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

[JuranBoldenRules]

Last year we netted 33 or so on punts.  I believe Castillo could do that.  With improved cover teams hopefully we are closer to 40.  Directionally he's a bit inconsistent.  But if it gives you another useful player on D for 20-25 snaps a game...potentially worth it.

[wbbfan]

1 hour ago, JuranBoldenRules said:

Last year we netted 33 or so on punts.  I believe Castillo could do that.  With improved cover teams hopefully we are closer to 40.  Directionally he's a bit inconsistent.  But if it gives you another useful player on D for 20-25 snaps a game...potentially worth it.

Easy. And we wouldn’t have the probably 20+ shanks or ultra low yard boots we saw last year. 

[Sard]

1 hour ago, wbbfan said:

Easy. And we wouldn’t have the probably 20+ shanks or ultra low yard boots we saw last year. 

The real solution is to just not punt... like that game where we scored on 7(?) straight drives.

[blue85gold]

Tait is back with positional previews ahead of the drafts. 

https://www.bluebombers.com/2024/04/22/positional-preview-1-the-specialists-2/

Not sounding like Janarion is in the plans for the team. 

[Booch]

3 hours ago, wbbfan said:

Castillo is a fine punter. If you’re gonna have him kick off no point in carrying a punter imo. If we can get a really good global punter and kick off guy that’s solid. 
 It all pivots on how we draft though. If we can get useful ni/g dl for this year that’ll be huge. 

IT'S a huge need that wil go a long way in maximizing how/who we roster....that is if we don't do anything riduculously stupid like last yr

[Booch]

1 hour ago, wbbfan said:

Easy. And we wouldn’t have the probably 20+ shanks or ultra low yard boots we saw last year. 

and the far too many big returns against, and games where we constantlylost the field position game

Getting a productive defensive rotational player on the field for 18 gams, as opposed to a gimmick punter is well worth it

9 minutes ago, blue85gold said:

Tait is back with positional previews ahead of the drafts. 

https://www.bluebombers.com/2024/04/22/positional-preview-1-the-specialists-2/

Not sounding like Janarion is in the plans for the team. 

i think weith age...and being a yr older for 2025, and the durability issues of lastfew yrs it's probablybthe right move to transition now. Grant is great when he is healthy and playing, but is he at that point with age...and how he plays with reckless abandon just not worth struggling again if he goes out for an extended time?...Always will be one my favorite returners and pound for pound one the toughest...and strongest guys we have seen in recent memory...

[WinnipegGordo]

Bombers signed defensive back Isaiah Norman. He's 6 foot tall from Marshall and tried out for the Chiefs last year. Looks like he got into 3 preseason games.

 

Edited April 23 by WinnipegGordo

[Goalie]

Could part of the issue with special teams last year be the coaching. That coach was let go and miller replaced him. I feel when the Aussie kicker was allowed to, he boomed them but lots of times it seemed like they told him to kick it weird. Could be why the sp teams coach was replaced. 

[Booch]

12 minutes ago, Goalie said:

Could part of the issue with special teams last year be the coaching. That coach was let go and miller replaced him. I feel when the Aussie kicker was allowed to, he boomed them but lots of times it seemed like they told him to kick it weird. Could be why the sp teams coach was replaced. 

you would think tho with a good HC seeing the issues...he would have made the call to say...make a change....and we didnt....which leads me to think Osh was full on board with that if not part of the main force pushing it...for the most part our teams have been good with the former coach...the ugliness and total dissarray reared up with the addition of the new punter

[wbbfan]

2 hours ago, Sard said:

The real solution is to just not punt... like that game where we scored on 7(?) straight drives.

Hell yeah. 

 

1 hour ago, Booch said:

and the far too many big returns against, and games where we constantlylost the field position game

Getting a productive defensive rotational player on the field for 18 gams, as opposed to a gimmick punter is well worth it

i think weith age...and being a yr older for 2025, and the durability issues of lastfew yrs it's probablybthe right move to transition now. Grant is great when he is healthy and playing, but is he at that point with age...and how he plays with reckless abandon just not worth struggling again if he goes out for an extended time?...Always will be one my favorite returners and pound for pound one the toughest...and strongest guys we have seen in recent memory...

Last year was easily the worst performing sts unit (sans k) we’ve seen under an mos team. It was nuts how much field position we gave away each game when trading punts/kick offs. 

 

20 minutes ago, Goalie said:

Could part of the issue with special teams last year be the coaching. That coach was let go and miller replaced him. I feel when the Aussie kicker was allowed to, he boomed them but lots of times it seemed like they told him to kick it weird. Could be why the sp teams coach was replaced. 

For sure the janky scheme was part of it. 

2 minutes ago, Booch said:

you would think tho with a good HC seeing the issues...he would have made the call to say...make a change....and we didnt....which leads me to think Osh was full on board with that if not part of the main force pushing it...for the most part our teams have been good with the former coach...the ugliness and total dissarray reared up with the addition of the new punter

He seemed on board with in early talking about how we were trying some thing different. He has stepped in before to force adjustments on D. Idk maybe he wanted to give enough rope or maybe he thought it could work. Mos will give you all the rope you could ever want to build a noose.  Takes a long time to finally hang but it does happen. 
 

we also didn’t do any fakes save for the horrific on side punt attempt. We used to keep teams on their toes last year we got real long in the tooth. 
 
