2024/2025 Blue Bombers Off-Season Thread

[rebusrankin]

So first of all Tiger Shanks is a dang cool name.

Second, is he a guy you grab in round 1, round 2 or later?

[wbbfan]

57 minutes ago, rebusrankin said:

So first of all Tiger Shanks is a dang cool name.

Second, is he a guy you grab in round 1, round 2 or later?

Wicked football name for sure. 
 Really depends on his nfl interest, how he performs in drills and 10 yard split. It’s a double edged sword, if his testing mobility is strong and he shows a high upside for tackle, he gets a better longer look at the nfl. If he is a priority fa he goes higher if he’s drafted in the nfl probably worse. 
 Hes a first round talent, top few picks. I think the only op in this class that is top 4 calibre. 
 

Wallace was an excellent draft prospect last year, with far better mobility than expected partly because he came in much lighter than he played. But shanks is a different tier. A Canadian who can play T at an imp level is the ultimate ratio breaker. 

[GCn20]

20 hours ago, wbbfan said:

He wasn’t the most over rated guard on the team last year lmfao, he was our best player at guard by a wide margin. 
 

 

Not even close to the truth imo. He was regularly and routinely beaten like a rented mule 1v1 against the league's better DTs. Could he handle 70% of the league's DTs sure....but he was absolutely our worst OL against the better DLs of the league and I'm not talking about him having to cover for Kolo....straight up 1v1.  Ceresna absolutely dominated him like I've never seen an professional OG get dominated before. It was pitiful.

Edited March 17 by GCn20

[wbbfan]

1 hour ago, GCn20 said:

Not even close to the truth imo. He was regularly and routinely beaten like a rented mule 1v1 against the league's better DTs. Could he handle 70% of the league's DTs sure....but he was absolutely our worst OL against the better DLs of the league and I'm not talking about him having to cover for Kolo....straight up 1v1.  Ceresna absolutely dominated him like I've never seen an professional OG get dominated before. It was pitiful.

He wasn't regularly or routinely lined up against the league's elite DTs Ceresna had his number last year. Ceresna also had all our interior OL's numbers. And if you are only struggling against the elite DTs in the league as a first-year starter, that does NOT make you over rated lol. That makes you one step away from an elite G. You haven't watched nearly enough interior line play then, because stove, sayles, brown and a ton of other guys have been that good or better just here over the past 25 years. 

Fact is, the elite rushing 3Techs win the battles one on one with guards and centres in this league. Think about it, the interior OL are almost never at the level of an elite import in terms of technique or athleticism. That is part of why teams always play Canadian guards and centres, but not tackles. You can slide and double the inside guys easily. You can't do that to cover up at the edge nearly soo easily or effectively. Normally, 2 average starting Canadian interior OL will handle an elite imp 3T 95% of the time. If you try to double an end with a guard, you open a huge pass rushing lane in side, with the fastest route to the QB possible. Guards cant get help from Ts when ends speed rush either, which teams did to us a lot last year as we struggled greatly with health at tackle, and speed off the edge. 

This is the crux of why Ceresna whipped us soo bad last year. We had no 2nd OL capable of aiding in the double. Neuf had some kind of awful injury and played his worst ball for 3/4 of the year, and Kola is a fringe PR guy. Dobson wasn't a star early, but mid season he was firmly in the 2nd tier of guards league wide. 

[GCn20]

12 minutes ago, wbbfan said:

He wasn't regularly or routinely lined up against the league's elite DTs Ceresna had his number last year. Ceresna also had all our interior OL's numbers. And if you are only struggling against the elite DTs in the league as a first-year starter, that does NOT make you over rated lol. That makes you one step away from an elite G. You haven't watched nearly enough interior line play then, because stove, sayles, brown and a ton of other guys have been that good or better just here over the past 25 years. 

Fact is, the elite rushing 3Techs win the battles one on one with guards and centres in this league. Think about it, the interior OL are almost never at the level of an elite import in terms of technique or athleticism. That is part of why teams always play Canadian guards and centres, but not tackles. You can slide and double the inside guys easily. You can't do that to cover up at the edge nearly soo easily or effectively. Normally, 2 average starting Canadian interior OL will handle an elite imp 3T 95% of the time. If you try to double an end with a guard, you open a huge pass rushing lane in side, with the fastest route to the QB possible. Guards cant get help from Ts when ends speed rush either, which teams did to us a lot last year as we struggled greatly with health at tackle, and speed off the edge. 

