GCn20

We've got the SMS room this year.

Very good point. I read recently that the Bombers are projected to finish the season ~$100-200k over the cap. Obviously that'll change with some creativity by Walters, but we're there already. 6 gaming Picard maybe become a reality this year for you guys. I'd be all in to get Wild back if I was you guys. Even though he isn't MLB size, the guy just makes play after play. Need a guy like that in the middle so he is free to make plays on both side of the field. We can get Wild back and play Picard. Entering the season we were probably in the best cap shape of any team in the league. LOL at those CapGeek projections. They say we are going to be 100-200k over the cap but also say that there are several teams in the CFL that will be 500-600k over the cap. They are so out to lunch I'm not sure why anyone with a reasonable intelligence level would even remotely think they are close. They don't even have most of the salaries reported for any team yet. Most of them are just an arbitrary number they made up themselves because they have no info on the player.

Very good point. I read recently that the Bombers are projected to finish the season ~$100-200k over the cap. Obviously that'll change with some creativity by Walters, but we're there already. I would like to know where you read that because that number makes zero sense.

The bad ones like the Indianapolis Colts or the Seattle Seahawks? Seems to me a couple pretty "bad" NFL teams were the ones featuring a couple of ex-Bombers late in the NFL playoffs last year.

We had several hundred thousands of dollars remaining from last years cap that we used to re-up guys like Denmark and Moore. We are in good cap shape. If we weren't, Neufeld would still be on the 6 game. Our FA foray was flashy but relatively inexpensive. I personally don't think we are anywhere near the cap, and I have to say that anyone who says we are projected to be 100-200k over the cap should back that up with a source. That sounds like pure fiction to me.

Folks blaming Brohm for that loss vs Edmonton are mistaken, plain and simple. It is easy to want to settle on a scapegoat but that is all it is. Consider this: It was raining like hell in that game and it should have been a battle of the running backs. But our RBs ran for less than 100 yards on a total of 13 combined attempts. Not enough run attempts or run efficiency given the conditions. Why? And how's that on Brohm? Did Brohm take 18 penalties for 170 yards? Not on my TV. How about ST and field position? Kendial Lawrence ran back 9 punts for 137 yards. Stoudermire was a measly 5 KR for 16 yards. How is that on Brohm? Brohm wasn't even on the field for almost 2/3 of the game when it was Nichols vs Willy. But Nichols was 17/25 for 196 vs Willy's 7/17 for 71. Is that on Brohm? I guess if you're a Brohm hater it is. Really, if you're looking for a Winnipeg QB to be your scapegoat then take your pick. It was 4-3 Esks at halftime. LH got one FG and missed the other. How's that on Brohm? Willy didn't score a TD did he? In fact Drew Willy hasn't manufactured a single TD vs Edmonton in his three starts against them. Even if you take out the first half of the game and only look at the second half you see that Brohm wasn't covering Kenny Stafford for that 15 yard TD strike from Franklin. Nor was Brohm covering Bowman on another Esks short field TD. And if you want to look at QB numbers for the heroic Franklin vs the evil Brohm they aren't that different: Franklin 5/8 for 81 and Brohm 9/19 for 71. Franklin on a short field Brohm almost always backed up to his own goal post. Yup, Brohm gave up 2 picks and one of them was a pop up from Richards, which eventually led to a TD against us. Look, maybe Willy gives us the best chance to win, but if you look at it objectively Brohm seems to be able to read blitz better than Willy and makes his progressions faster than Willy and also brings a bit more tempo to the O. Seeing that, as long was we are employing an offence designed around a fairly immobile 3-step pocket QB I'd be willing to give Brohm more game reps because I also like his throwing mechanics and believe his accuracy problems are correctable. I know I'm in the minority but so be it. Now if Winnipeg wants to join the elite offences in the league like Ham Tor Cgy and BC (all coached by exQBs) then you need a different style of QB than either Willy or Brohm. But that's a different thread altogether. Yikes. Just yikes. You are either the president of the Brian Brohm fan club or should be. You definitely were watching the game through some different colored glasses than pretty much everyone else except for maybe Brohm's mom.

