Bombers Rookie Camp/Training Camp/Pre-Season Thread

[Fatty Liver]

1 hour ago, kschach said:

Wilcots looked good last year in his game action, if I recall, before we traded him for Darby. Would be nice to have him around.

Thought Hamilton might release him, they didn't,

[BBlink]

16 minutes ago, Fatty Liver said:

Thought Hamilton might release him, they didn't,

He's on the 6 game

[Bigblue204]

13 hours ago, Booch said:

Yeah we've added a Schoen...Houston...Parker/Holm ..now possibly a Thomas and Haba...let's see what they do before saying we added no new talent

Injuries hurt us more last yr than aging players who's play fell off cliff dramatically

Also we have transitioned from Harris....Couture...have 2 young stud Canadian olineman in depth now with Dobson and Eli

Brought back best receiver in league..who is in his prime yes in place of a grissled vet..who is what he is and likely in decline...and hurt all last yr

Brought in upgrades to kickers from last yr....have replaced our short yardage QB with a younger more dynamic QB with tons of possible upside...

Like man...what more u want..wholesale roster makeover where it may not even need it? Let's see how first 3rd of yr goes before complaining 

That's what has me worried about the Dline/LBs. We're relying on guys who are consistently hurt, AND are aging. It's worked out, but it's just a matter of time before it bites us.

[GCn20]

13 hours ago, Booch said:

Yeah we've added a Schoen...Houston...Parker/Holm ..now possibly a Thomas and Haba...let's see what they do before saying we added no new talent

Injuries hurt us more last yr than aging players who's play fell off cliff dramatically

Also we have transitioned from Harris....Couture...have 2 young stud Canadian olineman in depth now with Dobson and Eli

Brought back best receiver in league..who is in his prime yes in place of a grissled vet..who is what he is and likely in decline...and hurt all last yr

Brought in upgrades to kickers from last yr....have replaced our short yardage QB with a younger more dynamic QB with tons of possible upside...

Like man...what more u want..wholesale roster makeover where it may not even need it? Let's see how first 3rd of yr goes before complaining 

Injuries ravaged our team last year, and we went 15-3. Actually, I'm going to say 15-2 because we played an exhibition games at the end the year. I get that people are worried...but I think people are overstating it a bit. We are easily the most talented team in the West, we are easily the best coached, and we are still the deepest. Much concern about nothing. Our aging vets are still the class of the league.

14 minutes ago, Bigblue204 said:

That's what has me worried about the Dline/LBs. We're relying on guys who are consistently hurt, AND are aging. It's worked out, but it's just a matter of time before it bites us.

Injuries are part of football and no team is better prepared for them than us.

[GCn20]

On 2023-06-03 at 8:27 PM, Stickem said:

Was a little taken by surprise with the release of Leggs...... but I had a feeling going into the offseason that if a kicker showed up in 23' camp that performed well, that Leggs would be on the block....Proved to be the case and really IF the Aussie can keep kicking the way he has we'll be in good shape.....No worries with Castillo on board....the guy is money....So we'll see how this all shakes down as we get into the reg. season....The biggest find has to be Pigrome....That is one helluva signing and makes it for me....Kick the tires on McCalister and or the lemonater ....that could be the missing piece on D if we can get it done

I'm not surprised by Leggs cut at all. Once we signed Castillo I thought the writing was on the wall because he is an average at best punter. 

[GCn20]

23 hours ago, JohnnyAbonny said:

No, not every other club has picked up gems in the off-season. 
DT in particular is a position that has gotten progressively worse since November 2019. 

They let Nevis and Stove walk, replaced them with Sayles and now Walker, who aren’t bad by any stretch but certainly downgrades. 
Now they’ve let Sayles walk and replaced him with…Tanner Shmeckel

It’s mildly concerning. 

It might be concerning, however, we haven't even seen him play yet. Also, a lot of people are forgetting that this time of year PRs are not really settled. Walters and every other GM will be going over every other teams cuts to look at guys that may be worth looking at here. It's how we got Lawler originally.

Edited June 5, 2023 by GCn20

[JohnnyAbonny]

33 minutes ago, GCn20 said:

It might be concerning, however, we haven't even seen him play yet. Also, a lot of people are forgetting that this time of year PRs are not really settled. Walters and every other GM will be going over every other teams cuts to look at guys that may be worth looking at here. It's how we got Lawler originally.

You’re right on that. Active roster too, Tyquan Glass was the starting field CB week 1 last year. 

The DT spot is still kind of meh to me, but I get your point about not bitching about it too soon. 

[Booch]

Yeah I wouldnt put much weight into the final roster and PR until after game 1 to be honest...

