Blue Bombers - 2025 Regular Season - Discussion Thread

[wbbfan]

1 hour ago, Pete said:

so who would you have chosen as allstar lb instead ? In the east Mcmanis didn't  play enough. In edm Morgan and ANderson were hurt. And as for research  looked at CFL stats, Given whos voting thats gonna be one of the criteria they use to vote .Maybe we'll get a better idea when the players select the allstars.

Thurman seems the most consistent mlb but hes not great at making big plays either.  None of the mlb's are in the class of outside lbs Pickett and Beverette.. 

You pretty much nailed it with the last sentence. Reality of the league is, we don’t have impact players at mac. 

 For me, I’d rather take a guy who was injured but dominant. Like kyrie in his best years. After that, I’d pick a hands up pass rusher, extra end or extra db especially at sam. A better than average sam does far more to help his team than a top mac right now. 

I knew they’d fall into the trap of picking Jones. I was only surprised we didn’t front him for modp. 

 

The guy in the west I would pick if i had to pick one, would actually be aj allen (riders, I know ew) he was the best in the division, while thurman is a big padded tackles guy (and the best of the padders) allen was exceptional at getting back in coverage and has tremendous football iq. 

In the east and very similar in game to allen is Darkangelo. 

The guys like that, and kyrie (in his prime) weren’t running around like bighill and soli making the flash plays. They excel by playing much larger areas than the box. 

It’s exceptionally hard to be a true side line to side line player in the cfl. Border line impossible. But the guys who play one has to opposite side line (kyrie,) and/or from the gaps back into the secondary (biggie) are the real stand outs. 

 

[wbbfan]

Also, the 4 leading rushers are in the west, including brady leading yards from the los. So arguably the best backs in the league don’t make the list, but all the 1k wrs save for one makes it. 
 

The all star list/system is dumb. It should be first and second team all cfl, With flexibility for positions to make sure you represent the best talent not just positions. 

 

[Tracker]

4 hours ago, Pete said:

not sure what your issue is with Jones. He has the second most tackles in the league and ahead of the next bomber by  a mile.

The bomber d is in the top 3 against the rush as well. He's also 2nd in the league in total defensive plays 

His tackles are almost always 10 yards behind the line.

[WinnipegGordo]

1 hour ago, wbbfan said:

Also, the 4 leading rushers are in the west, including brady leading yards from the los. So arguably the best backs in the league don’t make the list, but all the 1k wrs save for one makes it. 
 

The all star list/system is dumb. It should be first and second team all cfl, With flexibility for positions to make sure you represent the best talent not just positions. 

 

Also, in the 2017 the CFL switched from having 2 runningbacks as division allstars and added a 5th receiver.

[wbbfan]

16 minutes ago, WinnipegGordo said:

Also, in the 2017 the CFL switched from having 2 runningbacks as division allstars and added a 5th receiver.

it makes sense to do that when you have a bunch of wrs and few rbs who deserve it. 

[rebusrankin]

Can we agree Milligan didn't deserve to make the team?

[17to85]

 Brady disrespected

[Goalie]

They obviously need to change who votes for this or make it public cuz sometimes makes no sense 

[SpeedFlex27]

14 hours ago, bigg jay said:

Oh STFU.  Quit taking one little thing, completely misreading it and blowing it into something it's not.

Show me where I'm defending him.  All I said was it's normal for Walters (not every GM), this is his track record and has been for a while.  That's not being an apologist or being critical as I didn't give an opinion one way or another on his approach. FWIW, I would prefer if he was more visible and I'm definitely not satisfied with the work that was put in this year (from him or MOS).

You said it, I didn't... The guy has been a virtual ghost all season. 

11 hours ago, WinnipegGordo said:

 

 

Brady with the tip of the hat to his OC Hogan, "Thanks for nuthin', Coach". 

Edited 16 hours ago by SpeedFlex27

[JuranBoldenRules]

Sask has the most accredited media members by a long shot.  Keep that in mind.

[bigg jay]

Vaval has been named a finalist for both STP & ROY.  He should win both (imo).

Dual selections Nathan Rourke, Trey Vaval highlight CFL Awards finalists - 3DownNation

[Noeller]

Should definitely beat Larry Arugala for ST but I don't know enough about the LB kid for Rookie...

