GCn20

I would think there is a high probability he returns late in the season. His size works against him in the NFL imo. He doesn't flash any kind of outstanding testing numbers and is small. He will get a look based on his resume here, but in the NFL guys his size and speed rarely get any kind of a real look. There is a very real chance he doesn't even make it to camp. If he does, he will need luck on his side to make it past first cuts. Sorry...but 6 foot 175 lbs is very small for the NFL.

True....he is also one of the worst for overlooking everything but what he sees on the field as well. Double whammy. He is too willing to overlook character to get the talent he thinks will fit. He is kind of the anti-O'Shea.

I agree. The level of athletes that roam the CFL now make it very difficult for guys to jump in and just have immediate success. Of course, there will be a few rookies a year in the league that catch on quick., but at the skill positions it takes time. Last year we had to throw rookies into the mix at receiver due to injuries and it hurt our offence for the first few games. Wilson eventually emerged as a bonafide CFL star, but only after a few rough outings. Some teams may have guys like this, but will groom them if they have that luxury. We would have if Schoen and Lawler weren't out early last year.

It's easy to evaluate talent, any fan can do it because there is an eyeball test. What makes good professional coaches head and shoulders above fans is their ability to see the intangibles and knowing how to build a consistent winning culture. If talent were everything then guys like Chris Jones and Rick Campbell wouldn't be unemployed. My long winded way of saying I agree.

You have to have a returner that occasionally flips the field for you. PRing for an average 7.3 ypr is all nice and fine but I'll take 6 returns of 0 with a 7th of 50 yards over 7 of 7.3.

Roster usage is a valid criticism of MOS. However, you are stretching things by implying that Danny was suggesting that MOS handcuffs the recruitment process, and that is nonsense.

I guess if you want to take Danny Mac's comments out of context then you may have a point. Every recruiter on every team has the challenge of finding players that fit the coaching scheme. You are making a benign comment by a scout into something much more than what it was to try and further your agenda. Of course, our recruiters are going to try find players that fit our culture, it is by far the single biggest reason for our success over recent years. If not for that we are the Riders.

I am the one currently living in Thompson and driving to practice would be pretty far. However, I had a house in Winnipeg up until 2 years ago, and I used to attend TC a few times. I never gave any reports because most of the TC reports I ever read did not really match what my eyeballs were seeing, and I'm not saying that's a good or bad thing, just that we all tend to pick horses and it skews TC reports imo.

True,...you can field a roster of all star calibre players but if they aren't accountable to each other, or they are toxic, you won't win many games when it counts. Coaches like Campbell and Chris Jones just see talent level and nothing else, where other coaches who develop culture, work ethic, and accountability and actually use it as part of an assessment of their roster tend to have much greater success.

Well, I think you have to put some of that on scouting as well. Can't sign vets at every position to push guys so these young recruits have to do it. I don't care what camp you go to, in any sport, the challenger has to clearly beat the incumbent to earn that spot. So if we have some guys that seem to be on the roster just because, I have to wonder where was the guy who should have been pushing him out the door. I got no love for the fact guys like JT etc were getting far more snaps than they probably should have, but who was behind them on the depth chart to push them out? It becomes trickier when you add in ratio. I mean you have a list of several guys you say shouldn't have even been on the roster last year, honestly, name the player on our DC that was head and shoulders better? Could we have played musical chairs with our ratio...maybe...but at the end of the day we also have to consider STs as well. It's not as simple as putting out your best 53 players. You have to build a team, not just assemble talent. There are factors at play beyond player X is better or as good as player Y or let's rob Peter to pay Paul. If fans ran this team just based on what we know guys like Evan Holm or Kramdi who are absolute stud players now would have gotten the apple and a road map. Why? Because at the end of the day we think we know the whole picture, but we have access to only a very small % of the knowledge of what each player brings to the table in a team setting and what value a player may provide to the team that we will never lay eyes on, or hear about. So while a guy may seem like dead weight to us fans, he may provide a massive amount of value to our team in ways that we just don't see. Older guys that bring value to the room, are excellent in the film room and willing to bring the younger guys up to snuff and teach them the right way to prepare, and then the young guys who may seem shaky at first but the coaches see the potential not just on game day but in every rep at every practice, and in every meeting. These are all things that add value to a TEAM. I would rather we build a TEAM, than assemble talent that doesn't work well together. Then we would be the Riders.

