2023/2024 Blue Bombers Off-Season Thread (BRADY’S BACK! DALTON’S BACK!)

[bryan35]

1 hour ago, BBlink said:

I remember reading anti-Bomber Friesen articles in the Sun in the break room at Sobeys 20 years ago. Consistent hack.

I recall him writing an article calling for the fans to boycott the Bombers. 

[Noeller]

I recall Friesen being banned from the facilities by the team for some really negative pieces...

[SpeedFlex27]

2 hours ago, Noeller said:

I feel bad that he feels disrespected, but as 17to85 was just saying, these are the hard decisions that have to be made. I will always be a huge fan of our 2Jeff2Furious tandem. Haba and Garbutt time...

I hope he doesn't do an Allen Pitts & absolutely refuse to be a Bomber alumni, to this day continually turn down local interview requests & when he was inducted into the Stamps Wall of Honour well over a decade ago never even stayed for the entire ceremony. As soon as he was inducted, he bolted out of the stadium into a waiting car & off to the airport he went. Sad that players feel so disrespected that they have reactions like that. Hopefully JJ comes to understand that we fans love him... Always will appreciate what he did as a player.

[JuranBoldenRules]

1 hour ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

I hope he doesn't do an Allen Pitts & absolutely refuse to be a Bomber alumni, to this day continually turn down local interview requests & when he was inducted into the Stamps Wall of Honour well over a decade ago never even stayed for the entire ceremony. As soon as he was inducted, he bolted out of the stadium into a waiting car & off to the airport he went. Sad that players feel so disrespected that they have reactions like that. Hopefully JJ comes to understand that we fans love him... Always will appreciate what he did as a player.

Pitts is nuts and the PEDs didn't help.

[wbbfan]

1 hour ago, Noeller said:

Credit to @EdTait for digging this up and putting it in his latest 1st and 10: https://www.bluebombers.com/2024/02/09/first-10-free-agency-preview-2/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

Cool sound bite from long-time NFL executive and former Atlanta Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff about Blue Bombers coach Mike O’Shea during a visit with B.C. Lions play-by-play voice Bob Marjanovich at the Super Bowl this week in Las Vegas:

 

 

 

 

^^ Former Falcons GM believes there is at least SOME interest in Mike O'Shea among NFL GM's.... (as a DC or possibly more...) 

I mean trestman made the jump and I’d take mos over Marc if I’m rebuilding an nfl team. You can get guys around him as a co or hc that are more familiar with the nfl schemes, that culture and buy in is what’s hard to get. 
 

[Noeller]

I'm not sure MOS has any real interest in going south (tho millions of dollars could change that ) but I thought it was neat to hear an NFL GM talk about how his name is mentioned down there...

[JohnnyAbonny]

1 hour ago, bryan35 said:

I recall him writing an article calling for the fans to boycott the Bombers. 

I recall him and Weicek sitting at like 5 TCs in a row not watching a single thing before writing sensationalistic anti-Bomber drivel twice a week. 

[Jesse]

2 hours ago, Stickem said:

Can't see the 'disrespect' comment.....Players put out for this club because they luv playing here....IF there were feelings of 'disrespect' that would have surfaced long ago....Because a club decides to move on from a certain player, I would hardly categorize that as 'disrespect' ...JJ knows quite well that players have a certain 'best before date' and some reach that point a little sooner than others....Jeffcoat was a solid performer for the Bombers and his time with the club was high end and will never be forgotten...Whatever is his path moving forward, I hope he is extremely successful...Good luck JJ....AND Freizen can take a 'flying fack' at a rolling doughnut...he can take his neg. stories and shove them

Not taking any sides here, but what both Andrew Harris and Jeffcoat have mentioned is not that they were being moved on from, but that they weren’t told in a timely fashion.

[17to85]

7 minutes ago, Jesse said:

Not taking any sides here, but what both Andrew Harris and Jeffcoat have mentioned is not that they were being moved on from, but that they weren’t told in a timely fashion.

But doesn't that just show how self absorbed these guys are? Bombers gotta get like 70 bodies in camp, that takes more effort than  hand holding players they're planning on moving on from.

[Mark H.]

6 minutes ago, 17to85 said:

But doesn't that just show how self absorbed these guys are? Bombers gotta get like 70 bodies in camp, that takes more effort than  hand holding players they're planning on moving on from.

It takes less than a minute to send an email.

[bigg jay]

2 minutes ago, Mark H. said:

It takes less than a minute to send an email.