[Mike]

1 hour ago, GCn20 said:

Injuries are part of football and no team is better prepared for them than us.

Is this true anymore though? Who plays if Bighill gets hurt? Or Jefferson/Jeffcoat? 

[Booch]

2 minutes ago, Mike said:

Is this true anymore though? Who plays if Bighill gets hurt? Or Jefferson/Jeffcoat? 

true...but who plays if Dean goes down...Or Lanier...Pick any olineman in the league (an area where we have minimal issues).....I think we can handle a spat of injuries a lil better than most on an overall level...have shown that the last 2 yrs...hpefully this yr we dont have to...as I agree...the cupboard in some areas needs to be re-stocked

[voodoochylde]

9 minutes ago, Mike said:

Is this true anymore though? Who plays if Bighill gets hurt? Or Jefferson/Jeffcoat? 

It isn't true .. at least on the defensive side of the ball.  

I think it's fair to say that the depth of talent we have at WR / OL is unparallelled across the league and what I mean by that is it's relatively plug and play.  Next man up and there isn't a massive drop off production wise.  Every other area of the team lacks that same depth and the quality of our starters has actually regressed in a number of areas (DL, LB in particular).  Someone goes down and there's a noticeable void.  

[GCn20]

36 minutes ago, Mike said:

Is this true anymore though? Who plays if Bighill gets hurt? Or Jefferson/Jeffcoat? 

I trust KW to make the moves necessary to win. He has shown us time and time again that he can do so. We have watched him make so many in season pivots at key positions, when injuries have hit, with fantastic results that I just don't worry about that anymore. Some vets will need to be replaced via trade for immediate impact. There is no recruitment we could have done that would replace a Bighill if he gets hurt this year. The only viable option is a vet in this circumstance. 

I get everyone's concern about succession planning, but we are in win now mode and that doesn't leave a ton of roster space. We have a window and the Bombers have chosen to seize their best opportunity to win while in that window. Will it mean a bigger rebuild later....maybe years ago...but not in the age of one year contracts. We will reload. 

If Bighill gets hurt....Sankey is out there doing diddly squat right now.

Edited June 5, 2023 by GCn20

[Jesse]

13 minutes ago, GCn20 said:

I trust KW to make the moves necessary to win. He has shown us time and time again that he can do so. We have watched him make so many in season pivots at key positions, when injuries have hit, with fantastic results that I just don't worry about that anymore. Some vets will need to be replaced via trade for immediate impact. There is no recruitment we could have done that would replace a Bighill if he gets hurt this year. The only viable option is a vet in this circumstance. 

I get everyone's concern about succession planning, but we are in win now mode and that doesn't leave a ton of roster space. We have a window and the Bombers have chosen to seize their best opportunity to win while in that window. Will it mean a bigger rebuild later....maybe years ago...but not in the age of one year contracts. We will reload. 

If Bighill gets hurt....Sankey is out there doing diddly squat right now.

Fair.

Limited roster space is what it is. I still think that over the last two seasons (From last years TC to this one), there should have been more DE and LB prospects...

[Mike]

12 minutes ago, GCn20 said:

I trust KW to make the moves necessary to win. He has shown us time and time again that he can do so. We have watched him make so many in season pivots at key positions, when injuries have hit, with fantastic results that I just don't worry about that anymore. Some vets will need to be replaced via trade for immediate impact. There is no recruitment we could have done that would replace a Bighill if he gets hurt this year. The only viable option is a vet in this circumstance. 

I get everyone's concern about succession planning, but we are in win now mode and that doesn't leave a ton of roster space. We have a window and the Bombers have chosen to seize their best opportunity to win while in that window. Will it mean a bigger rebuild later....maybe years ago...but not in the age of one year contracts. We will reload. 

If Bighill gets hurt....Sankey is out there doing diddly squat right now.

It has nothing to do with succession planning. We don’t need to find a vet. That’s the thing, everyone is talking about how Walters gets the trust and benefit of the doubt (which he does, don’t get me wrong) because of everything he’s done before. That’s my whole concern. It doesn’t feel like our normal roster plan this year.

2019, we added Janarion Grant … Rasheed Bailey … Lucky Whitehead … Stove … probably forgetting a few names, but those are all year 1 CFL guys that made a big impact for us. We’ve never rested on our laurels and this year, it doesn’t even feel like we have the option to do anything else. Where is the talent going to pitch in? Our practice roster has 13 names on it and of those 13, 4 of them are Americans at “skill positions” and 3 of those guys are at our deepest position groups. We have a grand total of 0 rush ends or linebackers on our practice roster and those were clearly our weak spots last year.

