GCn20

We definitely did not want to match the 280k he got. Nor would I have if I were Walters either. Not with our DB depth chart and exceptional DB scouting over the past few year. Doesn't make him a bad player though. I'm not sitting here trying to make the argument that Houston going to Calgary is any kind of hill we have to climb. We got guys that will excel in that spot.

You keep saying we wouldn't have parted with him as if every player move is made in isolation. It's not. He got a big payday somewhere else that we would not match because guys like Schoen and Brady were higher priority to bring back, and our depth at that position group allowed us to not have to give him a big pay day. There is a big difference between not making a guy one of the highest paid players in his position group in the league, to us not valuing him. We just didn't value him as highly as another teams was willing to do so because we had bigger fish to retain. He led the league in INTs, that is not a bad player to have on your roster. I'm not suggesting he was the perfect DB, but he had a pretty good season. Another CFL GM gave him 280k in hard money. That's not shitty DB money.

How do you know the Bombers didn't try bring him back? All we know is that the Bombers wouldn't pay what someone else was willing to pay, and rightfully so as we are very deep in our d backfield. Don't mistake us not allocating the funds to him as us not wanting him. Good teams lose good players all the time in an SMS world. ALL Dbs get torched occasionally. Our very worst by far defender in the GC was Parker and I am very excited to see what he can do this year.

That's nonsense. Houston led the league in INTs and made some very timely plays for us that turned losses into victories. Sayles was good as well. Is Houston perfect, nope, but to say he wasn't good last year. OMG. Is this bizarro world around here today?

Matthieu Betts has a pretty dominant season last year, hard to argue that. Was he over rated a bit, possibly, but it is pretty tough to suggest that he was not deserving of the accolade. Demerio had a lot of success with interceptions and made some very timely ones that changed the outcome of a couple games for us. For sure opposing players would know his name. Sayles, same thing. Are all these guys potentially over rated by fans and media...probably...but that doesn't make them scrubs either. Do you think a barely passable as a starter MIKE could get enough votes from his peers to be selected their all star at that position. I highly doubt it. Could a very strong argument be made that there were better guys than Sayles and Demerio at those positions...possibly if someone was to study the entire body of work of every DB. However, these guys are all voting for guys that played the best against them or their team in their judgement. Get enough of those votes and you are the allstar. In Betts, Sayles, and Houston's case it is pretty obvious they had some pretty high level games that enough of their peers noticed them and singled them out.

I wish someone would step forward and absolutely leave no doubt by dominating TC. Who that might be? Don't care. We literally need to find our next Jackson Jeffcoat. Not sure what Reacher has played in the past. Never looked it up, but if was a DE it shouldn't be much of an adjustment if he can handle it inside better.

CFLPA allstars are chosen by their peers. It's not a reputation vote and saying so shows your ignorance of the accomplishment. There is no media or any other entity outside the game voting on it...just the offensive players in the league get a vote on who the best defensive players are. Of all all star teams chosen in any sport this one is probably the most accurate indicator of who is making a difference. Unless, of course, you are suggesting that the players wouldn't accurately rate their peers? Sorry, but I will trust the guys who play against Bighill all season over a biased fans perspective. You Bighill bashers are the ones who are wild. Barely passable as a starting linebacker....good grief. Offensive players around the league beg to differ. Has he taken a step back? Yes. He no longer dominates the game the way he used to do so. Might he continue on a downward trajectory? Possibly. Something the coaches will have to keep an eye on for sure. Was he still a very good LBer last year. Absolutely, and to say otherwise is an absolute joke of an assessment. C'mon Mike seriously?

Better passport, that is all. Biggie was the CFLPA all star last year. Chosen by his peers as the best. I'm not sure on why everyone is so hell bent on suggesting he is done. Is he DMOP calibre anymore? No. Can he dominate the game and do things that no other defensive player could measure up to? No.Is he one of, if not the best MIKE in the league. Absolutely. We are comparing him to a time he was the best defensive player in the league by far and because he is no longer that guy we are saying he is washed up? Makes no sense. There are a lot of levels of play between that.