This is the crux of why Ceresna whipped us soo bad last year. We had no 2nd OL capable of aiding in the double. Neuf had some kind of awful injury and played his worst ball for 3/4 of the year, and Kola is a fringe PR guy. Dobson wasn't a star early, but mid season he was firmly in the 2nd tier of guards league wide. 

Sorry man, I will agree to disagree. You have to be able to get semi in the way. His footwork was absolutely awful in pass pro. That is not the mark of an elite OG. Was he passable? Sure. All-star....not in a 1000 years. I have watched a **** ton of interior OL play, and a lot of his play, and it was not good. He is slow off the snap in pass pro and tries to block with his arms only far too often because he lacks footwork and speed. He was great in the run block but he is a huge reason why ZC never settled in last year, and a HUGE reason why we lost the Grey Cup. There is a reason teams went at him.

I get what you are saying about him being a first year starter that improved, but his achilles is his footwork and that is fundamentals not an experience problem. If he sheds 15-20 lbs maybe he's got a shot at fixing that and being an elite OG but right now he is not there.

I will admit that I do have a bias against Dobson types who are big for nothing and much prefer an athletic OG even if they come in a bit lighter. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying Dobson was useless....just over rated....and I stand by that.

Edited March 17 by GCn20

[wbbfan]

7 minutes ago, GCn20 said:

Sorry man, I will agree to disagree. You have to be able to get semi in the way. His footwork was absolutely awful in pass pro. That is not the mark of an elite OG. Was he passable? Sure. All-star....not in a 1000 years.

 

I'll add, I don't think Dobson would've been in the elite of the top tier at guard if he had an elite C all year. It would have brought up his lowest level of play early in the season, But since dropping weight he hasn't had the same push/leg drive/ punch move. He used to be able to knock guys silly at 350. he was allegedly down to 315-320 last year, and certainly noticeably more trim. But he doesn't seem like he just lost sloppy weight. He is notably not the same guy he used to be. We seldom saw flashes of his potential, in the way of pancakes and downfield rumbling. He did the basic job of a guard but didn't show the upside of why we drafted him. I don't know if its a SnC issue, or diet, or what. But even the nastiness was gone. And that's why I wouldn't pay him what he got or close to it. I don't want to see a high-potential guy turn into a high-floor guy. If he struggled more with consistency and flashed more upside It would have been more tempting to keep him. 

Plus, every one not named desjarlais has struggled inside in pass pro here. Gray got it much worse than dobson with a much better RT beside him. 

His footwork was fine, his angles, hip drive, etc were not what you want. He'd try to lock up and counter with pure strength but just didn't have the explosion for that to work. Pass pro was a unit problem last year. Too many weak links, too many guys out of position too many guys hurt too much kola. Run pro is what concerns me with dobson. he should've been able to get down field more against the smaller 3 techs and didn't. 

OL play in general last year was junk league-wide. The continual allowance of holding to such an extreme degree removed the ability for guys to separate from the bottom half of the guards in the league. 

We can agree to disagree though, as he's gone and neither of us are sad to see him go for that payday he got. 

Edited March 17 by wbbfan

[GCn20]

3 minutes ago, wbbfan said:

 

I'll add, I don't think Dobson would've been in the elite of the top tier at guard if he had an elite C all year. It would have brought up his lowest level of play early in the season, But since dropping weight he hasn't had the same push/leg drive/ punch move. He used to be able to knock guys silly at 350. he was allegedly down to 315-320 last year, and certainly noticeably more trim. But he doesn't seem like he just lost sloppy weight. He is notably not the same guy he used to be. We seldom saw flashes of his potential, in the way of pancakes and downfield rumbling. He did the basic job of a guard but didn't show the upside of why we drafted him. I don't know if its a SnC issue, or diet, or what. But even the nastiness was gone. And that's why I wouldn't pay him what he got or close to it. I don't want to see a high-potential guy turn into a high-floor guy. If he struggled more with consistency and flashed more upside It would have been more tempting to keep him. 

His footwork was fine, his angles, hip drive, etc were not what you want. He'd try to lock up and counter with pure strength but just didn't have the explosion for that to work. Pass pro was a unit problem last year. Too many weak links, too many guys out of position too many guys hurt too much kola. Run pro is what concerns me with dobson. he should've been able to get down field more against the smaller 3 techs and didn't. 

OL play in general last year was junk league-wide. The continual allowance of holding to such an extreme degree removed the ability for guys to separate from the bottom half of the guards in the league. 

We can agree to disagree though, as he's gone and neither of us are sad to see him go for that payday he got. 

