Rich

Again. Short of a shotgun to the head, we did EVERYTHING we could.. most money offered is what i keep hearing to butler and id assume bourke if he even fielded ours.. Myddleton is no better then Greaves or swiston and emery passed on us as well.. so whaaaat pray tell could we have done? Pro sports is a results oriented business, you don't get a gold star for trying. Do I applaud their effort, do I think this organization did what they could to sign those guys ... from all accounts, yes. They made their best pitch and the top NI free agents went elsewhere. I'm not down on the leadership or the direction of the club. That still doesn't change the fact that we missed out on guys who would have helped us immensely. Canadian starters is still a huge question mark for this team. So for that reason, I can't see giving a grade of A or B. Sometimes a C+ is just simply the best you can do.

Mike did specify "Consider who we targeted, who was actually available and what the results were." but that is limited criteria. (I'd give him a C on criteria-specifying) And, i don't see why Randle and Willy cannot be included because it was part of the goal to secure these guys before Free Agency, thereby giving us the advantage. That's as good as Free Agency sniping as it gets. I can kinda see your point, but I still wouldn't want you as a teacher marking my grades.** ** And yes, I'm way past that stage. Fair enough, I should have reread Mike's original post, as he did specify some criteria and included Randle. I did teach for a few years at Red River a while back, and I was probably easier on the students then I have been on the Bombers this season. What I meant by expectations is what each grade level means and to what level would you grade them. Another poster just mentioned that they didn't consider a C+ a negative rating, while others clearly do. While I am personally not happy to get a C, I have seen some students who were ecstatic to get them. Is a C simply meeting your expectations? Or would you consider that a B? I see us as just above average. Take away one of Randle or Moore and I think we are below average. Add in one of the "big" NI FA and I think we are far above average. The good news is that the only ranking that really matters is the one at the end of the season. Lots of time and games to be played before we see where this edition of the Bombers ends up.

Thats the problem with getting people to assign a grade without specifying the criteria. Everyone will grade it differently. Also, when I grade, I view a C as average. So a C+ grade is slightly above average which is where I thought we were. I also didn't include Willy or Randle because they were acquired through trades. Ask to grade the overall off season so far and I would go up to a B to B+. If you look at what we lost compared to what we gained in FA (I include Muamba, Mathews, etc even if no one else signed them), then I think we are slightly above average. Not great, but not bad either.

I gave a C+. We were one of the teams that had the most holes and the most money to spend in FA. I'm happy with what we got, but I would say it is average for what we needed. Our OLine and Canadian starters are still looking weak. If we could have nabbed a Bourke / Emery / Laurent / or Butler, then that would have been huge.

Thanks to Cvetkovic for all his years as a Bomber. Great community guy, and was steady as our long snapper for years. Wish him the best in his life after football.

Why would this be great? Sure it's great that True North brought the Jets back, but why do fans yell out 'True North" during a football game and why do we need True North to own and operate the football team? I don't get all this at all. IMO it's disrespectful. Most likely reason is that True North has proven, ever since they brought in the Moose, built the MTS Centre, then built a business model with concert revenue and other external income to bring the NHL back to Winnipeg. They know how to run and own sports / entertainment entities, and have put people in place to slowly turn the Jets around. That and they are backed by some of the richest owners in the NHL / Canada. People compare that to a meddling BOD who run the Bombers, make decisions on the franchise without their own money on the line, which has given us 20 some years without a championship team in a 8.5 team league. (Yes I know Asper has invested a lot of his money into the franchise, but at the end of the day, his money isn't on the line like it is with Chipman). Especially when you hear stories coming out of Regina about them razzing Khari Jones at the end of the last season when it was thought he was coming here about the Bombers being cheap and cutting his per diem in half during the playoffs, joking telling him to get used to it. That is the perception of the Bombers, and probably warranted. One organization is a model way to run a sports franchise and the other .... is not. If the Bombers want the same respect given to True North, then start running their business in a way that people give them that respect.

Curious if the money offered between Ottawa and Winnipeg was similar. Interesting that Burris chooses an expansion franchise over Winnipeg. If this is the perception of the Bombers from free agents, I don't expect a lot of high profile signings come free agency unless we severely over pay. Rebuilding this club and image is going to have to come the hard way No easy fixes here. The good news is that this can be done relatively quickly in the CFL if you have good scouting.

Who cares what the length of the contract is when no contract is guaranteed. Just have to be careful where you place the bonuses so that you can cut him before they come do if his performance declines enough or a new starter emerges.

Darren Cameron (@Darren_Cameron) 2/3/2014, 9:46 AM #Bombers have re-signed two pending free agent Canadian's - OL Chris Kowalczuk @theonetheonlyCK and DL Ryan Lucas @rylucas94

“@TSNDaveNaylor: BREAKING: Sale of #CFL's @TorontoArgos to MLSE or Larry Tanenbaum may be right around the corner.

