1 hour ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

That's a good contract for the Ti Cats. 

I hope Walters is taking notes while he being schooled by the other GMs

6 hours ago, Booch said:

thats what I was "told"

did some digging around and this dude posted it as well

 

Normally a Hodge says would leave me skeptical. However, after seeing the other boat anchor contracts that he has handed out I can believe it.

Either the SMS is going up a lot or Walters needs to lose his job. I will wait and see, and give benefit of the doubt for now, but i am very concerned if the SMS goes up slightly. I don't see any reason why Kramdi's salary would jump almost 50k over his last deal.

I like the commitment to our NAT talent that he never showed for years but the contracts are absurd.

I thought you could only guarantee money in the 3rd year of a contract?

On 2025-12-29 at 8:52 PM, Booch said:

Mtl had one...and dumped the Faj

You could say B.C as well with Rourke before his nfl journey

We did with Brown...but let him go for a guy who has been in constant decline since

 

In all honesty Brown hasn't earned his money either. He wouldn't have played more than 5 games behind our OL. He is injury prone.

On 2025-12-31 at 5:13 PM, Tracker said:

                                                                   

The gappers only need our team to fold, and if they keep winning cups at their current rate in 200 years they will tie us. Let that sink in sister lovers.

10 hours ago, Booch said:

And 185k of hard money for the 9th best sam in league.. not to mention probably the 3rd best on our roster and thats being generous..solid cap management 

Not doubting your info but the only thing ive seen online is 160 this year and 165 next. Where did you find your numbers? Not like I need an extra reason to think KW is doing a bad job, just want to have the ammo when the KW apologists come to his defence when he sleeps thru FA.

9 minutes ago, wbbfan said:

A few things worry me. He’s 27 with plenty of nfl window left. If he has another year like 25 this coming season i could see him being a clipboard qb down south for a long time. 

 I also worry about durability, not because of him but because his legs are a key part of what he does. 

 His 24 half season up here still bothers me. He came in took over and made that b.c. team worse. 

I haven’t seen that adapt and come back, over come adversity, elevate his team, carry in the clutch type stuff that top tier qbs need. 

He also had a tremendous supporting cast this year in bc on offence, and their D was soo bad most of the year he got a ton of time/drives to put up stats. 
 

I want to see him over come some adversity on that offence, come up clutch and repeat his performance from 25 in 26. (just not against us) 

It’s not his skill set, or even his mental tool kit I wonder about. It’s really his ability to turn it up at will when he needs it most, that Goat type ability to separate him self from the rest of the league. It’s how he will produce when times are rough. 

I always worry about qbs with early success. It’s all about over coming adversity. 

I agree, but because he's built like a twig

14 hours ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

Walters admitted it. The Bombers don't renegotiate paycuts with players under contract. So, it's not up to Collaros to ask for less. It's up to Walters. Yet, somehow it's Zach's problem when it's not. Now, he's become an over hill the hill selfish player according to 90% of you here. He's not. Walters put us in this situation giving Zach an extension. And Walters got a new 3 year deal himself. Blame Walters Not Collaros. 

Amen..bad contract after bad contract. 

On 2025-12-30 at 12:28 PM, rebusrankin said:

Maybe just maybe Kyle Walters doesn't bring Kola back taking the decision out of MOS's hands.

You mean Walters actually doing his job? Let's hope so.

22 minutes ago, wbbfan said:

true on both points about logan. However, an un proven here guy who wasn’t a top tier returner previously coming off a serious injury is a big risk. I’d only take him back as a flyer. No expectations, cheap deal, very little rope in camp. 

I don’t think wj would play for the level of pay he actually warrants with his play. I’d want other pass rushers signed before wj. Atleast one top level guy. Then wj battles for 3rd reps. That probably won’t happen but it’s what should happen. 

Vaughters was ok, but didn’t play him self into another deal at the same range as last year imo. 

If kola is cut loose i will very happily eat my hat and heaping piles of crow. That would seal the fact that the mafia has recognized the error of their ways and are doing what it takes to fix it. 

I am very encouraged by my moves so far. i’d put us at a B+. we could’ve done better at dl coach and oc, but we could also polish both those guys into being A+ additions to the staff. 

we gotta crack open the bank in free agency, and not blow it all extending guys who wouldn’t get any offer or even close to that money any place else. 

