured, doesn't fumble, and who is ready to start every game. None of those things can be stated about Ford and it was hoped that Ford would be more resilient as he grew older well he's going to be 27 next season and he still looks less solid than he should for a QB and gets hurt nearly every game he plays. Ford doesn't survive contact nearly as much as a running QB should. To that degree previous comparisons to Tracy Ham, (not you) are ridiculous. If anything Ford is now dissuaded from running and possibly due to now knowing what its like to be hit at this level.

Look. Fords top rushing game this season isn't even in his top ten rushing yds games that he's had here. Its notable how less effective he is at this. Undeniable. This is a guy that ran for 25yds in a game. Has had 8oyd rushing games, several 60 or 70yd rushing games. Ford used to be able to take the ball himself on broken plays or when nothing is there and gain a first down himself. That is rare now even when he's playing. Two of his starts this season he rushed for 9 and 11yds. I stress the rushing game for Ford as important because its what opens up games for him. Without it he's not that dangerous.

I'm still failing to see where these criticisms apply to Ford beyond the Winnipeg game. When else did he fail?

-He put up great numbers against Hamilton in a mop-up blowout game. I'm not going to celebrate it since the defense was probably backed off with a huge lead and garbage time TDs are just that, but there's nothing negative to speak of from this appearance

-Strong win over Sask in his first start. Ran well on a few carries, passed well, 40+ points by the offense on the road. Surely this game receives an excellent grade.

-Slow start against BC in start number two, but the offense got going a bit in the second quarter with 18 points on the board in the first half before Ford left injured. Not as good of a showing here, but hardly anything that should have raised alarm.

-Brutal Winnipeg game, nothing good to say about this appearance.

The notion that Ford got his chance in 2024 and underwhelmed is simply false, unless we (rather absurdly, IMO) treat the Winnipeg game as the be-all and end-all game of the year. This being a Winnipeg defense that has completely embarrassed Adams, Rourke, and Mitchell as well in the midst of a half-season winning streak that is still going strong.

 

[Kyle McMahon]

Julien can punt the snot out of the ball, but he’s out kicking the coverage too often. Was quite noticeable yesterday. A second or two more hang time would make a huge difference.

I differ from conventional wisdom on this one; I like the punter just hammering the thing deep. A shorter kick becomes a really short net if one of the gunners botch the timing and take a penalty, so I like taking the penalty outcome right off the table. Before the rule change you might drop a shorter punt three yards in front of the returner and just go hammer him as he picks it up and take the 5 yard penalty. That outcome disappearing isn't insignificant IMO, but can't say I've studied it either.

 

[Drivesaitl]

I'm still failing to see where these criticisms apply to Ford beyond the Winnipeg game. When else did he fail?

-He put up great numbers against Hamilton in a mop-up blowout game. I'm not going to celebrate it since the defense was probably backed off with a huge lead and garbage time TDs are just that, but there's nothing negative to speak of from this appearance

-Strong win over Sask in his first start. Ran well on a few carries, passed well, 40+ points by the offense on the road. Surely this game receives an excellent grade.

-Slow start against BC in start number two, but the offense got going a bit in the second quarter with 18 points on the board in the first half before Ford left injured. Not as good of a showing here, but hardly anything that should have raised alarm.

-Brutal Winnipeg game, nothing good to say about this appearance.

The notion that Ford got his chance in 2024 and underwhelmed is simply false, unless we (rather absurdly, IMO) treat the Winnipeg game as the be-all and end-all game of the year. This being a Winnipeg defense that has completely embarrassed Adams, Rourke, and Mitchell as well in the midst of a half-season winning streak that is still going strong.

Ford would've had half the game starts this season were it not for getting injured. Again he LOST the starting job two of his seasons due to him getting injured. Once MBT relieved him he was the better option. Period.

