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

12 minutes ago, GCn20 said:

Collaros was not available. Sometimes the choice you make isn't the one you wanted.

What makes you think they wanted Collaros?

3 minutes ago, TBURGESS said:

What makes you think they wanted Collaros?

I think there are a number of QBs they would love to have and that Collaros would be a no brainer upgrade for them if he was available.

Wrong thread

Edited July 8Jul 8 by ShyGuy

59 minutes ago, Booch said:

Not arguing...but what has he preached....stick with what you know and how you broke camp...and dont get better if the chance is there??

Good teams make moves to get better if its there...Thats how/why we won the 19 cup

Plus...It's Walter's job and say in the matter if they see the opportunity to make a deal thats good for the club in the now...and moving forward...Not the HC

Yeah basically lol. Along with guys not losing their job due to injury. Sticking with players based on past results etc etc you know the drill....lol

1 hour ago, wbbfan said:

You're right, they are. The thing is, we have maybe a 2-year window with this core, including this year. We can keep both QBs, but a 30/31 year old Brown isn't a rebuilding QB.

The Question is do you sit on both and hope to turn things around fast when the old guard is gone in a year or two, or do you move one now and try to win a GC this year or next? For me, if you can become a legit GC contender, I pull the trigger.

Extreme QB depth (3 guys) is a tremendous luxury, but not one worth being a bottom-half team for.

The thing about Browns familiarity is its double layered. We are doing a lot of Condell stuff, but we also have brought back various Zach favorites from Buck and Lapo.

After TC, when you should get run out of every play several times, the week-to-week prep is about the current install. A vet like Brown who is dually familiar with what we do and many of our pieces will do a better job of picking that up than a true rookie.

I think the biggest obstacle for Brown will be comfort with the Wrs. This equally applies to TE, and Zach struggled with that as well, honestly. None of the 4 QBs had enough live-fire reps with the first-team WRs.

It's a great position to be in, though. Choosing between brown and TE for an injury replacement. Brown is clearly the pick imo, but either way you have a guy who can, at worst, not lose you the game. We didn't consistently have that from Zach the previous 2 years.

I agree that Brown should be the default pick.

I don't think we actually traded for him for this situation. I think this is the last year for Zach, and Dru was brought in for next year. This is purely gut and speculation on my part, but I think Zach has decided not to play next year and told to club as such.

Collaros was 31 when we traded for him. With the amount of potential roster turnover each year we could absolutely see tremendous success in a short period of time if we have a QB who is ready to step in right away. One key would be not repeating history by experiencing success with Brown while TE's potential grows only to watch him walk away when he's ready to step into a starting role. Keeping both QBs actually gives us the potential to get it right this time.

That being said, of course it depends on what we could get for any of our QBs but I don't expect any offer to be worth it.

30 minutes ago, GCn20 said:

Collaros was not available. Sometimes the choice you make isn't the one you wanted.

yup...No way our crew would trade ZC...But I would...and I bet others in the league would too if they could get a good haul and they had a guy on roster who is a proven starter...and familiarity here...and not like he was a wild untethered beast here...wasn't he like 14 tds to 2 int's...so shows he can play the safe game if need be....kinda like we are prone to do...Play not to lose....not rip a team a new arse

27 minutes ago, GCn20 said:

It would be monumentally stupid to trade Zac this year. The whole reason we went out and got Brown is that TE is not ready for prime time yet. I loved his gutsy performance last week but TE needs seasoning. Holding onto Zac is in our best interests this year. PERIOD. I agree that any decision to trade/sign/release players is 100% the GM's job. MOS's job is to use the talent he is provided to produce wins. That being said, there is no GM in the world that is going to trade his starting QB unless the HC is comfortable with him doing so.

