OT: Winnipeg Blue Bombers 2024 Season Thread - Footnote it is. Another long off-season ahead.

[VictoriaJetsFan]

A few weeks back I wrongly wrote the Bombers could be 2-8 at this point. I am thrilled to say this team has found a second life and through grit, tenacity, pride and an old school approach have pulled themselves right back into the fight.

Never before have I seen a statement game this big prior to Labour Day. The rest of the season should be thrilling and a home playoff game is within sight.

This game with Rourke back was very hyped up here. You could hear a pin drop in that stadium tonight. It was wonderful.

So the Bombers are back and i'm an idiot. I have no problem with that.

I actually could be less of an idiot, but that's for another day.

 

[WPGChief]

The CFL with Rourke is good for the game, even if I am simultaneously envious and scared. Still though: the idea of him only signing today, maybe getting in 3ish days worth of practice and then suiting up to play on Sunday behind an offensive line that looks at times as bad as the Bombers seems crazy. But with how good he looked the last time we saw him in the CFL, he might be able to pull it off.

Also full props to BC's relatively new owner though: Grey Cup is in town and getting Rourke back on a somewhat friendly cap for this season? Easy possibility he'll make that money back within a couple of weeks of selling more tickets than average.

Rourke showed flashes but after some bad drops by his receivers in the... late 1st / early 2nd(?) he tried playing hero and was forcing the ball way too hard, but without the zip or timing that made him excellent in 2022. He'll get adjusted sooner rather than later, but he needs his OC to actually call a game with flow - Stanback had 15 carries for 100 yards but simultaneously felt like he didn't get that many touches; kinda embarrassing to just throw your QB with 2-3 practices into the fire like that while other players were actually playing at a high level. Again, could've been Bombers defence giving the QB no good looks, that's 3-4 straight games of great play from everyone.

Collaros looked good on the opening drives for both halves, then was sorta above average to average the rest of the game. Clearly can see the difference a healthy Lawler and an engaged Demski makes (and a Pierce taking advantage of the waggle and misdirection of whether the ball is going to Demski, Augustine, Oliveira, or Whitehead on a run play - finally!): Whitehead also just shows leadership by putting his body (or head) on the line and fighting for that extra yard or two. Only two TDs, but Lawler going offside, a doink, and Streveler tripping on his offensive line took points off the board that would be crucial in a closer game. Finally finding some rhythm, but it's still those little things that still irk me and feels like a layover of that hubris that always seems to bite them in the ass when it hurts the most.

 

[WolfHouse]

Yup there are some very strong opinions but really no more than other sites including this one. It does get heated sometimes especially about certain players and of course O'Shea.

They've been bashing osh since 2023 ha... can't wait to watch the backtracking

 

[WolfHouse]

Rourke showed flashes but after some bad drops by his receivers in the... late 1st / early 2nd(?) he tried playing hero and was forcing the ball way too hard, but without the zip or timing that made him excellent in 2022. He'll get adjusted sooner rather than later, but he needs his OC to actually call a game with flow - Stanback had 15 carries for 100 yards but simultaneously felt like he didn't get that many touches; kinda embarrassing to just throw your QB with 2-3 practices into the fire like that while other players were actually playing at a high level. Again, could've been Bombers defence giving the QB no good looks, that's 3-4 straight games of great play from everyone.

Collaros looked good on the opening drives for both halves, then was sorta above average to average the rest of the game. Clearly can see the difference a healthy Lawler and an engaged Demski makes (and a Pierce taking advantage of the waggle and misdirection of whether the ball is going to Demski, Augustine, Oliveira, or Whitehead on a run play - finally!): Whitehead also just shows leadership by putting his body (or head) on the line and fighting for that extra yard or two. Only two TDs, but Lawler going offside, a doink, and Streveler tripping on his offensive line took points off the board that would be crucial in a closer game. Finally finding some rhythm, but it's still those little things that still irk me and feels like a layover of that hubris that always seems to bite them in the ass when it hurts the most.

Strev is offering nothing for the price we are paying... yes hes prob injured but why nor bring in another QB on pr

OL looks decent... I'm wondering about Dobson though

DBs must be rocking... credit to Jordan younger for Increasing our aggression

Collaros needs to take a step back... game manager...

Refs called a couple strange ones

 

[FonRiesen]

I couldn't watch much of the game, just the first quarter and then highlights, but Collaros looked more mobile to me - his throws looked like he had more range of motion in his upper body, maybe? Anyway, nice to get the win - and the tie breaker vs BC. Defense is looking fine.

