voodoochylde

Definitely a new era of Bomber football ..

One of the franchise’s all-time greatest receivers – Terrence Edwards -- announces his retirement today, after seven seasons with the Blue Bombers, and nine in the Canadian Football League. “I’ve had a great run in this league, and made countless friends and memories I will forever cherish,” said Edwards. “This city and the Blue Bomber organization has been so good to my family and me, and I just cannot thank them enough for everything they have done. Also, I would really like to acknowledge and thank the fans of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. The support we get as players is amazing, and that is one of the best things I will take away from my time in Winnipeg.” After joining the Blue Bombers as a free agent in May of 2007, Edwards went on to an illustrious career in a Bomber uniform, hanging his cleats up sitting 4th all-time in receiving yards (7,200 yards), and 10th in yards from scrimmage (7,273) as a Bomber. In all seven seasons, he never failed to gain at least 500 receiving yards and pushed his CFL career totals to 508 catches for 7,637 yards and 47 touchdowns by the end of 2013. Edwards produced five, 1,000-yard seasons in Winnipeg, and a total of 24, 100-yard games, second only to Milt Stegall among all-time Bombers receivers. “Terrence will retire today as one of the best receivers in the history of this franchise. He was a leader of the club’s offence for many years, and players like him simply do not come along every day. He was a special player in our league, and we thank him for everything he has done for our organization,” said General Manager Kyle Walters. Edwards was named to the Division All-Star team three times and twice to the All-CFL team. He led the club in receiving in 2007, 2010 and 2011, with the 2010 campaign marking his career-highs of 1,372 yards and 12 touchdowns. Edwards played in three Grey Cups recording 11 receptions, appearing once as a rookie with Montreal in 2005, and again in 2007 and 2011 with the Blue Bombers. “Terrence Edwards has been a consummate professional for the Winnipeg Football Club throughout the past seven years, and I would personally like to thank him for representing our club with class, hard work, and a burning desire to be successful,” said President and CEO Wade Miller. “He may be hanging them up, but he will always remain a member of the Blue Bomber family.” Edwards first joined the CFL late in the 2005 season when he signed with the Montreal Alouettes. He played his college football at Georgia, where he set numerous records and remains one of the best receivers in Georgia Bulldogs history.

Peanut Gallery.

Not picking sides here but it's this a case of the pot calling the kettle black? Just saying.

Will also see Pontbriand and Fitzgerald offensively (depending on the package) .. 2 NI DBs .. Only out of desperation.

Montreal whiffed on a lot of their offensive line picks as well .. but with the volume dedicated to the position .. they unearthed guys who became stalwarts for them .. as I said in the original post .. not every draft pick pans out or will make it at the next level .. but continually bringing in guys .. year after year .. helps position you to find those guys who *will* be successful. .. they also continued to draft linemen when they didn't explicitly have a *need* for it .. future thinking .. sustainability ..

i hope this where the Bombers break the bank especially on Laurent. Especially given that I don't ever expect to see either Bilukidi or Mulumba in a Bomber uniform .. (well .. maybe not break the bank but make a damned compelling case to come here).

I sure hope so. If there's 6 rounds in the draft, we should be taking 6 OL in my opinion. That makes very, very little sense. You ought to believe the scouting department has more faith in themselves than that. Agreed. I'm not a proponent of drafting linemen for the sake of it .. talent, upside and how the team is built with respect to the ratio always come into play .. that said when all things are equal you can't go wrong drafting a lineman. But by taking 6 at once, you're essentially committing to throwing away at least 3 picks. It's not like they can do anything except play OL and there are only so many spots. Simply saying .. there's never going to be a chance that you will use your entire allotment of picks (in a given draft class) on linemen .. always a need to consider how your roster is built because those incumbents need pushing as well ..

Farhan Lalji ‏@FarhanLaljiTSN 2m BREAKING: Cordarro Law has signed with the #Chargers. Received signing bonus, per #NFL source. #CFLFA14 #Stamps

I sure hope so. If there's 6 rounds in the draft, we should be taking 6 OL in my opinion. That makes very, very little sense. You ought to believe the scouting department has more faith in themselves than that. Agreed. I'm not a proponent of drafting linemen for the sake of it .. talent, upside and how the team is built with respect to the ratio always come into play .. that said when all things are equal you can't go wrong drafting a lineman.

Round 1, 2nd overall Round 3, 20, 26 Round 4, 29 Round 6, 47. 48 Round 7, 56 They really need to figure out what direction they are taking with the ratio (long term) .. this is going to help us sort out our draft.

