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Don't Look Back - 2022/2023 Bombers Off Season


Wideleft

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5 minutes ago, wpgallday1960 said:

While I thought Eli was wrong for refusing the vaccine and still do, that is in the past.  I’ll let bygones be bygones and support him.  Conditions have changed.

This should really be the end of the discussion right here ^^^

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9 minutes ago, GCn20 said:

Here is what we know to be fact about Tui.

Up until his vaccination status kept him out of the 2021 Grey Cup, he was widely regarded as our best non-starting OL, with many suggesting that he was the heir apparent for an OL spot when one opened up. He plays mean, nasty football and excelled every time he was thrown into the lineup. He is a natural centre that can play OG at a high level. We know he accepted a 3 year deal to be here.

Here is what we don't know. We don't know why he refused his 2nd vaxx. We don't know how committed he is to staying the entire 3 years. We don't know what a year away from the game has done to him (however when we got him it was after 2 years non-playing), we don't know what if anything has changed in his life or maturity level, we don't know how he will be accepted in the locker room on his return. 

I really love what we know about him, want answers about what we don't know, and am willing to bet that KW has a lot of the answers we are wondering about and felt comfortable putting ink to paper on him. 

Because God?

"The Blue Bombers had kept in contact with Eli for much of 2022, but his decision to step away from the game was a spiritual one.

“The Lord told me to be still,” he said. “I prayed with my wife and Montana was where we were called to be. At the time we both knew what we were doing what we were supposed to be doing, and where we were was where we were supposed to be. That was affirming throughout the season, even though it was really tough to watch from afar and not being out there. But through all the victories and triumphs the Bombers had throughout the season I supported them from afar.”"

https://www.bluebombers.com/2023/01/18/theres-a-fire-i-feel-it-eli-returns-for-3-years-in-blue-gold/

Edited by Wideleft
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19 minutes ago, wpgallday1960 said:

While I thought Eli was wrong for refusing the vaccine and still do, that is in the past.  I’ll let bygones be bygones and support him.  Conditions have changed.

He was on the NFL radar coming out of college. Excellent CFL prospect now, and I liked what I saw of him when he was with us. I just hope he's in playing shape. He was a bit heavy for the CFL his first stint with us. 

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15 minutes ago, GCn20 said:

Here is what we know to be fact about Tui.

Up until his vaccination status kept him out of the 2021 Grey Cup, he was widely regarded as our best non-starting OL, with many suggesting that he was the heir apparent for an OL spot when one opened up. He plays mean, nasty football and excelled every time he was thrown into the lineup. He is a natural centre that can play OG at a high level. We know he accepted a 3 year deal to be here.

Here is what we don't know. We don't know why he refused his 2nd vaxx. We don't know how committed he is to staying the entire 3 years. We don't know what a year away from the game has done to him (however when we got him it was after 2 years non-playing), we don't know what if anything has changed in his life or maturity level, we don't know how he will be accepted in the locker room on his return. 

I really love what we know about him, want answers about what we don't know, and am willing to bet that KW has a lot of the answers we are wondering about and felt comfortable putting ink to paper on him. 

His interview with Tait actually gives you a lot of the answers you are looking for.  The team/MOS had his back and were in contact with him all of 2022, even though he was no longer under contract.  He acknowledges his decision might not have been the one the other players made but they supported him regardless.  He says his desire to play has only grown during his time away and the support he got from the team.

https://www.bluebombers.com/2023/01/18/theres-a-fire-i-feel-it-eli-returns-for-3-years-in-blue-gold/

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41 minutes ago, MOBomberFan said:

God wanted him working for Skip and UberEats it would seem. Mysterious ways, that guy

Sometimes you have to experience the lows in order to appreciate the highs.  Could have been worse for Eli though... at least God didn't have him sign in Saskatchewan.  That's a low nobody should have to experience.

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33 minutes ago, Wideleft said:

And how's that going?

  • Global Confirmed Cases

    668,050,577

  • Global Deaths

    6,730,972

  • U.S. Confirmed

    101,858,663

  • U.S. Deaths

    1,102,286

 

And how many lockdowns and people do you see staying at home and/or wearing face masks in public.    Once again people have adjusted and moved on with life.     Just because you feel differently doesn't mean everyone else shares that same sentiment.  

