OT: Blue Bombers Thread - 2018 Season

[Holden Caulfield]

Roster for tomorrow is out. As is traditional Bombers are dressing most of their vets (since they are at home) and the Esks are leaving most of their vets at home (since they are on the road). As we saw last week. It's like an unspoken rule in the league that you let the home team win their pre-season game.

For the Bombers only notables not playing are the injured guys (HB/LB Leggett, RB LaFrance, LB Wild, QB Bennett) and just a couple more (RB Flanders, RT Hardwick, DB Alexander, DB Gaitor). A couple of the standout rookies are also not dressing in CB Sayles, DT Bryant, and WR Pierre but that's probably just about making sure some of the less impressive guys get their reps in today before a cut down day happening about the game.

The Esks are leaving lots of key players at home including QB Reilly, QB Glenn, RB Gable, WR Williams, WR Walker, WR Hazelton, DB Grymes, LB Sherrit, DT Sewell, etc.

 

[Holden Caulfield]

The pessimist in me is concerned that we are taking a bunch of castoffs (Roh, Clarke, Gaitor, Fenner) from the team that finished last in the division last year (B.C.)

That, and all of our good players (except for Leggett, Loffler, and Goossen and Chungh) have come from other CFL teams (Adams, Dressler, Harris, Nichols, Bryant, Bighill come to mind) but I guess this isn’t like the NHL and you can actually build your team through free agency (I would argue it’s more important than the draft, really)

That being said, all those players from other teams (including the BC guys) look good.

First of all, I think it's important to note these aren't exactly "cast offs". Lions hired a new GM and he came in and made sweeping changes. That's important to note, while these guys did move on from BC it's not necessarily because they are bad players but rather that Hervey just wanted his own guys in.

Take a look at ANY CFL roster. Pretty much every single team is full of "cast offs" from other teams. Just last year I started looking around and nearly every team had a Bombers "cast off" DB on their roster, that despite the Bombers not having a good DB corps since like 2011. Players move around ALOT in football, even moreso in the CFL.

The CFL is a completely different beast compared to the NHL or even really the NFL. There's rookies that can step in to be superstars right away. Players don't fit in certain systems, then become stars in others. The low cap makes retaining players past entry level deals very hard. The draft pretty never produces starters right away, it usually takes 2-3 years to develop national talent by which time they are hitting UFA.

Here's a fun example. Take the curious case of Johnny Aprile. Don't worry if you don't know him. He was drafted by the Bombers in the 3rd round, 16th overall in 2012 out of Queen's. He was a standout receiver for Queen's. Bombers had the intention of moving him to DB, and he had a great camp in 2012. But roster numbers and his eligibility to return to school meant Bombers sent him back to school for 2012 to play WR. He returned to school and ended up on the neg list. I'm not sure what happened next but he ended up traded ahead of the 2014 camp to Hamilton for Matt Bucknor (so 2 years later). He spent the next 3 years as a backup DB on the Hamilton roster playing 24 games in 3 years. Last year he was converted back to WR for Hamilton and was a depth receiver catching 3 passes in 3 games. This year he signed with Edmonton and is competing to be a starting national WR for them. The career paths of CFLers are just insane sometimes.

 

[BigZ65]

Neufeld looked fine late in the year last year. They ended up starting him over a healthy Bond near the end of the year. Couture and Spooner have never really had a chance to date yet so they are options as well. I think it's incredibly unlikely they move to 3 internationals along the o-line. They don't have any international guards in camp, and there's just nowhere else they can move another international into the starting lineup. Bond was nice to stabilize a young line two years ago, but the development of Chung and Goossen has really helped out to make the line better. Not too mention Nichols release being so much quicker than Willy has also helped.



I had thought that Wild was going to be cap casualty. But apparently he does not make very much money. It's impossible to know exactly where the money is at the moment. Durant's salary has certainly helped. We'll just have to wait and see. They obviously have a plan since they even managed to find room to bring back Jake Thomas after Bighill.

They rave every year about the receivers brought on, I don't read too much into it. L'Damien Washington was the one getting the rave reviews last year. Dressler is a real quality slot guy I don't think he'll end up cut. There's been little talk of that and he's been lining up with the #1's all camp.



Buck Pierce came to Winnipeg as a known injury prone guy. He actually did better injury wise in Winnipeg than he did in BC.

Drew Willy certainly had some flashes that I liked, but you go back and watch and alot of the problems are his own fault. He is very slow to release the ball. He had really good deep arm strength, but his release was really slow. He did develop "happy feet" in pocket later on in his Winnipeg days and the so-so o-line did not help, but I don't think it was the Bombers fault completely and I doubt he does much better elsewhere.