I will agree that pass pro was a problem across the entire OL and that Kolo didn't help matters. Yea...my main point is that I am not all that sad to see him go at that price. Imo, he's another Sukh Chungh. 

Edited March 17 by GCn20

[wbbfan]

1 minute ago, GCn20 said:

I will agree that pass pro was a problem across the entire OL and that Kolo didn't help matters.

I'm also optimistic that we will see considerable improvements this year here even with Kolo. Healthy Bryant, Neuf, Lofton should progress and pick up where he left off at worst, and Wallace could take a big step forward other wise and Randolph should be ready to take a job at Rt or RG if needed. I think Vanterpool could be a high-level starting guard this year if required as well. 

If we replace Kolo one way or another, we could have an elite OL by mid-season IMO. 

In Wallace and Randolph in particular, I see critical intangibles that Dobson never showed here. 

[Booch]

My knock on Dobson is he looked almost lost after his initial engagement....and in second level....correctable?...you would think...but maybe we tried with him all yr working on things and he just wasnt progressing.??..who knows

That being said Kolo was no help at all with chips an tandems....also was genrally over matched 90% of time so that may have been part of it too as him not being able to get to second assignment and it hamperd our guards...has for several yrs now and a change there with even just an average center would fix so many things that seem like issues on the oline

BUT.......Osh just loves Kolo and it's mainly his fascination with guys...especially Canadian ones who are under dogs....lack top tier talent...and any kind of upside  but try hard and are for whatever reason ticke his fancy....and it hurts us...all through his tenure here we have rostered 1..2 guys who have no business being starters...let alone even in the mix for anything....and again this yr...barring seson ending injury my guess is we are gonna have to deal with 2..maybe 3 guys again who aren't the best option....but are Osh's option

[rebusrankin]

1 hour ago, Booch said:

My knock on Dobson is he looked almost lost after his initial engagement....and in second level....correctable?...you would think...but maybe we tried with him all yr working on things and he just wasnt progressing.??..who knows

That being said Kolo was no help at all with chips an tandems....also was genrally over matched 90% of time so that may have been part of it too as him not being able to get to second assignment and it hamperd our guards...has for several yrs now and a change there with even just an average center would fix so many things that seem like issues on the oline

BUT.......Osh just loves Kolo and it's mainly his fascination with guys...especially Canadian ones who are under dogs....lack top tier talent...and any kind of upside  but try hard and are for whatever reason ticke his fancy....and it hurts us...all through his tenure here we have rostered 1..2 guys who have no business being starters...let alone even in the mix for anything....and again this yr...barring seson ending injury my guess is we are gonna have to deal with 2..maybe 3 guys again who aren't the best option....but are Osh's option

Kolo, Jake and whose the third starter you hint at?

[MOBomberFan]

Starts with a K for sure

[Booch]

34 minutes ago, rebusrankin said:

Kolo, Jake and whose the third starter you hint at?

guess we will see once camp breaks who Osh has decided....I don't necessarily mean starter....but a guy who gets on roster and gets lotsa reps over....anyone who's better and or not required for ratio purposes in a rotation\

Be interesting when attending camp to see the talent/upside....usefulness of players...and who gets the shaft this yr

But I would say if Schmeck shows no development/and or effectiveness, and is rostered just cause he been here a few yrs now...thats a classic Osh maneuvered and isn't giving us our best roster

O'd say Kramdi needs to be head and shoulders better than Makonzo as well in order to get majority of reps if we go National at SAM....And again....putting an import there (Griffin/Parker/possible new guy) would give us a better roster but we know we won't.....But Makonzo when he played the position as a rookie showed more...and has better skill set

[wbbfan]

https://3downnation.com/2025/03/17/canadian-lb-devin-veresuk-earns-nfl-attention-with-impressive-pro-day-numbers/
 

Extremely impressive pro day for veresuk. 
 

“Veresuk checked in at six-foot-two, 232 pounds then recorded a 36-inch vertical, 10-foot, four-inch broad jump and burned a 4.47-second 40-yard dash — as clocked by an NFL scout — along with a 4.47-second short shuttle and 7.19-second three-cone drill. He also repped 225 pounds on the bench press 27 times.”

[Tracker]

On 2025-03-15 at 10:08 PM, SpeedFlex27 said:

Thanks. Just making a point about how we need to hang onto (especially) our Offensive Linemen. The same "Next Man Up" philosophy got the Calgary Stampeders where they are now. Eventually, there are no next men up. 

Eventually though, the next man up isn't there anymore. How can Walters justify paying Kolankowski to continue to be the worst starting Center in the CFL while letting a young OL get away with more of a ceiling?

