The MBB All-Time Blue Bomber Team: Slotbacks

[TrueBlue4ever]

Here are the bios:

 

Stats will be broken down into receptions-yards-average-longest-TDs for the career, with the best single season total for each in parentheses with the corresponding year following the career numbers.

 Gerald Alphin – 52 games in 4 seasons (1992-95), 186-2970-16.0-73-24 (73 rec.-18 TDs both in 1994, 1052 yds. in 1993, 19.5 avg.-73 long both in 1992), 1 time 1000+ yard season (1993), 2 Grey Cup appearances (1992, 93), #2 club all-time in single season receiving TDs

Terrence Edwards – 114 games in 7 seasons (2007-13), 469-7200-15.4-90-46 (80 rec. in 2007, 1372 yds.-17.6 avg.-90 long-12 TDs all in 2010), 3 time divisional all-star (2007, 10, 11), 2 time CFL all-star (2007, 10), 5 times 1000+ yard season (2007, 08, 10-12), team nominee Most Outstanding Player (2010), 2 Grey Cup appearances (2007, 11), #4 club all-time in career receptions and yards

Rick House – 141 games in 9 seasons (1979-84, 89-91), 385-6266-16.3-81-46 (63 rec. in 1982 and 90, 1102 yds.-81 long-10 TDS all in 1981, 19.5 avg. in 1983), divisional all-star (1990), 2 times 1000+ yard season (1981, 82), 3 time team nominee Most Outstanding Canadian (1982, 90, 91), West Division Most Outstanding Canadian (1982), 2 Grey Cup appearances (1984, 90), 2 time Grey Cup champion (1984, 90)

Gord Paterson – 86 games in 6 seasons (1974-79), 232-2985-12.9-58-15 (69 rec. in 1978, 882 yds.-58 long both in 1977, 16.1 avg. in 1975, 5 TDs in 1976 and 77), team nominee Most Outstanding Canadian (1977), West Division Most Outstanding Canadian (1977)

Joe Poplawski – 129 games in 9 seasons (1978-86), 549-8341-15.2-68-48 (84 rec. in 1981, 1271 yds. in 1981 and 85, 16.9 avg. in 1985, 68 long in 1980, 8 TDs in 1978, 81, 83,and 86), 5 time divisional all-star (1978, 81, 84-86), 5 time CFL all-star (1978, 81, 84-86), 1 time led league in receptions (1978), 3 times 1000+ yard season (and 2 yards shy twice and 29 yards shy a third time), 6 time team nominee Most Outstanding Canadian (1978, 80, 81, 84-86), 5 time West Division Most Outstanding Canadian (1978, 81, 84-86), 2 time CFL Most Outstanding Canadian (1981, 86), team nominee Most Outstanding Rookie (1978), West Division Most Outstanding Rookie (1978), CFL Most Outstanding Rookie (1978), 1 Grey Cup appearances (1984, Grey Cup champion (1984), #3 club all-time in career receptions and yards, #4 club all-time in receiving TDs, CFL Hall of Fame

Tom Scott – 59 games in 4 seasons (1974-77), 175-2988-17.1-98-27 (66 rec.-1079 yds.-98 long-10 TDs all in 1977, 18.9 avg. in 1975), 2 time divisional all-star (1974, 77), CFL all-star (1977), 1 time 1000+ yard season, team nominee Most Outstanding Rookie (1974), West Division Most Outstanding Rookie (1974), CFL Hall of Fame

Milt Stegall – 199 games in 14 seasons (1995-08), 855-15187-17.8-105-144 (106 rec.-1896 yds.-23 TDs all in 2002, 26.5 avg.-105 long both in 1997), 8 time divisional all-star (1997, 99-02, 05-07), 6 time CFL all-star (1997, 00-02, 05, 06), 2 times led league in receiving yards (1997, 02), 1 time led league in receptions (2002), 10 times 1000+ yard season (1997, 99-07), 3 times 1400+ yard season (1997, 00, 02), 2 times 1600+ yard season (1997, 02), 3 time team nominee Most Outstanding Player (1997, 00, 02), West Division Most Outstanding Player (2002), CFL Most Outstanding Player (2002), 2 Grey Cup appearances (2001, 07), club #7 all-time in seasons played, #5 in games played, #3 in career scoring, #3 in all-purpose yards, club records for career and single season receptions/yards/TDs/receiving TDs, career yards from scrimmage, career 1000 yard seasons and consecutive 1000 yard seasons (#2 all time in the CFL) , career 200 yard games (3), and single season receiving avg. and consecutive games with a TD (8), has #1, #4 and #5 club single season yardage totals and #2, #4 and #5 club single game yardage totals, CFL record for career and single season TDs and receiving TDs, #3 CFL all-time in receiving yards, CFL Hall of Fame

