A Comprehensive Review of Kyle Walters

[AKAChip]

This is likely going to be a long post but I've been thinking about doing this for a long time. I will preface this by saying I have never been a fan of Walter's work. I think because public sentiment had soured on Mack to the degree that anyone would have been seen as a massive improvement. I will also admit that I have always had a soft spot for Joe Mack and thought while he failed in getting us a QB, his team did bring us to a Grey Cup with Buck freaking Pierce at the helm. I will divide this into three sections; import recruiting, free agency and drafting. I recognize that some of the failures of Walters are also failures of McManus and Goveia so consider the import recruiting section to be a criticism of all three.

 

Import Recruiting:

 

Walters was hired in August of 2013 as the interim GM to replace the fired Joe Mack. That offseason, the search was on for a permanent GM that included Walters, Duane Forde for some reason and Tom Higgins. I am confident that none of those three headliners would have been good options but that's a story for another time. So if we take into account that Walters has been in charge for more than two calendar years, the following are the players he has brought in with no previous CFL experience that are currently making an impact on the team: Justin Veltung, Jace Daniels, Khalil Bass, Johnny Adams, Bruce Johnson, Moe Leggett & Cam Marshall. I will admit there are some good players on that list but considering that he has had two full training camps and offseasons to build the talent on the roster and to only have 7 of your own recruits become regular CFL players? Joe Mack, fired over two years ago, still has Washington, Turner, Anderson and Denmark on the roster of CFL rookies he brought in himself. Considering the lifecycle of professional football players to have only a 7-4 advantage in import recruits at this stage is pretty terrible. Let's also not forget, arguably our best defender last year was Ian Wild, another Mack guy.

 

To move onto the QBs for a moment, this was something I will agree that Mack had limited to no success with. However, while I will get to Willy in a moment, Walters has failed equally if not more in bringing in his own QB prospects. Say what you will about Brink, Elliott and Goltz but are any of them worse than Brohm, Marve or Portis? Having a marquee starting QB doesn't mean you can fail at finding a developmental or adequate backup QB. We are fully aware at this point what that failure leads to. Franklin, Cato, Collaros even Brett Smith are first year CFL quarterbacks who have at the very least shown they can move the ball. The bomber are stuck with Brohm, a 30 year old journeyman who has yet to show he can even make a 5 yard completion consistently and Robert Marve, a scrambler with no accuracy to speak of.

 

Running back has been a position that in the past has been a boon for the Bombers. Even going back 15 years, Roberts to Reid to Garrett to Simpson. I'm not saying Marshall and Cotton aren't good players as they are fine and injuries have certainly hampered our ability to fully evaluate Cotton but here's another issue. Walters didn't even find Cotton! He was originally cut in Hamilton's TC and then brought here. Not to say you can't find good players that way as Vega was brought in by Mack in a similar manner but it just continues to contribute to the idea that Walters struggles to bring in his own recruited talent. RB isn't even a sore spot for this team without decimating injuries but bringing in Chevon Walker tells me all I need to know about Walters' confidence in his ability. 

 

One of the two biggest sore spots for me when it comes to Walters is Receiver. Yes, Veltung looks like a solid enough prospect but to have only one Import recruit to speak of after two years of trying is a complete and utter embarrassment. Toronto brought in three contributing rookies this year. Hamilton has brought in Underwood and Tolliver. Calgary brought in Rogers last year. The list goes on and on and on. Denmark, Moore and Adams are fine players but none are the best at their position to the point where competition should not be pushing them. Jhomo Gordon was the best of what we brought in in the offseason according to the coaching staff this year and he's been a mess in three games played. The fact that last year we not only brought in Romby Bryant (a complete joke and truthfully the biggest red flag last year of Walters' incompetence) but also started him for over half the year is something that would not go over on any other team in the league save for Taman's Riders. Also keep in mind that no one could displace Aaron Kelly from Walters' recruits either. Joe Mack brought in Matthews, Denmark, Wallace Miles, Greg Carr and TJH. All players that made an impact at the CFL level and shames the talent that Walters has brought in.