It would be monumentally stupid to trade ZC at any point this season unless TE suddenly shows that his game is ready to compete as a starter because Brown has been very injury prone the past few years.

oh I agree...would put our QB room right back where it was...but...If a team offered us a 1st rounder...and an asset or 2 that could upgrade us immediately right now....you cant not consider/make that deal and roll with Brown and TE/Perkins and hope none get hurt

Brown will give us what ZC will if not more as he gas escapability, and if we were to land 2 upgraded starters....or even depth guys...we are a better team cause i have a hard time seeing this team as it is right now, especially if we do zero tweaks...adjustments etc being a legit contender anyway...so if you can make yourself better...why wouldnt you

I have liked what ive seen from Elgersma. Is he going to shoot the lights out? Probably not. But he seems like he is capable to lead the team if Dru Brown is hurt. Plus we have Perkins who can run an offense as well.

But I agree. Trading Zach at this point will not happen. The only way I see it happening is if we know we aren't making the playoffs and Zach wants a shot at the cup.

35 minutes ago, Booch said:

yup...No way our crew would trade ZC...But I would...and I bet others in the league would too if they could get a good haul and they had a guy on roster who is a proven starter...and familiarity here...and not like he was a wild untethered beast here...wasn't he like 14 tds to 2 int's...so shows he can play the safe game if need be....kinda like we are prone to do...Play not to lose....not rip a team a new arse

oh I agree...would put our QB room right back where it was...but...If a team offered us a 1st rounder...and an asset or 2 that could upgrade us immediately right now....you cant not consider/make that deal and roll with Brown and TE/Perkins and hope none get hurt

Brown will give us what ZC will if not more as he gas escapability, and if we were to land 2 upgraded starters....or even depth guys...we are a better team cause i have a hard time seeing this team as it is right now, especially if we do zero tweaks...adjustments etc being a legit contender anyway...so if you can make yourself better...why wouldnt you

This league is too short on quality QBs. Look at Hamilton's situation right now as a prime example. I'm not against upgrading our team but we are in no position to do so. Brown has trouble being reliable and TE isn't ready yet. If Brown was durable, sure I would consider it....but I would feel very nervous about having Brown as our starter and TE as number 2.

11 minutes ago, BBlink said:

I have liked what ive seen from Elgersma. Is he going to shoot the lights out? Probably not. But he seems like he is capable to lead the team if Dru Brown is hurt. Plus we have Perkins who can run an offense as well.

But I agree. Trading Zach at this point will not happen. The only way I see it happening is if we know we aren't making the playoffs and Zach wants a shot at the cup.

I am not at all confident in TE's ability to start, and no one else should be either. I like what he did last week, but as others have stated we won't win many games with that kind of offensive output over a season. His first start you gotta love it but he is a LONG way from being a starter in this league.

48 minutes ago, StevetheClub said:

Collaros was 31 when we traded for him. With the amount of potential roster turnover each year we could absolutely see tremendous success in a short period of time if we have a QB who is ready to step in right away. One key would be not repeating history by experiencing success with Brown while TE's potential grows only to watch him walk away when he's ready to step into a starting role. Keeping both QBs actually gives us the potential to get it right this time.

That being said, of course it depends on what we could get for any of our QBs but I don't expect any offer to be worth it.

He was, but our core was in its prime. That wasn't a rebuilding; that was everyone peaking at the same time. Which gave us a considerable window of contention. Zach on the early Drew Willy teams is a whole other situation.

How much we could get depends on if any other starters go down, and how realistic Hamilton is with this injury and their expectations. Right now, it doesn't sound outwardly like anyone over there is being realistic. The whole resurgence of BLM was based on him finally being 100% for an extended period of time. I get the feeling he and the tiger cats are going to try a schoen esq rushed recovery.

23 minutes ago, BBlink said:

I have liked what ive seen from Elgersma. Is he going to shoot the lights out? Probably not. But he seems like he is capable to lead the team if Dru Brown is hurt. Plus we have Perkins who can run an offense as well.

But I agree. Trading Zach at this point will not happen. The only way I see it happening is if we know we aren't making the playoffs and Zach wants a shot at the cup.

