Preseason is going to be upon us before we know it, and I haven't followed too many transactions of other teams around the league, but as for our own part, more changes have been made and I like to think year 2 of the Mike O'Shea era will see even bigger better things.

 

So with Hall now callin the shots on the other side of the ball, I'm hoping to see a much improved run defense over last year's, and a bigger stronger D-line.

 

Offense, I think barring any injuries, we'll have our run game up and cooking this time and be able to make the work a lot lighter on Willy, even more so because I expect to see a better O-line in front.

 

That being said, O'Shea and the players have to know the expectations are high, and better than 7-11 must be shown out there on that field, playoffs or bust is what it is.  I cut the team some slack for that record because O'Shea had to make some tough decisions last year and after coming out of a huge mess left by the Joe Mack people, a lot had to be done to fix it.  This year though, it's year 2 and everyone, including QB Drew Willy who struggled with play late last year, have to get back in the mojo.

 

Talent-wise, I think this current team has Grey Cup caliber players on it, and finishing in the ballpark of 9-12 wins should be more than feasible.  We also do gotta let the season play out and not make too many knee-jerk reactions when things go wrong, but if things go backward the whole way, then heads may just have to roll again.

Depends on your definition of rare. There are a couple every year who start and even more who have a significant impact on special teams.

Yes I understand it does happen, but not often. Do you have a list of newly drafted rookies who started and made an impact in their first season? I'm pretty sure it's a small list. I'm not talking special teams.

My point is we shouldn't bank on any newly drafted rookies starting this year. If it happens, great. But it's not likeky.

Not sure why you're getting so fired up about this.

Because JBR seems to think its likely, and I'm just trying to set realistic expectations.

I agree with JBR that a guy like Waud could start or at least rotate heavily. Demski or Durant would probably start at receiver. Other than that, hard to say.

I think a few OL could start too when Neufeld goes down.

I agree with JBR that a guy like Waud could start or at least rotate heavily. Demski or Durant would probably start at receiver. Other than that, hard to say.

I think a few OL could start too when Neufeld goes down.

So you don't think Goossen would start over a newly drafted rookie if Neufeld got injured?

And I'm not convinced either of those 3 guys start their first season.

I agree with Booch, I don't think Hurl is a lock to be our MLBer. Of course, the Bomber brass is going to say that he will be given every opportunity to play there, and that they think he is ready. It was probably their recruitment pitch to him as well. However, I doubt very highly he is pencilled in as the starting MLBer prior to camp. He will have to earn it, and if he doesn't, the Bombers will not think twice about playing him elsewhere or making him a backup MLBer.

That being said though, I don't believe that Hurl played badly at MLBer last year. IMO, he was the victim of team politics. It is fairly well know that Chamblin does not really value NI players. He thought Kilgore was a stud MLBer, and when he turned out not to be, he blamed Hall. At the same time the Riders were trying to protect the fragile ego of Darian Durant who was having a disastrous season. Shifting the blame to the defence for narrow victories against Ottawa and other Eastern division cellar dwellers in an effort to do so.

The stats tell the story. During the time that Hurl was in as starting Mike, the Riders had the 3rd ranked defence in the league, 2nd overall in Points Against. This plummeted after Hurl was relieved of his starting position. Hurl's absence was not the only reason for the defensive decline but replacing him sure didn't make them better either. Bottom line, the Rider fans knew they were not watching a high calibre team last year. Instead of putting the blame where it belonged (Durant and recruitment) they decided to blame Hurl and call for a new saviour in Kilgore. Hurl got a bad rap last year. He wasn't perfect but he was a rookie who did not at all look out of place. I look forward to seeing him take a big step forward.

 

 

I agree with Booch, I don't think Hurl is a lock to be our MLBer. Of course, the Bomber brass is going to say that he will be given every opportunity to play there, and that they think he is ready. It was probably their recruitment pitch to him as well. However, I doubt very highly he is pencilled in as the starting MLBer prior to camp. He will have to earn it, and if he doesn't, the Bombers will not think twice about playing him elsewhere or making him a backup MLBer.

That being said though, I don't believe that Hurl played badly at MLBer last year. IMO, he was the victim of team politics. It is fairly well know that Chamblin does not really value NI players. He thought Kilgore was a stud MLBer, and when he turned out not to be, he blamed Hall. At the same time the Riders were trying to protect the fragile ego of Darian Durant who was having a disastrous season. Shifting the blame to the defence for narrow victories against Ottawa and other Eastern division cellar dwellers in an effort to do so.

The stats tell the story. During the time that Hurl was in as starting Mike, the Riders had the 3rd ranked defence in the league, 2nd overall in Points Against. This plummeted after Hurl was relieved of his starting position. Hurl's absence was not the only reason for the defensive decline but replacing him sure didn't make them better either. Bottom line, the Rider fans knew they were not watching a high calibre team last year. Instead of putting the blame where it belonged (Durant and recruitment) they decided to blame Hurl and call for a new saviour in Kilgore. Hurl got a bad rap last year. He wasn't perfect but he was a rookie who did not at all look out of place. I look forward to seeing him take a big step forward.

Nice post. Bombers are paying Hurl like a starter, so I expect him to get every opportunity.

For me the wild card teams are B.C. and Mtl.  I find it hard to believe Wally would be foolish enough to put all of his eggs in the fragile "Lulay basket". With Tedford's NFL connections and Wally's past history of finding good QB prospects, I'm still expecting a surprise announcement any day now....

