Blue Bombers - 2025 Regular Season - Discussion Thread

[Booch]

27 minutes ago, rebusrankin said:

I have dumped on Schmekel but he was great last game. Thus I withdraw my previous comments.

yup.....same..maybe the demotion behind Korn lit a fire...If he can contribute like that game in and game out then he deserves to be on...He works great in the short yardage both sides of the ball so has purpose there beyond any extra reps he gets on defensive rotation...Thomas does not and is probably our slowest and least impactful guy off the snap....so why even bother

[Tracker]

28 minutes ago, rebusrankin said:

I have dumped on Schmekel but he was great last game. Thus I withdraw my previous comments.

You are not the only one who was (pleasantly) surprised by his performance.

[wbbfan]

6 hours ago, Tracker said:

You are not the only one who was (pleasantly) surprised by his performance.

i love seeing a guys hustle and motor pay off. especially a canadian linemen. 

[SpeedFlex27]

21 hours ago, Mark H. said:

In my opinion, that is still to be determined. There were plenty of good catches last week, as well taking hellacious hits to make plays

Ottawa might not have the best secondary, but they do play with aggression

This comment reminded me of a former Blue Bomber Head Coach named Joe Zaleski whose favourire expression was, "We're optimistic!!" every time he was asked if he thought the Bombers were good enough to win their next game. Or, if his next starting qb was good enough to play. He was Head Coach for the Bombers from 1967 thru 69.

He must have repeated that phrase a dozen times over, if not more during his time here.  Maybe Joe felt the more he said it out loud for all to hear that he'd even start to believe it. He finished last in the Western Conference every season & had an overall record of 10-37-1.

The result of Zaleski's optimism? He was fired. Optimism didn't cut it. The lack of results did. You're optimistic, Mark H & God bless you for that. 

My point is, that I don't believe this our receiving corps as a group is good enough to carry us long term. Yeah, it was nice to see Keric Wheatfall make an appearance again with some catches. I just don't think who we have currently are good enough. Walters made sure of that this past off season. 

The key to everything is to get Brady going running he ball. Until Hogan takes his head out of his ass & realizes that, our passing game without Oliveira chewing up enough big plays on the ground & our receiving corps without enough real playmakers is going to suffer. Hogan refuses to commit to the run game & it's hurting everything. 

Edited 6 hours ago by SpeedFlex27

[SpeedFlex27]

23 hours ago, Blue28 said:

Walters did draft Vibert - a centre. Hopefully they use him at some point.

He'll never gt the chance to play Center with Osh here. 

[GCn20]

2 hours ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

He'll never gt the chance to play Center with Osh here. 

Yes, because we have never let young OL get into our starting lineup. I mean c'mon...you guys are laying it on a bit thick. We have swapped out a ton of guys on our OL over the years.

[17to85]

35 minutes ago, GCn20 said:

Yes, because we have never let young OL get into our starting lineup. I mean c'mon...you guys are laying it on a bit thick. We have swapped out a ton of guys on our OL over the years.

Mostly through injury or departure though... kolankowski was purely an injury fill in and he had never once been in danger of being pulled out. Neufeld can be injured all training camp and never feel pressure to lose his spot...

[GCn20]

19 minutes ago, 17to85 said:

Mostly through injury or departure though... kolankowski was purely an injury fill in and he had never once been in danger of being pulled out. Neufeld can be injured all training camp and never feel pressure to lose his spot...

Why would Neufeld feel threatened? He has been a stud for us. Who should replace Kolankowski? Eli? He has been awful when we have put him in. I get that our OL is not good enough right now, but changing out players for weaker players just to try something almost never works out.

Edited 4 hours ago by GCn20

[Pete]

Neufeld looked worn out by the 4th qtr, Eli isnt good enough to rotate in regularly, we need another olineman, 

Ratio becomes a factor with Logan and Woods also seeming ready to return

[GCn20]

4 minutes ago, Pete said:

Neufeld looked worn out by the 4th qtr, Eli isnt good enough to rotate in regularly, we need another olineman, 

Ratio becomes a factor with Logan and Woods also seeming ready to return

Neufeld and all big men occasionally look like they are done for by the 4th Q. Did you have a problem with his play? I agree that at the moment we could use another NAT OL for our PR.  Fact of the matter is that we are almost certainly not going to find a NAT OL that is nearly as good as Neufeld either internally or externally. That needed to be done in the offseason. It is not a case of a coach being loyal to a fault to a veteran when the veteran is by far and away the best option.

Edited 3 hours ago by GCn20

[Booch]

1 hour ago, GCn20 said:

Yes, because we have never let young OL get into our starting lineup. I mean c'mon...you guys are laying it on a bit thick. We have swapped out a ton of guys on our OL over the years.

well...Hardrick...Desjarlais...Couture...Chungh....Dobson basically all left for more money.....(Goosen retired so Couture stepped in) ....We have turned over some guys indeed but not really by choice...we figured they were not worth the cost and didn't really have a lot left in the cupboard as it slowly eroded away....so to say we swapped a ton based on seeing Guy B is better than Guy A...isnt necessarily true

Even the tackle in MTL who has played well for them we let go....Kolo has sucked for a while now....But Osh thjinks he's just great...Same with Thomas....we have guys who can replace them, as starters...even punt off the roster....but nope

42 minutes ago, GCn20 said:

Why would Neufeld feel threatened? He has been a stud for us. Who should replace Kolankowski? Eli? He has been awful when we have put him in. I get that our OL is not good enough right now, but changing out players for weaker players just to try something almost never works out.

