mbrg

TV just follows the ball. The ball gets kicked, flies thru the air, gets caught by the returner and he gets tackled. For the purposes of TV there might as well be 3 players on the field - the kicker, the returner and the tackler. Waggoner had 14 tackles on teams last year. I'd suggest he was valuable to what happened on the field more than 14 times last year. If you're in the stadium and watching the players rather than the ball floating thru the air, you get an opportunity to see that. TV often does a disservice to guys who's jobs aren't even up for all-star team consideration.

The Riders will sign a young US kid and pay him 80 or 90k as an import rookie, spending about 200k on the position. We're paying Harris 180k. It will be hard (and against the CBA) to find an import willing to play for 20k.

? You really seem to have some personal issue with Hurl. If it's going to cloud every comment maybe it's time for some introspection on the matter.

No reason to pay anyone on the roster who isn't a starter?

You need to take a look at the guys making the tackles after Medlock kicks the ball away. If we're in this for the cap management, there is no benefit to signing anyone. Have a roster of zero players and we can win cap management. Call it subjective if you want, but I think the Bombers had the best downfield coverage in the CFL last year. Hurl was a big part of that.

Every free agency has hits and misses. Hindsight is 20/20. You can make a great move and not get a great result. The Bombers used 3 FA classes to put together the guys they won with last year. Some of the great signings of 2014 were not here for 2016. Some were. Nic Moore was a big deal when he was signed. Just couldn't get the return on the investment. So then we added Adams. And the year after that Smith and Dressler. Bryant has been here for a few years now. One offseason will never be enough to fix a team that is a complete disaster no matter who you buy because you can't buy chemistry. It took us 3 seasons of aggressive shopping combined with making a lot of other solid moves. Ticats used to spend like madmen every season and until somewhat recently still sucked no matter who they bought. Last year's FA class paid no dividends for the Riders even though they spent aggressively. If they make the right decisions and get lucky, someday it might. Hindsight will eventually tell us if any of the guys you signed yesterday contributed to that turnaround.

There wasn't a lot for the Bombers to accomplish in FA. For the same reason that the Stamps aren't making a bunch of signings (wish it was we're already the best team in the league, but no) - most of the spots on our 2017 roster are full. We decided we didn't want Bass, so what one person considers a disaster the Bombers consider it as going exactly according to what they intended. Okpolaugo filled a spot. Nevis fills a spot. Darvin Adams was re-signed a month ago. Nichols was extended a month ago. Our entire starting Oline under contract, with our two starting NI's Chungh and Goossen both extended. Bryant and Medlock shuffled around and still under contract. Harris here for two more years. Hurl and Briggs re-signed. Other than Nevis, free agency was about some depth. We still take runs at a few guys like LaFrance and Westerman but both have a $$ limit on how aggressive we can be, So what's left? I assume we will continue to try and figure something out with Denmark, but if the Argos plop a big bag of money in front of him he's gone. Middle linebacker? Is there one on the market who suits our needs? Oline depth? With Couture, Indzandt and Neufeld as depth and two first round picks in the upcoming draft, I don't see a need that justifies the money. So a NI DT and #2 RB would still be nice, and we still have room for a QB on the roster. With Fantuz injured there aren't any NI receivers that are a big deal other than Durie and Getzlaf, After that the biggest name out there is Kohlert. Maybe Bailey can be picked up economically, but nothing happens economically on day one of free agency, so if Bailey is the guy people want to see here there will have to be some amount of patience. Not really a freak-out day from my perspective. We have a draft and about 20 NCAA signings to come before this roster is ready for camp.

Pavelec will not be sent to the Moose if he has to clear waivers to get there. Not sure whether or not that is the case. The Jets will want to keep him as a commodity for the trade deadline.

It would be ridiculous to get into a bidding war over a backup RB. Once the price crossed the upper limit of what we can spend on that position (including the NI premium) we have to walk away. Opening up the wallet for a starter can make sense. Doing it for a backup just hamstrings our ability to put a complete team together.

Recollection is Bryant signed for 160k per season originally.

While I'd like to have him here the harsh truth for him is he is second fiddle to Harris. Saskatchewans total lack of a running game or a remotely capable RB means there he has a shot at the starting job. It's a smart choice for his career. Now he just has to show he has what he thinks he has.

It would seem by definition overpaid depends on what you pay him.

My recollection is in previous years the audits were completed in April.

We choo choo choose him...

One of the fry-cooks from Wendy's. They run this league now.

Serious answer. We went 11-7 last season. It's February 14th already. What do you think? (maybe if Steinauer hadn't gone south, but he did)

If the Habs practised today all the Als could have hoped for was page 4 anyways.

We've got enough import receivers on the roster but there was so much natural chemistry between Denmark and Nichols last year that I hope they find room for one more.

Well we went into the day without a lot of holes to fill. So exciting splashy signings were just not likely. There are still a few things that can be done to make this team better. We'll see what happens.

All NI interior for the Als this year?

BC probably also has a better opportunity to start.

It is very unlikely the Bombers will fill their entire remaining roster slots today.

Love the spite-based personnel decisions.

I'm not bitching. Hurl was fantastic on special teams last year - him and Waggoner were a big part of the excellent downfield coverage we had. And the reality is almost every import starter on the roster is backed up during games by a NI.

I look at it as locking down the ratio for the year. Otherwise it's Thomas and Tennant rotating in that spot, possibly Butcher if he makes the team. It's just getting rid of a question mark rather than wondering if that trio can do the job or are we finding a NI Olineman, and if so, is Bond out, cause I would hate to not see Bond destroy people this season. That kinda thing.