2024/2025 Blue Bombers Off-Season Thread

[bigg jay]

6 hours ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

BC Lions owner Doman is a rich owner & has a lot of cash. We're flush with cash as well after so many great seasons. With the Grey Cup here, I was hoping we'd use a bit of that money to go after some CFL free agents but it doesn't look like Walters will. I'm not an advocate of cheating  but WTH??? if other teams are doing it then we should be as well especially this year.

I know loyalty doesn't count for much with players these days with the 1 year contracts but dammit, we stood by him as a team & as a fanbase after that DUI & broken arm. Guess it works one way. Just let him go wherever he wants. I could care less. 

I'd be ok with them going after a big FA or two as well but on the other hand, these teams that go big in FA never seem to win so is it worth it in the end?  We haven't gone that route, the Argos have been pretty quiet so far as has Montreal.  When is the last time a team went crazy in FA and it actually resulted in a championship?

[bluto]

7 hours ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

BC Lions owner Doman is a rich owner & has a lot of cash. We're flush with cash as well after so many great seasons. With the Grey Cup here, I was hoping we'd use a bit of that money to go after some CFL free agents but it doesn't look like Walters will. I'm not an advocate of cheating  but WTH??? if other teams are doing it then we should be as well especially this year.

I know loyalty doesn't count for much with players these days with the 1 year contracts but dammit, we stood by him as a team & as a fanbase after that DUI & broken arm. Guess it works one way. Just let him go wherever he wants. I could care less. 

But that's the thing... it isn't "cheating".

You are allowed to spend what you want, but over the SMS limit comes with additional payments.

[voodoochylde]

Total knee jerk reaction but ...

I know Free Agency hasn't truly started and that you don't win a Grey Cup in February.  I know it's still early and that the braintrust has their plan.  It just feels like the market is saying "Anywhere but Winnipeg .."  Ooof.

Hard to look at the pieces we are losing and losing out on then reflect on the guys we've had in camp the last while (and how we've used / evaluated those players) and feel good about the coming season.

[Booch]

11 hours ago, do or die said:

They were last year......

Trust the holes will get filled, this time.....

last 3 yrs really....I wanna trust.....Faith in the scouts and Walters...zero faith in Osh rostering our best roster tho...none...zip....until he prob=ves otherwise and he can deviate from 2019-2021...I will be critical and call **** out

[17to85]

21 minutes ago, voodoochylde said:

Total knee jerk reaction but ...

I know Free Agency hasn't truly started and that you don't win a Grey Cup in February.  I know it's still early and that the braintrust has their plan.  It just feels like the market is saying "Anywhere but Winnipeg .."  Ooof.

Hard to look at the pieces we are losing and losing out on then reflect on the guys we've had in camp the last while (and how we've used / evaluated those players) and feel good about the coming season.

No one builds a successful team through free agency. You use free agency to bring in a couple pieces and build your team through other means. 

This team didn't win all those games the past 5 years by accident.

[voodoochylde]

2 minutes ago, 17to85 said:

No one builds a successful team through free agency. You use free agency to bring in a couple pieces and build your team through other means. 

This team didn't win all those games the past 5 years by accident.

Frankly, while wins in the regular season are fun and easy to rally around, championships are what matter and the "pieces we've brought in" haven't been up to the task.

[Booch]

3 minutes ago, voodoochylde said:

Frankly, while wins in the regular season are fun and easy to rally around, championships are what matter and the "pieces we've brought in" haven't been up to the task.

so true....reg season is all nice...and feels good....total collapse in the championship games....and flops that were totally avoidable...unacceptable.

I can give a one time mulligan...but after 3 yrs running....things gotta change a bit and be re-visited in off-sesson....and the issue identified...and corrected....and this is FIFO isnt it....dont wanna conform then Eff the Eff off

[Goalie]

If changes are needed after 3 failures why are ppl throwing tantrums anytime a player that we didn’t win with the last 3 years signs elsewhere then. You can’t demand change then complain when it happens. That’s ridiculous. Nothing the team does is good enough for a few of you. That’s not on them. That’s on you for thinking they gonna listen to you. 

Edited 21 hours ago by Goalie

[Mike]

12 minutes ago, Goalie said:

If changes are needed after 3 failures why are ppl throwing tantrums anytime a player that we didn’t win with the last 3 years signs elsewhere then. You can’t demand change then complain when it happens. That’s ridiculous. Nothing the team does is good enough for a few of you. That’s not on them. That’s on you for thinking they gonna listen to you. 

I’m definitely not as bent out of shape as a few others are about this off-season, but “nothing the team does is good enough for a few of you” is a real false way to categorize the complaints.

Why not “nothing the team does has been good enough to win a championship the past three years” instead?