Agreed on all points. I like the changes MOS has made, and so far like the players we have re-upped with the obvious caveat of hating BO's salary. Like keeping him though. So far we extended a lot of our NAT talent and didn't let them walk which is a massive improvement over the past 3 years where KW let our NAT talent get decimated. Hopefully, he has learned. I really don't mind the coaching moves at all. I think Condell will help our passing game and help us in our recruitment at receiver. I think Jake being off the field is huge for us, and I honestly believe he can be a really good position coach. 

16 minutes ago, rebusrankin said:

Logan didn't look good at all last year. I think it would be ok to move on from him.

Jefferson, Vaughters and Kola too.

In fairness to Logan he got what one game? Vaval looked like trash his first couple games too.

18 minutes ago, rebusrankin said:

Logan didn't look good at all last year. I think it would be ok to move on from him.

Jefferson, Vaughters and Kola too.

Jefferson i would keep but with a shave in salary. Vaughters and Kola...yep...bye bye. I would be going after their replacements very hard in FA if I were KW. Sadly he will probably take that week off again. I have zero faith in Walters right now, and I hope I'm wrong.

4 minutes ago, Blue In BC said:

Going up over the previous $400K increase or just the teams now using that on re-signing of players?

I don't think anyone besides the CFL office knows. Last year teams weren't even informed until the eve of FA and even then it was not settled. Therefore, I have very little faith the league has informed anyone of anything yet because why would the team's need to know this? lol

59 minutes ago, HardCoreBlue said:

Maybe all these contracts are good for the CFL that attract more talent needing to raise the salary cap that bring more bums to the seats that  increase swag sales that attract more corporate support etc etc?

I’m in a festive mood.

Big contracts attract players but only the ones that make the big money which isn't that many. The rest are left playing for peanuts. For every 300k contract there are 4 guys who have make league minimum as opposed to 30 or 40k over minimum. That does not help us retain talent in our league. With our dollar being crap it's a tough sell to bring guys in as it is. 

On 2025-12-22 at 7:53 PM, SpeedFlex27 said:

Yeah, I get it. Am I happy? No, I make no bones about it. There's stuff that goes on (especially last year) that I didnt like. I've never been an "In The Canadian Mafia We Trust" kinda guy. Expect more criticism if I'm still unhappy & until I'm convinced the three Wise Guys in charge turn things around.

BTW, I generally take as good as I get. Meaning you & others will give me **** for this post but I don't care. And guess what? I hope I'm wrong. (Pssst. I'm actually a little bit excited about our chances with the moves we've made). Jake move to coaching to me is meh. But the others? Right on. Now, if we have a big Day One of free agency then we might be back to making the Riders our ******* again & win the West. So, yeah, I'm kinda thinking we may have a chance. We'll see in February. 

BTW, as to my negativity... Do you ever see me criticizing Zach Collaros? Did I say Brady was overpaid? That we should have let him walk & replace him with some American back who is cheaper. I defended both players.

Did I ever say Zach's washed up like I constantly read on this forum, ad nauseum??? Nope, I still believe in the guy despite the noise created by you & all the other posters that don't. I happen to think he has one more run left in him & I hope he shows up all the nay sayers on this board. Like Trevor Harris did.

I won't put the blame on any QB asked to perform behind last year's OL and throwing to last year's receiving corps. Does he have MOP seasons left. I doubt it...but he can still get it done with the right personell.

On 2025-12-27 at 12:24 PM, Booch said:

Not necessarily true...you analyze the roster and if a better canadian can supplant an American...or vice versa...make it happen/work...dont be a rigid clown forcing a round peg in a square hole...and we seen first hand here a lesser player playing before a better player..where ratio was not an issue...and how that pan out? With Osh at full control...we just have to accept and deal with the clown show with roster...maybe the last 4 yrs failure and the pathetic culmination of it all last yr he has had his eyes opened...or possibly a 5 upside the head from Miller and Walter to smarten up...

Walters has his own poor performance to worry about. A lot of grousing we do about MOS is the direct result of the roster he was given. It goes hand in hand. Only someone who is delusional would think we had a roster capable of being a contender last year. Zero chance, 

16 hours ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

Yeah, there's a few veterans getting long in the tooth which means they're expensive & don't contribute like they used to who should go.

I can think of one. Who else you got besides WJ? Maybe KW but he's not making all that much. Neufeld? Our best OL last year by the numbers. Stan? You wanna get rid of the GOAT? Other than that where we going with this?

16 hours ago, Tracker said:

How many of these underperforming pets of O'Shea return will determine the fate of the 2026 Bombers, O'Shea and Walters.

