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

[17to85]

In his first go around Eli was ahead of guys like gray on the depth chart and I really don't see a reason for that to not still be the case. Guy is good and brings a level of physicality that has been lacking.

[wbbfan]

1 hour ago, Geebrr said:

He probably watched it on a screen anyway. 
 

I am in the camp that says it was going to miss  (because of who is kicking the ball) - but it is impossible to know for sure where it would have ended up. 

I get not giving legs the benefit of the doubt. Tbh the only kicker in a long time that I give it to is medlock. If we had medlock on that snap nothing changes. Put wade mos or walters on the line to make that block and we got a shot. 

[GCn20]

7 minutes ago, Booch said:

Not understanding this move...weakest of the bunch, and why block younger guys with a 31 yr old, unless they are saving bucks and are moving on from Gray,and putting ELI there with Dobson as the 6th?...Head scratcher as Eli is a better center than Guard, as well as better than Kolo....Or is this an Osh pining to his GM to lock up his fav's?...If Thomas is next...followed by Briggs...I gonna puke

I'll wait and see. Have a feeling we are going to let Gray hit the market. If so, maybe there is an open competition in TC between Eli and Kolo for C.

Edited January 29 by GCn20

[rebusrankin]

Eli was an award winner in the NCAA. Kolo is a late draft pick who was out of football for two years before joining us. He's a decent fill in but struggles as others have said far better than I have. His being brought back screams that we're keeping the status quo and is frustrating because it seems to be blocking younger guys who have more upside.

[wbbfan]

Just now, 17to85 said:

In his first go around Eli was ahead of guys like gray on the depth chart and I really don't see a reason for that to not still be the case. Guy is good and brings a level of physicality that has been lacking.

Gray is a great 6th ol but at this point he still hasn’t become more than that which is disappointing. Seemed like it took a few weeks for Eli to get into shape but man he just chews guys up. When we had desjarlais teams lamented playing us. Our interior is soft now. But we have the pieces. So he’s hoping Eli wins the starting job and that Dobson takes a step forward and wins one too. Because those guys change how teams play is in a big way. 

2 minutes ago, GCn20 said:

I'll wait and see. Have a feeling we are going to let Gray hit the market. If so, maybe there is an open competition in TC between Eli and Kolo for C.

It seems gray is pretty locked in market wise due to his study with the u of m engineering department. But his not having signed is strange. This off season feels soo strange and foreign. Change is needed but not used to it at this point. I can’t imagine all these guys go to fa after years of not doing it just to resign. 

[Bigblue204]

57 minutes ago, Bigblue204 said:

He's not a 6th OL type

I guess in a pinch he actually could be....but it would mean shuffling the deck a bit as I don't like the idea of him playing anything other than C.....

Just wanted to finish that thought

[TrueBlue4ever]

51 minutes ago, 17to85 said:

Some bloggers pretending to be media will tell you he was, but he really wasn't. Anything special. He did good work as a fill in type centre, but his ceiling is pretty much limited to that.

And some fans on a football forum will excuse away any ranking system that rates him highly as being fundamentally flawed, and tell you they know better than the coaches and that the top running game, second fewest sacks against, another  great win-loss record and top ranked OL in the league all mean nothing because, results be damned, they know better then our staff paid to put the best product out there to win games and keep their jobs, based on their own eye test. 

[Booch]

29 minutes ago, wbbfan said:

He did at centre and in goal line packages. Take it with a bit of a grain of salt but he was our highest graded ok in the last like 2 months. 
 Our ol is flat out different with him in too. We don’t have a mauler inside with out him. If you try to twist across his face you’re gonna get dumped on your ass. Opposition dls and blitzers don’t fear going between the tackles when he isn’t in. 
 

