blueandgoldguy

Maybe Joe Mack will ask him to come to camp for his current CFL team. Oh, that's right Joe Mack currently doesn't have a CFL team to call his employer! Remember back in 2012 when the Bombers got off to that horrible start and the calls for Joe Mack to be fired became increasingly louder both in the media and on the other Bomber site. And remember when some of the members of that site said no way you should fire Joe Mack. Give him time because if you do fire him some other team is sure to hire him due to his awesome recruitment skills (Bombers have the best depth in the CFL and at QB according to some members back in 2012 - I remember Bluto's signature lol). Well, here we are nearly one year after his firing and not one CFL team has even spoken to Joe Mack let alone hired him. The man was brought in to improve our Qb depth and I think it's safe to say he failed miserably at it. Brink was released and never found a position as a third stringer nevermind a backup with another team and Elliott was only on the BC roster because he paid his way to camp and also because of injuries to BC Qbs higher on the totem pole. We're left with Goltzy - another Mack protege who only proved he could not get better despite numerous starts and was the worst starter/backup in the league out of all 9 teams! Elliott won't get another shot unless 5-10 cfl starters/backups go down simultaneously this season. He is that lowly regarded.

The economic benefit from the Grey Cup should be much more substantial in Manitoba than Sasky, that's for sure. Here we actually have the hotels and venues to accomodate the 10-20,000 out-of-province folk for the Grey Cup week. In Regina, they had room for what? 1000 people tops from out-of-province? In the end, the economic impact from the 2015 Grey Cup week will be similar to that in Regina ($130 million or so), but most of money generated from the Regina Grey Cup came from people already living in the province. It's not as if those people would have just pocketed the money they saved on tickets, souvenirs, food and drinks if the Grey Cup wasn't being held in the province - they would have just spent in other things..like upgrading the toilet seats in their outhouses from pine to oak, buying their cousins roses instead of dandelions, adding grills on their dentures..things like that. In other words, very little new money was added to the Saskatchewan economy regardless of the 2013 Grey Cup. With decent hotel accomodations and superior venues, Manitoba should see a more significant contribution in out-of-province money once the 2015 Grey Cup week is completed.

The Bombers didn't hire the firm who designed the stadium - Creswin/Asper did. Part of the payoff Creswin/Asper received when they were removed from the project was to buy the plans from him. And a poor decision that was!

How is it a good deal exactly?? If the Bombers had gone through the proper process of hiring the proper firm, one with experience in designing stadiums, like the Riders are doing, instead of hiring Asper's buddy Ray Wan (he of no experience in designing stadiums) to design IGF, then they wouldn 't have needed to spend an additional $350,000 to build a proper pressbox - it would have been designed and constructed correctly the first time around. Hiring Ray Wan instead of a real firm with experience like HKS has cost the taxpayers millions of additional dollars when you factor in other mistakes that had to be corrected (like lack of proper access to the field level for concerts). Plus I'm sure there is more to come in the future. Great that we have the big game coming back to Winnipeg. Hope the Convention Centre expansion is completed by then.

his big flaw was not hiring the right coach. Fundamentally his approach was not that dissimilar from Popp or Buono, but he didn't have an all time great coach like Buono who always developed a qb or Calvillo for decades. The guy had the approach that you can replace players which isn't wrong but you need a good teacher and leader at head coach if you're going to do that and he failed spectacularly at that aspect. His bigtime flaw was his inability to get a decent QB or provide the QB with decent protection. The latter goes hand-in-hand with his inability to accumulate good Canadian depth despite being given 4 years to do so. The fact that he didn't even know who Brad Sinopli was shows how little knowledge he had of the CIS. Jade Etienne anyone?

The CFL B List? Then why do you watch? No one is forcing you. Find another sport you can grumble about salaries while calling the CFL bush. Who needs you? Hey the North American Lacrosse League needs fans & they pay their players peanuts so it's right up your alley. Go follow it. Why does acknowledging that the CFL doesn't have the best football players in the world mean he shouldn't watch it? It's not what Atomic said it's how he said it. Big difference. The CFL is the one league in the ******* world that the players are in the community interacting with fans in all kinds of different ways. Most basically play for the love of the game & he's bitching about salaries? And advocating that owners should get tough with the players to the lpoint of shutting down the season in 2014?? Hell, 3 teams DON'T EVEN HAVE ANY OWNERS as they're community owned.... Nope, I don't take back what I said. I know the NFL has better players but at the same time if you are a true fan you appreciate what you have which is still pretty damned good. I don't see how you can possibly get annoyed with the way I talk to you sometimes and then still think you're justified in talking to Atomic the way you did in this string of quotes. He's not exactly saying anything that's untrue. Nor is he saying anything that should be offending you to the point that you're telling him he shouldn't watch the CFL. To a certain extent, a lot of these guys are replaceable. Some of them aren't, but most are. The owners have a good chance to make the league financially stable and while I definitely think that the players deserve their fair share of the new revenue, it shouldn't be an overwhelming amount. What's an overwhelming amount though out of the additional 2.5 or so million in tv revenue?

