2021 Blue Bombers Training Camp/Pre-Season Stuff

[M.O.A.B.]

https://www.bluebombers.com/2021/06/30/positional-preview-defensive-backs-5

 

[Noeller]

lol to the poster that said Harris is a "workout fiend".... reportedly very untrue. He's really into yoga and spending time at Thermea to keep loose, but by all accounts is not one for the gym. When the topic of steroids came up two summers ago, Doug Brown tweeted how unlikely it was given AH33's "Dad Bod".... Love Harris, have no doubts about his ability to pick up where he left off, but workout fiend I don't believe is accurate. 

[M.Silverback]

1 hour ago, GCn20 said:

Yea...a Harris decline would suck, but realistically it is a very easily solved problem. I want AH to get 2000 yards from scrimmage but I would also take it by committee if need be or have a third of it go elsewhere in the offence with an American giving us 1200-1400 yards combined. With our OL any RB we put behind them is going for 1000 yards in an 18 game schedule....get one that can catch a few balls out of the backfield as well and we are alright. I feel that Demski would just start seeing a lot more action in the short game and we would not lose a beat.

Good points. The role of RB's in general is changing in football. Many NFL teams are going to the RB by committee approach, not overpaying a feature RB, and making sure the RB is versatile - can catch and pass block. I love Harris, but I also think we could get 80% of his production from our current Canadian RB committee. Especially with our O-line. I think the Canadian mafia might be ahead of the curve - why not have the RB position as a national position, and use the extra import in what is now a more impactful position - DE, DT, CB, WR? Plus, if you cannot find a decent Canadian RB, finding an American one is pretty easy.

[Bubba Zanetti]

Now is the time to start working Augustine and/or Oliveira into game action to spell Harris. Start the torch passing this season.

[wbbfan]

14 hours ago, Tracker said:

It is a bit concerning to me that Andrew Harris has been sitting out a year and is not 20 years old any more. I take comfort in that our coach and GM are on the job, but primo Canadian running backs are rare birds.

Honestly I look at his sitting a year as a blessing. He has been carrying a tremendous work load the last few years. A year off from being hit will only be good imo. I have 0 concerns about him staying in shape and being sharp. 

2 hours ago, M.O.A.B. said:

Worse comes to worst - Harris declines and Augustine/Oliviera/Borsa are not good enough - then we can go back to 🇺🇸 RB. I do think we have 🇨🇦 content to make the switch. 

 

Truth. And that is a TON of insurance behind harris. You almost never have 3 guys of depth behind a canadian starter like that. Oliviera and borsa are athletic studs too.  We also have demski. In the event of a harris injury or collapse we would likely see a RB by committee for a bit where demski took half of the reps and another guy took the other half. While maybe a dynamic threat like borsa would be worked in. 

I have reservations about augustine, but he has not been a guy who under performs. Hes an over achiever no question. I think he will end up 3rd on that  back up list but hes a scrappy guy. 

You cant ask to be in better shape for backing up your franchise NI ratio breaker. And yeah we could always move the ratio around and bring in an Imp rb where itd be easy to make up production if all 4 of those guys failed, and harris was an issue. 

I think positions like qb and wr have far more pressing concern. 

15 minutes ago, Bubba Zanetti said:

Now is the time to start working Augustine and/or Oliveira into game action to spell Harris. Start the torch passing this season.

In his time here demski has ran for 400 ish yards at a 6.5 ish yard per carry average. Borsa, oliveira and augustine are on top of that. I could see borsa working in some, he would bring another dynamic to our offense. Oliveira might bring more power but other wise I dont see us forcing either of those guys into too many carries. 

[Bigblue204]

Can anyone who has reservations/doubts about Augustine explain why?

As far as I'm concerned the Bombers are very lucky to have him. He's done nothing but perform when given the opportunity. Catches the ball well out of the back field, runs hard and heavy, but can make DB's miss in the open field. I don't get the heat he's taking? The other two NI's have done absolutely nothing at this level, so I'm not sure why they would be preferred over a guy who has shown multiple times that he belongs here.

[wbbfan]

12 minutes ago, Bigblue204 said:

Can anyone who has reservations/doubts about Augustine explain why?

As far as I'm concerned the Bombers are very lucky to have him. He's done nothing but perform when given the opportunity. Catches the ball well out of the back field, runs hard and heavy, but can make DB's miss in the open field. I don't get the heat he's taking? The other two NI's have done absolutely nothing at this level, so I'm not sure why they would be preferred over a guy who has shown multiple times that he belongs here.

They have the tools the raw tools to excel at the position. Oliveira has a pretty good pedigree vs good competition as well. He and borsa have sought after rare combinations of experience and athleticism in a NI rb. If you cant understand why they have hype Idk if any explanation will do much for you. 

Augustine is a fairly weak pass blocker, un tested as a pass catcher, he doesnt have any experience filling a STs role, and he is with out any real strength. Hes about as slow as any rb who has carried the ball in the cfl in the past couple years. The guy has 45 carries as a pro, Idk how any one can see that as a huge edge over borsa and oliveira. 2 tcs here is his biggest advantage. But he is not by any means a known commodity. A big portion of his carries and production came late in a game after it was in hand and he busted a big run. 

Hes a scrappy, hard working over achiever and is a guy that can be coached up to be more versatile and useful in a back up role. But he is the definition of a replacement level NI rb. Every team in camp has a guy who is like him and we could pick up a guy with the same talent and skill at just about any point in time. 

[sweep the leg]

37 minutes ago, Bigblue204 said:

Can anyone who has reservations/doubts about Augustine explain why?
 

I don't recall him being a great blocker, but that's about my only complaint so far. I thought he ran the ball well.

