Don't Look Back - 2022/2023 Bombers Off Season

[SpeedFlex27]

Gainer & Michael Ball vs Buzz & Boomer... IN A STEEL CAGE!!!!! At Wrestlemania.

[bb1]

21 minutes ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

Gainer & Michael Ball vs Buzz & Boomer... IN A STEEL CAGE!!!!! At Wrestlemania.

[17to85]

2 hours ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

Why can some teams find big run stoppers in the middle & we can't?

Now hang on a second... this team did find stove... and before that they brought in Nevis. I think that's an entirely unfair question based on one season of not having that guy.

[Pete Catan's Ghost]

32 minutes ago, 17to85 said:

Now hang on a second... this team did find stove... and before that they brought in Nevis. I think that's an entirely unfair question based on one season of not having that guy.

Add Poop Johnson in 2017/18

[Booch]

Also Brandon Bryant

[GCn20]

11 hours ago, 17to85 said:

Now hang on a second... this team did find stove... and before that they brought in Nevis. I think that's an entirely unfair question based on one season of not having that guy.

I agree. Our DT recruitment has been pretty darn good. Our last 2 NTs are now among the highest paid in the league on other teams. I am not sure why everyone has such a hate on for Casey Sayles? He's not Stove I guess? However, Hamilton made him a 200k guy in FA, so I think we may have seriously undervalued his contribution....or at least Hamilton's GM thought we did.

Edited February 28, 2023 by GCn20

[rebusrankin]

Any insights from the show on OB yesterday?

[JCon]

8 minutes ago, rebusrankin said:

Any insights from the show on OB yesterday?

Listening now to the podcast. 

@Bubba Zanetti question was asked, although very sfw and a shoutout to MBB.  

Jeffcoat sounds healthy. 

 

[TrueBlue4ever]

20 hours ago, Bubba Zanetti said:

For Zach Collaros:

After realizing your receiving corps this season is going to be Lawler/Schoen/Bailey/Demski/Wolitarsky, how long did it take for your erection to subside?

The first of 3 MBB questions noted, although thankfully the “erection” reference replaced by “excitement” (on that note, way too much “hard on” meme-ing going on when discussing player signings. We’re all happy with the off-season, but there are other ways to express it than like being a bunch of 14 year olds in math class getting random woodies and announcing it to the teacher. That’s just weird). Anyway, Zach was looking forward to playing with this group but noted that you forgot to mention Agudosi, Grant, and O’Leary-Orange as well. 

18 hours ago, 17to85 said:

Question "how badly are you guys gonna **** up the rest of the league this season?" And "why are we so blessed?"

Kenny Lawler agreed that this was going to be a “light ‘em up” year, called for Zach to throw 50 TDs. Also admitted the Elks signing last year was all about the money, but no regrets and was happy to re-set the bar for receiver salaries league-wide. 

21 hours ago, WinnipegGordo said:

For Walters; when filling out the roster do you try to stay within salary limits for each position group? If so, did you end up spending more than you intended to on receivers?

Basically said no, he doesn’t budget per group, because it is unclear how the market will price itself each year. Only focussing on this year right now because they are in the Grey Cup window, so not thinking about how expensive a Schoen re-signing will be in the future. Admits in past years when the club was re-building he would take a longer term approach. Also says (when asked by DT if receiver is now the 2nd most important position in the CFL) besides the QB, the left tackle and rush ends are the key pieces since it is a throwing league and you need to protect your QB and get after the opposing QB, but acknowledges the importance of receivers and sees why prices are going up for them. Also said when making money decisions on who to re-sign or not, looks at the depth on hand that can step up and replace the more expensive existing veteran players (cited Tui and Kolankowski as examples as to why Couture was not re-signed). Says the cap was spent on keeping the core, when in other years with less depth or talent they would spend more in free agency to bring in new guys.

There were other things I might have missed, skimmed through it on the CJOB audio vault. 

Edited February 28, 2023 by TrueBlue4ever

[Noeller]

Neufeld: Tough to see Couture go. They're very close, on and off the field. Roommates on the road. Happy to see him be closer to family and friends, but tough to lose him. Says Kolankowski and Eli are both VERY good and will have quite a battle in camp to determine who gets to start.

