M.Silverback

The playoff win in Sask bought this coaching regime another season, like it or not. Given the expiring CBA, massive free agency on every team, the AAF impact, it’s going to be a very interesting off season and 2019.

Yes. But, we did have chances

It will definitely be a huge challenge for him. There are so many new drafted and UDFA running backs in the NFL each year. Be interesting to see if he gets an NFL Combine invitation. Long shot I think. More likely has a UND pro day, maybe skips the CFL Combine. I'd like to see him do the CFL Combine. As others have stated, I think he'd be a beast from a testing perspective. As a Winnipegger, I'd love to see him get an NFL shot, but, I'd also love to see him on the Blue.

He definitely looks like a talent, and having another Oak Park grad running back on the Blue would be cool. Looks like he's going to give the NFL a shot first though. Not sure he'll be drafted in the NFL, but, any CFL team will likely have to wait until after he explores the UDFA market in the NFL. https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/amateur/fighting-hawk-has-eye-on-nfl-493358271.html

Athletes typically get one of the extraordinary ability visas. https://usimmigrationlaw.net/athletes-2/

Agree with all of this. The other factor is overall competitiveness. Agents and NFL talent evaluators are going to have to wait and see what the talent and competition level is like in the AAF. I think they’ve got a good sense of the CFL level and how that translates to the NFL. The AAF is a complete unknown. Could turn out to be a bush league or a hidden gem talent league like the USFL. Either way CFL better do something in response

Definitely. And they have a decent TV deal with CBS, we’ll connected football types running it. Hate to say it but if I was an agent for a mid level talent US player convincing me to choose the CFL over the AAF at this point would be tough. I think the elite players, like QB’s, will stay in the CFL. They get paid well, are treated like stars and likely don’t want to hold a clipboard in the NFL

Hope so. His national status means he’s valuable in the CFL and should get paid. My worry is I think he has the same Minneapolis based agent as Zylstra and Thielen. Might get talked into giving the AAF a shot as a step towards an NFL look. But, I have no idea how US agents view the AAF. Some well connected football types running it though

Thanks for putting this list together. It will be interesting to see how the AAF impacts CFL free agency. I predict some surprises for all teams. I think CFL teams are going to lose more talent than you normally would see. Wouldn’t be shocked to see Wolitarsky, Santos-Knox and Jeffcoat look at signing in the AAF.

I'm with you on hoping that this resurgence of the D doesn't give the team a false sense of where we're at overall. Hate being a Debbie Downer, but, overall, the team has been pretty mediocre for five seasons. Kudos to the D for playing great against Edmonton, but if we go one and done in the playoffs (if we make it), my biggest fear is management rides with the exact same coaching staff, scheme, starting QB, import WR's next season thinking we're trending upwards. We're not in the big picture.

Tremendous performance by the D. I’m baffled as to where this came from. Hall is suddenly a decent DC? Or, have we all not put enough onus on the players? Not saying Hall is great, but, we have talent, maybe they just need to execute better. Bighill should be dominating every game, like he did.

It’s been 5 seasons of mediocrity. That’s enough. This regime has been given an adequate chance to raise the level. Changes need to happen. There have to be consequences (Kavis, 2013).

I like that plan. Wolitarsky is likely a better slot receiver - good hands and size. I think they’re under utilizing Simonise. Size, speed, he’s definitely a match up problem at boundary. Makes so much sense it’ll never happen

Key point being below .500 in 5 seasons. What pro coach in any sport survives that? It’s not an overreaction based on one or two seasons, it’s a trend. Nice guy or not, stubborn or not, poor coordinators or not, that’s not succeeding.

Agree with everything, possible exception Harris being brittle. He takes a lot of punishment. Too much. Defences go off on him because really he’s all you have to scheme against. He’s likely hurt every game but still plays at a high level. They need other legitimate weapons

I think you're right, he's definitely injured. And, he doesn't have a talent level of an Aaron Rodgers who can still be great at 70% physical capacity. This is where the HC has to step up. At what point do you stop letting an injured player go out there and not help the team or himself? At some point you may have to shut him down. Enough with the "he's tough, or wants to play through it" nonsense. If we find out end of season Nichols goes in for ACL or MCL surgery, I'd be super pissed if I were Nichols and my coach let me poop the bed all year playing on a bad peg.