That's the scary part. Either the coaches are completely out to lunch or Marve is that far behind in his development that we are stuck with Brohm. I'm not liking either scenario because it means that we are stuck with Brohm, and he can't play the game at this level.

Marve is one of the best "sandlot" QBs I've seen in awhile. When the play breaks down he would be the guy I choose to be at QB. However, broken plays are not something any team should ever want, and the play breaks down waaaay to often when Marve is behind centre. Marve has a skill that when he learns to run an offence with efficiency will serve him well. Until he learns to execute the playbook as it is written he will not make the next step in his career. That being said, I would like to see where he is at developmentally. I get the feeling that I will not be enthused with the answer when he does play, because he has been unable to surpass a scrub like Brohm. However, give him a chance to show he can run an offence. He really can't do any worse than Brohm. Maybe we ruin his development that way...I don't know. What I do know is he's been here long enough. It's time for Marve to show that he can be a professional QB and not just a one trick pony, and it's definitely time we move on from Brohm.

I personally agree with the bloggers commentary and think it was a well written thought out opinion piece. At the end of the day though, it really doesn't mean much more than any fanboy's opinion. It's not like it's an inside scoop or something. I do hope the blogger is right about Wild though.

During the offseason and through TC, I absolutely defended the decision for Brohm to be number 2 for all the reasons people are listing here, such as Marve's penchant to create chaos by missing reads, his improvising outside of the playbook, his happy feet, and his general inability to read a defence. However, Brohm is so very clearly not a CFL capable QB. I am not advocating for Marve over Brohm, I am simply saying we simply can't keep sending Brohm out anymore. He is useless. Complete garbage that gives us no chance to win. Marve likely doesn't provide us with much more of a chance but we should at least have a look to see how he is progressing because right now this team seems to be devoid of any backup or future QBs. Brohm should be outright released and Marve given an appearance or two to show he has dramatically improved over last season in the brains department. If he hasn't we should cut bait with him too. Both of these guys are multi year CFL vets. If they aren't ready to at least be half decent we should get rid of them. Brohm has proven he is not the answer at number 2, I say turn the ball over to Marve and get an answer as to where he has progressed. If he has not, get Davis ready to be number 2 ASAP and begin the airlift. It is nonsense to be putting a slug like Brohm out on the field. The guy can't hit the broad side of a barn,.

I have to seriously question what is going on behind the scenes with Marve. There is absolutely no way, after Brohm's last two outings, this team can justify keeping him as our 2nd string. The fact that he is, suggests to me that there is something very, very wrong with Marve in the coaches eyes that goes beyond his talent level. Coachability? Bad attitude? Complete inability to run the playbook? Something is keeping this guy glued to the bench when he should obviously be given a shot. It isn't that he has less talent then Brohm. I don't buy that Bellefeuille is playing favorites. There is something going on behind the scenes that we don't know about. I suspect that when Davis is ready that Marve will be the one getting walking papers.

That second and 3 play, where Edmonton stacked the box, and Willy handed off to Cotton for a two yard loss, just had me screaming at the TV. Everyone knew a hand-off was coming, and yet MB just made Willy do it anyway. Same with the hand-off to Marshall on the 3 yard line. Brohm should have had AT&T on his helmet, he was telegraphing that play so much. I do hate the way we run the ball. Where's the sweeps? Counters? Off tackle runs. Seems like shot gun formation run up the middle every time. No imagination. No variation. That falls on the coaching staff. Our left tackle was embarrassing and our centre was constantly shoved backwards without any resistance.. But yup, we shoulda been running off tackle for losses. Seems wise. You thought Bryant was embarrassing. Not what I was watching. Our OL had an overall poor game, but they are infinitely better than last year's line. I expected better run blocking than what we are getting though.

