Armchair GM

Open to Glenn if he is released and can be picked up for only salary considerations. But if need to give up something to get him... no thanks. Hall is an adequate backup.

And people rag on Lawless for being a columnist instead of a reporter... Nate, this post is about as slanted as they come. What's your interest with Rabb? Secondly, if the City of Winnipeg has a seat on the BoD, shouldn't they want an inside person on that seat? To me, it should raise alarm bells that Katz is appointing someone who is not a municipal employee... in what could be his walk year from the mayor's chair. The optics are terrible in appointing what looks like a Katz buddy... Honestly, even if Rabb would make a great BoD member, he shouldn't be the City of Winnipeg's representation unless he has ties to the City.

Does anyone think there would be any traction to trading Ottawa our 1st and Cauchy for their 1st? Deal from surplus for us, deal for at minimum NI depth and possibly a starter for Ottawa? We've got a lot of depth at safety, and either/both of Alexander/Newman could start back there for us. It's the kind of deal that would never get done until crunch time, and not without Ottawa wanting it. But in a draft with what appears to be one clear cut guy that would fit in immediately with our needs. All day, every day I'd do that deal. The question is... does Desjardins value creating depth in his roster, or is his ego big enough that he'd turn down a potential starter and the 2nd overall pick, just so he can select first.

Every year sees at least one major riser, and one major faller. Hamilton was last year's riser, and Montreal fell off. You could reckon Sask rose and BC fell as well. Two years ago, Toronto rose, while the Bombers fell. Proper leadership can make good players great, and this team will play their asses off for O'Shea. We will be a team on the upswing. An 8-10 record would be attainable, with a 10-win upside... and probably a 5-win downside. Sask lost a lot of talent and could be a faller this year. BC is more dependent on a healthy Lulay than ever before. Edmonton's got Reilly at QB, and while some guys here think he's an established starter... I think he's the 6-month stale pop-tart flavour you thought would be awesome that wasn't, in an otherwise empty cupboard. Calgary will be working in a new starting QB, but has enough overall talent elsewhere that they should win the west. Toronto's stability and talent leads me to believe they'll retain the top spot in the east, although Hamilton could challenge with a good year from Collaros. HAM is like Calgary to a lesser level... lots of good talent in other positions. Can't believe the love this board is giving Montreal, with Troy Smith/Tanner Marsh at the helm. I think they're a team still on the downslope, and will struggle. Ottawa... it'll be entertaining to watch Burris lose, because that roster lacks depth worse than we did last year. Given a good rebound 8-10 year from the Bombers and all this... we could make the playoffs as a crossover if we don't make it in the west. Worthy of optimism, folks!

LOL... Marve's had 2 strong performances at a minicamp in Florida, where there is no pass rush, and everyone's in spring shape. Call me in mid-June is Marve's still outperforming everyone by a mile. Until then, I'm just going to keep laughing, because this is hilarious...

This will be the refreshing part for many people after Burke. Burke's D is just vanilla, which is great when you have a defense full of all-stars in their prime, when we had guys who weren't winning battles snap after snap we'd get picked apart, when everyone was locked in it was a thing of beauty, like last season in Montreal or the Banjo Bowl, but over 18 games there was no mystery, so it was all left to executing perfectly. Etcheverry's scheme will at least make a quarterback second guess their pre-snap reads mess up their timing, give us a chance if we can't field a dominant crew of players every week, some room for error so to speak. Great comments... explains the WBB's struggles under Burke's D; absent of the outstanding Swaggerville D that was several athletes in their prime. Guess the thinking is that the confusion Etch's scheme creates will mask our defensive deficiencies somewhat until our defensive players grow into their primes, and/or we upgrade our talent. In any event, it'll be interesting to watch. An experienced, cerebral QB like Calvillo would likely have his way with this defense by just picking on the weak spots, but in this league, I see only Ray who is that kind of QB left. Burris and Durant can be confused, Lulay if contained isn't half as effective. BLM could be that type of QB but is inexperienced, and Smith and Reilly you can lop in as less skilled, less experienced Lulay types. I think JBR's sold me that Etch's D might be perfect for a defense like ours lacking in overall talent.

Boy, I'm just not sure how to react to Etch. I am all about patience and proving ground, but the "no playbook" comment scares the crap out of me. Teaching concepts isn't new to football, but in a defence of "organized chaos," who should be where and doing what is paramount importance. There was a part of me that hoped his recent failings (Ottawa, being in Sask between the GC wins) might humble him enough to change some things about his clearly fallible defenses. That clearly hasn't happened... I sure hope we have a lot of talented athletes that can learn quickly...