 

As far as the East goes it's always a crap shoot but I think Hamilton will be on track from the start of the season and will finish well ahead of the other three. Losing Lefevour to Mtl. however could throw a wrench into their gearbox if Collaros goes down.  Masoli at this point is not reliable enough to carry the torch and seems to be easily rattled.  The Argos as far as I can tell have done little this off-season to improve their roster so I'm predicting a third place finish due to the inevitable decline of Ricky Ray's ability to shred defences. ORB's will miss the playoffs so that they can happily fire Desjardin and start all over again.

I agree with JBR that a guy like Waud could start or at least rotate heavily. Demski or Durant would probably start at receiver. Other than that, hard to say.

I think a few OL could start too when Neufeld goes down.

So you don't think Goossen would start over a newly drafted rookie if Neufeld got injured?

And I'm not convinced either of those 3 guys start their first season.

I'm excited to see Goossen's progression this season so I'm not sure, but I believe that there are a few OL in this draft who are game ready and would really push him to earn his place. And I'm not saying they would give up on Goossen or anything like that, just that he is not necessarily a lock to be the 6th OL.

I agree with Booch, I don't think Hurl is a lock to be our MLBer. Of course, the Bomber brass is going to say that he will be given every opportunity to play there, and that they think he is ready. It was probably their recruitment pitch to him as well. However, I doubt very highly he is pencilled in as the starting MLBer prior to camp. He will have to earn it, and if he doesn't, the Bombers will not think twice about playing him elsewhere or making him a backup MLBer.

That being said though, I don't believe that Hurl played badly at MLBer last year. IMO, he was the victim of team politics. It is fairly well know that Chamblin does not really value NI players. He thought Kilgore was a stud MLBer, and when he turned out not to be, he blamed Hall. At the same time the Riders were trying to protect the fragile ego of Darian Durant who was having a disastrous season. Shifting the blame to the defence for narrow victories against Ottawa and other Eastern division cellar dwellers in an effort to do so.

The stats tell the story. During the time that Hurl was in as starting Mike, the Riders had the 3rd ranked defence in the league, 2nd overall in Points Against. This plummeted after Hurl was relieved of his starting position. Hurl's absence was not the only reason for the defensive decline but replacing him sure didn't make them better either. Bottom line, the Rider fans knew they were not watching a high calibre team last year. Instead of putting the blame where it belonged (Durant and recruitment) they decided to blame Hurl and call for a new saviour in Kilgore. Hurl got a bad rap last year. He wasn't perfect but he was a rookie who did not at all look out of place. I look forward to seeing him take a big step forward.

 

Let's also not forget he missed almost all the 2nd half of last year, and Sunseri and Doege are garbage and that D wasn't gonna look so good bein on the field all the time.  Honestly I don't know what to expect of Hurl, I think it's gonna be up to an effective D-line in front of him to get better production out of him.

This has to be Goossen's year to step forward and claim a starter's role, or he will start to be seen as another draft choice who didn't pan out. If he and Neufeld are able to be good starters along with Greaves and Picard, a lot of our problems will go away.

BC is going to surprise. Really feel like they'll be very competitive this year.

Hoping that O'Shea's second year is a lot like Paul Maurice's second year.

14 wins and a ticket to the big dance where we win.

 

Which completes my prognostication of 2015 being the year we win the Stanley Cup and the Grey CUp in the same year. 

I expect that the season will start on schedule. I expect that who starts or does not start will be predicated on training camp, injuries and the ratio. I expect that people may continue to base predictions on unfounded hopes. As my wise friend often reminded me "hope is not a plan".

BC is going to surprise. Really feel like they'll be very competitive this year.

 

Can't count out a Wally run team, but I really think he is in denial about Lulay's long term viability. It reminds me of when Joe Mack kept telling us that this year Buck would stay healthy. Without Glenn to give them serviceable QBing this year, and with Tedford needing to refresh his CFL knowledge, I just don't see BC as a legit contender this year without Lulay....and I just don't see a healthy Lulay in BC's future.

I think USA has it right. We'll be better than BC and Saskatchewan but I don't think we've caught Calgary and Edmonton yet.

I think we can finish ahead of Saskatchewan and B.C. Edmonton is likely ahead of us but may fall back to earth a little. Calgary is still top of the CFL however imo.

 

I agree with JBR that a guy like Waud could start or at least rotate heavily. Demski or Durant would probably start at receiver. Other than that, hard to say.

I think a few OL could start too when Neufeld goes down.

So you don't think Goossen would start over a newly drafted rookie if Neufeld got injured?

And I'm not convinced either of those 3 guys start their first season.

 

 

If the Bombers drafted a guy like Chungh and he joined the team immediately, I find it hard to see Goossen starting over him at any position but centre if it comes down to the two of them.

 

Put it this way, if the Bombers don't get at least one guy and probably more who can contribute this year out of this draft class, the 2015 team is in trouble.

I agree with JBR that a guy like Waud could start or at least rotate heavily. Demski or Durant would probably start at receiver. Other than that, hard to say.

I think a few OL could start too when Neufeld goes down.

So you don't think Goossen would start over a newly drafted rookie if Neufeld got injured?

And I'm not convinced either of those 3 guys start their first season.

If the Bombers drafted a guy like Chungh and he joined the team immediately, I find it hard to see Goossen starting over him at any position but centre if it comes down to the two of them.

Put it this way, if the Bombers don't get at least one guy and probably more who can contribute this year out of this draft class, the 2015 team is in trouble.

Big difference between starting and contributing. And there's a big difference between CIS and the CFL. Goossen has the advantage of experience there, so I'd expect him to start this season over a guy like Chungh.

14 wins and a ticket to the big dance where we win.

 

Which completes my prognostication of 2015 being the year we win the Stanley Cup and the Grey CUp in the same year. 

I don't know.  Can Winnipeg afford two victory parades in one year?