2022/2023 Off-Season (League/Non-Bombers-specific News)

[bluto]

30 minutes ago, GCn20 said:

Get a grip Bluto. You guys were flukey AF to win that game, and there is NO western team that gives a crap which of it's weak sisters in the East comes to play. That doesn't mean that an Eastern team can't win, it means that really any HEAVY underdog can sometimes beat a team that is much, much, better than them on any given Sunday. I am about as scared of Toronto as I am of Ottawa.

Take comfort in your Grey Cup win, but don't come on here all cocky. If that game is played 100x we win 95 of them.

Also, take comfort in the fact that the CFL artificially props up the crap teams in the East with an antiquated, bizarre, and quite frankly wholly unfair playoff structure. If not for that there likely isn't an Eastern team in very many Grey Cups. So know your role, and where you are at before flapping your gums.

Almost as if there were an Argo Bounce that showed up. Again.

[Tracker]

27 minutes ago, Wideleft said:

 

 

The Bombers were 15-3 and lost by one point on "Any Given Sunday".  The Bombers were the better team and lost one important game.  That does not make the Argos their equal or superior as a team or organization.  The Argos need to improve if they want to do it again.

Realistically, we lost because of one DUMB play- the Prukop pass. OTOH, Collaros did not have good game.

[bluto]

27 minutes ago, GCn20 said:

 sad sack franchise.

[Geebrr]

4 minutes ago, bluto said:

If it were being offered, I'd take that deal in a heartbeat.

Nobody cares though? 
 

Third place team 

4 minutes ago, rebusrankin said:

@Mikeraised some legit points. I like what we did but its fair to question if we're bringing back to many older vets. I also think the Argos are legit.

We will see.

They still suck at the most important position 

[Bubba Zanetti]

1 minute ago, bluto said:

Almost as if there were an Argo Bounce that showed up. Again.

Argo bounce? More like our play calling became brain-dead for a game and nearly every one of our offensive players collectively had their worst game of the season. That game gets played over, its a beat down for the Bombers.

[Geebrr]

Are the Argos that talented on offence? No

Outside of LB are they that talented on defence? No

[Mike]

24 minutes ago, GCn20 said:

Baloney. Hitting the bong a little too hard today Mike? 

Baloney why?

The only thing we've done this offseason is add someone we subtracted a year ago and then lost a whole bunch of other players (none of which I'm too torn up about) but it's not as if there's been an overall improvement to this roster. We're not better than we were when we won our last Grey Cup, but we're a whole lot older.

Bryant and Jeffcoat can barely practice, Bighill falls off a cliff in October ... we're going to have to get younger in a few spots for sure and I have no doubt that our front office can scout some difference makers, I just don't like the approach that we've taken of essentially just hoping and praying that our older guys keep it together for one more year. Somebody posted up above that they think we have a better DL than Toronto, which is laughable to me. Their entire defence as a whole is stronger than ours and it starts right up front. Willie and Jeffcoat are still impact players but if the answer to take some of the pressure off them is to trot out Jake Thomas and Ricky Walker up the middle, we're in trouble. Bighill/Darby/Kyrie doesn't strike me as a unit that can play 18 games or more.

Do I think we're a contender? Absolutely. Top two team in the CFL and it's not particularly close at this point but I don't think we're #1. And people can talk about the difference in QB talent all they want, it's valid and certainly evident but let's not forget - Collaros has been pretty bad in November each of the last two seasons. He's the MOP that has brought us to the show but he certainly hasn't been a game changer when we get there. What's he at in the last two West Finals / Grey Cups? 4 TD / 7 INT? Something like that? It hasn't been great.

Mark me down as optimistic yet slightly worried.

3 minutes ago, Geebrr said:

Outside of LB are they that talented on defence? No

Yes.

[bluto]

11 minutes ago, JCon said:

Argos are just going to fade back into obscurity 

Recent history suggests that is more likely to happen than not. Our last 3 attempts at defending our Championship were pretty poor.