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1 hour ago, Wideleft said:

Because God?

"The Blue Bombers had kept in contact with Eli for much of 2022, but his decision to step away from the game was a spiritual one.

“The Lord told me to be still,” he said. “I prayed with my wife and Montana was where we were called to be. At the time we both knew what we were doing what we were supposed to be doing, and where we were was where we were supposed to be. That was affirming throughout the season, even though it was really tough to watch from afar and not being out there. But through all the victories and triumphs the Bombers had throughout the season I supported them from afar.”"

https://www.bluebombers.com/2023/01/18/theres-a-fire-i-feel-it-eli-returns-for-3-years-in-blue-gold/

I don't agree with his decision, but I kind of envy his commitment to his beliefs. There are far worse people in this world than those who have faith.

Just now, blue_gold_84 said:

 

That's 2 GOATs back. Nice work KW.

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Just now, GCn20 said:

I don't agree with his decision, but I kind of envy his commitment to his beliefs. There are far worse people in this world than those who have faith.

Debatable and awful and having faith regularly coexist in the same person. 
 

Anyway - he quit on his team in my opinion, but as mentioned earlier he really paid the price more than anyone. 
 

So if the team is not only comfortable with him coming back, but having him commit to 3 years- he deserves a second chance. I won’t hold a grudge. 

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16 hours ago, wbbfan said:

Wonder if he was hurt and didn’t want surgery. That could be why it took soo long to rehab. Just a wild guess though. Did he have a kid?
 

Imagine if desjarlais came back and we had drew eli and Dobson on the inside. Half the posters on this board would get 5 yards a pop. 
 

the fact it’s a 3 year deal is big to me. He’s a stud and that screams they trust he’s healthy and as good as ever. 
 

 To me this really sounds like they don’t expect couture back. 

Dobson is a natural guard who can play centre. Eli is a guard who could start at any inside spot in the league but is best at center. 

Eli is a natural center...and was highly ranked...can play guard and intersting thing took reps at Tackle at Hawaii too....

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Updating this makes me happy!


Bomber Roster – Player Status for 2023:

