iso_55

I'm suggesting that it was, at the very least, defensible. And I would argue that he did take chances at the QB spot. He signed Steven Jyles and Buck Pierce in free agency, and brought in 9 QBs during his tenure. And if putting all of your eggs in the Buck Pierce basket when your job is on the line isn't taking a risk, I don't know what is. You can fault him for his decision making, but he certainly was not a guy who "never took a chance". The one point about Mack I will bring up is this: he may have already found a solution to the QB problem. It may have been either Elliott or Brink, it could have possibly been Buck, it may yet be Goltz or Hall. But as long as you have an offensive line where not one player on the line is a top-3 player at his position, and the best IMPORT RIGHT TACKLE you can find is Shannon Effing Boatman, it doesn't matter how many free agent quarterbacks you do or don't trade for. I won't argue with you on any of this.

Well, sure I guess.

Mack not doing the deal was defensable. It was understandable. It was risk free. Mack chose to play it safe & not role the dice. But in 3 1/2 years Burke never took a chance. This was the time to do it. To take a risk & perhaps define his time as a GM. He didn't so whatever. Playing it safe ultimately didn't save his job or make the team win.

Wow, actually sign some CFL free agents. Amazing...

Glad you enjoyed it, I worked hard on it and its late. We agree he made up his mind. That his decision was preordained and had nothing to do with how Hervey and Mack approached the situation, not so much. Ultimately though, I'll grant you its speculation (on both sides of the argument.) It is speculation. We don't know but the Mack apologists here always are quick to defend the fact that Mack couldn't get Reilly like they absolutely 100% know the facts when they don't.

Kool aid is way better than Haterade. Kool aid is way better than Haterade. You know even I like that.

Ah, the Joe Mack kool aid drinkers. Their boy just couldn't have been at fault for the fiasco on the field. Loyal to the end, huh Mr. Dee?

Of course this was all Mack. No surprise there.

Total 20-20 Hindsight. If Reilly was shitting the bed right now you wouldn't even be talking about this. Nobody would be. In fact, up until a few weeks ago Reilly was shitting the bed. And I still don't see him getting through this season alive. There is no way he can keep getting smoked like that game in and game out and surviving. Also - if the Bombers had tried for Reilly and failed, by giving up a first round draft pick and cutting QB's, you'd be the first one hollering about how stupid they were. Yeah it was a calculated risk, and a risk that would have resulted in failure. Reilly was going to Edmonton. See, here's the thing... You're saying, "What if Reilly **** the bed?" What if? Our qbs have been shitting the bed for 5 years now anyway so what did we have to lose?? Mack was scared to take a risk. Afraid of losing his job if trading for Reilly didn't work out. So how did that work out for everyone on the Blue Bombers??? stockpile these draft picks like Pencer who can't play because he's like Pierce... a chronic walking injury. Until this year Etienne who's really only had one stand out game this season & in his entire career or picks that go to the NFL. Just once, taking a risk would have been the thing to do to try & get a quality qb. Not having a decent qb cost Mack his job & has set this team back at least 4 years. We're no better off now than we were in 2009 when Bishop played. Mack was an abysmal failure finding a qb.

Centers paid less than guards with all that responsibility?? I dunno. I think if you are an impact player at any position on the OL you are well paid.

Right, because I guess we just never really wanted Reilly, we just negotiated with BC and then leaked the story that Buono didn't give us a fair shake at negotiating with Reilly in order to save face. What is that? Conspiracy theory #800 on this board? Sounds about right to me... No conspiracy. Just a dumb ass GM doing what he always did. Overvaluing his players & undervaluing everyone else's. Very weak standard line argument...made with your eyes and ears closed. Truth hurts. That's why he's gone but a pretty accurate assessment as far as I'm concerned.

Again, we really don't know that to be true. An offer was made by Wally to get Reilly to Joe Mack. Mack refused. So Reilly was traded to Edmonton. If he would have been traded to Winnipeg then he could have done the deal as Reilly wasn't a free agent yet & still under contract to the Bombers. Was it a risk? Yes, surely. A HUGE risk & making that trade would have been ballsy because of it but considering where our first round pick is now, I'd have done it. And made bloody sure I signed him. We absolutely do not know if Reilly preferred Edmonton over Winnipeg. They traded for him & got the deal done. We weren't privy & never will be to the discussions in Mack's office, so all total speculation about that. We don't know what was said. Bottom line, that Reilly was the best opportunity to try & fix the mess at qb we have now. Not doing anything has resulted in a losing team as well as a scorcehed Earth battlefield with Bomber managemnt & coaching.... So, maybe the risk Mack took was really standing pat. In the end, doing the deal or not doing the deal cost people their jobs. The repercussions are still going on. I'd like to believe that it was out of Joe's hands but c'mon.... Looking at how he's done business in the past, I find that hard to believe. So then please explain why the following two things occurred ... a ) Wally refused to let Winnipeg talk shop with Reilly prior to a trade, but allowed Edmonton to b ) Reilly did not opt to wait until free agency before signing a deal in order to maximize his earnings According to what we know it came down to two things... One, the Lions wanted a first rounder from us but a second rounder from Edmonton. And he signed with the Esks virtually minutes after he was obtained in a trade from the Lions. To me, it came down to Mack not believing that fixing the qb mess was worth a first rounder which I find unbelievable. He overvalued Buck & Goltz & undervalued Elliott & Brink which was a mistake. He also dod not want to pay & therefore take a risk on Reilly. According to the way it supposedly went down, Wally offered Mack Reilly & he said no. His choice. Look what has happened since. Are you turning a blind eye to the facts in this story on purpose or are you just doing it to frustrate me? The single biggest thing about the difference in negotiations between BC/WPG and BC/EDM is that Edmonton had permission to talk to Reilly and we didn't. But you keep ignoring that every single time. Why? Mike, c'mon dude. The Lions offered Reilly to Winnipeg. Mack said no. Yes, the conditions were different than Edmonton, I'll grant you that but Mack didn't want to give up a first rounder.

