Blue Bombers -- 2025/26 Offseason -- Discussion Thread

[SpeedFlex27]

5 hours ago, HardCoreBlue said:

When SC hits wide left, the last photo here should go up on the jumbotron. Lol.

Thankfully, Castillo makes more than he misses. I just remember the video in 2014 of Liram Hajrullahu making trick field goals from all different angles inside & outside of PAS. He kicked one from inside the concourse, another from the roof of the stadium, one from inside the bathroom with the door closed, the parking lot & even made one from the roof of a moving car on Pembina Highway northbound. Then goes out next game & misses 4 field goals & two converts. Last game he ever played for us. Justin Medlock replaced him. 

[HardCoreBlue]

Just now, SpeedFlex27 said:

Our interior is more of a problem than our D Ends. if we had two guys who could push inside controlling the run & pressuring the passer I;m sure our Ends play would improve greatly. Instead we had this Cheeto defense witha 3 man front featured with jake Thomas. He's gone now sort of. I have hope they actually want to see an improvement. 

I hope you're right but I remain skeptical as in I was not a big fan watching WJ mostly stand in place, drop back, freelance watching the game pass him by while getting the odd knock down and/or tackle. Saying he was double covered and/or our interiour sucks doesn't explain all of his lack of exceptional play away. Maybe I'm being too harsh but I love agggressive role sound DE's who contain and get at and disrupt/sack the QB agressively and violently. Love the energy he brings to the game and how he sells it but that has to translate onfield as well. I just tink we need a major overhual in the trenches on both sides of the ball. Easier said than done I know.

3 minutes ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

Thankfully, Castillo makes more than he misses. I just remember the video in 2014 of Liram Hajrullahu making trick field goals from all different angles inside & outside of PAS. He kicked one from inside the concourse, another from the roof of the stadium, one from inside the bathroom with the door closed, the parking lot & even made one from the roof of a moving car on Pembina Highway northbound. Then goes out next game & misses 4 field goals & two converts. Last game he ever played for us. Justin Medlock replaced him. 

Oh for sure, I just think it would be funny and add a level of levity to the seriousness of the game. 

[SpeedFlex27]

9 minutes ago, HardCoreBlue said:

I hope you're right but I remain skeptical as in I was not a big fan watching WJ mostly stand in place, drop back, freelance watching the game pass him by while getting the odd knock down and/or tackle. Saying he was double covered and/or our interiour sucks doesn't explain all of his lack of exceptional play away. Maybe I'm being too harsh but I love agggressive role sound DE's who contain and get at and disrupt/sack the QB agressively and violently. Love the energy he brings to the game and how he sells it but that has to translate onfield as well. I just tink we need a major overhual in the trenches on both sides of the ball. Easier said than done I know.

Oh for sure, I just think it would be funny and add a level of levity to the seriousness of the game. 

The timing of that video was exquisite... (sarcasm).  As angry as I was for Hajrullahu playing so badly, I felt so bad for him as it was cringe worthy. It disappeared fast after that game & his release. 

[rebusrankin]

I think its time to move on from Jefferson. He's going to be 35, he's had declining production the past two seasons, he takes plays off and he costs too much money. Too be honest, he seems to get a pass from many here, while other players don't.

[wbbfan]

wonder how much holm got? i’m mentally preparing for it to be kramdi level pay.

Despite a few heavy over pays, a solid free agency period and draft will have us in A grade off season territory imo. 

Based on the addition by subtraction I have us on the fringe of an A minus/B plus. 

We need a cfl calibre qb coach, and need to address atleast two of wr/ol/dl in free agency with legit cfl starters. Then we need to have a solid crop of draft picks while adding depth with real upside also at wr/dl/ol. 

[Goalie]

16 minutes ago, rebusrankin said:

I think its time to move on from Jefferson. He's going to be 35, he's had declining production the past two seasons, he takes plays off and he costs too much money. Too be honest, he seems to get a pass from many here, while other players don't.

Agreed. I also don’t think he’s a great veteran leader. Being loud doesn’t mean leading. Dude takes plays off every game. 

[SpeedFlex27]

1 hour ago, wbbfan said:

wonder how much holm got? i’m mentally preparing for it to be kramdi level pay.

