Double E Game #3 vs the Bombers

[cmbuk]

Frustrating to lose another game but I think we've improved from game to game, which is what you want to see. I thought Ford had a great day against a very good Winnipeg D. Most of his throws were on time and on target. If he can play like that for the rest of the year we'll be just fine.

Saw a few glimmers of hope with our D. I think letting Bratton go was a mistake as I think he's better then Williams. JC is learning on the fly here and will be a good DC. He just needs some time with the same group of players as the good teams have very little turnover and our secondary has 3 new starters in it (4 if you include the SAM).

One thing we can’t hit the panic button 3 games into a rebuild ..

killam will have the time to at least get it right ..
if Ed still has it .. he will move the pieces that need to be moved

with Ford.. you gotta let em play to improve.. u don’t improve until the bullets are real

tough start to the year schedule wise ..

I think Ottawa at home ( despite last few years crap ) will be the biggest litmus in terms of where we actually are talent and improvement wise

[ben_the_eskimo]

Frustrating to lose another game but I think we've improved from game to game, which is what you want to see. I thought Ford had a great day against a very good Winnipeg D. Most of his throws were on time and on target. If he can play like that for the rest of the year we'll be just fine.

Saw a few glimmers of hope with our D. I think letting Bratton go was a mistake as I think he's better then Williams. JC is learning on the fly here and will be a good DC. He just needs some time with the same group of players as the good teams have very little turnover and our secondary has 3 new starters in it (4 if you include the SAM).

I’d take Bratton over Williams as well I think…

The thing people forget about JC tho is that this may be his first season as a DC in the CFL, but he was a DC in the NCAA division 1 for four seasons so I think he’s gonna be just fine here, he’s a super intelligent dude.

Biggest thing on D is we need to get more pressure up front to buy time for the new secondary to gel.

[ben_the_eskimo]

One thing we can’t hit the panic button 3 games into a rebuild ..

killam will have the time to at least get it right ..
if Ed still has it .. he will move the pieces that need to be moved

with Ford.. you gotta let em play to improve.. u don’t improve until the bullets are real

tough start to the year schedule wise ..

I think Ottawa at home ( despite last few years crap ) will be the biggest litmus in terms of where we actually are talent and improvement wise

Exactly. The goal is to get to where the Bombers are now but you can’t do that without living through some growing pains along the way.

O’Shea only won 3 games in his first season with the Bombers and didn’t even make the playoffs until his fourth season as the HC.

Winnipeg stuck with him and the result was five straight Grey Cup appearances and a veteran team that knows how to win consistently week in and week out.

That could have been us now if we’d stuck with Maas but we ran him outta town, so here we are having to start over.

[Looner]

I’d take Bratton over Williams as well I think…

The thing people forget about JC tho is that this may be his first season as a DC in the CFL, but he was a DC in the NCAA division 1 for four seasons so I think he’s gonna be just fine here, he’s a super intelligent dude.

Biggest thing on D is we need to get more pressure up front to buy time for the new secondary to gel.

One thing that always sticks with me is that I had a conversation with Hervey, when he was here the first time, about his hiring of Maas and he said that he was going to be a great coach. I feel the same way about JC, lets give him some time.

[cmbuk]

Exactly. The goal is to get to where the Bombers are now but you can’t do that without living through some growing pains along the way.

O’Shea only won 3 games in his first season with the Bombers and didn’t even make the playoffs until his fourth season as the HC.

Winnipeg stuck with him and the result was five straight Grey Cup appearances and a veteran team that knows how to win consistently week in and week out.

That could have been us now if we’d stuck with Maas but we ran him outta town, so here we are having to start over.

Bingo.. when it’s a rebuild you gotta stay the course Oshawa is a great example..

not every hire is gonna have mace/ dinwiddie success.. Ottawa are still struggling despite the time given and Hamilton are in as bad a spot as we are

time let them get it right

only thing I will say is our fan base needs some home wins. Losses and losing seasons u can live with but home wins.. we gotta win home games

[tigerdar]

It’s funny, the times Ford succeeded tonight were when he stood in the pocket and made the mid-range, quick read plays. The times he struggled are when he tried to scramble and turn back or flick out a high desperation pass or deep ball. (Jones playing spy worked well for Winnipeg too).Those aren’t OC issues, those are a QB who can’t make reads and gets into trouble.

Seriously, I know they’ve given Ford the keys and he needs to play to hopefully develop, but you have a proven QB sitting and enough talent to win games. Fajardo helps this team and they’re crazy not to try him.

Other observations:

- Blanchard looks good. Whatever adjustments he made, he seems reliable.
- Both sides got stronger as the game went ion. Good play calling and it was a winnable game until the soft Kongbo RTP and the ensuing drive. Seemed to be a mental collapse after that.
- Winnipeg seemed to target Bynum a lot and succeed. Am I seeing that right?
- They need more of that from Ceresna and the rest of the D line. Hopefully a breakout game.
- I love the punt and kick coverage team. So many of these young guys like Brodrique, Bonhomme, Dublanko, Schakel are all over the ball. Heart and soul and likely the best STs we’ve had in a while. That’s Kilam, though some credit to the Jones/Simon regime for adding those guys.
- Line looked fine today. Beard is a pro, but I wonder if Korte is just a better C than G.