Works both ways but the article doesn't mention anything about his agent trying to contact the club, only that the club hadn't reached out until recently.

It does say that he left retirement on the table after the season but at some point had decided to keep playing.  Again, no mention of if/when that was communicated to the team.  More detail about his efforts to communicate would have been nice.

[Fatty Liver]

1 hour ago, Mark H. said:

It takes less than a minute to send an email.

That's pretty hard, perhaps they should consider hiring a Director of Player Relations that can handle his job, instead of fumbling the ball whenever the going gets rough.

[SpeedFlex27]

2 hours ago, JuranBoldenRules said:

Pitts is nuts and the PEDs didn't help.

I don't know if he's that but I think at one time years ago fans thought that he needed to get help. 

[wbbfan]

2 hours ago, Noeller said:

I'm not sure MOS has any real interest in going south (tho millions of dollars could change that ) but I thought it was neat to hear an NFL GM talk about how his name is mentioned down there...

Yeah I doubt he’d be interested. 
 

1 hour ago, Mark H. said:

It takes less than a minute to send an email.

 

1 hour ago, 17to85 said:

But doesn't that just show how self absorbed these guys are? Bombers gotta get like 70 bodies in camp, that takes more effort than  hand holding players they're planning on moving on from.

 Before guys leave they have exit interviews with mos and front office. Contract offer comes in or doesn’t.  Front offices aren’t filed with free time. Is it nice for them to say hey we are moving on sure. Is it realistic? No. Some times plans change and you need guys back you didn’t plan on. If you are getting close to fa even half way and haven’t had an offer you should be preparing to move on. That’s also the job of the agent. Follow up, schedule calls etc. if the agent didn’t do that they failed if you represent your self you have a fool for a client. 
 I don’t know that I buy jj didn’t have any offer, I suspect just like Harris he didn’t like the offer and or strings attached. 

8 minutes ago, Fatty Liver said:

That's pretty hard, perhaps they should consider hiring a Director of Player Relations that can handle his job, instead of fumbling the ball whenever the going gets rough.

Jj have an agent? I dont buy that they have dpr calling guys to talk contracts or let them know we aren’t bringing them back. 
 There’s no hand holding at this level. Does any one think Houston, or hardrick called the bombers before taking a higher contract with another team? Or had their agent do it?I sure don’t. 

[Piggy 1]

4 hours ago, Mark H. said:

Exactly this. It's all well and good to be fans of the game, make posts and state opinions on a football forum. But most of us have never been out there putting our bodies on the line. In many games, he was our best defender. Heck, even fans of other teams said it.

Congrats on a great career, JJ.

Agreed. The Best DE ,we have seen ,in a long time. Wish him all the best in future endeavors. Too bad, A ****** like Friesen has to put a negative slant on everything.

[Jesse]

1 hour ago, 17to85 said:

But doesn't that just show how self absorbed these guys are? Bombers gotta get like 70 bodies in camp, that takes more effort than  hand holding players they're planning on moving on from.

I personally wouldn’t make that argument in regards to players like Harris and Jeffcoat. If there was a plan to move on, they deserve a phone call at some point in the months between season end and Free Agency.

That said, both players admitted there was a contract offer. It was just much lower and later than expected. And, when dealing with a long-time starter, I think it’s reasonable to expect some back and forth communication if there is hesitation on the clubs part.

But again, I’m not taking sides. I certainly am not going to take the word of a semi-disgruntled player over that of Kyle Walters; but there are two incidences now of players complaining of this lack of communication on the way out. So I think it’s fair game to discuss.

[Brandon]

Friesen is a hack and like the original version of a click bait ***** that is all over social media these days.

 

[GCn20]

Most players who are aging out tend to feel disrespected come contract time. Football players, by trade, have to have a ton of self confidence. Not many realize their time is up at the time their time is up. Sad to see him go. Best of luck JJ.

[GCn20]

5 hours ago, Arnold_Palmer said:

He ended up having a great year. 8 sacks and 3 FF the issue is he’s missed 4-6 games every season since he’s been here, minus the shortened 2021 season. It’s hard to justify a big pay day to a guy that you know will be out for a third of the season.. 

It's not the payday that makes it tough, it's knowing that your going to have to ask a ton from your depth for a third of the season imo. It's just hard to plan out that position like that.

2 hours ago, Noeller said:

I'm not sure MOS has any real interest in going south (tho millions of dollars could change that ) but I thought it was neat to hear an NFL GM talk about how his name is mentioned down there...