 

16 hours ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

Guys I'd not re-sign. Stephan Logan, Chase Artoepus, Cody Case, Shayne Gauthier, Gavin Cobb, Joey Corcoran & Chris "Koaaala" Kolankowski. 

I'm not getting rid of PEYTON L:ogan until we know what the situation with Vaval is. The rest of the guys with the exception of Kola will not factor much into our success or not no matter whether they make the club or not. Every team has ham and eggers on it. It's unavoidable. If we want better than the list above it will be up to Walters to quit sitting on his thumbs and getting better players here.

9 minutes ago, wbbfan said:

Boy that is a monster deal for Emelius. I wouldn't want to be on the hook for paying him or Philpot what they got. I do not have him in the same tier as Brady for Canadians. He might be the best Canadian WR next year, good chance he will be in the top tier if not, he's 28 in his prime and came up big when the riders needed it. I get why they would offer him a deal like this. And they are probably hiding some of the cap hit in this season, like all these extensions likely are. I see soo much sticker shock in the free agents so far, and it isn't going away for me yet. 

It is good that we are seeing some stability with higher-end free agents league-wide. 

I would rather pay the Philpott/Emilus contracts then the Brady contract. 

However, I do feel better about the BO contract knowing that the league either feels that the cap is going up, or they have all collectively lost their minds and it's an even playing field.

14 hours ago, wbbfan said:

Imo, one or both of wilson/chase will be let go. I think it’s an indication that we won’t go after a vet fa like powell.

 Elgersma will depend on nfl interest. 

Not socks? 

The fact he’s getting multiple mid season work outs tells me it isn’t. Maybe it closes before our camp and he comes up, but i think chances are as good that if he wants to be a camp invitee in the nfl next year that he will get it. If he goes that route, I could see him in the ufl this year. Frankly i’d be good with him going ufl then nfl camp and maybe being here mid season if he doesn’t catch on. I just hope he doesn’t end up sitting not getting tc/practice reps. 
I think he still has a lot to gain from high level coaching and practice reps. 

I doubt he goes UFL. He either gets a camp offer he likes or comes North. The UFL offers no QB any realistic chance at looking good enough.

8 hours ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

That's what got us into the situation we are now. No, not everyone is a starter. Some are career backups. Some are career special teamers. Everyone has a role to play on a team but everyone is a starter? If everyone is a starter then why aren't all players on the Bombers paid like they're starters? That's Osh being fricking Osh. 

Except that isn't what he said.

1 hour ago, Booch said:

THat was also 8 yrs ago also...before we effed up our SMS to Assett/ability ratio 

Since we grabbed WJ in FA ....who is a big ticket FA we have grabbed that was a coup or considered a big score?....I cant really recall any off the top off my head...but can think of multiple guys we re-upped/extended for big money...but small production....cause it was the curse of status quo/we good....and not projecting 2...3 yrs ahead

Agree on that as well. 

26 minutes ago, Brandon said:

Are you suggesting that other teams have not over paid for free agents?  Have we not had many discussions on here for how insane some contracts have been thrown around the league and yet those teams are able to sign multiple free agents.      Didn't BC have Rourke + Adams and was still able to purchase more players?

I don't care what other teams do and the mistakes they make. BC is a poor example. They went 200k over the SMS and lost 2 draft picks.

12 minutes ago, Noeller said:

I never even had an issue with Jake as a player, in terms of talent... He was just used far too much in later years. In his younger days he was more than serviceable. In more recent years he was fine in a limited capacity but Prime Doug Brown minutes was asking way too much. 

Yea...and somehow we are holding that against him and using it as a knock on him personally.

18 minutes ago, Brandon said:

Can this team grow a pair of balls and cut loose guys.      Hugely disappointed in this bull crap.       Sign Jake + Hogan to fill the Buzz and Boomer costumes if you don't have the balls to say "good bye".     Massive steps back on this club.   I'm at the point of cleaning house at the top.  

Have we ever heard anything remotely that suggested that Jake Thomas was big in the film room and while limited on physical abilities he had the brains and the ability to dissect plays on the field.    Come on now this is a joke.

Hogan f'd up big time... soooo we bring him back?  A complete joke.  

I have heard a lot of chatter over the years that suggest that Jake was VERY good in the film room. Like a lot ...and I'm surprised you haven't.