 

I'll lastly look at the defensive line. Up until this year, Turner and Anderson were guys that we really had no reason to replace but that's also another check by Joe Mack's name as they were his recruits. Meanwhile, while Nate Collins looks like a player, the rest of the linemen he has brought in have been a who's who of nobodies. The fact that no one has displaced Greg Peach in two years and the guy who has shown the most of the other imports, Thad Gibson, was not even a Walters find! Fraser, Willie Mosely, Marvin Booker, Tre Harlan and so on have all failed to make an impact while guys like Alex Bazzie, Gabe Knapton, Willie Jefferson, Tristan Okpalaugo, and Bryan Hall have all come into the league over the past couple seasons and have been great for their teams.

 

Free Agency:

 

Over two offseasons and seasons, the Bombers have brought in the following players; Graig Newman, Nick Moore, Darvin Adams, Stanley Bryant, Ivan Brown, Sam Hurl, Romby Bryant, EJ Kuale, Greg Peach, Aaron Kelly and Dom Picard. I will be generous by saying 5 of those players are hits (including Hurl) while admitting that Ivan Brown is who he is and his was hardly a make or break signing. That being said, Moore and Bryant are the best of the Import lot there are Bryant has not had a great season by any stretch and Moore has been solid, if unspectacular and frequently injured. I'll admit I was never a Moore fan and thought we paid too much for him, but that's the price of not bringing in Import receiver talent I guess. On the other hand, Mack was universally panned for standing pat during free agency and preferring to build with his own guys. Sometimes that worked, sometimes it didn't but looking at that list of players brought in via free agency by Walters, would any of you say that had they all not been signed we would be missing out? Truthfully, I didn't have a category to put Westerman and Hajrullahu in they were of course likely Walters' two shining moments as GM of this team but again, this was a case of signing a kicker off the street and giving him a chance when pretty much every other team was set at kicker and throwing money and a starting spot at Westerman. He deserves credit for landing them both but it doesn't change much. Let's also remember that Walters traded for a 35 year old Korey Banks as an attempt to solidfy the linebacking corps. I will also put the trade for Randle down here and again, another solid move by Walters that I really can't criticize in any manner. Randle, Westerman and Hajrullahu are three difference makers on the roster and all three are Walters' moves. Good for him.

 

This brings us to the situation of Drew Willy. Last offseason, the QBs available were Willy, Collaros and Burris as everyone remembers. Ottawa had the freshly drafted Glenn as their QB but badly wanted Burris for some insane reason once he became available. Collaros was always seen as the best QB on the market followed by Willy. Despite Collaros' success in Hamilton, I am still happy and content with Willy as our man. The problem is, there was almost no way that the Bombers were going to end up without one of the two. Burris was going to Ottawa and the scary part was, the Bombers were making a push for him! Can't imagine Joe Mack ever doing that. In the end, Walters made the trade with the Riders for Willy's rights that Mack didn't make with BC for Mike Reilly's. I'd argue that the price Taman wanted for Willy (Etienne) was pittance compared to Wally's price for Reilly (A first rounder without the right to speak to Reilly beforehand iirc). I obviously can't prove this but put Mack in the GM chair last offseason and you likely get the same result. Collaros to Hamilton, Burris to Ottawa and Willy to Winnipeg. Other than Montreal, who was more than happy to enter the season with Troy Smith, no other team needed a QB. Collaros and Willy were both going to hit the market no matter what and Ottawa wanted a veteran QB to lead them through their first season. I guess Walters should get credit for getting the job done, but I find it difficult to give him a ton of credit. Especially considering Collaros at this point is clearly the superior QB anyway.

