The off-season is officially over. I thought I would make a new thread to start off the season. Looking forward to some camp reports starting with Rookie camp today.

Only thing I can think with Sergio to make room is that they want to wait till after a practice or two to make a bigger batch of cuts rather than squeeze one out now. 

1 hour ago, Blue In BC said:

I wondered the same thing. Not one rookie that has played his way off the roster?

 

It's a very curious loophole in roster management.

They don’t need to make cuts for a bit and don’t play for a while again so makes sense to me. 

1 hour ago, WinnipegGordo said:

 

Injured olineman Kendall Randolph had be re-added to the roster. The Bombers transferred Castillo to the suspended list to make room for him. 

 

Thankfully we still have Garcia in camp.

2 minutes ago, bigg jay said:

Thankfully we still have Garcia in camp.

Heard he's quite the golfer.

Just a wedge from 53 yards by Sergio. Get in the hole

Edited May 21, 20241 yr by Goalie

3 minutes ago, bigg jay said:

Thankfully we still have Garcia in camp.

Haha in an alternate universe Ballsy would have in-game accused Sergio of double dipping with a second contract, posing as this Garcia fellow, and shame on the Bombers for falling for it!

On 2024-05-20 at 10:52 AM, Mike said:

@DTonOB I’m curious - can’t say I’ve consumed every ounce of content you’ve put out, I may have missed it somewhere

 

Has anyone ever asked O’Shea point blank why he ignores some of the competitive advantages we have available to us? I just get this weird feeling we’re on pace for another season of MOS using our roster as his own personal soapbox to sing the praises of Canadian talent and I’m wondering if he’s ever been called out for it 

We've asked, for sure. Generally he will not answer strategy or roster questions. And he will push away questions sometimes by saying that he doesn't really understand the rules (when I'd bet he knows them all backwards and forwards).

The DNA rule is the one I think of...he used it for Janarion 5 times last season and I think that was it. He would say he didn't think it would help with the roster they had that week.
I stopped being curious about that because there weren't a ton of games where I thought DNA would make a difference. They started 8 true Canadians (plus the nationalized guy, whoever that was game in, game out). And their rotational defensive linemen were Canadian (Bennett, Lawson, Schemekel). 
I guess he could have DNA'd Kyrie Wilson/Bighill thus allowing Cole/Clements to play 23 snaps for Thomas or Kramdi.

As for the players he selects...he would say that Kramdi earned the spot over Darby, for example. There's not a lot to call out in that scenario. There's been more than a few guys over the years where I thought "I don't get it". But, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Is there another competitive advantage you're thinking of?

8 minutes ago, DTonOB said:

We've asked, for sure. Generally he will not answer strategy or roster questions. And he will push away questions sometimes by saying that he doesn't really understand the rules (when I'd bet he knows them all backwards and forwards).

The DNA rule is the one I think of...he used it for Janarion 5 times last season and I think that was it. He would say he didn't think it would help with the roster they had that week.
I stopped being curious about that because there weren't a ton of games where I thought DNA would make a difference. They started 8 true Canadians (plus the nationalized guy, whoever that was game in, game out). And their rotational defensive linemen were Canadian (Bennett, Lawson, Schemekel). 
I guess he could have DNA'd Kyrie Wilson/Bighill thus allowing Cole/Clements to play 23 snaps for Thomas or Kramdi.

As for the players he selects...he would say that Kramdi earned the spot over Darby, for example. There's not a lot to call out in that scenario. There's been more than a few guys over the years where I thought "I don't get it". But, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Is there another competitive advantage you're thinking of?

All fair enough. I bet it’s wearing to try and get legit answers. 
 

The best use of the dna I think would’ve been JJ with garbutt/habba to rotate. Or if we had signed lemon. 

DC says Sergio had to return home for a bit, think bringing Randolph back is just min maxing roster spots. 

9 minutes ago, wbbfan said:

All fair enough. I bet it’s wearing to try and get legit answers. 
 

The best use of the dna I think would’ve been JJ with garbutt/habba to rotate. Or if we had signed lemon. 

100%. If Haba (or any backup American DL) was on, DNA Jeffcoat and then you could run a NASCAR package of Jefferson, Jeffcoat, Haba and Walker for 23 snaps. They just didn't appear to want to use those kind of packages. And there weren't a ton of American backups to work in.

2 hours ago, Blue In BC said:

I wondered the same thing. Not one rookie that has played his way off the roster?

 

It's a very curious loophole in roster management.

Canadian version of VGK LTIR

 

Don't see much talk on here about how well Tanner Schmekel played

Saw an overwhelming amount of people hating on him throughout this offseason and all the ones who were doing so consistently or begging for him to be cut have been extremely quiet about his performance

He was debatably the most impactful DL I saw while watching the game, American or Canadian -- Garbutt and Chauncey Rivers (who outside of getting home for a coverage sack I didn't think actually played all that well) included.

