2024/2025 Blue Bombers Off-Season Thread

[TransconaBomberfan]

In my opinion the team has two positions to fill. Walters has failed to do so the last few years and it cost us Grey Cups. He should be bringing in loads of defensive line and edge rushers. The team has gone away from what brought us the Cup in 2019. Pressure on the QB wins you games. We had absolutely no pressure on the QB last year. 

Bringing back Thomas is not gonna help this team 

[Bombertown]

On 2025-02-03 at 5:09 PM, wbbfan said:

And blink was listed at the same 171 for his entire career, and maybe once weighed it. Holm listed as 180 in college and came in 171 on his pro day. 

If any thing, teams players are and can be smaller. You have far less big bodies on the field for kick and punt return/cover. Only kick block team has the heavy base. 

Last year the league saw 8 dbs under 170 lbs. If youre a back up db in this league, you are playing teams too. 

The NFL isn't stuck on arbitrary size limits any more, and the cfl hasn't been for a long long time. 

It takes two seconds to look up that he weighed in 181 at his pro day

[17to85]

17 minutes ago, TransconaBomberfan said:

In my opinion the team has two positions to fill. Walters has failed to do so the last few years and it cost us Grey Cups. He should be bringing in loads of defensive line and edge rushers. The team has gone away from what brought us the Cup in 2019. Pressure on the QB wins you games. We had absolutely no pressure on the QB last year. 

Bringing back Thomas is not gonna help this team 

And yet the thing that let the team down the past 3 grey cups has been the offense. 

[Bombertown]

8 hours ago, BomberBall. said:

Looks like the Ticats are giving Lawler 2 years at about $275k.  That’s too high. 

Highest paid non quarterback on the ticats and still apparently took a pay cut from last contract here

[Noeller]

I'm not crying, YOU'RE crying......

 

 

[wbbfan]

14 minutes ago, Bombertown said:

It takes two seconds to look up that he weighed in 181 at his pro day

You’re looking at his listed gdr weight 

10 minutes ago, Bombertown said:

Highest paid non quarterback on the ticats and still apparently took a pay cut from last contract here

not apparently we paid him 285 to bring him back, down from what edm paid him. The market has been going down steadily but more so after he signed here.  

[Bombertown]

3 minutes ago, wbbfan said:

You’re looking at his listed gdr weight 

not apparently we paid him 285 to bring him back, down from what edm paid him. The market has been going down steadily but more so after he signed here.  

My first point is from draftscout.com

second point is from Derek Taylor on twitter

 

…take what you will

[GCn20]

4 hours ago, wbbfan said:

Not even close. Marty and Bourgoin are highly regarded coaches like Jy. Jy would’ve gotten a dc job else where, we had calls about him and had to move him up to keep him. Bourgoin got that call and took it, we didn’t match. Marty is high on that list now league wide. 
 

Hogan's name is very well regarded as well. Was interviewed last year for a vacant OC job. I'm surprised you weren't aware of his up and coming rep in coaching circles. When I was talking to Buck at an offseason coaching clinic it was Hogan he identified as the unsung hero and his number 2, not Bourgoin.

Edited February 5 by GCn20

[Doublezero]

I like that new OC Jason Hogan is Canadian. Means he knows how to use a field of play that is 65 yards wide. Jarious Jackson is hopefully going to help young Terry Wilson. And JJ might even help Collaros who - let's face it - has struggled, esp last year with the worst TD to INT percentage and worst QB rating in the league. Final year of ZC's 3 year deal - don't suppose there's much incentive for him to re-negotiate for the good of the club. 

[wbbfan]

11 minutes ago, GCn20 said:

Hogan's name is very well regarded as well. Was interviewed last year for a vacant OC job. I'm surprised you weren't aware of his up and coming rep in coaching circles. When I was talking to Buck at an offseason coaching clinic it was Hogan he identified as the unsung hero and his number 2, not Bourgoin.

it does make a lot of sense that buck would be super high on him. Hogan is very much a buck disciple. Bourgoin was a Paul guy going back to the 90s. under rated doesn’t mean most outstanding.  Bourgoin and Marty are oft talked about. Hogan is a really young fresh/green coach. He’s got 4 years coaching offensive positions in the pros. 
But it is important to remember, buck didn’t bring hogan over. He did bring Bourgoin.

I haven’t seen any thing regarding access to him being requested, granted and him interviewing for an oc job. I have a hard time believing that he was a serious candidate for any one. 
 

the limited media coverage where it the narrowed down candidates were listed, bomber site article on the broad candidates, plus the 3dn/cfl.ca all didn’t have him as a high level candidate and had Bourgoin /marty. 

