Blue Bombers Blog

Watching practice today with Bob Irving, we both found ourselves saying essentially the same thing: the more you watch the Bombers work every day and prepare and the more stuff you hear out of the locker room, the more you realize how well this team is coached compared to last season. That’s not a shot at Jim Daley… well, hell, actually it is… why sugarcoat things? Speaking of which, it’s surprising the ex-Bomber coach hasn’t found work somewhere in the game.

Here’s something to mull over: is Doug Berry the early front-runner for Coach of the Year? Look, I realize there’s a ton of football left to play, but nobody figured the Bombers would be 4-2 at this point in the season. Coaches who rebuild are often the favourites for the award, but Montreal’s Don Matthews is also deserving of a lot of consideration. Yes, he had a solid talent base to begin with, but his squad is 5-0 and he has made over that defence…

What’s with the Argos chatting with Doug Flutie? I figure the guy still has something left, but doesn’t that risk getting Damon Allen’s shorts in a knot? Seems to me sometimes the franchise in the Big Smoke is more interested in name dropping to get fans in the stands than just getting the club on the right side of .500.

A team to keep an eye on this week: the Calgary Stampeders. I’ve been a big fan of their talent base, but, geez, that implosion against B.C. on the weekend was particularly ugly. And Henry Burris’ post-game reaction - he breezed by the media and exited without facing the music - was a horrible sign from a guy who is supposed to be a leader. This looks like a team on the brink of going one of two ways: either they start flashing their skill or it comes apart with some ugly finger-pointing.

Here’s a question posed to me by an Edmonton radio guy last week that is worth debating: Terry Vaughn is now the CFL’s all-time reception leader. But if you were to rank the Top Five receivers in league history, would he be on your list? As much as I respect his durability, consistency and after-the-catch skills, he wouldn’t be in my Top 5. Interestingly, Darren Flutie — the man Vaughn passed — wouldn’t be either. My Top 5 would be: Milt Stegall, Brian Kelly, Allen Pitts, Mervyn Fernandez and Joe Poplawski.

Cheers