Do You Get The Feeling...

[iso_55]

After a press conference with the Winnipeg media that Kyle Walters & Mike O'Shea go back to their offices & start throwing things in frustration? Just saw the presser for Drew Willy & some of the questions being asked  answers given were unbelievable. I felt bad for Willy. The guy was obviously nervous & was trying to handle himself  the best that he could in a difficult situation considering that the media looked like it was really trying to tear the poor guy down with questions about Hank Burris, the fact that Willy looked like Plan C & if Walters was happy with his qb situation.

Walters for his part could have answered some of the questions differently. Some of his  long pauses & stumbling of answers when it came to questions about going forward with the qb situation he definetly mishandled. Also mishandled was Walters answer to Willy being the clear third choice. He denied it but let's face it, had Collaros agreed to a contract Willy may not have been here. Same with Hank but maybe with Willy as a backup  but not as a starter. So, to deny that is a bit strange.

As to the present qb situation, Instead of trying to give the perfect answer, looking somewhat flummoxed & mumbling about always trying to improve every position including qb, he just could have said, "Yes, we're happy" & left it at that. At one point, O'Shea sensed that Willy was being asked an unfair question & struggling to answer, so he quickly jumped in  & said  that Willy was the Bombers starting qb. As a group, it wasn't one of the better news conferences for O'Shea & Walters that's for sure. There seemed to be a different, almost skeptical vibe going on in that room.

Walters looked upset,  O'Shea not amused  & Willy nervous. He was the only one of the three to say thank you quietly at the end. It sure seemed the Winnipeg media seemed to want to get under the skin of Walter & O'Shea yesterday.

[gbill2004]

I think some of Walters answers are being misinterpreted by the media. When Walters was asked if he's comfortable with the QB position, he said he will continue to explore free agency and trades to improve the QB position, just like all positions.

I took that to mean Willy is the starter, but Walters wants to bring in more competition behind him, likely to compete/replace Hall, Goltz and Brown.

Walters did stumble a bit in answering some of the questions, but the questions asked by the media could have all been expected. Maybe Walters needs to prepare a little more for his press conferences.

[Floyd]

I'll give Walters a pass on this...  the guy has been busting his ass trying to address the QB situation and scouting.  Add free agency to the mix and I am totally fine that he did not look 'prepared' for the presser.

 

Walters will have Taman hair in no time...

[Logan007]

No I didn't get that feeling at all. I thought the three of them handled the questions really well. Even Willy, who's not use to the spotlight, handled himself pretty well. I liked the press conference and felt pretty confident after it was over.

[17to85]

I haven't watched any of the video from this press conference, but Walters always strikes me as someone who speaks very deliberately. Doesn't just blurt out answers, he always seems to pause and think about his response and try and say the right things. I like the way he answers questions to be honest. I wouldn't blame any of them to be honest if they were frustrated, press conference to introduce the teams new qb and I suspect the media only wanted to talk about the guys who aren't there. That'd piss me off too. Talk about Willy! He's the one that is here and will hopefully be winning games for the team. 

[Logan007]

http://www.bluebombers.com/video/index/id/94505

[Doublezero]

There seemed to be a different, almost skeptical vibe going on in that room.

Walters looked upset,  O'Shea not amused  & Willy nervous. He was the only one of the three to say thank you quietly at the end. It sure seemed the Winnipeg media seemed to want to get under the skin of Walter & O'Shea yesterday.

It wasn't Kyle Walters' best day: he seemed unprepared, impatient and rattled. He should have anticipated the questions about Burris/Collaros and whether Willy was Plan A B or C. Still, you can't let a few ignorant reporters get under your skin, no matter how confrontational and seemingly stupid their questions. For years the Bombers have failed to offer this marketplace a competitive team. The local media will be confrontational and critical until there's solid evidence that the new management regime has begun to turn things around.

[rebusrankin]

The local media is uniformed and confrontational for no reason usually.

[TrueBlue]

Also mishandled was Walters answer to Willy being the clear third choice. He denied it but let's face it, had Collaros agreed to a contract Willy may not have been here. Same with Hank but maybe with Willy as a backup  but not as a starter. So, to deny that is a bit strange.

 

 

I don't agree with this at all.  There is nothing strange about denying what some are perceiving just because of the timing of when the events unfolded.  Three different QBs were all available at different times, it just so happens that Collaros was available first, Burris second and Willy third. It doesn't necessarily mean that Collaros was Option A, Burris Option B and Willy Option C.  Regardless of the order, we were interested in all three and we likely would have been making offers to all three.