 

[Blitzkrug]

Defense looked like their 2019 vintage. Truthfully, part of that is Nathan Rourke being rusty and BC's o-line being a garbage heap on par with our. That being said the track record from the last few games show the defense is in fact legit

Offensively, ehhhhhh. They still look like they struggle to find a rhythm. Came out firing on the first drive with Lawler being a menace and feeling up one side of the field and then kinda went to sleep. O-line blows chunks and that's not ideal given you need to pound the opposing defense with Oliveria to open up the rest of the playbook.

Still encouraging especially with the schedule getting a bit harder as the Elks have remembered how to play football for the first time in a half decade.

 

[Holden Caulfield]

Strev is offering nothing for the price we are paying... yes hes prob injured but why nor bring in another QB on pr

OL looks decent... I'm wondering about Dobson though

DBs must be rocking... credit to Jordan younger for Increasing our aggression

Collaros needs to take a step back... game manager...

Refs called a couple strange ones

Meh, the pick wasn't entirely on Collaros, IMO. It looked to me like a really lazy route by Wilson. The middle of the field was wide open cause BC was in man with 2 safeties. When Collaros released the ball Wilson was just starting his move. You can see when Collaros releases it he thinks Wilson is going to make a hard cut to turn horizontally and come over the middle to keep him short of the safeties. Wilson instead comes out of his break in more of post type route and continues to drift up field. This allows the defender to undercut him. If Wilson makes a stronger cut inside that's an easy completion, IMO.

 

[Andy6]

When you’re 2-6 and going into a home-and-home vs a 5-3 team, you have to be pretty happy to come out of it with first place in the division a not unrealistic goal. It’s really pretty good for the league overall, with every team but Hamilton having had their moments so far.

 

[VictoriaJetsFan]

The thing with the Lions is not Rourke, he'll be fine when he gets reps, I find the big difference between now and 2 years ago is a big decline in the Lions defence. They had a ferocious pass rush not long ago, remember that game they came to Winnipeg and beat us 30-6? Collaros was running for his life. That defence is a shell of itself.

Our offensive line are not great pass blockers, but they can run block effectively. I would like to see more of a pounding running game with Brady and more touches for Augustine, the mixing of the 2 styles could really keep a defence off balance.

Our defence is a revelation, and as an entire unit with new faces they still aim to get better.

However, I think falling 0-4 was a wake up call he Bombers needed, coming from the back of the pack has them more engaged. People criticizing them so much early appears to have added a layer of motivation. Reminds me more of 2019 than the past few season when we were 14-4 or 11-3.

Given no one in the West looks that great things are turning around radically, but Montreal looks fantastic.

 

[TS Quint]

I'm not one to get on my soapbox and cry about injustices, but this is steaming load of bullshit.

"Everyone deserves a second chance." Okay, fair. Sometimes people do stupid stuff and can legitimately learn from their mistakes. But what happens when they're on chance number 34? Kelly has been a public nuisance going all the way back to high school. There is no learning or redeeming to be done for this turd. He doesn't deserve the privilege to play pro football for a living.

The Argos and the league as far as i'm concerned failed everyone here. Kelly's victim especially.

Don't forget the glazing the TSN panel was doing on him last night.

 

[TS Quint]

Strev is offering nothing for the price we are paying... yes hes prob injured but why nor bring in another QB on pr

OL looks decent... I'm wondering about Dobson though

DBs must be rocking... credit to Jordan younger for Increasing our aggression

Collaros needs to take a step back... game manager...

Refs called a couple strange ones

Strev's value comes later in the season. Buck learned from Lapo. It will be the same strategy, keep it basic for the first 3/4 of the year and start to open up Strev's playbook when the games matter and catch them cheating.

 

[WolfHouse]

Strev's value comes later in the season. Buck learned from Lapo. It will be the same strategy, keep it basic for the first 3/4 of the year and start to open up Strev's playbook when the games matter and catch them cheating.

Possible. But I don't see it... why relegate him to just a basic short yardage QB for 3/4 of the season... you don't have to use every gimmick but you gotta use the guy at some point

 

[TS Quint]

Rourke could only take what he was given. Nothing but short passes. Anything thrown near Nichols and Ford was DOA. But to be fair I think Ford and Nichols is big problem for any QB in the league right now.

