2024/2025 Blue Bombers Off-Season Thread

[SpeedFlex27]

2 hours ago, 17to85 said:

Gotta replace Jake Thomas some time.

Jake will be 70 & still starting because he now plays like a 70 year would. At least he's consistent.

Edited Wednesday at 05:14 AM by SpeedFlex27

[Tracker]

7 hours ago, wbbfan said:

https://3downnation.com/2025/02/20/university-of-wyoming-lb-connor-shay-added-to-2025-cfl-draft/

https://draftscout.com/dsprofile.php?PlayerId=1045113&DraftYear=2025

Crazy quick and stout enough to fill in the hole. too.

[Colin Unger]

9 hours ago, Noeller said:

I admittedly know nothing about these kids but it just FEELS like a really shitty draft for us. Partly because I still subscribe to the "OL and DL at all costs... Anything else is gravy in later rounds"...

Just my perspective but we could be transitioning to being a team that generally starts 3 american offensive lineman. The amount of money canadian offensive lineman are getting paid it outrageous in free agency. Desjarlais and Dobson come to mind. And Canadian offensive linemen tend do prefer to return home and play in Ontario. Perhaps we're better off starting a stud American guard for sub 100k and draft more canadians with starting ability elsewhere.  Also this seemed like a weak draft for OL.

[GCn20]

11 hours ago, JuranBoldenRules said:

Ottawa snagged Ethan Jordan.  Be interesting to compare him down the line to the Keelan White who they picked 3rd overall.

LMAO we took Michael Ball's son.

Ballsy's son is no joking matter. That lunatic is going to be stalking the Bomber offices now. DT is probably like WTF?

11 hours ago, Jpan85 said:

Son of everyone’s favourite former Riders play by play guy Micheal Ball

Yea....better keep DT away from the stadium on cut down day. Might be too much for Ballsy to handle if his boy does not make it and the guy who took his dream job away is there.

Edited Wednesday at 12:38 PM by GCn20

[Colin Unger]

3 minutes ago, GCn20 said:

Ballsy's son is no joking matter. That lunatic is going to be stalking the Bomber offices now. DT is probably like WTF?

First, Rod Black's son is a major league now this??

[GCn20]

11 hours ago, wbbfan said:

Hes a solid pick yeah. He could be a 6th ol in the league this year. He’s not a road grader, but he’s strong with decent feet and the right head space. Backed up most of his career before finally becoming a starter last year. 
 He can also be a C or a G. Really good value at that spot in the depth. He’s more of a blood n guts type but the league always needs guys like him. 

He’s better than that, solid though not likely spectacular. 

Scouting report on him is that he is good in the run block and a little slow in setting his feet in pass pro. Teachable stuff. Great attitude and physicality, that's not teachable. I like how the Bombers value the intangibles over the teachables along their lines.  It has mostly served us well.

[rebusrankin]

Has anybody ordered Ballsy a Bombers jersey yet?

[GCn20]

11 hours ago, JuranBoldenRules said:

Yeah with Laing I think he'll have a hard time getting on a roster unless he's an inside guy.  Usually rotation type ends are pencilled in for special teams.

I would be pretty surprised if this was not a pick with STs in mind mainly. He's a project, and a long term one at that. He's going to have to show value on teams to get a sniff of the roster or PR.

1 minute ago, rebusrankin said:

Has anybody ordered Ballsy a Bombers jersey yet?

I  doubt his son makes the club, and that will just add fuel to Ballsy's hate for us, maybe we just picked him so that we could all get a chuckle at Ballsy foaming at the mouth like a rabid dog when his son is released? Although, it might be funnier if we put him on the PR and just read Ballsy's weekly criticisms about how the Bombers are wasting a star player.

[GCn20]

My 2 cents on the draft overall is that I think we got two players that could turn this into a fantastic draft down the line in Shay and Elgersma. After that it's all about guys reaching their potential with not much in the sure thing department. All in all I give it a solid B....mainly because I really like Shay.

[Rich]

 

[wpgallday1960]

I don’t take a deep dive into prospects too much, but I’m ok with this draft.  The only change I would have made is to draft Findlay over Smith in the 2nd round.  It will be interesting to hear Walter’s comments on Elgersma.  It seems they think he can be a bonafide CFL QB down the road.

