voodoochylde

While I completely agree with the need to balance youth with veteran influence, this right here demonstrates why the approach our organization is the right one. It's sustainable and will allow the club to be competitive long term.

Welcome aboard. Looking forward to your contributions.

Just want to say, awesome work Rich.

He's a cornerstone talent within this organization - a deal will get done. It's also refreshing to see that he wants to be here (or it appears that way). Good things are happening with the club right now and I'd hate to see our young Canadians jump ship (or be allowed to walk). That .. and I'm rocking a new Muamba jersey this season .. I'd hate for it to be a one year investment.

Such a damn shame (especially with the interest in the CFL growing) ..

Matchup is two weeks long Perfect. Just let me know the league setup when you've had a chance to create it in Fantaseh .. I'll make sure we're rolling the same in league two.

I've got the second league setup. Just need a password for the second forum. I'll be a newbie on the fantaseh site as well .. should be interesting .. wondering how bye weeks work in an 8 team league.

Original Story Here

Section 105, Row 11. (West Side Sucks)

The big boys are finally out to play. Anyone who has made it out to the stadium today, please post your observations. (total aside - toured the stadium yesterday and it was incredible. I cannot wait to see a game live in our new facility)

Original Story Here EAST DIVISION MONTREAL ALOUETTES Last year: 11-7, 1st in East, lost East Final Who's in: Head coach Dan Hawkins, SB Arland Bruce (B.C.), QB Quinton Porter (Hamilton), CB Byron Parker (B.C.), RB Jerome Messam (Edmonton), DE Ejiro Kuale (Toronto) Who's out: Head coach Marc Trestman (Chicago-NFL), WR Brian Bratton (released), LB Rod Davis (released), DB Dwight Anderson (Saskatchewan), QB Adrian McPherson (released) Overview: The big news in Montreal was the coaching change, with Marc Trestman leaving for the Chicago Bears and long-time U.S. college coach Dan Hawkins taking over. There will be a transition period. The Als needed to upgrade their defence, and the additions of Parker and Kuale are decent pieces. The pickup of Bruce was a slick move by GM Jim Popp, who kept all of his important free agents and extended other key players as well. Off-season grade: B TORONTO ARGONAUTS Last year: 9-9, 2nd in East, won Grey Cup Who's in: WR Romby Bryant (Calgary), LB James Yurichuk (B.C.), DT Khalif Mitchell (B.C.), DT Jermaine Reid (Edmonton), offensive co-ordinator Marcus Brady (Montreal) Who's out: DE Ejiro Kuale (Montreal), K Noel Prefontaine (released), DT Armond Armstead (New England-NFL), DB Evan McCollough (Hamilton), DE Ricky Foley (Saskatchewan), DE Ron Flemons (released) Overview: The Grey Cup champs still have Ricky Ray, who has settled in nicely with the Boatmen, so life is good. The Yurichuk signing was a solid one, as he is one of those all-around Canadians who can do many jobs. The Mitchell acquisition was a risky move given his moodiness, but it could pay off if the coaching staff can get him to play at a top level. The loss of McCullough to their rivals in Hamilton will hurt, as will Armstead's departure for the NFL. Off-season grade: C WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS Last year: 6-12, 3rd in East, missed playoffs Who's in: S Cauchy Muamba (B.C.), OL Mark Dewit (Calgary), QB Max Hall, QB Chase Clement, defensive co-ordinator Casey Creehan (Hamilton), special teams co-ordinator Craig Dickenson (Saskatchewan) Who's out: LB Marcellus Bowman (Hamilton), DE Jason Vega (New England-NFL), QB Joey Elliott (released), QB Alex Brink (released), S Ian Logan (released) Overview: It's all about the quarterback in Winnipeg, where the injury-prone Buck Pierce remains No. 1. GM Joe Mack jettisoned backups Alex Brink and Joey Elliott, and replaced them with former NFLer Max Hall and Chase Clement. That means, along with returnee Justin Goltz, the three quarterbacks behind Pierce have thrown a total of 14 passes in the CFL. That could be trouble if Pierce goes down, so Mack didn't exactly fix the quarterback problem like he said he would. Other than that, Mack stuck to his script. The only player with bona fide CFL experience he added was safety Cauchy Muamba. He didn't feel the need to put much experienced talent on the roster, which has led to problems in the past. Off-season grade: D HAMILTON TIGER-CATS Last year: 6-12, 4th in East, missed playoffs Who's in: Head coach/GM Kent Austin, S James Patrick (Saskatchewan), LB Shomari Williams (Saskatchewan), LB Marcellus Bowman (Winnipeg), DB Evan McCollough (Toronto), OL Greg Wojt (Edmonton), DT Brian Bulcke (Calgary) Who's out: Head coach George Cortez (Saskatchewan), GM Bob O'Billovich (retired), RB Avon Cobourne (released), RB Martell Mallett (released), QB Quinton Porter (Montreal), DB Geoff Tisdale (Montreal), LB Rey Williams (Saskatchewan), LB Kevin Eiben (retired) Overview: Ticats brass punted George Cortez after only one season