2024/2025 CFL (non-Bomber) Off-Season Thread

[Tracker]

1 hour ago, Stickem said:

IF we brought in a guy like MBT what happens to Streveler.....Is he now just relegated to 3rd string behind Wilson and Dolegala......I have to agree that MBT is a guy who can sling the ball but he's kind of a 'off the wall' sort AND would he fit fifo

Not to denigrate MBT, but this FIFO stuff has run its course, in my opinion. My son teaches business administration and one of the case studies the class did was to look at the decline of General Motors from the biggest, most dominant auto manufacturer in the world to an also-ran. It came down to group-think and a rigid commitment to management enforcing a culture where different thinking meant a "lateral promotion". If a culture like FIFO in the Bombers means passing over players because they do not fit the norm, then a lot of talent will be lost. Monocultures do not endure or succeed for long.

[Booch]

42 minutes ago, Goalie said:

No they weren’t 

ummmm....they played us....with MBT...Kelley was the back up who didnt play....so yeah they were

[wbbfan]

13 minutes ago, Tracker said:

Not to denigrate MBT, but this FIFO stuff has run its course, in my opinion. My son teaches business administration and one of the case studies the class did was to look at the decline of General Motors from the biggest, most dominant auto manufacturer in the world to an also-ran. It came down to group-think and a rigid commitment to management enforcing a culture where different thinking meant a "lateral promotion". If a culture like FIFO in the Bombers means passing over players because they do not fit the norm, then a lot of talent will be lost. Monocultures do not endure or succeed for long.

That is a really interesting concept. 
 I wonder how much fifo is left in the locker room. Wj is the only major culture setter left on D. On O, idk with hardrick and sheed gone might be none of the old fifo left. 
 
It’s certainly come to that point in the front office and with coaching imo. How we react to the lose of Ted and buck, combined with cfl free agency will really tell us how it’s going to be this year. 

[GCn20]

Just now, wbbfan said:

That is a really interesting concept. 
 I wonder how much fifo is left in the locker room. Wj is the only major culture setter left on D. On O, idk with hardrick and sheed gone might be none of the old fifo left. 
 
It’s certainly come to that point in the front office and with coaching imo. How we react to the lose of Ted and buck, combined with cfl free agency will really tell us how it’s going to be this year. 

FIFO is alive and well and extends far beyond WJ. It is nonsense to suggest otherwise. We still have a ton of vets on O and D to carry that banner. 

[Booch]

2 hours ago, JuranBoldenRules said:

He's played a substantial amount in 3 games since his knee injury and in one of those games he tore his achilles....so yeah, every other game.

Masoli ruptured his achilles his frst game back from his knee injury from what I recal....so unless he played a substantial number of games in some other league getting ready, then not sure what you talking about every other game

 

[GCn20]

18 minutes ago, Tracker said:

Not to denigrate MBT, but this FIFO stuff has run its course, in my opinion. My son teaches business administration and one of the case studies the class did was to look at the decline of General Motors from the biggest, most dominant auto manufacturer in the world to an also-ran. It came down to group-think and a rigid commitment to management enforcing a culture where different thinking meant a "lateral promotion". If a culture like FIFO in the Bombers means passing over players because they do not fit the norm, then a lot of talent will be lost. Monocultures do not endure or succeed for long.

Tell me who they have bypassed? There are guys that most certainly SHOULD be bypassed prior to even signing them. I am sure we have done a lot of that....as has every team except teams devoid of any locker room culture like the Riders.

[Fatty Liver]

39 minutes ago, Goalie said:

No they weren’t 

MBT took them 97.5% of the way there through the regular season and the playoffs, Kelly played the final 15 minutes.  I'd say he deserves plenty of credit for the 2022 season.

[Booch]

1 minute ago, GCn20 said:

FIFO is alive and well and extends far beyond WJ. It is nonsense to suggest otherwise. We still have a ton of vets on O and D to carry that banner. 

pretty much every professional room has a fit in or fly away mantra....they just dont ballyhoo it 

But we turn away talent that would help us because it isnt what Osh envisions as the ultimate player on and off the field.......If the room is good, and you have enough quality vets.....you can easily roster some guys who aren't these saints thru and thru....As much as people claim FIFO is the reason for success....it also is a bit of a hand-cuff when you dont allow your roster to balance out a bit....I want a roster of  winners.....not a collective group of good guys

 

3 minutes ago, GCn20 said:

Tell me who they have bypassed? There are guys that most certainly SHOULD be bypassed prior to even signing them. I am sure we have done a lot of that....as has every team except teams devoid of any locker room culture like the Riders.

