gbill2004

Most I can recall is 4 or 5.

Rookie camp is in June. The one in Florida (whatever you want to call it) is April 13-15.

Wouldn't surprise me if Marve was signed for the sole purpose of having a QB throwing passes in rookie camp in Florida next month.

Looking at the REDBLACKS roster, they desperately need legit WRs. Would you include Denmark in a trade for Glenn? Personally, I'm on the fence with that.

Looks like an Aaron Woods type.

Yep, this is standard operating procedures for collective bargaining. Nothing to see here...a deal will get done.

I still think Cauchy, Max Hall and a 3rd or 4th rounder for Glenn makes a lot of sense.

From Farhan Lalji (TSN) tonight: Kevin Glenn is tired of waiting for a trade and Ottawa GM Marcel Desjardins is comfortable being patient for the right offer. "If we give up Kevin Glenn, it makes us a weaker team and it will immediately improve the team that gets him," said the Redblacks GM. "How do I sell that to our fans? We have to get significant value in return or it just doesn't make sense." Just what that value is, is the reason Glenn still remains a member of the Redblacks. While Desjardins is trying to trade Glenn at "starter's value," the general managers looking to acquire him are trying to pay for a back-up. Glenn's contract is also very desirable, especially as a back-up. With his roster bonuses already having been paid, all that remains to be paid during the season is approximately $105,000, assuming he doesn't start a majority of games. A number of teams initially inquired about Glenn, but currently, it is believed that only the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and B.C. Lions have serious interest in the 34-year-old pivot. Reports out of both cities have suggested that the asking price for Glenn is at minimum a Canadian starter, an import starter and a first-round draft pick. According to Desjardins, that is not the case. "We are looking for three assets, but I'm not naïve enough to think I can get something that a team doesn't have," said Desjardins. "If a team doesn't have enough of their own pieces in a particular area, that's not my fault, but I can't get what's not there. I've given teams a list of things we're looking for and am asking for a combination of those pieces." Despite Glenn's frustration that a deal still isn't done, Desjardins says he has not communicated with the Lions or Bombers for almost two weeks. In his last communication with Winnipeg, his asking price was two import starters and a draft pick that was outside the first round. So for now, the Lions and Bombers wait for Glennss price to come down, while Desjardins doesn't plan to give away what he believes is a prime asset. Kevin Glenn, meanwhile, has no choice but to sit and wait for someone to blink.

If we acquire Glenn as the clear backup to Willy, I support that. I'm uncomfortable bringing him in as starter.

Interesting how Walters cut his own salary by $100,000 so that he could improve the team.