Conversely MBT getting the back2back wins against Stamps was huge, as its bragging rights and the games that Edmonton and its fans should most want to win. MBT was fantastic in those games and again has 6 passing yds games that were better than ANYTHING Ford has managed this season. No EDmonton QB has won the back 2 back in a decade. it rarely occurs.

I get it though every week the telecast and media pump us that Ford is the best thing since sliced bread and for the most part we eat it up. MBT is in a top handful of QB's in the league. All the stats bear out he could be in top 3. This season he is. All MBT has done up here in CFL is put up numbers and a GC win and another appearance. But fans (not you) be all about "oh not that guy". Not sure what people have against him. MBT is an established QB in this league. Ford is a hopeful. Any vet coach would be playing the Vet guy mostly. Anybody would.

I'm of the opinion that the team and coaching staff know more about whats going on with Ford than any of us do. There are reports as well the team has to shorten the playbook when he's in. Ford is a supremely natural athlete with all the skills of a gazelle. A lot of this running ability just came to him and his brother. He isn't such a fantastic student of the game and we have had multiple coaches indicating that.
Ford might be a significant QB but I doubt it, and it would've happened by now. He's not built to withstand being a running QB at this level, that was my first opinion of his stature, and the circumstance hasn't changed my view. Its not just that Ford has missed several games in multiple seasons due to injury, its that he seems to be hurt in every game he plays. Even run of the mill QB sacks he's picking himself off the field. MBT was injured yesterday and played through it and you hardly noticed it. With Ford he'd be on the field rolling around.

 

[Drivesaitl]

My thoughts exactly.

It was a huge mistake to cut Castillo so why not try Julien at place kicking and see how he does?

I don't think Bede is returning next year so now that the EE are out of the playoffs why not experiment a little bit and see if he can take on both roles? What is there to lose?


I don't think it will happen. For whatever reason Ford has really gotten offside with the coaching staff. Whether that's justified or not I don't know but its clear to me that the EE are looking for some new arms before the start of training camp 2025.

We know theres rumors Ford ain't happy. But the team ain't married to him either. None of the coaches have preferred him. Just my guess is Ford is the type of player that doesn't convey so well with coaches. Its not unique either. Vet coaches tend to get nervous with adlib QB's that make it up on the fly. Thing is a lot of the scramble and hail marys have worked out really well for Ford. Better than they should. In pro ball quite often those are getting picked. VET coaches tend to prefer QB's that are solid on the playbook, that read the line, that will even change calls or take time out air it out when the play is wrong. MBT is all those things and a low event QB. Even of his two picks yesterday one completely was not his fault. MBT is much more a certainty in what he will do, Ford much more of an unknown. For a scrambling QB to win the coaches over takes time and it did even for Tracy Ham and Damon Allen. Not that Ford is even remotely comparable to either of those two.

Anyway all these Ford discussions probably are for nothing as wouldn't surprise me if he's gone anyway. Doesn't he want to play in Hamilton? Seems like its always been the case he'll end up there. Surprised if he doesn't.

 

[Gunnersaurus Rex]

Time to start Ford for the last 2 games and see what he's got. Absolutely no point in starting MBT now.

 

[Drivesaitl]

I differ from conventional wisdom on this one; I like the punter just hammering the thing deep. A shorter kick becomes a really short net if one of the gunners botch the timing and take a penalty, so I like taking the penalty outcome right off the table. Before the rule change you might drop a shorter punt three yards in front of the returner and just go hammer him as he picks it up and take the 5 yard penalty. That outcome disappearing isn't insignificant IMO, but can't say I've studied it either.

I think he's getting enough air on the ball and not terrible placemen either considering what boomers they are. When we're getting burned its not even that the coverage isn't getting to the area is that when they get burned its because they overran the coverage. I've seen every game where the coverage is too deep and just one guy missing makes i all an adventure and 2/3 of he coverage team is caught.

