OT: 2017 Blue Bombers Thread Part I

[sipowicz]

Winnipeg Blue Bombers receiver Ryan Smith today announces his retirement from professional football.



That was unexpected. Kind of makes sense though as it was pretty crowded at receiver so I wonder if Walters knew this was coming. Denmark, Adams, Stafford, Dressler, Feoli-Gudino/Richards was the group I thought should be the starters anyways.

EDIT:

Smith was getting to that age (edit: didn't realize he was only 25) where injuries start to catch up with you, too bad but BB's have a lot of talent at receiver and import receivers aren't hard to find.

Looking for big things this season from the Blue!

 

[nobody important]

Speaking of the Bombers (which happens surprisingly often in this thread, go figure), I saw this posted by a mod on the Blue Bombers forum:

Although this has been brought up before it is important to remember:

- That some of the things observed at Blue Bomber practices should not be discussed here on the forum.

- Special or unusual line up schemes, new plays or "trick" plays are intended to be the element of surprise for the other team.

Sharing that information here only helps other teams in their preparation for a game against the Bombers.

The Blue Bomber organization has asked that such information be kept off the forum if observed at practices. For the above reason, please ensure this information is not posted here going forward. It has been mentioned a few times before but this "sticky" thread should serve as a reminder to avoid sharing such details in future.

Thank you for your cooperation.

I consider such a request by the football club to be ridiculous, even a bit offensive. Here's a simple solution Bombers... If you want your skullduggery to remain secret, just close the damn practices to the public. Problem solved, and you don't have to start trampling freedom of expression just because you haven't been able to sign a top tier QB or a decent rush end.

 

[snowkiddin]

Bomber receiver Ryan Smith announced his retirement from football today. He came over last year as a free agent and had the "glitch" catch against Hamilton.

 

[puck stoppa]

Bomber receiver Ryan Smith announced his retirement from football today. He came over last year as a free agent and had the "glitch" catch against Hamilton.

did you see ^^^^^^^

 

[snowkiddin]

did you see ^^^^^^^

Haha yeah, the other posts didn't load on my phone

 

[Blitzkrug]

Good for him. Not only getting out of the game before injuries took something from him, but finding something outside of the game to do.

Kinda bullet dodged for the Bomber FO though. Made less sense to pay both him and Dressler as time went on since they basically do the same thing, just better in Dressler's case. Plus it means Denmark is here to stay for the time being.

 

[nobody important]

Good for him. Not only getting out of the game before injuries took something from him, but finding something outside of the game to do.

Kinda bullet dodged for the Bomber FO though. Made less sense to pay both him and Dressler as time went on since they basically do the same thing, just better in Dressler's case. Plus it means Denmark is here to stay for the time being.

Yeah, it would be like having both De Leo and Petan on the Jets. One Smurf per team is plenty.

 

[Holden Caulfield]

http://www.bluebombers.com/2017/04/05/breaking-2016-annual-report/

2.8 million dollar profit, albeit a bit misleading as that doesn't seem to include the 4.5 million dollar stadium repayment. That lowers to 3.5 million this year. Considering attendance was still in the recovery phase after years of terrible play it's not so bad. I expect attendance to be higher this year than last after the promise last year showed.

 

[bustamente]

Its going to be tough for the Bombers to make any kind of real profit with that mortgage payment over there head, its really to bad that where the stadium used to be sits idle, and probable will be that way for a while considering whats going on down the street on Kenaston.

 

[HannuJ]

Its going to be tough for the Bombers to make any kind of real profit with that mortgage payment over there head, its really to bad that where the stadium used to be sits idle, and probable will be that way for a while considering whats going on down the street on Kenaston.

what's going on on Kenaston?

 

[Ducky10]

what's going on on Kenaston?

Huge Outlet Mall across the street from IKEA. Hotels and condos all being built surrounding it. It will be a huge shopping mecca over the next couple of years. Going to be very hard to convince developers and big retailers to go near Polo Park.

 

[Holden Caulfield]

Its going to be tough for the Bombers to make any kind of real profit with that mortgage payment over there head, its really to bad that where the stadium used to be sits idle, and probable will be that way for a while considering whats going on down the street on Kenaston.

Reduced by 1 miilion per year starting next. And last year with the recent history and the 1-4 start meant that it was a real low point for the franchise. It would be blow you away shocking if team didnt post much improved attendance numbers this year.

 

[bustamente]

Reduced by 1 miilion per year starting next. And last year with the recent history and the 1-4 start meant that it was a real low point for the franchise. It would be blow you away shocking if team didnt post much improved attendance numbers this year.

Is the reduction 1 year only or for the rest of the term, as for attendance I expect much much better numbers this year.

 

[Holden Caulfield]

Is the reduction 1 year only or for the rest of the term, as for attendance I expect much much better numbers this year.

Ah your right, the max is 3.5 mil next year, 4.4 going forward after that. I thought it was reduced for good, read article wrong. Yeah its a tough burden but thats the price of a nice new stadium. Hopefully they get some acts in to supplement income and even a modest 1k increase in attendance (i think itll be more tbh) adds probably 500-750k into the income. Itll be a long time before team is pulling huge profits, but considering this is basically the low point it makes bb very stable.

 

[sipowicz]

Is the reduction 1 year only or for the rest of the term, as for attendance I expect much much better numbers this year.

Tough to say, attendance will improve but who knows by how much, losing teams for so long, BB's alienating their fans and awkward stadium location don't help!