Start getting excited, Bombers fans Team's brass knows about Canadian ball, for a change... By: Gary Lawless The first thing Kyle Walters did as new GM of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers was look at the football operations budget and cut a big chunk out of the department's top salary and then plow it right back into scouting and coaching. Coupled with a renewed commitment from the front office to spend more on football, the dividends have already been large. With the hiring of Buck Pierce as a running backs coach Friday, Bombers coach Mike O'Shea announced he'll have a coaching staff of 11 this season, which is two more than last year and the largest in club history according to the communications department. The Bombers also have more scouts than last season and all in all the football operations department looks like a real, live pro-football outfit. Something that couldn't be said the last few years in Winnipeg. I made the statement a number of times during the Joe Mack era that the Bombers were beat long before the game ever got to the field. That can no longer be said. Walters was handed the budget by CEO Wade Miller last summer during his time as acting GM and asked how he would change it. Walters took $100,000 out of the GMs salary and moved money around on the spreadsheet. And then he asked for even more money to spend on football. He got it. Miller promised Walters he'd commit to putting the Bombers on a level playing field with the rest of the CFL's football operations departments and he's lived up to it. The Bombers will allocate more than $10 million for all things football this season. More than last year and catching up with most teams in the CFL. One can argue more coaches and more scouts mean little if they don't add up to wins and that's a fair statement. As important as how much money one has to spend is how well that money gets spent. This is where the Bombers have made their biggest improvements under Miller and Walters. When the 2013 season began, the Bombers had a CEO with no football experience, a GM who proved to have little to no understanding of how to build a CFL roster, a head coach with no offensive experience in the CFL and an offensive co-ordinator who admitted he was still learning the CFL game. I couldn't make that up if I tried. Today, they have a former player in Miller as CEO, a young GM in Walters but one with a lifetime of CIS and CFL roots, Hall of Fame player Mike O'Shea at head coach and two former quarterbacks Pierce and Danny McManus in the coaching and scouting ranks as well as seasoned and experienced CFL men Marcel Bellefeuille and Gary Etcheverry at the offensive and defensive co-ordinator positions. Off the field, the Bombers are light years ahead of where they were at this time last season and if it doesn't equate to wins right away, it will in time. The Bombers were the worst-run organization in the CFL for a number of years but that can no longer be said. The Mack era distinguished itself in its stubborn refusal to admit ignorance of the Canadian game. Beyond all of that era's many failings, this is why the team progressively got worse. No one in Canada understands the nuances of the Canadian game better than Walters and O'Shea. They played three-down football all their lives. Then they moved into coaching it and in Walters' case to management. I once asked Joe Mack what he thought of Brad Sinopoli as a player, who had been named winner of the Hec Creighton Trophy as Canada's best collegiate player the day before. He looked at me funny and then admitted he didn't know who I was talking about. That's akin to an NFL GM not knowing the Heisman winner. This wasn't a moment of weakness. Mack was a scout and by all accounts a good one. But he ignored the Canadian component of the CFL, which is foolish and unforgiveable. Last week, I asked Walters about the upcoming CFL draft. He gave me a detailed description of the top five players and then told me he'd be drafting one of three players depending on their availability when he selects second overall. Gave me their names, strengths and weaknesses. Walters also told me the draft was weak and fell off dramatically after the first five picks which is why he won't capitulate to Ottawa GM Marcel Desjardins' demand for the No. 2 pick for quarterback Kevin Glenn. Does Walters want Glenn? Sure but he wants to ensure the future of the franchise and not just improve the club for a couple of seasons. Bombers fans should be enthused but more about the long term health of their team than just this coming summer. The Bombers are back in good CFL hands from Miller to Walters to O'Shea. That's the best news of all.

Bob Irving is quite connected and credible, so I trust most of what he says.

I guess Desjardins is in no rush, so why not ask for the world right now. He will likely lower his asking price as we get closer to training camp, once Glenn will become more of a distraction. I hope once Walters heard that was the asking price, he said, "good luck with that" and hung up the phone on Desjardins.

Exactly, Desjardins can go suck it. That must sure piss off Glenn though because he'll never be traded for those demands.

Bob Irving just said that Ottawa wants Cory Watson, a draft pick (likely our first rounder) and another player on the Bombers roster for Kevin Glenn.

Awesome read! I love your analysis and projected depth chart.

His NFL scouting report: http://www.nfl.com/combine/profiles/mario-urrutia?id=2331.