[rebusrankin]

@bluto, just an fyi, you can hang with us on team blue bomber anytime if you're argos stink.

[bluto]

1 minute ago, rebusrankin said:

@bluto, just an fyi, you can hang with us on team blue bomber anytime if you're argos stink.

My genuine affection for some of youse guys notwithstanding, I change my colours for nobody.

[JohnnyAbonny]

1 hour ago, Mike said:

I mean, is this really much different than us? 

We’ve invested every ounce of cap space in aging talent and we can afford to sign exactly one free agent, it seems like. I’m not thrilled with our off-season at all, at this point. Seems like we’re banking on a lot of “please still be in your prime” from key guys. Look at Toronto - they beat us in the Grey Cup and are making massive additions. They’re a better team than us *today* on paper.

I’m not gonna lie, I got a *very* slight 2008 vibe this off-season. Especially before the Lawler signing. Really though at the aging spots (DE, OT, MLB) who was around to bring in? 

Honestly, I think out of all the age 30+ guys that they kept, I may have parted ways with Jeffcoat and Thomas. 
We know the front 4 makes the Hall D tick. Granted it’s only February but as it stands right now, I don’t think they have the horses. 

Edited February 14, 2023 by JohnnyAbonny
Too many “really’s”

[Wideleft]

Rider sign 2 O-Lineman - Peter Godber and Philip Blake

Argos sign Orimolade from Calgary.

The West is getting weaker west of the Perimeter.

[Geebrr]

We had the best offence in the league and brought back (arguably) the best WR in the league.

Our RBs are young and our WR are young

Our OL is all-star calibre with some guys getting up there, one is coming off the Lineman of the year award and not showing signs of drop off.

Our RT need to bounce back but deserves the chance to do so. 

Our RG shows no sign of decline and is important on and off the field. 

All 3 would start on basically every other team. On top of that we have good depth with young guys in the wings. 
 

Our DL is getting up there, but DEs can play forever. WJ would start anywhere and JJ needs to stay healthy (if he does he is elite). Our DTs worry me the most but there is tie to address it. 
 

LBs Biggie is asked to do more than any LB in the league. Now that Darby is back (who was the best at his position in 2021) Biggie can play one position instead of two. Wilson (if he is healthy) is the most underrated LB in the league. If he jumped around with his helmet off more he would get more love. Good NI depth, guys who can fill in for short periods. TC is a place that jobs can be won here. 
 

Secondary with Nichols, Houston, Alexander, Parker, Rose, Lawrence as a base with good depth. No age or talent concerns here plus our ability to find DBs

 

[Wideleft]

But Calgary did sign Howsare out of Hamilton.  

[Colin Unger]

Anything can happen in one game. The bombers didn't play their best game and they lost in the Grey Cup by one point. The Argos have a long way to go to be at the bombers level. I don't think they have what it takes to put of the same number of wins as Winnipeg this season even playing in the east.  When you're a top caliber team year after year it ends up being a challenge to sign a whole lot of free agents. Despite that the bombers arguably landed the biggest fish in the market. The key to getting better is recruiting and developing talent. This team is already quite good on paper. If we discover the same level of rookie talent we typically do this offseason this team is scary good. I think we made the right choice in terms of who to let go. We have depth coming up at center and Couture never played that many games last season.  Jeffcoat im not the biggest fan of because he's the most undisciplined player on the team and is injury prone.  Would love for us to fine a rookie who can push him. 

[JohnnyAbonny]

Ellingson signs a 1 year deal with Montreal. 