I’ve never heard any one put a fraction of the reverence on hogan that Marty gets. He’s widely regarded as the best ol coach in the league and over due for a promotion. 
 The only positive stuff I’ve seen or heard about hogan is from Brady. Well and herb. He loves hogan. But he holds hogan in high regard in general as a football mind as he was around him coaching D as much as O. 
 

all that said, hogan might do really well. Just as buck took Paul’s system 2 steps forward  (then one or two back last year) hogan might bring much of the same offence with Some good quality of life improvements. Or he might be like a bad photo copy. We will get a good idea quickly this year. I’m hoping for the best, that’s he’s one of those young brilliant offensive minds who moves up fast. 

2 minutes ago, Doublezero said:

I like that new OC Jason Hogan is Canadian. Means he knows how to use a field of play that is 65 yards wide. Jarious Jackson is hopefully going to help young Terry Wilson. And JJ might even help Collaros who - let's face it - has struggled, esp last year with the worst TD to INT percentage and worst QB rating in the league. Final year of ZC's 3 year deal - don't suppose there's much incentive for him to re-negotiate for the good of the club. 

If those two can feed off each other then it will be spectacular. 
 

That might have been what slowed down the process honestly. They might’ve had hogan working with Jackson and other guys (internal and otherwise) to figure out if they were compatible together and if that fit would work here. Hope that’s what it was any way. 

[Dodge and Burn]

Instead of acting this offseason, it feels the club is just reacting to what is happening around them. 

Not what you would expect when hosting the cup...

[Mike]

44 minutes ago, GCn20 said:

Hogan's name is very well regarded as well. Was interviewed last year for a vacant OC job. I'm surprised you weren't aware of his up and coming rep in coaching circles. When I was talking to Buck at an offseason coaching clinic it was Hogan he identified as the unsung hero and his number 2, not Bourgoin.

Crazy how that comes up now, but you didn’t mention it at all in all of the discussions we’ve all been having (that you’ve been very active in) about OC options

 

[Super Duper Negatron]

49 minutes ago, GCn20 said:

When I was talking to Buck at an offseason coaching clinic it was Hogan he identified as the unsung hero and his number 2, not Bourgoin.

Males me like this even less.

[blue85gold]

3 hours ago, Noeller said:

 

 

Always liked him. Cool with this, seems like a high upside guy

[Colin Unger]

This signing reeks of the bombers thinking Wilson might be back before training camp.  Probably didn’t require much of a signing bonus like Dunbar would have.

Edited February 5 by Colin Unger

[greenrider55]

I like Reggie White a lot. If he can stay healthy of course, but he’s always been pretty solid imo.

[17to85]

1 hour ago, Dodge and Burn said:

Instead of acting this offseason, it feels the club is just reacting to what is happening around them. 

Not what you would expect when hosting the cup...

When you listen to Kyle walters he is always quick to dismiss the hosting the cup thing. In his words "we're trying to win every year, why would we do anything different this year?

 

Honestly I think he knows change needs to happen and he's not being asked aggressive keeping the whole band together. I think a lot of complacency snuck into this group.

[SpeedFlex27]

5 hours ago, Dodge and Burn said:

Instead of acting this offseason, it feels the club is just reacting to what is happening around them. 

Not what you would expect when hosting the cup...

I describe it as sleep walking thru the off season. 

[GCn20]

11 hours ago, Mike said:

Crazy how that comes up now, but you didn’t mention it at all in all of the discussions we’ve all been having (that you’ve been very active in) about OC options

 

Didn't think they would go with an internal hire at all. Never mentioned a single staffer of Buck's. Really thought it was between JJ and Lapo. I didn't consider Marty as a possible candidate whatsoever, and Bourgoin in my mind was a real long shot. 

11 hours ago, Super Duper Negatron said:

Males me like this even less.

Buck was Lapo's number 2 and we saw some variance from Lapo's offence.

Edited February 5 by GCn20

[GCn20]

11 hours ago, wbbfan said:

it does make a lot of sense that buck would be super high on him. Hogan is very much a buck disciple. Bourgoin was a Paul guy going back to the 90s. under rated doesn’t mean most outstanding.  Bourgoin and Marty are oft talked about. Hogan is a really young fresh/green coach. He’s got 4 years coaching offensive positions in the pros. 
But it is important to remember, buck didn’t bring hogan over. He did bring Bourgoin.

I haven’t seen any thing regarding access to him being requested, granted and him interviewing for an oc job. I have a hard time believing that he was a serious candidate for any one. 
 

the limited media coverage where it the narrowed down candidates were listed, bomber site article on the broad candidates, plus the 3dn/cfl.ca all didn’t have him as a high level candidate and had Bourgoin /marty. 