and brought in Austin to save the day, just as he did in Saskatchewan in 2007. Austin brought his broom with him from Cornell University and cleaned house. The defence needed a major overhaul especially, and while the additions of Williams, Patrick, Bowman and Bulcke are nice, none of them will come in and save the day. McCollough was the best acquisition on defence. Also of note was Hamilton's inability to sign first overall draft pick Linden Gaydosh before the draft, which allowed him to bolt to the NFL a week later. There is also the Chris Williams fiasco hanging over the club heading into camp. Off-season grade: C WEST DIVISION B.C. LIONS Last year: 13-5, 1st in West, lost West Final Who's in: WR Emmanuel Arceneaux (NFL), DE Julius Williams (Edmonton), QB Joey Elliott (Winnipeg) Who's out: SB Geroy Simon (Saskatchewan), QB Mike Reilly (Edmonton), SB Arland Bruce (Montreal), DT Khalif Mitchell (Toronto), CB Byron Parker (Montreal), LB James Yurichuk (Toronto), S Cauchy Muamba (Winnipeg) Overview: It was an odd off-season on the West Coast, where GM Wally Buono once again got rid of some aging veterans -- most notably the CFL's career leading receiver in Geroy Simon -- but he also lost some young talent. Gone are backup quarterback Mike Reilly, starting safety Cauchy Muamba and special teamer James Yurichuk. Getting Arceneaux to return to the Lions' den after a failed NFL stint was a huge coup, but there wasn't much else for fans to get excited about. The offensive line remains a question mark. Buono did re-sign the league's best O lineman in Jovan Olafioye and brought linebacker Solomon Elimimian back to the fold, and he also extended the contracts of about half the team. So that brings the grade up to average. Off-season grade: C CALGARY STAMPEDERS Last year: 12-6, 2nd in West, lost Grey Cup Who's in: LB Rod Davis (Montreal), OL Dan Federkeil (Toronto), WR Terence Jeffers-Harris (Saskatchewan), DT Etienne Legare (Edmonton) Who's out: WR Romby Bryant (Toronto), WR Arjei Franklin (retired), DT Brian Bulcke (Hamilton), DE Anwar Stewart (released), DT Chris McCoy (Philadelphia-NFL) Overview: The only players GM John Hufnagel probably wanted to keep were Bulcke and McCoy, but he went out and got Legare on draft day to back up Corey Mace on the defensive line anyway. Other than that, it was another quiet off-season in Cowtown, where they lock up their players early and often. That means they don't have to get into off-season bidding wars, nor do they lose much talent. In addition, seven of the 11 players they either re-signed or extended are non-imports. Their priorities are straight. Off-season grade: A SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS Last year: 8-10, 3rd in West, lost West semifinal Who's in: SB Geroy Simon (B.C.), DB Dwight Anderson (Montreal), DE Ricky Foley (Saskatchewan), DB Weldon Brown (Edmonton), K Brody McKnight (Edmonton), LB Rey Williams (Hamilton) Who's out: S James Patrick (Hamilton), DE Odell Willis (Edmonton), LB Shomari Williams (Hamilton), LB Joe Lobendahn (released), DE Brent Hawkins (retired), KR Tristan Jackson (released), DB Chris McKenzie (unsigned FA) Overview: It's quite clear the Riders are focusing on playing in the Grey Cup in their own park this November, because the team has been built for this year. Since that appears to be the case, the Simon trade was a great move and adding a winner like Foley won't hurt. Anderson is a risky pickup because of his attitude and his acrimonious past with new teammate Weston Dressler, but he can play. The defensive end positions are question marks going into the season, but it was a solid off-season for GM Brendan Taman. Off-season grade: A EDMONTON ESKIMOS Last year: 7-11, 4th in West, lost East Semifinal Who's in: GM Ed Hervey, OC Doug Sams, DC Greg Marshall, QB Mike Reilly (B.C.), DE Odell Willis (Saskatchewan), DT Eddie Steele (Hamilton) Who's out: DC Mark Nelson, QB Steven Jyles (released), RB Cory Boyd (released), DB Rod Williams (Minnesota-NFL), RB Jerome Messam (Montreal), DE Julius Williams (B.C.), DB Weldon Brown (Saskatchewan), OL Greg Wojt (Hamilton), WR Tyler Scott (released) Overview: Like Kent Austin did in Hamilton, Hervey came in and made sweeping changes to the roster. The only difference is a fair amount of talent went out the door but not a lot of proven players came back through it. A lot of CFL talent evaluators believe Reilly is the real deal, but we won't know until he plays. Hervey gets bonus points for orchestrating that trade with B.C. for Reilly before he hit free agency. Willis is a wild card as well. He has the talent, but the effort and discipline isn't always there. The coaching staff is basically new under head man Kavis Reed, so it looks like there will be a significant transition period in the City of Champions. Off-season grade: B

Totally get that, but I think actions (in this case) speak as loud as words. If you look at the sheer number of bodies competing for spots at DB .. they are doing everything they can to ensure guys are being pushed.

