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

Just for fun...visualize Kelly in coverage on Lawler...I dont give 2 effs how hard he tries and his attitude etc..good guy...to justify that lunacy

Why even start Kelly in practice? The guy gets lit up more than Prime Keith Richards.

Not long ago, most of you were thinking Kelly was the future stud. Now he’s the new JT cuz he’s taking practice reps? Okie

And no that guy should not be starting or even taking any reps

Gets lit up more than buckcherry

In hockey they have goal songs.

In football they should have DBs get beat songs. JK (says it all) but his would definitely be Lit Up by Buckcherry cuz every time.

So one of you guys call the coaches show and make it interesting by asking about a guy like Kelly and why when he’s lit up every time does he keep getting chances.

Edited 21 hours ago21 hr by Goalie

5 minutes ago, Goalie said:

Not long ago, most of you were thinking Kelly was the future stud. Now he’s the new JT cuz he’s taking practice reps? Okie

It's not hard to figure out. He showed well as rookie but hasn't been the same since his knee injury. Not the first player it's happened to and won't be the last.

3 minutes ago, bigg jay said:

It's not hard to figure out. He showed well as rookie but hasn't been the same since his knee injury. Not the first player it's happened to and won't be the last.

Yup

Just saying. Ppl were beating his drums pretty hard. You all take things so personal but I don’t know any of you. Just pointing out facts.

Edited 21 hours ago21 hr by Goalie

3 minutes ago, bigg jay said:

It's not hard to figure out. He showed well as rookie but hasn't been the same since his knee injury. Not the first player it's happened to and won't be the last.

Yeah he showed promise as a young guy but never took that next step. Happens a lot. He's still got value as a special teamer maybe, but as a starter since he's not needed for ratio reasons there's no reason to start him.

4 minutes ago, Goalie said:

Not long ago, most of you were thinking Kelly was the future stud. Now he’s the new JT cuz he’s taking practice reps? Okie

And no that guy should not be starting or even taking any reps

Gets lit up more than buckcherry

In hockey they have goal songs.

In football they should have DBs get beat songs. JK (says it all) but his would definitely be Lit Up by Buckcherry cuz every time.

Kelly has been injured each year he's been here, and hasn't shown the same flashes we saw from him as a rookie. Pretty much the same thing we saw with Noah Hallett.

He's not the worst Sts guy in the league, but he's not a stud at it either. He's an end roster canadian, who doesn't offer anything to the D.

Its too bad, but it does happen more often then you'd like. Especially for guys with that frame on D.

2 minutes ago, bigg jay said:

It's not hard to figure out. He showed well as rookie but hasn't been the same since his knee injury. Not the first player it's happened to and won't be the last.

I think he's had 3 pretty good injuries. Knee, arm, Idr the other one.

Woodbey listed as having a Calf injury on the report. Wonder if that means he didn't damage his Achilles and it might not be as serious.

39 minutes ago, bigg jay said:

It's not hard to figure out. He showed well as rookie but hasn't been the same since his knee injury. Not the first player it's happened to and won't be the last.

HE WAS good as a rookie and showed serious potential...blew out his knee and post surgery just seems to have lost his closing ability and his big asset, which was his speed/quickness seems to have not come fully back and he is now forever in chase mode

37 minutes ago, wbbfan said:

Kelly has been injured each year he's been here, and hasn't shown the same flashes we saw from him as a rookie. Pretty much the same thing we saw with Noah Hallett.

He's not the worst Sts guy in the league, but he's not a stud at it either. He's an end roster canadian, who doesn't offer anything to the D.

Its too bad, but it does happen more often then you'd like. Especially for guys with that frame on D.