 

The Draft:

 

This is where I think Walters actually deserves the most criticism. Mostly because he was never touted as a great American scout with a ton of connections down south, but rather a cerebral CIS guy who could be trusted at draft time. Before we get to Walters' drafts as GM, I want to go back to the 2013 draft, Mack's last as GM of the Bombers. The story was that when Mack was going to pick Mulumba, Walters was convinced Edem was the better pick. After Mulumba stuck in the NFL and Edem had a decent to good rookie year with the Als, everyone was lauding Walters' genius. In the years since, Edem has lost his job to Marco Brouillette and has failed to come close to his rookie season's productivity. Mulumba is still in the NFL but this has been touched on before, I still would rather have a guy like him in the pipeline that Edem who at this point it's known what he brings and it's special teams work for the last few years.

 

The 2014 draft was a weak one and I love the Derek Jones pick while Briggs looks solid enough. Goossen was picking based on need which I hate, but we can't close the door on him yet and save for Pruneau, no one selected after pick two is anyone I feel we really missed out on. I have no negative things to say about this draft so good job Walters.

 

2015 is where things went off the rails. I love the Chungh pick but people loved the Muamba pick too. It was a need and we picked the best player available. That's what a GM should do. The next rounds were colossal let downs and as bad as anything Mack ever did (Robertson in the 2nd round was just as bad). Richards and Morgan may turn out to be good players but passing on Durant, SML, Waud, Shortill or even Brett Boyko will be mistakes that we will feel for years to come.

 

Conclusion:

 

Since he was hired in August 2013, the Bombers are 12-27. This is not all on Kyle Walters but despite some great moves (Westerman, Randle, Chungh, Hajrullahu) the bad ones and the REALLY bad ones greatly outweigh those positives. I know most of you probably know or remember all this stuff but now with Taman out of the picture in Regina, Walters is the clear bottom of the CFL GM barrel.

[Dascow]

Hurl as a starting MLB should not be considered a "hit".  He is awfull.

 

Here is a list of all of the players on Defence that have more tackles than him:

 

LB Bass (48)

DB Johnson (34)

DB/LB Randle (33)

DE Westerman (32)

DB Washington (32)

 

Hurl is tied with Adams for 6th on the team with 28.  That's an average of 3 per game.  For a middle linebacer, that's not good. He is constantly over-running the play or he is just lost in space. He should not be starting.

[Goalie]

Hurl as a starting MLB should not be considered a "hit".  He is awfull.

 

Here is a list of all of the players on Defence that have more tackles than him:

 

LB Bass (48)

DB Johnson (34)

DB/LB Randle (33)

DE Westerman (32)

DB Washington (32)

 

Hurl is tied with Adams for 6th on the team with 28.  That's an average of 3 per game.  For a middle linebacer, that's not good. He is constantly over-running the play or he is just lost in space. He should not be starting.

Honestly, Hurl wasn't good for the first game or 2 but he's been better recently, I think peoples expectations for him are too high, he's not the bighill or elomimian type, he's not the henoc type, If you actually watch him on the field, he's generally rushing the QB, It's how Hall is using him, he's not using him as what people would think of as your protypial MLB, he's using him more as a cowboy i suppose, a rover really, he's being used differently than how other MLB's are used, It's more scheme there, I don't think he's been that bad the last couple weeks. I'm honestly finding it hard to criticize the D when the O is last in the league in basically every category. 

 

I don't think using tackles is fair here... it's just a stat really. I'm not saying HURL is all world or anything but he's definitely not as bad as some people are making him out to be. He has a role and his role is different than that of your average MLB'r. 

[17to85]

I think it's worth mentioning that when talking about qbs, when Mack first got here he signed Pierce and Jyles as qbs, they were the top 2 free agent guys and signing Pierce is easily comparable to signing Willy. Team looked OK when the guy was healthy but after that it was lacking. 

 

I'll say this though, I didn't like either of the picks Mack made at head coach and I quite like the choice of Mike O'Shea that Walters made. 

 

Basically it works out like this: Walters has done some good things but he hasn't done enough of them. Mack did some good things but again he didn't do enough of them. 

