Captain Blue

Personally I think the flow of information usually goes like this: media asks about Yantz --> Walters speaks positively about him --> people then pump up Yantz more. I'm trying to recall of someone that Walters or even O'Shea didn't speak positively about. Kind of reminds me of what happened with Reaves too. The media focused on him so he got lots of press. I recall just before camp cuts Ed Tait was glowing about how he was continually improving and could actually make the roster. This despite being either the worst receiver there, or in contention for that title, from what I saw. The quotes are directly from Yantz. He says he feels mislead and never got a chance. I'm aware of that, but I replied to a quote that focused on more than that.

Personally I think the flow of information usually goes like this: media asks about Yantz --> Walters speaks positively about him --> people then pump up Yantz more. I'm trying to recall of someone that Walters or even O'Shea didn't speak positively about. Kind of reminds me of what happened with Reaves too. The media focused on him so he got lots of press. I recall just before camp cuts Ed Tait was glowing about how he was continually improving and could actually make the roster. This despite being either the worst receiver there, or in contention for that title, from what I saw.

Once again I think this can be flipped around. People say this looks bad on the Bombers, but I don't think it reflects well on Yantz, especially if he thinks he has a shot to make a CFL roster here or elsewhere. His best chance is to keep working, hope that maybe a Canadian QB rule gets put in place soon, and to try to get onto the Bomber roster that way. If he wasn't a Bison this wouldn't be a story.

Of course it was predetermined. The Bombers had no intentions of keeping him - that doesn't mean they did something wrong though. They're allowed to handle their camp roster however they see fit, and Yantz could have signed with another team if he was so concerned (it is not hard to look at a depth chart). I liked what I saw of Yantz at camp, but he has a far way to go before he would be a viable option at QB for any team. I realize the prevailing thought will be that the Bombers did him wrong by not making it truly an open competition, but there are only so many reps to go around. A different viewpoint would be that the Bombers gave a former Bison a chance to work on his skills at a professional camp with CFL coaching.

He is awesome.

I will keep beating the drum for moving Randle back to corner. I'd roll with Bass-Hurl-Waggoner.

I think fans fall into the trap of vilifying every ex-coach. Even extends to management, where you can see reporters still blaming Joe Mack for things. I really liked LaPolice. He had his faults, like most coaches, but he also did some really positive things here. It didn't consistently lead to on field success so that hurts his reputation, but he also survived with a roster that wasn't always strong. I was never a huge fan of Bellefuille's but think he gets too much blame around here - at least for now. Last year his starting receivers included Aaron Kelly and Romby Bryant and he had Nic Grigsby at running back. Oh, and an offensive line that was better suited for flag football. I'm not going to completely absolve him of blame because perhaps he could have argued for changes earlier (hello Paris Cotton) but as a coordinator you're going to work with the players you've got. I think next to QB the offensive coordinator will take the most blame from fans, because when plays don't work its easiest to say "I would have called something different."

Listened on the radio, didn't hear any instance of pressure on Hamilton Q.B., and after the game one of the starting D lineman said they were not happy with the way the defence played. Correct me if I'm wrong, but lack of pressure, none whatsoever, has nothing to do with running a vanilla defence. I didn't get to watch or listen to the game, so I can't speak to last night's game. To your overall point though, I definitely think a vanilla defense can lead to lack of pressure. If you're not masking what you're doing or throwing new things at an offense, its going to be a lot easier for them to find the holes in the play call. Maybe its easier for them to identify where the blitz is, or that you're just in base man coverage. Simpler coverage means less "coverage sacks" and easier (and often faster) reads. Edit: "and often faster"

Contrary to popular belief. Being "cheap" isn't a Winnipeg thing. It's pretty much an "anyone with limited income" thing. Ya, starting to really irk me how this is trying to be drawn back to something unique to Winnipeg. People like free things. This isn't even about that though. Its about what people are willing to pay for the product they're getting. For 8 bucks I get a ton of value from my Netflix account, both from original and older programming. I'm more than willing to pay because I think its well worth it. If you pay attention to TV trends, clearly this isn't just me or Winnipeg either, as Canada as a whole continues to shift towards streaming (legally and illegally). People don't want to pay for cable because the value is disproportionate to what you're paying. This pushes people to search for alternative options. Back to football, the CFL is losing out on a revenue stream in my opinion. Every major sports league has its own online viewing option, some which make more sense than others. I'd be willing to pay for streaming and/or an app.