 

Walters: Understands why fans are upset about the kicking, and there will be lots of competition in camp, which Liegghio is ready for and welcomes. They will have plenty of legs in camp, trying out for all 3 kicking jobs. Thinks the global draft may be of some help here. 

 

Lawler: It's going to be scary for other teams D to try and match up with Bombers O. Too many weapons. Too much depth.

 

DT/Aumell Wrap Up Comments: Think the defense is not good and that they're going to give up a lot of points, but that the offense will be able to score their way out of problems. Think that other than Alexander and Nichols, the secondary is a huge question mark. Also kicking a major weakness.  (Noeller wildly disagrees with much of these sentiments, of course)

[Bubba Zanetti]

4 minutes ago, Noeller said:

Neufeld: Tough to see Couture go. They're very close, on and off the field. Roommates on the road. Happy to see him be closer to family and friends, but tough to lose him. Says Kolankowski and Eli are both VERY good and will have quite a battle in camp to determine who gets to start.

 

Walters: Understands why fans are upset about the kicking, and there will be lots of competition in camp, which Liegghio is ready for and welcomes. They will have plenty of legs in camp, trying out for all 3 kicking jobs. Thinks the global draft may be of some help here. 

 

Lawler: It's going to be scary for other teams D to try and match up with Bombers O. Too many weapons. Too much depth.

 

DT/Aumell Wrap Up Comments: Think the defense is not good and that they're going to give up a lot of points, but that the offense will be able to score their way out of problems. Think that other than Alexander and Nichols, the secondary is a huge question mark. Also kicking a major weakness.  (Noeller wildly disagrees with much of these sentiments, of course)

The Comment about the defense surprises me. I dont think we have a top tier D, but i still feel that we have a good/decent defense. I agree that the secondary is a work in progress, and Rose needs to step it up and have a bounce back season.

[Noeller]

I think an injured Kyrie Wilson and Brandon Alexander made the D look much worse than it was for a big chunk of the season. If those two play a full season, I think things look much different and all of a sudden everyone's talking about what a bounce back season _______ is having in the secondary/LB corps...... we weren't that bad on D last year...just missing too many key pieces. 

[rebusrankin]

Disagree on the secondary. In addition to Alexander and Nichols being strengths, Houston looked very good at hb before his injury, Parker looked good at both hb and cb and Lawrence looked good at db. Rose sure is a question mark but may get beat out or rebound.

[GCn20]

37 minutes ago, Noeller said:

Neufeld: Tough to see Couture go. They're very close, on and off the field. Roommates on the road. Happy to see him be closer to family and friends, but tough to lose him. Says Kolankowski and Eli are both VERY good and will have quite a battle in camp to determine who gets to start.

 

Walters: Understands why fans are upset about the kicking, and there will be lots of competition in camp, which Liegghio is ready for and welcomes. They will have plenty of legs in camp, trying out for all 3 kicking jobs. Thinks the global draft may be of some help here. 

 

Lawler: It's going to be scary for other teams D to try and match up with Bombers O. Too many weapons. Too much depth.

 

DT/Aumell Wrap Up Comments: Think the defense is not good and that they're going to give up a lot of points, but that the offense will be able to score their way out of problems. Think that other than Alexander and Nichols, the secondary is a huge question mark. Also kicking a major weakness.  (Noeller wildly disagrees with much of these sentiments, of course)

It's a darn good think that DT and Aumell are probably looking at last year's stats to justify their positions on this, and an over reliance on stats is a fool's game. Heart, work ethic, scheme, and health are all big factors that don't show up in the stats. That's always been my one knock on DT is that he relies on stats to formulate his opinion on stuff, and that is only one part of the equation.

[Mike]

1 hour ago, Noeller said:

I think an injured Kyrie Wilson and Brandon Alexander made the D look much worse than it was for a big chunk of the season. If those two play a full season, I think things look much different and all of a sudden everyone's talking about what a bounce back season _______ is having in the secondary/LB corps...... we weren't that bad on D last year...just missing too many key pieces. 

It’s easy to say this but you HAVE to bake in an expectation that we’re going to be missing key guys this year because our key guys have proven they miss games.

Wilson, Jeffcoat, Alexander, Bighill … it’d be out of the ordinary if they DIDN’T miss time at this point. 

