TBURGESS

It could also mean that the Als don't think SJ will be ready to play as soon as TC or that his major knee surgery will limit his effectiveness or that they tried to renegotiate his contract and he wasn't interested.

Isn't there a date after which you can't poach other teams management in the CFL and aren't we past it already? Wouldn't that let O'Day out and anyone else who already has a job?

Effective June 30? Another piece of horrible timing of off season 'parting of company'. First Toronto waited too long to get rid of Barker, then Edmonton waited even longer to get rid of Hervey, now the commish says hold my beer and leaves too. SMH

It's funny how folks absolutely believed Odell when he tweeted, now they absolutely believe Coehoorn.

Just spin IMO. There's something rotten in the city of Edmonton. If it's actually about "philosophical issues" then they'd have canned Hervey at the end of the season. If it's actually about contract negotiations, then they could have fired Hervey at the end of the season or kept him on to work out the rest of his contract while looking for the new GM in the background. Heck, that would have been cheaper too as they wouldn't have to pay 2 GM's this year. I think there is more to the story.

I doubt that just 2 OL will be taken in the first round. They are gold in CFL drafts.

I'd certainly draft Gray if he's still on the board at #6. He's one of the best OL prospects. I wouldn't have any problems with letting the NFL get him pro ready as long as he's in blue and gold in a couple of years or so and there's the rub. No one knows how long Gray will be in the NFL or if he even makes an NFL team this year. That's an analysis that common fans just can't make. Hopefully our GM and scouts have a better idea.

That's exactly what I was saying. Richards has been unlucky for sure and lousy when he's been given chances.

I think we'll draft a receiver in the first or second round and he will go head to head with Richards for the last NI receiver spot this year. If newbie wins it, then Richards will either have another injury or will be among the last cuts.

There are giveaways and takeaways. Both are called turnovers.

It's completely unprofessional to fire anyone via text. Face to face is best, but if Foley can't make it to the club's offices, then over the phone would be OK.

I also liked Malcolm Carter in the one on one's. Not at 6, but as a later/developmental pick. Didn't think the Herdman's looked very good. I thought Gosselin and Alexander stood out in a good way as well as Woodson and Wright.

A great group of players. Congrats to all of them.

I don't think it's a cap space issue as much as it's a 'We've already spent as much as budgeted on the DL'. Having 2 first round picks will cost a bunch too.

Length of a contract when the player can be cut at any time doesn't mean that much. If his play goes down, you cut him. If his play remains stable you keep him. If he gets better, you extend him with more money.

Two guys, neither of whom know the details are arguing over how much Hurl is making? Welcome to the offseason.

I'm passing judgement on his past play, not on his future. According to CFL.CA, he played in 17 games over 2 years (Almost half the games) recording a single catch. He's the #3 NI receiver for a reason. That's not an excuse for limited playing time. It's a decision made by the coaching staff. 'He didn't look horrible' is hardly an endorsement. He didn't have to beat any top NI receivers (Kohlert was #55 in the league in receiving yards last year and JFG was #73) to move up the chart, but he couldn't move past either of them. It will be interesting to see if Richard can even move past Coates in TC. Can you explain how any of that suggests that Richards is anything other than a failure at this point in his CFL career?

Liking or not liking a pick has nothing to do with it. Even if I'd liked the pick, I'd say that Richards been a failure so far because that's what the measurable's say. If he does have success, I'll call it a success because that's what the stats will say. I'm not ignoring his injuries. According to CFL.CA, he's played 17 games over 2 years, which is almost a full season. He's only caught 1 ball because there are a couple of better NI receivers ahead of him on the depth chart, and neither of them are very good. Neither of us are going to change the other's mind, so lets agree to disagree and move on.

Snap judgement for a guy going into his 3rd year? Nope. It's called judging him based on his time with the Bombers. Folks around here want to completely ignore his first 2 years. For some unknown reason his 3rd year is the only one that matters. BTW, I don't follow hockey, so I don't know the references Brett's making, but I know enough to know that the NFL draft is nothing like the CFL draft.

I thought he was a poor draft pick at the time and I said as much. That doesn't mean I didn't have patience with him for the first two years and it doesn't mean I wanted him to fail, but fail he did. You love the 'what if's', so what if he gets cut after TC or during the season or after the season, will you cast judgement then? Will you say he was a failure or a bad pick?

No, it's not rocket science. He is a bad pick because there were better and higher ranked choices on the board and because he hasn't contributed in 2 years. He'll move out of the failure range if he can magically become something he's never been in the CFL before... a contributing member of our team. He'll become a good pick if he becomes better than the alternatives of Waud and/or Durant.

It's not about what he might or might not do in the future, it's about his entire career so far. If he does well this year or in the future, you can move him out of the failure column. It's pretty evident, based on the facts and the stats, that Richards has been a failure and the 'give him a participation ribbon' folks don't want to say it, which is fine, but they also don't want anyone else to say it, which causes the arguments. I had patience in his first and second seasons. I'd give him TC to prove that he belongs. If he can't then my patience has run out and I'd like to see someone else get the shot.

Fair enough. I was just wondering why.

Why will this make Nichols happy? Miller's a special teams guy. He's played 6 years and has zero carries, zero catches.

There's lots of justification to say he's a bad pick. There were at least 2 much better players who were ranked higher available when we picked him. He's only caught 1 ball in two years. There is no justifiable reason to say that he's a great, good or average pick yet. That leaves bad IMO. Suggesting that he may become good in the future doesn't change the fact that he's done squat in two full years and he's way more likely to be the next Etienne than the next Claremont. In fact, Jade had better stats in his first 2 years then got cut in TC in his 3rd year. Absolutely no one is complaining that Richards is not a star yet. They are complaining that he hasn't moved past 3rd string NI receiver in two years. Some folks think it's because he hasn't been given a chance, but there aren't any participation ribbons in the pros... You have to earn your playing time. If he wasn't one of our high draft picks he'd already be gone. How much patience are you expecting? I don't see anyone suggesting we cut him before TC. I see lots of suggestions that it's his make or break year and that we bring in competition for him. Sounds reasonable considering his output so far.