stevethe3rd

I am a rider fan and even i will admit that there are 4 or so QBS that should be favoured ahead of him. The one year of success has to be taken into account.

Bodog is in it to make money just because you are the favourite for Vegas doesn't mean you are actually the favourite. They have advanced computers that figure out betting patterns and set the odds for what they think will bring in the most cash.

I dont think this was meant in a bad way at all. It is something worth mentioning and if the bombers aren't in the grey cup this year it could be because one or two of these guys has a drop off. I think one of the interesting storylines going into this season is going to be how these vets play with the year off not just bomber vets but league wide. You can make the argument for someone like Collaros that it will help in the long run but I wonder how it will effect other positions.

Had a good buddy that was at training camp with the bombers during Simonise's last year with the team. He said he could not believe how someone could be a professional athlete and literally not give a crap about anything. Seemed like he did not pay attention in meetings and hardly ever tried.

And another guy I know. I think he will be a stud in the CFL. Super fast and well built. Bombers should be able to have a Canadian Backfield for a while with him and Oliveria. Unfortunately got busted for PEDs and missed out on the 2019 seasons which probably hurt his draft stock. The PED suspension seemed like bullshit and it seems like everyone in Sask football community has kind of just accepted or thinks he unknowingly took it just like Harris, including me. Guy is really highly thought of for his work ethic and just being a good dude.

Two years in a row the Bombers pick a former teammate of mine. Last year (Nick Dhielly). Think he will be a CFL player for sure. Big/athletic should find a home on special teams at the very least. He played cover Linebacker at the U of R but he is a gym rat and I think he would be better suited to add another couple pounds and play inside linebacker. Hoping for the best from him, good dude with a bigger personality.

this is it 100%. Not saying Winnipeg isnt the top ran franchise in the league but he has said other things about teams that make me question the motives. He seems to want his show to be a national show rather then regional which makes sense. He does get some good guests on and have some interesting conversations. I will usually watch on youtube later if I see someone interesting on. I do find him annoying and especially the little man crushes he seems to develop for random players such as Duron Carter.

Thats a fair point. I would agrue that Brady is unlike anyone else ever including his longevity. QB is also a positon that doesn't take the beating a LB or RB take. Especially how brady plays.

What safety is better then him? The guy has been in the league for a long time and has been a consistent starter to point for the last few years on the riders which has had one of the best Ds. To say he cant tackle if actually wrong and shows you don't watch. His weakness is when he is asked to cover the 3 to the wide side in man coverage because they are playing 0, but I don't think there is a safety in the league that is super strong at that because if they were they would probably be playing HB. Freddie Bishop had 6 sacks last year but the year before he played in the CFL he had 15. He was bouncing around the NFL before that so I don't think he qualifies as CFL journeyman. Dabire and Henry were good enough to be the Canadian DTs on a first place team in the west in 2019 but all of sudden suck? A.C. is a solid DE with ability to get double digit sacks and also plays the run really well. He also fits their need of being able to drop into coverage in some situations. All in all that is a solid group which I would put ahead of Montreal, Ottawa, BC Edmonton, and Calgary. Linebackers they have Larry Dean who is probably top 2 at his position in the CFL, then at will they will probably have some young American like Idowu who was good enough to take defensive reps from Solomon in 2019, with Purifoy playing SAM. To me the question mark on D comes from the corresponding move of having Purifoy playing SAM, and who takes his spot.

good response, really proved me wrong

I don't think Evans started or took significant snaps since July. He got injured and never really came back. He was dealing with the injury/personal family stuff with a divorce/custody battle. From what I heard some of that stuff really took his want to play away and he might be done with football. He was pretty much useless on the field. From talking to players on the team he didn't want to be there and was only there because the Riders paid a hundred thousand plus for him to go to the states to some core specialist for surgery. Dean is 32 turning 33, Soli is 34 turning 35 so that is a two year difference. Soli also was a ten year vet where Dean has less miles. Kind of like how Harris has been able to succeed into his 30s because he never really got high mileage use till he was late 20s. At the end of the day no one really knows how this time off will effect the older players. I think that will be one of the most interesting story lines to follow as the year starts.