1 hour ago, rebusrankin said:

Disagree on the secondary. In addition to Alexander and Nichols being strengths, Houston looked very good at hb before his injury, Parker looked good at both hb and cb and Lawrence looked good at db. Rose sure is a question mark but may get beat out or rebound.

Nichols, Houston, Alexander are all super capable. I’m apprehensive about Rose, excited to see Parker take the next step. Not sure what the overall doubt on our secondary is stemming from.

[17to85]

3 hours ago, TrueBlue4ever said:

but there are other ways to express it than like being a bunch of 14 year olds in math class getting random woodies and announcing it to the teacher

Ok boomer.

[TrueBlue4ever]

21 minutes ago, 17to85 said:

Ok boomer.

Hey, if you and your MBB Alberta crew want to sit around and circle jerk your manscaped stiffies all day, fill your boots. Just don’t post cartoons about it here. OK, Millennial? 😁

[Mike]

7 minutes ago, TrueBlue4ever said:

Hey, if you and your MBB Alberta crew want to sit around and circle jerk your manscaped stiffies all day, fill your boots. Just don’t post cartoons about it here. OK, Millennial? 😁

[CodyT]

I dont want to take it out of context but I think it's nuts to suggest our defence isn't good. One year removed from a top 3 all time defence.

Kyrie and Alexander are key pieces. If anything I'd be critical of us lacking some depth at LB and DT. The defence had a "down" year and was still on the better half of most statistics. Let's take the wait and see approach...

[Tracker]

There is good reason to believe that the Bomber linebacking and defensive backfield will be as good as or better than last year, barring catastrophic injuries, of course. I do have concerns about our D-line, though. It would be nice to think that Jeffcoat will be back up to snuff and Walters can find us a good, if not great nose tackle. Jake the Snake is not getting any younger, and finding someone of his ilk and passport would be a BIG plus.

[Noeller]

14 minutes ago, Tracker said:

There is good reason to believe that the Bomber linebacking and defensive backfield will be as good as or better than last year, barring catastrophic injuries, of course. I do have concerns about our D-line, though. It would be nice to think that Jeffcoat will be back up to snuff and Walters can find us a good, if not great nose tackle. Jake the Snake is not getting any younger, and finding someone of his ilk and passport would be a BIG plus.

We have like 2 of them, don't we? The kid we got from Montreal last year for a song was great in the reps he had, and then I thought we had another that we drafted but sent back to college last year and is expected back in camp this year.... NI NT isn't an issue....

 

*edit*  Cole Adamson and Cameron Lawson are very much the heir apparents to Fatboi....

Edited February 28, 2023 by Noeller

[DTonOB]

6 hours ago, Bubba Zanetti said:

The Comment about the defense surprises me. I dont think we have a top tier D, but i still feel that we have a good/decent defense. I agree that the secondary is a work in progress, and Rose needs to step it up and have a bounce back season.

With a couple months to spare until camp, here's where I come to my concerns about the D. And it's all relative to how the offense looks like the best in the league.

As it stands, I'd guess the starters to be:

Rose-Nichols-Alexander-Houston-Lawrence, Darby at DIME. Parker's got to be in the mix somewhere.

Wilson-Bighill

Jeffcoat-Walker-Thomas-Jefferson

Nichols is a MODP candidate and Alexander is rock solid. Winston Rose had some rough games and got moved off the boundary side (before returning after Demerio Houston's injury). Three corners for two spots means, presumably, Houston moves back inside, so that's a change. And there's got to be some reason that Hamilton gave up on Lawrence (I liked him here...he was dominant in jump ball situations in the two games vs. BC).

Coverage was already a concern for them last year. They had Bighill drop much more often than the year before, and overall blitzed much less often. With the loss of Taylor they're less experienced back there. And they lost Ford to the NFL.

Up front: The amount of pressure they created from the interior was off dramatically from 2021 (when it was Stove). For now they have only Ricky Walker on the roster, and seemingly no cap to give anyone much more than the minimum. In losing Sayles they lose a guy who allowed them to carry 6 DL on the roster (twice officially, but essentially a few more when DeJaun Cooper was the 7th). Sayles ability to rush from the edge allowed them to rotate out Jefferson/Jeffcoat for a few plays. Will the Americans they bring in have that ability? Or will the Bombers be forced to use another roster spot?

