AKAChip

I think the Bombers have done more than enough already to show they are a player-friendly organization and guys like Randle seemed to understand even after he was rather unceremoniously cut. I get the argument that you want to keep your locker room happy but Nichols gets far more rope than he deserves.

Can’t keep everyone. Especially people who don’t want to be here. At least there’s a contingency plan.

I suppose they may be confident enough in Couture and Gray and if that’s the case, it’s understandable. Plus, we have pick four and five in the draft that will likely go to restocking the OL cupboard.

I know you’ve been a critic of Nichols in the past. I’m honestly wondering, do you think this team has a better shot at a Grey Cup with Nichols and four vets elsewhere, or BLM/Reilly with four cheap guys at random spots in the lineup?

Without guaranteed contracts, it would be foolish for the Bombers to not try for the two best FA QBs possibly in league history. It’s not how O’Shea operates and it may even be a long shot but how do you justify not taking that chance? Reilly or BLM make this team easily the best in the league and if they sign, you cut Nichols immediately, if they don’t, keep things status quo. I just hate the idea that the regime is saying “we’re set at QB”. Opportunities like this don’t come along that often, especially when the team is probably just an elite QB away from being a top cup contender for the next few years.

No arguments here. Maas is an idiot.

This Edmonton team that didn’t even make the playoffs with Reilly, will be worse than the Als without him. Maas better be heavily medicated this season.

In fact, the difference between 2 and 3 is so massive, the tiers probably skip tier two and it goes from tier one to tier three.

Everyone behind BLM and Reilly is extremely flawed.

Even in the depleted state of CFL quarterbacking, he’s really not...

I’ll very much enjoy seeing Ottawa wallow in less than mediocrity with Dom Davis.

Fair point.

There will be day in the not distant future where Andrew Harris is no longer an effective player. At his age, every game is a blessing.

There's a reason why so many long term football contracts for players in their 30s end up being regretted.

And I’m not suggesting it will change overnight but great players become good players or worse over offseasons in their 30s. Don’t act like this is so ridiculous.

That doesn't mean that's the position best suited for him. Much like how JSK was a great WIL but overmatched in the middle, Dean is a great MLB but lacks speed and quickness that's more necessary when playing outside. Lawrence is better suited for WIL but again, he's 30 and had the worst season of his career last year by far.

He just won MODP in his age 30 season. Anyone hoping for him to live up to that at ages 31, 32 and 33 are going to be sorely disappointed.

I don't dispute this and it's a fair point but I'm just a bit sensitive to losing the few great young finds that this team uncovers because they are truly few and far between. I get that Walters needed to break the bank to sign Bighill but looking at things critically, we will probably be chasing the season he had for the entire remainder of the contract.

That's fair. We can both agree that you have to try to keep 24-year-old upward trending players in the organization. Especially considering Walters finds so few relatively speaking.

Ball is 31 coming off a bad year. Dean is a MLB. Lawrence is 31 and coming off the worst season of his career. Awe is fine but JSK is better. Ackie is the classic overrated Canadian who puts up good tackle numbers but isn't a game breaker. Lokombo is fine I guess, probably better than Ackie but still JSK is better.

Colossal mistake to let JSK walk. May be unpopular but given his age and price tag, I'd rather him than Bighill going forward. Hard to fathom Bighill being that effective after next season.

God help the team that signs Loffler to a 200k deal.

This isn't entirely true. My issue with his loyalties lie in his in season roster decisions. He's made it very clear that when he feels a player is no longer worth his salary, he will make that move in the offseason and I applaud him for it. The argument that the coaches know better than us and thus we should defer to their every decision is frankly ridiculous. I agree that there are more factors in play than Player A is better than Player B thus he should play but every single coach has biases and decisions should absolutely be questioned. Lankford was one of the least efficient receivers of the past decade. I realize that I harp on him specifically but he's the best example of this trait in O'Shea. If someone isn't getting the job done, and he objectively was not, you replace him. If the replacement doesn't work out, that's fine because the person he replaced wasn't getting the job done either.

Hodge sucks. He talks in grand terms and it is extremely clear he has no clue what he's talking about. I'll follow any Blue Bomber related twitter account that shares content but he clearly thinks the world of himself.

There's the good and the bad with O'Shea. The players clearly love and respect him, even when he cuts them or leaves them off the gameday roster. The downside is, with that love comes loyalty to players that often don't deserve it. Ultimately, if that reputation allows us to bring in more great players and leads to a Grey Cup, it's worth it. But it's frustrating as all hell to see guys like Lankford keep getting opportunities.