Doublezero

Apparently CFL teams asked NFL clubs to offer contracts by the final week of FA so teams and players have some clarity. Does this mean Sears has no NFL prospects and therefore is likely to re-sign? And that Brett Jones is actually going to be CFL available?

Does anyone know who the neg list player is, that Bombers got as part of this trade? And is there anyone notable on our neg list, that Bombers are actually likely to land?

The FA list is shrinking. So as of now (Feb 3) only Argos WR Spencer Watt and and Ham OG Greg Wojt from Atomic's original list are still heading toward FA status. Heenan has been released to test NFL and Holmes and Donny O are re-signed-extended. If I am Walters & Co. I would not pursue Wojt as the need is for an OT and he is an OG. I could choose between Spencer Watt and Brad Sinopoli - all things being equal - I would try to sign Sinopoli as 4th QB. But he will likely end up in Ottawa. What about Jarome Messam? He surprised me for a few games both with Esks and Riders. He can be effective as a blocker and power back on 1st and Goal. If we acquired Messam, I'd look at moving Volny from RB to SB. Oh and for non-Canadian FA's my top target would be Stanley Bryant.

Ditto

Agreed. O'Shea isn't an expert on QBs, so he will delegate that responsibility. The way the coaches allowed Drew Willy to get beaten-up last year to the point where the QB lost confidence is worrisome though. Ultimately that is on O'Shea, even if Dalhquist was QB coach. Also, I'm sure the club would like to have Brohm back and his pending departure will be a loss. Nothing O'Shea can do about that though.

I voted for Richie Hall.

If Dahlquist isn't returning, and if we are sticking with a pocket passer like Drew Willy, then how about Dieter Brock as QB coach? He's hinted he'd take a gig with Winnipeg. IMHO Bombers should move Buck Pierce into the PR dept. Reading defences in a hurry was never his forte.

Indeed O'Shea's comments during the Etcheverry departure news conf suggest Drew Willy will be on a short leash.Huh? I assume you're joking.Me too.. I have a very hard time believing that we are even remotely considering moving on from Willy or short leashing the guy..And the fact that I watched the entire press conference and O'Shea didn't allude to Willy being on a short leash at all. What O'Shea said between 5 mins 30 and 6 mins 20 in that news conf is hardly a ringing endorsement of Bellefueille or Drew Willy. I just re-watched that part and I don't see how that could be interpteted as Willy being on a short leash. "I think the biggest issue is trying to find a defensive coordinator and how that affects the other staff members" "We started something with Drew Willy" "To be fair to Drew, if you keep changing coordinators on a quarterback, you can set him back" "We found a good young quarterback" "It's my preference to keep going" Seems pretty clear to me. Drew is obviously in the doghouse. You missed the part at 6 mins 3 secs where O'Shea quickly transitions away from endorsing just Drew Willy and reminds everyone that the Bombers have a stable of 4 good young QBs - as he puts it. And if you think about what he says regarding the OC position, he's actually saying if we had more experienced QBs then someone other than MB would be a viable option as OC. He's saying that it's not that MB is a great OC, just that bringing in a new system out would set back the development of the QBs. Obviously management talked about the option of a new OC. And what part of any of that is an indictment of Drew Willy? You need to look more carefully at what I said. Earlier in this thread I talked about Bellefueille and Willy, both. And what I said specifically about the QB is that I read from OShea's comments that DW is on a short leash. He's still #1 but Oshea isn't sticking his neck out like he did when Willy was first signed. If he doesn't quickly and consistently perform, I take from OShea's comments that there's good young stable of replacements. To me that spells short leash.

Indeed O'Shea's comments during the Etcheverry departure news conf suggest Drew Willy will be on a short leash.Huh? I assume you're joking.Me too.. I have a very hard time believing that we are even remotely considering moving on from Willy or short leashing the guy..And the fact that I watched the entire press conference and O'Shea didn't allude to Willy being on a short leash at all. What O'Shea said between 5 mins 30 and 6 mins 20 in that news conf is hardly a ringing endorsement of Bellefueille or Drew Willy. I just re-watched that part and I don't see how that could be interpteted as Willy being on a short leash. "I think the biggest issue is trying to find a defensive coordinator and how that affects the other staff members" "We started something with Drew Willy" "To be fair to Drew, if you keep changing coordinators on a quarterback, you can set him back" "We found a good young quarterback" "It's my preference to keep going" Seems pretty clear to me. Drew is obviously in the doghouse. You missed the part at 6 mins 3 secs where O'Shea quickly transitions away from endorsing just Drew Willy and reminds everyone that the Bombers have a stable of 4 good young QBs - as he puts it. And if you think about what he says regarding the OC position, he's actually saying if we had more experienced QBs then someone other than MB would be a viable option as OC. He's saying that it's not that MB is a great OC, just that bringing in a new system out would set back the development of the QBs. Obviously management talked about the option of a new OC.

Indeed O'Shea's comments during the Etcheverry departure news conf suggest Drew Willy will be on a short leash.Huh? I assume you're joking.Me too.. I have a very hard time believing that we are even remotely considering moving on from Willy or short leashing the guy.. And the fact that I watched the entire press conference and O'Shea didn't allude to Willy being on a short leash at all. What O'Shea said between 5 mins 30 and 6 mins 20 in that news conf is hardly a ringing endorsement of Bellefueille or Drew Willy.

Indeed O'Shea's comments during the Etcheverry departure news conf suggest Drew Willy will be on a short leash.

