In a team by team analysis, Duane Ford grades the Bombers' Canadian content as a C+.  The only team with a worse grade is Ottawa.  

 

 http://www.tsn.ca/winnipeg-blue-bombers-season-preview-1.297990?dgjdfsetsdhgdfjdfg

 

Since becoming the Blue Bombers general manager during the 2013 season, Kyle Walters has made it a priority to upgrade the Canadian talent base of a team that hadn’t drafted well for the better part of a generation.

Acting aggressively in free agency over the last two off-seasons, Winnipeg has added potential starters in cornerback Matt Bucknor, linebacker Sam Hurl, receiver Julian Feoli-Gudino, and centre Dominic Picard; along with solid depth/special teams players Graig Newman and Ivan Brown.

Meanwhile, the last two drafts have yielded highly regarded O-Line prospects Matthias Goossen and Sukh Chungh, who should push veterans Picard, Chris Greaves, and Pat Neufeld for playing time as the season progresses; as well as receiver Addison Richards.

Using a “by any means necessary” approach, Walters has also added kicker Lirim Hajrullahu (undrafted free agent), former NFL defensive end Jamaal Westerman (free agent after gaining National status), and linebacker Garrett Waggoner (supplemental draft). The Bombers hope that one or both of the latter two defenders can emerge as the kind of ratio breaker the team has lacked since Henoc Muamba’s departure prior to last season.

 

Maybe he feels the additions of Waggoner and Westerman don't do much to improve the Canadian content of the team as they have yet to prove themselves in the CFL?  No proven ratio breakers on the Bombers so that probably  accounts for the low score.

 

Agree or disagree with his grade?  Why or why not?

 

Grades for the other teams:

 

RedBlacks  C

Argos  B

Als  A

Ticats  A

Lions  B-

Riders  B+

Eskimos  B

Stamps  A+

 

I just hope next year that Walters can find us a legit NI tackle, either through the draft or free agency.  Starting four NI on the O-line would be gold, Jerry, gold!

LOL  Settle down Bania.

 

 

I'll just go have an Ovaltine...

 

 

 

Three more sleeps and real bullets will fly. Glenn will finish the game. Ever wonder how Irvin would look wearing Blue and Gold? Pretty hard to take Pederson seriously when he's photographed in green

hard to take Pedersen seriously no matter what he is wearing, because all he ever spouts is Green Kool-aid.

Pederson is employed by the Riders.

 

 

I thought he was like Bob Irving.  What does he do for the Riders?

 

I coulda sworn he was the Sports Director for CKRM/The Wolf.........no? 

Three more sleeps and real bullets will fly. Glenn will finish the game. Ever wonder how Irvin would look wearing Blue and Gold? Pretty hard to take Pederson seriously when he's photographed in green

hard to take Pedersen seriously no matter what he is wearing, because all he ever spouts is Green Kool-aid.

Pederson is employed by the Riders.

I thought he was like Bob Irving. What does he do for the Riders?

Not sure, he may have dual roles, but he confirmed with me a while ago that he's on the Riders payroll.

I didn't say we were better than the Riders, I said the grade was too high. Labbate, yes, elite. Getzlaff, case could be made, Best is good but injury prone, Bagg is injury prone, Emry seems to be declining and has injury concerns (concussions), Messam depends, Watman/Clark unproven.

The Riders ranking is a joke.  A lot of things will have to go right for them to not end up in ratio hell this year.  The probability that a number of their top NI's will be hurt or have their play continue to decline is very high and they have no one behind them.

Trying to rate the home-grown talent at this point is about as accurate as using goat entrails. A fair number of them have moved to other teams and some of them were barely serviceable last season, so I would wait until the end of July (at least) before the picture becomes clear enough to see.

DF generally knows his canucks. And i respect his opinion. I kind of think hes not wanting to sell high on a team that missed the play offs the last few years. 

 At worst i think we have very high up side NI talent, and a couple oldies. But that said i think our NI talent over all is much better then that.

