TrueBlue4ever

I’m glad Bighill is happy with his contract, but given that he and Collaros share the same agent, I am astounded he came in so low. Took a massive pay cut for 2021 to help out the team, bet on himself on the restructured 1 year deal and produced with an MOP season. Could easily have earned the right to demand to be the highest paid defensive player in the league like Collaros on offence and return to $250,000 range (would have been an overpay but certainly the going rate). $200,000-225,000 seemed like a fair offer for what he brought and what the league precedent is. Maybe the incentives in the deal are worth a ton extra. I am not him, but if I was I might be looking at my agent and saying “wait, you got Zach a $125,000 raise and this is the best you could do for me?” Anyway, whatever the reason, thrilled he is back and proud to have chosen his number for my jersey.

If they have the same agent, then maybe we got Collaros for an equally ridiculously low amount. That 160K for Bighill is honestly about 65K below what he could have commanded. Awaiting the cries of “money under the table to cheat the salary cap” from other teams.

I put Benson in because he is our only option there, no idea who if anyone would be our back up if he left. That alone makes him more valuable. And a quality long snapper is an underrated but important piece to the special teams puzzle. Any ideas who is out there? Is it an easy job to learn?

Alexander is a big keeper for sure, but I wonder if we have the pieces in the secondary to replace him more so than other positions? The cupboard behind Collaros is pretty bare in-house right now. Bryant is definitely superior to Couture player to player, but age, nationality, and ability to replace one spot in five factored in. But good points all around.

So open question for the board - Still some big pieces out there. Assuming we can’t afford all of them, which of these big ticket items (likely the most expensive option at their position) do we walk away from: QB - Collaros RB - Harris WR - Lawler OL - Bryant or Couture DL - Richardson DB - Alexander or W. Rose K - Castillo LS - Benson Is Harris the obvious choice here, given the cost, age, and who is already in-house behind him. Emotions and loyalty aside, is this the smartest business decision, or do we owe it to him to allow loyalty and emotion as well as his skill set to factor into this decision? And who are your top 3 “must sign” players, either on this list or the entire Bomber free agent list? Mine are 1. Collaros 2. Couture (younger Canadian at centre slightly over Bryant and all his talent, mainly because of age) 3. Lawler (if he goes to the NFL it will hurt, but losing him to another CFL team would be worse)

Your need to slag LaPo as a cancer for offensive players is starting to border on the pathological. As a starter with full access to the LaPo playbook in 2018 and 2019 Streveler went 4-7. Nichols in that same offensive system went 38-17 from 2016-19. In 2019, Streveler as a starter threw 6 TDs and 12 INTs with a passer rating of 72.0. Nichols on the same offence had 15 TDs and 5 INTs with a rating of 107.2. Teams figured out that if you contained Streveler’s running and forced him to throw, he was much less likely to to beat you. Kyle Walters saw that too and knew Streveler was not good enough, so he got Collaros who had a rating of 109.4 in his one regular season start and went 3-0 in the playoffs. 3 QBs, same system, same OC. Two successes, one with less than adequate results when put in the starting role. Frankly, LaPo was the best thing to happen to Streveler. LaPo did not make him a gimmick QB. Streveler showed the limitations in his passing game and LaPo was required to adapt a streamlined playbook for his skill set, tailoring a game plan around his strengths and not allowing other teams to spy him as easily with the RPO schemes. The success of this limited playbook for Chris helped the Bombers win again and landed him a look in the NFL with a $1.5 million payday, more than any CFLer over that same time. Streveler was not getting a NFL opportunity based on his passing game. Having said all that, maybe 2 years in the NFL with some scout team reps and maturity as a player has helped develop his passing game. Hopefully he has used his NFL time to become a Henry Burris, and not a Casey Printers.

So Wisconsin Republican senator Ron Johnson put out a pointedly worded poll on Twitter. Needless to say it didn’t work out like he would have hoped. And of all the shade thrown his way, this response won the day.

But if he gets jailed will he not become a political prisoner to his base, railroaded by the corrupt justice system? And then if a Republican gets in, would he get a pardon? That would be nauseating.

Best part of that gag was the mug proving he was the best boss was “a gift” bought by Michael to give to himself.

Thanks Jpan. Figured a bunch of the italicized guys were in fact signed like Dru Brown, my sources only had him as “on the active roster” whereas others were listed as “signed”, but I appreciate the clarifications. And like Nichols, if any other player (say Lawler) left for an NFL deal I would update to “released”. I will edit my original list to reflect your corrections. Certainly a lot of contracts out there to be accepted or turned down. We seem to be targeting the lines and the Canadians first.