Shea was worth a look. Some young QBs have that light bulb moment where the game slows down for them and they just get it. Look at Fajardo for instance, who went from PR level talent his first few years to being a starter....albeit not a good one...but still definitely at the very least a high end backup. Roll the dice on Shea and see if that light bulb has turned on, if not, apple and a road map. At the very least Shea pushes Strev and Wilson to make sure they have a top notch offseason of preparation. Nothing pointless about putting guys on the roster that are just there to push who you know will be on your roster in the end. Gotta keep everyone honest.

If any of the Bombers happened to be in most parts of Northern Manitoba say on an ice fishing excursion they'd be screwed because a lot areas are dead zones. I imagine that there are dead zones down south as well, you gotta get someone to monitor your phone on the 1% chance you get a call for testing? Really stupid rule. If any of the Bombers happened to be in most parts of Northern Manitoba say on an ice fishing excursion they'd be screwed because a lot areas are dead zones. I imagine that there are dead zones down south as well, you gotta get someone to monitor your phone on the 1% chance you get a call for testing? Really stupid rule. If any of the Bombers happened to be in most parts of Northern Manitoba say on an ice fishing excursion they'd be screwed because a lot areas are dead zones. I imagine that there are dead zones down south as well, you gotta get someone to monitor your phone on the 1% chance you get a call for testing? Really stupid rule, at least extend it out to 48 hours or let the teams track them down if they don't answer.

He can spread the D just fine with regular intermediate routes, short passes to the flats, with just the occasional deep shot. Especially if we start using more motion in the backfield with in game progressions off the different motion sets.

I really don't want Strev throwing a ton of deep shots, it's not his game. However, he's gotta throw some long ones to keep the D honest. If he isn't a risk to throw he won't be able to run either. Last year was just insanity how we used him. He just got corked every game because they knew he wasn't throwing anything over 7 yards so they just set up a picket fence and teed off whenever he tried to run.

It seems outrageous to me that a player would be suspended based on not looking at his voicemails religiously. I check mine only when I recognize the number. Other than that it's like once a week or so. The CFL can be so infuriatingly bush league sometimes. I would 100% appeal.

My guess is SMS was a part of it too. He was on a 150k per contract with a 25k TC bonus coming. His injury, salary, and the fact that others stepped up well in his absence and may have passed him on the DC, made him expendable. He's not a bad player, and is likely a victim of losing his job through injury. Happens a 100x a year in football. Someone will pick him up.

He pulled down pretty good money for the amount of reps he was likely to get.

I would think that is likely. He was extended last year on a two year deal but was back in the tub for most of the year. They likely just moved in a different direction and decided to save some SMS and roster space. He could be worth taking a flyer on. Not sure if he is better than anything we already have though.

Yea...most of our QBs in this league had good NCAA careers. They may not be the cream of the crop that goes to the NFL but many make a pretty decent chunk of change in college now. Any QB on a decent Div 1 team is cashing some nice cheques.

I totally agree. However, after some of the outright outrageous statements he has gone on public record with concerning our organization I am still a little suprised by the sudden turn. I agree. There is this misconception that playing time automatically makes a QB better. That is not necessarily true. Being ready for playing time is the priority. A QB only gets better with playing time once he is ready. You put a QB in that isn't ready and you destroy them, and the very best way for Elgersma to be pro ready is to be professionally developed.

Wow that's strangely gracious and lucid coming from Ballsy. Maybe his wife got on his SM?

The fact that Sheehan is a below average punter in our league led me to the conclusion he is not safe long before we drafted a decent punter. Now, I think he should be very worried.

My 2 cents on the draft overall is that I think we got two players that could turn this into a fantastic draft down the line in Shay and Elgersma. After that it's all about guys reaching their potential with not much in the sure thing department. All in all I give it a solid B....mainly because I really like Shay.

I would be pretty surprised if this was not a pick with STs in mind mainly. He's a project, and a long term one at that. He's going to have to show value on teams to get a sniff of the roster or PR. I doubt his son makes the club, and that will just add fuel to Ballsy's hate for us, maybe we just picked him so that we could all get a chuckle at Ballsy foaming at the mouth like a rabid dog when his son is released? Although, it might be funnier if we put him on the PR and just read Ballsy's weekly criticisms about how the Bombers are wasting a star player.

Scouting report on him is that he is good in the run block and a little slow in setting his feet in pass pro. Teachable stuff. Great attitude and physicality, that's not teachable. I like how the Bombers value the intangibles over the teachables along their lines. It has mostly served us well.