Bombers mini camp started today in Florida ... we'll keep a central thread for all reports and tweets, etc from those who have been following it.

 

Darrin Bauming has been an awesome source of news this morning. Pretty sure Penton and Wiecek are there too.

 

-- Apparently there are 7 new bodies from yesterday's free agent camp that we have yet to see "officially" signed by the club who showed up in Florida. Few more unannounced names than that overall, though.

 

-- Florida State REC Willie Haulstead, Florida State OL Daniel Glauser, Central Michigan RB Paris Cotton, Emporia State DB Jeff Richards are among the names that the club has yet to announce but are there. In the case of Haulstead, Glauser and Cotton, it's possible they have no contracts yet while Richards' agent has confirmed he signed a deal with the club. (chose Winnipeg over Calgary + another CFL club, in fact)

 

-- Couple more guys in the backfield who I can't name yet (as per request) but one of them spent time with Hamilton last year and the other is a fullback from LSU with 3 years of NFL time bouncing around practice rosters.

The starter was named well before Marve was signed.  

 

Willy is going to start, and get the lions share of the work.  You don't make a guy your marquee FA signing to sit him.

Since you have not followed the team for long and how the offseason/ end of last season progressed, it might be easy to say not to name the starter this far out. So knowing what went on its not hard to question that Willy will be  the starter. Firstly was rolled into town as a prized acquisition. The plan from the start of the offseason was to bring in one of three guys (Willy, Zach Coloras or Henry Burris). Willy was the one that they got. From the moment they traded for him it was pretty much in stone he was the starter. Willy has also seen the field and had preformed well in his time in Saskatchewan. Also come highly regarded from his past college coach Danny Barrett who was a very good CFL quarterback. Also the assistant GM who is a hall of fame quarterback in league really likes the kid. Plus we have spent the last 3 years with quarterbacks starting with very limited CFL experience, four to be exact, with disastrous results. Hopefully that gives you little background why he was anointed the starter.

Easy, Goalie, easy. I'm pretty sure only 1 guy here actually wants Marve to start, and it's the guy who watched him play ball since he was a teen; I'd be a believer too in that case. Willy is the starter, no question.

 

Yes. i was informed of this news. Makes sense now why he might suggest that.

2 days of mini camp or so where none of us where, based on reports from guys like penton and irving and some think marve should be starting?

 

Things never change around these parts, not sure why we would want to throw a rookie under the bus already, and marve is a rookie, Willy isnt.

 

If people want marve to actually be a good one, you dont throw him under center week 1 because by week 3 he will be gone.

 

Honestly, im not sure whats more insane, wanting to start marve based on 2 days of mini camp or wanting to start hutchinson based on 3 games played with the JETS.

 

Right now, marve is the #4 qb on the depth chart, he's the developmental (4 man/PR) qb. You dont throw him in there week 1. You give him time to learn the game. Oh and btw, just cuz he had 2 solid days at a mini camp, doesnt mean anything. He's still #4 and the developmental qb.

I'm not saying start him. I'm just saying, give him, and the other's for that matter, a shot to play for the position. You might be right in that the CFL is new to him so perhaps a baseball cap and clipboard are in order for the initial phase. We'll see. 

Since you have not followed the team for long and how the offseason/ end of last season progressed, it might be easy to say not to name the starter this far out. So knowing what went on its not hard to question that Willy will be  the starter. Firstly was rolled into town as a prized acquisition. The plan from the start of the offseason was to bring in one of three guys (Willy, Zach Coloras or Henry Burris). Willy was the one that they got. From the moment they traded for him it was pretty much in stone he was the starter. Willy has also seen the field and had preformed well in his time in Saskatchewan. Also come highly regarded from his past college coach Danny Barrett who was a very good CFL quarterback. Also the assistant GM who is a hall of fame quarterback in league really likes the kid. Plus we have spent the last 3 years with quarterbacks starting with very limited CFL experience, four to be exact, with disastrous results. Hopefully that gives you little background why he was anointed the starter.