Keep in mind that Bond wasn’t listed as a “guard” on the roster either before that switch. Foketi has taken reps at guard the last couple years.

It’s very likely the Bombers “start” (as in declare) 5 Canadians on O and 2 on D, meaning those are the number of Canadians they have to have on the field everydown. Loffler obviously will play almost every down. The second spot will be filled by a bunch of guys, Corney, Thomas, Briggs, Miles, Jones, in different packages. This will give the Bombers huge roster flexibility. Also leaves the door open to 3 import OL if necessary.

 

[Holden Caulfield]

Keep in mind that Bond wasn’t listed as a “guard” on the roster either before that switch. Foketi has taken reps at guard the last couple years.

It’s very likely the Bombers “start” (as in declare) 5 Canadians on O and 2 on D, meaning those are the number of Canadians they have to have on the field everydown. Loffler obviously will play almost every down. The second spot will be filled by a bunch of guys, Corney, Thomas, Briggs, Miles, Jones, in different packages. This will give the Bombers huge roster flexibility. Also leaves the door open to 3 import OL if necessary.

Not sure where your getting that idea, but it's quite clear the ratio will be 6 on O, 1 on D. They've made that very very clear for a few months now. Loffler at S on D. On O you have LG Neufeld/Couture, C Goossen, RG Chung, RB Harris, SB Demski, and WR Wolitarsky/Simionise. They've been talking about this for months and there's been zero indication that that will change.

 

[BigZ65]

Not sure where your getting that idea, but it's quite clear the ratio will be 6 on O, 1 on D. They've made that very very clear for a few months now. Loffler at S on D. On O you have LG Neufeld/Couture, C Goossen, RG Chung, RB Harris, SB Demski, and WR Wolitarsky/Simionise. They've been talking about this for months and there's been zero indication that that will change.

The Bombers will start 6 on O, they've typically started 8 or even 9 Canadians at times since O'Shea took over. Purpose is for roster flexibility with in-game injuries. But for the ratio it will likely be 5 O-2 D.

 

[Holden Caulfield]

The Bombers will start 6 on O, they've typically started 8 or even 9 Canadians at times since O'Shea took over. Purpose is for roster flexibility with in-game injuries. But for the ratio it will likely be 5 O-2 D.

It's not the way they've lined up all camp though. We'll see. I can't see where they are going to get a 2nd defensive player at all. I doubt this very much. The whole point of starting a national WR and moving LG to a national spot was to open up spots on the defense.

 

[Holden Caulfield]

Dominque Davis completes the TD pass to Julien Feoli-Gudino.

 

[sipowicz]

Bighill doesn't play d line. He will not change the pass rush that that much (he's a more effective Blitzer sure but you only blitz so much).

Wow, yeah, don't know who I was thinking of, now I remember Bighill, short stocky guy built like a fire hydrant at LB!

 

[snowkiddin]

First of all, I think it's important to note these aren't exactly "cast offs". Lions hired a new GM and he came in and made sweeping changes. That's important to note, while these guys did move on from BC it's not necessarily because they are bad players but rather that Hervey just wanted his own guys in.

Take a look at ANY CFL roster. Pretty much every single team is full of "cast offs" from other teams. Just last year I started looking around and nearly every team had a Bombers "cast off" DB on their roster, that despite the Bombers not having a good DB corps since like 2011. Players move around ALOT in football, even moreso in the CFL.

The CFL is a completely different beast compared to the NHL or even really the NFL. There's rookies that can step in to be superstars right away. Players don't fit in certain systems, then become stars in others. The low cap makes retaining players past entry level deals very hard. The draft pretty never produces starters right away, it usually takes 2-3 years to develop national talent by which time they are hitting UFA.

Here's a fun example. Take the curious case of Johnny Aprile. Don't worry if you don't know him. He was drafted by the Bombers in the 3rd round, 16th overall in 2012 out of Queen's. He was a standout receiver for Queen's. Bombers had the intention of moving him to DB, and he had a great camp in 2012. But roster numbers and his eligibility to return to school meant Bombers sent him back to school for 2012 to play WR. He returned to school and ended up on the neg list. I'm not sure what happened next but he ended up traded ahead of the 2014 camp to Hamilton for Matt Bucknor (so 2 years later). He spent the next 3 years as a backup DB on the Hamilton roster playing 24 games in 3 years. Last year he was converted back to WR for Hamilton and was a depth receiver catching 3 passes in 3 games. This year he signed with Edmonton and is competing to be a starting national WR for them. The career paths of CFLers are just insane sometimes.

