M.Silverback

Agreed! And let's throw some blame on our GM who was seen in a video practically pounding the table to draft this guy in the first round! This guy isn't even close to being a CFL level player. If we can't trust our GM and his scouts to find and evaluate talent through the draft and US scouting, we're completely hooped.

🤣Not a sock puppet, but I do own an authentic Shari Lewis Lambchop puppet (drunken purchase I don't regret). Just trying to balance the allegations of people having "Osh-boners" with what seems to be "Wally-boners".

Feel like I need to clarify every post, I'm not pro Osh and the way he coaches this team. I'd have fired him. However, I'm continually confused by some posts (yours, Booch) that seem to defend or absolve Walters of the responsibility for where this team is at. He's as responsible as Osh, if not more, given his role in the hierarchy of pro sports. GM's (team management) hire and fire HC's, and the buck stops with them in terms of talent acquisition, retention, salaries and yes, even roster decisions. Any (good) GM tells (not asks) their coaches when they are upset about talent utilization in all pro sports. Sure there's a relationship balance, but only one of those roles has firing power over the other. So it's not, and should not be balanced. Why do you think the GM and management of the Golden Knights turf coaches every two years or so? Because they can, for any reasons they want from wins and losses, coaching style, player utilization ... The problems for the Blue Bombers are ineffective, questionable coaching essentially supported, or not challenged by the person who should, the GM. Add to that a GM who has really failed in terms of finding and retaining talent, and we arrive at where we are - a below average team who will get bounced first playoff game if they are lucky.

You don't think Osh can roster another LB!? Of course he can! He can play an all LB defense if he wants. Just watch!

Done! 3DownNationWinnipeg Blue Bombers sign UFL standout Kyahva Tezino - 3...The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have signed American linebacker Kyahva Tezino, the team announced on Monday. The native of Los Angeles, Calif. was named All-UFL with the Birmingham Stallions in 2026. He rec

I think that speaks more to the overall dysfunction in the organization - that the GM either agrees with these decisions by the HC, or let's the HC have more control over these types of decisions. It's not meddling in any pro sport for a GM to have significant input into not only finding talent, but which talent stays and goes, it's their job! Coaches - thanks for your input, but your job is to coach the talent given to them. Fans here forget that in every pro sport GM's hire and fire HC's. The dysfunction here is the Canadian mafia seems to forget that and operate like some kind of kumbaya collective.

Hey, I'm frustrated with Osh too. I wouldn't have re-signed him if I was GM. But, if I were Wade I would have told KW he's too is on the clock. Maybe fire some scouts? Definitely! He hires the scouts, he's ultimately responsible for talent aquisition, and he's done a poor job of it the last few seasons. And you may disagree, but talent trumps coaching, in all levels of sports, every sport. Erik Spoelstra, great NBA coach, has won two championships - when his teams were loaded with talent. He's also been bounced first round, or missed playoffs 10 seasons. Talent, talent, talent! He didn't forget how to coach those seasons. Or a closer to home example - Stanley Cup winning coach Paul Maurice. Because he finally had a truly championship roster, not because he became a better coach. Plus, if you did fire the GM, there's no way a head coach survives that. So Osh would be gone with any new GM. Problems solved.

Why can't we blame both? Osh with his ridiculous 9 LB line up; not using the designated American ever; not dressing enough DL like every other CFL, NFL, USports team does. And KW - we're 1 - 4 at home; might go to 4 -5 on the year; no real game breakers on offense, no real studs on D that he has found through US scouting; haven't really found an impact American through scouting for years; no real impact players on PR (maybe Jaworski). Both are failing.

Wilson is meh. WR3 on a championship team. No defensive coordinator in the CFL is game planning to stop Pokey Wilson. And that's the best our GM and scouting staff have come up with.

Not defending Osh, but I'd agree with you more if any of the players we brought in who went elsewhere became stars in the league. None did. I'm not talking free agents who left for $, I'm talking players we cut/didn't start who left. Most were chicken **** here, chicken **** elsewhere. Scouting and GM has to be way better. Where's our Davis Alexander; Clarence Hicks; Jaylon Hutchings; Tyler Snead; Austin Mack; Damonte Coxie ... ? Our talent aquisition may be the worst in the CFL. Not hyperbole. And add to it Osh, doing Osh things ... But if we brought in better talent, Osh would be a better coach. He's proven that when he had the best talent in the CFL. He definitely doesn't have the chops to raise the level of a mediocre talent team.

I think we all agree that both Osh and KW are at fault. I do lean towards the GM slightly more. Even if Osh picks some favourites over more talented other options, I still think the GM has to find some talent that is clearly better than the other options. We haven't had a true impact WR, DE, DT, OL brought in by KW in years. Dalton Schoen I guess is one. Ones that come in and are so much more talented that even Osh can't deny it. Other teams find them every year. I think the problem is Osh is picking from a selection of C to B level talent, and he then leans towards intangibles.