You need to look a little closer at the numbers. Under the old deal at 15 million per season each team collected 1.8 million. Under the new deal at $40 million each of the 9 teams will collect 4.4 million. That's an increase of 2. 6 million per team so even is the teams raised their cap by a million for 2014 each team to say 5.5 or 5.6 million each team would still be ahead by 1.6 million from the previous season. That should be more than an adequate amount to improve their bottom lines. And what's this about an over-inflated TV contract? Based on what exactly?

There is absolutely no reason the salary cap shouldn't increase by at least $500,000 this season, followed by increases of $150,000 or so each of the following 4 seasons to coincide with the increase in the tv deal. The owners would still see a noticeable increase in their annual revenues thanks to the new tv contract, and that's not even factoring in increased revenues from the new stadiums and improved national sponsorships

Bleeding heart nonsense is the last resort of someone who hasn't taken time to examine all sides of the issue. It's weak, ill-informed and lacking in common sense.

Not sure he would play here even if he exhausted all his NFL options. One more year of abusing your body in the NFL for $800,000 - $1,000,000 or whatever the league minimum is for a 10+ year veteran sure. One more year of abusing your body in the CFL, even as the highest paid NI and non-quarterback, say $250,000, not so much.

Would have liked to see Higgins as GM in Winnipeg with Walters as his assistant. Guess time will tell if the Bombers made the right choice.

Are you talking about rig pig types? Always found it weird that cities so far away from NFL cities would only care about the NFL. It's not like it's an option to drive to one of those cities to catch a game. Well, I guess it is if you want to drive 12 hours from Calgary to Seattle or 15 hours from Edmonton to Seattle. I guess I can understand it for places like Vancouver, Hamilton, Toronto which have the NFL right at their doorstep, and to a lesser degree, Montreal, Winnipeg, Ottawa which have the NFL within reasonable driving distance. Just weird that a place like Calgary would have so many people that care about the NFL when it's not a reasonable option to view in-person. I wonder if all the inter-provincial migration and migration from other countries that is factoring in static or declining attendance in Calgary. People from other countries don't understand nor care about football so they choose not to go. And people from other provinces either didn't care about the CFL to begin with or choose not to support the Stamps, instead keeping their loyalties with their old hometown.

Those corner endzone seats are a good deal in Calgary..although they really shouldn't be paying more considering it's bench seating and the state of the stadium itself. As a comparison - $254 and $215 at Mcmahon while in Winnipeg those seats sell for $597 and $494 10 yard line to the endzone - $471 at Mcmahon, Winnipeg at $597 10 yard line to the 20 - 25 yard line - $635 - $641 at Mcmahon, Winnipeg at $814 20- 25 yard line to the 20 - 25 yard line - $786 -$793 at Mcmahon, Winnipeg at $814 with another 1000 or so club seats at $1500 There aren't seats at the back of the endzones in Calgary like Winnipeg so no really comparable there although it should be noted that the Bombers charge an outrageous $388 for those. A rip- off when you consider at the old stadium those endzone seats sold for $170. If you use the seats above the walkway at Mcmahon as a comparable to the upper deck seats at Investors then Corner upper deck seats - $215 at Mcmahon, $249 in Winnipeg Seats from goal line to the 20 yard line - $350 at Mcmahon, $334 in Winnipeg Seats from the 20 yard line - 20 yard line - $350 at Mcmahon, $464 - $597 at Winnipeg So other than one area of McMahon, Winnipeg's prices are more expensive, sometimes considerably moreso...although that's how it should be, considering we have a new stadium here. I think Calgary had 30,000 season ticket holders back in 2009 - the year they held the Grey Cup. Plus, I think they averaged 35,000 per game - basically a sellout. So there should be some concern over the dropoff in attendance. I keep hearing from a few Calgary posters on other forums who seem to be convinced that an announcement is imminent for a Stadium/Arena proposal all at one location. West Village is rumoured to be one of the preferred sites. Guess we will see how things shake out this year, but I do have to say that would be one expensive project..probably in the neighbourhood of $750 million - $1 billion.

The 1990 Grey Cup was of course in the 90s. To myself, it just felt like an 80s Grey Cup with several members of the 80s team on that 1990 team. Anyways 3 Grey Cups in 7 seasons and pretty much a contender for the Grey Cup from 1980-81 all the way through until 1994 (Dunigan's last year with the Bombers.).

iso don't you know that it would have taken Mack at least 7-10 years to adequately address the mess left by Kelly and Taman?

Well, we certainly can't be considered winners either. Bombers did OK, but ended up with choice number 2 or 3 for a potential starting QB (depending on who you ask), failed to significantly improve their Canadian content (although Newman might provide a bit of an upgrade over Muamba) and failed to improve the O-line (not entirely their fault with limited options out there). While we had some solid signings and improved in a few areas, we didn't upgrade two primary areas of need, and some would say three areas due to Willy's inexperience. I can see why Wiecek said the Bombers were losers even though I don't necessarily agree with it.

