Blue Bombers - 2025 Regular Season - Discussion Thread

[rebusrankin]

If Walters didn't talk to Kenny until the day before free agency, that's a mistake on his part. If the Bombers shut down his ability to do the football camps he was doing with his work permit, that's awful on their part. That said, key word is if.

 

[GCn20]

1 hour ago, Booch said:

Simple test on sideline would almost confirm it.  

The club and Tait had said he tore it

I know for a fact he tore it...but won't say names here

That's all I need to know it was mishandled and incompetence basically cause we were desperate with where our roster was at

Desperation....par for course...how many guys over last 3 yrs did we dress and play who clearly couldn't perform?

That's what happens when you have a stubborn coach who only knows how to lean on his vets and favs until they have nothing left..and have minimal to contribute...and even then takes a serious injury to take em out of lineup

Not sure why u keep this partial tear thing going? U are not correct

You don't graft in a whole new ligament for a "partial tear"

Prove it. Put your money where your mouth is. Until you have proof of a full tear I will not entertain here say and I overheard it at the gym or other garbage like that. You saying it is a full tear is not supported by anything that any person would consider concrete proof. I do not believe that one of the most respected athletic therapists in the history of the CFL let a player walk onto the field with a fully torn ACL. Unless you have proof of that it is purely and 100% speculation on your part.

[ShyGuy]

What a weird **** measuring contest this is turning out to be.

I'm not sure where 'Partially torn' is coming from, 

From Ed Tait's reporting
 

No mention of partial tear in Calgary. No mention of completing the tear in Saskatchewan.
 

[Booch]

37 minutes ago, GCn20 said:

As he should. Kenny may be talking the talk but he is also walking the walk. The Ticats are getting full value for a contract we felt was too much. It was a mistake by Walters to let him go and there is no sugar coating it. There is absolutely nothing wrong with a player knowing his worth and not being happy when his former team would not recognize it. Why should he take a slap in the face offer to stay. This is Walters missing the mark on a players valuation as he so often does.

not sure how anyone can think its wrong for a player to look out for himself....The meat grinder of pro sports wont for you...U can get tossed away and denied a legally agreed on bone's at anytime at the teams discretion

We are a better team with him....and a poorer team with others we have wasted money on

and as for thr bolded part....100 percent...this wasn't an isolated incident

40 minutes ago, rebusrankin said:

If Walters didn't talk to Kenny until the day before free agency, that's a mistake on his part. If the Bombers shut down his ability to do the football camps he was doing with his work permit, that's awful on their part. That said, key word is if.

 

thats happened in several instances actually

[Goalie]

I’m honestly. Zach can’t throw the ball like Bo can. Never could.  I’m not sure Kenny is doing what he’s doing every 4 weeks in Hamilton here. Completely different O. Hamilton oline ain’t great but that receiver group is. Bo can throw. Plus they got a legit OC with cfl experience. 

our O ain’t in the Ticats league. Our D might be better tho so there’s that but Kenny I’m not sure making a difference when our QBs can’t throw 30 yard passes regularly never mind longer ones  

 

Edited 3 hours ago by Goalie

[Booch]

36 minutes ago, GCn20 said:

Prove it. Put your money where your mouth is. Until you have proof of a full tear I will not entertain here say and I overheard it at the gym or other garbage like that. You saying it is a full tear is not supported by anything that any person would consider concrete proof. I do not believe that one of the most respected athletic therapists in the history of the CFL let a player walk onto the field with a fully torn ACL. Unless you have proof of that it is purely and 100% speculation on your part.

prove yours.....wheres your money?....and I said here i wont reveal names....sorry

Think horses mouth if that helps you....also...team itself said it?...are you just arguing for arguing sake?....like cmon...do a simple read of recent tweets even

and who said over hearing stuff at gym...I've never said that

14 minutes ago, ShyGuy said:

What a weird **** measuring contest this is turning out to be.