Any view that Julien isn't kicking ideally needs to be taken with the grain of salt that is our susceptible coverage. Massive improvements but still not a solid unit. I'll take the booming punts anytime, and even if its him booting singles. Would take it every time. Field position means nothing as opponents are carving our D from wherever on the football field. To wit yesterday Riders on their 17 and they get the TD in one play, and it was even easy. Wide open.

 

[bellagiobob]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1842957996701126911

 

[bellagiobob]

Time to start Ford for the last 2 games and see what he's got. Absolutely no point in starting MBT now.

I actually hope they don’t. He helped save their last two seasons as best he could, posting close to a .500 record, and was rewarded watching guys play that were something like 3-20, having the coaches and GM reap endless praise on the first two QB’s while constantly dumping on Ford. Would be a massive insult to start him now. Stick with the guy that you have ‘confidence’ in.

 

[Kyle McMahon]

Ford would've had half the game starts this season were it not for getting injured. Again he LOST the starting job two of his seasons due to him getting injured. Once MBT relieved him he was the better option. Period.

Conversely MBT getting the back2back wins against Stamps was huge, as its bragging rights and the games that Edmonton and its fans should most want to win. MBT was fantastic in those games and again has 6 passing yds games that were better than ANYTHING Ford has managed this season. No EDmonton QB has won the back 2 back in a decade. it rarely occurs.

I get it though every week the telecast and media pump us that Ford is the best thing since sliced bread and for the most part we eat it up. MBT is in a top handful of QB's in the league. All the stats bear out he could be in top 3. This season he is. All MBT has done up here in CFL is put up numbers and a GC win and another appearance. But fans (not you) be all about "oh not that guy". Not sure what people have against him. MBT is an established QB in this league. Ford is a hopeful. Any vet coach would be playing the Vet guy mostly. Anybody would.

I'm of the opinion that the team and coaching staff know more about whats going on with Ford than any of us do. There are reports as well the team has to shorten the playbook when he's in. Ford is a supremely natural athlete with all the skills of a gazelle. A lot of this running ability just came to him and his brother. He isn't such a fantastic student of the game and we have had multiple coaches indicating that.
Ford might be a significant QB but I doubt it, and it would've happened by now. He's not built to withstand being a running QB at this level, that was my first opinion of his stature, and the circumstance hasn't changed my view. Its not just that Ford has missed several games in multiple seasons due to injury, its that he seems to be hurt in every game he plays. Even run of the mill QB sacks he's picking himself off the field. MBT was injured yesterday and played through it and you hardly noticed it. With Ford he'd be on the field rolling around.

There's a distinction between losing your job due to injury and losing it due to poor play. The injuries suffered to lose his position occurred two calendar years apart. Durability is a concern with Ford, I do agree with that, but QB injuries are very common in this league, two week-to-week injuries two years apart isn't abnormal. Mike Reilly spent plenty of time on the IR too.

This is how badly the team has botched the Ford situation though. We still don't know what we have. A lot of your projections might play out, but there's still enough doubt that fans rightly fear the organization has pissed away a potential long-term Canadian starting QB. They're in a catch-22 now. They buck up and make him the starter next year and it doesn't work out, team is set back another year. They let him walk and he might go on to star elsewhere and make them look like idiots for a decade.

Bringing back MBT might honestly be the safest option at this point. I think you've always been higher on him than most (Chad Kelly won the Grey Cup in relief, they were about to lose with MBT just to clarify ), but I agree that this fan base has been too critical of his play. There isn't a long list of QBs who visibly out-performed him this year.

To me, MBT is a reliable starter who's biggest weakness has always been throwing a pick at a bad time and poor mobility. But he usually puts up enough points that this can be reasonably overcome. There certainly aren't better QBs sitting on the bench elsewhere besides maybe Adams. Even then I'm not certain I'd replace MBT with Adams given he is already familiar with the offense. There's probably not more than five teams out there delighted with their starting QB situation at the moment. So if you've got a guy with a couple warts, but who you know will give you a chance to win most nights...things could absolutely get worse by moving on from MBT, no question about it.