Eric Norwood. He asked for a contract from the Bombers and was offered a PR spot for the remainder of the season. He declined it, and the CFL ruled it was not a fair contract offer thus making him a FA.

Last season and through TC I advocated for people to trust the coaching decisions on who plays or not. As an ex-coach myself, I know that there are many more variables than who the most talented player is that goes into the decision. If the coaches still want to start Brohm ahead of Marve this week then I suggest they cut them both and bring in new backups. Brohm clearly does not have the ability to be a successful CFL QB. The two outings this year should have earned him his walking papers. It is mystifying that he is not the 3rd string. This clearly indicates to me that there is something so deeply wrong with Marve's attitude or ability to grasp the playbook that the coaching staff just won't trust him with the offence. In that case he needs to go too. I like Marve's level of talent WAAAAY more than Brohm's. I think any person who has watched an ounce of football knows who has more physical talent. The fact that he remains behind Brohm can only mean he is either not coachable, or has a **** attitude. Either way, he needs to go too if vast improvements aren't made by both him and Brohm in their on field performance. This pining for Marve needs to end. If he can't pass a scrub like Brohm on the DC, it isn't because he is a future all star.

What's the point of keeping someone on your neg list if they don't want to sign with you? Yeah technically you could keep their rights forever, but if they flat out tell you "Nope not signing with you no matter what kind of contract I get offered" then you're only wasting your time and neg list spaces hanging onto them out of spite, might as well remove them and move on.;Sure you're giving them up willingly, but in a more accurate sense you're losing them because they don't want to sign with you. It is not necessarily accurate to say that you are losing them because they don't want to sign with you. You could easily be losing them because they prefer to sign elsewhere. If given no choice, it's hard to say whether or not they might change their tune. How many NFL players are thrilled to be drafted by the BIlls....probably not many....but they understand that's where their rights went and they sign a contract. A lot of them come into the organization and then change their minds about it. Would we release the rights of our first round draft pick if he suddenly decided that he wanted to play elsewhere? I would hope we wouldn't.

What's the point of keeping someone on your neg list if they don't want to sign with you? Yeah technically you could keep their rights forever, but if they flat out tell you "Nope not signing with you no matter what kind of contract I get offered" then you're only wasting your time and neg list spaces hanging onto them out of spite, might as well remove them and move on.;Sure you're giving them up willingly, but in a more accurate sense you're losing them because they don't want to sign with you. It all depends on whether you consider the prospect to be blue chip or not and other variables. I would have kept Cato, for instance, if I were the Riders. He didn't show up for rookie camp and waited until the last minute before TC to ask for a contract. There was obvious tampering by Montreal, Taman even said he strongly suspected it. I would have tendered him an offer and kept him from the Als.

Just so there is no confusion, a player on a team's neg list can remain there until a team decides to drop them, declines to make them a contract offer, or makes them an "unfair contract offer". So long as any team makes a fair contract offer to a player on their neg list within 10 days of them asking for one initially and before the anniversary of them declining one, a player's rights can be retained by the team whose neg list they are on. There is absolutely no way that Fuller, Franklin, or Maybin refused to sign with us and then went onto somewhere else without us voluntarily giving up their neg list rights. Just can't be done. If we wanted to retain any of their rights we had the option to do so. I would imagine that Norwood, Maybin, and Fuller may have expressed that they were not willing to come here so we voluntarily dropped them. Happens to every team all the time. A player is added to your neg list and you contact him and he states he doesn't want to come so you drop him and make room for someone else. Sometimes its the timing of when you ask, sometimes it's not a good fit geographically, and most of the time it's a lack of interest in the CFL. Hundreds of players are added and deleted from neg lists around the league every year. A lot of times it's because it is found they have no interest currently in the CFL. 3 or 4 months later and things can alter drastically in a football career.

