The MBB All-time Blue Bomber Team: cornerbacks

[TrueBlue4ever]

Choose 2 from the following list of bios:

Roy Bennett – 51 games in 3 seasons (1985-87), 26 Int., 455 yards, 2 TDs (long 101 yds.), led CFL with 13 Int. in 1987, divisional and CFL all-star in 1986 and 1987, Bomber rookie of the year nominee in 1985, 2 career fumble recoveries, 67 tackles in 1987

 

Less Browne – 51 games in 3 seasons (1989-91), 27 Int., 571 yards, 1 TD, 1 fumble recovery, 112 tackles, holds club record with 14 Int. in 1990, set CFL record (since broken) with 273 yards in Int. returns in 1990, divisional and CFL all-star in 1990 and 1991, 1990 Grey Cup champion, CFL Hall of Fame.

 

Paul Brule - 63 games in 4 seasons (1968-71), 14 Int., 238 yards, 1970 divisional all-star, led club with 9 Int. in 1970

 

Rod Hill – 90 games in 5 seasons (1988-92), all-time club leader with 47 Int., 482 yards and 2 TDs, 190 tackles, 5 fumble recoveries for 82 yards and 1 TD, divisional all star in 1989, 1990, and 1992, CFL all-star in 1989 and 1990, played in 3 Grey Cups and won 2, never had less than 7 Ints. In any season, set CFL record with 5 Int. in 1 game

 

James Jefferson – 49 games in 3 seasons (1986-88), 12 Int., 193 yards, 2 TDs, 105 tackles in final 2 years, 4 fumble recoveries for 1 TD, divisional all-star 1987 and 1988, CFL all-star 1987, set CFL record with 4 TDs by a defensive player in 1 game, 1988 Grey Cup champion

 

Jovon Johnson – 107 games in 6 seasons (2008-13), 23 Int., 510 yards, 6 TDs, 370 tackles, 8 fumble recoveries, 1 TD, divisional all-star 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012, CFL all-star 2009 and 2011, team nominee for outstanding player in 2009 and 2011, team nominee for outstanding defensive player in 2011, CFL outstanding defensive player in 2011 (first and so far only defensive back to ever win the award), led CFL in Int. with 8 in 2011, led CFL in fumble recoveries with 5 in 2012

 

Reggie Pierson – 91 games in 6 seasons (1978-83), 27 Int., 439 yards, 4 fumble recoveries

 

David Shaw – 52 games in 4 seasons, 13 Int., 360 yards, 3TDs, 1 sack, set club record (since broken) with 108 yard Int. return in 1985, divisional all-star 1983, 1984, and 1985, CFL all-star 1984, 1984 Grey Cup champion

 

Edited December 10, 2018 by TrueBlue4ever

[TrueBlue4ever]

Note that you can vote for multiple options at one time in this poll, so please vote for 2 here.

Edited December 7, 2018 by TrueBlue4ever

[Jpan85]

I voted for Rod Hill and if I could pick a second it would be Jovon Johnson

[Eternal optimist]

Wish there was an "other" option - I'd pick Ken Ploen as he sometimes filled in as halfback and safety back when he played, led us to 6 Grey Cups, winning four of them. He was just a defensive player that was a student of the game and also happened to play QB.

[TrueBlue4ever]

15 minutes ago, Eternal optimist said:

Wish there was an "other" option - I'd pick Ken Ploen as he sometimes filled in as halfback and safety back when he played, led us to 6 Grey Cups, winning four of them. He was just a defensive player that was a student of the game and also happened to play QB.

Ken Ploen will appear in the "halfback" nominees list, upcoming shortly.

[SpeedFlex27]

I know Rod Hill & Less Browne will win this so I changed it up a bit. I voted for Hill because no one was better as a corner in Blue Bomber history & David Shaw because Shaw was a helluva player who most fans here have either never heard of or had forgotten. He was a shutdown corner for the Bombers from 1983 thru 85. It was his interception in the second quarter of a Dieter Brock Ti Cat pass that cued the 48 point explosion after the Bombers were down 14-0 in the 84 Grey Cup game.  Just a tremendous player. 