I hope so. But he'll get sniffs from BC and Regina. I like the quickness and decisiveness with which he runs the offence. Some of the other QBs could learn from him in that regard. If Brohm saw more 1st team reps, he'd surprise a lot of people. Hopefully he's back here and gets a chance to do that.

Your right, Goalie, stats don't tell the whole story. For example, due to scores off fumbles and picks, Winnipeg's defence contributed to our 397 total points scored. The most telling stat IMHO is TD percentage, and that stat is calculated by dividing the number of touchdowns by the number of times the team was in the red zone. By that measurement Bombers were dead last in the league at 2.6% - a very inefficient offence that repeatedly failed to capitalize on the many chances it was given. You're right... the bombers were to only team to get scoring from defense and special teams this year... Also, I haven't looked up this stat... but 2.6% seems far too low... Where are you getting the redzone and TD numbers from? OK, looking more closely Ottawa was last in terms of TD percentage and we were next to the bottom. Link: http://www.cbc.ca/sports-content/football/cfl/stats/teams/?sort=Yrd

Your right, Goalie, stats don't tell the whole story. For example, due to scores off fumbles and picks, Winnipeg's defence contributed to our 397 total points scored. The most telling stat IMHO is TD percentage, and that stat is calculated by dividing the number of touchdowns by the number of times the team was in the red zone. By that measurement Bombers were dead last in the league at 2.6% - a very inefficient offence that repeatedly failed to capitalize on the many chances it was given.

Etcheverry's defence gets criticized because it is high risk, high reward. And it is true that Bombers defence gave up too many yards per game in 2014 and surrendered too many points. But Etch's defence also scored points. If it hadn't been for defensive team scores and special teams scores our record last year would have been more like 4-14 rather than 7-11. It is a fair and reasonable argument that the O was more of a liability than the D.

You're right. They should hire Doublezero. Hey Mike do you have anything football related to add to this thread - or is that outside of your area of expertise?

My problem with MB is multifold. His track record as an OC is well below average. He didn't excel as OC in Mtl in 2007 the year Calvillo was pummelled into the ground and left early, injured, to be with his wife who had cancer. That year, with Bellefeuille as OC, Calvillo was sacked 50 times in 13 starts. The Als gave up 68 sacks that year, which was a CFL high. That was with a decent O-line. Now that Bellefueille's here, same thing - Bombers gave up more than 70 sacks last year, most ever for the Bombers. Calvillo and Willy are similar pocket passers and MB seems incapable of designing an offence that will offer protection for that style of QB, or take the pressure off the QB with appropriate play calling. The offensive stats - the ones that count, were abysmal for Winnipeg last year - again. For example, Winnipeg's touchdown percentage was 2.6%, second worst in the league ahead of only Ottawa. We were 7th in most offensive stats - among the lowest in terms of touchdowns scored, total yards per game and most 2 + outs. We seem not to have a screen pass, draw play or any other play designed to relieve heat on the QB. This isn't rocket science. Bellefueille also made some questionable personnel decisions, same things he took heat for in Montreal. Why did he stick with an ineffective Grigsby so long at the tailback position when Cotton, who showed better at TC, was waiting in the wings and when he did come in proved to be more capable? To me, that's judgment, or lack thereof, or maybe he just relying on the advice of RB coach Buck Pierce - which, if so, is another story in itself. I'm also astounded that Bellefueille allowed Drew Willy to get pounded as much as he did, which does nothing for a rookie QB's confidence. Willy had happy feet for a few games in the last 1/3 of the season and I blame Bellefueille for that, too. I could go on and on ... Bottom line: Miller Walters OShea don't know much about offence - so they are completely delegating | deferring to Bellefueille, at their own peril.

OK so Etcheverry goes and Bellefeuille stays. IMHO Bombers got this a$$backwards. This shows the football brain trust: Miller, Walters, O'Shea - whose collective experience is essentially on the defensive side of the ball and special teams (I know Miller got inserted occasionally as FB) - it shows that they know nothing about offence and can't see what a disaster the offence was in 2013-2014. I predict the Bombers sad-sack offence is going to be the achilles heel in 2015.

Happy to see this. Bucknor was one guy I wanted to see back in Blue & Gold. He was a pleasant surprise for me in 2014. Sounds like he wants to be here too!

Appears players who ended the year on the PR have been released, #14 Aaron Woods, #22 Daivon Dumas - and some others I can't recall. Their names are no longer on any roster, at least not on the Bombers website. Dumas was on the PR all regular season but never played a down. Woods I guess lost his job to Stoudermire. I forget the rule there, maybe when you finish the season on the PR you just become automatic FA.

More good news!

Here's an updated FA list as of Dec 9 http://cfl.ca/article/2015-free-agent-tracker I hope we can keep Bucknor and Sears. I'd like to keep Washington Brohm and Portis, too, truth be told. But I know that is unlikely.

... Jamal Brown is part of a new story, a small but promising case study of possibility: It is about his black inner-city high school football team and their white Canadian football coach. “This is the most positive story that is out there,” says Joe Winslow, a black man born and raised on the South Side, and an assistant with the Wendell Phillips Wildcats. “This is what can happen when people come together. http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/11/28/black-chicago-high-school-and-their-white-canadian-football-coach-offer-hope-in-u-s-torn-by-racial-discord/

http://www.esks.com/article/eskimo-transactions-20141112122008

Mike O'Shea very publicly committed to Willy as No. 1, long before the season began. So it would be a matter of swallowing pride and relinquishing stubbornness for him to back down from that pronouncement and to admit that Willy has been a disappointment. That's why O'Shea's MOP candidate started against Stamps. But really, the Bombers braintrust must be privately very worried about the QB position for next year.