Ok, sounds good. Let's go Willy then...but what if Willy's not the best?

The thing about it its not the NFL. You need time to get acquainted with the CFL game usually two to three years. Have seen two many talent guys come up here and not be able to account for the 12th guy on the field and destroy there confidence with two or three starts.

12th man? Well damm....there you have it. Perhaps some orientation and observation is indeed in order.......I'm going to Google some differences between the CFL and NFL........."did he say 12th guy"?...what the heck

 

 

 

 

There's something to be said for instilling confidence in a guy by letting him know what his job will be in June, so he can just go ahead and prepare for that. Also something to be said for not having any swirling controversy going into the season. Everyone knows where they stand...now go do your job.

It was annoying as hell having Burke flip flop every week on who the starter will be.

It only makes sense that we have a clear direction. Willy will be fine and I'm sure it can't be any worse then Goltz and his 110 yards per game...

 

But shouldn't the 'best' guy start? I'm just asking, what IF you've got somebody that is just better? 

 

 

After we go through camp and Exhibition, I'm sure the "best" guy will start week one, whomever that will be. O'Shea will not put the team in a poor position simply because they anointed Willy the starter in February.

 

Yes he will.  They're not paying Willy around 250K to sit on the bench.

 

 

The money is irrelevant. Aside from the signing bonus the contract isn't guaranteed. If Willy at some point became the back-up, we would have a cheaper player as the starter. They would both still fit into the team's internal budget as well as under the cap.

 

I highly doubt anyone but Willy would start game one if Willy is healthy, but to say there's no way it would happen is ludicrous. O'Shea and Walters will do whatever makes the team more competitive.

Gotta see if marve actually looks good when guys are actually coming at him. One thing to say he looked good at a mini camp, its a whole other animal tho when the pads are on.

Gotta see if marve actually looks good when guys are actually coming at him. One thing to say he looked good at a mini camp, its a whole other animal tho when the pads are on.

True. I've seen him in pads with guys coming at him. He likes it. He's very mobile and quick. Looking forward to the season. 

 

Since you have not followed the team for long and how the offseason/ end of last season progressed, it might be easy to say not to name the starter this far out. So knowing what went on its not hard to question that Willy will be  the starter. Firstly was rolled into town as a prized acquisition. The plan from the start of the offseason was to bring in one of three guys (Willy, Zach Coloras or Henry Burris). Willy was the one that they got. From the moment they traded for him it was pretty much in stone he was the starter. Willy has also seen the field and had preformed well in his time in Saskatchewan. Also come highly regarded from his past college coach Danny Barrett who was a very good CFL quarterback. Also the assistant GM who is a hall of fame quarterback in league really likes the kid. Plus we have spent the last 3 years with quarterbacks starting with very limited CFL experience, four to be exact, with disastrous results. Hopefully that gives you little background why he was anointed the starter.

Ok, sounds good. Let's go Willy then...but what if Willy's not the best?

 

 

Continue to evaluate your other talent in practices throughout the season but as long as Willy is performing well on game day for at least the first half of the season I don't expect anyone to displace him from being the starter.

 

If someone is doing extremely well as a back-up they may get to show their stuff in garbage time at the end of some games.

 

If Willy shits the bed hard I still expect him to be our starter until at least the second half of the season, unless it's 110 yards per game bad (which is not expected to be the case)

 

The thing about it its not the NFL. You need time to get acquainted with the CFL game usually two to three years. Have seen two many talent guys come up here and not be able to account for the 12th guy on the field and destroy there confidence with two or three starts.

12th man? Well damm....there you have it. Perhaps some orientation and observation is indeed in order.......I'm going to Google some differences between the CFL and NFL........."did he say 12th guy"?...what the heck

 

 

The CFL and NFL are pretty different. 12 men on each side being one.  Another big difference being the the field size.  The CFL fields are 110 yards rather than 100, and they are also about 12 yards wider as well.  Not to mention the end-zones, which are 20 yards deep.  It takes some getting used to.  Once you look it up, you'll see the leagues contrast in many ways.  

