GCn20

A QB contoversy is not a bad problem to have. It's only a problem if one of your QBs is psychologically fragile and can't handle the....errr...ok i see where you were going with this...

I agree completely. In hindsight, Sask throwing Zac away is probably going to go down as one of the worst moves of the past few decades by the Riders. Were there extenuating circumstances? Yes. At the end of the day an extremely smart GM decided to trade real tangible assets to get him though, so obviously he was not as disposable as Rider fan apologists made him out to be.

Another way to look at it in hindsight is that the Riders could have held out for the Bombers and gotten the 9th and 27th? pick and taken Rourke AND Schaffer-Baker. The fact they got value out of their 4th rounder doesn't diminish the fact they lost out on two higher picks by making a bad trade. Last time I checked, they could have selected Schaffer-Baker anyway had they held out for the better deal. The fact they got him in the 4th round is luck not good roster management. They could have gotten a 1st round assett and still selected Schaffer Baker. We all know that....except O'Day...he never saw it coming. But would you rather have Collaros than Schaffer Baker AND Rourke? Because that is what could have transpired had the Riders not rushed to throw Zac away. Actually, I would still take Collaros but Rourke evens it out a lot more. Makes it a decision. One the Riders were too stupid to have to make.

Sometimes you get lucky in the late rounds but most of the time the pick is worthless.

They got a 4th rounder for him a full month before the trade deadline. What you are saying is logical until you factor in the return they got, and the timing of the trade. If they were trying to maximize his value out the door then the trade they made seems completely irrational. You hold him to the trade deadline then dump him if no better offers come around, or you hold onto him for the season and maybe he gives you a 1A -!B option heading into the playoffs imo. It's not that the Riders traded him that perplexes me, it's the fact they traded him for essentially nothing a month before they even had to think about doing so. In a 9 team league where QBs drop like flies they were absolutely idiotic for not waiting on another team to make a better offer. Exactly....and he wasn't up against the trade deadline either. He had time....LOTS of time to wait out a better offer. The fact that KW gave up a 3rd rounder, and a 1st for him tells me that O'Day just simply dropped the ball on his ZC evaluation of his worth. Sure everybody though Zac was done....except Walters (arguably the best GM in the league). I know hindsight is 20/20 but Walters traded for him only a month later and paid a much steeper price. 2 years later we KNOW how epically awful the decision was by O'Day to trade ZC at all....but even back then at the time of Zac's trade from Regina many thought that this trade made no sense. No upside to it whatsoever. A low round draft pick for a guy that could still be valuable at the QB position down the stretch.

I never understood that move at all. They had Zac on the 6 game and could have kept him there all season and let him come back and challenge for the starting job when healthy. Instead after 8 games they declared a guy who had been a career 3rd stringer their new starter and traded away a guy with an established arm. That was pure hubris on the part of ODay. Collaros was a Jones holdover, while O'Day could take all the credit for resurrecting Fajardo's career.

At his age, and with the toolbox he has, the NFL will definitely give him a thorough look. All your questions are unanswered, as they should be with an essentially rookie pro QB, but when you can zing the ball downfield like he can and run like he can the NFL is going to be intrigued. I think Jon Jennings might be the more applicable cautionary tale for Rourke. Very similar trajectory and strengths/wekanesses in their first year. Yea, Stegall got in on it too.

Lucky for the Stamps they get Fajardo 3x in the remainder of their schedule and Fajardo will suck against whomever they roll out to replace Roberson.

I would rather be the worst 10-0 team, than to be the most mediocre 4-4 club ever. Just saying. If any of you Rider fans are lurking....10-0 doesn't happen by accident....neither does 4-4.

Migs just gave Fajardo's career the kiss of death by providing his latest glory hole report. Last time he did that was when Durant blew out his arm and couldn't throw anymore. It's bad juju when Migs makes a Rider QB evaluation based on his "observations". For sure. He's got an NFL level toolkit. He has NFL calibre arm....although probably mid tier....but the biggest factor is how young he is. Dude can go down and they can spend a couple years with him on a PR and he's still a very young QB.

I think he was just pointing out that we do not have the lowest points against overall with more games played. Not sure why he felt compelled to say it though, since our PPGA is the best in the league. Probably because that's a stat that illustrates we are better than the Lions.

If he's healthy you play him until 1st place is clinched. Every game could be the difference between 1st, 2nd or 3rd. Sure we are 9-0 right now and cruising to first, but until that is clinched mathematically you play all your horses when they are available. God forbid we have some misfortune with injuries, or illness in the 2nd half, we may need these 2 points for 1st. Never take anything for granted until it's signed, sealed, and delivered.

Which is a stupid metric that the media and fans fawn over and the coaches, players, and anyone who has a clue doesn't give a fig about. There is only one stat that matters at the end of any game, how many points surrendered and how many points scored. It is the bottom line. The rest is all white noise. If he's healthy let him play. My opinion is you don't hold a healthy, productive player out until you clinch 1st.