[Geebrr]

Perfect fit 

[Bubba Zanetti]

Some of you guys are whacked. We have the 2-time reigning MOP who is still 34 until August. QB primes are often early-mid 30's(hello Ricky Ray, Doug Flutie, Anthony Calvillo, Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, ZACH COLLAROS, etc, etc. We have Lawler, Shoen, Demski, all of which are UNDER 30 and in and/or at the beginning of their primes. We have a 25 year old 1000 yard Canadian RB who didnt even figure things out until like week 7 and then pounded the rest of the league. Our o-line is stacked and still the envy of the league even with the departures of a couple guys, and our tackles have shown zero sign of slowing down. Willie and Jeffcoat are still the two best bookends in the league. Ill agree our defense is older, but christ, were going to score 50 points a game so who gives a s**t lol. Having said that you dont think Bighill is going to have a huge chip on his shoulder after a down season while playing with an injury? Not to mention a healthy Wilson and Darby for a full season. Our secondary is still young and talented, and Alexander is still only 29 and is going to come in fired up and fresh after having missed 2/3 of the season. Really DT is the only concern i have right now(well that and kicking). To say we arnt the OVERWHELMING favorites and best team on paper is insanity.

Edited February 14, 2023 by Bubba Zanetti

[Arnold_Palmer]

4 minutes ago, JohnnyAbonny said:

Ellingson signs a 1 year deal with Montreal. 

I saw that. Curious to see what kind of coin he signed for. 

[rebusrankin]

Is it me or do Godber and Blake seem like meh ol signing for the Riders?

Howsare is a nice add for the Stamps.

[Arnold_Palmer]

Just now, Bubba Zanetti said:

Some of you guys are whacked. We have the 2-time reigning MOP who is still 34 until August. QB primes seem are often early-mid 30's(hello Ricky Ray, Doug Flutie, Anthony Calvillo, Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, ZACH COLLAROS, etc, etc. We have Lawler, Shoen, Demski, all of which are UNDER 30 and in and/or at the beginning of their primes. We have a 25 year old 1000 yard Canadian RB who didnt even figure things out until like week 7 and then pounded the rest of the league. Our o-line is stacked and still the envy of the league even with the departures of a couple guys, and our tackles have shown zero sign of slowing down. Willie and Jeffcoat are still the two best bookends in the league. Ill agree our defense is older, but christ, were going to score 50 points a game so who gives a s**t lol. Having said that you dont think Bighill is going to have a huge chip on his shoulder after a down season while playing with an injury? Not to mention a healthy Wilson and Darby for a full season. Our secondary is still young and talented, and Alexander is still only 29 and is going to come in fired up and fresh after having missed 2/3 of the season. Really DT is the only concern i have right now(well that and kicking). To say we arnt the OVERWHELMING favorites and best team on paper is insanity.

Well said. It really shows how spoiled we’ve become when we complain about Grey Cup performances; like getting there three years in a row and winning two isn’t a major accomplishment.. Like we didn’t have a 30 year drought and a lot of bad to mediocre seasons in between that time period.. heck 10 years ago I just wanted the Bombers to not be the laughing stock or the league. How quick we forget!

[Geebrr]

4 minutes ago, rebusrankin said:

Is it me or do Godber and Blake seem like meh ol signing for the Riders?

Howsare is a nice add for the Stamps.

Howsare has been in the league awhile and hasn’t graduated from slightly above average. 
 

The Rider signings are hilarious. Too bad Marino isn’t still there to reminisce about the time he tried to end Godber’s career 

The Toronto Argonauts have officially signed defensive end Folarin Orimolade to a two-year contract.

The deal makes him the highest-paid defensive end in the CFL with $240,000 in 2023, including a $100,000 signing bonus, and $250,000 in 2024.
 

Ha!

[camper_2]

6 minutes ago, Arnold_Palmer said:

Well said. It really shows how spoiled we’ve become when we complain about Grey Cup performances; like getting there three years in a row and winning two isn’t a major accomplishment.. Like we didn’t have a 30 year drought and a lot of bad to mediocre seasons in between that time period.. heck 10 years ago I just wanted the Bombers to not be the laughing stock or the league. How quick we forget!

Well said. There are those that will always put their comments with a negative twist, no matter if things are going very well!!!

[GCn20]

52 minutes ago, bluto said:

Point taken.

[Geebrr]

Some of these guys who were on the field all game because their offence sucked are using that to get paid