Despite a few heavy over pays, a solid free agency period and draft will have us in A grade off season territory imo. 

Based on the addition by subtraction I have us on the fringe of an A minus/B plus. 

We need a cfl calibre qb coach, and need to address atleast two of wr/ol/dl in free agency with legit cfl starters. Then we need to have a solid crop of draft picks while adding depth with real upside also at wr/dl/ol. 

i think cheaping out at DL coach by hiring Thomas is a mistake instead of finding the best available coach was a bad decision. Just the Old Boyz Club recruiting a new member. That's a major downer for me as far as off season grading goes. It takes away from an A off season so far down to a B or B minus. 

[Mike]

45 minutes ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

i think cheaping out at DL coach by hiring Thomas is a mistake instead of finding the best available coach was a bad decision. Just the Old Boyz Club recruiting a new member. That's a major downer for me as far as off season grading goes. It takes away from an A off season so far down to a B or B minus. 

If they had hired Derrick P. Jenkins from Paloma Tech University would you be as critical?

or does the name “Jake Thomas” just make you feel things 

[Booch]

21 minutes ago, Mike said:

If they had hired Derrick P. Jenkins from Paloma Tech University would you be as critical?

or does the name “Jake Thomas” just make you feel things 

Helluva coach

[HardCoreBlue]

1 hour ago, Mike said:

If they had hired Derrick P. Jenkins from Paloma Tech University would you be as critical?

or does the name “Jake Thomas” just make you feel things 

Yes from me on your last question.

[bigg jay]

2 hours ago, Mike said:

If they had hired Derrick P. Jenkins from Paloma Tech University would you be as critical?

or does the name “Jake Thomas” just make you feel things 

Personally I wouldn't be as critical hiring any existing coach but sitting through a season with an unqualified OC is currently affecting my opinion on inexperienced coaches.

If Thomas had retired and coached at a lower level for a season or two before getting the position, i would have zero issues with it but I also can appreciate that a DL coach is nowhere near as impactful as an OC so it's not an apples to apples comparison.

[GCn20]

7 hours ago, HardCoreBlue said:

From a defensive line point of view we need to change what we expect from and how we use our dline. This change in DL scheme and expectations does not involve retaining WJ imo.

I disagree. I hate what we have asked him to do under Younger but he's probably the best suited DE in the league if we are going to continue that.

[SpeedFlex27]

5 hours ago, Mike said:

If they had hired Derrick P. Jenkins from Paloma Tech University would you be as critical?

or does the name “Jake Thomas” just make you feel things 

I think my complaint is legit. Osh's priorities make no sense. A real weakness was our DL play. Solution? Bring in a guy who just retired has never coached. Who was the big reason the DL sucked so much to be the new position coach.

I've said this before. There has to be coaches who have more experience in U Sport that could coach at that position. Why bring in a retired player like Jake when we could have brought in someone more than qualified from the Canadian College ranks? These guys deserve a shot as well & seem to never get it.

[GCn20]

1 hour ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

I think my complaint is legit. Osh's priorities make no sense. A real weakness was our DL play. Solution? Bring in a guy who just retired has never coached. Who was the big reason the DL sucked so much to be the new position coach.

I've said this before. There has to be coaches who have more experience in U Sport that could coach at that position. Why bring in a retired player like Jake when we could have brought in someone more than qualified from the Canadian College ranks? These guys deserve a shot as well & seem to never get it.

The overwhelming majority of position coaches in our league are ex-players who retired and had zero coaching experience beforehand. Your complaint is unfounded. Jake's not our DC for cripes sakes.

You can count the winning HCs of 4 out of the last 5 Grey Cups among them

Osh, Mace, and Dinwiddie all retired and went straight into coaching. 

 

 

Edited 15 hours ago by GCn20

[SpeedFlex27]

27 minutes ago, GCn20 said:

The overwhelming majority of position coaches in our league are ex-players who retired and had zero coaching experience beforehand. Your complaint is unfounded. Jake's not our DC for cripes sakes.

You can count the winning HCs of 4 out of the last 5 Grey Cups among them

Osh, Mace, and Dinwiddie all retired and went straight into coaching. 