The Riders ranking is a joke.  A lot of things will have to go right for them to not end up in ratio hell this year.  The probability that a number of their top NI's will be hurt or have their play continue to decline is very high and they have no one behind them.

 

They've got just as much depth as most other teams.  If you're comparing them to the Alouettes, Ticats or Stampeders, yeah they're worse and they got a worse ranking.  But if you compare them to the teams below them, including BC and Winnipeg, I think it's a fair ranking.

 

Unless you think the Bombers have fantastic depth all of a sudden  But I'm not quite ready to believe that....

 

The Riders ranking is a joke.  A lot of things will have to go right for them to not end up in ratio hell this year.  The probability that a number of their top NI's will be hurt or have their play continue to decline is very high and they have no one behind them.

 

They've got just as much depth as most other teams.  If you're comparing them to the Alouettes, Ticats or Stampeders, yeah they're worse and they got a worse ranking.  But if you compare them to the teams below them, including BC and Winnipeg, I think it's a fair ranking.

 

Unless you think the Bombers have fantastic depth all of a sudden  But I'm not quite ready to believe that....

 

 

I think the Bombers absolutely have more depth in terms of guys that are actual CFL level players.  Inexperience is a factor.  Beyond their starters the Riders don't have much, and many of their starters have lost entire seasons or nearly entire seasons to injuries already in their careers.  If they have two season-ending or miss more than half a season type injuries among those guys they are in major trouble, like get Paris Jackson on line 1 trouble.  I believe the Bombers could more easily absorb NI injuries.

 

Montreal is also way overrated because of the NI tackles.  Beyond that, they are very thin and their interior OL isn't that good.

 

 

The Riders ranking is a joke.  A lot of things will have to go right for them to not end up in ratio hell this year.  The probability that a number of their top NI's will be hurt or have their play continue to decline is very high and they have no one behind them.

 

They've got just as much depth as most other teams.  If you're comparing them to the Alouettes, Ticats or Stampeders, yeah they're worse and they got a worse ranking.  But if you compare them to the teams below them, including BC and Winnipeg, I think it's a fair ranking.

 

Unless you think the Bombers have fantastic depth all of a sudden  But I'm not quite ready to believe that....

 

 

I think the Bombers absolutely have more depth in terms of guys that are actual CFL level players.  Inexperience is a factor.  Beyond their starters the Riders don't have much, and many of their starters have lost entire seasons or nearly entire seasons to injuries already in their careers.

 

 

Come on!  We're looking at starting Hurl, JFG, and Bucknor, now which one of those guys would start on any other team?  And our depth is totally raw.  Goossen, Briggs, Waggonner, D. Jones, Sherman, Bastien.  These guys are "actual CFL level players" and the Riders don't have that?  The Riders have their own group of players like that.  Watman, Demski, Haidara, MacDougall, Vonk, Steinhauer.  Equal depth and better starters means a higher grade.  Everyone who thinks the Riders are going to take a dive this season are going to be pretty disappointed.

 

 

 

The Riders ranking is a joke.  A lot of things will have to go right for them to not end up in ratio hell this year.  The probability that a number of their top NI's will be hurt or have their play continue to decline is very high and they have no one behind them.

 

They've got just as much depth as most other teams.  If you're comparing them to the Alouettes, Ticats or Stampeders, yeah they're worse and they got a worse ranking.  But if you compare them to the teams below them, including BC and Winnipeg, I think it's a fair ranking.

 

Unless you think the Bombers have fantastic depth all of a sudden  But I'm not quite ready to believe that....

 

 

I think the Bombers absolutely have more depth in terms of guys that are actual CFL level players.  Inexperience is a factor.  Beyond their starters the Riders don't have much, and many of their starters have lost entire seasons or nearly entire seasons to injuries already in their careers.

