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

[GCn20]

1 hour ago, Tracker said:

Unless O'Shea has had an on-the-road-to-Damascus epiphany, he is most likely to play non-pets in minor and/or losing situations so as to try to discredit them, then do an I-toldyaso riff. All passive-aggressive stuff.

For some reasom, you are confusing a realistic assessment of Thomas as ineffective and an obatacke to developing younger, better players. with hatred for him. So far as I am aware, he has not eaten any puppies or beaten up any orphans, but am willing to be proven wrong in that regard.

I agree totally that he was an obstacle as a player. That, however, has absolutely nothing to do with my post. Some people, without seeing any results whatsoever are pegging him as a bust as a coach. That assessment can only be created by a massive bias against him.

[wbbfan]

20 minutes ago, GCn20 said:

I agree totally that he was an obstacle as a player. That, however, has absolutely nothing to do with my post. Some people, without seeing any results whatsoever are pegging him as a bust as a coach. That assessment can only be created by a massive bias against him.

I agree. I'd add that he has completely earned the stigma and bias against him. But I think the floor is very high for a replacement, given how we have struggled to coach and develop talent on the DL. The verdict is out on Jake as a coach, but I am not really worrying about him. 

[GCn20]

25 minutes ago, wbbfan said:

I agree. I'd add that he has completely earned the stigma and bias against him. But I think the floor is very high for a replacement, given how we have struggled to coach and develop talent on the DL. The verdict is out on Jake as a coach, but I am not really worrying about him. 

How did he earn the stigma and bias against him? What specifically did he do? I get that his usage was awful, but how is that on him? Imo, he is being unfairly criticized for playing a role that his coaches asked of him. He signed a contract and went on the field when he was told to do so. We can hate the role he played but now it is carrying over into dislike for him personally and that isn't fair for us to do.

Edited 3 hours ago by GCn20

[Noeller]

3 minutes ago, GCn20 said:

How did he earn the stigma and bias against him? What specifically did he do? I get that his usage was awful, but how is that on him? Imo, he is being unfairly criticized for playing a role that his coaches asked of him. He signed a contract and went on the field when he was told to do so. We can hate the role he played but now it is carrying over into dislike for him personally and that isn't fair for us to do.

Also the whole "he's a giant fat mess" thing somehow got stuck in him. Have you ever seen him in person? He really isn't. He's just built like a whiskey barrel...

[GCn20]

1 minute ago, Noeller said:

Also the whole "he's a giant fat mess" thing somehow got stuck in him. Have you ever seen him in person? He really isn't. He's just built like a whiskey barrel...

He's never been the model of lean and mean, but not many DTs are. The guy played with heart, and worked hard as a player. Not sure why there is so much vitriol when his name is mentioned....or at least why it's being directed towards him.

[kelownabomberfan]

Last checked in to this thread in early December, saw that the number one topic was Jake Thomas.  Now I come back end of January....looks like I didn't miss anything...lol...

[SpeedFlex27]

7 hours ago, GCn20 said:

I guess we should just fire JT now. Obviously he has nothing to offer. Sad, that the hate is so strong for a guy that showed up to play for us game in and game out. We may not like his usage over the past few years but now we are blaming him for it. 

Oh, lighten up. There's no hate there. A joke for sure, but no hate. Thomas has been handed his starting job at DT & now a coaching position by Osh. The feeling is he is entitled as he never quite earned it with his play. Especially the past 3 or 4 years. Hence the bad one liners. The fans aren't stupid. They're a lot smarter then the coaches & managers think they are. They can see what is going on.

With that damned coaches cap, the Bombers can bring in Thomas with no coaching experience & not pay him what an experienced DL coach might make. CFL teams can only have up to 11 assisitants. Which means prior to the cap, Thomas could have been a defensive assistant under an experienced pro coach as we'd have had the flexibility to hire another coach. Now, he has to take it on all by himself for the Bombers to adhere to that cap with just 11 assistants. Seems we hire 10 to save more money, anyway.

[wbbfan]

2 hours ago, GCn20 said:

How did he earn the stigma and bias against him? What specifically did he do? I get that his usage was awful, but how is that on him? Imo, he is being unfairly criticized for playing a role that his coaches asked of him. He signed a contract and went on the field when he was told to do so. We can hate the role he played but now it is carrying over into dislike for him personally and that isn't fair for us to do.

His inability to even get into the OLs pads before the ball was thrown on passing downs. Being one of the very worst DTs in the league against the run and the pass for a couple of years. He couldn't get off blocks, even against centres, didn't demand a double team, and couldn't block a rush lane or pass rush. Usage made him worse, and made it more obvious. But the drop off in his play was one of the steepest I've ever seen. 

2021, Jake was overplayed and used suboptimally for a good chunk of the year. But that was one of the best defences of the era, and when Stove got healthy, he was unblockable in the pass rush and a true 2 gap nose, allowing Jake to go back to a more ideal 3tech. 

2022 Jake was burning out in games earlier and earlier while slogging through more and more reps. He would have a handful of good plays a season, and largely relied on cleaning up after others blew up plays or the O screwed up big time. 

2023 Jake was permanently blown up and unable to impose any kind of disruption to the pass or run game at all. 

He benefited from others' disruption in 22/23, which was the latest his instincts and football iq could carry his body. 

 I mean, that is still 5 very good years at one of the rarer positions for a Canadian to perform at in that time. For a guy who started with mediocre at best athleticism, and who was run into the ground, that is pretty good. 

But it doesn't take much to earn the waste-of-space stigma. Especially at one of the most valuable positions on the football field. 

44 minutes ago, kelownabomberfan said:

Last checked in to this thread in early December, saw that the number one topic was Jake Thomas.  Now I come back end of January....looks like I didn't miss anything...lol...

come back in one year and it will repeat lol