If Haba took in his first year experience, and worked on his run stop over the offseason, there would be very little to not like about his game.

Our front 7 doesn't include Micah Teitz tho, there is that. I am not so sure we didn't do addition through subtraction with our front 7 with the exception of Clements. We needed better than Walker, we needed more consistency in the lineup from JJ's position. If our recruitment is good we might be better than last year.

I agree. This is definitely not the first time FA has hit and we haven't extended Grant yet.

Yea for sure. I'm not seeing a bunch of NAT receiver spots up for grabs league wide right now.

I would imagine you are right. Tough situation for us, as we are not likely to go 3 NAT receivers and aren't looking to replace Woli or Demski. That makes any decent offer or realistic shot at starting reps pretty tough for us to compete with. Like when we lost Petermann.

He wasn't making much over league minimum last year so if he agreed to the same contract as last year I'm sure we would sign him in a heart beat.

He's no longer under contract with us for the season, and we haven't signed him. it's not official but the writing is on the wall I would think.

Thought you were talking about Holm. My bad.

Of course they will. Once that window is closed it's closed and you are expected to honor your CFL contract. NFL teams will NOT work out or even talk to a player currently under contract in the CFL except those eligible to do so under CFLPA bargaining. The NFLPA is very protective about that.

I am a bit suspicious of the Younger move to be honest. I think Hall will have a lot of influence still. I hated how he coordinated the Grey Cup but his D game plan and play calling in the West final was an absolute master class.

I doubt we see a whole lot of deviation from Hall's defensive scheme.

It's not the payday that makes it tough, it's knowing that your going to have to ask a ton from your depth for a third of the season imo. It's just hard to plan out that position like that. Part of it is him tailoring his comments to his interviewers audience, but it was nice he singled out MOS for sure. I mean you won't get many NFL guys speaking about it in public but they have a ton of respect for our coaches up here.

Sayles is better and is being compensated well for it too.

Most players who are aging out tend to feel disrespected come contract time. Football players, by trade, have to have a ton of self confidence. Not many realize their time is up at the time their time is up. Sad to see him go. Best of luck JJ.

Does Bear Woods even play anymore. Lost track of him.

For sure. Just saying if a player shakes loose in May that can be a difference maker a good GM will carve out the cash to get him. No doubt it is not ideal. Woody Baron would be a nice add, but he commands pretty hefty dollars....or at least he did on his last contract. I can't remember what he was making but I remember being shocked at the amount. Edit: 150k for this season. Pretty expensive for his output. If he wanted to come in here at 120-125k I would hope we would consider it.

I never once stated that coaches don't make mistakes. Every single coach ever has made mistakes. You are being obtuse suggesting that. BOLO may or may not turn out to be an excellent receiver and I hope he does. I, also stated that not playing BOLO was a mistake in hindsight. Hindsight makes it extremely easy to point out mistakes and that is my point entirely. I don't think playing BOLO would have any significant impact on that game, you do, neither of us can prove each other wrong as it is opinion. I am simply pointing out that many coaches play banged up players in hopes that they can fight through their injuries in a big game. You guys are trying to make it sound like this is some kind of flaw fatale of MOS when in reality it is coaching SOP. In game, our coaching was atrocious. Our coordinators were thoroughly taken behind the woodshed all game long. That was my biggest gripe with our coaching that far exceeded any roster mistakes made. We game planned poorly, we adapted poorly, and yes we clung to some injured starters too long in game. All coaching mistakes, no doubt about it. I just think you guys pinning it all on MOS is a massive red herring that lets some piss poor coordinating and individual player performances off the hook for that loss. Does someone disagreeing with your OPINION after careful consideration of it make them obtuse? You are talking like your opinion is fact but have no way of demonstrating it as such because it is strictly opinion. Disagreeing with someone else's unprovable theory is not being obtuse.