 

Snapping is critical but tbh both Eli and kola do it equally well. Pass pro as a C is about switches, pick ups, knowing who to help when etc and Eli is better at that. Kola rides his pre snap read into the dirt even if it ends up with empty hands and Zach laid out. He lacks the ability to make post snap adjustments especially physically. Kola has also been exposed against nose tackles. I really don’t think he will be at C long next year even if we breaks camp as starter. We are gonna see a lot of packages to exploit him on the nose. 
 

 

We actually run heavy set more than you’d think. The grading of a centre is about ability to read pre snap, set the line, adjust post snap personally and pick up blitzes stunts twists etc and start vs ending point when you do have a man. You might pick up a guy and keep him infront if you, but if he drives you back 3-4 yards that’s the best kind of pressure the dl can get with out hitting. It collapses the pocket and messes up throwing lanes in a big way. This was a big part of what made our D great with nose tackles like stove and drake nevis. You flush the qb into ends, and cut the field in half when you collapse the pocket from the nose. 

Only thing I can hope is he signed dirt cheap and will take any role needed. Not surprised s bit disappointed and worried. 

You nailed it on your comments....what/why osh seems to have this love for guys who aren't necessarily the best option baffles the mind...Kolo was by far the worst guy we had, and like you mentioned...for someone who knows what they are actually watching, and can pick up easily what they are doing...it's very obvious to see....just a head scratcher if he is again...handed the role....It better be an outright competition...in multiple positions this year as we have seen in last 2 yrs that when the chips need to be placed all in during the last hand...we flopped bad...and a lot was due to personell...and odd coaching decisions..

Even as depth he is a poor choice as your 6th...cant kick outside, and as a guard he's geteaten up and shat out...over and over and a good likelyhood he would be the guy at faukt for ZC really getting pummeled...thelast yr and a bit ZC has taken a pummeling and it can be directly linked to the center, even tho the average fan won't see it

Getting worried already that we are gonna bring back way too many guys we shouldn't

[rebusrankin]

22 minutes ago, TrueBlue4ever said:

And some fans on a football forum will excuse away any ranking system that rates him highly as being fundamentally flawed, and tell you they know better than the coaches and that the top running game, second fewest sacks against, another  great win-loss record and top ranked OL in the league all mean nothing because, results be damned, they know better then our staff paid to put the best product out there to win games and keep their jobs, based on their own eye test. 

PFF has its critics on both sides of the border and actually has its origins as a fansite fyi.

Conversely some fans think that coaching staffs never make mistakes and dump on fans who offer opinions. 

[Booch]

31 minutes ago, GCn20 said:

I'll wait and see. Have a feeling we are going to let Gray hit the market. If so, maybe there is an open competition in TC between Eli and Kolo for C.

even then,,it shouldnt be....if there was a guy to hand a job to...Its Eli

 

30 minutes ago, wbbfan said:

Gray is a great 6th ol but at this point he still hasn’t become more than that which is disappointing. Seemed like it took a few weeks for Eli to get into shape but man he just chews guys up. When we had desjarlais teams lamented playing us. Our interior is soft now. But we have the pieces. So he’s hoping Eli wins the starting job and that Dobson takes a step forward and wins one too. Because those guys change how teams play is in a big way. 

It seems gray is pretty locked in market wise due to his study with the u of m engineering department. But his not having signed is strange. This off season feels soo strange and foreign. Change is needed but not used to it at this point. I can’t imagine all these guys go to fa after years of not doing it just to resign. 

Imagine having Desjarlais...Eli and Neuf between the tackles??...thats a nasty assed group teams would hate to line up against....Dobson fro Gray will give us much the same....

Just now, rebusrankin said:

PFF has its critics on both sides of the border and actually has its origins as a fansite fyi.

Conversely some fans think that coaching staffs never make mistakes and dump on fans who offer opinions. 

No coaching staff worth spit looks at or uses PFF as any type of evaluation tool...trust me there

 

[BomberBall]

Disappointed to see Kola brought back.  But hopefully, as others have said, it’ll be an open competition at center.  I can’t see Eli losing out, if it is.