A QB facing Sam Hurl ... really made me laugh. Thanks for that. Interesting question about why rookie QB's seem to start more in the NFL than the CFL. There's other things to consider as well. One - most rookie NFL QB's who start are high draft picks. There's a hype and selling to the fan base aspect that just doesn't exist when you bring in some UDFA to the CFL as a QB. I think NFL teams draft them to be the face of the franchise, and jump on that train quickly. CFL rookie QB's come in as unknowns with zero hype. Related to that, I think NFL teams who do that are more apt to live through the bad games that they know are going to happen with a rookie. If Sam Darnold is your guy, you basically tell the fan base to be patient. Hope he turns into a top tier QB. Third thing is coaching. The QB coaches and OC's are just better than their CFL counterparts at prepping a rookie QB I'd guess.

Exactly. Not to flog the deadest horse on this forum, but, that’s the argument to start Streveler. He’s not Mike Reilly, but, as a defensive coordinator or player, there’s some fear. You lose containment, he can burn you with a run. He gets into the secondary, he can out run, or run over a DB. Teams are salivating to play Nichols now

I've pretty much been a Streveler fanboy, but, if you're going to try to salvage Nichols season (career?) and justify the $400K salary, I think you have to start him against the team with the worst record in the league (notice I didn't say worst team), and see if he can get back on track. A win; 270 yards, 2 TD's, 1 pick - sadly, that would be a "good" day for him this year. If he wins, definitely a very short leash the rest of the season for him. And tell him that Strevelation will be coming in the second he even hints at an underhand pick 6. If he loses, craps the bed, I'd suggest he start looking into coaching opportunities in US colleges.

Totally agree that Nichols is the biggest problem. But, we have, and have had, other problems this year, and in past years. O'Shea seems like a good guy that players love. But, I'm just not sure what rationale you can have as a GM to retain a coach for 5 seasons who has a sub 500 record, never won a playoff game, and the team is regressing. We're getting worse overall as a team. How is the coaching staff given a free pass on that? How can you sell that to the fan base? Potential season ticket buyers?

For sure, firing coaches is a risk. You can target replacements, but as you say, they have to want to come. That said, most assistants want to become head coaches at some point. Steinhauer seems like one who would want to, and I'm not sure June Jones is stepping aside any time soon. The other thing is sometimes you just have to take a risk and make a change when things aren't working, or you're becoming stagnant. The Toronto Raptors just did that, fired a very good coach, because they were stagnant. May work out or not, but, at least they're avoiding the definition of insanity thing - stick with the same, hope for different results. We're reaching that point with the O'Shea coaching era.

I’d also be good with Orlando Steinhauer

Philosophically I agree that consistency in an organization is a better way to go. Organizations that constantly change regimes typically flounder. But, I also think you have to earn that right with success. If the San Antonio Spurs have a losing record this year, Pop and Buford have earned some time to fix it because they’ve succeeded big time in the past. A sub 500 record and no playoff wins in 5 seasons (which in CFL years is like 10), earns you nothing. And I think it only buys Walters one more after O’Shea with a new coach

O’Shea’s 5 year record is 40 - 44. Realistically the Bombers will be lucky to win 3 of the last 6. I don’t think a five year record of 43 - 47 with no playoff wins is good enough to keep your job. Whether players love you or not. The personnel here is flawed but our roster isn’t as bad as our record (exception being 2018 Nichols, who I feel for, but man he is crapping the bed). He and his staff will be fired. Walters already has a double secret list of coaches he’s considering

You’re right. And it’s also on the coaching staff to help coach him out of this funk. Nichols has never been BLM or Reilly, but he’s shown he’s be an average CFL starter. Now he’s in Willy-meltdown zone. Feel for him, but it’s pro sports.