[gbill2004]

I get the feeling that the Bombers had a 2 phased approach. They wanted Burris as this years starter, he was option A for 2014. The plan for 2015 was Willy as option A and Collaros as option B. With Collaros being released expectedly early, and Ottawa overpaying for Burris, Willy was the only one left. I suspect the ideal scenario for the Bombers was getting both Burris and Willy.

[blitzmore]

I totally disagree with the usually negative take of Iso on virtually everything and on what happened at the press conference. I thought all parties handled themselves very well considering certain members of the media were in "trap" mode.

 

I thought a lot of "thoughtful" answers were given, and I was especially impressed with our new qb. I have also yet to be disappointed by Mike O'Shea. Kyle was his usual self, and thinks before he blurts somethng out.

 

What else was he supposed to say to some of the questions?i

[Mr Dee]

Holy crap. Are we talking about the same video? 

In no way did I see the angst that iso's talking about nor the mishandling of questions nor the nervousness associated with same.

Flummoxed and mumbling? Didn't see it..didn't hear it.

Willy nervous? Yeah, I would guess so. It's his big day.

O'Shea jumped in at one point to make the point that he is the starter. Nothing more, nothing less.

 

The video I watched was only 4 mins, so I'm not sure if there is a different one but the entire audio interview is on the link below.

Listen to it, if you want a more complete picture.

https://soundcloud.com/680cjob/drew-willy-news-conference

 

The upper deck sports show interview with Mike O'Shea is also interesting.

https://soundcloud.com/680cjob/mike-oshea-talks-drew-willy

[TBURGESS]

Everyone looked poorly prepared.  O'Shea shouldn't have jumped in to say 'Willy's the starter' he should have let Willy answer the question.  Are we happy with the QB situation?  O'Shea is really happy.  Walters then says we are always looking to upgrade every position including QB.  Which is it?  Figure out what the message is going to be before you get asked and get everyone on the same page.

 

WIlly wasn't our plan C, it just looks that way because of the way is shook out?  Really?  Everyone in the CFL knows that Burris @ $450+K then Collaros @ 350+K were ranked as the #1 and #2 available QB's even if there is some disagreement about which is 1 and which is 2.  Everyone also knows that the Bombers offered both Burris and Collaros more than WIlly.  We got the 3rd best QB for the least amount of money.  Sounds like plan C to me.

 

Willy said uh more than anything else.  A little media practise for him, but the story of his college team going from 0 wins to a bowl game was a great answer, so there's hope.

[gbill2004]

Where are you getting the $350k number for Collaros? Everywhere I've heard it has been in the $275k range. And I also heard that Willy got virtually the same money as Collaros, maybe a little less because there was no one else bidding against us to drive up the price.

[iso_55]

Holy crap. Are we talking about the same video? 

In no way did I see the angst that iso's talking about nor the mishandling of questions nor the nervousness associated with same.

Flummoxed and mumbling? Didn't see it..didn't hear it.

Willy nervous? Yeah, I would guess so. It's his big day.

O'Shea jumped in at one point to make the point that he is the starter. Nothing more, nothing less.

 

The video I watched was only 4 mins, so I'm not sure if there is a different one but the entire audio interview is on the link below.

Listen to it, if you want a more complete picture.

https://soundcloud.com/680cjob/drew-willy-news-conference

 

The upper deck sports show interview with Mike O'Shea is also interesting.

https://soundcloud.com/680cjob/mike-oshea-talks-drew-willy

Obviously not. The video on the Bomber website is FIFTEEN minutes not 4. So, check it out. I'm not negative about the Bombers per se. The Winnipeg media tried to turn Willy's day into a "Why couldn't you sign the other guys?" press conference. And Walters looked unprepared to answer some of the questions. The media steered the boat in this presser not the other way around. 

[iso_55]

Everyone looked poorly prepared.  O'Shea shouldn't have jumped in to say 'Willy's the starter' he should have let Willy answer the question.  Are we happy with the QB situation?  O'Shea is really happy.  Walters then says we are always looking to upgrade every position including QB.  Which is it?  Figure out what the message is going to be before you get asked and get everyone on the same page.

 

WIlly wasn't our plan C, it just looks that way because of the way is shook out?  Really?  Everyone in the CFL knows that Burris @ $450+K then Collaros @ 350+K were ranked as the #1 and #2 available QB's even if there is some disagreement about which is 1 and which is 2.  Everyone also knows that the Bombers offered both Burris and Collaros more than WIlly.  We got the 3rd best QB for the least amount of money.  Sounds like plan C to me.