Edited May 22, 20241 yr by bluedawg

34 minutes ago, DTonOB said:

100%. If Haba (or any backup American DL) was on, DNA Jeffcoat and then you could run a NASCAR package of Jefferson, Jeffcoat, Haba and Walker for 23 snaps. They just didn't appear to want to use those kind of packages. And there weren't a ton of American backups to work in.

Yep, I think we had the horses between fox, Habba and garbutt. But like you said we just didn’t want to for some reason. Though to be fair Garbutt might be killing it now because he had last year here. I’m sure he’d a been good still last year. 
 

 It’s strange how we got soo far away from the dl looks that made us soo dominant in 21 and prior. 
 I get Jackson took some of that roster flexibility, but we had di dbs back then and other wise similar usage.

I am glad that it seems like JY has us going back to better front alignments and blitzes. And that’s just pre season. What he has in store for the regular season is really tantalizingly. 

26 minutes ago, bluedawg said:

Don't see much talk on here about how well Tanner Schmekel played

Saw an overwhelming amount of people hating on him throughout this offseason and all the ones who were doing so consistently or begging for him to be cut have been extremely quiet about his performance

He was debatably the most impactful DL I saw while watching the game, American or Canadian -- Garbutt and Chauncey Rivers (who outside of getting home for a coverage sack I didn't think actually played all that well) included.

Did mention it in the game thread and 3stars. But he can’t get enough credit. 
 He was Terrible last year. This year he’s taken a huge step forward. He was relentless the whole game. Surprising game. He isn’t a guy who can beast mode a guard, but if he keeps that up you have to roster him. He played better than Jake has in a couple years. 
 

I for one had him as tcf quality, mos talked about how they liked a couple of his tools as a developmental guy. 
 He shouldn’t have been on the AR last year when we were ni heavy. But he sure has taken a huge step forward. 

1 hour ago, DTonOB said:

100%. If Haba (or any backup American DL) was on, DNA Jeffcoat and then you could run a NASCAR package of Jefferson, Jeffcoat, Haba and Walker for 23 snaps. They just didn't appear to want to use those kind of packages. And there weren't a ton of American backups to work in.

Which was where this whole mess started last year. They had options to use more DL and they didn't and the team suffered as a result. 90% of the roster management angst goes back to this.

34 minutes ago, bluedawg said:

was debatably the most impactful DL I saw while watching the game, American or Canadian

You can debate it, but it's wrong... I agree he played well and showed a hell of a lot more than last year... but the most impactful DL? No I give that honour to Garbutt.

I'm very happy that people are arguing about which DL had the most impact. They need a stronger DL this year.

31 minutes ago, Bigblue204 said:

I'm very happy that people are arguing about which DL had the most impact. They need a stronger DL this year.

It is a huge change from last year where the best we could say was "well haba was around the pile a bit I guess"

1 hour ago, bluedawg said:

Don't see much talk on here about how well Tanner Schmekel played

Saw an overwhelming amount of people hating on him throughout this offseason and all the ones who were doing so consistently or begging for him to be cut have been extremely quiet about his performance

He was debatably the most impactful DL I saw while watching the game, American or Canadian -- Garbutt and Chauncey Rivers (who outside of getting home for a coverage sack I didn't think actually played all that well) included.

Schmekel was just terrible in his chances last year, and was rightfully knocked on the forum by most (myself included) 
I’m not sure the quality of the OL he was against but you’re right, he looked much improved. I said it earlier too, he stood out on a few plays for sure. I’d like to see him get more reps next game. 

1 hour ago, 17to85 said:

Which was where this whole mess started last year.

100% agree. They were at their best when rotating 7 DL. They started goofing around with the DIs mid-2022 actually iirc and it carried on through last year. 

I have rewatched the game on CFL+ and focused hard on the young DL guys...

Haba: looks like he's entrenched as the starter based on his reps with Willie and reports he's had a great TC

Garbutt: Big step forward. Looks leaner than he did in his one start last year. Was pushing the pile back ala Jeffcoat. Needs to stay off the ground, fell down 3 times by my count which is far too many.

D'Abreu: Sleeper! Creates a push and has the size, athleticism and power to be a factor. Would love to see that guy in the rotation or on the practice roster.

Rivers: A bit slower and thicker than the other guys. Had the splash play sack. Need to see more from him. Think he is a little bit behind the other 3 American DEs.

Fox: Good get off and creates some push. Can get swallowed up inside in the run game. Looks like he's going to be the starter based on rep count

Evans: Third CFL preseason and probably his last if I had to guess. Athletic but not very strong-handed to shed blocks. Looks like just a guy.

Woods: Good athleticism and runs hard to the ball! He will probably be the next practice roster candidate who is groomed to take over when Fox inevitably has a good year and gets paid by another team. That just seems to happen every year nowadays at our DT spots. Maybe Woods goes the way of Caleb Thomas last year and gets cut for the next Miles Fox who is cut by another team but I think he showed some things.