[GCn20]

14 hours ago, Goalie said:

Was Sheehan a 1st rd global pick? The fact they took a decent global punter suggests maybe he’s not safe. That Evans kid ain’t bad. Plus he’s a New Zealander and Sheehan is Aussie. Pretty natural rivalry 

I’m upset barker isn’t taking away from Alfords moment. Mel kiper jr he is not. 

The fact that Sheehan is a below average punter in our league led me to the conclusion he is not safe long before we drafted a decent punter. Now, I think he should be very worried.

[bluto]

17 minutes ago, Rich said:

 

Anyone else see that picture and wonder if the bull jumped the fence...?

[Mike]

I think we’re a bit thrown off by what this draft might do to our ratio and I would’ve taken Findlay over Jaylen Smith too but if I really sit down and think about it, the idea of playing Brady, Demski, Clercius, 2 OL and then having two Canadians flying around at all times is something I like the sound of.

Kramdi, Shay, Smith has some real signs of versatility written all over it. Can do a lot with that and Lawson in the middle. Truly. 

[3rdand1.5]

For whatever my 2 cents are worth......I can't hate on teh this draft class, but like Noeller I traditionally think the lines is where you draft, so colour me surprised with the positions we ended up drafting.

 

I think we greatly increased our special teams coverage in this draft, and perhaps one of the three LB's develop into a solid starter....A QB...I mean he has talent but it's just foreign to me to see us draft a QB...I hope the global we took on the D-line shows rotational AR potential, and may the best punter "win"

 

As of today I give the draft a B...If one of two guys live up to potential/develop then we can revisit it as a great draft.....on the flip side If we get into injury issues on the O-line we may look back and realize maybe the "old way" of drafting for the lines is still the way to go?

I am curious as to what/when we start looking at the Demski succession plan....

[wbbfan]

55 minutes ago, Colin Unger said:

Just my perspective but we could be transitioning to being a team that generally starts 3 american offensive lineman. The amount of money canadian offensive lineman are getting paid it outrageous in free agency. Desjarlais and Dobson come to mind. And Canadian offensive linemen tend do prefer to return home and play in Ontario. Perhaps we're better off starting a stud American guard for sub 100k and draft more canadians with starting ability elsewhere.  Also this seemed like a weak draft for OL.

That’s an interesting point economically. Teams are paying their top ni guard 200k+, and you can easily fill that with a 100k import who is hands down better. Even an elite imp guard will be half of a guy like desjarlais. 

38 minutes ago, GCn20 said:

Scouting report on him is that he is good in the run block and a little slow in setting his feet in pass pro. Teachable stuff. Great attitude and physicality, that's not teachable. I like how the Bombers value the intangibles over the teachables along their lines.  It has mostly served us well.

Intangibles go far in the trenches. It’s not like he’s a slug either or has terrible foot work. I don’t think he has high tier potential by any means but he’s a great mix of pro ready and should be expected to become a solid contributor. 
 

31 minutes ago, GCn20 said:

My 2 cents on the draft overall is that I think we got two players that could turn this into a fantastic draft down the line in Shay and Elgersma. After that it's all about guys reaching their potential with not much in the sure thing department. All in all I give it a solid B....mainly because I really like Shay.

I believe Shay is like 27 isn’t he? Am I crazy or isn’t he born in 97? I like both lbers both would be in the league as imports. When you can get an ni like that it’s a nice get. 

[wbbfan]

5 minutes ago, Mike said:

I think we’re a bit thrown off by what this draft might do to our ratio and I would’ve taken Findlay over Jaylen Smith too but if I really sit down and think about it, the idea of playing Brady, Demski, Clercius, 2 OL and then having two Canadians flying around at all times is something I like the sound of.

Kramdi, Shay, Smith has some real signs of versatility written all over it. Can do a lot with that and Lawson in the middle. Truly. 

Yeah. Athletic imp ish lbers are common at the top of the draft. Athletic imp ish dbs aren’t and it’s kind of a bitter pill to swallow missing out on a few guys like that. 

[GCn20]

37 minutes ago, Rich said:

 

Wow that's strangely gracious and lucid coming from Ballsy. Maybe his wife got on his SM?

[blue85gold]

19 minutes ago, wbbfan said:

I believe Shay is like 27 isn’t he? Am I crazy or isn’t he born in 97? I like both lbers both would be in the league as imports. When you can get an ni like that it’s a nice get. 

23 from everything I see. 