[bearpants]

I'm disappointed in this signing... not that I have any particular objection to Kolakowski... by accounts he had a good year in 2023... but if it came down to him or Gray... I'd have preferred Gray... also don't like the potential of blocking Eli or Dobson when both appear ready to be starters.  

[17to85]

1 hour ago, bearpants said:

I'm disappointed in this signing... not that I have any particular objection to Kolakowski... by accounts he had a good year in 2023... but if it came down to him or Gray... I'd have preferred Gray... also don't like the potential of blocking Eli or Dobson when both appear ready to be starters.  

Yeah that's just it. Guy isn't a difference maker while the others certainly might be 

[GCJenks]

I HATE this signing so much. I just can't think of any situation that this is good for us. Of anyone that we should have been okay letting walk he gets re-signed? F#&K it is going to be a long season of watching Zack on his back.

[Jesse]

With the amount of guys unsigned, it's hard to see the team vision right now.

Hopefully it all comes together. It's a long way to TC.

[JohnnyAbonny]

2 hours ago, wbbfan said:

He did at centre and in goal line packages. Take it with a bit of a grain of salt but he was our highest graded ok in the last like 2 months. 
 Our ol is flat out different with him in too. We don’t have a mauler inside with out him. If you try to twist across his face you’re gonna get dumped on your ass. Opposition dls and blitzers don’t fear going between the tackles when he isn’t in. 
 

 

Snapping is critical but tbh both Eli and kola do it equally well. Pass pro as a C is about switches, pick ups, knowing who to help when etc and Eli is better at that. Kola rides his pre snap read into the dirt even if it ends up with empty hands and Zach laid out. He lacks the ability to make post snap adjustments especially physically. Kola has also been exposed against nose tackles. I really don’t think he will be at C long next year even if we breaks camp as starter. We are gonna see a lot of packages to exploit him on the nose. 
 

 

We actually run heavy set more than you’d think. The grading of a centre is about ability to read pre snap, set the line, adjust post snap personally and pick up blitzes stunts twists etc and start vs ending point when you do have a man. You might pick up a guy and keep him infront if you, but if he drives you back 3-4 yards that’s the best kind of pressure the dl can get with out hitting. It collapses the pocket and messes up throwing lanes in a big way. This was a big part of what made our D great with nose tackles like stove and drake nevis. You flush the qb into ends, and cut the field in half when you collapse the pocket from the nose. 

Only thing I can hope is he signed dirt cheap and will take any role needed. Not surprised s bit disappointed and worried. 

Thanks for the explanation, for real. You clearly have an above average knowledge of OL and DL play. 

[wbbfan]

2 hours ago, TrueBlue4ever said:

And some fans on a football forum will excuse away any ranking system that rates him highly as being fundamentally flawed, and tell you they know better than the coaches and that the top running game, second fewest sacks against, another  great win-loss record and top ranked OL in the league all mean nothing because, results be damned, they know better then our staff paid to put the best product out there to win games and keep their jobs, based on their own eye test. 

You know by the pff stats Eli graded out as better than kola to ya. 
 One guy nominated kola for mol, based of gut review. No one else is touting him as the strength of our ol or grading him out well  he didn’t rank high on the pending free agents no one was targeting him. If you don’t n agree with the reviews on here, I think that’s pretty strong neutral evidence. 
 Though I’ll again say the pff stats are a bit suspect, and at best single stat analytics like that are extremely un reliable for centres. When you don’t play a guy every snap you just can’t compare efficiency numbers to guys who do. 
 

2 hours ago, Booch said:

You nailed it on your comments....what/why osh seems to have this love for guys who aren't necessarily the best option baffles the mind...Kolo was by far the worst guy we had, and like you mentioned...for someone who knows what they are actually watching, and can pick up easily what they are doing...it's very obvious to see....just a head scratcher if he is again...handed the role....It better be an outright competition...in multiple positions this year as we have seen in last 2 yrs that when the chips need to be placed all in during the last hand...we flopped bad...and a lot was due to personell...and odd coaching decisions..