They were players on the worst team in the division last year, and management (whether new or not) decided they were not worth bringing back. They didn’t get rid of everyone. Jennings is still there. Arceneaux and Elmimian too I believe. The players that are good. I’m not saying those players that we got are junk, but I’m just being cautiously optimistic. There’s a reason B.C. didn’t resign them.

As for having our cast off DBs on other teams ... I guess other teams just can’t find anyone with any talent from the States. International DBs should be dime a dozen but instead guys like Brandon Stewart remain employed in the league.

And I actually do remember Aprile. Completely forgot that he was DB for some time though. Saw him on the Edmonton roster as a WR this year too and just assumed he had always been one.

 

[Holden Caulfield]

Gameday! After a beautiful camp it looks like the weather isn't holding out for a nice night tonight, but still should be a good time.

 

[SUX2BU]

Gameday! After a beautiful camp it looks like the weather isn't holding out for a nice night tonight, but still should be a good time.

Don’t drink the rum hut dry ....

 

[bustamente]

Finally time for some football preseason but still very interested to see how some of the new recruits do. Fenner and Bighill solidify this d and after a year's CFL experience I expect big things from Jeffcoat.

 

[BigZ65]

I'm excited to see Roh in Blue and Gold. He's the best 5 tech end we've had since Gavin Walls. Huge factor vs the run, responsible pass rusher, really good lanes. Annoying as hell vs the Bombers the past couple seasons.

A lot of versatility on the DL, enough that no one should be playing more than 2/3 of the snaps which makes a huge difference in the 4th quarter.

 

[BigZ65]

They were players on the worst team in the division last year, and management (whether new or not) decided they were not worth bringing back. They didn’t get rid of everyone. Jennings is still there. Arceneaux and Elmimian too I believe. The players that are good. I’m not saying those players that we got are junk, but I’m just being cautiously optimistic. There’s a reason B.C. didn’t resign them.

Part of being a free agent is that you get to choose where you want to play and chase bucks too. It's not just that BC didn't choose to re-sign them. I don't believe BC has been a happy place the past few seasons with all the ownership drama, plus Hervey is a world-class jerk, I mean he got fired a year after winning a Grey Cup and managing a team that never missed a West Final.

 

[Jets 31]

Question , why the hell isn't the Bomber game on TSN tonight ? Is it because they want all of their focus only on Johnny , way overrated football ? Because that's a joke if that's what's happening .

 

[bustamente]

Question , why the hell isn't the Bomber game on TSN tonight ? Is it because they want all of their focus only on Johnny , way overrated football ? Because that's a joke if that's what's happening .

Someone can correct me if I'm wrong but I think that TSN has decided to show one game from each team in preseason with the exception of Calgary, as for Manzel don't know when the decision was made to which games they would show but I have to think that they want to showcase him tonight.

 

[PinkPanther204]

Is tonight's game going to be televised?

 

[ps241]

Anyone get out to the game tonight and here any results?

 

[Gabe Kupari]

Anyone get out to the game tonight and here any results?

33 13 bombers.

Streveler goes 10 of 10. 140 yards. 80 yard TD to White. Engineered another scoring drive.

My take... Streveler looks legit

 

[Gabe Kupari]

Is tonight's game going to be televised?

No

 

[snowkiddin]

Part of being a free agent is that you get to choose where you want to play and chase bucks too. It's not just that BC didn't choose to re-sign them. I don't believe BC has been a happy place the past few seasons with all the ownership drama, plus Hervey is a world-class jerk, I mean he got fired a year after winning a Grey Cup and managing a team that never missed a West Final.

Agreed. Something I’ve always praised Miller/Walters is their willingness to spend to win. And the culture change that Miller ushered in helps too.

 

[snowkiddin]

33 13 bombers.

Streveler goes 10 of 10. 140 yards. 80 yard TD to White. Engineered another scoring drive.

My take... Streveler looks legit

Good news, hope you’re right

 

[Holden Caulfield]

Preseason is the land of opportunity. And many seized it.

My impressions.

At QB I think it's obvious that Chris Streveler was the star this night. 10 for 10 on 5 drives, including an 80 yard TD, he was money all night. He made one bad mistake trying to impress where he went for extra yards but otherwise it was a flawless night. This guy looks like a keeper. He was a guy that the Bombers were surprised to have since he had NFL interest and he's living up to it. Alex Ross the guy who was penciled in as the #2 was disappointing at best, terrible might be closer. 1 for 8 he just had no feel for the offense it seemed. It appears that the raw college rookie has stolen the #2 job for now.

