He ain’t it anymore. If the cost is letting Dru Brown walk, we need to make sure we don’t pay it. 

Fajardo is crap but he was better than Zach.  So that means we lost because on that evening,  Montreal was the better team. Better on O, better on D. 

Replay the game and the Bombers probably win. Replay it again maybe the Als do,  maybe the Bombers do. 

It is what it is.  We been to 4 straight cups, we are 2 and 2. 

Prior to this we had about a 30 year Grey cup drought... 

Not sure why all the fuss. Bombers class of the league, yup we lost the final game but I'll take that over Mack Buchko Kelly Daley reinbold etc 

But a discussion board needs to discuss or it becomes ourbombers.com so fuss away... training camp is months away 

Edited December 3, 20232 yr by Goalie

4 minutes ago, 17to85 said:

Why not both?

We didn't lose the game because we were too old. 

1 hour ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

We didn't lose the game because we were too old. 

Are we certain about that? Willie Jefferson was inconsistent this year, so were others.  Lot of the stars on this team are getting to an age where they can't play every snap like they were asked to.

6 hours ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

Defensive schemes did us in not age. 

Is it just me - or does he not seem to have an answer when an opposing O can handle the pressure?

4 hours ago, Mark H. said:

Is it just me - or does he not seem to have an answer when an opposing O can handle the pressure?

Nope, Ritchie doesn't adjust. He'd blitz into a brick wall if he felt it would work. The problem is we don't have a good enough DL. They don't pressure qbs on their own so Ritchie tries to make up for it by blitzing. We have to rebuild our interior DL. 

4 hours ago, Mark H. said:

Is it just me - or does he not seem to have an answer when an opposing O can handle the pressure?

As my buddy Dave has mentioned.... It's time to get Younger at DC.......

It’s going to be tough for Bombers to keep Dru Brown without overspending in the QB envelope since we are already paying Collaros $600k in 2024.

But then again, we might have some slight leverage over other teams beyond the fact that Bombers offer an offensive scheme, personnel and culture Brown knows well.

For sure Brown is likely to get multiple offers in the Free Agency tampering window that starts Feb 4 and ends Feb 11. Of course one or two teams will go completely overboard with their offers for Brown.

But, under the new CFLPA agreement, any club that signs one of its pending FAs to an extension can offer to guarantee 50% of the second year money. So, depending on how the deal is structured (signing bonus, hard money, incentives etc) no team other than Winnipeg can offer to GUARANTEE 50% of the 2024 value of Brown’s contract in 2025. That’s a pretty good inducement to stay home, baby.

Explainer: https://3downnation.com/2022/09/28/jake-maier-taylor-cornelius-sign-landmark-partially-guaranteed-cfl-contracts/

Edited December 4, 20232 yr by Doublezero

1 hour ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

We have to rebuild our interior DL. 

Even then, some offenses will be able to deal with the pressure. I'd say you have to be able to go with a 3 or 4 man rush & trust your back end to cover.

53 minutes ago, Mark H. said:

Even then, some offenses will be able to deal with the pressure. I'd say you have to be able to go with a 3 or 4 man rush & trust your back end to cover.

Yep. 

Does Zach need to tale a pay cut from $600,000 to say $550,000 or $500,000?

1 hour ago, rebusrankin said:

Does Zach need to tale a pay cut from $600,000 to say $550,000 or $500,000?

What would the reason be?

9 hours ago, Wanna-B-Fanboy said:

What would the reason be?

Help us sign other guys. The fact that he's not worth that much (no QB is right now in the CFL with how much the overall cap is)

15 hours ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

Defensive schemes did us in not age. 

Yep.

14 hours ago, 17to85 said:

Are we certain about that? Willie Jefferson was inconsistent this year, so were others.  Lot of the stars on this team are getting to an age where they can't play every snap like they were asked to.

Willie J played great in BC, and was our best defensive player in the Grey Cup. If he was having inconsistency in the regular season, which is a highly debatable assessment, it was due to scheme not age. Willie might not have been MOP Willie, but he played at an all star level. Biggie as well, was chosen by his peers as the MLBer on the CFLPA all star team. I'm just gonna call a spade a spade. I think that some of us are looking at players ages and then trying to find fault based on that. 

13 hours ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

Nope, Ritchie doesn't adjust. He'd blitz into a brick wall if he felt it would work. The problem is we don't have a good enough DL. They don't pressure qbs on their own so Ritchie tries to make up for it by blitzing. We have to rebuild our interior DL. 

Several times in the Grey Cup he tried to blitz against max protection and left us in man coverage because of it.

12 hours ago, Noeller said:

As my buddy Dave has mentioned.... It's time to get Younger at DC.......

You know, Richie can be brilliant as well. One of the best DCs out there. However, he is prone to stubborness in his play calling. Not always....but in the Grey Cup he had tunnel vision. However, his game plan and play calling in the West final was nothing short of masterful. Unfortunate, he had a bad day in the Grey Cup. So did Buck. Atrocious. I have to wonder what our Grey Cup week was like schedule wise for these coaches because they both stunk.