Perry Tuttle – 88 games in 6 seasons (1986-91), 321-5817-18.1-94-41 (83 rec.-1373 yds. both in 1986, 20.8 avg. in 1990, 94 long in 1989, 8 TDs in 1986, 87, 88), divisional all-star (1987), CFL all-star (1987), 2 times 1000+ yard season (1986, 87), 2 Grey Cup appearances (1988, 90), 2 time Grey Cup champion (1988, 90)

Gerald Wilcox – 57 games in 5 seasons (1992-96), 299-4608-15.4-75-30 (111 rec.-1624 yds.-13 TDs all in 1994, 17.6 avg. in 1992, 75 long in 1993), 2 time divisional all-star (1993, 94), CFL all-star (1994), 3 times 1000+ yard season, 1 time 1600+ yard season, team nominee Most Outstanding Player (1994), 3 time team nominee Most Outstanding Canadian (1993-95), 2 time East Division Most Outstanding Canadian (1993-94), CFL Most Outstanding Canadian (1994), 2 Grey Cup appearances (1992, 93), #3 club all time single season receiving yards, #2 club all time single season receptions

[TrueBlue4ever]

One man's take:

First off, if Milt Stegall is not unanimously selected for one of these spots, I am going to apply to be a moderator on this site for the sole purpose of banning whoever did not vote for him for the entire football season. He is at the start of any discussion for the greatest Bomber player of all time.

Joe Poplawski should be a solid choice for the second spot. Retiring at only 28 years of age, he was as dependable as they come, and one of the all-time great Canadians to ever play in the CFL. Had he hung around for another 5-6 years, who knows where his stat line may have ended up. But his consistency and league recognition in all star noms and individual awards make him another obvious choice.

So here is where it gets interesting - the lone spot for the run-off vote as a 5th receiver. Odds are good that the third place finisher here will win out over the tight end and wide receiver options. Breaking down the remaining 7:

Paterson - reliable, but ordinary numbers compared to the others. If his passport were American, his average of 500 yards and 3 TDs a year would have him playing a back-up role.

Alphin - one huge year scoring-wise, but otherwise decent but not overwhelming numbers, and was overshadowed by the other Gerald and David Williams in the 1990's. Won't make the cut for me.

Scott - honestly, was just starting to break out when he left for the Eskimos, so we never got to see his very best in a blue and gold uniform. Not enough mileage as a Bomber to get my vote as the alternate 

That leaves 4 for one spot -

Tuttle - played alongside Murphy and put up some very impressive numbers with the club, was maybe the best deep threat outside of Stegall the club has seen. Because of Murphy, seemed like a second banana, but had some very strong stats. And as far I can verify, only 1 of 2 Blue Bombers ever to grace the cover of Sports Illustrated (when he played with Clemson - the other is Tom Clements in his days with Notre Dame. And I stand to be corrected but I do not see from my searches that Bud Grant ever made the cover). Still, only one all-star nod and no individual club award nominations, so I'm going to leave him just outside the top 3.

House - one of the great clutch possession receivers the Bombers have ever had. Prior to Milt, had the club record for consecutive games with a catch. Had to play in the shadow of Poplawski at the other slot, but more than held his own. Still, did not reach the same heights statistically as the other 2, and was the 4th best receiver on his own team (behind Pop, Murph, and Boyd). His passport nudges him just ahead of Tuttle and gives him a very strong #5 ranking overall for me.

Wilcox - the key cog in the Matt Dunigan offence of the mid-90's, and he put together 2 massive years in 93 and 94, culminating with a record breaking season of 111 catches and 1624 yards in '94, both records for a Canadian player until Ben Cahoon and Dave Sapunjis came along and squeaked past him. And an acrimonious departure when he was cut due to lack of productivity and proclaimed through the media that he would still play and prove the backstabbers wrong (turns out the club was right with their timing, however).

Edwards - So anyone nicknamed "baby Milt" has some serious street cred right off the hop. And Edwards had the numbers to back it up. Was 29 yards away from being the league leading receiver in '07, and only 9 yards away in '10, but he never led the league. But 5 1000 yard seasons, 2 all-star nods, a team MOP nod and top 4 all time with the club in yards and catches clinches it for me. Although Wilcox's ceiling was higher by a good bit at their best, Edwards was consistently the club's best pass catcher for a longer period of time. One of the true underrated stars of the CFL when he played.

 

Edited May 8, 2019 by TrueBlue4ever

[Noeller]

Milt Stegall - greatest receiver in CFL history, and I'll fight anyone who disagrees. My second vote goes to Joe Pop because he's Joe ******* Glue.....

[Floyd]

Just now, Noeller said:

Milt Stegall - greatest receiver in CFL history, and I'll fight anyone who disagrees. My second vote goes to Joe Pop because he's Joe ******* Glue.....

Pitts makes a very strong case... but yeah Stegall is by far the best - if only he had a legit team for his entire career

[SpeedFlex27]

Perry Tuttle was a slot. He should have been in this group.  Jim Thorpe was a flanker. He should have been in the other group. 