 

 

 

The CFL needs tio hire more U Sport coaches who are qualified. They deserve it as much or more than former players who are in good with their head coaches. I'll die on a hill for that statement having seen the committment these guys bring everyday when my son played at SFU. 

[rebusrankin]

So about our oline, what if we went American at C? Ratiowise we could go RB, 2WR, 2 OL, Linebacker, DL and Kramdi (S or linebacker).

[JohnnyAbonny]

45 minutes ago, rebusrankin said:

So about our oline, what if we went American at C? Ratiowise we could go RB, 2WR, 2 OL, Linebacker, DL and Kramdi (S or linebacker).

If starting 8 Canadians elsewhere then yeah that would be an ok scenario. 

I just don’t want to see them have to trot out jobbers like Corcoran or Cobb to be every down starters, and as much as I like Demski and Clercius the chance of both of them playing 18 games is slim.  
 

[bigg jay]

30 minutes ago, JohnnyAbonny said:

If starting 8 Canadians elsewhere then yeah that would be an ok scenario. 

I just don’t want to see them have to trot out jobbers like Corcoran or Cobb to be every down starters, and as much as I like Demski and Clercius the chance of both of them playing 18 games is slim.  
 

Demski for sure but Clercius? He's been a bit nicked up at times but hasn't missed a game AFAIK?

[Bigblue204]

Without looking it up....who did the Bombers have as DL coach in 2021?

54 minutes ago, JohnnyAbonny said:

If starting 8 Canadians elsewhere then yeah that would be an ok scenario. 

I just don’t want to see them have to trot out jobbers like Corcoran or Cobb to be every down starters, and as much as I like Demski and Clercius the chance of both of them playing 18 games is slim.  
 

The chances of them not using 2 CND receivers is pretty slim I'd say.

[Noeller]

Edit - too early and not capable of reading. 

Edited 9 hours ago by Noeller

[bigg jay]

16 minutes ago, Bigblue204 said:

Without looking it up....who did the Bombers have as DL coach in 2021?

Was it not Patterson?  I thought he was here for 5 years so 2021 would have been his 1st year with us.

[Bigblue204]

1 minute ago, bigg jay said:

Was it not Patterson?  I thought he was here for 5 years so 2021 would have been his 1st year with us.

Honestly I don't know. And that's kinda my point. Most of us won't know/remember even though that was the Best DL we've seen in a long long time. Positional coaches aren't something to be stressing about.

[wbbfan]

Just now, bigg jay said:

Was it not Patterson?  I thought he was here for 5 years so 2021 would have been his 1st year with us.

Yes, last year was his 5th season. Glenn young coached the DL and Lbers before that. 17 and prior for a couple years was todd howard. 

But Richard Harris was the last time we had a great Dl coach. 

also worth noting is that Craig Roh was at least a half player half DL coach while he was here. 

[wbbfan]

2 minutes ago, Bigblue204 said:

Honestly I don't know. And that's kinda my point. Most of us won't know/remember even though that was the Best DL we've seen in a long long time. Positional coaches aren't something to be stressing about.

Yes and no. Some positional coaches are far more important, like QB coach. The 2 closest after that are both Line coaches. Line play is the next most important after qbing, but the adjustment to the game up here is big and we don't get polished blockers or pass rushers from the ncaa any more. Pretty much every imp T and pass rusher is a project of one sort or another. 

Having a sub-optimal DL coach when we have JY and Hall running the D isn't the biggest deal. Thats part of why I'm not really worried about Jake. The bonus from him not being on the field any more is way bigger than any loss from having him coach the DL in the worst case. Player success doesn't directly translate to coaching success or failure either. A lot of great coaches have played but couldn't perform at the highest levels of their position group. 

 I would love to have a great DL coach. I would even go more modular with the defensive coaching staff, have a Coverage coach, a front coach (Jake) and a pressure/pass rush coach. Even bringing in some one like that just for camp could be a big boost. Some one who can coach the finer points of rushing and winning battles with technique and athleticism. 

 

 

[HardCoreBlue]

22 minutes ago, Noeller said:

Edit - too early and not capable of reading. 

Riiiight blame it on the time. :-)