OT: 2015-2016 Winnipeg Blue Bombers/CFL Off-Season

[razorsedge]

Breaking news: The Bombers to sign literally anything not nailed down.

Love it. So much for being cheap like a couple people said.

I'm one of those that said that, do I'm very pleasantly surprised they are spending to improve.

As for the minimum Canadians on team rule, I'd rather they get rid of that, but have Canadian born players salary not count against the cap.

 

[Blitzkrug]

Walters: Hmmm I'll bet Dressler

Chevy: I'll see your Dressler and raise you Big Buff. Your move, Kyle.

Walters: Fine. All-in with Medlock, Shologan, Harris, and Smith. Let's see what you got, Chevy.

Chevy: Well ****. It's a process, you know.....

Chevy, out of confusion of being one upped, immediately signs Mark Stuart to another contract extension. He then trades for Kevan Miller (pretty please, Jets fans?)

Chevy: Game, set and match

Walters: ...

Just having fun.

 

[LadyJet26]

Harris

I find it incredibly amusing that Holden picked the pink elephant as the first excited emoticon

 

[AngelicAssassin*]

Harris ��

I find it incredibly amusing that Holden picked the pink elephant as the first excited emoticon

I don't get it?

 

[AngelicAssassin*]

Happy with Medlock over Ali Haji Sheikh or whatever but will we be expecting Medlock to do the punting as well? I know he can do it but his average wasn't the best.

Roster wise do we want one kicker doing both PK/P? Since the last one imploded I mean.


Also is the Shologan signing bad news for Bryant Turner. Competion wise obviously one would guess but Turner wasn't all spit and polish last season and signing FA's typically means some players(unexpected move on).

 

[Holden Caulfield]

Happy with Medlock over Ali Haji Sheikh or whatever but will we be expecting Medlock to do the punting as well? I know he can do it but his average wasn't the best.

Roster wise do we want one kicker doing both PK/P? Since the last one imploded I mean.


Also is the Shologan signing bad news for Bryant Turner. Competion wise obviously one would guess but Turner wasn't all spit and polish last season and signing FA's typically means some players(unexpected move on).

They added Billy Pavlopoulos as a punter.

They have too many DT's on the roster right now it seems. INT's Bryant Turner and Zach Anderson and NAT's Jake Thomas, Louie Richardson and Keith Shologan at least. They've also added a bunch of INT's that I don't know about. They might need to move on from Turner for cap reasons. Zach Anderson is quite a good player so hopefully they keep him.

But wow the National depth. There's Hurl, Westerman, Bucknor, Thomas/Shologan/Richardson as potential starters on defense. Then there's Goosen, Neufeld, Chung, Harris, Kohlert, Feoli-Gudino on offense. That's 9 potential starters. Lots of option for 3 INT OL/4 INT WR, 3 INT LB, 5 INT DB. Hurl, Bucknor, Neufeld, Kohlert, Feoli-Gudino now have to watch out for Americans behind them as well as Nationals.

 

[LadyJet26]

I don't get it?

Because it's a pink elephant.

 

[AngelicAssassin*]

They added Billy Pavlopoulos as a punter.

They have too many DT's on the roster right now it seems. INT's Bryant Turner and Zach Anderson and NAT's Jake Thomas, Louie Richardson and Keith Shologan at least. They've also added a bunch of INT's that I don't know about. They might need to move on from Turner for cap reasons. Zach Anderson is quite a good player so hopefully they keep him.

But wow the National depth. There's Hurl, Westerman, Bucknor, Thomas/Shologan/Richardson as potential starters on defense. Then there's Goosen, Neufeld, Chung, Harris, Kohlert, Feoli-Gudino on offense. That's 9 potential starters. Lots of option for 3 INT OL/4 INT WR, 3 INT LB, 5 INT DB. Hurl, Bucknor, Neufeld, Kohlert, Feoli-Gudino now have to watch out for Americans behind them as well as Nationals.

Forgot about Pavlo. Too early to tell of course but is it a given that he is the plan at punter?

For all the flack that Walters gets or has gotten National depth is something that needed to be addressed in a major way and while IMO we could always use more it is starting to look good. Do we now have faith in Hurl or does he still make us want to, well, hurl?

 

[sully1410]

What a coup. Willy's gonna have some playmakers this year to help him. This is really awesome. Go Blue!

We must have one if the better teams in paper by now...I mean really...

I think this is a huge message for the Mike O'Shea. If he ****s it up now...he'll be gone.

 

[HannuJ]

but the O line still isn't overly amazing

 

[Derfel*]

but the O line still isn't overly amazing

Which has been the problem for the past 6 seasons or so...

 

[bustamente]

Sign as many good players as you can,bring them to camp, let them fight it out, good day for Walters and co.

 

[Blitzkrug]

The only move i disagree with is Smith. Even then that's a slight disagreement because he produced fairly well with the horror show the Riders had at QB all year.

It amuses me because first we took Dressler, then they took what was supposed to be the next Dressler.

 

[RustyCat]

Looks like BB landed OL Jeff Keeping too

 

[Holden Caulfield]

Forgot about Pavlo. Too early to tell of course but is it a given that he is the plan at punter?

For all the flack that Walters gets or has gotten National depth is something that needed to be addressed in a major way and while IMO we could always use more it is starting to look good. Do we now have faith in Hurl or does he still make us want to, well, hurl?

Medlock did an interview on 1290 (or press conference idk) where he stated that the plan is for him to do all 3 jobs kicking. So Pavlopoulos will likely be competing for a spot but it sounds like Medlock is written in pencil to do all 3 jobs. Which as an international makes sense.