 

 

The thing about it its not the NFL. You need time to get acquainted with the CFL game usually two to three years. Have seen two many talent guys come up here and not be able to account for the 12th guy on the field and destroy there confidence with two or three starts.

12th man? Well damm....there you have it. Perhaps some orientation and observation is indeed in order.......I'm going to Google some differences between the CFL and NFL........."did he say 12th guy"?...what the heck

 

 

The CFL and NFL are pretty different. 12 men on each side being one.  Another big difference being the the field size.  The CFL fields are 110 yards rather than 100, and they are also about 12 yards wider as well.  Not to mention the end-zones, which are 20 yards deep.  It takes some getting used to.  Once you look it up, you'll see the leagues contrast in many ways.  

 

Uprights in the front of the endzone not the back and a we have bigger BALLS

The good news is that Marve is playing well.  Accuracy is one of the top indicators of a good QB IMHO.    The bad news is that Willy wasn't the best QB at mini camp because he will be our starter.  Willy has a whole TC to work things out and I expect him to be the starter at least for the first half of the season.  If Marve is pushing Willy and showing more in practice and we aren't winning, then I don't see any reason he wouldn't get a chance to show it in a real game, but that's a lot of AND's and a long time from now.

There's something to be said for instilling confidence in a guy by letting him know what his job will be in June, so he can just go ahead and prepare for that. Also something to be said for not having any swirling controversy going into the season. Everyone knows where they stand...now go do your job.

It was annoying as hell having Burke flip flop every week on who the starter will be.

It only makes sense that we have a clear direction. Willy will be fine and I'm sure it can't be any worse then Goltz and his 110 yards per game...

But shouldn't the 'best' guy start? I'm just asking, what IF you've got somebody that is just better?

From years and years of watching new Qbs lighting it up during training camp and then falling flat on there face during regular season action for the QB starting position you have to look at there body of work in the CFL.

Willy has looked very good and has years of experience with the nuances of the cfl and learning the game. Very rarely does someone walk in and then is able to start.

Marve has zero chance to start at the beginning of the year. He may win the 3rd position if that

Also when Glenn is traded to the Blue it will really push Hall and Marve to the back burners!

Also when Glenn is traded to the picked up after getting dumped by Ottawa and signed by the Blue it will really push Hall and Marve to the back burners!

Fixed

 

 

 

The thing about it its not the NFL. You need time to get acquainted with the CFL game usually two to three years. Have seen two many talent guys come up here and not be able to account for the 12th guy on the field and destroy there confidence with two or three starts.

12th man? Well damm....there you have it. Perhaps some orientation and observation is indeed in order.......I'm going to Google some differences between the CFL and NFL........."did he say 12th guy"?...what the heck

 

 

The CFL and NFL are pretty different. 12 men on each side being one.  Another big difference being the the field size.  The CFL fields are 110 yards rather than 100, and they are also about 12 yards wider as well.  Not to mention the end-zones, which are 20 yards deep.  It takes some getting used to.  Once you look it up, you'll see the leagues contrast in many ways.  

 

Uprights in the front of the endzone not the back and a we have bigger BALLS

 

The fans may have bigger balls, but the players don't (anymore)  The CFL ball is the same dimensions now as the NFL one.  The older J5V was larger, but that goes back a few years.

 

Some of the major differences:

 

Field 

CFL field is 65 yds wide  (27% wider than the one used in the USA)

CFL field is 150 yds long  (110 goal line to goal line, plus endzones at 20 yds)  this is 25% longer than USA fields

Total CFL field area is  9750 square yards, which is approx 59% larger in total area.