Ford popped out to me right from the start of the year. You could see he just a step behind for the first few games but he was close. He just needed the reps. Now it's like the game is moving in slow motion for him and he is a step a head on most balls going in his direction. I don't think we will see him getting many balls thrown his way for the rest of the year.

Possible. But I don't see it... why relegate him to just a basic short yardage QB for 3/4 of the season... you don't have to use every gimmick but you gotta use the guy at some point

You saw it in his last stint with the team.

the Bombers are trying to win a Grey Cup. For the most part when you are the better football team you should win by being the better football team, no gimmicks needed.

 

[Holden Caulfield]

The thing with the Lions is not Rourke, he'll be fine when he gets reps, I find the big difference between now and 2 years ago is a big decline in the Lions defence. They had a ferocious pass rush not long ago, remember that game they came to Winnipeg and beat us 30-6? Collaros was running for his life. That defence is a shell of itself.

Our offensive line are not great pass blockers, but they can run block effectively. I would like to see more of a pounding running game with Brady and more touches for Augustine, the mixing of the 2 styles could really keep a defence off balance.

Our defence is a revelation, and as an entire unit with new faces they still aim to get better.

However, I think falling 0-4 was a wake up call he Bombers needed, coming from the back of the pack has them more engaged. People criticizing them so much early appears to have added a layer of motivation. Reminds me more of 2019 than the past few season when we were 14-4 or 11-3.

Given no one in the West looks that great things are turning around radically, but Montreal looks fantastic.

The "best" team in the CFL has lost 3 of the past 4 Grey Cups.

2019 - Best Record: Hamilton 15-3 - All anyone could talk about was Dane Evans and the Ti-Cats this year, how they will sail to the GC Victory. - Result: Bombers defeat Ti-Cats 33-12 in GC
2021 - Best Record: Winnipeg 11-3 - OK the exception in a shortened season, which makes sense. Less time for things to go wrong. Outside of one early season stumble against the Argos and a couple meaningless losses with Sean McGuire and a rookie Dru Brown (who had just eaten popcorn before the game so his hands were slippery ) at the end of the year, this one was Bombers start to finish. - Result: Bombers defeat Ti-Cats 33-25 in GC
2022 - Best Record: Winnipeg 15-3 - Bombers controlled this season from the start until the last 5 minutes of the Grey Cup. - Result: Argos defeat Bombers 24-23 in GC
2023 - Best Record: Toronto 16-2 - Argos is all anyone could about last year. Sure occasionally mention of Bombers going 14-4 in west and BC nipping at their heels. But Toronto controlled much of the season. Collapsed in playoffs vs MTL, as did the Bombers. - Result: Alouettes defeat Bombers 28-24 in GC

So we'll see, but I wouldn't be engraving Alouettes into the Grey Cup just yet.

 

[Holden Caulfield]

Rourke could only take what he was given. Nothing but short passes. Anything thrown near Nichols and Ford was DOA. But to be fair I think Ford and Nichols is big problem for any QB in the league right now.

Ford popped out to me right from the start of the year. You could see he just a step behind for the first few games but he was close. He just needed the reps. Now it's like the game is moving in slow motion for him and he is a step a head on most balls going in his direction. I don't think we will see him getting many balls thrown his way for the rest of the year.


You saw it in his last stint with the team.

the Bombers are trying to win a Grey Cup. For the most part when you are the better football team you should win by being the better football team, no gimmicks needed.

So if you're not going to throw at Nichols at boundary HB and not going to throw at Ford at field CB, your options are pretty limited haha. Bonds also took a few games to figure out the CFL, but he's been real solid at boundary CB working with Nichols. And Holm is maybe the easiest guy to try to isolate back there at field HB, but teams have had middling success at that, particularly as Ford's speed allows him to wander a bit.

I expect teams will be trying to isolate the LBs (including "LB" Redha Kramdi) particularly with Bighill being out (he's still an elite coverage LB no matter what you think of his overall game at this stage of his career). So we'll see, but I don't see where teams are gonna pass on us as long as the DL continues to pressure.

The concerns on D will be in the run game. Letting Stanback carve them up for 100 when he's been struggling to get to 40yrds on a consistent basis was not the best sign. If I'm an opposing OC right now I'm prepping the run game hard against the Bombers.

 

[WolfHouse]

Rourke could only take what he was given. Nothing but short passes. Anything thrown near Nichols and Ford was DOA. But to be fair I think Ford and Nichols is big problem for any QB in the league right now.