To be clear, I'm not defending Osh's roster decisions - his not using the designated national rule is practically a fireable offense. But I think you're way underestimating the input of years of assistant coaches. Yes, he's head coach, but you know that assistants, and GM, have opinions about everything. Coaching staffs don't work in isolated silos. And, if the consensus was that Eli was clearly a better option than anyone, clearly destined to be an above average CFL center, the chatter would be overwhelming. I suspect while there may have been some diverging opinions, the perception was that he was equivalent or just marginally better than the other options. There clearly wasn't a strong enough consensus to really pound the table for him. If you want to place blame, let's go with the GM for not reacting to the fact that since Couture, Goosen, we have had below league average play at center. And how about our future Hall of Fame, Cup winning, multiple times concussed QB? You think they would have ignored his opinion if he felt very strongly about Eli over any of the other options? QB's don't make the final personnel decisions, but you know future HoF'ers have a ton of influence, especially over a center! There is a world, crazy as this seems to the Eli fan club (myself being a former member) that ZC felt better with Kolo and Elsbury there. Not sure why, but could be. This!

I agree with you that Osh's player decisions have been a problem, and that Eli would be no worse than Kolo or Elsbury. But, I'm saying that "no worse" is not good enough. I'd take every starting center in the CFL, and some of the back ups, before Kolo, Elsbury or Eli. That's the issue. Can't win a Cup with a revolving door at center. And Eli's impressive college resume was in 2017. He missed all of 2018 with an injury. And has been injured a lot, including now, as a pro. I think with this much evidence, I wouldn't bet on him ever being an above average CFL center. I wouldn't even bet on him being a regular full time starter. Believe me, I loved the idea of Eli when he first showed up here. The reality is it hasn't happened. Time to upgrade at center.

No worse than Elsbury/Kolo is not good enough. I think the problem is overall we're probably weakest in the CFL at center. Whether it's this season or next, we need to upgrade at center. Eli has been with the team 7 seasons and through a combination of injuries, baffling Osh decisions and failing to really distinguish himself from the pack when he did play, it's pretty clear that it's not going to happen with him. The Rimington Award watch was a long time ago. I don't think you're a true championship contender with below average center play.

T. Philpot

Huge part of your job actually. Can't imagine another pro coach in another sport basically admitting they're not familiar with all the rules of the sport they coach.

Agree! Has either of them ever explained why they don't use that rule? There's no valid reason not to, but I'd love to hear what kind of b.s. rationale they would give.

Kevin Mital - Argos

Perkins

I get that the list of American college QB's, and some NFL QB's, that came to the CFL and failed is long. However, there are so many QB's that play at the D1 and D2 level in the US that will never play in the NFL, I'm a bit baffled as to why it's been so difficult for the Bombers to find anyone talented. Yes, many don't want to play in Canada. Yes, there is an adjustment to the CFL game. But how about just bring in more? Really work on bringing some neg listers, early NFL cuts, ones who didn't get drafted. Instead of 3 in camp, bring in 8. Yes ... they won't get enough reps ... but your chances of one having CFL talent at least increase if you bring in some more. Or, just keep doing the same thing we've been doing, get the same results.

I'm a broken record about this but RB's are about 7th to 9th in terms of average salary paid by position in the NFL due to availability of replacement level talent and overall impact. Why are we going against a trend run by much smarter and wealthier football organizations? Don't tell me it's because he's Canadian. Yes Canadians get a premium in terms of salary, but a smart team should still be paying that premium at the impact positions based on the bigger, smarter NFL - Dline; WR's; all star OL; QB's if you have a unicorn Canadian star (hopefully we might). This was a decision to appease the fans who value the local community impact over good cap management.

And Osh refuses to use the designated import on the roster for reasons I cannot understand.

Depending on the source, RB's are 7th - 9th in terms of the average salary in the NFL by position group. Reasons - overall impact and availability of replacement players. You pay QB's, impact DL's, WR's, all star OL. I get CFL has differences ... Canadians are paid a premium ... we all love Brady ... But still, football is football. It's just bad salary cap management to pay an RB one of the highest salaries on any team.

Jeff Hamilton of the WFP was on Winnipeg Sports Talk today. Sure sounded like from what he's heard the Bombers brass (Miller) wants Osh to stay. Hope he's wrong.

I'm 90% in agreement with everything you said. Disagree that any GM should "trust" any HC about who he wants in free agency, etc. Not his job, not their skill sets. You know well that all coaches have biases, friendships with players, loyalties. And some of that is necessary. Sometimes it gets dysfunctional, like Osh. A pro sports GM is about talent acquistion, retention, cap management, projecting 1 year and 5 years down the road. Not happy, clappy feelings bonding with players like Osh seems to have as his main focus. It's about winning championships. Again, a GM should say thanks for your input HC, now let me do my job and try to build a championship roster and coaching staff, which may or may not include you.