Quote:
Originally Posted by Mathgod
Let's break this down:
Federkeil, Harrison, Craighead, Lavoie all on the 6-game list with Harrison gone for the year. Not to mention Lavertu has been playing banged up. These O-line injuries have hampered the Stamps' offensive attack and has made life difficult not only for the replacement Olinemen but for the entire offense. Mitchell hasn't been getting as much time to throw the ball as other QBs around the league have been. Having your Oline beat up like this is almost like having an injury to your QB too since his effectiveness becomes limited.
We can squabble over hypotheticals of certain players from last year that aren't on this year's team (ie: Jones, Bryant), but the fact is that they didn't stay so it's not relevant to play the what-if game. Fact of the matter is that they haven't been available and aren't available.
Yes Simon CC is our top Canadian receiver. Durant is talented but inexperienced; Parker has a chronic case of the dropsies.
Cornish is the best player on this team, period. Losing him for six games is a huge blow. If you want to play the "the run game was non-existent anyway" card, you have to admit that it magnifies the importance of the Oline injuries. It should also be noted that the few times the Oline HAS held up you saw Cornish tear off big runs, just look at the Winnipeg game as an example.
You shrugged off the D-line injuries but they are nothing to shrug off. Micah Johnson is our best DT and he's been missing through the first 6 games. Mace is an excellent DT and also a Canadian, so losing him meant putting strain on the team's ratio situation. Ben D'Aguilar is a good Canadian DE that can play special teams as well as on defense and he's also been out for 6 games.
Others on the 6 game list include Tim St Pierre and Max Caron.
So yeah, I'd say there's a strong case to be made that the Stamps have been decimated by injuries.
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I already said OL has been decimated. Not arguing that.
Sure OL is important but so is your starting QB, you can have the greatest offensive player but without a legit QB, you aren't going anywhere. This is where teams like Riders/Als/Esks are hurting the biggest now add Bombers to that list too.
Cornish has been missed one game. To me it also looks like he's lost a step. Now that is partially on the OL too but i didn't see the same runner as last year who wont he rushing title despite missing 8 games. He's still a big loss though.
SCC maybe our top Canadian receiver but he's not Durie/Fantuz etc. He's like the 5th/6th read on almost every play. I like him but Parker or Durant coming in and we won't miss a beat in that spot.
Micah played 6 games last year and 0 this year. To call him the best DT is bit much since who knows how he'll be able to come back after successive knee surgeries. Then again we're starting Nation DTs, a position usually where Imports are much better, so chances are him at 80% would be better then Turner/Smith etc at 100%.
I'm not arguing we don't have injuries but s do other teams. Our most important player is still healthy in Bo. With him in the lineup, I'd take our team over anyone else's.