2024/2025 Blue Bombers Off-Season Thread

[Brandon]

Darvin Adam's worked out well?

Also when they had brought in Dressler, Ryan Smith, Ellington, Moore.. all of those came off as big FA signings coming off good seasons.

Are we forgetting about whitehead in his first go around, Demski and Schoen? 

Receiver is one position where we have not struggled since the Mike Kelly era.

 

[Booch]

Wilson hasn't proved anything yet...one good yr...now was that an aberration...or is that just scratching the surface? Lumping him into great finds is a bit premature

We found Schoen ourselves...Lawler was a guy we didn't bring in...but saw him in B.C so took a chance...much like Adams in t.o...which also worked out...but this regimes success at reciever isn't glowing by any stretch

Db been lights out tho...drafting of Cdn oline as well...but with import oline guys we got lucky big Stan chose here...and Hardrick panned out but we didn't find him...took a flyer...I think tho having an outstanding oline coach helped there...and with our line in general ....but name another import we have found who is killing it

[SpeedFlex27]

2 hours ago, Fatty Liver said:

Ellingson played well during his one year in Wpg and had great chemistry with Zach, if not for a season ending injury he likely goes over 1,000 yds.  It was also the same year Schoen led the league as a rookie. 

2022

WPG

8

50

38

598

109

3

15.7

46

 

Same could be said for Dressler, only a Bomber for 2 seasons but in that time he was a valuable part of the offence.

Ellingson played 8 games before being out the rest of the season with an injury. How can you say that a receiver who played just 8 games,  played well? He missed 9 games. Walters didn't bring him back as he was finished. Ellingson signed in Montreal & caught one pass in 2023.

2 hours ago, 17to85 said:

He just seems really bitter and angry about Greg Ellingson for some reason...

Just used him as an example. Moore, Bowman & Ellingson didn't pan out.

[Booch]

For Ellingsons impact here and what he did...it's like he wasn't even here..was a stop gap at best and best thing he did was get hurt as it allowed Schoen to step up...so in that regard it was a win

[17to85]

Ellingson was hurt... but he was a good vet when in and allowed schoen some time. Hard to really say it was terrible, and dresser did good here too. 

Honestly a lot of the problems we're hearing about are actually lapo problems. Lawler wasn't Lawler until lapo buggered off.

[Arnold_Palmer]

8 minutes ago, 17to85 said:

Ellingson was hurt... but he was a good vet when in and allowed schoen some time. Hard to really say it was terrible, and dresser did good here too. 

Honestly a lot of the problems we're hearing about are actually lapo problems. Lawler wasn't Lawler until lapo buggered off.

Ellingson was great! Early on with the loss of Lawler he really stepped up, sometimes you can’t avoid injuries. He was on pace for nearly 1400 yards that season, and when he went out Schoen actually stepped in and became a star so I think it worked out great. also the other names being floated around were fine in Winnipeg, Dressler was a 1000 yard guy who helped bring stability after that terrible 2015 season, and Moore was a good not great receiver on a bad team. The only one who truly didn’t workout that was mentioned was bringing in an old Bowman after a slew of injuries. I don’t think anyone expected him to be prime Edmonton Bowman at that point. 

[Stickem]

37 minutes ago, Arnold_Palmer said:

I don’t think anyone expected him to be prime Edmonton Bowman at that point. 

Apparently Adarius was having a problem seeing the ball when he was with us....Had his eyes checked out when he he went to Edm and started catching the ball....a lot..He must have went partially blind again after a couple of good years, because he reverted back to his old ways and started dropping the ball again and disappeared

[SpeedFlex27]

1 minute ago, Stickem said:

Apparently Adarius was having a problem seeing the ball when he was with us....Had his eyes checked out when he he went to Edm and started catching the ball....a lot..He must have went partially blind again after a couple of good years, because he reverted back to his old ways and started dropping the ball again and disappeared

So, we signed a blind guy. At least he wasn't dead.

[Fatty Liver]

1 hour ago, Booch said:

Wilson hasn't proved anything yet...one good yr...now was that an aberration...or is that just scratching the surface? Lumping him into great finds is a bit premature

We found Schoen ourselves...Lawler was a guy we didn't bring in...but saw him in B.C so took a chance...much like Adams in t.o...which also worked out...but this regimes success at reciever isn't glowing by any stretch

Db been lights out tho...drafting of Cdn oline as well...but with import oline guys we got lucky big Stan chose here...and Hardrick panned out but we didn't find him...took a flyer...I think tho having an outstanding oline coach helped there...and with our line in general ....but name another import we have found who is killing it

There were plenty of great players in Wpg. that just missed out on the 2019 GC win, most brought into the league by the Bombers. Easy to forget them now as their career timing was bad, but many of them could make the team today if they showed up in their prime.

Partial list drawn from faltering memory.

Mo Leggett, Taylor Loffler, JSK, Ian Wild, Khalil Bass, Westerman, Chris Randle, Greg Peach, Mathias Goosen, Bryant Turner., Clarence Denmark, and Dangerous Don Unamba!