They did things right until this story. They also got good press until this story. You don't have to get good press, to be doing things right. It's very possible to do beneficial things for the organization that aren't received well by the populist media. Such as keeping closed lips on a screw-up, until your team has decided and started deploying its communication strategy on the topic. Just because someone leaked that there might be a story and Friesen jumped on it like a dog on a steak, doesn't mean the Bombers were ready to deal with media requests.

You can take Hogan out of Section S... but then he resurfaces by signing a contract...

Poster child for this is Jay Detain. Raw athlete, minimal CIS action, 4th overall. Think the moral of the story is that you can pick a raw athlete, but whatever time they are short on development, tack it onto how long you expect they'll have to stay on your PR before they start dressing for games.

I'm trying to remember the last Bomber that was as much of a lightning rod for arguments as Joey Elliott is. It's just fascinating. I was an Elliott supporter... I certainly would have taken him last year with our steaming pile of Rubley at QB. Give me anyone here who would have taken Boltus over Elliott, and I'll give you a troll. Walters is rebuilding the Bomber organization, and has cut ties to the past all offseason. Secondly, all Elliott's done since his time here winning 2 OPOTW's is sit as a 3rd stringer in BC. Elliott's been in the CFL long enough that it his career prospects were bright enough, he would have progressed. No sense bringing him back now... as much as him having success as a starter in Winnipeg would put a smile on my face for my past defenses of him.

Do you see him at safety? We need more NI safety's...only have 7 on the roster now. Thibault is a first round talent. If other teams don't value a Canadian DB's talent because they don't see him fitting in at safety, or because they are skeptical on Canadian DB's... that sounds like an opportunity to take a shot on talent filling out. Worst case, you'll likely get a decent special teamer. Good floor, high ceiling. And I'd take a shot on LDT all day in the 3rd or 4th round. In what is considered a weak draft class... what else are you going to find that late?

That's because we jilted him for our AGM job for Walters, and he has sour grapes...

By that, you mean that our DL's going to have a pinata party with Burris' 39-year-old ass, en route to a 37-10 victory? Ottawa's TD by way of a DeMarco sneak in garbage time...

LOL... Friesen's such a d-bag. Basically baiting Willy into reacting how Glenn himself reacted, just to get a headline.

I'm just scratching my head at this... there's "prestige" in owning a CFL team? If so, why are the Bombers and Riders "community-owned," given that both teams have been among the most profitable in the CFL over the past 5 years? Because they're not a tax-writeoff? I get that Braley owns the Argos as a tax writeoff to help the league... but there are plenty of deep pockets in Toronto that could take this prestigious tax writeoff off his hands if demand were there. But nobody wanted the Argos 5 years ago. The TV deal wasn't great, the gate sucked, and merchandise sales were laughable. Now there's a better TV deal. The Argos (and Ticats as well) are more viable. Probably still losing money, but more viable. Ticats have a new stadium coming and better fan support. There's rumblings Braley may have found a buyer for the Argos. I have a hard time believing that whoever is buying them is doing so as a tax writeoff, because the Argos are surely more expensive now with the new TV deal in place. Even if it's MLSE trying to utilize their facility more and offset the gobs they make on the Leafs. CFL players should get a proportional raise, don't get me wrong... the new TV deal doesn't happen without demand for CFL games on TV, and that doesn't happen without players. But in a league where profitability is low, and some owners are losing money, I just don't buy any argument that the players are underpaid. They're paid what they need to be, and given the franchises' finances, certainly not underpaid.

I laughed at Brown's article. True, CFL players should be able to roll the new TV deal into a better deal for them, but CFL owners don't exactly make bucketloads of cash either. Supply and demand is all you need to know... the new TV deal needs to improve the owners' profitability at least as much as it needs to improve the players. If the players think that they need to right some past wrongs, and be sticky on it, they'll learn pretty quick that there's plenty of supply down south that would love to play football for a living.

Good read Mike, although admittedly I don't know a ton about anyone not named Lavertu, Duvernay-Tardif, or Goossen. Can agree with your logic on Foucault over Lavertu for Ottawa based on need... but can't help but think Ottawa would draft him if they think he's the best OL in the draft, and try to insert him at G for 1-2 yrs before Hage retires. Wishing we had a 2nd round pick right about now... if your projection on Duvernay-Tardif sliding out of the 1st round happens, I'd spend a 2nd on him, and wait patiently. Of course Walters would have a better idea on his NFL aptitude, but if he's projected as a lower round pick in the NFL, I think he's worth a 2nd round pick.