 

 

Also of note on the field is the much wider placement of the hash marks.  The 65 yds of width are divided 24 yds to the near hash, 17 yds between the hash marks, and another 24 yds from the far hash mark to the far sideline.  This make the field strength a much bigger issue.   With the ball on a hash mark, there is 24 yds to the "weak" side (aka. "boundary") and 41 yds to the "strong" side (aka "field".  This is a huge difference that many American coaches and players don't fully appreciate when they first arrive.   It also greatly affects the kicking game, much more room to run on kick and punt returns, plus FG attempts often come at a greater angle from the side.   NFL hash marks are the same width as the goal posts, so the ball is more centred, and FG attempts are straighter.

 

Finally regarding the field, our goal posts are at the goal line, which creates many exciting missed field goal returns.

 

Significant Rule Differences

 

12 players per side.

 

3 downs to get 10 yards

 

On offence 7 must be at the line of scrimmage for the snap, unlimited motion is allowed for the other 5.

 

Defence must line up a minium of 1 yard back from the line of scrimmage.

 

All kicks (punts, kickoffs, missed field goals) that remain in the field of play must be returned.  There is no "fair catch", instead there is a 5 yard halo given to the returner.    The kicker, and any player who is behind the kicker at the time the ball is kicked is "onside" and may recover the ball for his team.   This applies on all kick-offs, punts, fieldgoals, and "quick kicks".

 

Timing rules are quite different as well, as we stop the clock in the last 3 minutes from the whistle until the officials have set the ball.  If the previous play ends with time (1 second) on the clock, one more play is allowed.

 

 

I could go on for some time, but these are the biggest differences.   I can (and have) talk at some length on the differences between the Canadian Amateur rules and the CFL game.  I quite well versed in both.   I'm less clear on the NFL rule nuances, as I have no formal training in the game played south of the border.

So did the NFL make the ball bigger or did the CFL ball get smaller?

So did the NFL make the ball bigger or did the CFL ball get smaller?

It's in Jaxon's first line.  The CFL balls got smaller.

Jaxon: Good idea to leave out the single point. Once we told him that not only do you get a point for missing a field goal, but that single point is in fact called a 'rouge', I suspect he will start to think we are punking him and bail on this board entirely. 

Well, here's the Etcheverry influence.

 

Former Maryland safety and wide receiver Kenny Tate, who we've all been viewing as an option at one of the linebacker spots is listed as a "rover" and is taking mostly defensive line reps. Leon Williams doing the same thing.

Ugh! 

my bad, I should have mentioned the Rouge.  

 

As a note, however, you don't get a point for missing a field goal, you get a point if the other team fails to run a kick back out of the endzone.

 

Several times a season we will see a missed field goal result in a touchdown the other way, and on many other times a missed field goal results in no points being scored.  This, of course, is a complex rule.

Think of it this way...any ball kicked through the other team's endzone is a point.  

Think of it this way...any ball kicked through the other team's endzone is a point.  

 

Not true completely.  The ball has to be touched.

 

Think of it this way...any ball kicked through the other team's endzone is a point.  

 

Not true completely.  The ball has to be touched.

 

Actually, that's only during a kickoff that it needs to be touched.  Any other time it just needs to be kicked through the end zone.

 

"In Canadian football, a single (single point, or rouge), scoring one point, is awarded when the ball is kicked into the end zone by any legal means, other than a successful field goal, and the receiving team does not return, or kick, the ball out of its end zone. It is also a single if the kick travels through the end zone or goes out of bounds in the end zone without being touched, except on a kickoff. After conceding a single, the receiving team is awarded possession of the ball at the 35-yard line of its own end of the field.

Singles are not awarded in the following situations:

• if a ball is downed in the end zone after being intercepted in the end zone
• if a ball is fumbled outside the end zone
• if the kicked ball hits the goalposts (since the 1970s; before then it was a live ball)
• when a kickoff goes into the end zone and then out of bounds without being touched

In all these cases the defending team is awarded possession of the ball at the 25-yard line."