Edited December 4, 20232 yr by GCn20

12 hours ago, rebusrankin said:

Does Zach need to tale a pay cut from $600,000 to say $550,000 or $500,000?

It'd be nice, but I don't see why he would.

The salary cap isn't catching anyone by surprise, we knew we'd be in this position and that's the contract he was offered. 

3 hours ago, rebusrankin said:

Help us sign other guys. The fact that he's not worth that much (no QB is right now in the CFL with how much the overall cap is)

Ok, I see your point, but I respectfully disagree. 

He put up very good numbers all year. And performed at a crazy high level... nothing in his play screams 17% pay cut.

If anything... you go along that defense and you take a bit off of everyone that was on that last Als drive, to make that 100k savings.

Houston can get overpaid elsewhere. 

I'd keep around Nichols Holm Parker in the defensive backfield.  Prob let BA go. Rose can be back but with competition. I'd try to keep Kramdi as he got better as the year went along. Bighill obviously back but hopefully in a reduced role. Think you need to get Clements and Cole on the field. The DL. The Jeff's rotating with Haba. And a guy like Kongbo or Bennett in Hamilton would be nice. Lawson was solid. Walker can come back but I'd bring in several American DTs 

 

1 hour ago, Wanna-B-Fanboy said:

Ok, I see your point, but I respectfully disagree. 

He put up very good numbers all year. And performed at a crazy high level... nothing in his play screams 17% pay cut.

If anything... you go along that defense and you take a bit off of everyone that was on that last Als drive, to make that 100k savings.

Free agents won't sign for less, unless they're left at the bottom of the barrel when it's already over.

4 hours ago, GCn20 said:

Willie J played great in BC, and was our best defensive player in the Grey Cup. If he was having inconsistency in the regular season, which is a highly debatable assessment, it was due to scheme not age. Willie might not have been MOP Willie, but he played at an all star level.

Sure but how many games did he go without a sack? I am not worried about Willie being finished, but he can't play every snap. 

Yes. The Jeff's need to rotate. Haba is a guy that prob should be rostered, wasn't.  Another DE would help, a capable one like Kongbo. 

Problem this year, our backup was a 26 yr old rookie, one of our dL starters was a washed up Thomas. 

We rarely dressed 7 D line going with just Lawson and Bennett backing up.  But we dressed a marine and a bunch of guys who play sp teams only and heres the kicker,  our sp teams sucked. 

Edited December 4, 20232 yr by Goalie

18 minutes ago, 17to85 said:

Sure but how many games did he go without a sack? I am not worried about Willie being finished, but he can't play every snap. 

Sacks are a red herring stat in isolation. Willie J ranked 3rd in all DEs in pressures, first in pass knock downs, and is a disruptor still. Coach Hall's system isn't one that is conducive to DEs racking up sack totals. Willie is a special talent that we use differently than most DEs around the league. Hell we drop him into coverage sometimes.

16 minutes ago, Goalie said:

Yes. The Jeff's need to rotate. Haba is a guy that prob should be rostered, wasn't.  Another DE would help, a capable one like Kongbo. 

Problem this year, our backup was a 26 yr old rookie, one of our dL starters was a washed up Thomas. 

We rarely dressed 7 D line going with just Lawson and Bennett backing up.  But we dressed a marine and a bunch of guys who play sp teams only and heres the kicker,  our sp teams sucked. 

I'm all for Haba getting more play time when he learns how to close off run lanes more consistently. 

Edited December 4, 20232 yr by GCn20

You know it's ok to admit that our star players are getting old... happens to everyone. 2019 was 5 years ago. None of these players are the same guys they were then. We need a serious injection of youth because waiting until they really hit the wall it is too late. No matter what some people want to believe cracks are appearing. 

37 minutes ago, GCn20 said:

Sacks are a red herring stat in isolation. Willie J ranked 3rd in all DEs in pressures, first in pass knock downs, and is a disruptor still. Coach Hall's system isn't one that is conducive to DEs racking up sack totals. Willie is a special talent that we use differently than most DEs around the league. Hell we drop him into coverage sometimes.

I'm all for Haba getting more play time when he learns how to close off run lanes more consistently. 

Agree with this but we definitely need more rotation on the Dline to keep him fresh.  DEs can play for a long time but can't play every snap. 

Watching Willie last season... he was generating a tonne of pressure without getting the sacks.   He's still really good.   

 

Even when he wasn't getting sacks, Willie was still making an impact and (arguably) had a better season than last year so I don't think age is an issue for him yet.  Rotation, or lack thereof, is a bigger issue (imo).

2022: 33 tackles, 7 sacks, 10 knockdowns, 2 forced fumbles & 1 interception.

2023: 21 tackles, 11 sacks, 13 knockdowns, 3 forced fumbles & no interceptions.