[M.O.A.B.]

Hurl starting as MLB is not on Walters though. Walters & company brought in a lot of competition at MLB, Allen was considered to be the frontrunner on that job. Oshea ultimately selected Hurl even though he is a lesser MLB compared to Allen.

 

Hurl is like the Kuale this year, starting because of Oshea's favoritism. Hurl is not ****head like Kuale though and he carries a right passport.

[Goalie]

Hurl starting as MLB is not on Walters though. Walters & company brought in a lot of competition at MLB, Allen was considered to be the frontrunner on that job. Oshea ultimately selected Hurl even though he is a lesser MLB compared to Allen.

 

Hurl is like the Kuale this year, starting because of Oshea's favoritism. Hurl is not ****head like Kuale though and he carries a right passport.

 

Is that on Oshea or Hall? I mean really, you say this like it's fact but really how the hell do we know who decided Hurl was the better option? Who the hell said Allen was the frontrunner even? I mean really, I would honestly suggest to you that the Def Coordinator had a pretty big say in who was starting and who was cut. 

[Dascow]

 

Hurl as a starting MLB should not be considered a "hit".  He is awfull.

 

Here is a list of all of the players on Defence that have more tackles than him:

 

LB Bass (48)

DB Johnson (34)

DB/LB Randle (33)

DE Westerman (32)

DB Washington (32)

 

Hurl is tied with Adams for 6th on the team with 28.  That's an average of 3 per game.  For a middle linebacer, that's not good. He is constantly over-running the play or he is just lost in space. He should not be starting.

Honestly, Hurl wasn't good for the first game or 2 but he's been better recently, I think peoples expectations for him are too high, he's not the bighill or elomimian type, he's not the henoc type, If you actually watch him on the field, he's generally rushing the QB, It's how Hall is using him, he's not using him as what people would think of as your protypial MLB, he's using him more as a cowboy i suppose, a rover really, he's being used differently than how other MLB's are used, It's more scheme there, I don't think he's been that bad the last couple weeks. I'm honestly finding it hard to criticize the D when the O is last in the league in basically every category. 

 

I don't think using tackles is fair here... it's just a stat really. I'm not saying HURL is all world or anything but he's definitely not as bad as some people are making him out to be. He has a role and his role is different than that of your average MLB'r. 

 

 

I have been keeping an eye on Hurl for the last few games now and I can say with confidence that yes he has been that bad.  If you’re a MLB and you’re a rover, you should be making a lot more happen than he is.  The guy is almost never in the play.  He constantly over shoots plays or is just nowhere to be found. Some times the amount of tackles a LB gets in a game can be inflated and that’s why it’s not always the best way to assess a player, but that’s not the case here. In this case he’s not getting any tackles to inflate.

[Dascow]

Hurl starting as MLB is not on Walters though. Walters & company brought in a lot of competition at MLB, Allen was considered to be the frontrunner on that job. Oshea ultimately selected Hurl even though he is a lesser MLB compared to Allen.

 

Hurl is like the Kuale this year, starting because of Oshea's favoritism. Hurl is not ****head like Kuale though and he carries a right passport.

 

If I recall correctly, Hurl was signed to be the starter.  It was his job to lose.

 

So who do you put that on?  Walters, who signed him knowing that it was going to be his job to lose, or O’Shea who ultimately had to make the decision?

[iso_55]

Bottom line is both GMs didn't or haven't done enough. Never liked Mack & not impressed with Walters. 12-27 is the colour. Losing is the game. How can the Stamps, Toronto & Montreal keep hitting home runs in the CIS & signing International free agents & we can't?

[Mark F]

Thanks for the post Chip…. lot of work/knowledge went into it, appreciate it. 

[Rich]

Very interesting and thought provoking post.  Well done.