Imo, Harris' blocking and experience in knowing where to be as a safety outlet for the qb would be the two hardest things to replace if he got hurt.

[17to85]

40 minutes ago, wbbfan said:

Augustine is a fairly weak pass blocker, un tested as a pass catcher,

This is really all it comes down to. Andrew Harris is maybe the most rounded runningback out there. Augustine is a good runner, he just isn't as multidimensional as Harris.

[wbbfan]

2 minutes ago, 17to85 said:

This is really all it comes down to. Andrew Harris is maybe the most rounded runningback out there. Augustine is a good runner, he just isn't as multidimensional as Harris.

And it is exceedingly rare to find that true all downs back now, especially as an NI. A guy who blocks well, and can make gains in the passing game is huge. If you get a true no1 back from a top us school they will be able to atleast do 1 of these things. But even finding Imps who are the complete package these days is hard. 

You can hope to develop a skill in a guy with good coaching. And virtually all guys will come into the CFL needing that. Do you invest that time and work in a guy who is also an elite athlete and or has ratio breaking star potential or do you put it into a guy who has to be the greatest over achiever in the league to be an every game starter. 

34 minutes ago, sweep the leg said:

I don't recall him being a great blocker, but that's about my only complaint so far. I thought he ran the ball well.

Imo, Harris' blocking and experience in knowing where to be as a safety outlet for the qb would be the two hardest things to replace if he got hurt.

His time here has been a small sample size. But he got turned inside out a bunch on pass rush. Its unlikely that he got the reps as a blocker needed prior to being a pro.  This is the team to coach a guy up to block well and cover kicks though. 

[Bigblue204]

1 hour ago, wbbfan said:

They have the tools the raw tools to excel at the position. Oliveira has a pretty good pedigree vs good competition as well. He and borsa have sought after rare combinations of experience and athleticism in a NI rb. If you cant understand why they have hype Idk if any explanation will do much for you. 

Augustine is a fairly weak pass blocker, un tested as a pass catcher, he doesnt have any experience filling a STs role, and he is with out any real strength. Hes about as slow as any rb who has carried the ball in the cfl in the past couple years. The guy has 45 carries as a pro, Idk how any one can see that as a huge edge over borsa and oliveira. 2 tcs here is his biggest advantage. But he is not by any means a known commodity. A big portion of his carries and production came late in a game after it was in hand and he busted a big run. 

Hes a scrappy, hard working over achiever and is a guy that can be coached up to be more versatile and useful in a back up role. But he is the definition of a replacement level NI rb. Every team in camp has a guy who is like him and we could pick up a guy with the same talent and skill at just about any point in time. 

I agree that Oliveira and Borsa have the skills to make it. But until they do, I'm not anointing them. I'll give you the pass blocking thing. But the rest is bordering on weird opinion. The majority of his carries came in his 2 starts last (2019) year, where he displayed that he can catch the ball out of the back field (see banjo bowl) and out run defenders. He also showed he can make guys miss in the open field (see Labor day). And those are just the examples I can think of.  He also played Special teams....I believe it's been mentioned that his yrds per carry are real nice at around 6yrds, but it's a small sample size.

I'm just confused at the lack of respect for a guy who has only produced for us.

[Tracker]

1 hour ago, sweep the leg said:

I don't recall him being a great blocker, but that's about my only complaint so far. I thought he ran the ball well.

Imo, Harris' blocking and experience in knowing where to be as a safety outlet for the qb would be the two hardest things to replace if he got hurt.

And a heckuva receiver who is tough to bring down after the catch.

[Jpan85]

Augustine made a pretty nice catch in LDC in 2019 or Banjo Bowl for a long TD

[Bigblue204]

That was banjo bowl. Fake run from Streveler and right over the middle.

[rebusrankin]

I am looking forward to seeing a Jeffcoat/Jefferson/Kongbo/Stove Defensive front.

[Bigblue204]

Just now, rebusrankin said:

I am looking forward to seeing a Jeffcoat/Jefferson/Kongbo/Stove Defensive front.

I'm hoping both jeffs can stay healthy all year and really show the league who the best DE pair in the league is.

[M.O.A.B.]

 

[Noeller]

Dunigan's call on that play...blatantly cheering....will live in infamy. One of my favourite Bombers TV broadcasts of all time...

[Brandon]

Someone once posted that Augustine was a bad blocker and everyone else believed it and kept mentioning it despite it being an exaggeration.    The guy is physical (look at this physique) and runs hard and from what I saw blocked like a normal person in his position.   

He showed more then anyone else at that position not named Andrew Harris has in the last 10 years easily.  

[Jpan85]

 

[CodyT]

7 minutes ago, Jpan85 said:

 

Good signing and will likely be in our starting line up

[rebusrankin]

Meredith is an interesting signing. Good size at 6ft3. Some NFL success. Lots of injuries. I like the signing but not putting him in the starting lineup yet (I can edit this later right if needed ala 1984, right?).

[Mark H.]

22 hours ago, Noeller said:

Dunigan's call on that play...blatantly cheering....will live in infamy. One of my favourite Bombers TV broadcasts of all time...

The effort man...cheering for the effort. 

[wbbfan]

2 hours ago, CodyT said:

Good signing and will likely be in our starting line up

It's hard for rookie wrs to excel in the cfl. But he has tremendous size amazing athletic ability and produced really well in the NFL. He's about as blue chip as an imp wr gets. 

[CodyT]

1 hour ago, wbbfan said:

It's hard for rookie wrs to excel in the cfl. But he has tremendous size amazing athletic ability and produced really well in the NFL. He's about as blue chip as an imp wr gets. 

Do you remember when Mike simms Walker came up here? Didn't stay long and was on a brutal team but I remember watching that kid and thinking 

 

"Ahh there's that NFL level skill"