 

[Booch]

2 minutes ago, Mike said:

It has nothing to do with succession planning. We don’t need to find a vet. That’s the thing, everyone is talking about how Walters gets the trust and benefit of the doubt (which he does, don’t get me wrong) because of everything he’s done before. That’s my whole concern. It doesn’t feel like our normal roster plan this year.

2019, we added Janarion Grant … Rasheed Bailey … Lucky Whitehead … Stove … probably forgetting a few names, but those are all year 1 CFL guys that made a big impact for us. We’ve never rested on our laurels and this year, it doesn’t even feel like we have the option to do anything else. Where is the talent going to pitch in? Our practice roster has 13 names on it and of those 13, 4 of them are Americans at “skill positions” and 3 of those guys are at our deepest position groups. We have a grand total of 0 rush ends or linebackers on our practice roster and those were clearly our weak spots last year.

 

And that kinda boned us last yr too...when injuries hit on dl and lb's...we had nothing

hopefully we have some plans in the works unbeknown to us at moment...I

[Mike]

1 minute ago, Booch said:

And that kinda boned us last yr too...when injuries hit on dl and lb's...we had nothing

I’ve just really disliked our use of the practice roster for a couple years now. I don’t understand the goal with it at all, we usually carry far too many offensive linemen and don’t have plans in place for any wildly unfortunate injury.

Who plays if Oliviera gets hurt? Even if the answer is Augustine, we don’t have a backup on the practice roster. And if you’re saying Greg McCrae is listed as a running back, he didn’t take a snap there in the preseason so tell me how prepared the team has him for that. 

What happens if Agudosi gets hurt? A Canadian rookie? Shuffle guys around to put McCrae in the slot?

What about Jefferson and Jeffcoat, especially while Hansen is out. What about Bighill? We don’t even have a fourth QB on there right now if something happens to Pigrome or Dru. 

[Booch]

1 minute ago, Mike said:

I’ve just really disliked our use of the practice roster for a couple years now. I don’t understand the goal with it at all, we usually carry far too many offensive linemen and don’t have plans in place for any wildly unfortunate injury.

Who plays if Oliviera gets hurt? Even if the answer is Augustine, we don’t have a backup on the practice roster. And if you’re saying Greg McCrae is listed as a running back, he didn’t take a snap there in the preseason so tell me how prepared the team has him for that. 

What happens if Agudosi gets hurt? A Canadian rookie? Shuffle guys around to put McCrae in the slot?

What about Jefferson and Jeffcoat, especially while Hansen is out. What about Bighill? We don’t even have a fourth QB on there right now if something happens to Pigrome or Dru. 

preaching to the choir...have said before...my main issue with Oshea is roster management  (on game day at times) and in general with the PR...totally lacking in some key areas...and too much in areas of depth...Why we didnt keep Salima is bizzare...especially if BO goes down in game, where we can use a Nationilzed American for ratio and use the RB freely...Heck even spell BO off with that rule

Maybe we are being snookered a bit and Wilson..Hansen....and others are all back for week one....plausible....but wont bank on it....but ya never know

[JuranBoldenRules]

Wouldn’t even need the nationalized American rule for the DI RB.  Just throw BOLO or a fullback out there every down and have one less American receiver.  Like you say can use Bailey half time in that scenario too.

I think they have a lot of misplaced faith in Augustine to carry that role if Oliviera was out for awhile…but even if he can he has no backup.

We really need some of the Canadians on D to pan out.  We know Gauthier and Briggs can be role players, we NEED Thomas and Lawson to hold down one spot, but we really need Bennett to be an adequate player for 20-25 snaps a game and we need Hallett to stay healthy.  I don’t think they want to throw Kelly out there as a rookie unless it’s complete desperation.

[Booch]

4 minutes ago, JuranBoldenRules said:

Wouldn’t even need the nationalized American rule for the DI RB.  Just throw BOLO or a fullback out there every down and have one less American receiver.  Like you say can use Bailey half time in that scenario too.

I think they have a lot of misplaced faith in Augustine to carry that role if Oliviera was out for awhile…but even if he can he has no backup.