 

I don’t think you give Walters enough credit for the things he did right.   Most of the things he has done right you basically say were gifted to him and anyone in his position would have done it.  He did it, he gets credit plain and simple.  Same for Hajrullahu. We didn’t get him because every other team was set at kicker, we got him because of Walters. If another team though he was worth it, he would have been put on a PR.

 

I also don’t find it equitable to compare the number of starters that Mack found vs. Walters.  Mack had 4 years to build his crew, Walters has had 2 (not including his partial season).  Here was the Bomber roster after Mack had it for 2 years https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Winnipeg_Blue_Bombers_season I can’t remember every player he brought in vs those he inherited, but as far as counting starters, I don’t think it is that far off from where Walters is.  However I also don't know if Mack is the bar you want to measure a GM against.

 

Walters took over the GM job in 2013, but that was mid-season and most of the work for GMs and scouts happen before or just as this regime took place. He didn’t put his scouting staff in place until during the 2013 off season.   That is too late too really make a difference for 2014.

 

The one interesting piece of information I took from that Ken Moll video that was posted was that all your scouting and recruiting you do, doesn’t pay-off until a year or two later after a player exhausts all NFL hope.  I'd like to know what kind of scouting "lists' the current regime brought in with them.

 

You give Walters credit for Justin Veltung, Jace Daniels, Khalil Bass, Johnny Adams, Bruce Johnson, Moe Leggett & Cam Marshall yet when you compare to talent other teams (like the DL) have found you compare to the whole league, not a single GM.  That isn't quite fair either.

 

You bring up some interesting points on the draft, but I don’t think a draft can be fully critiqued until two or three years after the fact.  Jury is out on those IMO.

 

Walters record is definitely a sore spot as you point out and 12 – 27 is not acceptable. This team had a lot of work to be done when he took over, and it still has a lot more to be done.  The product on the field is not entertaining.  The import scouting has definitely been under whelming.  We have competent players, but I don't see a super star. Other then Willy, this team is missing a superstar.    Ask yourself what name you would get on a jersey if you bought one tomorrow?  There ain't a lot to pick from.

 

There is no doubt the honeymoon with Walters is over and his teams have to start producing and producing fast.  Unless a proven GM becomes available (say a Huff, Austing, or Buono - and who know if Buono at 65 still has the drive in him), which isn't going to happen, then I think he is safe for at least one more year.  If we get to this point next year and have a similar record, and a similar product on the field, I think he is gone.

 

I will put one more caveat on that last statement.  I think this organization is at a crossroads right now. This team has been so bad for so long, people are getting to the point where they just don’t care anymore.  A lot of fans are past anger and they are into apathy, and that is a dangerous thing.  I see it in posts on this board, I heard it in conversations walking away from the stadium last game, and I even feel it myself.  People don't expect this team to win, they aren't entertained at the games, and I wonder how long before they stop showing up at the gate and decide to buy Moose tickets instead of Bomber tickets.  If season tickets drop drastically in the offseason (under 20k) then all bets are off and we are into the lows of Jeff Reinbold territory.   The question is who would be our Dave Ritchie to turn it around….

[Mark F]

A lot of fans are past anger and they are into apathy,

 

 

 

Yes.

 

also, very good response to Chip, thanks to you as well.

[AKAChip]

Thanks for the response, Rich. 

 

I'll start by saying I know Mack isn't a benchmark that a good GM should be compared to and I recognize his flaws. That's sort of the point of this though. After all that Mack went through with the fans, Walters isn't faring much better and had he not directly followed Mack, I guarantee he would be on a much hotter seat.

 

I also felt like I did give credit to Walters for his truly great moves. He does deserve full marks for Westerman, Hajrullahu and the Randle trade. Frankly, I don't think that's enough to warrant praise when you put it into perspective with all his questionable moves, but the great ones are great moves. 