[bigg jay]

2 minutes ago, Noeller said:

Should definitely beat Larry Arugala for ST but I don't know enough about the LB kid for Rookie...

Yeah ST should be a no-brainer but ROY will be tougher.

[rebusrankin]

Rourke should be MOP and MOC.

[ShyGuy]

4 minutes ago, rebusrankin said:

Rourke should be MOP and MOC.

MOC for sure. I think narrative wise he might be a bit behind Bo. Bo had marginally better stats, took better care of the ball, a bit better team success. Was the finalist last year trying to drag a terrible team to the playoffs.

[rebusrankin]

33 minutes ago, ShyGuy said:

MOC for sure. I think narrative wise he might be a bit behind Bo. Bo had marginally better stats, took better care of the ball, a bit better team success. Was the finalist last year trying to drag a terrible team to the playoffs.

Teams had the same record and BC played in the more difficult division. BLM passed for a whopping 6 more yards and played two more games. Bo had 5 more tds and 5 less ints. Rourke had 564 rushing yards and 10 tds to 124 and 1 for Bo. I'd say Rourke was better. As for narratives that's for reporters not voters.

[johnzo]

on top of his monster passing numbers, Rourke shocked me with his breakaway running. Dude can gallop and he turned a lot of broken plays into first downs or better.  Rourke is the MOP.

I was questioning the decision to throw away VAJ in favor of Rourke ... but that definitely appears to have been the correct call.

Edited 5 hours ago by johnzo

[bearpants]

13 minutes ago, johnzo said:

on top of his monster passing numbers, Rourke shocked me with his breakaway running. Dude can gallop and he turned a lot of broken plays into first downs or better.  Rourke is the MOP.

I was questioning the decision to throw away VAJ in favor of Rourke ... but that definitely appears to have been the correct call.

amazing what a full training camp and competent coaching will do... Let's hope we can replicate this Cdn QB success in a couple with with Elgersma...

[SpeedFlex27]

14 minutes ago, johnzo said:

on top of his monster passing numbers, Rourke shocked me with his breakaway running. Dude can gallop and he turned a lot of broken plays into first downs or better.  Rourke is the MOP.

I was questioning the decision to throw away VAJ in favor of Rourke ... but that definitely appears to have been the correct call.

The way it was handled was all wrong. Rick Campbell botched it badly & that's the main reason he went from HC to STC on the worst team in the CFL. Howevr, I will admit that there may have been ownership interference from Doman. 

2 minutes ago, bearpants said:

amazing what a full training camp and competent coaching will do... Let's hope we can replicate this Cdn QB success in a couple with with Elgersma...

He has to sign here first. Doesn't appear to be in a hurry. 

[wbbfan]

1 hour ago, rebusrankin said:

Rourke should be MOP and MOC.

rourke had 2 games under 280 yards passing, and 12 games 300+, with 2 over 280. Only 2 games with more picks than tds, he threw for a td in all but 1 game. 2 400+ games 2 4 td games, plus 5 total tds in week 16. 

Harris had 6 games over 300, 2 3 td games, 2 no td games, 2 more ints than TDS games, and 6 real games with less than 280 passing. 

vaj had 4 games 300+, 4 3 td games, 7 no passing td games, 4 more ints than td games, and 11 games with less than 280.

 

I think you can make a very good case that vaj was the mvp, as a lot of calgarys turn around was him. But bc had an atrocious D for a big chunk of the year and rourke carried them. If rourke was in calgary, I think they finish first. For my money, ssk had far more to work with for harris. Better line, deeper wr core, much better team and position to be put in on each drive. Rourke was the lions this year. If you swapped harris or vaj to bc, I think we are playing a home game in the play offs. 

 

Imo, Rourke is a slam dunk as moc and mop in any reasonable world. In the cfl, riders bias vs kid canada bias, I have no clue what to expect. 

31 minutes ago, rebusrankin said:

Teams had the same record and BC played in the more difficult division. BLM passed for a whopping 6 more yards and played two more games. Bo had 5 more tds and 5 less ints. Rourke had 564 rushing yards and 10 tds to 124 and 1 for Bo. I'd say Rourke was better. As for narratives that's for reporters not voters.

you nailed it with how much of a difference maker rourkes legs are this year. I think he’s the better qb with out the yards or rushing tds, but his mobility is a big part of what enabled him to succeed. 