I think he's had 3 pretty good injuries. Knee, arm, Idr the other one.

yup...he hasnt been the same since and has become the back end roster Canadian now....Ayola the global would prob offer just as much on teams now he back and if he picked up some seasoning and development in the NFL..which he musta being there for 2 yrs he had to have shown something...I'd put him in on that spot of roster as a teams demon and see what he does....and give him some rotation reps....u dont know what you got until you actually give a player a opportunity

The perplexing part is the usage of Kelly who hasn't really made a play since his rookie yr on defense when you don't need to is just plain...well dumb

If it Younger pushing for it Osh as the HC should have the plums to say..."sorry but we gonna use..Vaval...Smith...Shay"...whomever, and if it's Osh who made that call...Then we are again dealing with the same brain dead moves again and likely gonna have to suffer with it all yr until that player goes down with a season ender

I like how even the injury report now has a sponsor lol

16 hours ago, Booch said:

HE WAS good as a rookie and showed serious potential...blew out his knee and post surgery just seems to have lost his closing ability and his big asset, which was his speed/quickness seems to have not come fully back and he is now forever in chase mode

yup...he hasnt been the same since and has become the back end roster Canadian now....Ayola the global would prob offer just as much on teams now he back and if he picked up some seasoning and development in the NFL..which he musta being there for 2 yrs he had to have shown something...I'd put him in on that spot of roster as a teams demon and see what he does....and give him some rotation reps....u dont know what you got until you actually give a player a opportunity

The perplexing part is the usage of Kelly who hasn't really made a play since his rookie yr on defense when you don't need to is just plain...well dumb

If it Younger pushing for it Osh as the HC should have the plums to say..."sorry but we gonna use..Vaval...Smith...Shay"...whomever, and if it's Osh who made that call...Then we are again dealing with the same brain dead moves again and likely gonna have to suffer with it all yr until that player goes down with a season ender

Younger picks his starting lineup. Was confirmed in two separate interviews. I agree that the bottom line falls to MOS though.

16 hours ago, Booch said:

HE WAS good as a rookie and showed serious potential...blew out his knee and post surgery just seems to have lost his closing ability and his big asset, which was his speed/quickness seems to have not come fully back and he is now forever in chase mode

yup...he hasnt been the same since and has become the back end roster Canadian now....Ayola the global would prob offer just as much on teams now he back and if he picked up some seasoning and development in the NFL..which he musta being there for 2 yrs he had to have shown something...I'd put him in on that spot of roster as a teams demon and see what he does....and give him some rotation reps....u dont know what you got until you actually give a player a opportunity

The perplexing part is the usage of Kelly who hasn't really made a play since his rookie yr on defense when you don't need to is just plain...well dumb

If it Younger pushing for it Osh as the HC should have the plums to say..."sorry but we gonna use..Vaval...Smith...Shay"...whomever, and if it's Osh who made that call...Then we are again dealing with the same brain dead moves again and likely gonna have to suffer with it all yr until that player goes down with a season ender

Seems we've got our answer and it is Texada.

43 minutes ago, GCn20 said:

Younger picks his starting lineup. Was confirmed in two separate interviews. I agree that the bottom line falls to MOS though.

Seems we've got our answer and it is Texada.

yeah If he gives sole responsibility to a co-ord....then he needs to step in and say...nope...Maybe Younger isnt a bright mind like many think tho if that the case...Bottom line tho coaches may say who/what they would "like"...The HC tho should be able to see the pro's and cons and make final decision accordingly...If the best talent isnt there....and you have possibly better already here....then why bother playing inferior..and if you don't have the talent then you best be all over the GM's arse and tell him to get some

Part of prob here at times is everyone is too buddy biddy and scared to step on toes or possibly offend someone...not a good trait

5 minutes ago, Booch said:

yeah If he gives sole responsibility to a co-ord....then he needs to step in and say...nope...Maybe Younger isnt a bright mind like many think tho if that the case...Bottom line tho coaches may say who/what they would "like"...The HC tho should be able to see the pro's and cons and make final decision accordingly...If the best talent isnt there....and you have possibly better already here....then why bother playing inferior..and if you don't have the talent then you best be all over the GM's arse and tell him to get some

Part of prob here at times is everyone is too buddy biddy and scared to step on toes or possibly offend someone...not a good trait

I agree. MOS should not allow Younger to get too cute with his lineup, Walters should not allow OSH to play favorites, and OSH should be banging down the door asking for holes in his roster to be filled. Let's be clear at certain times over the past few years we have seen both Osh and Walters underperform. If this is a trinity, someone needs to step in when Walters takes a season off and kick his arse, or when Osh doesn't have the plums to take JT off the roster. I seriously think that Walters has been our biggest problem the past 2-3 years because he is supposed to be the bottom line, and coming out of the business world I've learned that you don't blame your employees for the mess because it is on you to make sure that doesn't happen.