Yeah...Neuf is solid....not sure why many here think he's a weak spot.....compensating for a weak center thjo will affect both guards

12 minutes ago, Pete said:

Neufeld looked worn out by the 4th qtr, Eli isnt good enough to rotate in regularly, we need another olineman, 

Ratio becomes a factor with Logan and Woods also seeming ready to return

Eli is more than good enough....kinda funny people think he not...when have we seen him given the center spot and run with it for a period of 3..4 games....never......Kolo was grabbed off scrap heap languishing there for 2 yrs...nobody wanted him...we grabbed him as a deep depth piece and an injury got him in the lineup...Osh likes sub par Canadian players and will keep them in lineup for whatever his reason/agenda is....but our lie started to falter ever since...and since he has gotten older and skills (what minimal ones he had) erode even more...we are looking worse and worse

11 minutes ago, GCn20 said:

Neufeld and all big men occasionally look like they are done for by the 4th Q. Did you have a problem with his play? I agree that at the moment we could use another NAT OL for our PR. 

agreed ....

[Blue28]

We could try Vibert - he is a centre - put him on as a backup - and give him some opportunity.

[Booch]

1 minute ago, Blue28 said:

We could try Vibert - he is a centre - put him on as a backup - and give him some opportunity.

step one....actually put Eli there and give him several games....and if he is no better....batter up until you find the right guy

[Blue28]

I agree Booch, Kolo seems to be a good guy - but he needs to be challenged - whether by Eli, or Vibert, or someone else. Accountability. 

[GCn20]

23 minutes ago, Booch said:

well...Hardrick...Desjarlais...Couture...Chungh....Dobson basically all left for more money.....(Goosen retired so Couture stepped in) ....We have turned over some guys indeed but not really by choice...we figured they were not worth the cost and didn't really have a lot left in the cupboard as it slowly eroded away....so to say we swapped a ton based on seeing Guy B is better than Guy A...isnt necessarily true

Even the tackle in MTL who has played well for them we let go....Kolo has sucked for a while now....But Osh thjinks he's just great...Same with Thomas....we have guys who can replace them, as starters...even punt off the roster....but nope

Yeah...Neuf is solid....not sure why many here think he's a weak spot.....compensating for a weak center thjo will affect both guards

Eli is more than good enough....kinda funny people think he not...when have we seen him given the center spot and run with it for a period of 3..4 games....never......Kolo was grabbed off scrap heap languishing there for 2 yrs...nobody wanted him...we grabbed him as a deep depth piece and an injury got him in the lineup...Osh likes sub par Canadian players and will keep them in lineup for whatever his reason/agenda is....but our lie started to falter ever since...and since he has gotten older and skills (what minimal ones he had) erode even more...we are looking worse and worse

agreed ....

Eli might be good enough, but he certainly hasn't earned any opportunity with his play thus far. If he wants the job, and this is the biggest problem with Eli, he has to perform. The guy has all the talent in the world but plays half arsed when he gets into the lineup. That is not even debateable. Any time we have called his number he doesn't show up to play at the level he probably can. Problem with Eli isn't talent level, it's effort level. If he wants the job, he needs to demonstrate that he will bring it.

[17to85]

2 hours ago, GCn20 said:

Why would Neufeld feel threatened? He has been a stud for us. Who should replace Kolankowski? Eli? He has been awful when we have put him in. I get that our OL is not good enough right now, but changing out players for weaker players just to try something almost never works out.

When has Eli ever been put in at centre? And if he's awful why is he here? Kolankowski is a bottom teir starter on this team, should be a priority to replace rather than untouchable.

As for neufeld,  why threatened? Old, often injured or playing injured.... 

[GCn20]

4 minutes ago, 17to85 said:

When has Eli ever been put in at centre? And if he's awful why is he here? Kolankowski is a bottom teir starter on this team, should be a priority to replace rather than untouchable.

As for neufeld,  why threatened? Old, often injured or playing injured.... 

Neufeld has been rock solid the past several years. Old? Yes. Still playing good football? Yes. Really kind of an odd guy to pick if you are talking about a guy not earning his spot. Has Eli ever gotten a chance at C? Nope, has he earned that chance? Nope. The guy is here because if he ever gets it together he has all the skill in the world, unfortunately, he doesn't seem to bring it on game day. I am no huge Kola fan by any stretch of the imagination but thinking we have an in-house replacement for him right now is wishful thinking.

