GCn20

I will quickly paraphrase the 100 page thread that would ensue on Riderfans.
 
First 15 pages... Taman lowballed him and he should be fired for not making sure he had enough money to sign him. ( I call this stage 1...blame)
 
Next 30 pages....Dressler wasn't the same player as he was before and the ________ overpaid. We don't need him anyway because Ryan Smith is as good as he is. (I am not making that up...there are some at Riderfans suggesting this) (Stage 2....denial)
 
Next 50 pages.....Dressler is a traitor who obviously has a bad attitude anyway. He will never be as good as he was in Regina anyway and wasn't worth the money we would have paid him. Search for silver lining (more money for Chick etc.) (Stage 3...acceptance)
 
Pretty much how it goes with every player who chooses to move on from the Riders...even though they were a slam dunk to re-sign because money doesn't matter to a player once they've played for the Riders. So far, with the exception of Fantuz and Butler, Taman has been able to pull out the cheque book and keep Rider fans illusions of Shangri la alive. These guys will soon realize that after so many times of doing that SMS room becomes extremely tight and he can't bust out the chequebook with the highest bid every time. Dressler may turn out to be the guy where eyes get opened in Shangri la.

He sold his house in Regina in the offseason and his girlfriend now lives with him in Kansas City. Unless she has a piano tied to her arse she can move with him elsewhere in the CFL. You are probably right that he ends up back in Regina, but it won't be the no-brainer you think it is. There are 2 teams who have already confirmed they will be throwing their hat in the ring on Dressler. (Ottawa and Toronto)...wouldn't surprise me if there are more.
It never ceases to amaze me how Rider fans seem to think there team and city is some kind of Shangri-La that players would never consider leaving elsewhere for. Heard the same tripe about Andy Fantuz, Craig Butler, etc etc.
Taman will need to break out the cheque book in a big way for Dressler, if he doesn't he will lose him to someone else. Unfortunately for the RIders that probably handcuffs them if Sheets comes back or in renegotiating new contracts for guys like Chick, TBrack etc. before FA. Taman may be considered a hero now over there, but they are about to find out that his long term SMS strategy is not fundamentally sound.

Debut? This guy is not even on our team?

There isn't a single person on this forum who is qualified to make an informed decision. All we can do is point the indicators of success. Our offensive rankings are pretty good.

There isn't a single person on this forum who is qualified to make an informed decision. All we can do is point the indicators of success. Our offensive rankings are pretty good.

Two awful teams going toe to toe. Lefevour get eaten alive by the better defences in this league. On a side note did anyone notice JJ getting scorched tonight. He was about 15 yards out of position. Then later he gets an interception and tells the world. "I'm back!!" You sure are JJ...you sure are.

I would like to see Stoudermire on the field somewhere as well because I have heard he looks like a baller. I am not willing to sit a good player to find out though. Stoudermire will inevitably get his opportunity and I am willing to wait to see him.

You are entitled to your opinion, however, I think that you will not find too many people who agree with it. I think this is more an opinion based in personal bias than in actual reality. No offense intended towards you, we all have players we have an irrational disdain for.

You are entitled to your opinion, however, I think that you will not find too many people who agree with it. I think this is more an opinion based in personal bias than in actual reality. No offense intended towards you, we all have players we have an irrational disdain for.

You are entitled to your opinion, however, I think that you will not find too many people who agree with it. I think this is more an opinion based in personal bias than in actual reality. No offense intended towards you, we all have players we have an irrational disdain for.

I would like to see Stoudermire on the field somewhere as well because I have heard he looks like a baller. I am not willing to sit a good player to find out though. Stoudermire will inevitably get his opportunity and I am willing to wait to see him.

You are entitled to your opinion, however, I think that you will not find too many people who agree with it. I think this is more an opinion based in personal bias than in actual reality. No offense intended towards you, we all have players we have an irrational disdain for.