Right, because I guess we just never really wanted Reilly, we just negotiated with BC and then leaked the story that Buono didn't give us a fair shake at negotiating with Reilly in order to save face. What is that? Conspiracy theory #800 on this board? Sounds about right to me... No conspiracy. Just a dumb ass GM doing what he always did. Overvaluing his players & undervaluing everyone else's.

Again, we really don't know that to be true. An offer was made by Wally to get Reilly to Joe Mack. Mack refused. So Reilly was traded to Edmonton. If he would have been traded to Winnipeg then he could have done the deal as Reilly wasn't a free agent yet & still under contract to the Bombers. Was it a risk? Yes, surely. A HUGE risk & making that trade would have been ballsy because of it but considering where our first round pick is now, I'd have done it. And made bloody sure I signed him. We absolutely do not know if Reilly preferred Edmonton over Winnipeg. They traded for him & got the deal done. We weren't privy & never will be to the discussions in Mack's office, so all total speculation about that. We don't know what was said. Bottom line, that Reilly was the best opportunity to try & fix the mess at qb we have now. Not doing anything has resulted in a losing team as well as a scorcehed Earth battlefield with Bomber managemnt & coaching.... So, maybe the risk Mack took was really standing pat. In the end, doing the deal or not doing the deal cost people their jobs. The repercussions are still going on. I'd like to believe that it was out of Joe's hands but c'mon.... Looking at how he's done business in the past, I find that hard to believe. So then please explain why the following two things occurred ... a ) Wally refused to let Winnipeg talk shop with Reilly prior to a trade, but allowed Edmonton to b ) Reilly did not opt to wait until free agency before signing a deal in order to maximize his earnings According to what we know it came down to two things... One, the Lions wanted a first rounder from us but a second rounder from Edmonton. And he signed with the Esks virtually minutes after he was obtained in a trade from the Lions. To me, it came down to Mack not believing that fixing the qb mess was worth a first rounder which I find unbelievable. He overvalued Buck & Goltz & undervalued Elliott & Brink which was a mistake. He also did not want to pay or give up a first rounder & therefore take a risk on Reilly. According to the way it supposedly went down, Wally offered Mack Reilly & he said no. His choice. If Reilly signed that quickly in Edmonton, just how much of a problem was money??? To me not much so I think the deal was very doable. Mack made his choice & look what happened as Elliott & Brink were released after.

We don't know the whole story & never will. Hmmm... what are the chances of a GM screwing up & making a mistake??? Overvaluing what he already has vs what he could have had if he was willing to make the move because he refuses to pay $$$ for CFL FA's.. What happened made no sense in how it went down.... I tend to think the truth is somewhere in the middle. Besides, just about everyone seemed to back Joe at the time saying Reilly was unproven & really not that good. Well, those people have their Blue Bomber qbs now. Live with it. would reilly look any better than what we have here? Would Goltz look as good as Reilly if he had been given the same rope? Would Hall? Too many unknowns right now to say that the bombers should have gifted a first round draft pick for a window to talk to a guy. If he was even remotely considering WInnipeg why wouldn't he just wait until free agency? Some of you are way way too commited to the idea that a) reilly is a saviour at qb and that winnipeg actually had much of a chance at him. You have a valid point, I won't disagree. But, look what has happened since Reilly was traded & signed with Edmonton. Goltz & Buck kept, Hall brought in & Elliott & Brink released. We haven't improved the qb position one iota. If anything, it's worse. So, even if Reilly wouldn't sign here, it's still a mess that mack was supposed to fix & didn't. I'm angry that **** **** **** came down to this after mack had been the GM since early 2010.