Edited May 7, 2019 by SpeedFlex27

[rebusrankin]

Voted for Milt, Joe Pop aka the two obvious choices. Wilcox for the third spot. Productive NI receiver for us, whom I always liked. However get the arguments for the entire list really for that third spot.

[TrueBlue4ever]

1 hour ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

Perry Tuttle was a slot. He should have been in this group.  Jim Thorpe was a flanker. He should have been in the other group. 

OK, so Thorpe was listed as a split end in his all star year, which became the pre-cursor to the wide receiver spot. Tuttle was listed as a wide receiver in the sites I sourced, but the CFL does not list the "slotback" spot on its all star teams, and he did line up inside in the videos I checked. So I will re-submit both lists with those changes, and have closed the voting. Once I figure out how to scrub the votes completely and start fresh, I will ask everyone to re-vote entirely so that Tuttle and Thorpe can be compared to their proper peer groups. Sorry for the mix-up, thanks for the audit. I will notify when the voting opens up again for both categories.

[SpeedFlex27]

1 hour ago, TrueBlue4ever said:

OK, so Thorpe was listed as a split end in his all star year, which became the pre-cursor to the wide receiver spot. Tuttle was listed as a wide receiver in the sites I sourced, but the CFL does not list the "slotback" spot on its all star teams, and he did line up inside in the videos I checked. So I will re-submit both lists with those changes, and have closed the voting. Once I figure out how to scrub the votes completely and start fresh, I will ask everyone to re-vote entirely so that Tuttle and Thorpe can be compared to their proper peer groups. Sorry for the mix-up, thanks for the audit. I will notify when the voting opens up again for both categories.

Thanks for making it right. 

[WBBFanWest]

2 hours ago, TrueBlue4ever said:

OK, so Thorpe was listed as a split end in his all star year, which became the pre-cursor to the wide receiver spot. Tuttle was listed as a wide receiver in the sites I sourced, but the CFL does not list the "slotback" spot on its all star teams, and he did line up inside in the videos I checked. So I will re-submit both lists with those changes, and have closed the voting. Once I figure out how to scrub the votes completely and start fresh, I will ask everyone to re-vote entirely so that Tuttle and Thorpe can be compared to their proper peer groups. Sorry for the mix-up, thanks for the audit. I will notify when the voting opens up again for both categories.

Personally True, I wouldn't worry about it.  If someone isn't happy, they can make their own poll and do it any way they want.  Some people...

[SpeedFlex27]

41 minutes ago, WBBFanWest said:

Personally True, I wouldn't worry about it.  If someone isn't happy, they can make their own poll and do it any way they want.  Some people...

I don't understand why you're so upset at me for pointing out that an oversight was made. Let's not let accuracy get in the way here suddenly.  I wasn't criticizing TrueBlue4ever. He's done a great job with this poll but I just pointed out  a mistake was made & in turn he decided to correct it.  He doesn't seem upset about it & just wants to make things right. There's been no harm done. Why would a player like Jim Thorpe who never played slot be listed as one? Is that fair to Thorpe going up against players he never would have been compared to? Same with Tuttle. This Blue Bomber poll has been done right so far so why change it now? If I have offended or upset TrueBlue4ever or anyone else here then I apologize as it was not my intention to do so. 

Edited May 8, 2019 by SpeedFlex27

[TrueBlue4ever]

I have made the edits, scrubbed the vote totals, and have asked the mods to re-open the poll with a new closing date of Sunday night. If you voted before, please re-submit your vote as the vote totals have been wiped out.

As for the "criticism", I took no offence, and I do not feel that any apology is necessary, let's be clear on that point. I can honestly say I am frustrated of two levels. The smaller level is that when I posted the nominees in the nominations post a few weeks back, I asked for any corrections then, and in fact created a third category for tight ends as a result. It would have been nice to catch this error in these two categories before I put out the formal poll. But not angry at anyone else for pointing out my error. My bigger frustration is with myself for the mistake in the first place, I'm a bit OCD with these things and don't want to make mistakes with it. Had the error had no consequence, I may have opted to let it slide (sometimes a lesser name is floated out to be on the list, but suppose if Alexis Serna was touted as an all-time Bomber punter - no one is going to miss voting for him where Cameron is a lock and only Jon Ryan has any shot of secondary consideration, so I wouldn't bother to change that poll), but here there would be an impact. Thorpe was not getting any votes at slot but might get some at the less stacked wide receivers position, and Tuttle was actually in the #2 spot at wide receiver in early polling, and people might rank him differently up against the slots. So I feel it is proper to have a correct poll in place in this scenario.

Hopefully this won't cause frustration with those who already voted. Sometimes democracy is better served by accepting flawed results than trying to correct a result with a do-over where a change in the result can look suspicious and "fixed", but we are not electing world leaders here, so keep the comments and votes coming about your favourites in each category when we get the polling re-opened.