 

I understand what you're saying regarding me listing Walter's finds and then other finds from across the league being an unfair comparable but I listed those players while trying to make an entirely different point. Sure, Mack had 4 years to build a team. I'd argue that save for QB, it was comparable to many middle of the road teams in the league. It was also the youngest team in the league for 3 straight years iirc. The bottom line is, this roster still has a number of Mack's footprints left on it. If Mulumba and Bilukidi make it here, there will be even more. Two years is a looooong time in football when the shelf-life of players is so short. The fact that in two years he hasn't replaced Peach and last year he couldn't even replace Kuale, Romby, Kelly and even Desia Dunn is terrifying to me as a fan of the team. 

 

If you gave me some time, I could look into any team in the league save for probably the Riders and come up with a laundry list of talent brought in over the last 2 years. I can't say for certain right now but I'd guess Toronto, Montreal, Hamilton, Calgary and Edmonton have brought in almost double the starters or impact players that Walters has over that span. I'll have to get back to you though. Just as an example, Elliot, Gurley and Hazelton are all three better than any one player Walters brought in at WR over two years and all three are new to the CFL this year.

[IC Khari]

[iso_55]

What does this mean, exactly?

[Mr Dee]

The one distinct area where I show concern lays at the feet of the scouting dept., specifically Danny McManus. I love the fact that the Bombers had finally invested more than a train ticket budget to have a real football operations dept., but how many of you are surprised/shocked that we don't have a steady stream of players that can pass the muster and push for roster spots? I know I am.

This area gets a failing grade from me.

[iso_55]

Hiring a GM with absolutely no contacts in the US at the college or pro level was not a smart move. That means Walters has to rely on McManus for everything regarding US talent. He's unable to unearth any himself or talk to guys in coaching Stateside. Unlike John Murphy, Jim Popp & Jim Barker. I never understood the logic of hiring someone with no GM experience & no US contacts only knowledge of the CIS thinking he can turn things around. I'm hoping Wade Miller would right this wrong with a ready for prime time candidate like John Murphy but I doubt he does.

[17to85]

Even in training camp this year there really weren't many rookies that jumped off the page. It seems like with the previous regime there was always at least one or two guys that jumped out at you. Whether it was Clarence Denmark or Ian Wild or whoever. We also seemed to have a better midseason pipeline as well, but maybe that's just me not remembering things well. Who was the last midseason addition who came in and made an impact? I can remember guys like Greg Carr coming in partway through and making an impact. 

[DR. CFL]

Why is it people continue to equate an effective scouting system with a quantity of staff members. Clearly it is more a relationship of those people that have quality connections that feed them players. Regardless of their titles be it AGM, GM, director of PP. People can dump on the Tillman's , Barker, Popp's and whom ever but this is purely a results driven business. This team has spent money on a staff but are they getting real bang for their buck?

[iso_55]

Why is it people continue to equate an effective scouting system with a quantity of staff members. Clearly it is more a relationship of those people that have quality connections that feed them players. Regardless of their titles be it AGM, GM, director of PP. People can dump on the Tillman's , Barker, Popp's and whom ever but this is purely a results driven business. This team has spent money on a staff but are they getting real bang for their buck?

Dumping on Tillman is a special case...

[dmillerywg]

Thanks for the post it was very well thought out and worded, I can't argue with much of it, I agree one of Walters weakness is lack of solid WRs brought in however I would argue we don't know if Marcel B. passed on a few that could have actually helped us after all it was this coaching staff that decided A. Kelly was no good and benched him at a time when Moore was out leaving us very thin and putting egos ahead of the good of the team... We could still use a big target like Kelly he may not have been fast but he was a big target and had great hands...So sometimes the GMs can bring in the best players they want but if the coaches don't like them because the "don't fit the system" not much a GM can do about that. If we look at Allen at MLB he probably would have been our best option but the Bombers decided to go with Hurl ( Big Mistake )

I do think Hurl is an ok player but is the worst MLB in the CFL by a big margin, he is averaging 3 tackles a game and some will say that is because of his roll but I have seen many tackles he could have made if he had more speed agility or aggression ( he is lacking all 3 IMO ) but he will make the tackle if someone comes directly at him...

