Mike

Lots of people having a strange reaction to this trade in all honesty.
 
First of all, no big surprise that Hall didn't have the value some thought he did. He's got no term left and he's made it pretty clear that he wants to try the NFL. Not only is he a rental, I'd be surprised if Saskatchewan could afford the pay day it'd take to resign him. I think he's back in the CFL next year but I don't think it's with the Riders.
 
Neufeld isn't a terrible offensive lineman but he certainly does suck at guard and as odd as it sounds, we suddenly have a mediocre logjam of NI talent at right tackle. Hopefully Pencer translates to guard. This probably means we don't protect Swiston from Ottawa now.
 
Reasons the draft pick means very little to me ... this is a pretty thin draft with the new eligibility rules so trading out of 2014 and into 2015 works for me. Not a huge fan of the two round drop but to me, that's what you pay for getting a 24 year old NI lineman who is signed through 2015.

Well ... the suggestion that Alex Hall is somehow worth Darian Durant is laughable, just for starters.

Are you drunk?
 
There is so much wrong with your post I do not even know where to begin lol
 
First of all, you THINK you'd trade Hall for Durant and Saskatchewan's first rounder? If that deal were ever an option, I'd accept it immediately.
 
Second, why on earth do you think a team that would be dealing for assets to help them load up for their Cup run would dump their starting quarterback in return?

Well ... the suggestion that Alex Hall is somehow worth Darian Durant is laughable, just for starters.

Are you drunk?
 
There is so much wrong with your post I do not even know where to begin lol
 
First of all, you THINK you'd trade Hall for Durant and Saskatchewan's first rounder? If that deal were ever an option, I'd accept it immediately.
 
Second, why on earth do you think a team that would be dealing for assets to help them load up for their Cup run would dump their starting quarterback in return?

Agreed, I've never bought into that logic.  Imagine being in the player's shoes.  Ottawa thinks enough of you to draft you without a contract and your current team doesn't think enough of you to protect you... which team is making you feel more wanted?  Never mind the fact that Ottawa will have exclusive negotiation rights for two months to hash out a contract, and we saw how much that was worth in the Mike Reilly acquisition.  The only situation where it would be really risky is when there is NFL interest in the player.  If the player is likely to keep playing in the CFL, and Ottawa drafts him, they are almost certainly going to be able to get him under contract.

I think it's fair to say Trouba's goal was weak but the play he made to create the scoring opportunity was awesome.

Until we get a QB it doesn't matter how talented the rest of the roster is.
 
I don't blame Tim Burke for losing. I blame Tim Burke for losing in the most ridiculous, frustrating to watch, uninspiring, unintelligent and disheartening way possible on a regular basis.

I certainly hope so.

Until we get a QB it doesn't matter how talented the rest of the roster is.
 
I don't blame Tim Burke for losing. I blame Tim Burke for losing in the most ridiculous, frustrating to watch, uninspiring, unintelligent and disheartening way possible on a regular basis.

Until we get a QB it doesn't matter how talented the rest of the roster is.
 
I don't blame Tim Burke for losing. I blame Tim Burke for losing in the most ridiculous, frustrating to watch, uninspiring, unintelligent and disheartening way possible on a regular basis.

Except when you do it properly, what you have is flexibility in your ratio so if Henoc gets hurt, you don't necessarily need a backup NI MLB, you just slot another NI in somewhere else and play an American at MLB.
 
For example, if Andrew Harris gets hurt in BC, they don't replace him with a NI RB, they simply adjust their ratio and dress another NI somewhere else. Same with Cornish in Calgary, Matt Walter is the game day backup but I doubt he'd be the weekly starter if Cornish got hurt. Same thing applies with Ted Laurent in Edmonton. Andre Durie in Toronto. etc etc

I don't necessarily agree.
 
The drop off is usually going to be steep in any situation. If you're capable enough to start as a Canadian in this league, you rarely sit on the bench.

Until we get a QB it doesn't matter how talented the rest of the roster is.
 
