How long is Willy's leash?

[Blueandgold]

2 hours ago, Throw Long Bannatyne said:

Desjardins should be happy to dump Hank's huge contract, especially If he turns into a club-house *****.  He may play hardball initially and try and steal Natls. but that contract is just too much of a burden to carry forth especially when he has to retain Harris and his receiving core.  Depending on the quality of the other backups, if Desjardins can't move Burris this season he may just cut him before next. 

Burris being cut after this season is the most obvious no brainer. The guy is making 475K and Harris contract balloons to 400K next year.

[Fatty Liver]

8 minutes ago, Blueandgold said:

Burris being cut after this season is the most obvious no brainer. The guy is making 475K and Harris contract balloons to 400K next year.

The only way I can see Burris being happy with that situation is if he's had enough and plans to retire anyways.

[The Unknown Poster]

If Bombers bring on Burris what do they do with Willy? Keep him as #2 and hope he takes over in one or two seasons?

[Rich]

4 minutes ago, The Unknown Poster said:

If Bombers bring on Burris what do they do with Willy? Keep him as #2 and hope he takes over in one or two seasons?

Willy is going to be 30 years old this year.  IF the Bombers bring in Burris, then the Willy experiment in Winnipeg will be over. Willy would be released in the off season and probably catch on as a backup with another team, where there is a good chance he would reclaim his former glory like many released Bomber players have.

[Fatty Liver]

10 minutes ago, Rich said:

Willy is going to be 30 years old this year.  IF the Bombers bring in Burris, then the Willy experiment in Winnipeg will be over. Willy would be released in the off season and probably catch on as a backup with another team, where there is a good chance he would reclaim his former glory like many released Bomber players have.

Agree, T.O. would sure be a good fit for him.

[WBBFanWest]

20 minutes ago, Rich said:

Willy is going to be 30 years old this year.  IF the Bombers bring in Burris, then the Willy experiment in Winnipeg will be over. Willy would be released in the off season and probably catch on as a backup with another team, where there is a good chance he would reclaim his former glory like many released Bomber players have.

Not sure about Rich.  It's possible, of course, but when I watch Willy I see a guy that seems to have "lost the spark".  He just doesn't seem to play with the fire and confidence he used to have.  Maybe he can get that back, but in my experience, that's a fairly rare thing.  

[iso_55]

3 hours ago, Throw Long Bannatyne said:

Desjardins should be happy to dump Hank's huge contract, especially If he turns into a club-house *****.  He may play hardball initially and try and steal Natls. but that contract is just too much of a burden to carry forth especially when he has to retain Harris and his receiving core.  Depending on the quality of the other backups, if Desjardins can't move Burris this season he may just cut him before next. 

They've already budgeted for the 2 contracts within their salary structure so I don't see Desjardins wanting to dump his salary as eagerly as you do. He'll still want the moon for Hank. Thing is, will Walters be that desperate to mortgage our future? I hope not.

[Fatty Liver]

1 minute ago, iso_55 said:

They've already budgeted for the 2 contracts within their salary structure so I don't see Desjardins wanting to dump his salary as eagerly as you do. He'll still want the moon for Hank. Thing is, will Walters be that desperate to mortgage our future? I hope not.

I was thinking off-season before Harris's second year pay kicks in.

[Rich]

1 hour ago, WBBFanWest said:

Not sure about Rich.  It's possible, of course, but when I watch Willy I see a guy that seems to have "lost the spark".  He just doesn't seem to play with the fire and confidence he used to have.  Maybe he can get that back, but in my experience, that's a fairly rare thing.  

The comment was meant to be a little tongue-in-cheek after watching the Grey Cup Champion Eskimos beat us the other night with a number of former Bombers on their roster.

But at the same time, and only Willy really know this, when I watch Willy play it looks to me like he is suffering from the football equivalent of PTSD.  He has been so shell shocked in his time here, it looks like he gets frozen in the pocket waiting for it to collapse and it hurts his decision making.  Not saying it is a guarantee, but a new team, a new situation without the starter pressure, watching from the side lines, may be what he needs to get his confidence back.

[17to85]

16 minutes ago, Rich said:

The comment was meant to be a little tongue-in-cheek after watching the Grey Cup Champion Eskimos beat us the other night with a number of former Bombers on their roster.

But at the same time, and only Willy really know this, when I watch Willy play it looks to me like he is suffering from the football equivalent of PTSD.  He has been so shell shocked in his time here, it looks like he gets frozen in the pocket waiting for it to collapse and it hurts his decision making.  Not saying it is a guarantee, but a new team, a new situation without the starter pressure, watching from the side lines, may be what he needs to get his confidence back.