51 minutes ago, Booch said:

oh I agree...100 percent.....but my point is...is this the best we could have done??....thats an unequivocal hell no!....Thomas prob still wanted to play but Walter's may have taken that option away from Osh....so Osh offered him this....we shall see tho how it turns out....but if the DL improves it will be from players brought in and not some new crazy moves JT came up with never seen before to catch olines off-guard, and taught them to the guys, or some funky new scheme to revolutionize how dlines play in pro football 😁

 

As long as Younger is our DC, the DL is not ever going to re-invent the wheel around here. 

29 minutes ago, Tracker said:

Cite one example in football (or any other sport) where a poor player went on to become a great coach.

I already did. Ryan Dinwiddie. Hell, Corey Mace even...he was about the same player as Jake Thomas talent wise. There are tons really. Any other sport? Pretty much every NHL coach almost. 

Just now, Booch said:

a group of bad players can make a lousy coach look good, just as much as loisy players can make a good coach look bad....I know you like to defend Osh and challenge me, but in a pivitol yr for us and one where we may need a lot to go right to get us on track again...dumb move....and I sute there were better options...heck I know there were...

You might be right, you might be wrong. None of us can know with any certainty right now as to how well JT can do. Anybody saying they know for sure he will fail or succeed is straight up showing bias. Hey, if the DL shows no improvement I'll call for his head. Bombers first....always. What I won't do is not give him a chance.

4 minutes ago, Booch said:

a group of godplayers can make a lousy coach look good, just as much as lousy players can make a good coach look bad....I know you like to defend Osh and challenge me, but in a pivitol yr for us and one where we may need a lot to go right to get us on track again...dumb move....and I sute there were better options...heck I know there were...

Patterson choose to retire...and was known actually during the season it was his last...even further shows that we had a long time to bat names around...and this was best we came up with

Maybe he is exactly the coach we need and this turns out to be a great hire. Right now that is as feasible as him failing. Every coach who ever becomes a coach is because someone saw something in them and took a chance. Let's give him that chance too before declaring this a poor hire. He's off the field now....no reason to dislike him anymore.

6 minutes ago, Booch said:

problem position I think he meant....and choosing the worst, least skilled of the bunch to lead the group now as a coach....effort and trying hard to execute even tho you aren't good enough shouldnt equate to being a coach....right off your last snap...maybe perenial league all-star who had exceptional skill...."and tried hard" 

But none the less this move isnt gonna kill the season....but is a weak typical move and reeks of an Osh thing and still inability to let guys go and make tough decisions....Especially with Hogan...who was basically a mental health cher leader for BO more than actually showed him anything...No reason we couldnt have moved on....just another example of rewarding failure

Tell that to Patterson. You guys keep suggesting that OSH never moves on from anyone, until he does and then pretend it didn't happen. Hogan may have been a mental health cheerleader but it worked and quite frankly BO needs it.

1 minute ago, Booch said:

he also had the worst collection of guys in league to work with too the last few yrs....so hard to say...I do know Patterson is a well respected and experienced coach both sides of the border...But he chose to retire so was out of our hands ....he did quite well in 2021 as the coach when we had talent to utilize.....Grey Cup ring and dominate defence cant be argued there

I agree with SANKEY...More holes in his game than T.Jones and yes as bad as T.Jones is in space he way better than Sankey....so why pay Sankey premium cash when we can get the same for less....Now if we can grab McManus tho....you do that

McManus is the best for sure. We can dream.

1 minute ago, Booch said:

problem position I think he meant....and choosing the worst, least skilled of the bunch to lead the group now as a coach....effort and trying hard to execute even tho you aren't good enough shouldnt equate to being a coach....right off your last snap...maybe perenial league all-star who had exceptional skill...."and tried hard" 

But none the less this move isnt gonna kill the season....but is a weak typical move and reeks of an Osh thing and still inability to let guys go and make tough decisions....Especially with Hogan...who was basically a mental health cher leader for BO more than actually showed him anything...No reason we couldnt have moved on....just another example of rewarding failure

Player quality does not equate to coach quality. There is no correlation whatsoever. Quit trying to sell that as a reason to criticize this move. One has nothing to do with the other. 

5 minutes ago, Blue In BC said:

Is Lofton better than Randolph? IDK, maybe he is but he's a free agent coming off a season ending injury. I don't know when he'll be healthy to play or if he can attend TC

Adding an import RB on the AR costs us a DI and that is not likely unless he's the returner ( Logan if Vaval doesn't return ). We could add one on the PR as well. We haven't added any import RB since the end of the season. That may be telling whether we stick with a Canadian back up as the primary in game situation.