I'm not sure where 'Partially torn' is coming from, 

From Ed Tait's reporting
 

No mention of partial tear in Calgary. No mention of completing the tear in Saskatchewan.
 

hard to find the truth eh?...even without talking to the actual player in question...amazing haha

[ShyGuy]

Walters and Kenny seems like the Hervey and Eugene situation only Walters remembered not to say the quiet part out loud.

Of all the questionable roster decisions and signings (and not signings) Walters has made, I'm not sure not signing a 31 year old WR who hadn't played more than 2/3rds of a season the previous 3 seasons to $300K/yr would crack the top 5

[Goalie]

1 minute ago, ShyGuy said:

Walters and Kenny seems like the Hervey and Eugene situation only Walters remembered not to say the quiet part out loud.

Of all the questionable roster decisions and signings (and not signings) Walters has made, I'm not sure not signing a 31 year old WR who hadn't played more than 2/3rds of a season the previous 3 seasons to $300K/yr would crack the top 5

300k for a receiver is wild. I’d pay prime milt more. Same with prime Arland Bruce probably Geroy Simon but I’m not sure Kenny is In that group. Like you said, his health and other off field issues are red flags. 

[bigg jay]

6 minutes ago, Goalie said:

300k for a receiver is wild. I’d pay prime milt more. Same with prime Arland Bruce probably Geroy Simon but I’m not sure Kenny is In that group. Like you said, his health and other off field issues are red flags. 

Yeah why pay for the best WR in the league when you can get a beat up Schoen for 5 games at half the price?  That's money well spent right there!

[GCn20]

14 minutes ago, ShyGuy said:

Walters and Kenny seems like the Hervey and Eugene situation only Walters remembered not to say the quiet part out loud.

Of all the questionable roster decisions and signings (and not signings) Walters has made, I'm not sure not signing a 31 year old WR who hadn't played more than 2/3rds of a season the previous 3 seasons to $300K/yr would crack the top 5

He got paid 275k to go to Hamilton. How much do you think we paid him last year. Clue...it was right around that mark. I get that his injury history and legal problems kept him out of the lineup, but a lot of that time he missed was not against he SMS. 

5 minutes ago, bigg jay said:

Yeah why pay for the best WR in the league when you can get a beat up Schoen for 5 games at half the price?  That's money well spent right there!

How many games did Lawler play each year of his contract. The reason to sign Lawler wasnt dependability, it is because he is a cheat code when he is in the lineup.

14 minutes ago, Goalie said:

300k for a receiver is wild. I’d pay prime milt more. Same with prime Arland Bruce probably Geroy Simon but I’m not sure Kenny is In that group. Like you said, his health and other off field issues are red flags. 

Kenny Lawler is a cheat code. I dont care about his health or off field issues so long as they dont happen in the playoffs.

[Stickem]

Let's not try to sugar coat the non-signing of Kenny Lawler....it was a BIG mistake , considering what we replaced him with ..This was/is a Cup year in the city....we should have gone all out to at least have a respectable year...What we're having now is far off Bomber standards....IF it's true that we sand bagged Lawlers attempt to look at his future after football....well I only have one word for that ...facking deplorable....oooops sorry that's 2 words

[bryan35]

3 minutes ago, GCn20 said:

He got paid 275k to go to Hamilton. How much do you think we paid him last year. Clue...it was right around that mark. I get that his injury history and legal problems kept him out of the lineup, but a lot of that time he missed was not against he SMS. 

How many games did Lawler play each year of his contract. The reason to sign Lawler wasnt dependability, it is because he is a cheat code when he is in the lineup.

Wish he was still here but he does disappear for stretches.

 

[JohnnyAbonny]

8 minutes ago, bigg jay said:

Yeah why pay for the best WR in the league when you can get a beat up Schoen for 5 games at half the price?  That's money well spent right there!

