about time to start this thread, and we'll give the first word to Our Man Tait: 
 

 

1 hour ago, bearpants said:

Don't the Bombers have one of the longest unsigned players list in the league... where are people getting this "bringing back the same team" idea from?...

Well, I guess we'll see.  But the truth is, many of us are skeptical because we've seen this movie before

It happened with Dave Ritchie and it happened with Doug Berry (after the 2007 season)

Then the chickens came home to roost and the team was just not that good

 

7 minutes ago, Mark H. said:

Well, I guess we'll see.  But the truth is, many of us are skeptical because we've seen this movie before

It happened with Dave Ritchie and it happened with Doug Berry (after the 2007 season)

Then the chickens came home to roost and the team was just not that good

 

@Mark H. knocks it out of the park here.

18 minutes ago, rebusrankin said:

@Mark H. knocks it out of the park here.

But .....wait for it...........................

Bombers have signed this guy, according to the CFL transactions page:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keytaon_Thompson

 

2 minutes ago, bigg jay said:

Bombers have signed this guy, according to the CFL transactions page:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keytaon_Thompson

 

Got some size

 

4 hours ago, Doublezero said:

Question: Would an offer to Chris Streveler have to be registered with the CFL/CFLPA during the negotiation window? For example, if Bombers or Lions or any other  CFL team makes an offer to Streveler between Feb 4-11 would that offer have to be shared with every other team in the same way as a regular offer to 2023 rostered free agents? Or would an offer to Streveler (since he was not on any CFL roster last season) not fall under those rules? If so, then there's nothing preventing any CFL club from making a quiet offer to him at any time, right?  https://www.cfl.ca/2024/01/27/free-agency-negotiation-window-opens-feb-4/

 

No sharing.

1 hour ago, Jesse said:

Got some size

 

But at 4.66 for the 40 yard dash, he's not a burner. Pretty versatile, though.

1 hour ago, Tracker said:

But at 4.66 for the 40 yard dash, he's not a burner. Pretty versatile, though.

FWIW, Kenny Lawler ran a 4.64 at the NFL combine.  Hasn't seemed to hamper his ability as a receiver.

45 minutes ago, bigg jay said:

FWIW, Kenny Lawler ran a 4.64 at the NFL combine.  Hasn't seemed to hamper his ability as a receiver.

Can’t imagine Schoen is any faster either.

15 hours ago, Mark H. said:

Well, I guess we'll see.  But the truth is, many of us are skeptical because we've seen this movie before

It happened with Dave Ritchie and it happened with Doug Berry (after the 2007 season)

Then the chickens came home to roost and the team was just not that good

 

I actually complete agree with your point... I just am not seeing evidence that we're running it back the same way we did from 22 to 23... unfortunately that might include guys we actually want, like Brady and Schoen.  

10 hours ago, Jesse said:

Can’t imagine Schoen is any faster either.

Schoen actually runs a mid 4.4...he's not pedestrian by any means.

Knock on him was his walk on status, and some bizarre weaknesses that he has shown none of in the CFL

was perceived as a poor route runner, and bad out of his breaks, and had poor hands and skills with ball....even questioned his football IQ and instincts

Goes to show you how walk-ons are looked at and are behind the 8 -ball from the get go post College...

I don’t want to be doom and gloom but maybe this is actually a mini-rebuild with 2025 in mind. 
We’ll see after FA but it’s starting to feel that way for me. 
 

Different note, I can honestly say they lost something intangible when Andrew Harris left. 
Like it or not, the guys won championships at every sport and every level he’s played. He brought something extra that just can’t be replicated. 