Lawler is once again having a great season. That being said, I don't believe ANY receiver is worth more than 200k let alone 300k. Just my opinion but I don't think anyone could argue that the 3 -200k+ receivers in this league are all playing below their paygrade and I am not sure they could play up to it. Each one is a terrible contract at this point.

There you go, we weren't even in the ballpark. Sometimes another team just blows it's brains out with an offer you would be stupid to match. Yep....and didn't miss a beat. Great roster management and constraint.

You can't blame ANY non-QB CFL player for taking a 300k payday. Its not like he left us for a similar offer. We were probably 70-80k less on any offer to him.

He is excellent and well ahead of the curve for his development. He has every throw in the book. I would be shocked if he is not in an NFL camp next year. That being said, he will have his highs and lows this year just like every other rookie starter does. He feasts on crap defenses but he has looked ordinary against stiffer defenses. To be expected though. The Lions will have to either break the bank to keep him, or he will undoubtedly test the NFL. At his age, and his toolbox, he could stick there for a few years and Tburg will go back to being a closet Lions fan. JK TB....sort of. I mean I can understand people thinking so since you have sent more compliments to the Lions in half a year than you have to the Bombers in 15 or so years on these forums. Part of that is because his early success wildly surpassed expectations for 8-9 games until the CFL came to the realization that as long as you keep him in the pocket he can't hit the broad side of a barn. Rider fans and the CFL press have been judging him on his first 8 starts where he was extremely successful playing essentially sandlot football. Like all one trick ponies he got figured out fast but the hype train had already left the station. For every QB that impresses early and builds a solid career (Collaros, BLM) there are QBs that have early success until glaring deficiencies are noticed in their game (Jon Jennings, Cody Faj). That's why I am really hesitant to call a QB a success or a bust until they have more than a full season under their belt. As unlikely as it seems it could even happen to Rourke in time although his arm strength and accuracy are top notch.

Cates is only being honest, and telling everyone what they should have already known. I think that a lot of Rider fans are starting to realize that Jesus Sprinkles are not enough of a toolbox for a pro QB. He's probably crying into a microphone somewhere in the big rectangle right now.

There is a difference between the edge Marino walks and the edge any coach would want you to walk. Football is a tough game, and I want 44 Jackson Jeffcoats, or Drew Desjarlais, on the field. Guys who play on the edge of dirtiness BUT don't cross that line intentionally. Guys like Marino or Lawrence cross that line with regularity and hurt their teams in the process. Every coach wants players who will beat their opponents to a pulp between the whistles, no coach wants d-bags that end up in the media and suspended because of it.

True....but even if disaster strikes we already have our 8th best win total of the last 20 years secured with only 3 wins needed to tie for our best. Hard to believe we have done this in half a season.

They are getting ready for the Ernest Monias concert at Fisher RIver Treaty days this week.....clearly... Why is that corny? Savor it. We hate on the Riders because it's in our DNA as Bomber fans. It's not personal and we appreciate good football discussion even from a Rider fan. lol

Also, some receivers (Derel Walker I'm looking at you) will run half arsed routes if they know they are not the primary or second reads and end up not getting the touches they might if they worked a little harder. Also, film room work....knowing not only the defence you are playing but the strength and weaknesses of the personell week to week. I guess that's kind of covered under work ethic as well but more of a preparation work ethic. I remember buying Fun Zone tix at 7/11 when I was a teenager. Can't remember how much they were but my allowance covered it and the bus back and forth. Must have been super cheap because I didn't get much for an allowance.

Quite the leap of logic you are taking there. I am not unhappy with Ellingson in any way, shape, or form. Just playing devil's advocate to spark intelligent conversation about where fans draw the line on value of a signing or contract. Apparently, that was a failed idea. Agreed. Just seeing where everyone sat on when a good signing becomes a bust. I'm certainly not even remotely there with Ellingson and probably wouldn't be even if it turned out he couldn't come back this year. If that happened, I would re-sign him next year with a lower base and higher bonus prove it kind of contract. Agreed. One would have to be oblivious of reality to think that a rookie or young player has a much better chance of returning as a highly productive player than a player in his mid-thirties with the same injury. It's not an apt comparison at all.

Just to play devil's advocate, if Ellingson is in and out of the lineup and misses 50% of the games from here on out, do we still feel awesome about his signing? I love what he's done so far, but when you are signing a player that is getting up there you need to also get value out of his contract from being on the field. Look at Nick Moore as an example. Guy was an elite receiver but no one shed a tear when he left because he was in the tub more than he was on the field. I'm not saying that's going to happen with Ellingson, but at what point do we become concerned about the amount of time he is missing? Just an honest question, not passing judgement on the guy. I love what he has done so far. Just saying that if we found out tomorrow he is done for the year, how does everyone here feel about potentially bringing him back next year for the same contract?

Saskatchewan ruined Manny, glad he was able to rebound.