Don’t forget fat Dillon Mitchell 

[GCn20]

20 minutes ago, Booch said:

prove yours.....wheres your money?....and I said here i wont reveal names....sorry

Think horses mouth if that helps you....also...team itself said it?...are you just arguing for arguing sake?....like cmon...do a simple read of recent tweets even

and who said over hearing stuff at gym...I've never said that

hard to find the truth eh?...even without talking to the actual player in question...amazing haha

Where does it say full tear. Nowhere. You are making assumptions and trying to back it up with anonymous confidential cannot be named sources. I am going off the history of ACL injuries and how they are handled. 

[Booch]

After this yr....and especially if we bow out meekly again...we need to Purge G.M nad HC....Have new guy select his H.C and then let him decide what Assistants he feels are worth keeping...and what "current" players he likes....and roll from there

And the sooner they do it and get it doen...the better and the quicker we get boots on the ground to get back to a top team

[GCn20]

Just now, bryan35 said:

Wish he was still here but he does disappear for stretches.

 

Shows up when it matters in a big way.

[bryan35]

3 minutes ago, GCn20 said:

Shows up when it matters in a big way.

So he decides when it matters?

[bigg jay]

2 minutes ago, JohnnyAbonny said:

Don’t forget fat Dillon Mitchell 

Hard to forget about paying $150k for 11 catches & 85 yards. 😂

We're paying about $250k between Mitchell & Schoen for their combined 340 yards receiving and 2 TD's vs $280-300k and 1k yard receving and 10 TD's for Lawler.  Saying Walters **** the bed on that would be a massive understatement.

[Booch]

1 minute ago, GCn20 said:

Where does it say full tear. Nowhere. You are making assumptions and trying to back it up with anonymous confidential cannot be named sources. I am going off the history of ACL injuries and how they are handled. 

The club said tore....if it was Partial tear...they would have said partially torn...so the assumption appears to be you. And yeah I not gonna divulge names on here....or say who has told me things....I respect "in confidence" and would be  real stain to reveal info to a bunch of online nutjobs....at least I can back it up although you refuse to wanna believe it....What backup do you have to support your assumption?...History of guys yrs before who had an acl partial tear....or strain?....which is 1000 percent different than a torn acl?

If it makes you feel better "maybe" the player himself, and a few other teammates said it...as really it want a secret and was quite obvious.

Have you had an ACL injury...played with one?...and with a rebuilt one? History of player A doesn't mean history of player B is the same...nor does it dictate what could/can happen with player C

 

 

[ShyGuy]

13 minutes ago, GCn20 said:

Shows up when it matters in a big way.

Grey Cup 107 3/52
Grey Cup 108 3/41
Grey Cup 110 3/77
Grey Cup 111 2/27

Not exactly game breaking numbers.

19 minutes ago, GCn20 said:

Where does it say full tear. Nowhere. You are making assumptions and trying to back it up with anonymous confidential cannot be named sources. I am going off the history of ACL injuries and how they are handled. 

The whole thesis of your argument is it must have been a partial tear or else it would border on negligence to trot him out there... so why wouldn't the team's #1 media hype man specifically call it out that it was a partial tear and everyone agreed he could try to play through it and unforunately he ended up fully tearing it... but the reporting was essentially he tore it in Calgary and after a stint on the 6 game IR they tried to give it a go but he couldn't play through it so they are shutting him down

[Booch]

3 minutes ago, ShyGuy said:

Grey Cup 107 3/52
Grey Cup 108 3/41
Grey Cup 110 3/77
Grey Cup 111 2/27

Not exactly game breaking numbers.

now playoff games to get us to the Grey Cup

Also...maybe those games teams in the Cup schemed to take him out of the game, and was up to us to scheme something to take advantage of that...aka.....coaching?

same with when a receiver seems to go quite...maybe they saw his previous damage and schemed him out of the game and took him away, and the QB had to have the wherewithal to look elsewhere...that gets lost in the arguments too

[ShyGuy]