Based on Walters comments, I think they'll be drafting a couple of OL prospects this season. He used Montreal as the model system for it's ability to bring in NI talent along the offensive line and noted that they bring in 1-2 guys every year. In my mind, this is ideal. Draft picks don't always pan out and you *need* a continual influx of talent to offset complacency, injuries and turnover. Looking at the last decade for Montreal: 2004: 1 offensive linemen drafted (Round 2) 2005: 2 offensive linemen drafted (Rounds 4, 6) 2006: 1 offensive linemen drafted (Round 3) 2007: 3 offensive linemen drafted (Rounds 1, 2, 3) 2008: 2 offensive linemen drafted (Rounds 2, 6) 2009: 3 offensive linemen drafted (Rounds 1, 2, 6) 2010: 2 offensive linemen drafted (Rounds 1, 4) 2011: 3 offensive linemen drafted (Rounds 2, 3, 4) 2012: 1 offensive linemen drafted (Round 6) 2013: 2 offensive linemen drafted (Rounds 5, 6) 20 offensive linemen drafted over the last decade. Not every pick sticks or takes that next step but obviously they are well positioned to find that diamond in the rough. It's also interesting to note that during this time they had some quality non-imports on their line .. they weren't necessarily drafting for need (rather long term sustainability at a position where non-imports are worth their weight in gold). Compare that to Winnipeg: 2004: 0 offensive linemen drafted 2005: 1 offensive linemen drafted (Round 6) 2006: 1 offensive linemen drafted (Round 3) 2007: 0 offensive linemen drafted 2008: 1 offensive linemen drafted (Round 1) 2009: 2 offensive linemen drafted (Rounds 3, 4) 2010: 0 offensive linemen drafted (1 if Greaves is counted - Round 6) 2011: 1 offensive linemen drafted (Round 4) - 2 (if Dunn, who was drafted in Round 3 as a DT / OL is counted) 2012: 1 offensive linemen drafted (Round 1) 2013: 0 offensive linemen drafted 7 (9) offensive linemen drafted over the last decade. Found the disparity here quite interesting - especially when one considers the state of our offensive line over the last number of years.

Wow it's like looking in a mirror. Size wise I mean. Yup...pumped up...*makes muscle pose* SHUT UP VOODOO I DO SO LOOK LIKE HIM!! Every day .. in the office .. it's like showing up to Muscle Beach .. ;-)

CFL Official Feed ‏@CFL 2m OFF THE MARKET: @cfl_esks sign receiver Akeem Foster. #CFLFA14 #CFL

Kirk Penton ‏@PentonKirk 1h As @chronicles0420 has corrected me, the #Bombers haven't ruled out bringing back RB Chad Simpson. Kirk Penton ‏@PentonKirk 1h The #Bombers are concerned because Chad Simpson just had a second foot surgery. That makes doing a contract tough.

I'd love to see McCune in here. His price tag might keep him out of Blue and Gold however .. especially if the team balked at the figure Ferri was asking for.

I agree re: inside o-line. It's scary. Sadly, the only way it's going to get better in the forseeable future is a prospect stepping up. Guys who can anchor an o-line just don't make it to free agency frequently enough to bank on that route. They could go for a trade, but the price is going to be high. It'll be a great day when we can stop fretting over the o-line. I think Greaves has developed into a VERY solid Guard Except that all too often he still looks very much like a converted DT. He needs to elevate his game more consistently because, as it stands now, he still gets beat quite regularly. Greaves is still something of a project.

Just a few thinking of how the ratio shakes out for us right now .. putting together a few ideas of who we might see as the 7 NIs .. thinking: Greaves Morley Swiston / Pencer / Neufeld - they'll need one of these guys to step up and take a spot Watson Kohlert Lucas / Thomas Muamba / Newman / Bucknor Depending on the package, probably see a healthy dose of Pontbriand and Fitzgerald as well .. the interior of our line makes me want to vomit .. none of Greaves, Morley or Swiston (et al.) are guys that I'd consider anchors ..

Just providing a list of NI-WR we have on our roster right now (not commenting on their viability as starters): Watson Kohlert Brescacin Feoli-Guidino Renaud (Taylor) Fitzgerald (drafted with an H back type role in mind I believe) Guys drafted and coming back: Alli (Not sure about DiCroce) It's going to be interesting to see how they approach the ratio this season.

Official .. CFL Official Feed ‏@CFL 1m BREAKING: @REDBLACKS sign Jovon Johnson. Details to come. #CFLFA14 #CFL

CFL Official Feed ‏@CFL 1m OFF THE MARKET: @CalStampeders re-sign receiver Anthony Parker - http://ow.ly/tz50y #CFL #CFLFA14

Can we talk about working out again? Seems more important...

He'd have to be pretty unrealistic to think that. There are 500 Will Ford's looking for a tryout in the US right now. Don't disagree but have to think who is setting the expectation (for the player) such that sides are so far apart .. that said ... Kirk Penton ‏@PentonKirk 1m That means no #Bombers offer for Chad Simpson. They are far apart with Will Ford, so he's gone, too.

Kirk Penton ‏@PentonKirk 2m Kyle Walters said they have given an offer to Chris Matthews. The other eight FAs won't be back.

Wpg Blue Bombers ‏@Wpg_BlueBombers 2m GM Kyle Walters: "We have made an offer to Will Ford but we are quite far apart (on money)." #Bombers Wonder if Ford (his agent) thinks he has the Bombers over a barrel considering we don't have a starting tail back under contract ..