2023/2024 CFL (Non Bombers) Off Season News

[SpeedFlex27]

On 2024-03-23 at 10:43 AM, Goalie said:

Mike sellers. Yup. Remember him. 

There were other guys who were better.

[wbbfan]

5 hours ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

There were other guys who were better.

This will probably piss some people off who through the lens of nostalgia will remember sellers as a perfect player but here goes. 
Big mike was such a rare and unique talent, he was much more valuable than a fb, but at the same time less effective in some areas than other much lesser FBs. 
 He was, one of the greatest blocking backs in football history. He was as good as an extra tackle in both run pro and pass pro. 
 He had tremendous hands, can’t count how many times I saw him pick passes out of the air or off his shoe laces. But he had a tendency to look up field and drop some easier ones. 
with a head of steam he was one of the hardest guys to tackle in the league. 
 But this was also his biggest fault. He needed a good bit of room to get up to speed. If contact was made with in a few yards of him getting the ball, he was much easier to tackle. Most FBs excel in short yardage. We frequently used blink in short yardage because he hit the hole soo fast and hard he was tough to stop. He could also squirt though a tiny gap and turn a 1 yard dive into a 50 yard gain. 
 Sellers didn’t run particularly well out of a fb position. For instance the game Charlie missed and where mike decimated the riders defence in Winnipeg, we ran out of extemely deep sets with him 7 yards back, or on delays from shot gun. He had a big td production season in the nfl where they did the same with him, or wrapped him from the back side h back spot to the play side. 
 

Sellers however, was also one of the best teams players. From blocking, to kick cover where he broke into the league. He was a pro bowl caliber teams guy, blocker, red zone threat, great catcher, and had devastating power. 
 

He wasn’t alstott, but he was probably the most valuable player at fb in the modern and semi modern history of the league. 
 

[GCn20]

16 hours ago, JCon said:

The guy was an OC at Cal and Arizona State. He head-coached some mid-major programs. Not exactly a big-time resume. Good get for Calgary but not exactly stealing him. 

As a QB coach this is a really good get. His resume of grooming CFL QBs speaks for itself. Stealng? No definitely not stealing, he was unemployed. However, getting a guy that can groom QBs that can play at a high level in the CFL? Baldwin would be at or near the top of the list of every CFL team. So definitely a sneaky good signing by them.

Edited March 27 by GCn20

[bigg jay]

31 minutes ago, GCn20 said:

As a QB coach this is a really good get. His resume of grooming CFL QBs speaks for itself. Stealng? No definitely not stealing, he was unemployed. However, getting a guy that can groom QBs that can play at a high level in the CFL? Baldwin would be at or near the top of the list of every CFL team. So definitely a sneaky good signing by them.

Has to be a reason why he was available though.  Teams usually have their coaching staff in place by this time of the off-season and the Stamps are no exception.  The QB coach they hired in January bailed for a US college gig, otherwise we wouldn't even be talking about Baldwin. 

It's curious that he was without a job in January so if he's that good of a hire, how come they brought in someone else at that point?  Obviously there are lots of factors that can go into that but I wonder what changed?

[GCn20]

35 minutes ago, bigg jay said:

Has to be a reason why he was available though.  Teams usually have their coaching staff in place by this time of the off-season and the Stamps are no exception.  The QB coach they hired in January bailed for a US college gig, otherwise we wouldn't even be talking about Baldwin. 

It's curious that he was without a job in January so if he's that good of a hire, how come they brought in someone else at that point?  Obviously there are lots of factors that can go into that but I wonder what changed?

It's quite possible at that time he was still looking for a better gig and turned the Stamps down. QB coach in the CFL isn't the most lucrative gig. After the bowl games and end of the college season, there are a ton of guys getting turfed and a ton of potential jobs opening up. If I'm a NCAA coach I'm waiting to see what comes up too. Then end of March comes around and there really isn't a fit the CFL starts looking a whole lot better.

Baldwin is a much better fit for the CFL than he is for 95% of NCAA football programs. His offence is very similar to a CFL offence and that is not the case down south too much.

Whatever the reason he wasn't finding work down south is 100% irrelevant to the CFL though. His starting college QBs during his tenure down South:

Bo Levi, Mike Reilly, Matt Nichols, and Vernon Adams. 