Bluto's right. The improving TV deals the CFL is getting is making the league less-and-less dependent on gate. People in Ottawa like football. They've finally got owners that are not named Glieberman. I hope they're a permanent fixture, and that it leads to Quebec City or Atlantic expansion within 5 years.

I've got that "been there, done that" feeling about being a really bad team without a #1 QB. Honestly, I'm in favor of whatever helps turn this team around. If that involves KG as an experienced backup at a minor price, I'm game. If it involves a KG that's going to be a malcontent if acquired to be our backup... we can't have that. There's not an available starting job out there... so if I'm Glenn, I'm satisfied to take a backup gig at this juncture, just to get out of Ottawa. The question is... Winnipeg where the starter is essentially a rookie, or BC, where the starter is unquestioned, but a guy that plays a risky style and has been injured of late.

Our fickle-ass fans would be the biggest issue... I think Glenn's a reasonable enough guy that he wouldn't hold Mike Kelly's sins against Walters/O'Shea/Miller; 3 entirely new leaders. BC does have greater resources than we do right now to throw at the problem, so if that's what it comes down to, I'm completely fine with booing him as a Lion. BTW... a trade to BC would make Toronto and Edmonton the only CFL teams Glenn has not been a part of. He'd be a modern day Dunigan!

Glenn doesn't really have a choice in where he's traded. Desjardins has that. Desjardins can choose to keep him and demote him to 3rd stringer to ride pine all year if he wants to. It wouldn't be above Desjardins to hamstring his payroll on QB's either. Secondly, Glenn dealt with a very similar situation quite amicably in Calgary. Just because he was drafted to start in Ottawa, and subsequently replaced, doesn't mean he wouldn't accept a backup position elsewhere.

So Calgary goes and gives the league a successful example of elevating a young starter with upside, and teaming him with an experienced, good-but-not-great backup... and TBurgess from the confines of his cozy British Columbia abode thinks that it is laughable to suggest that might work in Winnipeg? Calgary's been arguably the most successful team in the CFL since signing Kevin Glenn as its experienced, good-but-not-great, backup quarterback. Why wouldn't we try it, if the price were right? Let me ask the question again. What makes folks think that Willy is the QB we have been looking for, because I don't see it. I could see it if we were talking about Reilly, Collaros or Smith, but Willy? Even from the 'Best Coast' I can see that what makes sense in Calgary, doesn't necessarily make sense in Winnipeg. Calgary has Tate who is good enough to start when he isn't injured and BLM who most think is the next big thing, so Glenn in a backup role makes sense. We have Willy with 2(?) starts behind a significantly better O line than we have and Hall, our most experienced QB who no one is saying is going to be the next big thing, so Glenn in a backup role doesn't make sense to me. . I'm just not seeing in what world having Kevin Glenn (an experienced, good-but-not-great) as backup QB, is worse than having Max Hall (a less experienced, okay-but-not-good, with a low ceiling) as backup QB? The logic is evading me. If what you're saying is that it would be very tempting for O'Shea to turn from Willy to Glenn at the first sign of trouble... we've got more problems than just at the QB position. I don't think anyone is clairvoyant enough to say that Willy is the QB we have been looking for yet. I think that by giving him an experienced backup, that the pressure on him to succeed could be somewhat eased, which may help him develop. BTW... None of Collaros, Reilly, or Smith are necessarily that QB either. All 3 come with big question marks. Honestly... it's new blood to our organization that has enjoyed some success in the CFL. Give the dude the benefit of at least one snap before condemning him.

So Calgary goes and gives the league a successful example of elevating a young starter with upside, and teaming him with an experienced, good-but-not-great backup... and TBurgess from the confines of his cozy British Columbia abode thinks that it is laughable to suggest that might work in Winnipeg? Calgary's been arguably the most successful team in the CFL since signing Kevin Glenn as its experienced, good-but-not-great, backup quarterback. Why wouldn't we try it, if the price were right?

I liked Calgary's strategy of elevating a young QB into a starting role, with an experienced, veteran backup behind him. I think there's something to Tate and Mitchell's success that involves Glenn being a more than competent backup plan if they were to fail, that makes it easier for them to succeed. Acknowledge that coaching was a big part of it, but also think that mentally, there's a lot less weight on you in that situation, that makes it easier for you to play loose. I really hope we get to use this strategy.