 

[Colin Unger]

I think Streveler might be in trouble.  At his size Elgersma can fill the role of short yardage QB for this season and that gives us a significant cap savings vs one of our american vets. So Streveler is going to have to demonstrate he's the best option at QB1 if Zach goes down. Personally, I think Patterson is a better passer than Streveler. And then there's the injury history of Streveler. If he get injured again then it's basically just Zach and the canadian kid and whatever is available on the free agent market at the time.  I imagine they might consider healthy scratching Elgersma this season unless needed or sending him back to college for more seasoning after getting a training camp under his belt. But, i just don't think they drafted him not to have him on the roster this season.  Thoughts?
 

[Goalie]

Dolegala and Patterson better come to camp prepared. I think they are most at risk of being let go. Streveler if nothing else is a vet presence the boys all love and that matters. When it comes down to it, you keep the vet and let go of the 2 guys who really have no business being on a cfl roster. I guarantee it’s 1. Zach 2. Strev and 3 will be Wilson or Elgersma although I think they stash him for a year first to learn behind Zach. If being honest tho maybe it’s 1. Zach and 2 and 3 are yet to be determined cuz if we being real Strev dole patt and terry have all not done much in the league recently. Strev had a moment a few years ago now. 

Edited Wednesday at 01:54 PM by Goalie

[Bigblue204]

5 minutes ago, Colin Unger said:

I think Streveler might be in trouble.  At his size Elgersma can fill the role of short yardage QB for this season and that gives us a significant cap savings vs one of our american vets. So Streveler is going to have to demonstrate he's the best option at QB1 if Zach goes down. Personally, I think Patterson is a better passer than Streveler. And then there's the injury history of Streveler. If he get injured again then it's basically just Zach and the canadian kid and whatever is available on the free agent market at the time.  I imagine they might consider healthy scratching Elgersma this season unless needed or sending him back to college for more seasoning after getting a training camp under his belt. But, i just don't think they drafted him not to have him on the roster this season.  Thoughts?
 

I truly believe they drafted him with the idea he won't be on the AR this season.

[Colin Unger]

How good is the global DE we acquired in the Global draft?  He should help us with the issue we had last year of almost literally running out of defensive lineman as a global roster spot is basically additive to the Canadians and Americans. This is likely why they made the trade. 

With the new Canadian linebacker talent we have we are probably in a position to carry fewer American DI's at linebacker and more on the defensive line now which really mitigates some of the concerns i had last year.  I think we'll be able to dress 4 import defensive lineman, 3 Canadians, and 1 global week in week out this season.  

[Goalie]

4 minutes ago, Bigblue204 said:

I truly believe they drafted him with the idea he won't be on the AR this season.

He’s gonna sit and learn a year. They ain’t gonna rush him. 

2 minutes ago, Colin Unger said:

How good is the global DE we acquired in the Global draft?  He should help us with the issue we had last year of almost literally running out of defensive lineman as a global roster spot is basically additive to the Canadians and Americans. This is likely why they made the trade. 

With the new Canadian linebacker talent we have we are probably in a position to carry fewer American DI's at linebacker and more on the defensive line now which really mitigates some of the concerns i had last year.  I think we'll be able to dress 4 import defensive lineman, 3 Canadians, and 1 global week in week out this season.  

Lawson Thomas schmeckle Kornelson are our options. Not sure I’d want 3 of those guys on the AR. Besides doesn’t the DC run the argos kinda wildcat D where we don’t really run a traditional DL. ? I could see 3 DL and 5 LBs on the field at times. We don’t need to dress 8 on the DL. They ain’t used like that. 

Edited Wednesday at 01:59 PM by Goalie

[Colin Unger]

6 minutes ago, Goalie said:

Dolegala and Patterson better come to camp prepared. I think they are most at risk of being let go. Streveler if nothing else is a vet presence the boys all love and that matters. When it comes down to it, you keep the vet and let go of the 2 guys who really have no business being on a cfl roster. I guarantee it’s 1. Zach 2. Strev and 3 will be Wilson or Elgersma although I think they stash him for a year first to learn behind Zach. If being honest tho maybe it’s 1. Zach and 2 and 3 are yet to be determined cuz if we being real Strev dole patt and terry have all not done much in the league recently. Strev had a moment a few years ago now. 

Is it better to stash him and get little to no reps in practice and eat a year of his entry level deal or have him absorb everything in training camp and send back to College.  My understanding is he's a recent convert to the QB position and the extra playing time might serve him well.