That being said it looks like Walters showed up to earn his pay cheque this year, now it's time for the coaches to make sure the work pays off. As much as we like to grouse about Jake Kelly taking a few practice reps, it seems that Osh's rostering looks better this year.

Edited 3 hours ago3 hr by GCn20

1 minute ago, GCn20 said:

I agree. MOS should not allow Younger to get too cute with his lineup, Walters should not allow OSH to play favorites, and OSH should be banging down the door asking for holes in his roster to be filled. Let's be clear at certain times over the past few years we have seen both Osh and Walters underperform. If this is a trinity, someone needs to step in when Walters takes a season off and kick his arse, or when Osh doesn't have the plums to take JT off the roster. I seriously think that Walters has been our biggest problem the past 2-3 years because he is supposed to be the bottom line, and coming out of the business world I've learned that you don't blame your employees for the mess because it is on you to make sure that doesn't happen.

That being said it looks like Walters showed up to earn his pay cheque this year, now it's time for the coaches to make sure the work pays off.

100 percent...it's pro sports and if you dont like getting feelings hurt or criticized, or you dont have the onions to make the decisions that might do that to someone you need to step away...I still think it's a issue of Osh and Walters being too good of chums.

And yes this yr Walter's did his part... jury out on Osh somewhat for the moment.....I am somewhat positive so far tho with the fact he brought Fletcher on to roster to accommodate loss of Dixon for a bit instead of promoting Korn is a very good...and smart thing to see....

1 hour ago, Booch said:

100 percent...it's pro sports and if you dont like getting feelings hurt or criticized, or you dont have the onions to make the decisions that might do that to someone you need to step away...I still think it's a issue of Osh and Walters being too good of chums.

And yes this yr Walter's did his part... jury out on Osh somewhat for the moment.....I am somewhat positive so far tho with the fact he brought Fletcher on to roster to accommodate loss of Dixon for a bit instead of promoting Korn is a very good...and smart thing to see....

I think we are likely going with Texada over Kelly as well. Be interesting now that Smith is healthy if it translates into him and Shay taking on the Woodby role. I like the use of LBers thus far, although maybe a little too much rotation, but guys are seeing the field. With the heavy rotations we saw in game 1, it seems to me that Younger is looking for someone to step up and grab the job at a few positions. I like that. Ride the hot hand if one emerges.

Edited 1 hour ago1 hr by GCn20

5 minutes ago, GCn20 said:

I think we are likely going with Texada over Kelly as well. Be interesting now that Smith is healthy if it translates into him and Shay taking on the Woodby role. I like the use of LBers thus far, although maybe a little too much rotation, but guys are seeing the field. With the heavy rotations we saw in game 1, it seems to me that Younger is looking for someone to step up and grab the job at a few positions. I like that. Ride the hot hand if one emerges.

Yeah I would suspect Smith should see a lot of the field now, and Shay as well getting some work. I think Kelly was taking Smiths reps in the first game as Smith was pulled in the 1st quarter...well I hope...even better yet it better been the reason

And I agree we tend to over rotate guys outside of the dline and I think it some ways it actually hurst the flow...let the guys who are on point that game stay on point and really get into a cohesive crew.....and then sprinkle in some diff looks personel wise...for most part a lot of what we do is the same look...just different guys in the role and in all honesty it isnt fooling anyone...if anything the teams seem to attack where we stuck a weaker player

But on the positive its given depth/rotation guys valuable game resp when the game still matters....so if we do get in an injury pinch we know who can play, and wont feel the need to rush in less than 100 percent guys cause we actually have experienced depth that we know can play...

4 minutes ago, Booch said:

Yeah I would suspect Smith should see a lot of the field now, and Shay as well getting some work. I think Kelly was taking Smiths reps in the first game as Smith was pulled in the 1st quarter...well I hope...even better yet it better been the reason

And I agree we tend to over rotate guys outside of the dline and I think it some ways it actually hurst the flow...let the guys who are on point that game stay on point and really get into a cohesive crew.....and then sprinkle in some diff looks personel wise...for most part a lot of what we do is the same look...just different guys in the role and in all honesty it isnt fooling anyone...if anything the teams seem to attack where we stuck a weaker player

But on the positive its given depth/rotation guys valuable game resp when the game still matters....so if we do get in an injury pinch we know who can play, and wont feel the need to rush in less than 100 percent guys cause we actually have experienced depth that we know can play...