I think we will see a very different attitude and play style on both teams and D. 

[Goalie]

Perhaps it was done on purpose cuz they knew our sp teams weren’t great. Perhaps trying to limit the damage they gave up. I’m not sure. I’d think that they knew what they were doing and prob thought it would be the best way to limit the returns. 

[CodyT]

6 hours ago, blue85gold said:

Tait is back with positional previews ahead of the drafts. 

https://www.bluebombers.com/2024/04/22/positional-preview-1-the-specialists-2/

Not sounding like Janarion is in the plans for the team. 

I think Janarian still had more to give. I'm dissapointed to lose him. He was an all time great returner in my opinion.

The best I have ever seen in a Bomber jersey, better than Albert Johnson, better than Stokes. Although Stokes was pretty special 

[17to85]

Grant is a fearless returner. He hits the hole hard and fast and gets a lotnof big returns as a result.

[CodyT]

32 minutes ago, 17to85 said:

Grant is a fearless returner. He hits the hole hard and fast and gets a lotnof big returns as a result.

I am surprised the brain trust isn't interested in bringing him back even with the injury risk. I am also surprised another team hasn't taken a shot on him

[Noeller]

34 minutes ago, CodyT said:

the brain trust isn't interested in bringing him back

I don't remember hearing or reading that anywhere....

 

Likely just not on the same financial page. And if every other team in the league is also passing..... His health might be too much an issue.

Edited April 23 by Noeller

[GCn20]

8 hours ago, Noeller said:

I don't remember hearing or reading that anywhere....

 

Likely just not on the same financial page. And if every other team in the league is also passing..... His health might be too much an issue.

He has missed big portions of the last 2 seasons to injury and was kind of average last year when he returned from one. I'm thinking teams just want more reliability and Grant's is questionable.

[Mark H.]

Grant is interesting.  Maybe another Collaros scenario...if someone rolls the dice...

[GCn20]

9 minutes ago, Mark H. said:

Grant is interesting.  Maybe another Collaros scenario...if someone rolls the dice...

Yea...for sure. Depends on price, of course, but if a team gets an injury to a returner during the season he would be my first phone call.

[JohnnyAbonny]

Anyone else irritated by the fact they got Janarion hurt last year by running him up the gut on a gimmick play? 
I’m all for using ST weapons as part of the offence, but running a 170lb returner up the middle was very foolish imo. 

[GCn20]

2 minutes ago, JohnnyAbonny said:

Anyone else irritated by the fact they got Janarion hurt last year by running him up the gut on a gimmick play? 
I’m all for using ST weapons as part of the offence, but running a 170lb returner up the middle was very foolish imo. 

I get what you are saying, but this was no more dangerous than the vast majority of punt returns imo. Was it necessary? Probably not. Was it excessively dangerous situation? Not really.

[JohnnyAbonny]

42 minutes ago, GCn20 said:

I get what you are saying, but this was no more dangerous than the vast majority of punt returns imo. Was it necessary? Probably not. Was it excessively dangerous situation? Not really.

I kind of disagree there. The level of danger for a headshot or freak injury on a punt return is equal or greater for sure.
I’d see way more opportunities in the soup for someone to grab and twist an ankle or a knee. 
 

[Fatty Liver]

18 hours ago, Booch said:

you would think tho with a good HC seeing the issues...he would have made the call to say...make a change....and we didnt....which leads me to think Osh was full on board with that if not part of the main force pushing it...for the most part our teams have been good with the former coach...the ugliness and total dissarray reared up with the addition of the new punter

Jamieson Sheahan is currently the only official punter on the roster, unless they pick one up in the draft or the global draft, the job is probably his by default.

[GCn20]

3 hours ago, JohnnyAbonny said:

I kind of disagree there. The level of danger for a headshot or freak injury on a punt return is equal or greater for sure.
I’d see way more opportunities in the soup for someone to grab and twist an ankle or a knee. 
 

There's danger any time you have the football in your hands. I agree on that. Did we need to put JG in harm's way on a gadget play? No. Is it more dangerous than what we hired him primarily to do? I don't think it is inherently more dangerous. Football is football. Get the ball in your hands and you are a target. Up the middle, on a punt return, all the same degree of risk imo. However, I do agree with your premise that it was a bit of a waster of a play to have JG in that position.

[wbbfan]

1 hour ago, Fatty Liver said:

Jamieson Sheahan is currently the only official punter on the roster, unless they pick one up in the draft or the global draft, the job is probably his by default.

Castillo has been a full time punter in the league, he has 134 punts in his career. We also have the rights to 2-3 other global punters from previous drafts. 
 

 

[JCon]

1 minute ago, wbbfan said:

Castillo has been a full time punter in the league, he has 134 punts in his career. We also have the rights to 2-3 other global punters from previous drafts. 
 

 

I think we're still allowed to bring in others too.