[Booch]

9 minutes ago, Goalie said:

If changes are needed after 3 failures why are ppl throwing tantrums anytime a player that we didn’t win with the last 3 years signs elsewhere then. You can’t demand change then complain when it happens. That’s ridiculous. Nothing the team does is good enough for a few of you. That’s not on them. That’s on you for thinking they gonna listen to you. 

getting rid of young...2nd yr guys and keeping over the hill guys who were here for the flops is assbackwards....you know some the dead weight has hit it's ceiling....are on the downslope and offer next to nothing down the road....you don't know that with a young player...especially ones who really didnt really get a lot of rope to hang themselves.....U dont wanna believe it but games are won and lost....and players success and failure in football is 90 percent due to prep....coaching....adequate roster...and adjustments by the coaching staffs in game......on any team...thats what failed us. If it wasnt a coaching issue and the good and bad is all on the players...why have coaches?...

2 minutes ago, Mike said:

I’m definitely not as bent out of shape as a few others are about this off-season, but “nothing the team does is good enough for a few of you” is a real false way to categorize the complaints.

Why not “nothing the team does has been good enough to win a championship the past three years” instead?

we've done some good moves and I acknowledge them where warranted...but will also call out the stupid ones too....and we made a few....let me rephrase...continue to make the same lame ones....A person can call out both sides of the equation....deosnt make them less than thou or anti anything....in any job environment...you continue to make the same gaffs or fail to adapt and eveolve...get better....u dont last a longtime

[wbbfan]

34 minutes ago, 17to85 said:

No one builds a successful team through free agency. You use free agency to bring in a couple pieces and build your team through other means. 

This team didn't win all those games the past 5 years by accident.

It does start and end in free agency. but your scouting and development has to be at least as productive as free agency if not more. We started our rebuild with randle and bryant, capped it off with rose and biggie. 

The reality of our situation (and how we are approaching this off-season) is we are looking for the next hardrick type find in free agency. Not the next rose/nevis/bryant etc.  

 

1 hour ago, voodoochylde said:

Total knee jerk reaction but ...

I know Free Agency hasn't truly started and that you don't win a Grey Cup in February.  I know it's still early and that the braintrust has their plan.  It just feels like the market is saying "Anywhere but Winnipeg .."  Ooof.

Hard to look at the pieces we are losing and losing out on then reflect on the guys we've had in camp the last while (and how we've used / evaluated those players) and feel good about the coming season.

I think we are turning over every rock in free agency, except the premium guys. We will see how this continues to play out over the next while. 

[HardCoreBlue]

4 minutes ago, wbbfan said:

It does start and end in free agency. but your scouting and development has to be at least as productive as free agency if not more. We started our rebuild with randle and bryant, capped it off with rose and biggie. 

A blend, an integration of both is ideal.

[wbbfan]

1 minute ago, HardCoreBlue said:

A blend, an integration of both is ideal.

Yep. Being able to identify and scoop up 2nd and 3rd year guys from other teams that you can turn into some thing more is the real success indicator. Scouting and bring up rookie Americans takes a lot of time and work. Then they generally need a year to adjust and have the game slow down. Being able to skip those steps is what we excelled at early in the mafia era. A lot of people forget how many of "our guys" came up with different teams. 

[voodoochylde]

14 minutes ago, wbbfan said:

It does start and end in free agency. but your scouting and development has to be at least as productive as free agency if not more. We started our rebuild with randle and bryant, capped it off with rose and biggie. 

The reality of our situation (and how we are approaching this off-season) is we are looking for the next hardrick type find in free agency. Not the next rose/nevis/bryant etc.  

 

I think we are turning over every rock in free agency, except the premium guys. We will see how this continues to play out over the next while. 

 

This.  This was really what I was getting at in terms of the "guys we've had in camp" the last while .. I can't honestly say we've brought in the right guys .. I can't honestly say that I trust the process when for, the last three years, we've seen where we are deficient and have not had those holes addressed.   There hasn't been a concerted effort to find the next Bighill or Jefferson or Stanley Bryant.  There's no pipeline or succession plan. 

All that said, I will give this organization credit, we've won a tonne of games and have enjoyed a lot of really great football but rightly or wrongly it *feels* like that window is closing.

 

[HardCoreBlue]

41 minutes ago, voodoochylde said:

Frankly, while wins in the regular season are fun and easy to rally around, championships are what matter and the "pieces we've brought in" haven't been up to the task.

Or kept around way past their due date.

My biggest issue is not our involvement in free agency, it's the lack of consistent variables to determine who are the best 12 people we need to put on the field to maximize our success.

[Booch]

1 minute ago, voodoochylde said:

 

This.  This was really what I was getting at in terms of the "guys we've had in camp" the last while .. I can't honestly say we've brought in the right guys .. I can't honestly say that I trust the process when for, the last three years, we've seen where we are deficient and have not had those holes addressed.   There hasn't been a concerted effort to find the next Bighill or Jefferson or Stanley Bryant.  There's no pipeline or succession plan. 