Lawson: Stud. Should be the starter.

Schmekel: Was rag-dolling the SSK second group. Great push. Loved seeing him let the long hair down. I think he could be a fan favorite at some point.

Kornelson: Has some athleticism but think he's just a guy. Decent local kid!

Samson: Hardly played. Wonder if he's going back to school next year? They seem to be doing that a fair bit lately with the USports draft picks

1 hour ago, JohnnyAbonny said:

Schmekel was just terrible in his chances last year, and was rightfully knocked on the forum by most (myself included) 
I’m not sure the quality of the OL he was against but you’re right, he looked much improved. I said it earlier too, he stood out on a few plays for sure. I’d like to see him get more reps next game. 

That’s a good point the riders 2/3 team of ol is not good. But he wasn’t out there stoveing people either. What was most impressive was his quickness, motor and effort. He was getting in on the back of plays, just flying for a dt. 
 

1 hour ago, JohnnyAbonny said:

100% agree. They were at their best when rotating 7 DL. They started goofing around with the DIs mid-2022 actually iirc and it carried on through last year. 

we kept letting NTs and dts walk for pipeline guys. And it worked for a long time. But we never replaced stove. When he was here and hurt or after he left. We got too cute with dts. Then we lost Kongbo and didn’t rebuild the de rotation. 
 Start of 2022 was the end of the high rotation, varied front looks that cooked offenses prior with no added rushers. Which allowed biggie to play mid field or a deep cover zone. 
 That front change really took us from a generational defence to a solid defence that can’t close out. 

Any thoughts on Tyler Adams ? i don't remember hearing his name with the crew doing the online game( surprise!) but he did lead all recievers in the game. Possible unknown stepping up?

26 minutes ago, bb1 said:

Any thoughts on Tyler Adams ? i don't remember hearing his name with the crew doing the online game( surprise!) but he did lead all recievers in the game. Possible unknown stepping up?

they dubbed him "Batman" since they didn't have him on their roster sheet apparently.  But that's better than just closing their eyes and picking a name, which they were seemingly doing every other play.
 

 I'm pretty sure the first pass thrown to him was kind of behind him in traffic that he let fall through his hands but then made some nice plays on the last 2 drives of the game.

On 2024-05-20 at 5:58 PM, TrueBlue4ever said:

“Coach O’Shea, you turned around a club that had missed the playoffs in 5 of the previous 6 years and was an all-time worst 3-15 before your arrival. You’ve had 7 straight 10+win seasons in a row, an all-time club record, and 7 straight playoff appearances, and you’ve been coach of the year more than any other coach since you started 9 years ago. In that time your roster has featured 15 CFL award winners and 43 CFL all-stars, which is tops in the league. No team has won more in the last 7 years, and other than the Stanps, no team has won more since you started your head coaching gig. You coached the team to back-to-back Grey Cup victories. You’re the 4 time defending Western Division champions, something this league hasn’t seen in over 40 years. No other team has more playoff wins, Grey Cup appearances or Championships during your tenure. You are on track this season to become the all-time winningest coach in the club’s 93 year history.

It’s obvious that you are failing at putting out the most optimum roster to smugly satisfy a personal Canada-first agenda that is failing us competitively. Explain yourself! Asking on behalf of fans who know better”

Well, I go away for a day & I come back to this????

 

11 hours ago, wbbfan said:

Did mention it in the game thread and 3stars. But he can’t get enough credit. 
 He was Terrible last year. This year he’s taken a huge step forward. He was relentless the whole game. Surprising game. He isn’t a guy who can beast mode a guard, but if he keeps that up you have to roster him. He played better than Jake has in a couple years. 
 

I for one had him as tcf quality, mos talked about how they liked a couple of his tools as a developmental guy. 
 He shouldn’t have been on the AR last year when we were ni heavy. But he sure has taken a huge step forward. 

I think that last year we were wholly unfair to guys like Schmekel given their rookie status. Rarely does a NAT rookie jump off the page in their first year and the learning curve is much steeper for the guys coming out of the CIS.  That being said he was rostered and was thusly fair game. However, I don't believe a NAT out of CIS should written off in their rookie year. These guys come to us more raw and less polished than recruits from down South and require some patience. Schmekel obviously put in the work this offseason, and I am glad he is looking better so far because we really need him to be.

11 hours ago, 17to85 said:

Which was where this whole mess started last year. They had options to use more DL and they didn't and the team suffered as a result. 90% of the roster management angst goes back to this.

You can debate it, but it's wrong... I agree he played well and showed a hell of a lot more than last year... but the most impactful DL? No I give that honour to Garbutt.

I agree. Schmekel had a great game, but I really thought Garbutt and Rivers showed they can play in this league.