Original Story Here Here are a couple of comments about Fitzgerald (and more specifically how Crowton is aware and adapting to having to protect Pierce - or any of our QBs - this season): I also think that a guy of his size, if he uses his body right, can be a huge asset in terms of creating mismatches down the seam. Huge physical target that *should* be able to take advantage of the smaller DBs / LBs across the league.

Original Story Here For the full story, hit the Free Press website ... Frankly, I love that guys are being forced to complete .. to stay hungry .. to prove something. After Swaggerville a lot of guys got complacent ..

well thats a shame.. too bad, thought he had some solid potential.. was he better then Douglas or January or would he have been strictly depth? I think they were bringing in imports to push both January and Douglas. Douglas is coming off a lost season - who knows where he's at physically (he was also never a shut down tackle to begin with). And the most I can say for January is that his play dramatically improved over the course of last season .. but he is, at best, an average tackle .. unfortunately he is also the most reliable (and definitely most seasoned) one we have on our roster at the moment.

good call.. it does kinda seem shoddy and weak for a CFL team.. *shrug* but like Mike said, our W is pretty basic too lol. I think if anything a plain logo suits a professional team. Look at stuff like green bay packers or the cubs or something. Its an arena team or college team or an expansion team that tends to have a lot of flashy lines jagged edges and stuff. To me the logo screams "expansion team" and I know they are, but with a name like red blacks it's like they are trying to go throwback with the name. Pick a direction. Completely agree. The message seems a bit scatter shot (by that the name / logo or visible representation of the team don't necessarily jive). The 'buzzsaw' look to the logo certainly doesn't help matters either. A simple, understated logo would have been better in my opinion.

That's more or less what I was getting at earlier. He may be productive but there are plenty of guys out there who can be productive (and won't cost you a large chunk of your cap space). With Chick, you're paying for a name with no guarantee he'll be the same guy he was when he left in 2009.

I'll say this: thanks for jumping on board. I know that, as a team, we want to provide our community with great content and a constructive place to talk all things Bombers.

Think more the H-Back roll that Sellers played in Washington .. hybrid TE / FB type.

Not a fan of Cochrane myself but I'm actually quite pleased the Bombers are stepping it up in the game day department .. I realize it's the opening of the stadium and they are going "big" but I like that someone finally "gets it" and that there is more the experience than just the game. (disclaimer: I just care about the game)

You're not the first to ask for the contrast .. I can definitely escalate the request to the Powers That Be (All Hail JimmyFresco).

in the CFL 8 wins gets your into the playoffs guaranteed, 7 is even good enough some of the years. 10 wins had you in contention for top spot I think so there's not as much ground to make up in the standings as people might think. oh I totally agree.. Burke is right, if we hit 8-10 we should be in playoffs without question.. 7-8 would make it interesting.. kinda like missing it by one game There's no indication, to me at least, that Hamilton has done enough to seriously compete for the 1-2 seed in the East. They may be competitive on a game to game basis .. but nothing is there (so far) that demonstrates that they've turned the corner in Steel town. Montreal is going to be the big question mark in the East .. how do they respond to the new coach .. it will be interesting to see just how much Calvillo has left in the tank and whether or not his play can elevate them above inevitable rookie coaching mistakes. It pains me to say it but Toronto appears to be on solid footing going into the season .. while I certainly agree with the sentiment that they over achieved in a weak Eastern conference .. they have a future Hall of Fame QB at the helm .. they are the defending Grey Cup champs .. as we've seen before, a little swag goes a long ways. *MY* expectations are that we make the playoffs (I haven't had any the last two seasons - just knowing the situation we were in) and I suspect we will be very competitive game in game out throughout the regular season ..

I said it last year at this time .. people underestimated the impact of losing Creehan. I'm very glad to see him back in the fold .. his intensity translates over well to the guys he coaches .. looking forward to seeing our defense work.

Oh .. if we learned anything about Taman in his time here .. it's that he was a wunderkind when it came to cap management .. Wait .. what? Seriously though, Chick is 30 years old .. coming off a torn patella tendon .. hasn't played a meaningful snap in 18 months and before that, his involvement in Jacksonville (and a larger extent Indy) was limited. These are the guys we want to avoid. "Big" name that will likely not live up to his past reputation.

If you bring the gin .. I'll let you grind that axe sloe-ly .. ;-)