Jefferson and Jeffcoat are elite, but currently there's no depth behind them. Jeffcoat has played exactly 12 regular season games each of the last four seasons. This year's equivalent of Cedric Wilcots/L.B. Mack will probably get valuable reps.

Plus, everyone is a year older. Bighill may be the only one we're really watching for that effect this season (35 in October). But Jefferson and Jeffcoat are both 32.

All in, they were one of the great all-time Ds in 2021. They weren't as good last year. And this year they've lost talent, IMO. That's where my concern comes from.

[Booch]

22 minutes ago, DTonOB said:

With a couple months to spare until camp, here's where I come to my concerns about the D. And it's all relative to how the offense looks like the best in the league.

As it stands, I'd guess the starters to be:

Rose-Nichols-Alexander-Houston-Lawrence, Darby at DIME. Parker's got to be in the mix somewhere.

Wilson-Bighill

Jeffcoat-Walker-Thomas-Jefferson

Nichols is a MODP candidate and Alexander is rock solid. Winston Rose had some rough games and got moved off the boundary side (before returning after Demerio Houston's injury). Three corners for two spots means, presumably, Houston moves back inside, so that's a change. And there's got to be some reason that Hamilton gave up on Lawrence (I liked him here...he was dominant in jump ball situations in the two games vs. BC).

Coverage was already a concern for them last year. They had Bighill drop much more often than the year before, and overall blitzed much less often. With the loss of Taylor they're less experienced back there. And they lost Ford to the NFL.

Up front: The amount of pressure they created from the interior was off dramatically from 2021 (when it was Stove). For now they have only Ricky Walker on the roster, and seemingly no cap to give anyone much more than the minimum. In losing Sayles they lose a guy who allowed them to carry 6 DL on the roster (twice officially, but essentially a few more when DeJaun Cooper was the 7th). Sayles ability to rush from the edge allowed them to rotate out Jefferson/Jeffcoat for a few plays. Will the Americans they bring in have that ability? Or will the Bombers be forced to use another roster spot?

Jefferson and Jeffcoat are elite, but currently there's no depth behind them. Jeffcoat has played exactly 12 regular season games each of the last four seasons. This year's equivalent of Cedric Wilcots/L.B. Mack will probably get valuable reps.

Plus, everyone is a year older. Bighill may be the only one we're really watching for that effect this season (35 in October). But Jefferson and Jeffcoat are both 32.

All in, they were one of the great all-time Ds in 2021. They weren't as good last year. And this year they've lost talent, IMO. That's where my concern comes from.

I'm sure Hansen will play prominent rotation role...he was very effective and key in that role in the previous cup runs 

I'm not concerned in the least with Lawrence..was injured in Ham a bit..then with the odd use of what they had he was much like Darby ..a guy more than good enough..yet not used properly

 

[17to85]

48 minutes ago, DTonOB said:

With a couple months to spare until camp, here's where I come to my concerns about the D. And it's all relative to how the offense looks like the best in the league.

As it stands, I'd guess the starters to be:

Rose-Nichols-Alexander-Houston-Lawrence, Darby at DIME. Parker's got to be in the mix somewhere.

Wilson-Bighill

Jeffcoat-Walker-Thomas-Jefferson

Nichols is a MODP candidate and Alexander is rock solid. Winston Rose had some rough games and got moved off the boundary side (before returning after Demerio Houston's injury). Three corners for two spots means, presumably, Houston moves back inside, so that's a change. And there's got to be some reason that Hamilton gave up on Lawrence (I liked him here...he was dominant in jump ball situations in the two games vs. BC).

Coverage was already a concern for them last year. They had Bighill drop much more often than the year before, and overall blitzed much less often. With the loss of Taylor they're less experienced back there. And they lost Ford to the NFL.

Up front: The amount of pressure they created from the interior was off dramatically from 2021 (when it was Stove). For now they have only Ricky Walker on the roster, and seemingly no cap to give anyone much more than the minimum. In losing Sayles they lose a guy who allowed them to carry 6 DL on the roster (twice officially, but essentially a few more when DeJaun Cooper was the 7th). Sayles ability to rush from the edge allowed them to rotate out Jefferson/Jeffcoat for a few plays. Will the Americans they bring in have that ability? Or will the Bombers be forced to use another roster spot?

