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 8 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 5 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.