Reading this debate like: Anyway, to get back on track, 20 days left until free agency. As far as I can tell from the roster on blue bombers.com and the free agent list on cfl.ca, here is where we are at: Bold = confirmed signed Plain = pending free agent Italics = on roster, presumably signed but contract status not reported (any help to clarify would be appreciated) Underlined = released QB - D. Brown, Collaros, McGuire RB - Augustine, Borsa, Harris, M. Miller, Oliveira WR - Adams, Bailey, Demski, Grant, Jackson, Lawler, McKnight, O’Leary-Orange, Wolitarsky OL - Bryant, Burks, Couture, Desjarlais, Eli, Gray, Hardrick, Kolankowski, Neufeld, Richmond DL - Antigua, Jeffcoat, Jefferson, Kongbo, Richardson, E. Rose, Sayles, Thomas, Walker, Wicker, Wilcots II LB - Bighill, Briggs, K. Brown, Cadwaller, Gauthier, Hansen, Lowes, Maruo, Wilson DB - Alexander, Alford, Darby, Ni. Hallett, No. Hallett, Hampton, Houston, Johnson, Jones, Kramdi, Matson, J. Miller, Nichols, W. Rose, Taylor, Thompson K - Castillo, Crapigna, Liegghio, Mourtada LS - Benson Lots of big names still out there. Based on the cfl.ca page, 10 signings off of the free agent list and 30 pending free agents. However, only Saskatchewan with 15 signings has re-signed more than us so far. Everyone way behind. Apologies in advance for any misspellings, wrongly ID’d people, or players out of position, was going off the rostered lists. Proofreading and corrections appreciated.

Very sorry for your loss. Condolences to you and your family.

Sask seems content to build from the outside in (receivers, d-backs, defensive ends are their biggest strengths and salary cap focus). Bombers built their championship teams from the inside out (o and d-lines, and up the middle with QB, RB, MLB, and safety all the league’s best, and a solid centre and powerful run stuffer at DT). I much prefer our model.

Went 0/2 in field goals (a single point off of those 2 misses), 5 missed points, lost by 7. Did not have the ball or a chance to kick game winner at the end. Would not have made the difference.

Yeah, what a disappointment for us all how the Bombers decided “not to lose” so frequently with LaPo as their OC from 2016-2019, especially that “not lost” Grey Cup. 44-28, playoffs every year and 4-3 playoff record with a ring. Whole lotta not losing there. Bottom line, for all its “conservative” ball control and protection schemes, his Bomber teams put up 30 points on average, won rushing titles, won games and produced a championship. But I guess you’d prefer the high octane gunslinging big yardage of say a Trevor Harris offence, along with the 24.5 point average. That guy doesn’t throw check downs, he plays to win - except that he’s lost more than he’s won (39-41-2, 2-3 in the playoffs) Honestly, this whole “LaPo ruins players and runs a losing offence that will never play to win” is such a tired narrative. Actually the only game we lost due to kicking was the final game in Calgary with Castillo booting for us. Otherwise it was a non-factor in the loss column, and Liegghio and Mourtada each won us a game where kicking points made the difference. And of course Castillo in the Grey Cup. He should have been the MVP.

May I offer my condolences as well on your loss. Thoughts are with you and your family during this difficult time.

And just who else is out there in free agency, pray tell? Masoli and his non-vaxx status or Trevor Harris, and who else?

The numbers are so rampant that it is logical that at some point everyone will be assumed to have caught it. Best practice going forward is to ensure full vaccinations so that if anyone gets it the odds are better at having mild or no symptoms, and transmission risk is lower. Shift needs to now be to treating It like any other flu, and if a player can play through it, no forced isolation. Only other option is to shut the league down fully until the 4th wave passes. And no way would they do that.

So who would be our QB to get us a 3peat if Collaros leaves, even if the defence returns? Dru Brown?

I would disagree that there is a difference in leeway, especially given that this was not a national broadcast but a local podcast and he is there to offer opinions just like a panelist, but I accept that this is your point of view. I know Suitor saying it and it being the Riders will trigger people more than if someone else said it, and I still contend the bigger problem is that the weak league rules make this kind of violation a viable option open for discussion, more than who in the media suggests it.

Putting aside that this statement is not at all a “fact” but just an opinion, why would the league MOP and back-to-back Grey Cup champion QB wanting or deserving to be the league’s top earner be totally unreasonable? Lots of wishful thinking around here that of course Collaros will do what’s best for the team and not him, and those wishes may come true, but it would be hard to walk away if say the RedBlacks or Argos offered him $550,000-575,000 and the Bombers offered $75,000-100,000 less. And he has all the leverage given who else is out there right now and who the Bombers have in the stable behind him. If it comes down to giving him an extra $50,000 to keep him or re-signing Brandon Alexander, I would happily wish Alexander well and see him go elsewhere. JMO.

Like Milt Stegall when he is asked for his game prediction and says he “has to pick my team?” Like Troy Aikman yesterday complaint that he should have gotten the Cowboy-Niners broadcast instead of Romo? Like Bob Cole and Harry Neale on every HNIC game that the Maple Leafs were a part of? Like every TSN broadcast now that covers Maple Leaf practices during the national Sportcentre updates? Suitor hardly invented homerism, and is arguably not the worst offender, especially if you consider the context of his remarks being made on a Saskatchewan podcast answering specifically if the Riders should be concerned about the salary signings. The bad look comes from the fact that it again exposes how useless the salary cap violation penalties are. That is what should be the focus here.

What are you basing that on exactly?

Is there any reason Collaros shouldn’t be the highest paid player in the league?

Someone should walk up to the vehicle and say to the driver “Glad to see you support ANTIFA”. Would anger and then confuse the hell out of them.