Mike

I don't necessarily agree, although I admit it's very likely.

... or picks in 2015. Or other assets. A lot of people seem to think they know what our 'assets' are and what other GMs want from us. Who really knows.

Lots of people having a strange reaction to this trade in all honesty. First of all, no big surprise that Hall didn't have the value some thought he did. He's got no term left and he's made it pretty clear that he wants to try the NFL. Not only is he a rental, I'd be surprised if Saskatchewan could afford the pay day it'd take to resign him. I think he's back in the CFL next year but I don't think it's with the Riders. Neufeld isn't a terrible offensive lineman but he certainly does suck at guard and as odd as it sounds, we suddenly have a mediocre logjam of NI talent at right tackle. Hopefully Pencer translates to guard. This probably means we don't protect Swiston from Ottawa now. Reasons the draft pick means very little to me ... this is a pretty thin draft with the new eligibility rules so trading out of 2014 and into 2015 works for me. Not a huge fan of the two round drop but to me, that's what you pay for getting a 24 year old NI lineman who is signed through 2015.

Really, why? Give us your take. Well ... the suggestion that Alex Hall is somehow worth Darian Durant is laughable, just for starters.

I've seen a CFL contract and all I will say is that if that letter was anything like a contract, I could totally buy the argument that it wasn't clear enough. The player contracts are confusing as hell and I don't mean because they're filled with legal terminology someone like me wouldn't understand.

You mean the recess offense?

Willy plus a pick - 2nd round - and this is done and done. I don't know why you'd assume Hall has that much value.

I actually agree with this, but no way do I trade Hall for peanuts. I'm not a huge Durant fan, but I think I'd take him and their 1st rounder next year for Hall and a later round pick... Are you drunk? There is so much wrong with your post I do not even know where to begin lol First of all, you THINK you'd trade Hall for Durant and Saskatchewan's first rounder? If that deal were ever an option, I'd accept it immediately. Second, why on earth do you think a team that would be dealing for assets to help them load up for their Cup run would dump their starting quarterback in return?

Well alright then. I was looking forward to seeing them back, especially Matthews. 5 more weeks left. Thank god it's almost over.

I highly doubt Hall will be back. He's not a big fan of the situation here.

Agreed, I've never bought into that logic. Imagine being in the player's shoes. Ottawa thinks enough of you to draft you without a contract and your current team doesn't think enough of you to protect you... which team is making you feel more wanted? Never mind the fact that Ottawa will have exclusive negotiation rights for two months to hash out a contract, and we saw how much that was worth in the Mike Reilly acquisition. The only situation where it would be really risky is when there is NFL interest in the player. If the player is likely to keep playing in the CFL, and Ottawa drafts him, they are almost certainly going to be able to get him under contract. Exactly. I'm not buying this logic either. At all.

I think it's fair to say Trouba's goal was weak but the play he made to create the scoring opportunity was awesome.

I like Boyd, he's a real solid deep threat guy. Fast as hell.

Boy, I wonder who mentioned that as a possibility.

Walters said yesterday (on the radio apparently, I didn't hear it) that we'll be adding 7 new players to the PR this week. 4 of them ... RB Mario Fannin ... cut by Denver in May DE JD Griggs ... cut by Jacksonville in August DE/LB Taylor Reed ... cut by Dallas in August CB Semaj Moody ... cut by Kansas City in August Don't know the other 3 but Walters said a couple DBs, a couple DL, a new OL and a new RB so I'm assuming there's probably one more DL and one more DB?

Are you kidding me?

You want to protect Palardy who is no longer here? He posted that on July 9th lol

Yeah right. What a cop out.

I certainly hope so.

Very true. That is a big problem when a Canadian plays in a position that is usually American. Calgary is a good example. With Jon Cornish their starting tailback they have a backup Canadian tailback in Matt Walter who is able to step in & play as his backup. If Cornish went down & they didn't have Matt, an American would go in Cornish's place & another American would have to come out somewhere else. If Walter wasn't around, the Stamps would have a problem. In Winnipeg, with Muamba starting at MLB, Labbe is the backup. While the drop in play is significant, he is valuable as it means the ratio isn't messed with if Muamba goes down. Calgary is not a good example at all because it proves the point I made, not the one you're trying to make. When Cornish missed a game with a thigh injury, it wasn't Walter that started for him. It was Jonathan Williams and they shuffled the rest of their lineup to accommodate it.

Oh come on. Lapo was just as frustratingly conservative as Burke... our early 2011 season was more based on Lobo's performance as anything else. The team's real problem is - no QB (thanks Buck), no development of the OL, random drafting, no depth (NI or import) I don't know what you're talking about with no development of the OL ... we've had plenty of development. Greaves has developed into a starter, Swiston is right there if he could stay healthy and Pencer is making progress if Burke would ever let him work through the same struggles guys like Boatman and Morley have been allowed to work through. It's not a good OL by any means but we're well into the process of developing a handful of prospects.

Until we get a QB it doesn't matter how talented the rest of the roster is. I don't blame Tim Burke for losing. I blame Tim Burke for losing in the most ridiculous, frustrating to watch, uninspiring, unintelligent and disheartening way possible on a regular basis.

Agreed, except that the drop off in talent when 'you just slot another NI in somewhere else and play an American at MLB' can pretty steep. Not so much when you go from NI OG to NI OG, if you've been drafting and developing NI OGs. I don't necessarily agree. The drop off is usually going to be steep in any situation. If you're capable enough to start as a Canadian in this league, you rarely sit on the bench.

Dude that's a JPEG

Fight to keep him, yes. But again, if he doesn't want to be here well we need to move on. We have to focus on the future. Would I like him to be in our future, yes. If Muamba's agent holds the Bombers up for ranson or as leverage to get more money off another team then let him go. We can easily replace a Canadian MLB with an American without missing a beat. On the OL, losing a Canadian like Labatte hurts a lot more than if we lost Muamba as the OL is considered a Canadian position & MLB an American one. You build your Canadian talent from the OL out... See, this is a theory that will soon get debunked. There is some great Canadian talent out there in every position. It doesn't matter if it's o-line, receiver, linebacker. You build your Canadian talent by finding quality Canadians at any position. Saying the MLB position is an American position is like saying the RB is an Amercian position. It's an old-fashioned way of thinking in my mind. Now If you had said the word "primarily" I could have accepted that. Well yes and no. It's great to have a young NI starter like Muamba at a position typically taken by an import. The problem arises when he gets hurt, or needs to be spelled. There is a SIGNIFICANT dropoff between him and his backup. You have no depth at that position, and the opposition takes great advantage of that. It's much easier to replace a NI OG with another in the hopper - the dropoff in talent is not nearly as bad. Ideally, we should be drafting Offensive linemen, receivers and special teams/safeties/DTs. With some luck you find a couple decent NI OT and start 4 NI on the Oline. Add 2 receivers and you have only one spot to fill. It's not 'old fashioned' it's smart. Except when you do it properly, what you have is flexibility in your ratio so if Henoc gets hurt, you don't necessarily need a backup NI MLB, you just slot another NI in somewhere else and play an American at MLB. For example, if Andrew Harris gets hurt in BC, they don't replace him with a NI RB, they simply adjust their ratio and dress another NI somewhere else. Same with Cornish in Calgary, Matt Walter is the game day backup but I doubt he'd be the weekly starter if Cornish got hurt. Same thing applies with Ted Laurent in Edmonton. Andre Durie in Toronto. etc etc