We missed adding Sankey but his SMS might have been expensive. Not sure how the Lions managed that. 

 

Sankey is not that great of a MLB.  He is great against the run and sucks against the pass....even worse than T.Jones. Why would we replace T Jones with his more expensive doppelganger.

2 minutes ago, Booch said:

not hating....its from my coaching involvement...and experience...if a guy cant teach/show/ the basics...how's he gonna master harder things right out of the gate...and we cant afford another dud hiring basically because we like to take the easy route or maintain fav's

And yeah..I am saying it...where have you seen him use any technique...show hand skills...even a swim/icepick move....I have never...physically I dont think he even able to do it to be honest...so how he gonna demonstrate 

And agree with the point nobody can say he will b good...or bad....but why take that chance?...If anyone here thinks that of all the possible coaches in th football universe that this was the best choice...Your bloody idiots...no offence....but you are....and I'm sure by coaches who identified him as good it's more than likely "coach"...and the rest fell in line

Any player who is a pro more than 3 yrs should know the game, and the position....and I would the best option....much like with players...not the same ol same ol.....this aint the best option

And it's got nothing to do about hate...but skill/worthiness/best option

 

We had experience in Patterson. He was the worst DL coach we've had maybe ever. You would prefer we kept him? Some guys are natural coaches some aren't. It's not necessarily experience that counts the most in that regard. Just because JT didn't display much tech doesn't mean he doesn't know it. His whole career was about effort, not tech, he wasn't physically built or skilled enough for it. Doesn't mean he can't teach it to those that are though. Like I said, many of his ex  and current DL team mates have raved about what he brings to the table cerebrally. Maybe that can translate into being a good coach if he can articulate it. 

I'm not saying he is necessarily a great pick for the job, what I'm saying it that this is not a move we can criticize right now. Not without bias anyway. 

6 minutes ago, bigg jay said:

Or having the best RB in the league made him look better than he actually is?  He certainly didn't use BO the way you would think a great RB coach might.  I'm less concerned about that move though - he's at least experienced in the role.  Hiring one of our problem players to coach (imo) our biggest weakness does not inspire confidence in me.  

Problem players? Why cause he aged out and he was asked to do too much at his age? I don't follow your logic here? JT executed the plan he was given to the best of his ability...how is that a problem player? As for Hogan having the best RB in the league, yes that certainly helps but he also helped develop BO into that. BO didn't enter the league as the best. You guys are literally hating on JT himself because the coach tapped him on the shoulder to go in and play and he did. I understand not liking him being on the field but you guys need to tone down the overall Jake hate. He's a 13 year retired veteran now who is taking an entry level coaching job for the only team he ever played for. Why are you inventing narrative about this?

3 minutes ago, Booch said:

haha.....Gotcha!

I think it's more he couldnt be bothered and was too much work....Ironic for a guy that put in the work when he played

and a bit of he knew himself thatbhis god given natural ability was why he was so good, and couldnt teach that...so why bother

Stegall always said his ego would never allow him to be a good coach. He is very self aware in that regard.

3 minutes ago, Booch said:

I can see if a player had exceptional technical skills and technique with zero coaching experience then sure he can be valuable and pass that on and teach how to do it...he doesnt posses that tho...so how will he show guys how to execute things?...Or if a player basically shadowed for a yr like Miller ...which he basically did in his last yr on the IR and kinda got on the job tutoring before actually "on the job"....13 yrs experience in the league sure is all nice and all....but doesnt mean that right from farm to table you gonna know how to coach professional ball...

And I will say riht now if we have a dline this yr that kills it...It wont be because JT became the coach...It will be because we grabbed some legit talent...let some of the current talent loose and used a more effective scheme for majority of snaps

You are just hating for the sake of hating. None of what you are saying is anything but worst case scenaro. Tons of players have gone straight from playing into position coaches. You are suggesting he knew nothing of technique in 13 years of professional ball? Baloney. That's completely untrue. Whether or not he can teach what he know is 100% unknown. You cannot with any credibility say he will be a bad coach anymore than anyone can say he will be great at it. None of us can know that. The coaches have identified him as a potentially good coach, and this is something that has been suggested about him for many, many years by many of the players who have played with him, They have stated that JT knows the game and knows the position and was a leader out there. Why have such a hate on for JT? Did he sleep with your woman or something?