We really need some of the Canadians on D to pan out.  We know Gauthier and Briggs can be role players, we NEED Thomas and Lawson to hold down one spot, but we really need Bennett to be an adequate player for 20-25 snaps a game and we need Hallett to stay healthy.  I don’t think they want to throw Kelly out there as a rookie unless it’s complete desperation.

agree...but Hallet tho wont be displacing BA....Now if we get Ford back....he could be a nice piece for the defense

[GCn20]

1 hour ago, Booch said:

preaching to the choir...have said before...my main issue with Oshea is roster management  (on game day at times) and in general with the PR...totally lacking in some key areas...and too much in areas of depth...Why we didnt keep Salima is bizzare...especially if BO goes down in game, where we can use a Nationilzed American for ratio and use the RB freely...Heck even spell BO off with that rule

Maybe we are being snookered a bit and Wilson..Hansen....and others are all back for week one....plausible....but wont bank on it....but ya never know

Roster management sometimes about how easy it is to pick up the phone and get someone who isn't currently on our roster. Bighill goes down...Sankey is out there....if BO goes down, no one has picked up Salima. I get that on the outside it looks odd, but Walters is likely looking at overall talent and the ability to add more easily in a pinch. Is it easier to find an import OT or an import LBer in a pinch or easier to find a decent RB if BO goes down...I think we know the answer to that. DE looks thin, but Lemon, S. Banks, or McAlister are a phone call away. It's not panic time for us because not every I is dotted or every T is crossed before week 1. Who knows maybe there are some guys we are waiting on for them to come here that the Bombers think are studs. 

Edited June 5, 2023 by GCn20

[GCn20]

1 hour ago, Mike said:

I’ve just really disliked our use of the practice roster for a couple years now. I don’t understand the goal with it at all, we usually carry far too many offensive linemen and don’t have plans in place for any wildly unfortunate injury.

Who plays if Oliviera gets hurt? Even if the answer is Augustine, we don’t have a backup on the practice roster. And if you’re saying Greg McCrae is listed as a running back, he didn’t take a snap there in the preseason so tell me how prepared the team has him for that. 

What happens if Agudosi gets hurt? A Canadian rookie? Shuffle guys around to put McCrae in the slot?

What about Jefferson and Jeffcoat, especially while Hansen is out. What about Bighill? We don’t even have a fourth QB on there right now if something happens to Pigrome or Dru. 

I get your concerns IF the roster was frozen and this is who we got for the year, but a hundred guys just got cut around the league and only 70% of the players in the league last year were re-signed in the offseason. There are players, experienced players, that can be added at pretty much every position if we need to do so. I'm really not seeing the problem I guess. I have total faith that Walters has a list of replacements ready for every position from both our roster/PR and from the current CFL FA and cut down lists not to mention our own recruiting that never stops.

Edited June 5, 2023 by GCn20

[Pepper_Brooks]

3 minutes ago, GCn20 said:

I get your concerns IF the roster was frozen and this is who we got for the year, but a hundred guys just got cut around the league and only 70% of the players in the league last year were re-signed in the offseason. There are players, experienced players, that can be added at pretty much every position if we need to do so. I'm really not seeing the problem I guess. I have total faith that Walters has a list of replacements ready for every position from both our roster/PR and from the current CFL FA and cut down lists.

While it's true that there are players available in free agency and cut-down lists, the concern here is that constantly adding new players to fill positions may disrupt team chemistry and cohesion. Additionally, relying on constant roster changes can hinder the development of a stable, consistent team, which is crucial for long-term success.

[GCn20]

2 minutes ago, Pepper_Brooks said:

While it's true that there are players available in free agency and cut-down lists, the concern here is that constantly adding new players to fill positions may disrupt team chemistry and cohesion. Additionally, relying on constant roster changes can hinder the development of a stable, consistent team, which is crucial for long-term success.

Sure that's true in a perfect world. However, football is a game where very few teams get that luxury. Whether a guy comes in TC or mid season, really doesn't effect team chemistry at all as long as he comes in with the right attitude. Cohesion....well cohesion is going to be disrupted anytime you need to replace an injured starter.

Edited June 5, 2023 by GCn20

[Jesse]

17 minutes ago, GCn20 said:

I get your concerns IF the roster was frozen and this is who we got for the year, but a hundred guys just got cut around the league and only 70% of the players in the league last year were re-signed in the offseason. There are players, experienced players, that can be added at pretty much every position if we need to do so. I'm really not seeing the problem I guess. I have total faith that Walters has a list of replacements ready for every position from both our roster/PR and from the current CFL FA and cut down lists not to mention our own recruiting that never stops.

I think we've mostly been complaining about the recruiting effort, however.

I don't really care about adding Sankey if Bighill gets hurt. I would have enjoyed seeing a young player on a minimum deal pushing Clements of the roster or rotating in with the Jeff's. 

[Booch]

3 minutes ago, Jesse said:

I think we've mostly been complaining about the recruiting effort, however.

I don't really care about adding Sankey if Bighill gets hurt. I would have enjoyed seeing a young player on a minimum deal pushing Clements of the roster or rotating in with the Jeff's. 

AD WE STILL MAY....Big no to Sankey tho...He cant do what Biggie is responsible in our system