This is exactly what it is. Guy starts getting hit and just locks up expecting it all the time because he's been so beaten down the past few years. This is why it is important to get the rest of the team going so that we can keep him clean and let him grow his confidence again. Also why I am an advocate of giving him a break if he starts getting pressured a bunch in games. Just let him get that mental reset. 

[iso_55]

If what Rich is saying is true then Willy's time remaining here will be short. People just can't get over something like that with a snap of the fingers. I think the man is just about finished here.

[Blueandgold]

33 minutes ago, Rich said:

The comment was meant to be a little tongue-in-cheek after watching the Grey Cup Champion Eskimos beat us the other night with a number of former Bombers on their roster.

But at the same time, and only Willy really know this, when I watch Willy play it looks to me like he is suffering from the football equivalent of PTSD.  He has been so shell shocked in his time here, it looks like he gets frozen in the pocket waiting for it to collapse and it hurts his decision making.  Not saying it is a guarantee, but a new team, a new situation without the starter pressure, watching from the side lines, may be what he needs to get his confidence back.

I will say that he looked similar to this to end 2014 and he came back strong to start 2015. The one silver lining of hope.

[Atomic]

On the other hand, are we being too harsh on Willy?  It's frustrating watching him sometimes but he is able to sustain drives and sometimes make good plays.  He's second in the league in passing on pace for 5500+ yards and first in terms of QB rushing yards.  Yes he has his flaws but when is the last time we've had a quarterback with those kinds of numbers?  I'm not eager to go back to the days of Joey Elliott, Justin Goltz and Max Hall.  Ugly, ugly times!  Unless we can get a proven veteran like Burris, I'm not interested in moving on from Willy.  No more first-time starters getting their shots here!

[iso_55]

6 minutes ago, Atomic said:

On the other hand, are we being too harsh on Willy?  It's frustrating watching him sometimes but he is able to sustain drives and sometimes make good plays.  He's second in the league in passing on pace for 5500+ yards and first in terms of QB rushing yards.  Yes he has his flaws but when is the last time we've had a quarterback with those kinds of numbers?  I'm not eager to go back to the days of Joey Elliott, Justin Goltz and Max Hall.  Ugly, ugly times!  Unless we can get a proven veteran like Burris, I'm not interested in moving on from Willy.  No more first-time starters getting their shots here!

Too harsh? No, he's being paid $400 grand & he's playing like garbage. No, if anything the team is giving him every opportunity & it's costing us games. Our HC is handling it like an ostrich sticking his head in a hole hoping that if he ignores Willy's poor play that it will just go away.

[The Unknown Poster]

Ageee with Rich. Again I'm by far no football expert but I described Willy the same way. Shellshocked  

he seems to have the tendency to immediately stare at his first option and wait and wait and wait for him to get open  and if he isn't were in trouble 

 

 

 

[17to85]

It really reminds me of Kevin Glenn in 2008. 

[Mike]

I do NOT want us getting rid of Willy until we have a viable alternative on our roster.

I also don't understand why anyone cares how much money he is making. It has nothing to do with the issue. You're not paying him, so who cares. It's not like his contract is preventing us from doing anything else. If we needed flexibility to acquire another franchise QB to give 400k, you cut Willy as soon as you have the other one locked up.

[Mr Dee]

3 hours ago, Rich said:

Willy would be released in the off season and probably catch on as a backup with another team, where there is a good chance he would reclaim his former glory like many released Bomber players have.

This is not as far-fetched as some would believe. There are many true statements in this thread. 

- Willy has been shell shocked. It was part of his initiation to being a Bomber. - He has not handled it well. Can't really blame him. He's not built to come back from that. 

- Willy was not deserving of a starter's salary in that price range. No chance. That contract is harnessing Willy in the starter's role.

- That and MOS's? philosophy of one-starter-for-all and all-for-one-starter. What our HC doesn't realize is that he is probably hurting Willy more by keeping him in every play than pulling him. I definitely could see Willy going out and coming back in the game with more intensity.

- the pressure to win..to do well, isn't helping.

- in order to have done well this year, Willy had to start off well. He didn't. More pressure. No apparent answers. Too bad the staff doesn't have a stronger belief in Nichols to take a little pressure off until wee Willy could hit his stride.

- and he does have stride. If Willy was released, he would do well with another team, especially starting as a back up. (starting as a back up? - sounds weird)

We're in the middle of another Bomber funk. Or funk up, if you prefer.

[Eternal optimist]

15 minutes ago, Mr Dee said:

This is not as far-fetched as some would believe. There are many true statements in this thread. 