@CFL: Paris Jackson has been signed by the @REDBLACKS. Details to come. #CFL

2008 NFL Draft Prospect Scouting Report: Mario Urrutia, WR, Louisville After two impressive seasons, it looked like Mario Urrutia was primed to have a monster junior year and rocket up the draft boards. However, he missed four total games with injuries and was not at his best for the most part, catching only 35 passes for 501 yards and three touchdowns. Despite the disappointing year, Urrutia is going to skip his senior season and enter the draft, because of his injury issues. "It's by far the toughest decision I've ever made," Urrutia said, according to the report on CBS Sportsline (12/14). "Unfortunately, with missing time this season and playing injured I got to see football from a different perspective. You only have so much time to play this sport, and the 2008 draft is my opportunity." Despite the fact that staying in school for his senior year would have been his best bet for his draft prospects, his decision is understandable. But, in a class that's expected to be full of receivers, where does he fit in? He's not blazing fast by any means, but he has great big-play ability (just like his teammate Harry Douglas, who's expected to go in the first couple of rounds). He started his collegiate career with 519 yards in the first four games, during which he caught passes of 69, 66, 76, and 73 yards. In his three-year career, he has averaged 17.5 yards per catch (130 for 2,271) and scored 16 touchdowns. While Douglas is the faster of the two, Urrutia is the big man, with his size giving him a height advantage over almost everyone on the field, not just the defensive backs. On the next level, he has to use that advantage to the fullest. While the injuries are going to be a concern for teams, consistency may be as well, as he hasn't strung together back to back 100-yard games since his freshman year and has also struggled mightily with drops throughout his career. He also received not one, but two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties in a game against Syracuse this season. How fast he runs at the combine shouldn't make a difference, because his penchant for making the big play should say it all. The biggest thing for him at the combine might be showing he can hold onto the ball and if he can do that, that should help him tremendously. He has first-round size and first-round talent and could be a big-time receiver in the NFL, if he can overcome his present issues. The negatives may knock him into the middle rounds; he has far too much potential to pass up for too long and if his decision to enter early does indeed prove to be the right one (and if he can stay healthy and consistently showcase the talent that he showed at times at Louisville years down the line), it won't matter where he was drafted. Update (3/12/08): At last month's combine in Indianapolis, Urrutia (who came in at 6'5, 232 pounds) ran a best of 4.58 in the 40-yard dash. Right now, Urrutia is projected as a late-round pick by NFL Draft Scout, but he has one more chance to boost his standing with Louisville's Pro Day on the 24th.

@DarrinBauming: Based on the several 40-yard-dash times I can dig up, Mario Urrutia and Chris Matthews appear to have similar straight-line speed. #Bombers @DarrinBauming: Urrutia was a 7th-round NFL pick in 2008, spending time with Cincy, NY Jets, Tampa, then the UFL. Named 2013 Arena League Rookie of the Year @DarrinBauming: New #Bombers WR Mario Urrutia (pronounced Ya-rudy-Ah) played at the University of Louisville with new Bombers QB Brian Brohm from 2005-2007.

Here's some video on Urrutia: http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=oNzaH4S-_-Y.

@Darren_Cameron: #Bombers have added import quarterback Robert Marve (6-1, 212, Purdue), and import wide receiver Mario Urrutia (6-6, 238, Louisville).

Another good read: http://tbo.com/list/news-columns/fennelly-marve-comes-full-circle-with-bucs-tryout-b82487989z1

@DarrinBauming: #Bombers RT @RMarve9: I'm very excited to say I signed with Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the CFL. Truly blessed to get passed the knee injuries.