[Stickem]

2 minutes ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

So, we signed a blind guy. At least he wasn't dead.

That would only happen in saskabush....lol......land of the toothless and living dead

[SpeedFlex27]

2 hours ago, Fatty Liver said:

There were plenty of great players in Wpg. that just missed out on the 2019 GC win, most brought into the league by the Bombers. Easy to forget them now as their career timing was bad, but many of them could make the team today if they showed up in their prime.

Partial list drawn from faltering memory.

Mo Leggett, Taylor Loffler, JSK, Ian Wild, Khalil Bass, Westerman, Chris Randle, Greg Peach, Mathias Goosen, Bryant Turner., Clarence Denmark, and Dangerous Don Unamba!

That's true of any team in all sports. 

[SpeedFlex27]

38 minutes ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

That's true of any team in all sports. 

Bombers & CFL players off the top of my head that never won a Grey Cup: Don Jonas, Dieter Brock, Dave Raimey, Jim Young, Bill Frank, Buddy Brown, Butch Norman, Milt Stegall, Norm Stoneburgh, Jim Thorpe, Mack Herron, Bill Symons, Joe Theismann (no Grey Cup but he did win a Super Bowl), Chuck Liebrock, Ted Gerela, Doug Strong, Jim "Long Gone" Thomas, Gene Lakusiak, Dave Mann, D i c k Shatto, Sam Etcheverry, Doug Brown, Earl Lunsford, Willie Burden, Mickey Doyle, Tom Forzani, Brian Herosian, Lovell Coleman, Harry Walters, Silas McKinnie, Halfback Bobby Thompson (Sask), Offensive Tackle Bobby Thompson (Winnipeg), D i c k Huffman, Tom Campana, Bob Houmard, Tom Cousineau, Rhett Dawson, John Bledsoe, Steve Mazurek, E A Simms, Larry Slagle, John Baker, Carroll Williams, Dave Easley, Elton Brown & a host of others. 

Edited Monday at 12:20 AM by SpeedFlex27

[Tracker]

3 hours ago, Fatty Liver said:

There were plenty of great players in Wpg. that just missed out on the 2019 GC win, most brought into the league by the Bombers. Easy to forget them now as their career timing was bad, but many of them could make the team today if they showed up in their prime.

Partial list drawn from faltering memory.

Mo Leggett, Taylor Loffler, JSK, Ian Wild, Khalil Bass, Westerman, Chris Randle, Greg Peach, Mathias Goossen, Bryant Turner., Clarence Denmark, and Dangerous Don Unamba!

Greg Peach was the later Jake Thomas where every year we would ask why he was still around. Unamba was horrible from day one.

[Fatty Liver]

21 minutes ago, Tracker said:

Greg Peach was the later Jake Thomas where every year we would ask why he was still around. Unamba was horrible from day one.

Disagree about Unamba but, you're right about Peach, the guy I was thinking about was Glenn January a 3 time Eastern All star, but that's stretching way back to 2009–15 when he held down LT for the Bombers.

[Booch]

A Bryant Turner right now would be a nice add that's for sure

I have an uneasy feeling with our dline interior as it appears our 2 best options (Woods and Adams) are gonna be giving away reps to the glut of bad Nationals not named Lawson...and it's even unclear if he gonna be pre injury Lawson...but with Thomas..Schmeck..Samson and now that cast off we grabbed outta Montreal to me seems like we gonna go heavy canadians as why have that many...especially if we still use Kramdi..and go National at safety there no real need for that many Nationals...Have Lawson and the best of the other 3...and if it's just for 6 to 8 reps a game like many suggest..then give it to an upstart with potential...and save some sms cash...even Schmeck who is in 3rd yr of his rookie deal is making more than the minimum entry level salary...of what could be a better import guy...either a true Nose or a versatile 3 tech...do we even have any legit interior prospects signed to training camp? None I am aware of

Bad vibes...juju...whatever u wanna call it but I can see dline being a weak point and one the worst in league

[Pete]

12 minutes ago, Booch said:

A Bryant Turner right now would be a nice add that's for sure

I have an uneasy feeling with our dline interior as it appears our 2 best options (Woods and Adams) are gonna be giving away reps to the glut of bad Nationals not named Lawson...and it's even unclear if he gonna be pre injury Lawson...but with Thomas..Schmeck..Samson and now that cast off we grabbed outta Montreal to me seems like we gonna go heavy canadians as why have that many...especially if we still use Kramdi..and go National at safety there no real need for that many Nationals...Have Lawson and the best of the other 3...and if it's just for 6 to 8 reps a game like many suggest..then give it to an upstart with potential...and save some sms cash...even Schmeck who is in 3rd yr of his rookie deal is making more than the minimum entry level salary...of what could be a better import guy...either a true Nose or a versatile 3 tech...do we even have any legit interior prospects signed to training camp? None I am aware of

Bad vibes...juju...whatever u wanna call it but I can see dline being a weak point and one the worst in league

