mikey d

It was mentioned at the fan forum that the Bombers were going to announce the signing of a "name" LB in the next 24-48 hours. Who will it be? McCune?

http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=451989 I saw this earlier today. I could see us trading #2 to BC for #5 and #12 or 14. If we did so, not sure who we'd pick. I don't think we'd pick Foucault with his NFL mini-camp invite. Sounds like Walters wants someone who can play right away. Pruneau as a FS? Coombs or Bailey at Rec? Could Chin play right away at WLB? Could Ainsworth contiribute as a rotational pass rusher? Would Gill give up his last year of CIS to play for the hometown team?

It was annoying as hell having Burke flip flop every week on who the starter will be.It only makes sense that we have a clear direction. Willy will be fine and I'm sure it can't be any worse then Goltz and his 110 yards per game... But shouldn't the 'best' guy start? I'm just asking, what IF you've got somebody that is just better? After we go through camp and Exhibition, I'm sure the "best" guy will start week one, whomever that will be. O'Shea will not put the team in a poor position simply because they anointed Willy the starter in February. Yes he will. They're not paying Willy around 250K to sit on the bench. The money is irrelevant. Aside from the signing bonus the contract isn't guaranteed. If Willy at some point became the back-up, we would have a cheaper player as the starter. They would both still fit into the team's internal budget as well as under the cap. I highly doubt anyone but Willy would start game one if Willy is healthy, but to say there's no way it would happen is ludicrous. O'Shea and Walters will do whatever makes the team more competitive.

It was annoying as hell having Burke flip flop every week on who the starter will be.It only makes sense that we have a clear direction. Willy will be fine and I'm sure it can't be any worse then Goltz and his 110 yards per game... But shouldn't the 'best' guy start? I'm just asking, what IF you've got somebody that is just better? After we go through camp and Exhibition, I'm sure the "best" guy will start week one, whomever that will be. O'Shea will not put the team in a poor position simply because they anointed Willy the starter in February.

can you explain a bit that 'rover' position in Etch's D? is it the same to the 'jack' position in Burke's D? It's a term open to definition, it can mean any number of things but in Etcheverry's defense, it basically means a guy who could line up almost anywhere on any given play. Obviously there's more of a science to it with him, but I've given up trying to understand. I would assume it's similar to the "joker" position in a 3-4, that the player can be rushing the passer, dropping into coverage, or defending in man on any given play.

If Ottawa takes Lavertu I could see a scenario where we take Foucault at no. 2. Then Neufeld/Penser/Foucault battle it out for RT.

They drafted a lot of tackles the last few years, what if they have a NI who can play RT but none that can play centre well? Would still be using 2 imports on the o-line. Hell wouldn't even be the first time that the Bombers used an import at centre, unless I'm forgetting but wasn't Benedict Ibisi a centre? Didn't Brandon Dyson also play some centre for us?

Darrin Bauming has tweeted a pic of Quentin Saulsberry signing what I assume is a CFL contract. C/G prospect. Could we be starting a NI at tackle and an import at C?

He has a fair bit of NFL practice roster experience. Very typical history for a 'back coming up to the CFL.

I like this signing. Small back for the NFL, but big enough and quick enough for the CFL.

Why would he be looking to trade Westerman?

If I'm the Redblacks that's what I'm doing. They should trade back and grab Gill or Smith to back-up/rotate at DL with Shologun. They also could use a non-import receiver with starting potential, so Bailey may also be a decent choice.

Wylie is the OL coach. For whatever reason the press release made it sound different, but he is coaching the OL full time.

It seemed odd to me that O'Shea would come out with the three NI OL comment. Walters is still giving the impression Neufeld will start at tackle.

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? Thibault has first round athleticism, but no experience as a DB. He'd only help on special teams for at least a year or two. How will teams value that?

Do you see him at safety?

I don't see Thibault going in the first round. I don't think he has the tape or the experience to go that high, regardless of his athletic ability. Lue I could see going early.

Sure one of them will be the safety because there really is no one else and we don't have the NI in other areas to play an import there. The question will be is will any of them be any good, or will they hurt us... I think it's just as likely we play an import at safety, with Alexander, Bucknor, or Robertson playing the wide side corner.

The CFL did a pretty good job putting up video of the combine. I still don't understand why they can't put out a spreadsheet like they used to with the actual measurements of the players. I want to know what the players weighed in at, and I want to see the arm length of the linemen. This info used to be made available, but not anymore. Specifically, I'm curious what Ainsworth weighed in at. His speed numbers were great, but if he was 225 lbs. they lose some value. Also interested in the arm length of the OL prospects, to see who realistically could be a tackle prospect vs. guard. Arm length also can give a glimpse into a DL to OL conversion prospect like Greaves was.

So you'd rather have inaccurate information to judge your talent on? Do you think that they should add 20 lbs and 3" in height to player's information in the roster to make them more flattering too? IMHO, they should put the most accurate information possible. The automated times start at the first movement the runner makes, be it an arm, a head, etc. Watch some of the NFL combine stuff where they show two runners side by side on split screen, or overlapped. Often times the guy who actually ran faster will have the poorer automated time.

I took a look this morning at the results for the regional combines... The Edmonton and Montreal combines had some terrible numbers for the 40 yd dash. Skill players in the 4.7 to 5.1 range. Seems the Toronto combine had some better results, maybe they timed the 40 differently. Publishing these "FAT" times sure isn't flattering any of the prospects. They should go back to hand-times.

Darren Bauming was saying that Gill said he has gone from 6'3" 280 at the end of the season up to 305-310, depending on the day.

Bucknor also is a natural corner, odd considering his size. Gives us some flexibility at least.

He also was QB coach with Omaha in the UFL while Bellefeuille was OC.

According to USA Today's annual feature on NCAA Football assistant coaches salaries, Barrett makes $162,000 plus can earn $13,000 in bonuses with UCF.