1 minute ago, Booch said:

now playoff games to get us to the Grey Cup

Also...maybe those games teams in the Cup schemed to take him out of the game, and was up to us to scheme something to take advantage of that...aka.....coaching?

same with when a receiver seems to go quite...maybe they saw his previous damage and schemed him out of the game and took him away, and the QB had to have the wherewithal to look elsewhere...that gets lost in the arguments too

For sure, there are a million and 1 things that we aren't exactly privy to that can affect a player game to game. Collaros being injured in 111, and Lawler being almost last man standing in 110... and then obviously his first year was 107 so can't put too much into it. He had a fantastic game in the West Finals last year... but Collaros looked vintage there as well... so much symbiosis between WR and QB. 2023 he had similar numbers to Grey Cup 110, 2021 he had similar numbers, same in 2019 but he had a TD there.

Obviously having a player like Lawler on the team would be a huge plus but cost and usage definitely a factor. He had 4 seasons here and he was at least inconsistent in his availability. You can see where the thought process would go with a high priced receiver... can't keep on the AR all year and an offense that is in clear decline... It looks worse because he is balling out this year but he is leading the league depth yards targeted and the Bombers are living right around 10 yards past the line of scrimmage... is that because they don't have someone like Kenny or is that because the Bombers are rostering QBs that can't push the ball down field? Probably a bit of both.

 

Maybe as a fan I give the team a bit more rope than they deserve... Lots of people like to clamor for Dru Brown... did the front office completely bungle that or in the 3 years he was here did they decide that he would be unable to stay on the field with the way he plays... Would the last 2 years be any better with Brown as the QB with his inability to stay on the field?

CFL definitely isn't as transparent as a lot of other leagues and we are left to fill in the gaps... part of the fun I suppose

[17to85]

56 minutes ago, GCn20 said:

it is because he is a cheat code when he is in the lineup.

sometimes... other times we had the exact same problems we've had this year. Yeah he had games like the west final, but that wasn't all the the time. guy isn't as consistent as he was several seasons ago. 

not paying him huge money wasn't the mistake. the mistake is in what replaced him.

[rebusrankin]

Lawler is getting 275 in Hamilton. Schoen was 175 plus incentives. Mitchell was 163. You could have paid Kenny 275 and had 88 k at least left over. All it costs you is Schoen and Mitchell. Who isn't taking that trade off?

[blue85gold]

6 minutes ago, 17to85 said:

sometimes... other times we had the exact same problems we've had this year. Yeah he had games like the west final, but that wasn't all the the time. guy isn't as consistent as he was several seasons ago. 

not paying him huge money wasn't the mistake. the mistake is in what replaced him.

Yup the replacements haven't worked out at all. 

Lawler had never played consistently enough to warrant his contract until this year. Remains to be seen if he can keep it up the rest of the year.

Just now, rebusrankin said:

Lawler is getting 275 in Hamilton. Schoen was 175 plus incentives. Mitchell was 163. You could have paid Kenny 275 and had 88 k at least left over. All it costs you is Schoen and Mitchell. Who isn't taking that trade off?

You have to add in another receivers salary to make that math work unless Lawler going to play two spots at once. 

Lawler is getting over $300. His bonuses are all for just showing up. 

Hard money: $277,200
Maximum value: $303,000

The six-foot-three, 197-pound target got a $125,000 signing bonus to head to Steeltown where he became the CFL’s highest-paid non-quarterback for the second time in his career. The 30-year-old will also earn $110,000 in base salary, $25,000 in marketing money, $14,700 in housing money, and a $2,500 travel allowance. As for playtime incentives, Lawler can receive a $10,000 bonus the first time he makes the active roster, $3,800 if he’s active for at least 15 games, and $500 each time he plays more than 51 percent of Hamilton’s offensive snaps in a game. https://3downnation.com/2025/04/15/cfls-highest-paid-receivers-for-2025/