The MBB All-Time Blue Bomber team: Special Teams Player

[TrueBlue4ever]

Cut down the size of the poll because the number was getting a bit unwieldy . This will be a bit of an apples to oranges comparison as I've tried to include the top 2 or 3 in each area, from those with big special teams tackle totals, punt and kick blockers and those who recovered blocked kicks, and long snappers and holders. Won't necessarily have stats here, so I strongly welcome testimonials from posters to endorse their favourites. 

Here are the bios:

Wade Miller - 159 games in 11 seasons (1995-2005). Club record 184 special teams tackles (STT) - (#2 all-time in CFL history), CFL record 37 STT in 1999, led CFL with 35 STT in 1997 (#3 all-time CFL single season total). Grey Cup appearance in 2001.

Brendan Rogers - 85 games in 5 seasons (1991-95). 124 STT (#2 club all-time), led CFL with 34 STT in 1994 (#7 all-time) and 31 STT in 1993 (#13 all-time). CFL record 7 STT in a single game in 1994. 2 Grey Cup appearances in 1992, 93.

Paul Clatney - 36 games in 2 seasons (1988-89), single season club record 3 blocked punts in 1988. 1988 Grey Cup champion.

Rod Hill - 90 games in 5 seasons (1988-92), club record 8 career blocked punts (CFL #3 all-time), 3 Grey Cup appearances (1988, 90, 92), 2 time Grey Cup champion (1988, 90). CFL Hall of Fame.

Marcus Howell - 84 games in 5 seasons (2000-04), CFL single game record 2 blocked punts in 2000. Grey Cup appearance in 2001.

Merv Walker - 77 games in 5 seasons (1974-78), single season club record 3 blocked punts in 1974.

Michael Allan - 63 games in 4 seasons (1988-91), CFL single season record 3 blocked punt returns for TDs in 1988, CFL record for career blocked punt return TDs with 5. 2 Grey Cup appearances and 2 time champion (1988, 90).

Chris Cvetkovic - 161 games in 11 seasons (2003-13), 66 career STT as long snapper, led CFL in STT by a long snapper in 2004 (16) and 2005 (11). Long snapper for Jon Ryan's CFL record 50.6 avg. punting season in 2005. 2 Grey Cup appearances (2007, 11)

Chad Rempel - 63 games in 4 seasons (2005, 16-18), long snapper for Justin Medlock's STPOTY 2016 season, 3 time CFLPA all-star as a long snapper (2016-18), 13 total STT

Jamie Stoddard - 151 games in 9 seasons (2000-08), 43 career STT, holder for FG, 1 career rush for 9 yards on fake FG, 2 Grey Cup appearances (2001, 07)

Edited March 8, 2019 by TrueBlue4ever

[TrueBlue4ever]

One man's take:

5 distinct skill sets, so I'll break it down into 3 areas and then vote from there. 

Wade Miller was a longer-serving special teamer than Brendan Rogers and put up better numbers as a tackling specialist, and has the CFL records to back him up. I pick him as the top tackler.

Clatney, Howell, and Walker each had a stellar season or game as a punt blocker, but Rod Hill was a phenom in this area throughout his career, and is easily the best punt blocker in Bomber history (his angle to the ball was so exacting from the outside, he did not need a blocking breakdown to get through to the ball). Allan has his own piece of CFL history, but he was the beneficiary of the block in all cases, so I give credit to those who set him up to recover those punt blocks (most often Hill).

Long snapper is a thankless position you only notice when you have someone who is bad at it, but it is an invaluable part of special teams. Imagine having to look backwards and upside down between your legs knowing a 300+ lb lineman is going to tee off on you every time when you snap the ball, and you can't afford a screw-up on a distance snap. We have had a pair of beauties in the last 15 years here. Rempel may be more technically proficient, but he has has as much success in his long career in other cities, and Cvetkovic was one of those "glue guys" in the locker room to boot. Great artist and caricaturist, and he also did a killer Arnold Schwartzenegger impression and kept the room from getting too tense. He was also a huge community guy, from his pet shelter and rescue operation to helping with the Haiti earthquake, he won the Ed Kotowich Award for community service. Man bun aside, I'll give it to Cvetty over Rempel by  slim margin. Stoddard was dependable holder and very creative with the name and code signal for his trick field goal play, but only ran it once, so that won't earn him my vote.

So down to Miller, Hill, and Cvetkovic for me. The thanklessness of the long snapper continues, as Cvetkovic was very reliable but not an all-time league best lime the other 2. Hill was the first true master at punt blocking, but he has been surpassed in career blocks since his retirement. Plus, he has already made the team for his work as a defensive back. Wade Miller showed up at camp and Chris Walby said "hey, who brought their kid to camp and let him play dress-up?" The equivalent to Notre Dame's "Rudy", he played linebacker and fullback and was all heart and guts - the smallest guy who never quit on any play or refused to accept that he was too small, too slow, or too unskilled to make it in the CFL, and just went out and excelled on pure hustle and determination. He gets my vote. Bonus points for staying in the community after his retirement to add to the business community, and then returning to pull the club out of the Joe Mack abyss. 

 

[Noeller]

I've decided I'm voting for Miller. He was the ST Captain for a long time, and one of the smartest ST players we ever had. It was his responsibility to make sure everyone was lined up properly, and if he didn't like the looks of things, take the necessary OS penalty to get things lined up the way they should be. He took heat from a lot of stupid fans that didn't understand, but that guy was a truly great ST player. Gets my vote.

[SpeedFlex27]

8 hours ago, Noeller said:

I've decided I'm voting for Miller. He was the ST Captain for a long time, and one of the smartest ST players we ever had. It was his responsibility to make sure everyone was lined up properly, and if he didn't like the looks of things, take the necessary OS penalty to get things lined up the way they should be. He took heat from a lot of stupid fans that didn't understand, but that guy was a truly great ST player. Gets my vote.

 Hill made the spectacular plays like blocking 8 punts but Miller did the grunt work pn every play. He sacrificed his body to get in there & make the tackle. Fans respect that type of diligence & hard work. Miller got my vote as well.

[TrueBlue4ever]

OK, something screwy is happening with these polls, because this one was supposed to stay open until the 10th (Sunday) and I know I set it up that way. Could one of the mods please fix this, because it won't let me edit it myself. Thanks again.

[wbbfan]

On 2019-03-04 at 6:55 PM, SpeedFlex27 said:

 Hill made the spectacular plays like blocking 8 punts but Miller did the grunt work pn every play. He sacrificed his body to get in there & make the tackle. Fans respect that type of diligence & hard work. Miller got my vote as well.

Same. The offsides play was lame, but brilliant at the same time. 

Id give an honorable mention to mike sellers. 2 years, incredible blocking as an up back and constantly making the tackle downfield. His blocking was phenomenal. He was kind of a two way teams guy, a mix of rogers and cvetkovic. Give me sellers as an upback, cvety as a holder, miller to be the ham n egger, and rod hill to make some big plays. 

[Eternal optimist]

Miller definitely did alot for us on STs. However, I'd also argue the stability Rempel has provided in recent years is just as important. A long snapper is a thankless job, the only time you get recognized it when you screw up...