He is a guy that develops CFL QBs very, very well and that's what he is now hired to do.

Edited March 27 by GCn20

[17to85]

2 hours ago, wbbfan said:

This will probably piss some people off who through the lens of nostalgia will remember sellers as a perfect player but here goes. 
Big mike was such a rare and unique talent, he was much more valuable than a fb, but at the same time less effective in some areas than other much lesser FBs. 
 He was, one of the greatest blocking backs in football history. He was as good as an extra tackle in both run pro and pass pro. 
 He had tremendous hands, can’t count how many times I saw him pick passes out of the air or off his shoe laces. But he had a tendency to look up field and drop some easier ones. 
with a head of steam he was one of the hardest guys to tackle in the league. 
 But this was also his biggest fault. He needed a good bit of room to get up to speed. If contact was made with in a few yards of him getting the ball, he was much easier to tackle. Most FBs excel in short yardage. We frequently used blink in short yardage because he hit the hole soo fast and hard he was tough to stop. He could also squirt though a tiny gap and turn a 1 yard dive into a 50 yard gain. 
 Sellers didn’t run particularly well out of a fb position. For instance the game Charlie missed and where mike decimated the riders defence in Winnipeg, we ran out of extemely deep sets with him 7 yards back, or on delays from shot gun. He had a big td production season in the nfl where they did the same with him, or wrapped him from the back side h back spot to the play side. 
 

Sellers however, was also one of the best teams players. From blocking, to kick cover where he broke into the league. He was a pro bowl caliber teams guy, blocker, red zone threat, great catcher, and had devastating power. 
 

He wasn’t alstott, but he was probably the most valuable player at fb in the modern and semi modern history of the league. 
 

He was basically an OL that could catch. And it was damned glorious.

[GCn20]

1 minute ago, 17to85 said:

He was basically an OL that could catch. And it was damned glorious.

And run...he could run.,,,and yes it was damned glorious. He came into the CFL as a LBer.

[Stickem]

The best take on Sellers was the game in Sask. where he literally destroyed the rider D on the way to the end zone......DOMINATING....would be an apt description....Just luv'd the guys determination and talent

[blue85gold]

2 hours ago, wbbfan said:

This will probably piss some people off who through the lens of nostalgia will remember sellers as a perfect player but here goes. 
Big mike was such a rare and unique talent, he was much more valuable than a fb, but at the same time less effective in some areas than other much lesser FBs. 
 He was, one of the greatest blocking backs in football history. He was as good as an extra tackle in both run pro and pass pro. 
 He had tremendous hands, can’t count how many times I saw him pick passes out of the air or off his shoe laces. But he had a tendency to look up field and drop some easier ones. 
with a head of steam he was one of the hardest guys to tackle in the league. 
 But this was also his biggest fault. He needed a good bit of room to get up to speed. If contact was made with in a few yards of him getting the ball, he was much easier to tackle. Most FBs excel in short yardage. We frequently used blink in short yardage because he hit the hole soo fast and hard he was tough to stop. He could also squirt though a tiny gap and turn a 1 yard dive into a 50 yard gain. 
 Sellers didn’t run particularly well out of a fb position. For instance the game Charlie missed and where mike decimated the riders defence in Winnipeg, we ran out of extemely deep sets with him 7 yards back, or on delays from shot gun. He had a big td production season in the nfl where they did the same with him, or wrapped him from the back side h back spot to the play side. 
 

Sellers however, was also one of the best teams players. From blocking, to kick cover where he broke into the league. He was a pro bowl caliber teams guy, blocker, red zone threat, great catcher, and had devastating power. 
 

He wasn’t alstott, but he was probably the most valuable player at fb in the modern and semi modern history of the league. 
 

Thanks for this great summary. I wish there were more games from this era available to re-watch. Fuzzy memories from 20+ years ago just aren't the same for me.

[bigg jay]

3 minutes ago, Stickem said:

The best take on Sellers was the game in Sask. where he literally destroyed the rider D on the way to the end zone......DOMINATING....would be an apt description....Just luv'd the guys determination and talent

And had a lot of fun doing it!