Moving onto WR, it's clear that among nationals Simoinise is a beast. The catch he made in the 2nd quarter, goddamn. As long as this guy stays focused, he might every bit as goad as a guy like Bowman was with a national status to boot (Bowman led the league in receiving yards one year). Drew Wolitarsky lined up mostly with the starters but Simonise was the standout among national WR this day. Among internationals I don't know how you can't respect what "Sparkles" Myles Whyte did (my own nickname but that visor deserves that nickname). The 80 yard catch was amazing and he made plays everywhere, albeit he did have a couple of drops as well. I didn't see hyped NFL pickups Rueben Randle nor Kendrall Thompkins on the field this game.

How much good can be said about the game Johnny Augustine had? It should all be said. Go back in threads and this was a guy I was REALLY hoping we would draft in 2017 and he's proving me right. What a solid game from him. He's in super tough with Harris and LaFrance ahead of him in terms of national RB, but damn he showed he can be a player.

The O-Line I can't comment on too much, I just don't notice it enough live.

On defense, I think the best player was Drake Nevis. I have been hugely critical of him in the past, but he completely owned the line tonight. He was benched early because of this, but he was breaking though consistently to stop runs for losses. What a great game from him. Roh and Okpaulaguo both had solid games from the ends as well, IMO.

The LB was consistently up the air. Bighill was still shaking off rust, Santos-Knox made some more undisciplined play. But Gause, Wilson, Jones didn't really step up. Cap wise, veteran presnences wise, and overall talent wise I have no idea how they will handle this. It''ll be down the wire.

Speaking of that, I'm still now sure where the DB corps goes. Several playars had good nights against the Esks 3rd stingers, but he it was hard to decide what happened.

 

[bustamente]

Some guys definitely moved up the pecking order and some guys cemented their standing, while others may still be at training camp but essentially they have been cut.

 

[Swiftt]

Preseason is the land of opportunity. And many seized it.

My impressions.

At QB I think it's obvious that Chris Streveler was the star this night. 10 for 10 on 5 drives, including an 80 yard TD, he was money all night. He made one bad mistake trying to impress where he went for extra yards but otherwise it was a flawless night. This guy looks like a keeper. He was a guy that the Bombers were surprised to have since he had NFL interest and he's living up to it. Alex Ross the guy who was penciled in as the #2 was disappointing at best, terrible might be closer. 1 for 8 he just had no feel for the offense it seemed. It appears that the raw college rookie has stolen the #2 job for now.

Moving onto WR, it's clear that among nationals Simoinise is a beast. The catch he made in the 2nd quarter, goddamn. As long as this guy stays focused, he might every bit as goad as a guy like Bowman was with a national status to boot (Bowman led the league in receiving yards one year). Drew Wolitarsky lined up mostly with the starters but Simonise was the standout among national WR this day. Among internationals I don't know how you can't respect what "Sparkles" Myles Whyte did (my own nickname but that visor deserves that nickname). The 80 yard catch was amazing and he made plays everywhere, albeit he did have a couple of drops as well. I didn't see hyped NFL pickups Rueben Randle nor Kendrall Thompkins on the field this game.

How much good can be said about the game Johnny Augustine had? It should all be said. Go back in threads and this was a guy I was REALLY hoping we would draft in 2017 and he's proving me right. What a solid game from him. He's in super tough with Harris and LaFrance ahead of him in terms of national RB, but damn he showed he can be a player.

The O-Line I can't comment on too much, I just don't notice it enough live.

On defense, I think the best player was Drake Nevis. I have been hugely critical of him in the past, but he completely owned the line tonight. He was benched early because of this, but he was breaking though consistently to stop runs for losses. What a great game from him. Roh and Okpaulaguo both had solid games from the ends as well, IMO.

The LB was consistently up the air. Bighill was still shaking off rust, Santos-Knox made some more undisciplined play. But Gause, Wilson, Jones didn't really step up. Cap wise, veteran presnences wise, and overall talent wise I have no idea how they will handle this. It''ll be down the wire.

Speaking of that, I'm still now sure where the DB corps goes. Several playars had good nights against the Esks 3rd stingers, but he it was hard to decide what happened.

Great recap Holden, and thanks for doing this! I’m trying to get more into the Bombers this year, and you make it really easy to learn about them with posts like these.

I appreciate your insight.

Sounds like we might have quite the squad this year in Blue and Gold!