I have never been a big fan of Hurl to be honest but he really came into his own in the 2nd half of the year. With the amount of quality internationals players like him are no longer required to start now. I think Wild will be pushing for the starting spot in the middle of the defense and he might get it. So basically Hurl is probably in pencil as well. Because of that depth at National there is going to be lots of spots up for competition in camp.

 

[AngelicAssassin*]

Looks like BB landed OL Jeff Keeping too

What's he got left in the tank? Potential starter? Another National which is great. This is what a team trying to make an impact should be doing. Not like the Joe Mack days where you wanted to be drunk by 9 am so it wouldn't matter as much.

 

[Hank Chinaski]

but the O line still isn't overly amazing

Don't need overly amazing, just need a good OC and the right strategies to beat aggressive blitzing teams like Hamilton. Hopefully LaPo can provide that.

We've hopefully moved away from starting guys like Picard, Cordaro Howard, Shannon Boatman, etc. who flat-out can't play. That would be a big step forward.

 

[kylbaz]

Don't need overly amazing, just need a good OC and the right strategies to beat aggressive blitzing teams like Hamilton. Hopefully LaPo can provide that.

We've hopefully moved away from starting guys like Picard, Cordaro Howard, Shannon Boatman, etc. who flat-out can't play. That would be a big step forward.

Didn't watch much CFL last year but I remember the first Hamilton game. Then I remember playing them again and thinking, okay, let's see if they prepared for the blitz. NOPE! Exact same offense running. I absolutely couldn't believe a 'professional' coaching stuff would not prepare for what they knew was coming.

 

[Awesometrax]

Walters: Hmmm I'll bet Dressler

Chevy: I'll see your Dressler and raise you Big Buff. Your move, Kyle.

Walters: Fine. All-in with Medlock, Shologan, Harris, and Smith. Let's see what you got, Chevy.

Chevy: Well ****. It's a process, you know.....

This makes me wonder if a blockbuster trade's coming tomorrow. Seems reminiscent of last year, first day of CFL free agency the Bombers were very active (albeit not as active as today) and then Chevy pulls off Stafford, Myers, Armia, Lemieux and Roslovic for Kane and Bogo the next day. All I'm saying is it wouldn't surprise me if Ladd is traded tomorrow.

Back on topic. Fantastic day for the Bombers. Picking up good players in areas of need? Awesome. Picking up non-imports that are solid in those areas?

 

[AngelicAssassin*]

They added Billy Pavlopoulos as a punter.

They have too many DT's on the roster right now it seems. INT's Bryant Turner and Zach Anderson and NAT's Jake Thomas, Louie Richardson and Keith Shologan at least. They've also added a bunch of INT's that I don't know about. They might need to move on from Turner for cap reasons. Zach Anderson is quite a good player so hopefully they keep him.

But wow the National depth. There's Hurl, Westerman, Bucknor, Thomas/Shologan/Richardson as potential starters on defense. Then there's Goosen, Neufeld, Chung, Harris, Kohlert, Feoli-Gudino on offense. That's 9 potential starters. Lots of option for 3 INT OL/4 INT WR, 3 INT LB, 5 INT DB. Hurl, Bucknor, Neufeld, Kohlert, Feoli-Gudino now have to watch out for Americans behind them as well as Nationals.

DT Euclid Cummings signed as well has to mean the end for Bryant Turner. Westerman on one end with the tackles being Shologan and Cummings. Who plays the other end? Greg Peach? Shayon Green? Shift Anderson, or maybe Cummings? Competition is gonna be fierce.

Great couple of days for Winnipeg sports teams.

 

[rahzar]

I have never been a big fan of Hurl to be honest but he really came into his own in the 2nd half of the year. With the amount of quality internationals players like him are no longer required to start now. I think Wild will be pushing for the starting spot in the middle of the defense and he might get it. So basically Hurl is probably in pencil as well. Because of that depth at National there is going to be lots of spots up for competition in camp.

Hurl received the brunt of my outrage last year on numerous occasions. I'm not overly familiar with schemes and formations, but from what I recall he played quite a bit of middle linebacker, which did not go well. Seems like he may be better suited for the Sam or Will spots. That being said, an off-season of training may do him well.

For next year, I would like to see greater contributions from Kohlert, Pontbriand, Feoli-Gudino, Thomas and Sherman. All seem to have shown flashes of being good, but haven't been given bigger roles. Also, I would like to see Richardson get playing time, other than special teams. He was a monster when at the U of M.

 

[RustyCat]

Added DT Euclid Cummings - 2015 stats w/Argos: 27 tackles, 8 sacks, & 1 forced fumble

 

[blueandgoldguy]

Is Cummings an interior lineman or an end?

The signings just keep on coming.

 

[roccerfeller]

Cummings is a good signing.

Lots of really good free agency activity by the bombers.

I'm impressed. Is this our team?

Hopefully this all translates into a better product on field.

 

[SIV]

They added Billy Pavlopoulos as a punter.

They have too many DT's on the roster right now it seems. INT's Bryant Turner and Zach Anderson and NAT's Jake Thomas, Louie Richardson and Keith Shologan at least. They've also added a bunch of INT's that I don't know about. They might need to move on from Turner for cap reasons. Zach Anderson is quite a good player so hopefully they keep him.

But wow the National depth. There's Hurl, Westerman, Bucknor, Thomas/Shologan/Richardson as potential starters on defense. Then there's Goosen, Neufeld, Chung, Harris, Kohlert, Feoli-Gudino on offense. That's 9 potential starters. Lots of option for 3 INT OL/4 INT WR, 3 INT LB, 5 INT DB. Hurl, Bucknor, Neufeld, Kohlert, Feoli-Gudino now have to watch out for Americans behind them as well as Nationals.

Make it 10 potential Canadian starters...Sherman/Waggoner competing for safety.