[Noeller]

37 minutes ago, Stickem said:

The best take on Sellers was the game in Sask. where he literally destroyed the rider D on the way to the end zone......DOMINATING....would be an apt description....Just luv'd the guys determination and talent

did everyone die?? I missed that...

[bigg jay]

55 minutes ago, Noeller said:

did everyone die?? I missed that...

Dead or living/playing in Regina.  It's hell for those guys either way!

[wbbfan]

1 hour ago, GCn20 said:

And run...he could run.,,,and yes it was damned glorious. He came into the CFL as a LBer.

At what 18 or 19 no less? And was an instant stud on teams to the point he got to the nfl for a few years. 
 

1 hour ago, blue85gold said:

Thanks for this great summary. I wish there were more games from this era available to re-watch. Fuzzy memories from 20+ years ago just aren't the same for me.

np. Yeah me too. Some truly amazing talent will nearly disappear from memory in a while because the only video looks like it was filmed on a potato. 

[Rod Black]

2 hours ago, Stickem said:

The best take on Sellers was the game in Sask. where he literally destroyed the rider D on the way to the end zone......DOMINATING....would be an apt description....Just luv'd the guys determination and talent

Love watching the YouTube video of his runs that game. Great lead up to any game against those idiots. 

[Stickem]

2 hours ago, Noeller said:

did everyone die?? I missed that...

I don't know about die....but there sure was a lot of 'dead men walking' in Seller's wake...I heard one defender thought of just 'getting out of his way' when the 'truck' came down the field...Riders tend to have players that do/did that during a game when the going gets rough and tough.......

Edited March 27 by Stickem

[GCn20]

36 minutes ago, Stickem said:

I don't know about die....but there sure was a lot of 'dead men walking' in Seller's wake...I heard one defender thought of just 'getting out of his way' when the 'truck' came down the field...Riders tend to have players that do/did that during a game when the going gets rough and tough.......

Riders still have those type of players even now.

[Noeller]

1 hour ago, wbbfan said:

to the point he got to the nfl for a few years. 

didn't just get to the NFL.... he was a Pro Bowl-er....

[bigg jay]

17 minutes ago, Noeller said:

didn't just get to the NFL.... he was a Pro Bowl-er....

Yep, only once officially but he was named as an alternate a few times as well so he definitely had a good run down there.

[GCn20]

2002 Bombers Thunder and Lightning tandem - Sellers and Blink

2009 Bombers Thunder and Lightning tandem - Joe Smith and Fast Freddy Reid

2024 Bombers Thunder and Lightning tandem - Chris Streveler and Zac Collaros

Hope this years works out as well as the ones in the past.

[17to85]

1 minute ago, GCn20 said:

2024 Bombers Thunder and Lightning tandem - Chris Streveler and Zac Collaros

And streveler is both of them!

[Bigblue204]

9 minutes ago, GCn20 said:

2002 Bombers Thunder and Lightning tandem - Sellers and Blink

2009 Bombers Thunder and Lightning tandem - Joe Smith and Fast Freddy Reid

2024 Bombers Thunder and Lightning tandem - Chris Streveler and Zac Collaros

Hope this years works out as well as the ones in the past.

I'd like it to work out much better honestly 

[rebusrankin]

8 minutes ago, 17to85 said:

And streveler is both of them!

[Mark H.]

14 minutes ago, Bigblue204 said:

I'd like it to work out much better honestly 

I could do with another 2019 Grey Cup - leave no doubt from start to finish. 

[wbbfan]

1 hour ago, Noeller said:

didn't just get to the NFL.... he was a Pro Bowl-er....

He was a pro bowler after his return to the nfl from Winnipeg. Not in his first stint when we left Edmonton. 

[Noeller]

3 minutes ago, wbbfan said:

He was a pro bowler after his return to the nfl from Winnipeg. Not in his first stint when we left Edmonton. 

I'm not sure why you're splitting hairs about when he was in the Pro Bowl.... is it less of an achievement after his time with us? 

30 minutes ago, Mark H. said:

I could do with another 2019 Grey Cup - leave no doubt from start to finish. 

I could do with a 2022 Regular Season with the '19 finish.....