Ford popped out to me right from the start of the year. You could see he just a step behind for the first few games but he was close. He just needed the reps. Now it's like the game is moving in slow motion for him and he is a step a head on most balls going in his direction. I don't think we will see him getting many balls thrown his way for the rest of the year.


You saw it in his last stint with the team.

the Bombers are trying to win a Grey Cup. For the most part when you are the better football team you should win by being the better football team, no gimmicks needed.

Umm yeah... he was used more because he was our starting quarterback after the Nichols injury hahaha

Pretty sure Buck didn't gameplan that

 

[snowkiddin]

The "best" team in the CFL has lost 3 of the past 4 Grey Cups.

2019 - Best Record: Hamilton 15-3 - All anyone could talk about was Dane Evans and the Ti-Cats this year, how they will sail to the GC Victory. - Result: Bombers defeat Ti-Cats 33-12 in GC
2021 - Best Record: Winnipeg 11-3 - OK the exception in a shortened season, which makes sense. Less time for things to go wrong. Outside of one early season stumble against the Argos and a couple meaningless losses with Sean McGuire and a rookie Dru Brown (who had just eaten popcorn before the game so his hands were slippery ) at the end of the year, this one was Bombers start to finish. - Result: Bombers defeat Ti-Cats 33-25 in GC
2022 - Best Record: Winnipeg 15-3 - Bombers controlled this season from the start until the last 5 minutes of the Grey Cup. - Result: Argos defeat Bombers 24-23 in GC
2023 - Best Record: Toronto 16-2 - Argos is all anyone could about last year. Sure occasionally mention of Bombers going 14-4 in west and BC nipping at their heels. But Toronto controlled much of the season. Collapsed in playoffs vs MTL, as did the Bombers. - Result: Alouettes defeat Bombers 28-24 in GC

So we'll see, but I wouldn't be engraving Alouettes into the Grey Cup just yet.

This is the most wide-open the league has been in a while. Montreal has been rolling, Ottawa has looked solid with a menacing D, and Toronto is above .500 with Mr Poopyhead coming back. The East Semi won't be a game between two below .500 teams this year.

In the West, I'm pre-conditioned to hate the Riders so of course I think they're pretenders, but they're still over .500 and will have Harris coming back, the Lions look shit now but Rourke should turn them around a bit, and the Bombers are catching on finally (and I still maintain if we can get healthy we're a force). Meanwhile even the Elks are in striking distance of the playoffs and maybe with Tre Ford they go on a run. Calgary is right there too but I think they're pretty shit.

But halfway through the season and you can only really write-off the Ti-Cats, gonna be an exciting finish to the year.

 

[Holden Caulfield]

This is the most wide-open the league has been in a while. Montreal has been rolling, Ottawa has looked solid with a menacing D, and Toronto is above .500 with Mr Poopyhead coming back. The East Semi won't be a game between two below .500 teams this year.

In the West, I'm pre-conditioned to hate the Riders so of course I think they're pretenders, but they're still over .500 and will have Harris coming back, the Lions look shit now but Rourke should turn them around a bit, and the Bombers are catching on finally (and I still maintain if we can get healthy we're a force). Meanwhile even the Elks are in striking distance of the playoffs and maybe with Tre Ford they go on a run. Calgary is right there too but I think they're pretty shit.

But halfway through the season and you can only really write-off the Ti-Cats, gonna be an exciting finish to the year.

My hot take right now...WPG, BC, EDM are the 3 playoff teams in the West in November. The same 3 I predicted to start the year I'm sticking with. Not sure on the order of those 3, but I think the Riders might just slide right out of the playoff picture. BC will get better, and I said off the start once EDM goes to Ford, look out cause they got some talent there this year.

 

[snowkiddin]

So if you're not going to throw at Nichols at boundary HB and not going to throw at Ford at field CB, your options are pretty limited haha. Bonds also took a few games to figure out the CFL, but he's been real solid at boundary CB working with Nichols. And Holm is maybe the easiest guy to try to isolate back there at field HB, but teams have had middling success at that, particularly as Ford's speed allows him to wander a bit.

I expect teams will be trying to isolate the LBs (including "LB" Redha Kramdi) particularly with Bighill being out (he's still an elite coverage LB no matter what you think of his overall game at this stage of his career). So we'll see, but I don't see where teams are gonna pass on us as long as the DL continues to pressure.

The concerns on D will be in the run game. Letting Stanback carve them up for 100 when he's been struggling to get to 40yrds on a consistent basis was not the best sign. If I'm an opposing OC right now I'm prepping the run game hard against the Bombers.