Edited 1 hour ago by GCn20

[Booch]

15 minutes ago, GCn20 said:

Neufeld has been rock solid the past several years. Old? Yes. Still playing good football? Yes. Really kind of an odd guy to pick if you are talking about a guy not earning his spot. Has Eli ever gotten a chance at C? Nope, has he earned that chance? Nope. The guy is here because if he ever gets it together he has all the skill in the world, unfortunately, he doesn't seem to bring it on game day. I am no huge Kola fan by any stretch of the imagination but thinking we have an in-house replacement for him right now is wishful thinking.

can't earn it if not given the shot....Practice isnt a place to earn anything really

Kolo didnt earn it...was given to him by default when Couture went down and we had nobody else ....has he earned keeping it.?..hell to the no....but there he is...game in and game out

[17to85]

25 minutes ago, GCn20 said:

Neufeld has been rock solid the past several years. Old? Yes. Still playing good football? Yes. Really kind of an odd guy to pick if you are talking about a guy not earning his spot. Has Eli ever gotten a chance at C? Nope, has he earned that chance? Nope. The guy is here because if he ever gets it together he has all the skill in the world, unfortunately, he doesn't seem to bring it on game day. I am no huge Kola fan by any stretch of the imagination but thinking we have an in-house replacement for him right now is wishful thinking.

Neufeld was ass to start last season because he was hurt all camp.

And how can Eli earn a spot when he never gets a chance there? See you're still clinging to this false idea that you have that guys are starting because they are the best option and no one has pushed past them. That's demonstatively flase with this team... 

[Pete]

2 hours ago, Booch said:

well...Hardrick...Desjarlais...Couture...Chungh....Dobson basically all left for more money.....(Goosen retired so Couture stepped in) ....We have turned over some guys indeed but not really by choice...we figured they were not worth the cost and didn't really have a lot left in the cupboard as it slowly eroded away....so to say we swapped a ton based on seeing Guy B is better than Guy A...isnt necessarily true

Even the tackle in MTL who has played well for them we let go....Kolo has sucked for a while now....But Osh thjinks he's just great...Same with Thomas....we have guys who can replace them, as starters...even punt off the roster....but nope

Yeah...Neuf is solid....not sure why many here think he's a weak spot.....compensating for a weak center thjo will affect both guards

Eli is more than good enough....kinda funny people think he not...when have we seen him given the center spot and run with it for a period of 3..4 games....never......Kolo was grabbed off scrap heap languishing there for 2 yrs...nobody wanted him...we grabbed him as a deep depth piece and an injury got him in the lineup...Osh likes sub par Canadian players and will keep them in lineup for whatever his reason/agenda is....but our lie started to falter ever since...and since he has gotten older and skills (what minimal ones he had) erode even more...we are looking worse and worse

agreed ....

Nothing wrong with Neufeld, it was just fatigue, Ly we had wallace and eli available to rotate in, this year its only Eli

In the 4th qtr when Eli was in he got literally run over, and when he and wallace are in together its a problem

Ottawa dressed 9 dline, to keep them fresher and it showed

 

 

Edited 1 hour ago by Pete

[GCn20]

25 minutes ago, 17to85 said:

Neufeld was ass to start last season because he was hurt all camp.

And how can Eli earn a spot when he never gets a chance there? See you're still clinging to this false idea that you have that guys are starting because they are the best option and no one has pushed past them. That's demonstatively flase with this team... 

How can you say that? Who has come in as an injury replacement and pushed a starter out lately? Can't think of one. Therefore you suggesting something is demonstratively false is completely opinion, and without any basis in fact to back it up. That is called opinion, not fact. That is arguing in bad faith. If you can give me some tangible facts, I am willing to reconsider my opinion but just saying this is the way it is based on nothing is not a particularly compelling argument.

Edited 1 hour ago by GCn20

[Tracker]

3 hours ago, GCn20 said:

Why would Neufeld feel threatened? He has been a stud for us. Who should replace Kolankowski? Eli? He has been awful when we have put him in. I get that our OL is not good enough right now, but changing out players for weaker players just to try something almost never works out.

We've had Eli, a college all-star center for several years, and a Canadian-status to boot, but O'Shea is O'Shea.

[17to85]

22 minutes ago, GCn20 said:

Who has come in as an injury replacement and pushed a starter out lately?

Tony Jones? Cause you and I know damned well that without injury bighill would still be starting for us despite a scrap heap pick up like Jones instantly improved play at the position. 

 

[GCn20]

31 minutes ago, 17to85 said:

Tony Jones? Cause you and I know damned well that without injury bighill would still be starting for us despite a scrap heap pick up like Jones instantly improved play at the position. 

 

Yes, a veteran guy we brought in and he definitely helped but he had a bunch of playing time prior to Biggie's injury already. We were using him on running downs in rotation at both MIKE and WIL.

32 minutes ago, Tracker said:

We've had Eli, a college all-star center for several years, and a Canadian-status to boot, but O'Shea is O'Shea.

Eli has not shown the ability to play at a high level when inserted into our line up. What confidence should the coaches have in him after what he has displayed thus far? The guy has stunk when he has been put in as an injury replacement. I will concede that has not been at Centre, but the crux remains that you still have to show an ability to block even at centre.

Edited 4 minutes ago by GCn20

[TBURGESS]

Eli's been around since 2019 and hasn't been promoted to starter yet. If you're basing your opinion on how he played way back in 2017 against college opposition, then you're out to lunch on your assessment of his current value.