I had all these as my positives of the game. I know Blanchard isn't banging off 50 yarders but after that awful first game he's doing ok. Our ST coverage and even return teams seem better this year . We haven't broken one yet but we've gotten decent returns.
Ceresna looks like Ceresna again but the rest of the D line and Nyles Morgan should be wearing masks when they cash their game cheques cause they are stealing money and doing nothing out there.
Anderson though he's going to be a great one if he stays healthy I'm talking top guy especially against the run.
I think Korte is a better center because he's worse as a guard if that makes sense.

I honestly in my heart believe we beat Ottawa and could beat BC in the next couple weeks in fact I'm betting money that we will.

[tigerdar]

I’d take Bratton over Williams as well I think…

The thing people forget about JC tho is that this may be his first season as a DC in the CFL, but he was a DC in the NCAA division 1 for four seasons so I think he’s gonna be just fine here, he’s a super intelligent dude.

Biggest thing on D is we need to get more pressure up front to buy time for the new secondary to gel.

We need those FAs we paid a lot of cash to on the dline to get pressure without having to blitz.

[Esks4ever]

yah, Bynum fast but when ball arrives, hard time mashing out that 50/50 ball since hes so short. not sure his height exactly, but seems undersized for sure.

agree on the Ford comments.
he was good as id mentioned in the first and a bit when he sat there and quick read, quick throw.
this idea that OC constantly has to have run plays and all or else the failure of ford is not his fault at all is crazy.

just as some might say we are quick to judge Ford and run him out, hes had way more time than the OC(s) ( in Edmonton) of whom you want to run outta town right away also. Maksymic, Sherrit

Feel this is directed at me. I've always hated Maksymic and its been his MO to be a pass heavy team. We have Rankin, Leake and Ford. We should be run heavy. It'll open up the passing game but again the isn't JM's MO. Ford was good last season when he was finally given starter roll. why ? they had plays that utilized his strengths. JM doesnt. Not every snap needs to be him running around.. he does need to learn how to navigate the pocket but at least have some plays/schemes that are suited to his ability. Hell i even think they should give fatjoe a few series during a game.

I'll remind you:

Rankin 7 carries
Leake 7 carries
Ford 1.

THAT is bull****. Remember how good Rankin was last season.... gets better the more he gets the ball and 7 a friggin game ain't gunna cut it.

as for Sherritt he's shown me nothing that he is a capable DC. Secondary still getting caved in,.... At least we did see a little improvement on D - but how many games it going to take to Gel?

[Esks4ever]

You know what philosophy your getting when you hire your oc… maksymic is not a heavy run guy
im ok with 15-17 touches a game for the backs but we’re splitting reps
also the lack of use of gittens is criminal

and that’s something Jordan can control

yep.. I'd rather see Rankin get the bulk of carries.. and tin foil thinking - Jordan as OC makes the foil think they aren't serious about Ford setting him up for failure in favor of fatjoe. Non tin foil hate - Jordan a good OC to help Ford learn the passing game - but for the love of god have some schemes for ford to do what ford does best.

[Esks4ever]

Honestly this 0-3 feels different than the 0-7 and 0-9 starts of the previous years because this team is showing improvement every game whereas the CJ era losing streaks felt like Groundhog Day losing over and over and over with out any real progress.

I think they just have to stick with it and this thing should flip soon.

agree.... at least we see some improvement each game to build on

[Looner]

as for Sherritt he's shown me nothing that he is a capable DC. Secondary still getting caved in,.... At least we did see a little improvement on D - but how many games it going to take to Gel?

Not sure I agree with you on JC. How many times do we put the guy in the right spot but they don't make the play. That tells me the scheme is fine, its the execution that needs work and that is either a personnel thing or a time together thing. How different is that game if Jackson comes down with that ball instead of falling down or if the 2 guys covering Demski make a play.

[Hammer24]

There is much lamenting about the scheme pushing Ford to work out of the pocket. IMO if he can build a level of comfort and effectiveness out of the pocket it will make him much more effective when added to his scrambling and running abilities. If he can't add working out of the pocket to his other abilities he will become much easier to defend. Interesting the talk of Fajardo. It took him 4 years to develop into a more rounded QB. Until then he had a run first mentality and wasn't very good from the pocket. Even in his breakout year with the Riders he was erratic going downfield.

[Looner]

There is much lamenting about the scheme pushing Ford to work out of the pocket. IMO if he can build a level of comfort and effectiveness out of the pocket it will make him much more effective when added to his scrambling and running abilities. If he can't add working out of the pocket to his other abilities he will become much easier to defend. Interesting the talk of Fajardo. It took him 4 years to develop into a more rounded QB. Until then he had a run first mentality and wasn't very good from the pocket. Even in his breakout year with the Riders he was erratic going downfield.

For every Ricky Ray there are countless guys like Fajardo that take several years to fully develop.

[ben_the_eskimo]

For every Ricky Ray there are countless guys like Fajardo that take several years to fully develop.

How many teams was VA on before he finally started to settle in recently? (With some of his best seasons coming under Jordan M)

[ben_the_eskimo]

There is much lamenting about the scheme pushing Ford to work out of the pocket. IMO if he can build a level of comfort and effectiveness out of the pocket it will make him much more effective when added to his scrambling and running abilities. If he can't add working out of the pocket to his other abilities he will become much easier to defend. Interesting the talk of Fajardo. It took him 4 years to develop into a more rounded QB. Until then he had a run first mentality and wasn't very good from the pocket. Even in his breakout year with the Riders he was erratic going downfield.

As I’m sure everyone is aware, Jordan is a Maas protege and one of the brightest young OCs in the league IMO. Very excited to see what he can do with Ford in the long term.