Again, we really don't know that to be true. An offer was made by Wally to get Reilly to Joe Mack. Mack refused. So Reilly was traded to Edmonton. If he would have been traded to Winnipeg then he could have done the deal as Reilly wasn't a free agent yet & still under contract to the Bombers. Was it a risk? Yes, surely. A HUGE risk & making that trade would have been ballsy because of it but considering where our first round pick is now, I'd have done it. And made bloody sure I signed him. We absolutely do not know if Reilly preferred Edmonton over Winnipeg. They traded for him & got the deal done. We weren't privy & never will be to the discussions in Mack's office, so all total speculation about that. We don't know what was said. Bottom line, that Reilly was the best opportunity to try & fix the mess at qb we have now. Not doing anything has resulted in a losing team as well as a scorcehed Earth battlefield with Bomber managemnt & coaching.... So, maybe the risk Mack took was really standing pat. In the end, doing the deal or not doing the deal cost people their jobs. The repercussions are still going on. I'd like to believe that it was out of Joe's hands but c'mon.... Looking at how he's done business in the past, I find that hard to believe.

We don't know the whole story & never will. Hmmm... what are the chances of a GM screwing up & making a mistake??? Overvaluing what he already has vs what he could have had if he was willing to make the move because he refuses to pay $$$ for CFL FA's.. What happened made no sense in how it went down.... I tend to think the truth is somewhere in the middle. Besides, just about everyone seemed to back Joe at the time saying Reilly was unproven & really not that good. Well, those people have their Blue Bomber qbs now. Live with it.

With all due respect to Mike Edem, Brett Jones has to be the best draft pick of 2013. Agreed. You know in 2 years Napkin Boy is gonna come calling telling him he has to come home & play for the Mother Land because his parents are Riders season ticket holders. Will Calgary keep him?

You keep reiterating it like you're trying to prove a point. I don't think there's anyone that doesn't understand what you're saying. I think what you're failing to understand is that nobody cares about the semantics, this FRANCHISE has 10 Grey Cups. If the Bombers changed their name tomorrow to the Winnipeg Donkeys, the Donkeys franchise would be 10 time Grey Cup champions. I'm just saying that the actual name Blue Bombers was given to them after 1935. People are saying the HOF is 'lazy"... That they didn't do their research. I'm not proving a poiunt more than trying to correct a mistake. In reality, I really don't give a ****. One person said the HOF was lazy and it was well after you'd already tried to make your point several times, so that's not going to fly with me. You're just playing silly bugger. We all know what you're saying, we just don't care because it's pure semantics. Don't get me wrong, you're right. It just doesn't really matter. I know. I agree. No probs there. In reality, I was surprised as I thought the name was the Bombers, too. I think we all did. What I'd like to know was who named the team the "Winnipegs". I mean, would not that guy be the most unimaginative & boring person who ever lived? I'm sure if he was an accountant, life would be exciting.

Burke wants to win so if he plays Buck, that's why. You can thank Joe Mack for this mess. He never brought a qb in.A first rounder whomay never see the field here was too much of a price to pay to get Mike Reilly. For you Reilly haters, the guy is beginning to round into a pretty good qb for the Eskimos on a team with an OC (Samms) & HC (Reed) almost as clueless as Crowton was & Burke is. I put this garbage at the qb position right straight on Mack. The first round pick never guaranteed they would get Reilly though! Why in gods name do some of you pretend like it was as simple as trade the pick and sign Reilly? The guy was obviously more interested in going to Edmonton than anywhere else to start with. Gosh, actually giving the guy some money to make him think of coming here would never have occurred to Mack. Maybe meeting or surpassing what Edmonton would give him... Considering Mack's track record & his disdain for any other teams free agent starters I'm of the opinion he could have had the guy but just didn't want him. Ah, water under the bridge now. Reilly's gone. And thank God Mack is too.

You keep reiterating it like you're trying to prove a point. I don't think there's anyone that doesn't understand what you're saying. I think what you're failing to understand is that nobody cares about the semantics, this FRANCHISE has 10 Grey Cups. If the Bombers changed their name tomorrow to the Winnipeg Donkeys, the Donkeys franchise would be 10 time Grey Cup champions. I'm just saying that the actual name Blue Bombers was given to them after 1935. People are saying the HOF is 'lazy"... That they didn't do their research. I'm not proving a point more than trying to correct a mistake. In reality, I really don't give a ****.

They were the "Winnipegs" in 1935... http://siamandas.com/time_machine/PAGES/winnipeg_stories/GREYCUP.htm

Probably was Mack's fault. Besides, I kept tellling you that's what the CFL HOF has on its website. You kept telling me I'm wrong. Tell THEM, not me. Call collect.

Burke wants to win so if he plays Buck, that's why. You can thank Joe Mack for this mess. He never brought a qb in.A first rounder whomay never see the field here was too much of a price to pay to get Mike Reilly. For you Reilly haters, the guy is beginning to round into a pretty good qb for the Eskimos on a team with an OC (Samms) & HC (Reed) almost as clueless as Crowton was & Burke is. I put this garbage at the qb position right straight on Mack.

The Hall of Fame counts the wins by nicknames, not organization. And if you want to get really picky, there is no CFL HOF. It's the Canadian Football Hall of Fame. Jacquie, the Winnipegs are not the Bombers. They are the Winnipegs. They are listed as the GC winners in 1935. You can say whatever the hell you want. Like I said, call the CANADIAN FOOTBALL Hall of Fame & take it up with them. Quit correcting me. And sorry about the name of the HOF. I screwed up. So sorry. My bad. I should have known better. Jeez, whatever.