Reilly was traded for a second round pick. They should've easily stomached that. Collaros was a free agent though. Agree that we've been willing to spend with Miller. It's nice. Way better than Buchko. Pretty obvious his regime was cheap and didn't care about winning.
I agree 100%. I was all over Bombers management when they balked at the price for Reilly. Was really really not happy with that summer. I was mistaken about Collaros. I guess they got outbid on Collaros. That was an odd off-season with so many teams needing QB's and so many teams having expendable options.
If the cap is an issue, I wouldn't mind moving on from Westerman. He was great his first year, and is still effective, but has been on the decline every year since we've got him. He's Canadian so that's what's really gonna hurt. Leggett, provided he recovers 100%, we need to have back. Heath is great and would be nice to have back, so if they let him go they better have a plan.
I agree. Westerman has been going down. Mulumba would be a huge add as he is basically a younger Westerman.
I'd be shocked if we lose Leggett as I said above. The injury is the wildcard, that is a really tough injury to come back from for a young guy, nevermind a guy in his 30's.
Heath might be a cap casualty. Also I think the epitomized the "selfish" play I think the Bombers were talking about. So they might not bring him back as an example. I would like him back as he is a big play player though.
Having Randle back will be nice. He did get abused when playing against elite competition last year, but what DB in the CFL doesn't? He is the best corner we have and unlike the majority of the jokers in the defensive backfield, he can actually make plays.
I disagree Randle got "abused". He is recognized around the league as an elite corner. He got beat at times, but that's basically the description of DB (they WILL get beat, it's a part of the job). Teams would often throw away from Randle.
Despite my love for Heath, Loffler and Randle, it's obvious our secondary was our weakness last year. Walker needs to be better. He's young, but he has to be better. Alexander was a bum, and Fogg was okay but I didn't like where they played him on the field. Who else did we even have back there?
ROC MOTHERf***ING CARMICHAEL! Thankfully he "left" for "personal reasons" last fall and never returned. We will be looking at new options in the secondary for sure. One of the big issues with the Bombers (IMO) was that although the short side was usually ok and well defended (Heath/Randle) teams would simply ABUSE the lack of depth the Bombers had to the wide side. The rest of the DB's were not up to par. Would still like Fogg back as a backup HB and PR but I think cap constraints won't allow that.
Have to get rid of Hurl and go import. Having Wild for the full year will be nice. He didn't play much last year but he is still an impact player. Would like to see more of Santos-Knox.
I'm off the opinion that Ian Wild has been overrated since day 1. I've never been a fan of his. He is not very mobile and not overly physical. I just don't see it. Would rather not have money commited to him. Santos-Knox at this early stage is projected as the starting MLB, but ideally I'd see him as a SLB instead of Wild. Santos-Knox actually has some impressive range on him, deceptively quick.
DL will take a step back. Jeffcoat is one of your starters. Any word on Okpaulago? After sucking royal **** for the first 75% of the season, he really turned it on late. Wouldn't mind taking another look at him. Chorney is a good alternative, especially being Canadian. If Mulumba comes back then we can get rid of Okpaulago but I ain't holding my breath. Gotta throw some Canadians up front for sure. I didn't think Thomas was too bad last year. Ekakatie needs to play more. What about Poop Johnson and the other dude (what was his name, Nevis?) Should we bring them back? Might not be enough room for them, and I don't remember them particularly sticking out.
Nevis is already gone. Johnson will be back as the starting international DT. Okpaulaugo and Jeffcoat will share role as international DE if Bombers go with Mulumba/Westerman/Chorney as other DE. Big part of the secondary issues last year was a lack of pressure at times. They really need to add an elite pass rushing DL, IMO. Those guys are available and can stand out as rookies, so I hope Bombers find someone. Trusting on big development out of Ekakatie and Chorney along with just mediocre guys like Jeffcoat and Thomas would not be good enough.
O-Line will still be strong. Losing Bond will really hurt, hopefully they can replace him with a decent young Canadian. No Neufeld please. Bryant, Hardrick, and Canadians Chungh and Goossen will be back and better.
From what I am hearing from the Bombers media types, I have a strong suspicion that Neufeld will be the starting LG next year.
I'm all for going Harris and Flanders in the running game again. Flanders is the best backup in the league.
I think Flanders is pretty overrated, to be honest. RB are a dime a dozen. But he is certainly fine, and his versatility to work with Harris as a SB is nice.
Expect JFG to be back. I think Coates will have a breakout season. Would like to see more of Chris Givens. Former Ram who we got late last year. He was good in the NFL. Could have three dangerous veterans in Denmark, Adams and Dressler next year. Lots of targets for sure. Get rid of Lankford and Washington.
Coates has been around for 6+ years. Not seeing a breakout possibility. I'd been hoping for a JFG breakout for a couple of years, but he's never done it. JFG and Coates are just warm bodies at the wide side WR. Both Lankford and Washington are back. Lankford is a brutal receiver, but will be back as a returner. I have no freaking clue what they see in Washington, he is brutal. I agree that Givens might be a good one. We'll see. A healthy Adams, Dressler, Givens, Denmark is a decent start of a receiving corps. International WR are a dime a dozen, so hopefully they pull a decent rookie or two.
Agree Durant will be a good backup. Remember with Nichols hurt last year we were stuck with LeFailure and the useless Davis. I can't see Durant being any cheaper than Glenn though.
Definitely need a young, talented third string QB to start to develop. Will need him to takeover someday. As mentioned, we haven't had anybody good for ages.
LeFevour was a bad signing since he was a terrible scheme fit as I mentioned before. Davis is somehow signed for next year right now, he is terrible I am not sure why he is still signed. It'd be nice to have real player to develop.
I guess if we need 7 starting Nationals, I'd go: Loffler, Harris, JFG/Coates, Goossen, Chungh, Thomas/Ekakatie and either Chorney (Mulumba if we can get him) or an O-Lineman to replace Bond (Spooner? Not sure if he can play LG or if he is ready).
Appreciate the lengthy and thoughtful response.
I doubt Spooner is ready. Problem is that you need more than 7 "starters". In different packages you have to be able to rotate out Harris, Thomas/Ekakatie, etc. So need flexibility as well. Along with having 2 starting DL as canadians, they need to be really good. A real big part of pass defense in the CFL is not allowing the QB time to throw the pass. That was a big part of our pass defense issue, is that the DL was not getting enough pressure.