The only reason we were the only team to lose a pending free agent is because our talent cupboard was so bare, Ottawa preferred to take a chance on a guy they could sign before FA rather then the talent we had on contract. I have no problems with Ottawa coming back and the dispersal draft. A team should be in Ottawa, and the CFL is the strongest it has been in a very long time. Worst case scenario is that if Ottawa folds again, then there is a dispersal draft and all teams get some talent back!

Honestly, it doesn't matter what lines are out there. That shouldn't happen. Its a joke 2 seconds into the game. Coaches should be fined and penalized . It starts with them.

Not a fan

Wonder if he will follow in the footsteps of his dad. Cut from a couple of teams before finding a home and a HOF career.

You don't build teams through free agency. You build through the draft and when the time is right you add final pieces through free agency. The Jets have never been there. Their FA signings have been stop gaps while they build the team. First Winnipeg by itself isn't a prime destination for free agents. Throw in the fact that the team sucks, and Winnipeg is tough sell in Free Agency. Winnipeg is used to drive up the cost elsewhere. Get a winning team, get close to being a contender and it is an easier sell. The Jets are close to the cap now, but so are most teams, it is a symptoms of the lockout and the reduced cap, they won't be going forward unless they are close and can add a final piece or two.

Tanking next year would be better as it is a weak draft this year. And it will be the Connor McDavid sweepstakes. I'll still take a competitive team next year though. Somehow, McDavid is bound to end up in Edmonton.

17s assessment really isn’t that far off. The Jets have been a struggling .500 to below .500 club this year and in previous years. They have made some upgrades this season trading away Antropov and company for Frolik and Setagouchi. Add in that they are in a tougher conference and division, and it wasn’t enough. Tangradi, Peluso, Wright, Ellerby and Pardy should all be in the AHL. It can be argued that Scheifele Kane and Frolik (or Wheeler) are the already the number 1 line on the team this year. The sooner they can cement that and Little / Ladd / Wheeler can become the 2nd line the better shape we will be in. The team isn’t that far off, but they are not there yet. Noel had to go because they were playing well below the level they should be. Win or lose you need to be competitive, and this team had no fight in it. That isn’t talent, that is something else. The team is still a year or two away. Hopefully a new coach can put some fresh perspective in.

The last two games were the absolute worse I've ever seen them play, and the players had no answer for why. Sorry to see Noel go, but something had to be done. This team, regardless of where their talent may be, was not playing up to it. It sure is fun being a sports fan in Winnipeg!

No disrespect to Stala but I hope he retires .... the only reason being that I never want to hear Rod Black call him Sticky Stala again................

Merry Christmas all!

I hope the people in Ottawa come out and support their team this go around. Having proper ownership in place will mean a world of difference in managing that team (I know nothing about the new ownership, but it has to be better then what they had last time). What they do have going for them this time around is that the economics of the game have changed. The most recent TSN deal means they are not as reliant on gate revenue. But it will be very unfortunate if they aren't supported at the gate.

You consider it laziness that a person chooses to work in a situation which is more conducive to being successful? Let alone that it is geographically closer to his home... With the hours and work load that coaches put in during the season, laziness is not a quality that a coach who has been in the league for as long as Stubler has been would posess. That statement just smells of sour grapes that he didn't choose Winnipeg. Wonder if you would feel the seem if the Bombers ever turn themselves into a perennial contender and we are able to attract players and coaches as their "first" choice. Will you still call them lazy for coming here?

That was quick. Its a good move this guy has the ability to develope into a very good kicker. Has a big leg and also punts. PS can one of the mods spell his last name correctly i messed up. Fixed

What I find interesting is the amount of Canadian content we have in the office and coaches. Canadian: Kyle Walters GM - - Born in St Thomas, Ontario Mike O'Shea - Head Coach - Born in North Bay, Ontario Marcel Bellefeuille - Offensive Coordinator - Born in Ottawa, Ontario Ted Goveia - Assistant General Manager / Director of Player Personnel - Believe he comes from Burlington, Ontario Dave Siddall - National Scout - Believe he is Canadian as he graduated from the U of M American: Danny McManus - Assistant General Manager / Director of U.S. Scouting - Dania Beach, Florida Drew Morris - Assistant General Manager / Director of U.S. Scouting - American Vacant Coaching Positions: Receivers Running Backs Offensive Line Defensive Coordinator Linebackers Defensive Line Defensive Backs Special Teams Coordinator Can throw in Wade Miller and a bunch of the other front office staff, but I believe they are typically Canadian on most teams anyway. I don't think it really means anything, just unusual in that the league typically has Americans in a lot of those positions.

Ottawa will have a lot of cap room in free agency as well. Be interesting to see if / how much they would have to over pay to attract the high end talent. A lot of teams have also let contracts expire with the purpose of making them not attractive in the dispersal draft. How many agents will be telling their clients to wait till February now so they can at the very minimum play Ottawa's offers against other teams.