2024/2025 Blue Bombers Off-Season Thread

[SpeedFlex27]

19 hours ago, wbbfan said:

I do agree we need that nasty guy like desjarlais. Ever since he left we haven’t had that. He set the tone and every one else tried to match it. 
 Wallace could be that guy, don’t know for sure though. We need that back for sure. I don’t think we actually had that on the dl though. We could sure use it though. 
 

“Back home” is an excuse. Half our team is American and play away from home the whole season. Who is our last true home grown ol? Sheridan?
 We weren’t competitive in the pricing of any of those guys. Just like we weren’t in many free agent departures. Kongbo, sayles, other sayles, jsk, lawler the first time etc. 

I think we felt as though the next man up would always be a couture, desjarlais, stove, Alford etc. and we got to a point where the cupboards ran dry, and our ability to keep/attract top guys suffered because we wouldn’t give up on vets that will play for cheap. 
 

Case in point, Tui Eli has dressed for 52 games as a bomber. This is the 6th year since he turned pro. He started 5 games including the west final in 21, and I think one game since then. Kola has played 62 games in his career. We are soo married to maintaining the status quo and the value of the 6th ol, that we’ve made double switches on the ol to keep him as the 6th guy and play rookies inside. I fully believe in what he can do from what I’ve seen. If the bombers don’t, they should’ve moved on a while ago. If they think continuity with the 6th ol in a sub pack for a hand full of snaps is worth as much as an every snap ol, then we are pooched. 
 

Has familiarity bred contempt in the bomber brass? Sure looks like it. Has it been addressed now? Think we will know a week or two into free agency, if not camp through pre season for sure. 

You hit a home run with this post. Exactly as I feel. This wanting to play at home is bullshit. Pay your players to stay. Don't always expect a discount because our culture is supposedly so good that players will want to stay. Also, this Next Man Up mantra always runs dry eventually as you run out of quality Next Man Ups. 

Edited 20 hours ago by SpeedFlex27

[SpeedFlex27]

8 hours ago, BomberBall. said:

I’m not sure I understand…. You say Eli is at best the 6 OL, but then say you’d love him at C?

I want to see him get a real shot at C too.  Like a legitimate chance to work through any growing pains.  And I agree that he had some struggles at guard.

Some guys play better at other positions. In this case, it's not a stretch to think Eli could be a better Center than a Guard. Although the way things go with Osh, we'll probably never find out as he has his Boy at Center. 

[Tracker]

On 2025-01-21 at 8:00 PM, Mike said:

it would be silly to ignore that the talent that has left us from the OL wasn’t at least partially by design. 
 

at least part of this was that the Bombers didn’t feel the need to be competitive with the open market because the players in house were available as replacements 

 

For all the OL talent that has walked out the door, we’ve never really had a hole on the OL 

Maybe not, but last season's O-line was collectively the weakest in several years.

[Goalie]

Oliviera probably disagrees. I mean dude lead the league in running. I mean pretty sure he didn’t do all that on own. 

[SpeedFlex27]

32 minutes ago, Tracker said:

Maybe not, but last season's O-line was collectively the weakest in several years.

As I said, the dumb mantra of Next Man Up ultimately fails. As you go down the line at certain positions like the OL, over time the backups get weaker & weaker. If the talent isn't replenished or replaced, then you end up with 35 year old starters whose better days are behind them. Or an inferior inexperienced player who has sat on the bench for years with his development stunted. Suddenly he's thrown to the wolves to ultimately fail. Once an OL hits 32 or 33 years of age, they should start fearing for their jobs. They can't afford to take large gaps of time off to rest. If they can't keep up then sayonara. 

Edited 16 hours ago by SpeedFlex27

[SpeedFlex27]

13 minutes ago, Goalie said:

Oliviera probably disagrees. I mean dude lead the league in running. I mean pretty sure he didn’t do all that on own. 

Our performance on the OL is slipping year to year in pass pro. Not so much in the run game. I'm hoping that we sign a couple of studs in free agency to reset that line so the Zach's performance improves.  

[Goalie]

1 minute ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

Our performance on the OL is slipping year to year in pass pro. Not so much in the run game. I'm hoping that we sign a couple of studs in free agency to reset that line so the Zach's performance improves.  

I think some of that is on Zach tho holding the ball to long. Think that happened quite a bit this past season especially with the rooks. 
 

it’s like Caleb Williams got sacked 67 times or something. ?? Psrt of that is trying to make something out of nothing and holding the ball to long. Similar with Zach. He hasn’t exactly been smoked recently has he? He hasn’t been buck’d in a while. 