Jefferson and Jeffcoat are elite, but currently there's no depth behind them. Jeffcoat has played exactly 12 regular season games each of the last four seasons. This year's equivalent of Cedric Wilcots/L.B. Mack will probably get valuable reps.

Plus, everyone is a year older. Bighill may be the only one we're really watching for that effect this season (35 in October). But Jefferson and Jeffcoat are both 32.

All in, they were one of the great all-time Ds in 2021. They weren't as good last year. And this year they've lost talent, IMO. That's where my concern comes from.

Justify it all you like it's still a bad take.

[Bubba Zanetti]

31 minutes ago, DTonOB said:

With a couple months to spare until camp, here's where I come to my concerns about the D. And it's all relative to how the offense looks like the best in the league.

As it stands, I'd guess the starters to be:

Rose-Nichols-Alexander-Houston-Lawrence, Darby at DIME. Parker's got to be in the mix somewhere.

Wilson-Bighill

Jeffcoat-Walker-Thomas-Jefferson

Nichols is a MODP candidate and Alexander is rock solid. Winston Rose had some rough games and got moved off the boundary side (before returning after Demerio Houston's injury). Three corners for two spots means, presumably, Houston moves back inside, so that's a change. And there's got to be some reason that Hamilton gave up on Lawrence (I liked him here...he was dominant in jump ball situations in the two games vs. BC).

Coverage was already a concern for them last year. They had Bighill drop much more often than the year before, and overall blitzed much less often. With the loss of Taylor they're less experienced back there. And they lost Ford to the NFL.

Up front: The amount of pressure they created from the interior was off dramatically from 2021 (when it was Stove). For now they have only Ricky Walker on the roster, and seemingly no cap to give anyone much more than the minimum. In losing Sayles they lose a guy who allowed them to carry 6 DL on the roster (twice officially, but essentially a few more when DeJaun Cooper was the 7th). Sayles ability to rush from the edge allowed them to rotate out Jefferson/Jeffcoat for a few plays. Will the Americans they bring in have that ability? Or will the Bombers be forced to use another roster spot?

Jefferson and Jeffcoat are elite, but currently there's no depth behind them. Jeffcoat has played exactly 12 regular season games each of the last four seasons. This year's equivalent of Cedric Wilcots/L.B. Mack will probably get valuable reps.

Plus, everyone is a year older. Bighill may be the only one we're really watching for that effect this season (35 in October). But Jefferson and Jeffcoat are both 32.

All in, they were one of the great all-time Ds in 2021. They weren't as good last year. And this year they've lost talent, IMO. That's where my concern comes from.

We are definitely an older defense so injuries are a concern, but we did have some bad injury luck last year and still led the league in points against. We managed that with important guys suffering season ending injuries and/or playing hurt for much of the year.

Our linebacking corps was generally a mess for most of the year with the season ending injury to Wilson, the so-so play of Clements(and then he got hurt for a good chunk of the year), and Bighill playing hurt and dropping back more to make up for loss of Alexander. With Wilson + Bighill healthy and Darby back i expect much better play from our ‘backers.

The d-line for sure suffered from the Stove effect. That guy is a beast and diference maker making everyone around him better. Sayles had his moments but was overpaid in free agency for what he brings IMO. He did leave a hole however. I like Ricky Walker so we’ll see what he can do in the competition with other DT’s Walters will surely bring to camp. He did find Stove so we’ll see what he can find. The d-line will for sure be a question mark going into training camp. The two Jeffs are still elite ends but are into their 30’s so keeping them fresh and healthy should be a priority. Walters didnt add anyone during free agency so itll be interesting to see what unfolds. Maybe Kongbo comes back??

The secondary i have high hopes for, especially with Alexander healthy to start the season. Nichols is elite and Houston was excellent before his injury. I liked what i saw from Lawrence in his brief time here, and Parker looked good for a rookie. Rose needs to find his game and have a better year. If he can get back to even 75% of his 2019 self we’ll be looking good.

My glass is generally half empty and obviously injuries can derail any season, but with some better luck i think our D will be just fine. And even if they take a step back who cares!?!? Were gonna be putting up 50 a game with our insane Tecmo Bowl like offense!!