 Just like prime zach with buck and bourgoin, the roll out is deadly. 

9 minutes ago, bearpants said:

amazing what a full training camp and competent coaching will do... Let's hope we can replicate this Cdn QB success in a couple with with Elgersma...

I think elgersma is our only medium to long term shot at contending short of finding a crazy winning power ball ticket type of player. 

[GCn20]

I think the truth on T.Jones lies somewhere between wbb's and Pete's assessment. He had a good season, maybe even enough to be allstar, but he does have some deficiencies as well. I thought he played well enough for us. He wasn't Adam Bighill in his prime, but the teeth gnashing over him playing over J.Jones was a little over the top as well. The biggest problem I have with him this coming offseason is that he is getting up there in age.

Edited 3 hours ago by GCn20

[wbbfan]

37 minutes ago, GCn20 said:

I think the truth on T.Jones lies somewhere between wbb's and Pete's assessment. He had a good season, maybe even enough to be allstar, but he does have some deficiencies as well. I thought he played well enough for us. He wasn't Adam Bighill in his prime, but the teeth gnashing over him playing over J.Jones was a little over the top as well. The biggest problem I have with him this coming offseason is that he is getting up there in age.

I’ll say he’s far from the biggest issue on our D, and he is a good football player. Like many here, he’s limited but isn’t played with in those limits. Combine that with the fact we have younger, and canadian, guys with more upside and it’s frustrating. 

I wouldn’t worry about his age much tbh, he’s fairly low wear and tear for his age. When he loses a step that will probably be it, as is almost always the case in football. 

[GCn20]

7 minutes ago, wbbfan said:

I’ll say he’s far from the biggest issue on our D, and he is a good football player. Like many here, he’s limited but isn’t played with in those limits. Combine that with the fact we have younger, and canadian, guys with more upside and it’s frustrating. 

I wouldn’t worry about his age much tbh, he’s fairly low wear and tear for his age. When he loses a step that will probably be it, as is almost always the case in football. 

I don't know, none of us do really, whether we have better options but certainly if we have NATs that MIGHT be better we need to consider a hard look at them next year for sure. Even if next year is just a few reps a game unless they excel.  I am 100% in favor of getting Shay some D playing time for sure. We drafted him for that reason and year 2 should see progression.

I agree that TJ is low mileage, but age is age, it can drop a guy off a cliff no matter the situation. We need to be prepared just in case that happens.

Edited 2 hours ago by GCn20

[Booch]

14 minutes ago, wbbfan said:

I’ll say he’s far from the biggest issue on our D, and he is a good football player. Like many here, he’s limited but isn’t played with in those limits. Combine that with the fact we have younger, and canadian, guys with more upside and it’s frustrating. 

I wouldn’t worry about his age much tbh, he’s fairly low wear and tear for his age. When he loses a step that will probably be it, as is almost always the case in football. 

Jones is good/adequate....but that position you want elite and game changing if you don't have that elsewhere on defence...tho I think Woodbey could be our Winton McManus type guy....if he doesnt get poached for an NFL camp which I bet is quite likely....and another full camp next yr...an 18 games...I smell an All-Star there

My issues with Jones given his age and league experience is he still makes same mistakes....has glaring flaws have not got better...so is what he is...the Perfect DA guy who can start if need be...take lotsa reps in a suuprt role and if is your depth guy...then your starting unit has to be pretty dame good

Smith as well can easily take a starting role...as a pure rookie looked more than capable and if he had gotten use all yr...who knows where he's be at...if anything we as a team would know where he was at and if he was an actual viable option and you could work your off-season accordingly....this where we falter because Osh doesn't allow young guys to get that development....you don't get it in practice

 

[JuranBoldenRules]

3 hours ago, ShyGuy said:

MOC for sure. I think narrative wise he might be a bit behind Bo. Bo had marginally better stats, took better care of the ball, a bit better team success. Was the finalist last year trying to drag a terrible team to the playoffs.

Bo has played the whole 2nd half of the season like he's holding a giant dump in.