Indecision. This one word brings about many other words in uneasiness, anxiety and distrust. For those surrounding Robert Marve, it would appear these words are commonplace. A graduate of Henry B. Plant High School in Tampa, Florida, Marve committed to the University of Alabama. The potential recruit for the Crimson Tide could have changed their entire approach to the offensive side of the sport; Marve broke and reset several single season passing records for the state of Florida his senior year. Indecision struck. Marve changed his commitment to the University of Miami. The speculation behind this move pointed to Marve being closer to home, playing for a national powerhouse—a team with rich NFL transitioning history. Marve was red-shirted by first year coach Randy Shannon because of a broken arm suffered in a car accident. Kirby Freeman was given the nod as starter. The car accident seemed not to be Marve's fault; he was a passenger, not the driver. Shannon, Marve and the rest of the country would have to wait until the following season to see Marve's debut with the Canes. Uneasiness looms. Marve was suspended for the 2008 season opener against Charleston Southern. Shannon suspended Marve for attempting to evade police after he broke a car mirror. Robert's father Eugene approached the Miami Herald to announce that "Robert is upset. Robert’s family is upset". This minor move by Robert's father dawned new light on the past issue of Marve originally transferring from Alabama. A player who commits to a university, only to change his decision weeks later seems more suspicious if his father appears to run his life. Anyone in the college football world would feel Marve's suspension against Charleston Southern (an FCS school) is simply a PR move, rather than punishment for Marve. Again, this was Shannon's first season at the helm. So for Eugene Marve to take such a large leap forward, instead of letting the coaching staff at Miami deal with the issue, is notable. Robert played out the remainder of the 2008 season, going 6-5 as the starter, with 9 touchdown passes accompanied by 13 interceptions. He was suspended for the Emerald Bowl against the California Golden Bears for academic reasons. Anxiety advances. Through the mass of speculation about the once national power Miami Hurricanes dropping off their pedestal, to the new hiring of Randy Shannon, Marve was caught in the thick of things. His play seemed sufficient for a first year starter in the ACC, especially as a red-shirt freshman. But his off-field issues were dominant. From making mistakes with the wrong social groups, to academic problems, to family issues surrounding his father, Marve brought a lot of negative attention and anxiety to the Hurricanes football program. Within two weeks of the Canes bowl game against California, Marve announced his volition to transfer from the University of Miami. This move was subject to much meditation about Marve's play, Miami's recruiting, Eugene Marve, and the relationship between Robert and Randy Shannon. Rumors flew stating Marve as possessing attitude problems. Marve had also been benched several times during the 2008 season. Despite these claims, there was a lot of interest displayed in Marve. He allegedly attracted the likes of Florida, Tennessee, LSU, South Florida, Arizona State, Oklahoma, Texas Tech, Purdue, Syracuse and Oklahoma State. Distrust reigns supreme. Known to the public, Eugene Marve had been overshadowing his son for the past two years. The elder Marve had often appeared to be living vicariously through his son, giving releases to different media outlets and apparently choosing Robert's source of education and athletics. With the Marves' statement of transferring, the University of Miami and Randy Shannon were prepared to place restrictions on Robert's landing with a team. Eugene Marve was quick to act in declaring that he was ready to fight those conditions set by Miami and Shannon. (The conditions were that Marve could not attend any SEC or ACC schools, nor any in-state program). Soon after Miami's release of restrictions on where Marve could potentially play football, it was released that Eugene Marve had a serious illness. This illness was so serious, that Eugene Marve resonated that he wanted his son close to home, which fittingly went directly against the restrictions set by the University. Many viewed Eugene Marve's actions as ones of high hopes to get Robert into either Urban Meyer's program at UF, the University of Tennessee or LSU. One would think Eugene Marve was serious when he asserted he wanted Robert close to home... but their acceptance of interest of schools located in the Midwest and on the west coast would prove otherwise. Eugene Marve fielded curiosity from UCLA, Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Michigan and Arizona State, as well as Syracuse and Purdue. A story such as Marve's often materializes into an idea rather than substance. The college football world found themselves pondering Marve's situation daily, but without any solid reasons. He was a sub par quarterback with no real feel-good story behind him. Why was it that nearly every college football analyst had succumbed to Marve's status? Was it his boisterous, pressing father? His high school production in the rear view mirror? Come mid-May of this year, Marve had narrowed down his options to a scholarship at Purdue or a walk-on role at Tennessee. Without doubt, Eugene Marve had to be somewhat upset. His son could accept a scholarship to a program that had seen recent great collegiate quarterbacks in Drew Brees and Kyle Orton, but was on a steady decline. Or he could attempt to earn a spot, let alone start, as a Volunteer at Tennessee. Purdue seemed to be the better option: the program had a decent competitor in Curtis Painter, but their recruiting was too horrific to field any sort of surrounding talent. Marve could suffer in two years, or Danny Hope could use his signing to better their recruiting while Marve sat out due to NCAA regulations. On May 20, 2009, Marve released that he would transfer to Purdue. Surely, Marve's story is not dead; the Marve's carry a lot of baggage with them. Although Robert may go into hibernation until next April, he will be very much a part of Purdue's program. Boilermaker fans are just hoping Eugene Marve will not be. http://m.bleacherreport.com/articles/189530-the-enigma-that-is-robert-marve