I’ve never heard any one put a fraction of the reverence on hogan that Marty gets. He’s widely regarded as the best ol coach in the league and over due for a promotion. 
 The only positive stuff I’ve seen or heard about hogan is from Brady. Well and herb. He loves hogan. But he holds hogan in high regard in general as a football mind as he was around him coaching D as much as O. 
 

all that said, hogan might do really well. Just as buck took Paul’s system 2 steps forward  (then one or two back last year) hogan might bring much of the same offence with Some good quality of life improvements. Or he might be like a bad photo copy. We will get a good idea quickly this year. I’m hoping for the best, that’s he’s one of those young brilliant offensive minds who moves up fast. 

If those two can feed off each other then it will be spectacular. 
 

That might have been what slowed down the process honestly. They might’ve had hogan working with Jackson and other guys (internal and otherwise) to figure out if they were compatible together and if that fit would work here. Hope that’s what it was any way. 

I'm not suggesting that Hogan was a better candidate necessarily than Bourgoin or Marty. I am saying that Hogan is not some scrub off the street that stole a job. He is a highly regarded coach and someone, obviously, the Bombers know a bunch about. I am sure that Marty and Bourgoin had their interviews as part of the process, Hogan got the job and it probably came with Buck's endorsement. Reverence from the masses is more a sign of longevity for position coaches. Yea people speak highly about Marty or Kevin as position coaches but that doesn't necessarily equate to being a good coordinator.

[bigg jay]

12 hours ago, Noeller said:

I'm not crying, YOU'RE crying......

 

 

Not as emotional but here's Kenny's goodbye:

'Winnipeg is truly a special place': Kenny Lawler bids farewell to Blue Bombers - 3DownNation

 

[Mike]

Cap went up 400k, I would like to know when teams were made aware of this

[Booch]

59 minutes ago, GCn20 said:

Didn't think they would go with an internal hire at all. Never mentioned a single staffer of Buck's. Really thought it was between JJ and Lapo. I didn't consider Marty as a possible candidate whatsoever, and Bourgoin in my mind was a real long shot. 

Buck was Lapo's number 2 and we saw some variance from Lapo's offence.

If Bourgoin was a real long shot then Hogan was an even longer shot....and save for BO's praise I have never heard his name really talked about in any regard to become a pro OC...Good guy and all....but not a guy on anyones radar

51 minutes ago, GCn20 said:

I'm not suggesting that Hogan was a better candidate necessarily than Bourgoin or Marty. I am saying that Hogan is not some scrub off the street that stole a job. He is a highly regarded coach and someone, obviously, the Bombers know a bunch about. I am sure that Marty and Bourgoin had their interviews as part of the process, Hogan got the job and it probably came with Buck's endorsement. Reverence from the masses is more a sign of longevity for position coaches. Yea people speak highly about Marty or Kevin as position coaches but that doesn't necessarily equate to being a good coordinator.

yeah he a solid coach....but the is is just an extension of staus quo and trying to leep constant things from the past...like player issues...even if it isnt the best choice...and really...Typical Oshea

I hope he does well....Is he the best guy on the staff for the job...nope.....prob the 3rd best now that JJ is here....Hopefully he takes a lot of what JJ has done in EDM as part of is template and utilizes it

 

2 minutes ago, Mike said:

Cap went up 400k, I would like to know when teams were made aware of this

last yr

[Colin Unger]

14 minutes ago, Mike said:

Cap went up 400k, I would like to know when teams were made aware of this

It seems like the Bombers are still not aware of it.

-------------------------------------------------------------

 

Is it possible that Winnipeg is wanting to leave some roster spots open for new cheaper recruits and see what they have in camp but this time saving more cap space to add whatever they need during the season. In the past we've basically needed to wait for injuries and maybe add a piece or 2 late in the season. There is always good talent available during the season in the CFL.

Edited February 5 by Colin Unger

[MOBomberFan]

Bighill on Winnipeg and the Bombers:

The fans are great, the community is great. It supports you here. Great locker-room and great support – a lot of great stuff. It’s a good team, a good organization in a lot of ways. Something like that you don’t want to leave unless you have to.

Woli on Oshea

Lastly, Osh. You pushed me to be a better leader and a better man. You taught me to have respect whilst demanding the most from myself and others. I will never forget you or the lessons I’ve learned from you. It’s been a honour playing under you.

Lawler on Oshea

To Coach O’Shea, you have been the most influential coach in my life! You helped me understand how we play the game and who we play it for! I play the game for my brothers I go to war with and the toughest man on the field doesn’t have to be the loudest. Once I figured that out, success followed! Thank you Osh!

 

Oshea has his faults, but his strengths shine through whenever his name is brought up. It would be easy for Lawler to praise his former coach as he leaves to collect another big payday, after all words are cheap, it's money that really talks. But for Woli to sing his praises even after everything? If it weren't the honest truth he could just stay quiet and say nothing at all, instead he writes an entire article about how great our team, city, and coaches have been. It just reinforces the commonly held belief that guys really do want to play here, if only there was money for everyone.