I don't blame Tim Burke for losing. I blame Tim Burke for losing in the most ridiculous, frustrating to watch, uninspiring, unintelligent and disheartening way possible on a regular basis.

Burke needs a shock collar so if he speaks he gets zapped.

That's what drives me nuts the most.
 
If we're evaluating, he's doing it wrong.
If we're trying to win, he's doing it wrong.
 
The only way he's right is if we're just throwing darts at a dartboard to fill roster spots because hey, nobody can be wrong that way.

Based on Burke's attitude to date, I'm pretty sure that's a typo.
 
99.9% confident he actually said "don't worry about the win"

Based on Burke's attitude to date, I'm pretty sure that's a typo.
 
99.9% confident he actually said "don't worry about the win"

Based on Burke's attitude to date, I'm pretty sure that's a typo.
 
99.9% confident he actually said "don't worry about the win"

Drives me nuts that Burke gets such a free pass from guys like Kirk Penton.
 
Penton is a quality writer, but his absolute hate on for Joe Mack drives me nuts.
 
http://www.winnipegsun.com/2013/09/23/all-hope-is-not-lost-with-bombers
 
 
Seriously?
 
 
Give me a break. Such a double standard lol

A player wants to explore his options and everyone now wants to make it personal? U would rather get the LaBatte BS about really wanting to be here and then leave? Don't fault a guy for being honest whether you like it or not. If you don't want to hear the answer don't ask him the question.

While I don't discount the potential of what you're saying about Collaros being true to an extent, let's not try and compare him to McPherson. McPherson has 240 pass attempts in his CFL career and Collaros already has 210 this season alone. He's put up more scoring drives, less turnovers and more yardage than McPherson ever did and honestly, Collaros has the *it* factor I like to see in a QB. I want a guy who can take over in the fourth quarter and make you confident that no matter what, he's going to give you a chance. Can he complete nearly 70% of his passes without Milanovich? Probably not. But he can take what he's learned and put a new team in a good position to thrive with him as their starter.
 
As much as I prefer Mitchell, I know he's not available so I'm all in on Collaros. Winnipeg needs him.

I honestly can't believe we'd criticize Walters for inquiring about another "unavailable" QB.
 
I'd phone Hufnagel every day if I was Walters. "You ready to trade Mitchell yet? No? Okay, call me when you are."

I'm officially on the Collaros bandwagon.
He's for real.

Burke's attitude is the type of attitude that instills a losing culture in a locker room.
 
He shows no faith in any of his players, he's a horrible motivator and he is no good at maximizing the talent (no matter its shortcomings) he has at his disposal. I mean really, who can possibly have respect for a head coach who throws his entire roster under the bus by saying "I'm doing the best with what I've got?" How can I respect a guy who doesn't even have the stones to go for a win on his HOME FIELD with 30 seconds and a timeout remaining? Burke may not think much of the roster he has to work with and that's his perogative, but a good coach or even a sensible one would find a way to get the most they could out of that talent by motivating them and sticking by his guys even if they didn't necessarily deserve it. Burke, OTOH, seems content to mail it in and not even try.
 
We were tied with the ball in our possession last night, our team is 2-9 and while I'm not expecting it to spark some kind of miraculous season turnaround, Burke had a golden opportunity to show his offensive guys that he has trust in them. No one would have blamed him for trying and failing, it's not the end of the world. But instead of taking his guys aside and telling them that he felt they could give it a shot, he basically mailed it in, showed them he doesn't trust them enough to do a damn thing and said "**** it."
 
How do you think our players feel? Tim Burke literally could not trust them for 30 seconds because apparently he thought the most likely result was a turnover. What the hell is that? If that's the attitude he's going to coach with, we may as well forfeit.
 
It's absolutely embarrassing.
 
FWIW, I heard a few stories from the Legacy Dinner the other night. Couple conversations with some of our stronger defensive players and apparently it was a good chance to get their honest thoughts instead of the "proper" media replies. I bet you can guess what they think of Tim Burke and his coaching staff. I'll give you a hint. It's the same thing I think of them.