Even as depth he is a poor choice as your 6th...cant kick outside, and as a guard he's geteaten up and shat out...over and over and a good likelyhood he would be the guy at faukt for ZC really getting pummeled...thelast yr and a bit ZC has taken a pummeling and it can be directly linked to the center, even tho the average fan won't see it

Getting worried already that we are gonna bring back way too many guys we shouldn't

It’s much easier to continue to develop and start developing Dobson/gray at centre than to develop kola into more than a C for sure. Ideally I’d develop gray at a rt and Dobson as a c so you have extra coverage for each spot. 
 

2 hours ago, rebusrankin said:

PFF has its critics on both sides of the border and actually has its origins as a fansite fyi.

Conversely some fans think that coaching staffs never make mistakes and dump on fans who offer opinions. 

It was a fantasy football tool in its base wasn’t it? Some of those guys really know their stuff, but it’s hard to translate imo. Football outsiders was a much better advanced break down site for the nfl. 
 

 

2 hours ago, Booch said:

even then,,it shouldnt be....if there was a guy to hand a job to...Its Eli

 

Imagine having Desjarlais...Eli and Neuf between the tackles??...thats a nasty assed group teams would hate to line up against....Dobson fro Gray will give us much the same....

No coaching staff worth spit looks at or uses PFF as any type of evaluation tool...trust me there

 

those 3 inside would dominate the line in the run game and wear down dls fast. They would make the pass rush of other teams worse as much as improve pass pro. 
 

14 minutes ago, JohnnyAbonny said:

Thanks for the explanation, for real. You clearly have an above average knowledge of OL and DL play. 

Love any excuse to nerd out lol. 
 For any one who wants to get a quick evaluation of an ol, watch the depth of battle. Where do they engage a dl, usually + or - 1.5 yards from the los depending on pass or run pro. Then watch where they are when they disengage. If they are getting deadlocked or losing position the dl is winning even if they keep em locked up. You can only lock horns and get pushed back soo many times before you are just beat. 
 It’s easy to look at sack plays and be down on any one involved, but every ol gives up sacks and some times it’s not intuitive as to why or how they got beat or if it’s their fault. You might not know the play call or understand the scheme and that can under rate guys too. But If they are winning heads up battles it speaks volumes to the rest of what’s happening. 

[Rex_Banner]

For a team that lost in the grey cup two years in a row now, in pretty pathetic fashion, they seem pretty content with everything and just bring all the old boys back. 
 

[Goalie]

2025 when we host is gonna be a disaster. 

[Brandon]

People over reacting yet again

[wbbfan]

23 minutes ago, Rex_Banner said:

For a team that lost in the grey cup two years in a row now, in pretty pathetic fashion, they seem pretty content with everything and just bring all the old boys back. 
 

Idk. The coaching staff moves and not re signing a lot of guys for free agency gives me hope. 

[Bigblue204]

25 minutes ago, Rex_Banner said:

For a team that lost in the grey cup two years in a row now, in pretty pathetic fashion, they seem pretty content with everything and just bring all the old boys back. 
 

I really couldn't imagine any other franchise bringing back a bunch of players that went.....14 and....4. like wtf.

Enough mediocrity already!!

[BBlink]

The one thing I'll say is that people have taken our o line depth for granted. I wasn't a particular fan of kolo but we will need at least 4 Canadians that can play. Kolo can play

[17to85]

27 minutes ago, BBlink said:

The one thing I'll say is that people have taken our o line depth for granted. I wasn't a particular fan of kolo but we will need at least 4 Canadians that can play. Kolo can play

Neufeld, Eli, Dobson, gray. Boom done.

[Goalie]

Not over reacting at all.

 

just don’t see the vision here. Bringing back the gang never works. Some of our guys are gonna age out by 25 also.