 

 

Come on!  We're looking at starting Hurl, JFG, and Bucknor, now which one of those guys would start on any other team?  And our depth is totally raw.  Goossen, Briggs, Waggonner, D. Jones, Sherman, Bastien.  These guys are "actual CFL level players" and the Riders don't have that?  The Riders have their own group of players like that.  Watman, Demski, Haidara, MacDougall, Vonk, Steinhauer.  Equal depth and better starters means a higher grade.  Everyone who thinks the Riders are going to take a dive this season are going to be pretty disappointed.

 

 

Other than Demski (who is likely a starter in rotation with Messam), I see a lot of guys who are likely to have a negative impact if they have to play a lot.  Watman might end up being their centre, but the rest are pretty much at their limit as special teamers and Vonk is still a project.  

 

We have enough guys on D now that we don't have to rely on a guy like Bucknor to play every snap if he doesn't live up to it, we just need a group of guys to play their role.  If injuries happen, that changes, but we're rolling with guys who have stepped on the field before and not just to chase kicks.  The Riders are constructed very similarly to a lot of Taman teams we saw.  High-end veterans, no depth.  He's eroded that in the last few years and tied up a lot of cash in guys like Getzlaf, Emry, Bagg, Best who are near the end of the line.

We've got lots of young potential, but that's not what matters, it's the starters that matter, not the depth.  We don't have any tier 1 NI starters who'd be guaranteed starters on every CFL team like Cornish.  We've got a few tier 2 guys in Picard, Greaves(?) and Kohlert(?) who'd be starters on most teams.  After that we're pretty thin for starting quality NI's.  Maybe some of our new guys will become good starters, but they aren't there yet.

We've got lots of young potential, but that's not what matters, it's the starters that matter, not the depth.  We don't have any tier 1 NI starters who'd be guaranteed starters on every CFL team like Cornish.  We've got a few tier 2 guys in Picard, Greaves(?) and Kohlert(?) who'd be starters on most teams.  After that we're pretty thin for starting quality NI's.  Maybe some of our new guys will become good starters, but they aren't there yet.

 

Not many champions lately following that model.  Look at Calgary's NI's other than Cornish.  There are teams that heavily invest in a handful of NI's and their destiny rests on the razor-thin margin of the health of those players.  Popp's always been like that, and his teams are hit or miss with or without an all-time QB.  Taman does that too.  Maybe the guys relying on starters with three torn acl's, a 32 year old receiver with a bum knee, a linebacker with a half dozen concussions, OL who's last two seasons have ended around Labour Day will pull it off this year, but the odds certainly aren't in their favour, particularly when they are relying on a lot of imports in the same boat.

Interesting arguments here. This is an apple and oranges argument. Those that say other teams Canadians are old and washed up vs those that are advocating the virtues of the unproven rookies. Time will tell all.

 

 

 

The Riders ranking is a joke.  A lot of things will have to go right for them to not end up in ratio hell this year.  The probability that a number of their top NI's will be hurt or have their play continue to decline is very high and they have no one behind them.

 

They've got just as much depth as most other teams.  If you're comparing them to the Alouettes, Ticats or Stampeders, yeah they're worse and they got a worse ranking.  But if you compare them to the teams below them, including BC and Winnipeg, I think it's a fair ranking.

 

Unless you think the Bombers have fantastic depth all of a sudden  But I'm not quite ready to believe that....

 

 

I think the Bombers absolutely have more depth in terms of guys that are actual CFL level players.  Inexperience is a factor.  Beyond their starters the Riders don't have much, and many of their starters have lost entire seasons or nearly entire seasons to injuries already in their careers.

 

 

Come on!  We're looking at starting Hurl, JFG, and Bucknor, now which one of those guys would start on any other team?  And our depth is totally raw.  Goossen, Briggs, Waggonner, D. Jones, Sherman, Bastien.  These guys are "actual CFL level players" and the Riders don't have that?  The Riders have their own group of players like that.  Watman, Demski, Haidara, MacDougall, Vonk, Steinhauer.  Equal depth and better starters means a higher grade.  Everyone who thinks the Riders are going to take a dive this season are going to be pretty disappointed.