Franklin was likely straight up dropped from our neg list when we wanted to add someone else instead. Cato, was asked by the Riders to attend mini camp. He had just attended an NFL tryout the day before and did not attend the Riders mini camp. A couple weeks before the season started he contacted the Riders asking for a contract. The Riders had 10 days to offer him one but declined to do so. As per CFL by-laws, the Riders then had to drop him off their neg list. Neither Franklin, nor Cato, had any choice but to ask for and then sign a fair contract offer from the teams that neg listed them. You cannot opt out from the team that holds your neg list rights. If you turn down a fair offer from the team that holds your rights that team can return you to their neg list for a period of one year afterwards. If they offer another deal that is deemed fair and you turn it down it goes another year etc.

Rod is on the Riders payroll. Might as well be. Didn't he get a ring along with the rest of the team when they won the Grey Cup back in 2013. I'm not kidding here, that's what I thought I heard. That is actually kind of funny, but seriously doubt that is true. Rod isn't the 13th man. I am and have been for my entire life and I didn't get a ring. Rod got a milkbone and a nice firm pat on the head from Taman after the Grey Cup. Good lapdogs are hard to find.

Lirim was found by Walters, but Bucknor was a CFL veteran who had many starts before he became a Bomber.

Lapo is agreeing with Pedersen on this one (not that I would expect him to do anything but deny the rumours at this point anyway). Paul LaPolice ‏@PaulLaPolice 12m12 minutes ago I agree with @sportscage. I like Kirk but not his insiders segment. There is no way that Lapo can come into Regina looking like he lobbied for the job the past couple months. More damage control.

Yea. I can't imagine that Taman is too happy about the leak to Penton at this point and time. Sent in his lapdog Pederson for damage control. If anything, imo, this validates what Penton was saying. He sure struck a nerve at Riders HQ with his article. Methinks Pederson, and therefore the RIders, dost protest too much.

Can't really agree with that. The talent level in Saskatchewan is REALLY low right now. Riders have pretty much the number one offence in the league in most categories, can you explain how the talent level is low? There are 44 active members on game day. Offence is only 12 of them. Your defence is an abomination, and your STs and depth are not far behind. Hence...the talent level is low. I will agree that your starting talent on offence seems to be clicking right now, and I will even go so far as to say your defence has some talent as well but has way too many guys who are not CFL calibre being forced in due to ratio and poor recruitment. Too many scrubs to overcome.However, I earnestly believe that the D talent does not fit the scheme and that your secondary is poorly suited to the changes in the game. The Riders were a very physical secondary over the past few years and were built to be so, it just doesn't fit with the new rules. It's happening in other places too. Players that were once all star calibre secondary players but relied on physicality to do so are now being exposed. Unfortunately for the Riders...that's your entire secondary in a nutshell. Your LBs are some weak sauce, with or without Emry, and your ratio problems are forcing you to play scrubs on the DL that are creating zero push and not collapsing the pocket for Chick and Hall. Chamblin seems to be taking big time heat for this defence, and it does fall on him to find answers, but realistically Taman never put a defensive group of players on the field that is good enough. I will freely admit that your offence is playing lights out right now. It's the only reason the RIders haven't been getting completely blown out thus far. There are some deep systemic problems that are rearing there ugly heads right now, right from the GMs office on down, and the offence has been the lipstick on the pig. This gets worse before it gets better. I know...I watched this movie over and over again through the 2000's. Not to worry though, I am sure O'Day and Lapo will do their best to start a rebuild next year.

So....at least a couple years then.

Nope. He took second reps one day because Brohm blew out a shoe-lace and had to change it and then get re-taped. I was at that practice and was laughing when I saw the tweet afterwards that suggested Marve was taking 2nd string reps. They conveniently left out that Brohm was unavailable at that time to take them. Went to the practice the next day, and Brohm was taking 2nd string reps. No tweet about that. Have not been to one since, but I have heard no mention from my buddies I attend practices with that Marve has been taking 2nd string reps.