2024/2025 Blue Bombers Off-Season Thread

[do or die]

10 hours ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

The whole reason for having specialists is so the player playing regular positions don't have the added pressure of having to punt a ball & flip the field. Or having to kick a 45 yard field goal on the last play of the game to win. Meanwhile the kicker who is a DB just tackled the receiver. He's out of breath & he hurt his plant foot making the tackle but goes out anyway to try to make it. 

Any oldtimers out there who remember Gene Lakusiak kicking field goals in 1970? He went something like 5 of 30 attempts. All Star DB for the Bombers but a total disaster as a kicker. They traded their kicker to Montreal for some unknown reason prior to the start of the season. They had no one else. No one knows why Lunsford did what he did & why? Maybe the kicker Pierre Guindon didn't salute the guy or something. Like I said, Lakusiak was horrible.

Geno played mostly LB.  Willing tackler.     Wally Gabler and Benji Dial were the QBs.   That team had about 6 legit players......and went 2-14.  Terrible team.

[SpeedFlex27]

10 hours ago, do or die said:

Geno played mostly LB.  Willing tackler.     Wally Gabler and Benji Dial were the QBs.   That team had about 6 legit players......and went 2-14.  Terrible team.

Lakusiak wasn't a linebacker that 1970 season. He was a DB along with Corners Doug Strong & Paul Brule & Safety Ed Ulmer. At the other DB position, they had an assortment of players that year in & out like Dana Stevenson, Bob LaRose, Ward Smith & Tom Deacon. Even the late season addition of Rick Shaw to do the kicking & receiving as Spavital finally had enough of Lakusiak, he was a former all star DB with the Stamps. Shaw played a little bit in the secondary as well.

They had more talent than we remember. The OL had Bill Frank, Larry Slagle, Chuck Liebrock & Chuck Harrison. They had All Star paul Desjardins at Center but traded him to the Argos for Bob Swift. On Defense, they had Joe Critchlow, Rob McLaren, Doug Strong, paul Brule, Gene Lakusiak. They'd bring in Grady Cavness to replace Ulmer. 

In a great off season in 1971, they replaced FB Bob Houmard with Ed Williams. HB Mack Herron replaced Amos van Pelt. QB Don Jonas replaced Wally Gabler & Benji Dial as well as Lakusiak as Kicker. They brought in Paul Markle in to replace Lou Andrus a TE. The new Flanker was Jim Thorpe & SE Bob LaRose replaced the wideouts they had. They went from 2-14 & the joke of the CFL in 1970 to 7-8-1 & were the highesst scoring teeam in the CFL in 1971 & a third place team in the West. But they had a core of young & talented players that hadn't matured or jelled in 1970. they jusy didn't have enough talent in 70 but did in 1971. 

Edited 4 hours ago by SpeedFlex27