[SpeedFlex27]

1 minute ago, Goalie said:

I think some of that is on Zach tho holding the ball to long. Think that happened quite a bit this past season especially with the rooks. 
 

it’s like Caleb Williams got sacked 67 times or something. ?? Psrt of that is trying to make something out of nothing and holding the ball to long. Similar with Zach. He hasn’t exactly been smoked recently has he? He hasn’t been buck’d in a while. 

Zach's taken some shots but he's also a solid 218 lbs so I think most hits he absorb just rolls off the guy. We all know that one more headshot will probably be Zach's last so protecting him should be Job #1 for our line. Streveler has been seriously hurt a couple of times passing in the pocket. The last one was a dirty hit to be sure but the guy got close enough to hurt him.

[rebusrankin]

Waiting on an OC announcement be like

[SpeedFlex27]

9 minutes ago, rebusrankin said:

Waiting on an OC announcement be like

Breaking News: Mike O'Shea says Jake Dolegala will be calling the plays this season. He said as Dolegala is QB3 & under contract & he has no plans to play him, he might as well make himself useful on the bench. Added O'Shea, "If we can save a few bucks & not hire an OC then I'm all for this". 

Edited 7 hours ago by SpeedFlex27

[GCn20]

18 hours ago, wbbfan said:

You know Pickett was the highest paid db of any position in the whole league last year at 165k right? Nichols hard money was 140k. 
 How much you gonna pay ford this year, and nichols next year then? 

I’d say he’s an average starting Canadian db in the cfl. How most teams have deployed ni safety’s, we use Kramdi. Put him in a small box and ask him to come down/over to make tackles on pass catchers. 
 Honestly I like that with an imp S better than vice versa. Except for the fact I think Kelly can cover S like an imp with development, and we don’t need the ratio help. Conceptually though I hate the small box mid deep Canadian S who mostly watches and takes what comes to him. It’s like an upright on the field goal vs Fajardo. 
 

I do like that he has a nose for opportunity and has good in the box potential. I think he needs polishing though. 
 

Tackling by our D has been a big piss off for me the last bit. We have had terrible tackling at every level. Couple guys like Nichols and jones tend to wrap welll with guys who they can get hands on, but we must’ve missed more tackles than any team last year. 
 

 

Yea...I proposed 160 as a very top end if he gives us term for it. 

[GCn20]

21 hours ago, BomberBall. said:

I’m not sure I understand…. You say Eli is at best the 6 OL, but then say you’d love him at C?

I want to see him get a real shot at C too.  Like a legitimate chance to work through any growing pains.  And I agree that he had some struggles at guard.

I'm saying that at this point and time he does top out as our 6th OL because he simply is not good enough at OG to displace anyone. I do not know if he is better than Kola, and would like to see what he can do there. I can't say definitively if he is better than Kola, but he is a natural Centre. It could be he is no better there than at OG, and if so then 6th or even 7th OL is his top out.

[Booch]

our oline was not nearly as bad as some made it out to be once all the starters were healthy....and to the denial of many here...a lot of the issues stemmed from center.....and will again if we roster the same one as our starter.....and knowing what we know about osh...Kolo will start...Jake will take premium reps...and we will play extra needless canadians in some sets...on defence that make us weaker,,,just because

[GCn20]

On 2025-01-21 at 3:23 PM, wbbfan said:

I actually think we have the core, if healthy. Wallace, and randolph could be impact players for us this year on the OL. On the DL I really like woods, Adams, fox, lawson and what garbutt rounded into late. 

I think we need to make some tough moves to get away from some old guys, and prioritize spending on the lines in free agency. 2 players, 1 end and C or tackle, away from having the best line play in the league again. And, the continued development of our young guys. 

Perfect world, we make a splash move at C, and DE. Garbutt rotates as a di, WJ rotates in the 30 to 40 swap, jake is either cut or the last NI on the roster, and we heavily rotate fox/lawson/woods and adams inside out. Randolph steps up and becomes the RT, and a new C stabilizes the interior. Wallace steps up and takes a G job. Maybe thats dobson, maybe its paddy rotating and playing the 6th ol. 

I think DE is something we will definitely be looking at. I'm not sure about C, not because we couldn't improve but I'm just not sure what will be left on the market come FA.