I remember most of this as a young child... I miss when making the playoffs was viewed as a foregone conclusion..what was it? Close to 20 years in a row? I miss all those Grey Cup victories we had in the 80s I miss all the end-of-season awards individual Bombers won - 5 Most Outstanding Player Awards in an 8 year stretch in the 80s; 4 most Oustanding Canadian Awards in an 8 year stretch, 4 Most Outstanding O-Line Awards in an 8-year stretch in the 80s; 3 Most Outstanding Defensive Player Awards in a 7 year stretch in the 80s/early 90s...man, did the Bomber ever rack up awards in those days. It seemed to be the norm rather than the exception that it is today.

You overestimate coaching - it might be worth a couple wins at most. The talent put together by management is the biggest difference..which is why the Bombers were horrible the last 2 years - terrible management. If Lulay's shoulder continues to bother him, and Wally can't find a suitable replacement from down south like he usually does, there is an outside chance BC misses the playoffs. I still like that defense though.

That's what happens when your mediocre. Fifty thousand yards of mediocrity?? Just a few average qbs ahead of him. Thrown for 4000 yards 3 times in his career. Passing yards are a measure of longevity, not greatness. Only a full-time starter for maybe half those years hence the 3 4000+ yard seasons. That also doesn't make a good case for mediocrity more like slightly above average - good. Mediocre would be the likes of Porter, Mcpherson, Slack, Crandell, Jackson, Jyles.

Sorensen to the Eskimos

Should be but I guess guys like Butler want to go elsewhere. Maybe Walters has one more last-minute offer to entice Butler.

Nick Moore isn't an elite #1 receiver unless he takes a quantum leap this off-season. If Denmark is utilized like he was in the 2nd half of the season 2013 he's a 1200 yard receiver. I'd say they are pretty comparable in terms of showing some good ability but being somewhat inconsistent in terms of production. Denmark has better hands, Moore is a bigger target, both really good route runners. I wonder if we are looking at Moore as a boundary WR to replace Matthews. He really didn't do well at that spot in BC 2012 and finally grabbed a spot inside after they dealt Geroy. That boundary WR spot is the one we need to fill. Check out Moore's stats from 2012 - 2013 - he made a quantum leap in terms of production. And that was with the starting QB out for a good portion of the season. No reason he can't be an elite receiver, he's pretty close to it right now..and those 1100 yards put him in the top-10 anyways. I could argue that's elite right now. And as for Denmark, please. Don't act like he wasn't partly responsible for his poor production for most of the season. Not being used properly was only part of the problem. He showed an inability to get open much of the time. If he improves, good for him and good for the Bombers. But I don't want to see the Bombers put all their eggs in the Denmark basket so to speak. I also don't think the Bombers should solely rely on kids fresh out of US college to provide meaningful production. 1000 yard receivers aren't as easy to find as some here seem to think. He also went from being in and out of the lineup, 4th or 5th target when he was in, to taking Geroy Simon's spot. Any receiver good enough to make a CFL team would put up 1000 yards as a primary target. Marquay McDaniel is another example of that...good enough that no one in the league wanted him. Gets a shot to be a #1 receiver with lots of injuries in Calgary, 1000 yards. Is Moore the 3rd best receiver in the league? Not a chance. Same as judging Burris as the #1 QB because he has the most passing yards, yet Lulay, Ray and Calvillo missed big chunks of the season. Never said he was the 3rd best receiver in the league I said he was pretty close to being an elite receiver right now. And no, I don't think you have to be top-3 in the league to be an elite receiver. Between top-5 or top-10 would be elite imo.

Maybe Kelly can backup our starting import receivers? Maybe a 6th or 7th receiver, assuming the Bombers will dress that many for games of course (7th receiver)...provided he's a cheap salary. Can't hurt to bring him back to camp and compete for a spot.

Nick Moore isn't an elite #1 receiver unless he takes a quantum leap this off-season. If Denmark is utilized like he was in the 2nd half of the season 2013 he's a 1200 yard receiver. I'd say they are pretty comparable in terms of showing some good ability but being somewhat inconsistent in terms of production. Denmark has better hands, Moore is a bigger target, both really good route runners. I wonder if we are looking at Moore as a boundary WR to replace Matthews. He really didn't do well at that spot in BC 2012 and finally grabbed a spot inside after they dealt Geroy. That boundary WR spot is the one we need to fill. Check out Moore's stats from 2012 - 2013 - he made a quantum leap in terms of production. And that was with the starting QB out for a good portion of the season. No reason he can't be an elite receiver, he's pretty close to it right now..and those 1100 yards put him in the top-10 anyways. I could argue that's elite right now. And as for Denmark, please. Don't act like he wasn't partly responsible for his poor production for most of the season. Not being used properly was only part of the problem. He showed an inability to get open much of the time. If he improves, good for him and good for the Bombers. But I don't want to see the Bombers put all their eggs in the Denmark basket so to speak. I also don't think the Bombers should solely rely on kids fresh out of US college to provide meaningful production. 1000 yard receivers aren't as easy to find as some here seem to think.

I checked out Newman 's stats because I wasn't sure who he was. Did he see any action besides special teams? He's tall anyways. Wonder what his speed and coverage abilities are like? And I guess with his signing we just brought in competition for Muamba?