I think TE has all the potential in the world. A slightly less athletic version of Rourke with very comparable arm talent. So far, I really like his intangibles as well.

Perkins is an interesting one. I wonder if a desperate team would give us a first-rounder, roster asset, or high second for him.

On top of that AR hoard of QBs we have, we also hold the rights to Diago Pavia. We will likely see the sell high point come soon on both Pavias rights and Perkins.

22 minutes ago, GCn20 said:

This league is too short on quality QBs. Look at Hamilton's situation right now as a prime example. I'm not against upgrading our team but we are in no position to do so. Brown has trouble being reliable and TE isn't ready yet. If Brown was durable, sure I would consider it....but I would feel very nervous about having Brown as our starter and TE as number 2.

I am not at all confident in TE's ability to start, and no one else should be either. I like what he did last week, but as others have stated we won't win many games with that kind of offensive output over a season. His first start you gotta love it but he is a LONG way from being a starter in this league.

The QBing has been superb to start the year. The issue is that they are all at various stages of brittleness aside from Rourke. Any football player could have it all end in any hit, but most of the starting QBs in the league could see it all end if they sleep or sneeze the wrong way.

I also don't think this run on passing success is sustainable at all.

1 minute ago, wbbfan said:

The QBing has been superb to start the year. The issue is that they are all at various stages of brittleness aside from Rourke. Any football player could have it all end in any hit, but most of the starting QBs in the league could see it all end if they sleep or sneeze the wrong way.

I also don't think this run on passing success is sustainable at all.

Of course every QB is a hit away from ending their season. Some QBs are way more likely to get hurt than others though and Brown, unfortunately, has shown that he is particularly vulnerable injury wise. Next year we may hand the team to him, and I'm OK with that because at that time TE will have had a full season and offseason of experience and work. I don't think having Brown as a starter with a first year pro as a backup would be very smart at all.

Edited July 8Jul 8 by GCn20

13 minutes ago, wbbfan said:

The QBing has been superb to start the year. The issue is that they are all at various stages of brittleness aside from Rourke. Any football player could have it all end in any hit, but most of the starting QBs in the league could see it all end if they sleep or sneeze the wrong way.

I also don't think this run on passing success is sustainable at all.

TSN has really been pumping VA's tires this year... it's like they forget what is going to happen as soon as the weather turns...

42 minutes ago, GCn20 said:

Of course every QB is a hit away from ending their season. Some QBs are way more likely to get hurt than others though and Brown, unfortunately, has shown that he is particularly vulnerable injury wise. Next year we may hand the team to him, and I'm OK with that because at that time TE will have had a full season and offseason of experience and work. I don't think having Brown as a starter with a first year pro as a backup would be very smart at all.

Brown has been. But he's also been getting hammered in OTT. Hardly a run game, some times not even a RB on the AR, mediocre at best OL, revolving door at OC etc. I'm less worried about him getting hurt then I would be about Alexander.

Brown with a rookie back up is fairly comparable to Zach with a rookie back up imo. Its far from optimal, but as far as rookies go, TE has over achieved thus far.

32 minutes ago, bearpants said:

TSN has really been pumping VA's tires this year... it's like they forget what is going to happen as soon as the weather turns...

No joke. Not only that, VA always has the massive game then the extremely bad ones. The bad ones aren't as frequent as his bc and prior days, but its still a problem.

IF big IF someone is making overtures to Walters regarding Zack I'd say give a good listen...Any deal would have to be a win for us, and involving a 'high grade currently rostered' player....There's nothing compelling us to deal Collaros BUT if it's a deal 'too good' to pass on, we would be foolish not to pursue it....We certainly have a few spots on the club that a high end player could fill and 'could' give us a better chance at a better playoff spot....and who knows from there........

How can you not pump VA up when he throws 5 TDs and runs for one?