- Willy has been shell shocked. It was part of his initiation to being a Bomber. - He has not handled it well. Can't really blame him. He's not built to come back from that. 

- Willy was not deserving of a starter's salary in that price range. No chance. That contract is harnessing Willy in the starter's role.

- That and MOS's? philosophy of one-starter-for-all and all-for-one-starter. What our HC doesn't realize is that he is probably hurting Willy more by keeping him in every play than pulling him. I definitely could see Willy going out and coming back in the game with more intensity.

- the pressure to win..to do well, isn't helping.

- in order to have done well this year, Willy had to start off well. He didn't. More pressure. No apparent answers. Too bad the staff doesn't have a stronger belief in Nichols to take a little pressure off until wee Willy could hit his stride.

- and he does have stride. If Willy was released, he would do well with another team, especially starting as a back up. (starting as a back up? - sounds weird)

We're in the middle of another Bomber funk. Or funk up, if you prefer.

Agreed, I never would want to wish ill on another human being, but if things do keep going the way they have been and we end up releasing Willy this year / after the season... I wish him all the best, I just hope he stops playing football and finds success doing something else. Nothing bugs me more than when we release a player with potential and then they get picked up by another team and it comes back to bite us. Bowman is probably the best current example of this.

[Fatty Liver]

@cfl_news: Pres. Wade Miller involved in personnel w/ #Bombers? We all know how that tends to turn out.... #CFL. Miller, who appears 2 B involved in personnel matters, & Walters will celebrate 3rd anniversary w/ #Bombers in few weeks. - @PentonKirk #CFL

This is in reference to a comment made by Paul Wiecek on TSN1290 who spoke to someone within the Bomber organization who said that if Willy ddidn't get off to a good start next week vs Calgary he will be pulled and Matt Nichols will enter the game.

Edited July 16, 2016 by Throw Long Bannatyne

[Blueandgold]

24 minutes ago, Throw Long Bannatyne said:

@cfl_news: Pres. Wade Miller involved in personnel w/ #Bombers? We all know how that tends to turn out.... #CFL. Miller, who appears 2 B involved in personnel matters, & Walters will celebrate 3rd anniversary w/ #Bombers in few weeks. - @PentonKirk #CFL

This is in reference to a comment made by Paul Wiecek on TSN1290 who spoke to someone within the Bomber organization who said that if Willy ddidn't get off to a good start next week vs Calgary he will be pulled and Matt Nichols will enter the game.

Wade meddling in football ops is something I've feared since he took over.

[iso_55]

Quote

 

Wade needs to stay out of it. Nothing good will come of this. How would he feel if the Bomber Board started meddling in his job as President? #organizationindeaththrows?

[Stickem]

When have we really released a quarterback that has come back to 'haunt us'....Other than 'suitcase' Glenn, I can't think of one...As far as I know there hasn't been a quarterback released that shouldn't have been...The only quarterback of late that I hated to part with was Buck and that was because of injury AND he is still with us ,granted in another capacity...Jyles,Brink,Goltz, Max Hall, Joey Elliott, and because of injury Marve have all ceased to be Bomber qbs. because they were NOT successful...I don't know for sure whether Willy is going to fit the category of 'also ran' but I think we're about to find out soon...It looks like he's lost what we thought he had and I don't want to continue down a dead-end road forever to find out...This franchise needs to see success sooner rather than later..Willy's overall success, especially of late, is not pointing towards the franchise quarterback we've been searching for...If he comes up with an underwhelming performance next game .. it's on to 'NEXT'....whether it be on our current roster or possibly 'other'...Fans of this club are beyond being patient and deserve better...The brain trust better get on it.

 

[iso_55]

Despite what some here are spinning about fan impatience this fanbase is more patient & forgiving than most out there. In Toronto, Hamilton & BC their teams would have folded, in Calgary & Montreal on life support. In the NFL, the only fanbase that remains loyal to their team like us are Browns fans. We play in a Factory of Pain just like they do.

Edited July 16, 2016 by iso_55

[Root]

12 minutes ago, iso_55 said:

Wade needs to stay out of it. Nothing good will come of this. How would he feel if the Bomber Board started meddling in his job as President? #organizationindeaththrows?

I don't think it makes much diff whether Wade meddles in football ops or keeps selling tickets & advertising. None of the group of Miller, Walters, O'Shea have really distinguished themselves as quality football men. Earnest? Yes!  Hard-Working? Probably, although questions now abound on the country club atmosphere during bomber training camp and practices. S

So nothing really new here. Lyle Bauer interfered all the time. Miller trained under Bauer. End of very short story!