You are entitled to your opinion, however, I think that you will not find too many people who agree with it. I think this is more an opinion based in personal bias than in actual reality. No offense intended towards you, we all have players we have an irrational disdain for.

Atomic, the best stability for the owners is having a league able to attract talent and is not known for screwing it's players. I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt that one of the keys to business success is to treat your employees equitably and fairly.

Edmonton was so unhappy with their running game they signed their RB to a shiny new expensive contract. The Riders were happy with Cates before Sheets and weren't looking for a new RB. Don't confuse a team settling for mediocrity with them being unable to upgrade. Improving your ground game can't happen if you're not looking. Our backs last year didn't light a lot of fires because our starter was injured for most of the season, our backup was also nicked up, and we were rarely in a position where we didn't have to abandon the run game early in the game.
RBs are a dime a dozen if you're looking. Can they be immediately found? Maybe...maybe not. It is likely the easiest position to recruit for though because there is not much adjustment needed between our game and theirs. If you can run well in NCAA, or NFL the chances are high you can run well here, We may have to go through 2 or 3 before we find the right fit. However, I don't think there is much chance we will not have a very good running back by mid season of this year, Unlike a lot of other positions, there is a lot more quality supply then there is demand.

I am about as non-plussed about our offseason so far as anyone. I think it has been a borderline failure thus far, in regards, to the amount of ground we needed to gain. This offseason was like being in 2nd and 25, and unless things change on the player front, it looks like we called a running play for 8 yards. Positive yardage to be sure...but nowhere near enough.
However, I am a little more optimistic about the coaching staff than many people. I believe that a coaching staff's biggest strength is in the collective. Coaches need to be on the same page philosophically, and preach the same message to the club.
Oshea, Etcheverry, and even Bellefeuille are all known for instilling work ethic into their groups. They are also known for being taskmasters and holding players accountable. I think the sum of their strengths working together will make up for the flaws they show as individuals. One of the toughest, yet most necessary, aspects of coaching is getting your players to believe in your program. I think with the experience these men have in handling a locker room, which can be very political at times, will pay dividends. Believe it or not I think Etcheverry's mad scientist ways will keep the players interested and motivated once they start seeing the dividends that the mad doctor's defences almost always bring in the early part of the season. I think Bellefeuille will be a steady, but firm hand, on a somewhat fragile offence. I think O'Shea brings a boatload of attitude, respect, and mystique to the job. Players will listen to him. Tracey is an unknown really at this point, but brings a very impressive resume. If we can add Wylie/Himebauch, and McDiarmid to the mix it will round out a nice stable of position coaches. I see this group collectively as better than the sum of it's parts.

That certainly was a big fault of his early in his career. However, he has improved greatly in that area over the past few years. He is not the same QB we let go of in 2009. Not saying he is the answer either, but I would gladly welcome him back.
 

Bomber fans have such a defeatist attitude sometimes. Why not see a situation where Tsoumpas signs with us and they keep Scott Mitchell. I think that Winnipeg is a more favorable destination than many here are willing to concede. Our money is as green as anyone else's, our history is as rich as anyone's, our fan base is easily in the top 2 in the league, our facilities are amongst the best in the league, and our cost of living is very favorable.
Lots of the naysayers will point to our recent history, and it does make it a sell job by our management to convince pending FA's that we are changing our act, but I like having natural born salesmen like Miller, and highly respected ex-players like McManus and O'Shea in our corner.
The hard part will be getting the first big domino to drop. Whether that is Collaros or Burris or someone else, once FA's see that Winnipeg is spending to improve other players will at the very least give us a lot of consideration. There is something very tempting in being on a team on the rise to a player's competitive spirit. If our management can convince pending FA's that we are serious about turning things around with a big splashy signing right out of the gate, they will take our offers very seriously.