Part of it is him tailoring his comments to his interviewers audience, but it was nice he singled out MOS for sure. I mean you won't get many NFL guys speaking about it in public but they have a ton of respect for our coaches up here.

Edited February 10 by GCn20

[SpeedFlex27]

6 hours ago, Noeller said:

I'm not sure MOS has any real interest in going south (tho millions of dollars could change that ) but I thought it was neat to hear an NFL GM talk about how his name is mentioned down there...

Former GM at Atlanta from 2008 to 2020. His father was a former CFL Assistant & U Sports HC in Ontario. He started his scouting & admin career in the CFL with the Saskatchewan Roughriders before moving on to the NFL. The reality is that the CFL is looked down upon by NFL media & fans. If O'Shea did get hired as HC by some piss poor NFL team, the first time they'd go on an extended losing streak or have some kind of controversy with the roster, etc... the deathwatch would start. He'd get no chance to turn a team around before he'd be fired.

Look how short of a time it took for Marc Trestman to be fired as Head Coach of the Bears. One season. And before he came to the CFL he was a long time NFL assistant & qb coach in the NFL. Even though he had a long career in the NCAA as well as the NFL before he came north to the Als, he was always referred to as the coach from the CFL.

O'Shea has none of that pedigree & I think he'd be in for a rough ride on a very bumpy short career road in the NFL. He's forged quite a path in the CFL already & he's still in his early 50's. He may someday make a choice to pursue an NFL HC gig but the answer is why??

Edited February 10 by SpeedFlex27

[SpeedFlex27]

1 hour ago, wbbfan said:

 

Jj have an agent? I dont buy that they have dpr calling guys to talk contracts or let them know we aren’t bringing them back. 
 There’s no hand holding at this level. Does any one think Houston, or hardrick called the bombers before taking a higher contract with another team? Or had their agent do it?I sure don’t. 

That's what teams are doing now. They have a chance for two days to negotiate a contract from the guys who are going to sign elsewhere. We may see one or two guys reneg on their agreements. It's happened before. Just ask Ed Hervey...

[Booch]

Generally the agent is gonna reach out by Xmas...or shortly after... especially if team hasn't contacted you...or mentioned any plans

Also...pretty much across the board if you are hearing crickets it's an understanding that team is moving on...or you low on the initial priority list...again that's when an agent should be touching base.

I see this as a spin by Friesen to stir up stuff...and as others mentioned I have seen first hand them at practice .. absolutely ignoring all that went on...then asking who looked good ..what went on...then write a piece for next day with "their thoughts" 

[Bigblue204]

12 hours ago, Jesse said:

Not taking any sides here, but what both Andrew Harris and Jeffcoat have mentioned is not that they were being moved on from, but that they weren’t told in a timely fashion.

Yeah, pro sports are cut throat. They aren't the 1st and won't be the last.

FUN FACT.

On this day in 2015 the 1st piece of the puzzle was officially signed. #66 the GOAT of Goats became a Winnipeg Blue Bomber.

[TrueBlue4ever]

11 hours ago, Jesse said:

I personally wouldn’t make that argument in regards to players like Harris and Jeffcoat. If there was a plan to move on, they deserve a phone call at some point in the months between season end and Free Agency.

That said, both players admitted there was a contract offer. It was just much lower and later than expected. And, when dealing with a long-time starter, I think it’s reasonable to expect some back and forth communication if there is hesitation on the clubs part.

But again, I’m not taking sides. I certainly am not going to take the word of a semi-disgruntled player over that of Kyle Walters; but there are two incidences now of players complaining of this lack of communication on the way out. So I think it’s fair game to discuss.

I thought I read that Brady Oliveira also said the Bombers were pretty quiet about his contract negotiations as well leading up to the tampering week and then Wade Miller got involved and reached out when other offers were coming in. 

[bigg jay]

15 minutes ago, TrueBlue4ever said:

I thought I read that Brady Oliveira also said the Bombers were pretty quiet about his contract negotiations as well leading up to the tampering week and then Wade Miller got involved and reached out when other offers were coming in. 

Sounds like communication was not an issue for Brady.

"Talks of a new contract for Oliveira had been on and off for some time, but ramped up in recent days, with negotiations hitting a crescendo late Monday, just days before the official opening of free agency on Feb. 13. While the Bombers worked closely with his agent, Oliveira was also actively talking with the club despite being on a dog rescue mission in Bali, Indonesia."

https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/featured/2024/02/06/oliveira-will-do-his-running-at-home