Nick Moore was pretty unhappy about something #14 did today in the two minute drills. As he was walking to the sidelines he yelled out "Hey 1-4, [inaudible] I'm gonna whoop your ass." That got some attention from the coaches. O'Shea stared at him for a few moments to see if he would cool down, and then afterwards Miles came and talked with Moore in private. It was obviously nothing but some training camp tension really. Gordon and Logan continue to get a lot of reps with starters. Logan had a really nice grab today in the two minute drill. Carlos Anderson had at least one dropped catch and one dropped punt that I can remember. I feel like there were a few more in there but am not positive. Overall he had a bad day. Hurl continues to be the starting MLB, but Bass got in there as well. I am pretty sure I saw Bass line up outside as well a few times. Rough day for the QBs as the defense played really well. Willy was forced to hold onto the ball several times. Brohm looked alright today. Threw a really nice ball on an inside route to Adams. Brohm is really not afraid to take a chances. Not a lot to talk about for Portis and Marve. Saw Portis a few times fail to move his feet in the "pocket" (no pocket since it was skeleton drills). Other than that I don't think either did anything positively or negatively to stand out. Kohlert, Richards and Reaves (I assume in that order) will man the "Canadian wideout on the far side" spot this year. I hope that Richards gets to move around at a few spots, because Kohlert really doesn't get a lot of targets at that position and his backup will get even less. Not that that's a huge deal, our other receivers are usually better. Richards looks alright, didn't really stand out today. Ended the day with some punt coverage practice. If I think of anything else I'll post again.

You at camp today CB? Ya, or at least was there between 9 and 1045 today. It was pretty cold and I was talking with Markus Howell's wife and daughter for a bit, so I'm just getting to the updates now.

Defense definitely really good today. Willy struggled to find an open receiver on a couple of the two minute drills.

I'm shocked about Tunei, but probably even more surprised by Millington. I don't particularly think Millington showed well, but when looking at national receivers I figured Reaves would definitely be gone before him.

Still think Gibson has a shot to knock off Peach from the starting lineup. I'm not too concerned get about our DL, I trust our two DTs. Add Westerman and we should be better than last year regardless of the fourth guy on the line.

I have a gift card from freaking 2011 because I've been waiting for both a good, long-term player and new jerseys that will stick around for more than a couple of years. At this point I'm not getting my hopes up.

So the Bombers are going to be streamed on TSN.ca then? Why wouldn't they stick it on something like TSN5? I get the whole thing that it cost money to produce, but if you're producing it for an online feed, wouldn't it make sense to just copy it onto a channel?

I think they've had Gordon practicing returns, haven't they?

Bombers bought Famous Dave's for the fans in attendance today. Pulled pork and chips. Some solid PR work there, went over well. Wade Miller walked the sidelines and said hello to people as well.

Watching them stretch, pretty good vibe out there. The coaches are having fun with them.

I feel like Brohm looks uncomfortable every time I see him throw. Everyone else just looks more fluid. Lots of special teams work now. I think O'Shea has practiced special teams way more than some of our previous coaches. Saw Westerman and Gibson line up as the ends on our line. I think that would be a solid duo to pair with our great DTs.

I stayed right until the end, which O'Shea determined was right after 11:30. Practiced a lot of special teams mostly in the second part of practice. Coverages on kickoffs and punts, game prep stuff. The QBs were done for the day before that, I want to say around 11:15 but I didn't check.

Adams has looked consistently good out there amongst vets and new guys. I'm impressed.

Rugby scrum now, O'Shea in there and breaks it up quick.

Gordon, Logan with a couple nice plays so far. Reaves just had a high one smack off his hands.

I like long walks on the beach, candlelight dinners...