Edited January 31, 20242 yr by JohnnyAbonny

Just now, JohnnyAbonny said:

I don’t want to be doom and gloom but maybe this is actually a mini-rebuild with 2025 in mind. 
We’ll see after FA but it’s starting to feel that way for me. 

if we didnt eff up some roster decisions last yr, would be an augment and re-load...not saying this is a rebuild by any means, but what may be happening, or have to occur this yr should have been started already last year in all honesty

Some odd early resigns this yr as well....is this an indicator as to who isn't gonna be a priority to come back?...guess we will see....Have a hunch we may see them let BO walk and Oullete replaces him and we flip the script there at a lower price, as we keep Schoen for 3 yrs....and add Strev

Just now, Booch said:

if we didnt eff up some roster decisions last yr, would be an augment and re-load...not saying this is a rebuild by any means, but what may be happening, or have to occur this yr should have been started already last year in all honesty

Some odd early resigns this yr as well....is this an indicator as to who isn't gonna be a priority to come back?...guess we will see....Have a hunch we may see them let BO walk and Oullete replaces him and we flip the script there at a lower price, as we keep Schoen for 3 yrs....and add Strev

Agree. A better reload could have been done in-season over the last 2 years. If they want to keep the run going they kind of need to make more wholesale changes now than would have been necessary. 
As a guy who does physical work and turned 36 last year, I really didn’t like seeing the whole core of the team hitting their mid-30s at once. 

I feel like we're going to be hearing about a Schoen extension really soon. I have no insight, just a gut instinct. I could do Riders pbp. 

Just now, JCon said:

I feel like we're going to be hearing about a Schoen extension really soon. I have no insight, just a gut instinct. I could do Riders pbp. 

I’d be legit surprised if Schoen didn’t re-sign. 

7 minutes ago, JohnnyAbonny said:

Agree. A better reload could have been done in-season over the last 2 years. If they want to keep the run going they kind of need to make more wholesale changes now than would have been necessary. 
As a guy who does physical work and turned 36 last year, I really didn’t like seeing the whole core of the team hitting their mid-30s at once. 

As a guy in his late 40s, I really don't like this. Got to go, those dang kids are back on my lawn.

11 minutes ago, Booch said:

Schoen actually runs a mid 4.4...he's not pedestrian by any means.

Knock on him was his walk on status, and some bizarre weaknesses that he has shown none of in the CFL

was perceived as a poor route runner, and bad out of his breaks, and had poor hands and skills with ball....even questioned his football IQ and instincts

Goes to show you how walk-ons are looked at and are behind the 8 -ball from the get go post College...

Schoen runs like milt. He bursts in his cuts but is a fast jogger between them. He hits the line hard into his first cut often as well, then only goes for top gear as needed. He’s a hard guy to gauge the speed on through routes then suddenly he just walks away and makes a catch.  Guys like that are generally as fast on the last play as the first play. 
 Grant also ran in a range of 4.56-4.62. With guys who haven’t been prepping for track since hs the 40 is an after thought. Mechanics make a big difference in times. A raw guy running a low 4.5 might be as fast with polish as a high 4.3. The popularity of pre combine/pro day pre has really skewed the results of speed tests. 
A 4.5-4.6 guy is generally going to be a good smooth runner who isn’t explosive but average over all, or more often an outlier who lacks a low gear high gear or struggles to get into a high gear. Most all of our WRs are guys in that range. 

39 minutes ago, Booch said:

if we didnt eff up some roster decisions last yr, would be an augment and re-load...not saying this is a rebuild by any means, but what may be happening, or have to occur this yr should have been started already last year in all honesty

Some odd early resigns this yr as well....is this an indicator as to who isn't gonna be a priority to come back?...guess we will see....Have a hunch we may see them let BO walk and Oullete replaces him and we flip the script there at a lower price, as we keep Schoen for 3 yrs....and add Strev

IF your hunch came to fruition, IMO we would arguably be a better team. It's just my 2 cents but I hope your hunch is correct!

I would assume that the difference between Ouellete and BOs salaries will be the Canadian passport premium. I can't see too much difference between them in terms of on-field productivity. 

53 minutes ago, Booch said:

was perceived as a poor route runner, and bad out of his breaks

Two things he has absolutely killed the cfl with...

 

Incredible 

Let’s Goooooooooooooo! 
 

******* awesome!