8 minutes ago, TBURGESS said:

How can you not pump VA up when he throws 5 TDs and runs for one?

He was deserving of his praise this week for sure.

15 minutes ago, TBURGESS said:

How can you not pump VA up when he throws 5 TDs and runs for one?

VA has always put up games like that, its the frequency of bad ones in the past that sunk him. He has been far more consistent since His last year in BC though.

2 hours ago, wbbfan said:

Brown has been. But he's also been getting hammered in OTT. Hardly a run game, some times not even a RB on the AR, mediocre at best OL, revolving door at OC etc. I'm less worried about him getting hurt then I would be about Alexander.

Brown with a rookie back up is fairly comparable to Zach with a rookie back up imo. Its far from optimal, but as far as rookies go, TE has over achieved thus far.

No joke. Not only that, VA always has the massive game then the extremely bad ones. The bad ones aren't as frequent as his bc and prior days, but its still a problem.

Yeah brown had zero protection via a run game...so teams just went on constant attack...well except us as we had no attack

I woukdnt be too concerned with injury issue here with BO and our varied use of big sets...especially if we figure out the right combo up front. Injuries happen...and most time its from bad luck...or a guy who plays with the linebacker mentality and gets himself involved in more shots than he needs to..aka dunnigan..strev...ham..Joseph

That's not brown's game at all

My take tho our team in its current makeup is not a grey cup contender, or favorite. Will we have turned corner and become one post labour day...possible but we need to change how we use the ratio and also an influx of talent in a couple key areas. But doing that in season if not dictated because of injury is like trying to make Osh drink piss...he won't

So after labour day and entering the last 3rd of season and we wallowing around in 4th, and have a chance to better ourselves not just this yr but into 2027 we need to take that shot...cause if we dont...we just further in decline and behind a 8 ball scuffling around trying to right things in 2027 TC..and we all know how useless our camps have become and that most spots are predetermined anyway

Well at least we poached Ottawa's OC to help us get the league lead in fewest TD's and points scored.

1 minute ago, JuranBoldenRules said:

Well at least we poached Ottawa's OC to help us get the league lead in fewest TD's and points scored.

3 hours ago, GCn20 said:

This league is too short on quality QBs. Look at Hamilton's situation right now as a prime example. I'm not against upgrading our team but we are in no position to do so. Brown has trouble being reliable and TE isn't ready yet. If Brown was durable, sure I would consider it....but I would feel very nervous about having Brown as our starter and TE as number 2.

I am not at all confident in TE's ability to start, and no one else should be either. I like what he did last week, but as others have stated we won't win many games with that kind of offensive output over a season. His first start you gotta love it but he is a LONG way from being a starter in this league.

Brown's injury history of late was due to a very poor offensive line in Ottawa. He was pounded mercilessly and often, and here he ought to get way better protection, time and options. Collaros is a much more brittle physical state.

First two games of th year, the offense looked incredible. Then we were on bye week. Third game it was okay but the OL was in disarray so it was a struggle but still decent. Then Collaros gets hurt early and we're playing a CIS QB in his first ever game.

Let's maybe dial back the Condell Sucks! rhetoric for a moment...

24 minutes ago, JuranBoldenRules said:

Well at least we poached Ottawa's OC to help us get the league lead in fewest TD's and points scored.

hey man I'm just glad we're not bringing in Marcel Bellfool again....

20 minutes ago, Noeller said:

First two games of th year, the offense looked incredible. Then we were on bye week. Third game it was okay but the OL was in disarray so it was a struggle but still decent. Then Collaros gets hurt early and we're playing a CIS QB in his first ever game.

Let's maybe dial back the Condell Sucks! rhetoric for a moment...

We need to correct the o-line woes (Bryant sits?) and get one more quality receiver. I think with just a small amount of changes it would make a large difference. Also we need to run more often... as in all game long.

1 hour ago, Noeller said:

Let's maybe dial back the Condell Sucks! rhetoric for a moment...

Never!