 

[Holden Caulfield]

Tough to say, attendance will improve but who knows by how much, losing teams for so long, BB's alienating their fans and awkward stadium location don't help!

The so called awkward stadium location didn't hurt in first few years when the traffic was a bigger issue. Back in reality, it's no better or worse than the old place but some can't let go of a NIMBY attitude.

As for BB's alienating fans, well that just means you haven't been to a game in a while. The Bombers have VASTLY improved the fan experience from 10 or even 5 years ago. It's really a great experience these days.

The only missing component was a winning team. We started to see that last year. If it continues this year, by next we will be seeing regular sell outs. If the team regresses (very possible with the big weakness the team has at the QB spot) then it gets a bit iffier. But really when they bottom out like last year, they are still middle of the league in terms of attendance. Better than even Sask did during their dark era. So yeah there's that.

 

[sipowicz]

The so called awkward stadium location didn't hurt in first few years when the traffic was a bigger issue. Back in reality, it's no better or worse than the old place but some can't let go of a NIMBY attitude.

As for BB's alienating fans, well that just means you haven't been to a game in a while. The Bombers have VASTLY improved the fan experience from 10 or even 5 years ago. It's really a great experience these days.

The only missing component was a winning team. We started to see that last year. If it continues this year, by next we will be seeing regular sell outs. If the team regresses (very possible with the big weakness the team has at the QB spot) then it gets a bit iffier. But really when they bottom out like last year, they are still middle of the league in terms of attendance. Better than even Sask did during their dark era. So yeah there's that.

With the new access bus- way and new BRT station behind the stadium getting in and out should be a lot easier and bring back more casual fans.

 

[bustamente]

A quick start to the regular season with a competitive team will also help bring back the fans, people needs to put aside where the stadium is and go enjoy the atmosphere and quality of CFL football.

 

[Ducky10]

A quick start to the regular season with a competitive team will also help bring back the fans, people needs to put aside where the stadium is and go enjoy the atmosphere and quality of CFL football.

If the team starts consistently winning, particularly at home then it doesn't matter where the stadium is, people will come out. Bandwagon fans don't care about stuff like that, they just want to be part of the party.

 

[sipowicz]

Still repairing the four year old stadium with no end in sight! Hey it's only $35.5 million in tax dollars to fix a poorly designed stadium!

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/why-the-secrecy-over-igf-repairs-418703693.html

 

[nobody important]

http://www.bluebombers.com/2017/04/14/pledging-allegiance-new-team/

Got a bit of a chuckle from the zoo comment. After all these years, still nothing else to do in Winnipeg.

 

[HannuJ]

The so called awkward stadium location didn't hurt in first few years when the traffic was a bigger issue. Back in reality, it's no better or worse than the old place but some can't let go of a NIMBY attitude.

As for BB's alienating fans, well that just means you haven't been to a game in a while. The Bombers have VASTLY improved the fan experience from 10 or even 5 years ago. It's really a great experience these days.

The only missing component was a winning team. We started to see that last year. If it continues this year, by next we will be seeing regular sell outs. If the team regresses (very possible with the big weakness the team has at the QB spot) then it gets a bit iffier. But really when they bottom out like last year, they are still middle of the league in terms of attendance. Better than even Sask did during their dark era. So yeah there's that.

i miss the old stadium, where beating the traffic was a necessity. it would take forever to get out of the Polo Park core, no matter how far of a walk you had from the stadium.

what the stadium's doing with the express buses will be a game changer. you should be able to be zipped to and from the stadium to downtown in no time.

yes, the stadium's in the middle of nowhere. that's a larger issue to discuss (like, should U of Manitoba have been built in the middle of nowhere instead of in downtown Winnipeg? the answer is, no. but free land and cheap Manitoba). Winnipeg has a rich history of urban sprawl and ****-poor city planning decisions. why deviate from that now?

 

[puck stoppa]

So with Senior drafted and Gray, Ankou and Auclair signing in the NFL who do the Bombers take now? I was hoping for one of the first three. This throws a wrinkle in the draft a bit, but good on those guys for getting to the NFL.

 

[nobody important]

So with Senior drafted and Gray, Ankou and Auclair signing in the NFL who do the Bombers take now? I was hoping for one of the first three. This throws a wrinkle in the draft a bit, but good on those guys for getting to the NFL.

DL Faith Ekakitie was a big riser in the last rankings, so maybe him 1OA and newly-minted Canadian OL Dariusz Bladek (if still available) with our #6 pick. Maybe even take a chance on Gray at #6. Signing doesn't mean making the team. I don't follow the NFL so can't say what kind of depth the Packers have on the O-line.

Edit: Also, this guy...
http://3downnation.com/2017/04/26/game-changing-linebacker-late-add-to-cfl-draft/

 

[Holden Caulfield]

So with Senior drafted and Gray, Ankou and Auclair signing in the NFL who do the Bombers take now? I was hoping for one of the first three. This throws a wrinkle in the draft a bit, but good on those guys for getting to the NFL.

Christophe Mulumba is heading to mini-camp with the Bucs as well.

CFL draft is getting harder and harder to predict every year it seems more and more canadians are getting chances south of the border.

The nice thing is the Bombers don't really have any holes needing filling. I think they take a player they know will play this year at #1, then take a flyer on a guy like Auclair or Senior with the 2nd first rounder.