 

So for me while Walters needs to improve in many areas I like that he is constantly trying to improve the roster, I do agree when drafting we should be picking the best player regardless of position and Kyle needs to learn that from the Calgary model...

 

At the same time I would love it if you take a long hard look at the real problem on the team its the coaching not the GM IMO...

[AKAChip]

I'm enjoying this process because it's truthfully even worse than I expected.

 

The following are players on the Argonauts brought in over the last two seasons to either start or make a significant impact on their current roster:

 

Bruce Campbell, Euclid Cummings, Kevin Elliott, Tori Gurley, Travis Hawkins, Vidal Hazelton, A.J. Jefferson, Greg Jones, Tristan Okpalaugo, Akwasi Owusu-Ansah, Devin Smith, Diontae Spencer & Greg Van Wroten.

 

That's 13 players. Most of whom are regular starters with this team. And this is purely imports new to the CFL.

[17to85]

Thanks for the post it was very well thought out and worded, I can't argue with much of it, I agree one of Walters weakness is lack of solid WRs brought in however I would argue we don't know if Marcel B. passed on a few that could have actually helped us after all it was this coaching staff that decided A. Kelly was no good and benched him at a time when Moore was out leaving us very thin and putting egos ahead of the good of the team... We could still use a big target like Kelly he may not have been fast but he was a big target and had great hands...So sometimes the GMs can bring in the best players they want but if the coaches don't like them because the "don't fit the system" not much a GM can do about that. If we look at Allen at MLB he probably would have been our best option but the Bombers decided to go with Hurl ( Big Mistake )

I do think Hurl is an ok player but is the worst MLB in the CFL by a big margin, he is averaging 3 tackles a game and some will say that is because of his roll but I have seen many tackles he could have made if he had more speed agility or aggression ( he is lacking all 3 IMO ) but he will make the tackle if someone come directly at him...

 

So for me while Walters needs to improve in many areas I like that he is constantly trying to improve the roster, I do agree we should be picking the best player regardless of position and Kyle needs to learn that from the Calgary model...

 

At the same time I would love it if you take a long hard look at the real problem on the team its the coaching not the GM IMO...

Except that Kelly was a retread. He washed out of Hamilton and the league until the Bombers gave him another shot. I believe he was one of Bellefeuilles guys from Hamilton and he wasn't good enough there, why did we think he was going to be good enough here? We sure could use a big target on the sidelines, but more along the lines of Chris Matthews (who Mack dug up out of nowhere) as opposed to Aaron Kelly who was not good enough for the CFL once before the bombers went dumpster diving. Veltung is the only receiver this regime has actually recruited from the states that has even looked like he could play for us. I'd argue that Kelly is the exact opposite situation you describe. A case where the coach brought in someone he liked and stubbornly stuck with him despite the player not being good enough. 

[iso_55]

I'm enjoying this process because it's truthfully even worse than I expected.

 

The following are players on the Argonauts brought in over the last two seasons to either start or make a significant impact on their current roster:

 

Bruce Campbell, Euclid Cummings, Kevin Elliott, Tori Gurley, Travis Hawkins, Vidal Hazelton, A.J. Jefferson, Greg Jones, Tristan Okpalaugo, Akwasi Owusu-Ansah, Devin Smith, Diontae Spencer & Greg Van Wroten.

 

That's 13 players. Most of whom are regular starters with this team. And this is purely imports new to the CFL.

That's on Jim Barker who has a thousand contacts in the US. I know the Argos have a scouting dept but Barker is the last word on who is brought in & who isn't.

[AKAChip]

Well yeah, I would hope the GM would have say on who is brought in and who isn't. It's a tandem of the GM with his scouting department. 

 

I also loathe Jim Barker as a person and as a coach and he still makes some questionable moves (Dave Stalah *cough*) but he brings in a lot of young and young-ish American talent.