Quarterback

Zach Collaros (A) – Under Contract

Dru Brown (A) – Under Contract

Dakota Prukop (A) – Unsigned Free Agent

Running Back

Brady Oliveira – (N) – Under Contract

Johnny Augustine (N) – Under Contract

Fullback

Konner Burtenshaw (N) – Under Contract

Mike Miller (N) – Re-signed

Receiver

Carlton Agudosi (A) – Under Contract

Tavaris Harrison (A) – Under Contract

Jaivon Heiligh (A) – Under Contract

Brendan O’Leary-Orange (N) – Under Contract

Drew Wolitarsky (N) – Under Contract

Dalton Shoen (A) – Under Contract but in NFL Window

Rasheed Bailey (A) – Unsigned Free Agent

Nic Demski (N) – Unsigned Free Agent

Greg Ellingson (A) – Unsigned Free Agent

Janarion Grant (A) – Unsigned Free Agent

Timothy Knuettel (G) – Unsigned Free Agent

Greg McCrae (A) – Unsigned Free Agent

Luke McMillan (N) – Unsigned Free Agent

Offensive line

Liam Dobson (N) – Under Contract

Geoff Gray (N) – Under Contract

Chris Kolankowski (N) - Under Contract

Tomoya Machino (G) - Under Contract

Drew Richmond (A) – Under Contract

Stanley Bryant (A) Re-signed

Jermarcus Hardrick (A) Re-signed

Patrick Neufeld (N) Re-signed

Tui Eli (N) - Signed 3 Years

Michael Couture (N) – Unsigned Free Agent

Eric Lofton (A) – Unsigned Free Agent

Tyler Witt (A) – Unsigned Free Agent

Defensive line

Thiadric Hansen (G) – Under Contract

Cole Adamson (N) – Under Contract

Cameron Lawson (N) – Under Contract

Ricky Walker (A) – Under Contract

Jackson Jeffcoat (A) Re-signed

Willie Jefferson (A) Re-signed

Jake Thomas (N) Re-Signed

Keion Adams (A) – Unsigned Free Agent

Casey Sayles (A) – Unsigned Free Agent

Linebacker

Tanner Cadwallader (N) – Under Contract

Malik Clements (A) - Under Contract

Brian Cole (A) - Under Contract

Adam Bighill (A) Re-signed

Kyrie Wilson (A) Re-signed

Jesse Briggs (N) – Unsigned Free Agent

Shayne Gauthier (N) – Unsigned Free Agent

Les Maruo (G) – Unsigned Free Agent

DeJuan Cooper (A) – Unsigned Free Agent

Defensive back

Brandon Alexander (A) – Under Contract

Karon Delince (A) – Under Contract

Nick Hallet (N) – Under Contract

Noah Hallet (N) – Under Contract

Evan Holm (A) – Under Contract

Demerio Houston (A) – Under Contract

Redha Kramdi (N) – Under Contract

Deatrick Nichols (A) – Under Contract

Jamal Parker (A) – Under Contract

Desmond Lawrence (A) Re-signed

Winston Rose (A) Re-signed

Alden Darby (A) – Unsigned Free Agent

Mercy Maston (A) – Unsigned Free Agent

Nick Taylor (A) – Unsigned Free Agent

Souleymane Karamoko (G) – Unsigned Free Agent

Cedric Lavigne (N) – Unsigned Free Agent

Donald Rutledge Jr. (A)  Left for USFL

Tyrell Ford (N) – Signed in NFL

Kicker

Mark Liegghio – (N) Under Contract

Ali Mourtada (A) – Unsigned Free Agent

Long snapper

Mike Benson (N) Re-Signed

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Both sides don't have good points.

I asked myself and told myself that I was doing the right thing shouldn't be allowed to trump public policy.

Lockdowns and mask wearing are political decisions, not science decisions. The science says they both work & less people would be dead & will die in the future if we used them. The "I don't wanna's" have made things worse for everybody & are allowing the deaths to go up. 

My wife and I are on our 5th round of vaccinations and got Covid after the 4th. Without the vaccines, we'd both likely have been in the hospital fighting for our lives. With the vaccines, we we in bed for a week hacking up our lungs. We've got long Covid symptoms. Can't get through the day without a nap. This is the result of a non-mask wearing, non-shutdown society that's run by politicians who care more about the polls than people's lives. 

Edited by TBURGESS
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basically every o-lineman we have under contract right now would easily start...or at worst be 6th guy on any team....that in itself is crazy...

We did fine without Couture..who I really like...as does the team but he is likely in B.C now....team seen that last yr so I think it was apparent he is gone...and that was with Kolo who isnt even close to what Eli is

Bryant..Gray..Eli..Neuf...Yoshi...with Dobson and Kolo in the mix...how can any team not be envious of that??

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Can we leave the covid talk in the general forum in the proper forum? There’s been non stop covid talk for nearly 3 years now. None of what is being said here is new, news. I come to the Bomber forum to discuss football not being dragged into a political debate. If you want to talk about covid there’s active threads going on, let’s get back on track and use this thread to talk about the Blue and Gold. Go Blue!!

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23 minutes ago, Booch said:

Eli is a natural center...and was highly ranked...can play guard and intersting thing took reps at Tackle at Hawaii too....

Eli played a few games at OG in 2021 when Neufeld was nicked up and he looked really good at OG. I don't think we have seen him at OC yet but that being his natural position and with his mean streak....yikes. He is Dom Picard with size.

4 minutes ago, Arnold_Palmer said:

Can we leave the covid talk in the general forum in the proper forum? There’s been non stop covid talk for nearly 3 years now. None of what is being said here is new, news. I come to the Bomber forum to discuss football not being dragged into a political debate. If you want to talk about covid there’s active threads going on, let’s get back on track and use this thread to talk about the Blue and Gold. Go Blue!!

I agree. I know, I for one, am done with the covid discussion. Right now, we are back to normal....let's enjoy that while being mindful that covid could come back and leave it at that.

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