Our run defence has never been very good so I generally agree with this, but I figured BC was waiting for us to stack the box so Rourke could start carving the secondary. I think the Bombers were fine with “giving” BC the run game while focusing on shutting down the receivers. And when it became apparent that Rourke was rusty as hell on his throws and making horrible decisions and reads (because he barely practiced with the team), I became a bit less worried about the run last night.

But against a more-prepared/competent QB we can’t allow mediocre running backs to pound off 7-8 yard runs consecutively because it’ll open up the pass if we try to sell out to stop it.

My hot take right now...WPG, BC, EDM are the 3 playoff teams in the West in November. The same 3 I predicted to start the year I'm sticking with. Not sure on the order of those 3, but I think the Riders might just slide right out of the playoff picture. BC will get better, and I said off the start once EDM goes to Ford, look out cause they got some talent there this year.

Oh how fun the Rider forums will be if that happens. I’m getting a warm, fuzzy feeling imagining that right now.

 

[Stumbledore]

Refs called a couple strange ones

It's the ones they don't call that infuriate me. Jefferson is held on practically every second play.

Also, what's with this trend towards slugging ball carriers? I understand the need/urge to punch the ball loose, but when it's a simple assault the roughing flag should come out. One play I rewound and watched a dozen times: the Bomber runner has the ball tucked in his left arm, up against his armpit. The Lion player comes running up on the right side, his fist held high above his head, pulls alongside the runner and swings hard into the runner's right side. You can see the runner visibly sag from that punch in the ribs.

No intent to get at the ball, just a solid gut punch. The refs have to start calling that.

 

[VictoriaJetsFan]

The "best" team in the CFL has lost 3 of the past 4 Grey Cups.

2019 - Best Record: Hamilton 15-3 - All anyone could talk about was Dane Evans and the Ti-Cats this year, how they will sail to the GC Victory. - Result: Bombers defeat Ti-Cats 33-12 in GC
2021 - Best Record: Winnipeg 11-3 - OK the exception in a shortened season, which makes sense. Less time for things to go wrong. Outside of one early season stumble against the Argos and a couple meaningless losses with Sean McGuire and a rookie Dru Brown (who had just eaten popcorn before the game so his hands were slippery ) at the end of the year, this one was Bombers start to finish. - Result: Bombers defeat Ti-Cats 33-25 in GC
2022 - Best Record: Winnipeg 15-3 - Bombers controlled this season from the start until the last 5 minutes of the Grey Cup. - Result: Argos defeat Bombers 24-23 in GC
2023 - Best Record: Toronto 16-2 - Argos is all anyone could about last year. Sure occasionally mention of Bombers going 14-4 in west and BC nipping at their heels. But Toronto controlled much of the season. Collapsed in playoffs vs MTL, as did the Bombers. - Result: Alouettes defeat Bombers 28-24 in GC

So we'll see, but I wouldn't be engraving Alouettes into the Grey Cup just yet.

I never said anything about engraving the All names on the Cup, I said they looked fantastic. 9 and 1 teams tend to do that.

Don't put words in my mouth, its not appreciated.

 

[Holden Caulfield]

I never said anything about engraving the All names on the Cup, I said they looked fantastic. 9 and 1 teams tend to do that.

Don't put words in my mouth, its not appreciated.

I never said you'd said that though...

 

[rkp]

better play calling by the offence this past few games....is it because buck is down on the sidelines??

 

[Holden Caulfield]

Anyone else worried about a trap game here on Friday? Playing the lowly Ti-Cats sandwiched between the massive highs of shutting down BC twice in a row then massive rivalry and standings important Sask back to back. Hamilton seems to be at a low point, Bombers are at a high point for them this year. Hamilton's biggest weakness is in the secondary and the Bombers are still the worst passing team in the CFL to date. Just feels like a messy time to be playing Ti-Cats and worried we may start looking too far ahead.

 

[WolfHouse]

Anyone else worried about a trap game here on Friday? Playing the lowly Ti-Cats sandwiched between the massive highs of shutting down BC twice in a row then massive rivalry and standings important Sask back to back. Hamilton seems to be at a low point, Bombers are at a high point for them this year. Hamilton's biggest weakness is in the secondary and the Bombers are still the worst passing team in the CFL to date. Just feels like a messy time to be playing Ti-Cats and worried we may start looking too far ahead.

We've only won two in a row haha... trap games are more for winning records...

Not sure what Chris Jones can do on such short notice and Hamilton OL is fkn terrible