All that said, I will give this organization credit, we've won a tonne of games and have enjoyed a lot of really great football but it *feels* like that window is closing.

 

You should be turning over pieces of your roster every yr....we essentially stood pat for most part for 4 straight yrs...allowed our depth to erode, and we put zero effort into identifying who and where we may need to upgrade/move on from due to age/production/cost and brought in a true blue chip talent to develop and easily transition them into the spot....and instead just rode the wagon till the wheels fell off, and had zero depth behind key positions

The last 2 yrs we are truly lucky WJ didnt go down for an extended time...or even Bighill when he was still productive...as we had zero depth there....We would have ran out Gauthier and Briggs as they all starters and suffered greatly

10 minutes ago, wbbfan said:

Yep. Being able to identify and scoop up 2nd and 3rd year guys from other teams that you can turn into some thing more is the real success indicator. Scouting and bring up rookie Americans takes a lot of time and work. Then they generally need a year to adjust and have the game slow down. Being able to skip those steps is what we excelled at early in the mafia era. A lot of people forget how many of "our guys" came up with different teams. 

and yup...we went away from this and should have continued that mindset with bringing in established guys just at the edge of achieving their peak and keep filtering it thru the roster...instead of retaining "our" guys....essentially just because...we missed out on a lot of guys we likely could have signed...but we felt it wasnt needed because status quo seemed to be working....and that had no forward thinking involved in it

3 minutes ago, HardCoreBlue said:

Or kept around way past their due date.

My biggest issue is not our involvement in free agency, it's the lack of consistent variables to determine who are the best 12 people we need to put on the field to maximize our success.

and having the foresight and projecting..a yr...2 yrs down the road and groom your successor....or bring in the successor and thank the incumbent for their service...which we didnt...we have really eroded ur depth and hamstrung our roster....and thankfully it looks like we are getting back to re-stocking and moving on...a few yrs too late but its a start

[Pete]

Its not the losing of starters that irks me, it the lack of signing significant upgrades  or replacement.of equal quality starters.

If we are negotiating against several teams its almost a given we are not getting that player. At one point can we not just show some b@lls and go all in even if its an overpay for one elite player?

 

[Super Duper Negatron]

I know the Grey Cup is rarely won in free agency, but somewhere between "yawn" and "full BC circa 2024" would have been nice. I think in a Grey Cup year we all expected at least a small splash.

Edited 20 hours ago by Super Duper Negatron

[Arnold_Palmer]

5 minutes ago, Pete said:

Its not the losing of starters that irks me, it the lack of signing significant upgrades  or replacement.of equal quality starters.

If we are negotiating against several teams its almost a given we are not getting that player. At one point can we not just show some b@lls and go all in even if its an overpay for one elite player?

 

We did. We paid Lawler almost 300 k on his last contract and quite frankly he isn’t worth even close to it. 

[Goalie]

10 minutes ago, Arnold_Palmer said:

We did. We paid Lawler almost 300 k on his last contract and quite frankly he isn’t worth even close to it. 

I agree. Kenny at close to 300 is poor value. Dude played 10 games last year. 641 yards for 300k is insanity. 

[Arnold_Palmer]

Is Steven Dunbar Jr still available? 1100 yards last year, big target at 6’3 that would be a sneaky good add if he’s still around. 

[Booch]

2 minutes ago, Arnold_Palmer said:

Is Steven Dunbar Jr still available? 1100 yards last year, big target at 6’3 that would be a sneaky good add if he’s still around. 

he is....not much else of any real value now other than him...Be just like us to miss out on all the guys that were options and bring in an aged Dionte Spencer....and trump it up as a solid signing

[Pete]

53 minutes ago, Arnold_Palmer said:

We did. We paid Lawler almost 300 k on his last contract and quite frankly he isn’t worth even close to it. 

Im talking signing about other teams free agents especially this year when we are hosting the grey cup. As likely the most profitable franchise right now we can afford it, and as fans would really like to see that "big" signing. It seems we do the worst job in the league of replacing thru free agency quality free agents that leave 

this year we lost Lawler and Ford and who knows possibly Dobson. Replacements?

last year Hardrick , Jeffcoat, we bring in a retread- Lofton (who did fairly well but not the same level, ) and try to go with rookies. We over spend on trying to keep our vets like Thomas Kramdl Lawton and even Lawler

Edited 19 hours ago by Pete

[Blueandgold]

14 hours ago, Arnold_Palmer said:

Not that surprised. I kind of saw the writing on the wall with the signing of Mitchell and then signing Schoen  Even at a pay cut we’re spending a lot of money on our receiving core. We’ll probably bring in a second tier reciever and hope we can bring in the next Schoen or Wilson In training camp. 

Wilson making it back to the CFL would be a nice boon as well.

[Booch]

2 minutes ago, Blueandgold said:

Wilson making it back to the CFL would be a nice boon as well.

we all better pray for that...as options are all gone now and hope he can continue what he did...and add more to it