1 hour ago, Booch said:

our oline was not nearly as bad as some made it out to be once all the starters were healthy....and to the denial of many here...a lot of the issues stemmed from center.....and will again if we roster the same one as our starter.....and knowing what we know about osh...Kolo will start...Jake will take premium reps...and we will play extra needless canadians in some sets...on defence that make us weaker,,,just because

I would like to see an upgrade at C for sure. Not sure what will be there come opening day of FA tho. Last year, and it should be expected, our OL was brutal to start the year then rounded out to decent as the year went on. Games against premiere DLs we really got exposed though. Some of that was hubris on Buck's part tho. Even in the Grey Cup his game plan was not designed to counter act what was very clearly Toronto's strength on D. We played right into their strength and that was dumb.

Edited 5 hours ago by GCn20

[BomberBall.]

1 hour ago, GCn20 said:

I'm saying that at this point and time he does top out as our 6th OL because he simply is not good enough at OG to displace anyone. I do not know if he is better than Kola, and would like to see what he can do there. I can't say definitively if he is better than Kola, but he is a natural Centre. It could be he is no better there than at OG, and if so then 6th or even 7th OL is his top out.

I can’t see any way Eli wouldn’t be better than Kola, if given an actual chance to be the starter.  Physically, athletically, he’s better.  Sure he may take some lumps, but he’s got all the tools to smooth them out.

Unfortunately, he likely won’t really be considered for starting C.

[GCn20]

3 minutes ago, BomberBall. said:

I can’t see any way Eli wouldn’t be better than Kola, if given an actual chance to be the starter.  Physically, athletically, he’s better.  Sure he may take some lumps, but he’s got all the tools to smooth them out.

Unfortunately, he likely won’t really be considered for starting C.

I think with Eli it has more to do with between his ears than his physical toolbox. His problem has never been athleticism or ability. He sometimes doesn't show the drive or commitment necessary to grab the job away. If he comes to camp this year in the proper mind set he could give the coaches something to think about for sure.

[wbbfan]

15 hours ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

Some guys play better at other positions. In this case, it's not a stretch to think Eli could be a better Center than a Guard. Although the way things go with Osh, we'll probably never find out as he has his Boy at Center. 

Yeah. General logic is guard is easier than c or t but some guys struggle on one side or the other, or inside vs out. Hardrick struggled a lot at G before sliding to rt. Bonds struggled switching sides and then couldn’t play rt when the riders tried to move him around. 
 

C is also an odd position. We all see the snap, but it’s a completely different position most of the time. G and T you know your guy, you’ve prepared a lot for that 1on1 and they end up being 80-90% of your snaps. C, you don’t often have a guy heads up. It’s about reading, adjusting and helping. 

1 hour ago, Booch said:

our oline was not nearly as bad as some made it out to be once all the starters were healthy....and to the denial of many here...a lot of the issues stemmed from center.....and will again if we roster the same one as our starter.....and knowing what we know about osh...Kolo will start...Jake will take premium reps...and we will play extra needless canadians in some sets...on defence that make us weaker,,,just because

Dobson was also in his first season as a starter. That’s almost never an instant plug and play. 
The rest is soo depressing I can’t even thinking about that going into FA lol. Kolo and Thomas are gonna play till they can’t walk or stand. 
 

48 minutes ago, GCn20 said:

I think DE is something we will definitely be looking at. I'm not sure about C, not because we couldn't improve but I'm just not sure what will be left on the market come FA.

I would like to see an upgrade at C for sure. Not sure what will be there come opening day of FA tho. Last year, and it should be expected, our OL was brutal to start the year then rounded out to decent as the year went on. Games against premiere DLs we really got exposed though. Some of that was hubris on Buck's part tho. Even in the Grey Cup his game plan was not designed to counter act what was very clearly Toronto's strength on D. We played right into their strength and that was dumb.

I agree with both. Hope for de dream of a C. I think c likely has to be a trade. 
 

22 minutes ago, GCn20 said:

I think with Eli it has more to do with between his ears than his physical toolbox. His problem has never been athleticism or ability. He sometimes doesn't show the drive or commitment necessary to grab the job away. If he comes to camp this year in the proper mind set he could give the coaches something to think about for sure.

between the ears makes sense. He excels in short yardage and in prior years went in at G while gray and others kicked out of te. 
It could also be that he just needs steady reps to grow into the role at g. 

[GCn20]

29 minutes ago, wbbfan said:

Yeah. General logic is guard is easier than c or t but some guys struggle on one side or the other, or inside vs out. Hardrick struggled a lot at G before sliding to rt. Bonds struggled switching sides and then couldn’t play rt when the riders tried to move him around. 
 

C is also an odd position. We all see the snap, but it’s a completely different position most of the time. G and T you know your guy, you’ve prepared a lot for that 1on1 and they end up being 80-90% of your snaps. C, you don’t often have a guy heads up. It’s about reading, adjusting and helping. 