I'm not as concerned on our starting 4,, Jefferson, Woods, Lawton and Vaughters, but depth behind them is definitely a concern. Adams although athletic hasn't shown a lot.  Smeckle and Thomas aren't cfl caliber dlinemen. At de we have only two rookie imports at camp  

Meanwhile in Edmonton their front four is now Barlow, Ceresna, Brinkman, and Robbie Smith. BC has added Betts, and Hendrix,  Thank goodness for Calgary who in their wisdom cut Rose and Vaughters

[SpeedFlex27]

6 hours ago, Pete said:

I'm not as concerned on our starting 4,, Jefferson, Woods, Lawton and Vaughters, but depth behind them is definitely a concern. Adams although athletic hasn't shown a lot.  Smeckle and Thomas aren't cfl caliber dlinemen. At de we have only two rookie imports at camp  

Meanwhile in Edmonton their front four is now Barlow, Ceresna, Brinkman, and Robbie Smith. BC has added Betts, and Hendrix,  Thank goodness for Calgary who in their wisdom cut Rose and Vaughters

Vaughters did not have a great season. Rose had a down year as well. Howsare was brutal. I doubt if he'll be back. I have an open book on Vaughters because collectively as a unit those guys were absolute ****. In Winnipeg, he gets to team on the DL with WJ. I thought with Vaughters we'd sign one more impact DL but I was wrong.

Edited Monday at 08:02 AM by SpeedFlex27

[Colin Unger]

4 hours ago, Pete said:

I'm not as concerned on our starting 4,, Jefferson, Woods, Lawton and Vaughters, but depth behind them is definitely a concern. Adams although athletic hasn't shown a lot.  Smeckle and Thomas aren't cfl caliber dlinemen. At de we have only two rookie imports at camp  

Meanwhile in Edmonton their front four is now Barlow, Ceresna, Brinkman, and Robbie Smith. BC has added Betts, and Hendrix,  Thank goodness for Calgary who in their wisdom cut Rose and Vaughters

There's also Samson who was one of our 2nd round picks last season. I would think that we will add a bunch of rookie imports before camp. Plenty of time for that.

Edited Monday at 06:24 AM by Colin Unger

[17to85]

12 hours ago, Pete said:

Adams although athletic hasn't shown a lot. 

He's shown plenty imo... was one of the best at actually disrupting things... so why he didn't get much playing time who knows... likely because he got a lot of reps at DE when he's not really a DE. 

Basically it's Booch's whole shtick. Put him in for Thomas and you get way way more from the position. 

[Colin Unger]

19 hours ago, Mike said:

So basically, no actual similarities. They just wore the same outfit.

Like ive been saying. You guys took my extremely casual comment way too seriously. 

[Booch]

2 hours ago, 17to85 said:

He's shown plenty imo... was one of the best at actually disrupting things... so why he didn't get much playing time who knows... likely because he got a lot of reps at DE when he's not really a DE. 

Basically it's Booch's whole shtick. Put him in for Thomas and you get way way more from the position. 

Adam's showed tons..and at different positions too...hopefully this yr he gets reps

[wbbfan]

https://3downnation.com/2025/02/17/3downnation-cfl-power-rankings-elks-off-season-splash-creates-ripple-but-doesnt-moisten-podium/

By soft! What light through yonder window breaks? It’s is trash, and 3dn the dump. Arise, fair 3dn, kill readers brain cells and pander harder. 

 

“We can already hear the accusations of pandering to Rider Nation from fans across the league, but the reality is Saskatchewan didn’t need to do a lot in free agency to climb our rankings. The culture created in Corey Mace’s outstanding first season as head coach made sure virtually every player of importance was re-signed, including veteran difference-makers”

One of 6 teams last year with 9 wins or more. Yet they hop soo hard on the nuts of the 9-8-1 riders who got slapped around in the wf. 

[bustamente]

That winless streak was really impressive. Great coaching while picking up a point.

[17to85]

1 hour ago, Booch said:

Adam's showed tons..and at different positions too...hopefully this yr he gets reps

I see him getting lots of reps in lots of different places. He might not be a starter but see him doing a lot. 

[Tracker]

19 minutes ago, wbbfan said:

https://3downnation.com/2025/02/17/3downnation-cfl-power-rankings-elks-off-season-splash-creates-ripple-but-doesnt-moisten-podium/

By soft! What light through yonder window breaks? It’s is trash, and 3dn the dump. Arise, fair 3dn, kill readers brain cells and pander harder. 

 

“We can already hear the accusations of pandering to Rider Nation from fans across the league, but the reality is Saskatchewan didn’t need to do a lot in free agency to climb our rankings. The culture created in Corey Mace’s outstanding first season as head coach made sure virtually every player of importance was re-signed, including veteran difference-makers”

One of 6 teams last year with 9 wins or more. Yet they hop soo hard on the nuts of the 9-8-1 riders who got slapped around in the wf. 

The author of this piece was obviously under the influence of world class mood-altering substances when this was penned.