 

Willy said uh more than anything else.  A little media practise for him, but the story of his college team going from 0 wins to a bowl game was a great answer, so there's hope.

I don't know about the money Collaros is getting from the Ti Cats. However, I absolutely agree with what you said about Walter's response right after O'Shea said Drew Willy is his starting qb. The answer Walters gave totally contradicted what the HC said as it wasn't a ringing endorsement of Willy. The "We're always looking to upgrade" answer totally took away from how excited O'Shea said he was to have Drew Willy lead his team. If the GM & HC aren't on the same page then there's a problem. 

[Logan007]

Guys. Seriously. He's the GM. It's his job to always be on the lookout for upgrades, whether he's got "the best" or not. It's the Coaches job to work with what the GM gives him.

As Gbill said, Willy's basically making the same as Collaros.

[gbill2004]

If the GM isn't constantly looking to upgrade each and every position on the team, he's not doing his job. It's that simple; there is no disconnect between O'Shea and Walters.

They could have been a little better prepared for the press conference though.

[iso_55]

If the GM isn't constantly looking to upgrade each and every position on the team, he's not doing his job. It's that simple; there is no disconnect between O'Shea and Walters.

They could have been a little better prepared for the press conference though.

Your last sentence is all I'm saying. But some of the media questions were confrontational. Never seen Walters rattled like that. O'Shea looked like a guy who's never backed down from a fight in his life with his, "You wanna go?" look on his face. That little smile just stayed there the entire time... O'Shea was classic. Good for him. He had Willy's back.

[Mr Dee]

The audio I posted is the video. -15 minutes.

Therefore you should have the entire picture.

It was an open presser, no handed out questions to ask.

When the right people were asked the questions, they were answered as normally as I've seen in pressers.

Hesitation in answering some questions, yeah, well maybe to get them right, don't you think?

 

If you listen carefully, when O'Shea interrupted and stated that Drew was the starting QB, it was at the point when someone asked DW if O'Shea had told him he was the starter. It was O'Shea's way of telling him he's the starter. Not to take over the question, but to preempt it.

That's Mike O'Shea and his sense of humour. Listen again.

 

You and Burgs are trying to make something out of nothing, salary wise and especially involving the A,B,C scenario.

Walters explained that perfectly well, "the sequence of events in in regards to how the QBs became available to speak to" (1:10 in the presser.)

The question he was asked was posed to suggest Willy was the #3 option. Walters answered no and proceeded to explain.

 

You and Burgs may assume Willy was the 3rd best QB option but, I myself, can't make that same assumption.

[Brandon]

Who cares if Willy is option C! At least this group had three options.

The last two seasons of this team only having the option A of Pray Buck doesn't get hurt was brutal!

Already Walters and O Shea have surpassed The last regime by having a clear direction of who they want to go with and the guy they choose is somebody without injury issues and who wasn't on the decline.

[Mike]

Some of you sure have some bizarre expectations. This was a press conference to introduce our new starting QB and you want them to provide an honest answer on whether or not he was their first choice or not?

 

"We'd like to introduce our new STARTING quarterback, Drew Willy! He wasn't our first or second choice but hey, he was available!"

 

And suggesting that because they're interested in upgrading the QB stable, they don't feel confident in Willy?

 

Very interesting reaches by some of you.

[DR. CFL]

More of the same likely to continue......nervous now? The schedule hasn't come out so what happens when things really heat up?

[iso_55]

O'Shea says smiling: "I'm so excited about Drew Willy being our qb".

                                    "He's our starting quarterback".

 

Walters with a dour look on his face when asked about the quarterback situation going forward & if Willy is the last piece of the puzzle:

 

(Long pause).... (Pained expression)... (Said something like) "Well.... always trying to upgrade every position including qb & will continue to do so"....  Not a ringing endorsement by  the GM. Either O'Shea should never have said what he did or Walters should have just reiterated O'Shea by saying how excited he also felt having Willy as their qb & left it at that. At least for a press conference the HC & GM should look like they are on the same page. Growing pains by young inexperienced football executive & head coach. Not the end of the world by any imagination but this should be a lesson for them to discuss things before they go out to meet the media hordes who are just looking for a misstep to pounce. 

[17to85]

Walters always have that long pause and pained expression on his face when he's answering questions in those pressers though, don't read too much into that. What he said from all indications is the canned response from a GM about always looking to upgrade every position on the team at all times.