I stand by my theory that Younger is rotating guys outside the DL, particularly in the Lber crew, because the talent level among them is that darn close and since it is, why not give our aging backers both a rest and some competition nipping on their heels. If one of the young guys grabs a job by the onions that would be a bonus and something I'm sure that Younger is hoping for. Let's face it, if T Jones and KW are our plan beyond this year then we have some serious problems. Therefore, I think this year Younger is transitioning. Let the vets soak up reps while they are still useful, but if a young guy pushes one of them out, that would be the goal.

5 minutes ago, GCn20 said:

I stand by my theory that Younger is rotating guys outside the DL, particularly in the Lber crew, because the talent level among them is that darn close and since it is, why not give our aging backers both a rest and some competition nipping on their heels. If one of the young guys grabs a job by the onions that would be a bonus and something I'm sure that Younger is hoping for. Let's face it, if T Jones and KW are our plan beyond this year then we have some serious problems. Therefore, I think this year Younger is transitioning. Let the vets soak up reps while they are still useful, but if a young guy pushes one of them out, that would be the goal.

yup...auditioning on the fly so to speak and by mid/last 3rd of season see who the go to main 3 will be, and have some serious solid depth who have played all yr...been clamouring for that for 2+ yrs....its a need to do thing

curious to see how they use Fletcher...I assume same way as Dixon as both built to be outside and inside guys...If he shows real good...which I expect he will...Having both him and DIxon on roster would be huge, and WJ and Cersena will eat all yr...and Jenkins can be allowed to just focus on getting better and fine tune his attack the QB technique

Thats why I also hope Elsbury is auditioning too right now and gainig reps and when Eli is ready and 100 percent he gets a few games and then we go with the best...cause that Import spot easily allows us to dress all of WJ..Ceresna..Jenkins..Dixon and Fletcher to go with lawson and Gatkouth...That would make us a way better team than removing one the DL guys for an imoort center who is ok...but not amazing

That group of dlineman being able to be fresh all game and offer varied looks will terrorize opposing offences

21 hours ago, rebusrankin said:

Why even start Kelly in practice? The guy gets lit up more than Prime Keith Richards.

And unlike Richards, he can't buy new blood

57 minutes ago, Booch said:

yup...auditioning on the fly so to speak and by mid/last 3rd of season see who the go to main 3 will be, and have some serious solid depth who have played all yr...been clamouring for that for 2+ yrs....its a need to do thing

curious to see how they use Fletcher...I assume same way as Dixon as both built to be outside and inside guys...If he shows real good...which I expect he will...Having both him and DIxon on roster would be huge, and WJ and Cersena will eat all yr...and Jenkins can be allowed to just focus on getting better and fine tune his attack the QB technique

Thats why I also hope Elsbury is auditioning too right now and gainig reps and when Eli is ready and 100 percent he gets a few games and then we go with the best...cause that Import spot easily allows us to dress all of WJ..Ceresna..Jenkins..Dixon and Fletcher to go with lawson and Gatkouth...That would make us a way better team than removing one the DL guys for an imoort center who is ok...but not amazing

That group of dlineman being able to be fresh all game and offer varied looks will terrorize opposing offences

Our DL is easily the most improved unit in all of the CFL I would say....if we can get that kind of rotation going....scary.

2 minutes ago, GCn20 said:

Our DL is easily the most improved unit in all of the CFL I would say....if we can get that kind of rotation going....scary.

could rival CGY when all guys healthy as one the best...looking forward to that again

21 hours ago, rebusrankin said:

Why even start Kelly in practice? The guy gets lit up more than Prime Keith Richards.

Same thing we did in camp with several guys in TC just before we axed them maybe. Could be they just wanted to give Kelly a look with all the talent around him to see if there is anything there left to salvage. Just a theory.