GCn20

Yoshi is grossly overpaid, the rest are as you say....no name knockoffs of the real mccoy that we have.

Yea....BO is not just a ratio breaker is an MOP level ratio breaker. Oulette is your slightly above average run of the mill IMP back that is a dime a dozen. I suppose parts of Winnipeg are comparable to Regina, like the North end for instance.

Arguably best 2 IMP receivers. Schoen and Lawler are exceptional.

Oulette at 160k is fair not a great deal by any means. He doesn't hold a candle to BO. That is probably the best move we could have made.

I agree to some extent. Oulette is a good RB.

Most of the guys recruited to the CFL are coming for a chance to continue their NFL dream down a different road. I don't believe for one second that any great number of CFL players are coming here for an easy pay cheque because it beats a 9-5. Our starting salary is not a lot, guys on the PR are making bupkus compared to a gas jockey where they come from. They are here because they love the game, want to continue playing, and if anyone thinks that winning doesn't help feed that they are out to lunch. Guys are vetted very carefully, and maybe some guys get an invite to TC with attitudes like Mike has suggested they won't play for longer than a heart beat in our league without a desire to either prove themselves to the NFL or to win. That's just fact.

Sure, there is the odd guy who just plays for the pay cheque but you are trying to sell me on guys coming to the CFL are doing so for the money? I agree on that. However, it's not like the guys chosen were barely passable as a starter. Sometimes, good even great players get left off.

Sure there are some, but most of them are weeded out very quick. You don't play professional sports at the high levels without caring about winning unless you are uber talented.

There were some that were questionable, but nothing really egregious.

I can honestly say that over the years I have never met a player that thought of the playoffs or the Grey Cup as OT they didn't ask for. I've met a ton of former and current Bombers through coaching clinics etc. and to a man every single one of them want to hoist the Cup. If we have any guys like that on the Bombers I hope we cut them, but I highly doubt we do. Sounds more like these players gather in Regina.

We are going to need these guys to take a big step forward. Definitely the potential is there, and that is probably why we don't re-sign Ricky and lowball JJ. Doesn't make Ricky or JJ bad players, we just like the guys nipping at their heels and their low cost to our SMS.

Sure....and I'm sure a lot of players around the league were tired of Collaros getting the nod as well. I'm certainly not suggesting the CFLPA all star team is a perfect list, just that players don't get onto the team that didn't belong in the conversation. Not the players I have met over the years. They care..A LOT. Are there SOME players who just play for the pay cheque....sure. Most really wanna win very badly.

I would hope they do. Kelly wasn't chopped liver last year. He was probably the beneficiary of a tired of Collaros vote but he definitely belonged in the conversation, as did Bighill at MIKE.

OK so we can agree that Bighill's inclusion on that team suggests that he wasn't barely passable as a starter. Good, we are in agreement then and can end this circle jerk. At no point was I suggesting that players were breaking down film to confirm their votes. It's a vote based on who offensive players immediately think is their toughest to play against opponent. Maybe they might take a Bighill over a Judge as a tribute to his longevity, but the fact of the matter he was on their mind.

That's easier than just going with the names of the guys who've played you tough? How so? It's amazing how fans will go to extreme lengths to justify their opinions. Suggesting that 90% of the players in this league just wrote down random names because they were on Sportscentre last night? C'mon. The players do care more than that. Give them some credit.

Sure...whatever you say. Just throw darts at a board in the locker room.

I agree with your assessment. I think keeping Biggie fresh would make him very impactful for us when he does come in. His biggest problem right now is not that he can't play at a very high level, it's keeping him healthy and fresh.

We definitely did not want to match the 280k he got. Nor would I have if I were Walters either. Not with our DB depth chart and exceptional DB scouting over the past few year. Doesn't make him a bad player though. I'm not sitting here trying to make the argument that Houston going to Calgary is any kind of hill we have to climb. We got guys that will excel in that spot.

You keep saying we wouldn't have parted with him as if every player move is made in isolation. It's not. He got a big payday somewhere else that we would not match because guys like Schoen and Brady were higher priority to bring back, and our depth at that position group allowed us to not have to give him a big pay day. There is a big difference between not making a guy one of the highest paid players in his position group in the league, to us not valuing him. We just didn't value him as highly as another teams was willing to do so because we had bigger fish to retain. He led the league in INTs, that is not a bad player to have on your roster. I'm not suggesting he was the perfect DB, but he had a pretty good season. Another CFL GM gave him 280k in hard money. That's not shitty DB money.

How do you know the Bombers didn't try bring him back? All we know is that the Bombers wouldn't pay what someone else was willing to pay, and rightfully so as we are very deep in our d backfield. Don't mistake us not allocating the funds to him as us not wanting him. Good teams lose good players all the time in an SMS world. ALL Dbs get torched occasionally. Our very worst by far defender in the GC was Parker and I am very excited to see what he can do this year.

That's nonsense. Houston led the league in INTs and made some very timely plays for us that turned losses into victories. Sayles was good as well. Is Houston perfect, nope, but to say he wasn't good last year. OMG. Is this bizarro world around here today?

Matthieu Betts has a pretty dominant season last year, hard to argue that. Was he over rated a bit, possibly, but it is pretty tough to suggest that he was not deserving of the accolade. Demerio had a lot of success with interceptions and made some very timely ones that changed the outcome of a couple games for us. For sure opposing players would know his name. Sayles, same thing. Are all these guys potentially over rated by fans and media...probably...but that doesn't make them scrubs either. Do you think a barely passable as a starter MIKE could get enough votes from his peers to be selected their all star at that position. I highly doubt it. Could a very strong argument be made that there were better guys than Sayles and Demerio at those positions...possibly if someone was to study the entire body of work of every DB. However, these guys are all voting for guys that played the best against them or their team in their judgement. Get enough of those votes and you are the allstar. In Betts, Sayles, and Houston's case it is pretty obvious they had some pretty high level games that enough of their peers noticed them and singled them out.

I wish someone would step forward and absolutely leave no doubt by dominating TC. Who that might be? Don't care. We literally need to find our next Jackson Jeffcoat. Not sure what Reacher has played in the past. Never looked it up, but if was a DE it shouldn't be much of an adjustment if he can handle it inside better.

CFLPA allstars are chosen by their peers. It's not a reputation vote and saying so shows your ignorance of the accomplishment. There is no media or any other entity outside the game voting on it...just the offensive players in the league get a vote on who the best defensive players are. Of all all star teams chosen in any sport this one is probably the most accurate indicator of who is making a difference. Unless, of course, you are suggesting that the players wouldn't accurately rate their peers? Sorry, but I will trust the guys who play against Bighill all season over a biased fans perspective. You Bighill bashers are the ones who are wild. Barely passable as a starting linebacker....good grief. Offensive players around the league beg to differ. Has he taken a step back? Yes. He no longer dominates the game the way he used to do so. Might he continue on a downward trajectory? Possibly. Something the coaches will have to keep an eye on for sure. Was he still a very good LBer last year. Absolutely, and to say otherwise is an absolute joke of an assessment. C'mon Mike seriously?

Better passport, that is all. Biggie was the CFLPA all star last year. Chosen by his peers as the best. I'm not sure on why everyone is so hell bent on suggesting he is done. Is he DMOP calibre anymore? No. Can he dominate the game and do things that no other defensive player could measure up to? No.Is he one of, if not the best MIKE in the league. Absolutely. We are comparing him to a time he was the best defensive player in the league by far and because he is no longer that guy we are saying he is washed up? Makes no sense. There are a lot of levels of play between that.