I am sure thre are a lot of giys who could have came in and helped out this team but didnt "fit" Osh requirements....just because you dont see them.....doesnt mean it's not true....we dont bring them in....and I sure it's some instances of free agency too where we dont evn kick a tire

[Tracker]

8 minutes ago, GCn20 said:

Tell me who they have bypassed? There are guys that most certainly SHOULD be bypassed prior to even signing them. I am sure we have done a lot of that....as has every team except teams devoid of any locker room culture like the Riders.

There is no way to tell which players were available.

[17to85]

For the record... when I say faj has a bad attitude I never even thought for a second about FIFO... I was thinking about his pissing and moaning about not wanting to compete for a job. 

[Booch]

Just now, Tracker said:

There is no way to tell which players were available.

exactly....we dont bring them in.......they have to fit the Osh requirement

We should stop just stocking the room with all these high moral compass/character/easy going...whatever you wanna call it player and rely on them to police and set the tone/environment....even if some are not the best available...and actually bring in the best players available to us (outside that overated CB who played for the Riders recently...and the likes of) and then actually coach them up a bit....play the heavy when need be.... and staple an arse to the bench when required....

4 minutes ago, 17to85 said:

For the record... when I say faj has a bad attitude I never even thought for a second about FIFO... I was thinking about his pissing and moaning about not wanting to compete for a job. 

yeah....for a lack of a better explanation he is justa whiny lil biatch....and seems like a me first guy too in a way.....dont need or want that here

[wbbfan]

16 minutes ago, GCn20 said:

FIFO is alive and well and extends far beyond WJ. It is nonsense to suggest otherwise. We still have a ton of vets on O and D to carry that banner. 

Not all vets are leaders or culture setters. We’ve lost a ton of the biggest culture setters in the locker room. you don’t just remove the top of the list on your teams leadership and retain the same locker room culture. 
 When’s the last time a guy was interviewed post win and said some thing to the extent of, “we aim to go 1-0 each week, we will enjoy it tonight and get back to work tomorrow?” The 1-0 mantra is gone. The concept of the D having to win the games is gone, so is the we don’t give up majors in the 4th, and a bunch of other culture trends. 
 Locker room is very different, the experience and culture from the 21 and prior squads is barely hanging on roster wise. Haven’t seen any young guys step into those roles save maybe Brady who has been around a while. 

7 minutes ago, 17to85 said:

For the record... when I say faj has a bad attitude I never even thought for a second about FIFO... I was thinking about his pissing and moaning about not wanting to compete for a job. 

I get that, I think it’s more about how he fits with the locker room. I don’t think he does, even if the 21 and prior fifo culture is gone and replaced with what ever else. 
 

 

[rebusrankin]

Cody comes across as a guy whose teammates wouldn't like him because its all about him. Just one fans opinion.

[Pete]

2 hours ago, Stickem said:

True.....and I get that MBT would look good throwing to our talented receiving corps....but it's the fifo thing and Mike O's loyalties 

MBT, Fajardo etc. aren't even on our radar, with what we are paying Collaros no way can we afford either of those two and neither will sign elsewhere for under 250k. As far as mbt goes he would be smart to just wait til a starter goes down and he'd likely be paid a lot more.

[17to85]

2 minutes ago, rebusrankin said:

Cody comes across as a guy whose teammates wouldn't like him because its all about him. Just one fans opinion.

To me he's a shitty version of Henry Burris. All smiles and team work when things are going good, the second it's not going good the fingers are pointed everywhere else.

[Fatty Liver]

25 minutes ago, Pete said:

MBT, Fajardo etc. aren't even on our radar, with what we are paying Collaros no way can we afford either of those two and neither will sign elsewhere for under 250k. As far as mbt goes he would be smart to just wait til a starter goes down and he'd likely be paid a lot more.

"Nobody wants Arbuckle" might be an innocuous pickup working with the right OC, he won't light it up but he's smart enough to hold down the fort while Zach's in recovery.

[SpeedFlex27]

3 hours ago, 17to85 said:

So if he's so good why did Montreal toss him aside? After all, he won then a grey cup... maybe it's time to stop pretending faj is anything more than a guy that people settle for when they don't have better options.

I'd love Faj to sign here just so I could laugh when I see the expletive laced messages Noeller would be posting until his head exploded. that would be stand up comedy level funny. As far as Faj goes, he beat us fair & square. You can go on & on about how shitty he is. How bad his attitude is, blah, blah, blah. Bottom line is that in the biggest game of the year, with everything on the line, he took our defense to school on that last series & won a Grey Cup Championship. Then a month ago Arbuckle did the same. But it's not our defense that was the problem, was it? It was all on zach & our offense. Screw that stupid three man front we used in the 24 Grey Cup. All ******* game.