Dobson was also in his first season as a starter. That’s almost never an instant plug and play. 
The rest is soo depressing I can’t even thinking about that going into FA lol. Kolo and Thomas are gonna play till they can’t walk or stand. 
 

I agree with both. Hope for de dream of a C. I think c likely has to be a trade. 
 

between the ears makes sense. He excels in short yardage and in prior years went in at G while gray and others kicked out of te. 
It could also be that he just needs steady reps to grow into the role at g. 

With Eli I think the 2 seasons away from the game really hurt his development in a big way and now kind of has hurt his confidence. His commitment to football has always been questionable, and we should know this year if he applied himself in the offseason and is coming in hungry or not. From what I saw of his play last year I have concerns whether he was 100% all in last year. I could be way out to lunch on that, and have nothing to back that up for full disclosure, just seemed off last year. We have seen him play at a much higher level than what he displayed last year for sure.

Edited 3 hours ago by GCn20

[Booch]

1 hour ago, GCn20 said:

I think with Eli it has more to do with between his ears than his physical toolbox. His problem has never been athleticism or ability. He sometimes doesn't show the drive or commitment necessary to grab the job away. If he comes to camp this year in the proper mind set he could give the coaches something to think about for sure.

he never really got a  chance to win it tho....Kolo was basically annointed starter....much like Biggie..Jake...BA...and a few others with no competition at all...and that was that....

Eli when on the field is a menace...moves guys...irritates defenders and just oozes starter.....the limited reps at guard people use as their barometer that he isnt good enough is kind of irrelevant, and once he got a few more reps settled right in....also...he had to play right smack dan beside an inferior center (Kolo) who if isnt locked into or engaged in a nose directly in front of him just misses his blocks or responsibilities over and over....and any stunts or dline guys flashing past him....yukkk....

Plus he is undersized.....and not uber athletic for what you want in an undersized center.....If Osh wants to put a teacher's pet of hbis there slap Schmeck in their and convert him...He's do a way better job once he got acclimated...and it prob would happen fast....

[wbbfan]

39 minutes ago, GCn20 said:

With Eli I think the 2 seasons away from the game really hurt his development in a big way and now kind of has hurt his confidence. His commitment to football has always been questionable, and we should know this year if he applied himself in the offseason and is coming in hungry or not. From what I saw of his play last year I have concerns whether he was 100% all in last year. I could be way out to lunch on that, and have nothing to back that up for full disclosure, just seemed off last year. We have seen him play at a much higher level than what he displayed last year for sure.

He sat out 2022, just the one year. Plus the cancelled season and the year out of college. 
 But it’s just 1 year since he was starting games for us in 21. 
 

It did seem to hurt his being game ready shape when he came back. 
 I think long term if he gets back to starting all the breaks will be good for his body. He had a bunch of wear in college. 
 

He struggled at guard, but other wise was his usual self in the heavy set stuff. 
 

 

[17to85]

3 hours ago, Booch said:

our oline was not nearly as bad as some made it out to be once all the starters were 

And honestly I think our insistence on using 6 or 7 blockers alllllll the time hurts more than it helps.  Collaros is never going to be a guy who gets the ball out quick. He will buy time with his eyes downfield... so give him more targets.

[JuranBoldenRules]

3 minutes ago, 17to85 said:

And honestly I think our insistence on using 6 or 7 blockers alllllll the time hurts more than it helps.  Collaros is never going to be a guy who gets the ball out quick. He will buy time with his eyes downfield... so give him more targets.

If you need time to go downfield you need to outnumber the rush.  Football 101

You can pretty much count on 5 guys coming most passing downs so that's why you usually see 6 guys blocking.

Regardless of how many guys are blocking the QB's pre snap are reading 2-3 guys in a route.  So if you have 6 guys out wide all you're doing is widening out the field which works for quick game stuff.  Doesn't really matter if you're more vertical based.

[Fatty Liver]

1 hour ago, GCn20 said:

I think with Eli it has more to do with between his ears than his physical toolbox. His problem has never been athleticism or ability. He sometimes doesn't show the drive or commitment necessary to grab the job away. If he comes to camp this year in the proper mind set he could give the coaches something to think about for sure.

Agree it's likely a combo of lack of confidence and having the wrong personality to be a leader, Eli seems more like a quiet guy.  The aggressive bird always gets the worm, a Center needs to be decisive and vocal, even if they don't know exactly what call to make, they have to act like they do.

 

 

[rebusrankin]

On Kolo at center, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

[Mark H.]

20 minutes ago, rebusrankin said:

On Kolo at center, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

He's a starter.