Edited December 8, 2018 by SpeedFlex27

[TrueBlue4ever]

2 hours ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

I know Rod Hill & Less Browne will win this so I changed it up a bit. I voted for Hill because no one was better as a corner in Blue Bomber history & David Shaw because Shaw was a helluva player who most fans here have either never heard of or had forgotten. He was a shutdown corner for the Bombers from 1983 thru 85. It was his interception in the second quarter of a Dieter Brock Ti Cat pass that cued the 48 point explosion after the Bombers were down 14-0 in the 84 Grey Cup game.  Just a tremendous player. 

My favourite random fact about Shaw was that he had the coolest fan section ever at the old Winnipeg Stadium: “Dave’s Disciples”, who sat in row 1 in Swction A (goal line to the 10 yard line in the south west corner). 

[TrueBlue4ever]

I have added Paul Brule to this list as an option and place his bio along with the others for your consideration, and I appear to have screwed up the closing date of the poll and can't seem to edit it now, so if you still want to vote, just reply in the thread with your 2 choices. I'll work out the kinks of this endeavour soon enough. 

[bearpants]

did you mean for the poll to be closed to soon?... I thought the polls would be open for a week?

[TrueBlue4ever]

2 hours ago, bearpants said:

did you mean for the poll to be closed to soon?... I thought the polls would be open for a week?

See my message just above yours for the explanation.

I screwed up when I set up the poll and got the closing date wrong. Once I saw it was closed I tried to edit the post, but it won't let me change the closing date, so if anyone still wants to vote, just post on the thread with your 2 choices and I will add them to the results.

 

UPDATE:

I've tried editing it again and changing the closing date, so maybe it will work now. Someone let me know if you can still vote or not.

Edited December 10, 2018 by TrueBlue4ever

[Jpan85]

I opened it back up

[TrueBlue4ever]

26 minutes ago, Jpan85 said:

I opened it back up

Great thanks.

[TrueBlue4ever]

Voting ends today, and it seems certain that Rod Hill and Less Browne, the solid favorites in this category, will win out.

One man's take: Hill is a no-brainer as the best Bomber corner ever. He will be returning in the special teams category as well.

Browne was brilliant too, and fully deserving of the other nod. His 1990 season was one for the ages. I must say I was kind of hoping Jovon Johnson, with a solid third place finish, would have made this a closer race. When you compare the numbers, Browne's ceiling was certainly higher, but for the entirety of their Winnipeg careers, Johnson showed amazing consistency over his 6 years here, and some of his stats are eye-popping (370 tackles!). He also had more all-star nods, which shows how well he did compared to his peers over that time period. And when he earns the overall Bomber MOP, offensive or defensive, twice, that is something remarkable and unprecedented for a cornerback.

In the end, Browne's overall career (CFL all-time best 87 interceptions, many of those with Hamilton) may have subconsciously played a role, as would have Johnson's decline and departure from Winnipeg (he may be as well known for his trash talk as his play - remember the year after his defensive MOP award and he records a pick against Edmonton in game one and boasts to the camera "that what happens when you throw against #2 - best player in the league" - oh yeah, the team was trailing 35-10 at that time).

[bearpants]

1 hour ago, TrueBlue4ever said:

When you compare the numbers, Browne's ceiling was certainly higher, but for the entirety of their Winnipeg careers, Johnson showed amazing consistency over his 6 years here, and some of his stats are eye-popping (370 tackles!). 

 

just my opinion.... but when it comes to great corners... sometime the best have very low numbers because they never get thrown at... If you check the stats in Derrell Revis's best days... he usually only had far lower numbers than the leaders in the position group... because teams simply game planned to avoid him...

Not agreeing or disagreeing with your point... just wanted to get my 5 cents in...

[Jesse]

10 hours ago, bearpants said:

just my opinion.... but when it comes to great corners... sometime the best have very low numbers because they never get thrown at... If you check the stats in Derrell Revis's best days... he usually only had far lower numbers than the leaders in the position group... because teams simply game planned to avoid him...

Not agreeing or disagreeing with your point... just wanted to get my 5 cents in...

Jovon was a play maker. He went for the big play and often got burned for it.

but he made a ton of big plays for us and was my vote for #2 (pun intended).

[Floyd]

49 minutes ago, Jesse said:

Jovon was a play maker. He went for the big play and often got burned for it.

but he made a ton of big plays for us and was my vote for #2 (pun intended).

JJ just after Browne and Hill

This is tricky given the change in the game over the years ha

[do or die]

Hill....no brainer.   Browne was better at man coverage than Jovon

[SpeedFlex27]

I think that 1990 defense may have been the best all time for the Bombers.