Edited December 9 by SpeedFlex27

[17to85]

1 minute ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

I'd love Faj to sign here just to see the expletive laced messages Noeller would be posting until his head exploded. As far as Faj goes, he beat us. In the biggest game of the year with everything on the line he took our defense to school on that last series & won a Grey Cup Championship. Then Arbuckle did the same. 

Which really doesn't mean much in the grand scheme of things... both qbs were secondary to their teams successes, both rode their defenses to wins. 

Fajardo sucks, always has, always will which is why despite a grey cup win he was dropped quickly when they had a better option in Montreal. 

[SpeedFlex27]

4 minutes ago, 17to85 said:

Which really doesn't mean much in the grand scheme of things... both qbs were secondary to their teams successes, both rode their defenses to wins. 

Fajardo sucks, always has, always will which is why despite a grey cup win he was dropped quickly when they had a better option in Montreal. 

He got dropped because they had what they feel is a better & cheaper option in Alexander. The way he played it would have been crazy to let him go to free agency. Fajardo can still play but with 9 teams there are limited options. 

[SpeedFlex27]

6 hours ago, Bigblue204 said:

Walters won't be asking you either.

No kidding, Sherlock. Anymore brain busters you care to share with us? 

[Mike]

2 hours ago, GCn20 said:

FIFO is alive and well and extends far beyond WJ. It is nonsense to suggest otherwise. We still have a ton of vets on O and D to carry that banner. 

Lol we literally have no idea man 

[17to85]

36 minutes ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

He got dropped because they had what they feel is a better & cheaper option in Alexander. The way he played it would have been crazy to let him go to free agency. Fajardo can still play but with 9 teams there are limited options. 

And sask dropped him to go with Trevor Harris... not exactly the mark of a guy who is worth much... as i said, he's a guy teams settle for. 

[Bigblue204]

2 hours ago, wbbfan said:

That is a really interesting concept. 
 I wonder how much fifo is left in the locker room. Wj is the only major culture setter left on D. On O, idk with hardrick and sheed gone might be none of the old fifo left. 
 
It’s certainly come to that point in the front office and with coaching imo. How we react to the lose of Ted and buck, combined with cfl free agency will really tell us how it’s going to be this year. 

see my avatar

1 hour ago, rebusrankin said:

Cody comes across as a guy whose teammates wouldn't like him because its all about him. Just one fans opinion.

imo he comes off as a guy who is likeable as long as things are going his way (win or lose). Once it's not about him...or if it's about what he's not doing well the shine comes off.

[SpeedFlex27]

5 minutes ago, 17to85 said:

And sask dropped him to go with Trevor Harris... not exactly the mark of a guy who is worth much... as i said, he's a guy teams settle for. 

Like I said, I'd like the Bombers to sign him just to see Bomber fans reactions. It would be classic. Lol.

[SpeedFlex27]

2 hours ago, wbbfan said:

Not all vets are leaders or culture setters. We’ve lost a ton of the biggest culture setters in the locker room. you don’t just remove the top of the list on your teams leadership and retain the same locker room culture. 
 When’s the last time a guy was interviewed post win and said some thing to the extent of, “we aim to go 1-0 each week, we will enjoy it tonight and get back to work tomorrow?” The 1-0 mantra is gone. The concept of the D having to win the games is gone, so is the we don’t give up majors in the 4th, and a bunch of other culture trends. 
 Locker room is very different, the experience and culture from the 21 and prior squads is barely hanging on roster wise. Haven’t seen any young guys step into those roles save maybe Brady who has been around a while. 

I get that, I think it’s more about how he fits with the locker room. I don’t think he does, even if the 21 and prior fifo culture is gone and replaced with what ever else. 
 

 

I agree that with all the changes how can we say FIFO is still alive & well? We have no clue. This off season sure reminds of the end of the Bud Grant era which is kinda scary in itself. Once the vets started retiring en masse & Grant himself left, the team was just a shell of what it was. In 1966 & 67, a lot of the core of those 4 Grey Cup championship teams were still here. But they were getting old & their play on the decline. Grant's championship teams had a FIFO attitude as well led by guys like Grant, Ken Ploen, Frank Rigney & Herb Gray. But the one thing present then & now is time. You can't beat time as it's relentless. It never stops. FIFO was all gone by the start of 1968 on a team filled with rookies & second year players who never won anything.