You are not alone with asking that question.

21 hours ago, wbbfan said:

https://3downnation.com/2025/03/17/canadian-lb-devin-veresuk-earns-nfl-attention-with-impressive-pro-day-numbers/
 

Extremely impressive pro day for veresuk. 
 

“Veresuk checked in at six-foot-two, 232 pounds then recorded a 36-inch vertical, 10-foot, four-inch broad jump and burned a 4.47-second 40-yard dash — as clocked by an NFL scout — along with a 4.47-second short shuttle and 7.19-second three-cone drill. He also repped 225 pounds on the bench press 27 times.”

Wow! But he will still face an uphill battle to get to the NFL. Better he should come to the Bombers and hone his craft.

[Super Duper Negatron]

https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/life/2025/03/14/dogged-determination-4

Edit: for those without Free Press access, just another article about Brady being a great human. This time rescuing dogs in Bali.

Edited March 19 by Super Duper Negatron

[wbbfan]

https://3downnation.com/2025/03/19/the-top-15-players-not-attending-the-2025-cfl-combine/

 

 

[bb1]

https://3downnation.com/2025/03/19/winnipeg-blue-bombers-sign-former-third-round-nfl-draft-pick-rashaan-gaulden/

[SpeedFlex27]

Then the panic sets in when some of these players don't get drafted by the NFL or are offered a free agent contract. Or are offered & get cut during tryouts or OTA's. Then the CFL starts to look good. 

Edited Thursday at 02:33 AM by SpeedFlex27

[wbbfan]

1 hour ago, bb1 said:

https://3downnation.com/2025/03/19/winnipeg-blue-bombers-sign-former-third-round-nfl-draft-pick-rashaan-gaulden/

Soo strange that they report on it now. I think news broke like a month ago? Wonder if they just do it to keep up a quota. 

[bigg jay]

9 hours ago, wbbfan said:

Soo strange that they report on it now. I think news broke like a month ago? Wonder if they just do it to keep up a quota. 

It was listed on the CFL transactions page a while ago (March 7th)  but the club only announced it officially yesterday. 

Winnipeg Blue Bombers add defensive back - Winnipeg Blue Bombers

[Fatty Liver]

12 hours ago, wbbfan said:

Soo strange that they report on it now. I think news broke like a month ago? Wonder if they just do it to keep up a quota. 

LOL, I knew when Kyle held his annual FA presser on the very first day of FA it was over and there was no air left in the balloon.  Ed Tait is sweating bullets, trying to parcel sparse announcements out over months of vast nothingness.

[wbbfan]

1 hour ago, Fatty Liver said:

LOL, I knew when Kyle held his annual FA presser on the very first day of FA it was over and there was no air left in the balloon.  Ed Tait is sweating bullets, trying to parcel sparse announcements out over months of vast nothingness.

We have the dollars, but the only deals we'd entertain are high-value low-risk ones. The upcoming NFL cuts should be pretty alluring before and after their TCs, plus it's a deep draft and we have guys who could back to us. A lot of what is left in free agency is pretty fringe guys one way or another. Likely we will see them move between the draft and pre-season. 

[SpeedFlex27]

10 hours ago, wbbfan said:

We have the dollars, but the only deals we'd entertain are high-value low-risk ones. The upcoming NFL cuts should be pretty alluring before and after their TCs, plus it's a deep draft and we have guys who could back to us. A lot of what is left in free agency is pretty fringe guys one way or another. Likely we will see them move between the draft and pre-season. 

Overall, a pretty disappointing off season... I don't feel that Walters & Osh had a shared focus on what they wanted to do when free agency started

[wbbfan]

9 hours ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

Overall, a pretty disappointing off season... I don't feel that Walters & Osh had a shared focus on what they wanted to do when free agency started

I think they had a vision, but it is a divisive approach. I get what they were going for, and I think it might even work. But it is risky, and not a good look for a team coming off the GC loses and hosting the cup at home. People don't want to see us fill up our middle back roster, especially when we've lost some of the high-paid guys in FA. 

[Fatty Liver]

11 hours ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

Overall, a pretty disappointing off season... I don't feel that Walters & Osh had a shared focus on what they wanted to do when free agency started

It's never too late, I'm convinced you could almost pick up a future all-star team of talent by focusing on other competitive team's TC cuts, there's always younger high potential/performing players that slip through the cracks because "right place, wrong time", and after being cut they come willingly at a low price.  No sane GM is going to bank on this strategy, but it's still a good way to pick up a few valuable pieces.