Bomber fans have such a defeatist attitude sometimes. Why not see a situation where Tsoumpas signs with us and they keep Scott Mitchell. I think that Winnipeg is a more favorable destination than many here are willing to concede. Our money is as green as anyone else's, our history is as rich as anyone's, our fan base is easily in the top 2 in the league, our facilities are amongst the best in the league, and our cost of living is very favorable.
Lots of the naysayers will point to our recent history, and it does make it a sell job by our management to convince pending FA's that we are changing our act, but I like having natural born salesmen like Miller, and highly respected ex-players like McManus and O'Shea in our corner.
The hard part will be getting the first big domino to drop. Whether that is Collaros or Burris or someone else, once FA's see that Winnipeg is spending to improve other players will at the very least give us a lot of consideration. There is something very tempting in being on a team on the rise to a player's competitive spirit. If our management can convince pending FA's that we are serious about turning things around with a big splashy signing right out of the gate, they will take our offers very seriously.

Bomber fans have such a defeatist attitude sometimes. Why not see a situation where Tsoumpas signs with us and they keep Scott Mitchell. I think that Winnipeg is a more favorable destination than many here are willing to concede. Our money is as green as anyone else's, our history is as rich as anyone's, our fan base is easily in the top 2 in the league, our facilities are amongst the best in the league, and our cost of living is very favorable.
Lots of the naysayers will point to our recent history, and it does make it a sell job by our management to convince pending FA's that we are changing our act, but I like having natural born salesmen like Miller, and highly respected ex-players like McManus and O'Shea in our corner.
The hard part will be getting the first big domino to drop. Whether that is Collaros or Burris or someone else, once FA's see that Winnipeg is spending to improve other players will at the very least give us a lot of consideration. There is something very tempting in being on a team on the rise to a player's competitive spirit. If our management can convince pending FA's that we are serious about turning things around with a big splashy signing right out of the gate, they will take our offers very seriously.

I hear a lot of negativity over a potential Etcheverry hiring but not a lot of reasons for it. He has run successful defences in this league with his last one going to back to back Grey Cups. I understand he is unconventional but is that a reason to jump off a cliff if we hire him? The majority of RoughRIder fans believe he was a good DC and are suggesting he would be a good hire by the Bombers. I'd like to know what automatically makes this a poor hire in some posters minds here? Please criticize away but elaborate. It's tough to know the difference between the legit concerns and the negatrons in this thread.

It's December and we have a new HC, OC, and GM. I would suggest that the Bombers are moving pretty quickly. I know people are getting antsy but the truth is that we may not get a chance to talk to some potential coaches we want until into the new year because they are under contract and permission was not granted by their respective clubs. This nonsense that somehow we are way behind in hiring our DC or filling out our coaching staff is premature. Take a breath people.
We hear a couple names like Etcheverry and Marshall and people panic. It could be that these guys are not high on our list but are available so O'Shea does not want to leave any stones unturned.

It's December and we have a new HC, OC, and GM. I would suggest that the Bombers are moving pretty quickly. I know people are getting antsy but the truth is that we may not get a chance to talk to some potential coaches we want until into the new year because they are under contract and permission was not granted by their respective clubs. This nonsense that somehow we are way behind in hiring our DC or filling out our coaching staff is premature. Take a breath people.
We hear a couple names like Etcheverry and Marshall and people panic. It could be that these guys are not high on our list but are available so O'Shea does not want to leave any stones unturned.

Yea, absolutely. Last time I heard the season doesn't start until June. It would be nice to have new guys in place prior to the draft and FA but that is still a month and a half away.

I attended a lot of that training camp and Paredes was just brutal. Big leg but he was missing everything. Can't blame the Bombers for releasing him. At the time I couldn't understand how he even got invited. Hindsight is 20/20 but the coaches made the right call given the information they had at the time. He rebounded and is doing well...good for him. However, it is ignorant to say that it was a bad decision to keep Palardy over a guy who was shanking everything....especially when you were not around to see what they based their decision on.