With Rookie Camp getting underway Wednesday morning, it's officially time to talk about the 2026 Winnipeg Blue Bombers!

1 hour ago, wbbfan said:

I see rotational piece quality in both, this year, for sure.

Idk about that. IF we are going for a run, stopping base, we would want Lawson and Ceresna on the field. Not really Nuer. He's undersized and has struggled to disengage blocks to get into the run game.

If anything, that is a time I'd flip Ceresna to the edge, beside a tweener big like Fletcher/Young in camp right now. Even though he's undersized a bit, KMB is much better vs the run than you'd expect.

I'd also look to the 30 front in that case, with 3 big bulls you completely shut the interior gaps and force the run off tackle to one of our many Wil type bodies.

In 1 year, Smith caught Ayers in terms of playmaking. Which is no small feat. Smith's intangibles are off the chart, which, combined with top-tier athleticism and the right passport, should be a first-class ticket to major reps.

Hope you are right about Smith. I also would agree with you about Lawson if I trusted his health but I dont. I think his role will require limitations on his snap count

3 hours ago, Booch said:

Only way to earn them is in live game reps and proving it...Practice isnt gonna get it for you...film study....hustling around....nope

U need to earn it and gain that trust and development with live action play...And Osh is very reluctant todo it...will ride guys ride into the dirt even when they are underperforming or flat out not good enough but he likes them...to the point which we have seen and discussed here would rather play a disabled player with no business being on the roster over giving a guy a shot...hopefully that has changed and is a thing of the past and it was spoken about internally....we shall see

No way around this.

Smith definitely deserves on defense...and not just token ones...was one of the top ST guys in league last yr...Made plays in limited reps on defence and the game where they got a lot of playing time at end of yr looked right at home. He can play multiple spots and we have to allow him to grow into them this yr.

By season's end I'd have 3 guys on the roster who were our best and most versatile and guys who should be key contributors in the second level...and they were Woodbey, Griffin and Smith, who vaulted right up the depth chart and him being Canadian is a huge bonus.

He will do us no harm at all at either Wil...SAM and I bet a strong safety type role when we run basically a free and strong lineup.

O'Shea's favouritism is not restricted to homegrown players. we have recently has several imports who clearlt didn't belong here but were kept around- a certain Marine being one of them.

17 hours ago, GCn20 said:

80% of those players were players we did not want back....even Janarion was a case of him feeling insulted by Walters not calling him.

The other 20% were lost to the NFL or better offers in FA.

Exactly my point. If players feel slighted because MOS is playing favourites you'd think there would be a stampede, when they become FA, to sign elsewhere. But that has not happened.

Edited 1 hour ago1 hr by Doublezero

21 minutes ago, Doublezero said:

Exactly my point. If players feel slighted because MOS is playing favourites you'd think there would be a stampede, when they become FA, to sign elsewhere. But that has not happened.

Just to think this one thru, I don't think it's about MOS playing favorites straight across the board (all positions O,D,ST) but is more he seems to have a very high regard for specific qualities/attributes (football and non football) of a human being (Jake Thomas as an example) that can influence certain decisions being made (e.g, playing time). So if this is true you would not see a max exodus of FA's but you may see a small percentage of players playing past their expiry date.

Edited 1 hour ago1 hr by HardCoreBlue

I think if you played any sort of competitive sport you understand the coaches certainly have their favourites who can do no wrong and pretty much can get away with mistakes every game cuz hey coaches kid really or rich guys kid who paying for the jerseys. That applies in pro sports also and not just football, hockey coaches love their vets and Gud glue guys also. Ppl say Kolo and the marine and guys like that, most hockey teams have bums like that also, Matt Hendrix was a jet at one point cuz he was a good room guy apparently. Osh plays favorites for sure and when final cuts are made and it’s basically last years roster plus free agent signings, you will see. But sports are filled with alpha types who maybe don’t always get along so maybe you need those “Gud vets” around. The problem is having 2 many “Gud” vets. Having 1 Jake Thomas is ok. Having more than 1 probably isn’t ideal roster optimization. Pretty famous football movie called Rudy based on true story shows you that sometimes working hard and doing whatever it takes doesn’t matter. In the end it took the players offering to not play for Rudy to play. Yes dude was small but all heart there. He never really got a fair chance did he. Lots of guys don’t in pro sports.

Edited 48 minutes ago48 min by Goalie

I truly don't believe MOS is deciding who is on the field in which packages on O or D. I don't believe that is how the team is run from everything we've seen and heard from everyone involved right up through Walters and Wade Miller.

I believe he wields strong influence on who is on the bottom 1/3 of the roster for special teams purposes, Canadians and DI's. But of the guys on the roster, I believe from basically everything we've seen that his coordinators are designing the packages including WHO is on the field.

I think if you want to glean something from our deployment on D the past few years it's that Younger doesn't trust rookies. Even most of the guys we've brought in off the street into camp or due to injury and rostered had extensive experience in the CFL. Younger will only reluctantly put a rookie on the field.

Edited 46 minutes ago46 min by JuranBoldenRules