Doublezero

Greg Peach is vastly under-rated by the majority of posters on this board. Peach might've been our best DL last year. I recall a few games sitting the stands and going, somewhat to my surprise: 'Woah! Peach." I like him. Tough. Hits hard.

Free Press: "Bellefeuille says his review of last season found that Bombers starting QB Drew Willy was at his most successful when his protection was at its best during the first six weeks of the year. "When I looked at the first five wins of the year last year when he was protected, we averaged 33 points a game on offence -- 33-plus, actually, in those five wins. And we protected very well." http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/football/bombers/Bombers-looking-to-repeat-the-first-six-games-of-last-season-not-the-last-12-300684471.html?cx_navSource=d-top-story Really? I had the impression our O output was very mediocre last year, aided by timely ST and D scoring. (That was the thing about Etch's high-risk high-reward D - it gave up the most points in the league but contributed to the scoring output too.) So looking at those first 5 Bomber wins last year, if you factor in scoring by ST and defence, then the O managed just 26.8 pts per game- not 33 pts as the Bombers O coordinator is quoted as saying. 45-21 W over Argos aided by Washington fumble return for a TD 36-28 W over OTT aided by a Washington kick return for a TD 34-33 W over MTL aided by a Randle pick for a TD The next 2 wins the O actually scored fewer points: 23-6 over BC 27-26 over Ham Optimistic the offence will be better this year though, with couple of new hogs up front and the promise of a balanced attack - including an actual run threat. Be nice if the D and ST can contribute again to scoring though. I think we'll need them.

He retired long ago, if you ask me.

Drew Willy's QB style reminds me alot of Sean Salisbury. Except Willy takes longer to release balls from the pocket and doesn't take selfies.

Here's a short vid with Maxx Forde

You think they keep all of them around? Unless Grigsby got some balls surgically added in the offseason he's not as good as the other two guys. I was thinking a similar thing. He may not make it out of camp. I'm assuming no guarantees were given to him. Can't understand why Bellefueille and Oshea kept Grigsby as starter once Cotton was healthy. They stuck with him long after it was clear he is the kind of back who is slow to read the gaps and is down on first contact. Makes you wonder what they were thinking.

Oh look, there he goes ... chasing his ego into oblivion.

I thought Terrell Parker was better than Desia Dunn in 2013 but Parker, after rehabbing from his injury, wasn't invited to 2014 camp. Shamari Benton seems to be the only International LB with that same body type on the roster right now. Guessing there will be a couple more FA signings for that competition before June.

Options yes, but also questions. Except for Hurl and Picard and a trio of developmental receivers we stand pat. Are we stronger at NI receiver with the loss of Watson? Is Picard, at this stage in his career, a major upgrade over Morley at C? There is an interesting option on D-line if we eventually get someone like Christo Bilukidi but as it stands, Thomas Brown Richardson aren't scaring anyone. A Canadian at safety could add to the options - be nice to have a smash mouth Paul Bennett type guy back there.

It's a tease. Lifting the skirt to show a bit of ankle.

Wayne Harris Dan Kepley

It would be premature for Bombers to extend him now. He has shown he can be tough but not a whole lot else. His 2014 QB passer rating was ahead of Burris but behind Crompton. TD to INT ratio not that great. It`s obvious he works hard and is a student of the game. The woes of the O in 2014 were not all on him. But in a way, because he`s the QB, they are all on him. Hopefully he stays healthy and lights it up in 2015. Then there will be something to talk about.

DB Johnny Adams (Michigan State) has NFL experience. He might have been recommended to us by former Bombers personnel director Bill Polian, who talks about Adams in the vid link below. Looking forward to seeing Johnny Adams at TC https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdqK7Db8zDY

Very happy about this. The thing about Brohm is he got better every time he got a chance to play. Hopefully he gets more playing time with us in 2015.

Tate is a hot-head, but for the same price, I'd probably prefer Tate. I think a change in scenery may help Tate. I'd definitely take him. Of the 2 Drews I might take a healthy Tate over Willy.

You can't develop a QB without giving him playing time. If it wasn't for Brohm getting injured last year, Marve probably wouldn't have seen the field at all. I was not overly impressed with O'Shea's management of resources last year, especially during the 7 game skid. Backup QB's should have gained more playing time during this period. Cotton/Grigsby took too long to resolve and Romby should have remained parked on the PR roster throughout IMO. Hopefully O'Shea acquires more flexibility in his thinking than he exhibited in his rookie year. 100% with you on this. Don't know if it was stubbornness or factors beyond our knowledge that led O'Shea astray here. My hunch is these were Bellefueille's decisions and O'Shea basically deferred all offence-related stuff to his OC. Meantime, c'mon let's get Brian Brohm signed. I'd hate for him to end up in BC and us with KG5. No upside there.