I am not attacking all things bombers if you look at my post history I believe it is pretty complimentary. I am not being over zealous I am presenting some facts that I think add something to the discussion. THis constant Rider trashing does nothing to add anything to the board. Especially when you are wrong in your predictions. Bouka didn't get a mini camp invite, he was in training camp and was doing well. Looking at getting on the roster or PR before he tore his Achilles. So that is point one where you are wrong. How are we down 5 starters? Solomon who you were saying was too old was replaced with a younger Dean, Hughes you constantly trash for being washed up was replaced by Bishop who has been a really strong pass rusher in the past, Moncreif, and Judge are the only two that I seem to be able to find that we lost and haven't really replaced.

I dont think the combination of Bishop/Micah/Henry/Leonard is mediocre. Might not be as strong as Winnipeg's or what's going on in Toronto but it wouldn't be in the bottom half of the league. We have 3 dudes that have double digit sack potential. It is the same as last season with Dabire being another year of experience and trading Hughes for Bishop. If we listen to people on here Hughes is a washed up alcoholic who doesnt have a impact after labour day so that shouldn't be a horrible trade off. People on here think Edem is some horrible player but the reality is he has played at a all star level and I think he is the best Canadian Safety in the league. As I said before they will probably put Bouka at corner and move Purifoy to SAM where he played in BC. They also have Mcray who was a Safety in college and signed Jerome from Calgary who started a few games at SAM for Calgary last year. There are maybe two question marks on D. I think we can stop saying this Defense is going to be terrible. Any team including Winnipeg has a couple question marks on both sides of the ball. The lump of the Dline played really well down the stretch as he was a rookie. Resulted in former start Zack Evans being a healthy scratch. The only question mark on that list of Canadians is Bouka. Guy was good enough to get a NFL look at corner coming out of a Canadian college. Also played really well in spot duty last year. You guys are so worried about Sask it is actually comical.

DT Split between Dabire and Henry Edem at safety Field corner or possibly Linebacker

Moncrrief played sam. Not sure who his replacement is going to be but he would be our biggest loss as that is a tough position to fill. My guess is we move Purifoy or Mcray there. The open spot in the secondary is then taken up by Bouka which will be our 3rd National on D. (We signed a Canadian Corner today to back him up.) We start Dean at MLB then probably go a young American at Will. We had two on our roster for most of last year in Idowu who filled in for Solomon on passing downs sometimes and Gary Johnson jr who came in after NFL cuts and played special teams. I am hoping/thinking the Canadian Linebackers are special teams guys/backups but I guess we will see.

Too bad Bombers cant find a way to make Alexender work at Safety with the ratio. He was a game changer back there.

As a rideran they are a great tackle combo. But Bryant is on a totally different level then Hardwick and possibly anyone in the league. He is a guy you can put into any scheme and will be dominant. Where I think Hardwick struggles in pass pro. The scheme he plays in Winnipeg really allows him to succeed.

As someone from Sask I am really interested to see how Dhielly transitions to the CFL. I think he can have a impact on special teams with his size and athleticism. Will be interesting to see how he transitions to a CFL locker room. I have heard he has matured since his weird split from the U of R.

A friend of mine was in camp with the bombers last year. He told me Simonise was out of it at camp. Seemed like he was not engaged at all. Also there was a story about when they went around the room and introduced themselves on the first day he said something really strange. Gave my buddy the impression he was not that bright.

Just what i thought. You are guys are hoping for a young guy with not much experience to come in and hold down the fort. The riders will do the same if/when labatte gets injured.

Collaros is done, he played in 5 games last year. What are you guys going to do when he goes down?

Schram is actually pretty good in limited action. Bennett was a 3rd round pick supplemental pick who was a multi year starter in Div one playing same level of football as Eli and is probably a similar prospect. I think both of these guys are ahead of JSJ. I doubt they put him on the PR. I am comfortable with him filling in at centre and scram at guard. The problem comes with two canadian injuries.

IDK about that he is probably coming into camp as the 6th Canadian lineman. Not sure he will make the team.

Has JSJ ever really settled in?

I don't think so. His original rankings that you guys got so upset about he literally said it was because the bombers had so many free agents. But since then they have re-signed Bryant,Hardwick,Jefferson,Collaros, and many others. I don't remember exactly but I think his most recent rankings have it Ti-Cats Riders Bombers Which I think is reasonable. If you ask most CFL fans I think they would say they are probably the top 3 teams in the CFL right now. Being ranked 3rd vs 2nd is not something to get too worked up over. Just like I wouldn't expect Bob Irving to rank the Riders over the Bombers. When the teams are this close the teams play by play dudes are almost always going to rank them ahead of their arch rival.