 

Ummmm....weren't Haidara and Vonk cut by the Riders?

Yes but they're on the PR so effectively they will be the first ones off the bench in case of injuries.

I'm confident that by mid of the season these ranks are going to change.. Too many IFs in play to judge who has better what at this point..

What if wagonner plays out of his mind good, Hurl dominates at the MLB spot and our secondary guys excel? What if JFG AND kohlert have exceptional seasons? What if goose and chungh wang tear it up and plow the way for willy and our run game?

just too many variables to say who's best. Unless you wanna just do it by on paper. Which is crap IMO lol

I predict Hurl will have a better season than Emry.

I'm confident that by mid of the season these ranks are going to change.. Too many IFs in play to judge who has better what at this point..

What if wagonner plays out of his mind good, Hurl dominates at the MLB spot and our secondary guys excel? What if JFG AND kohlert have exceptional seasons? What if goose and chungh wang tear it up and plow the way for willy and our run game?

just too many variables to say who's best. Unless you wanna just do it by on paper. Which is crap IMO lol

 

I try to be as optimistic as the next guy but 7 "what ifs" are about 5 - 6 too many.

I'm not sure who has better NI talent at the moment, but if there's one thing that's true its that the Bombers NI talent has been improving every single year with Kyle Walters and the Riders has been declining with Taman.

Too early to assess ...

 

I don't think so, remember Forde is comparing our roster to other rosters. Westerman has been crap so far (from what I've read haven't seen him) and Waggoner is just a rookie, he has potential, but so did Poblah. I guess I take that back, it is 'too early to assess' and that mean until the Bombers can prove otherwise they are rated like they should be. Lets see what happens through the summer and whether or not they deserve a higher ranking.

I'm confident that by mid of the season these ranks are going to change.. Too many IFs in play to judge who has better what at this point..

What if wagonner plays out of his mind good, Hurl dominates at the MLB spot and our secondary guys excel? What if JFG AND kohlert have exceptional seasons? What if goose and chungh wang tear it up and plow the way for willy and our run game?

just too many variables to say who's best. Unless you wanna just do it by on paper. Which is crap IMO lol

 

I try to be as optimistic as the next guy but 7 "what ifs" are about 5 - 6 too many.

I was just adlibbing.. Too lazy to do what ifs on other squads. I'm sure there is 4-6 similar scenarios with each squad that could change up this list.

Too early to assess ...

 

I don't think so, remember Forde is comparing our roster to other rosters. Westerman has been crap so far (from what I've read haven't seen him) and Waggoner is just a rookie, he has potential, but so did Poblah. I guess I take that back, it is 'too early to assess' and that mean until the Bombers can prove otherwise they are rated like they should be. Lets see what happens through the summer and whether or not they deserve a higher ranking.

It's pretty amazing you can say a former NFL player as "crap" while admitting you've never seen him on the field yet. Let alone in an actual game. From what I've seen, he didn't look out of place... Maybe a bit rusty but that's what preseason is for.

Everyone thought Edmonton would be crap before last season started too. Look how that turned out. You never know what you got in the CFL till the bullets start flying.

 

 

 

B+ seems high for a Riders team that lost Heenan, Picard and Foley.

They still have Labatte, Best, Emry, Getzlaf, Bagg, Messam... Pretty good core of Canadians.

Messam and Emry are marginal or worse.

And yet still better than what we have. AKA a non existent Canadian running back and Sam Hurl until proven otherwise. Gotta love the people saying Getzlaf and Bagg are on the wrong side of 30 then pointing at Picard as a reason why our Canadians are improving. Can't have it both ways. The TSN grades are fair. We have lots of potentially great Canadians but until they prove it on the field you can't expect anyone to give the Bombers anything more than a barely passable grade.

 

 

yes, you can, actually... skill position players generally tend to decline after 30... while guys in the trenches, especially O-linemen, tend to still be effective into their 30s... some hogs don't peak until their early 30s...