I'd hoped we might have seen more of Brohm that we did. As 2014 went by Drew Willy got banged around and it had a negative impact on his progress. After he injured his shoulder he appeared to have lost all measure of poise and confidence. But he continued to take way too long to make decisions behind an Oline that was a work in progress. That's when we shouldve seen more of Brohm. If Brohm re-signs we'll have 2 classic pocket passers in Willy and Brohm and a pair of scramblers in Marve and Portis. Throw to score. Run to win.

Same could be said for Drew Willy - he had 3-4 decent games that resulted in wins early on, but his level of play actually regressed. So lots of questions about him too. Here's what I like about Brian Brohm: it's obvious Brohm has a high football IQ and every time got on the field he got better, not worse. He makes very quick reads - faster than Drew Willy and he gets rid of the ball more quickly and, generally, right on target. He manages the clock better than Drew Willy - he rarely uses the entire 20 second clock between plays whereas Willy almost always requires the whole pre-snap to make his reads. So there's usually no urgency in a Drew Willy led offence. Brohm only threw for about 450 yards last year but he had a better QB passing percentage in 2014 than Drew Willy at 69.6% vs 64%. That's inaccurate. Brohm's completion percentage was actually 55.7%. His QB rating was 69.6, which is awful You're right, Brohm's completion percentage last year was 55.7 vs Willy 63.8. And Brohm's QB efficiency rating was 69.6 vs Willy at 83.9 Willy though, had worst QB efficiency rating in the league among starters, after Hank who was the worst. And if you look carefully you see that Brohm's QB rating is low only because, in limited game reps, he didn't throw any TDs. Willy was also virtually at the bottom among CFL QBs last year when you look at the TD vs INT ratio. Lots of room for improvement there. Anyway I hope we can sign Brohm. I feel he's underated. Here is the link to QB stats from 2014: http://cfl.ca/statistics/league/stat/Passing/year/2014/type/reg

It wasn't just the OL, Willy took way to long to get rid of the ball. You only get so long to unload in pro football. If Willy doesn't correct that, then an improved O line won't matter.

Same could be said for Drew Willy - he had 3-4 decent games that resulted in wins early on, but his level of play actually regressed. So lots of questions about him too. Here's what I like about Brian Brohm: it's obvious Brohm has a high football IQ and every time got on the field he got better, not worse. He makes very quick reads - faster than Drew Willy and he gets rid of the ball more quickly and, generally, right on target. He manages the clock better than Drew Willy - he rarely uses the entire 20 second clock between plays whereas Willy almost always requires the whole pre-snap to make his reads. So there's usually no urgency in a Drew Willy led offence. Brohm only threw for about 450 yards last year but he had a better QB passing percentage in 2014 than Drew Willy at 69.6% vs 64%.

Good news, if true. Brohm is a very solid QB.

Would have liked to have seen Jensen here.

Run game was fine when a good running back was used. Every OL in the CFL can run block. The ability to actually run the ball with a back who can put the offense in 2nd and 5 or less consistently will be a bigger upgrade than any made on the offensive line. On the whole, Bryant will be an upgrade, the rest depends on guys picking up their game, Greaves and Neufeld specifically. Goossen is a wildcard. Picard for Morley is a wash, Picard's snapping and calls should be more refined given he's spent his whole life playing centre, but he can't block anybody 1 on 1. I'd be pleasantly surprised if they end up in the top half of the league in terms of protecting the QB. 100% Why did they stick so long with Grigsby when it was evident he wasn't very good? This year, I'm hoping for some balance in the offence.

It wasn't all on the O-line. For a pro QB Willy takes way too long with pre- and post-snap reads and putting the ball in play. You only get so many steamboats. If he doesn't correct that, then even a better line won't help. I agree with those who don't want KG5 around here but at least he usually disposes of the ball quickly, often to the wrong team at the worst possible time, but that is another matter.

Proof is in the pudding. Like Doug Brown said, coach Buck Pierce is going to look like a genius if the run game dramatically improves. Let's hope Drew Willy learns to make his reads quicker and gets rid of the ball faster. If not, then even a top tier OL won't help.