We're only two games into the season, but it looks like a lot of our players are going to be gone in the off season when wholesale changes are made. A very very early topic, but I'm going to try and keep it positive. What starters have impressed you guys? Who do you see sticking around and being solid players for us throughout the rest of the year and into 2017?

Andrew Harris - Runs hard every time he has the ball, and even if he tails off a bit as a running back, he could potentially move to receiver as his career winds down.

Ryan Smith & Weston Dressler - Haven't done much this year, Smith due to lack of opportunities and Dressler for the obvious reasons. I'm sure by the end of 2016 both will show why we went after them though.

Jace Davis - Looks like the best receiver this regime has recruited and hes only 24. I believe he could have a long productive career in the CFL.

Darvin Adams - Wasn't a fan due to his lack of effort and dropsies last year. But he's played harder thus far this season and looks like he could gain a bit more consistency which would make a 1000 yard receiver and a good second tier target.

Goossen & Chung - Young Canadians, not great players yet but young and still developing. Chung in particular I believe can be a very very good CFL player if we're able to keep him around.

Chris Randle -  I absolutely love this guy. He brings it every time he steps on the field.

Johnny Adams - Haven't seen him yet this season but is a very good young corner, he'll be a big help to our D whenever he's able to return.

Mo Leggett - Versatile player, I personally prefer him at safety, but he isn't bad at SAM either. With the proper system and coaching, he can very easily be the best safety in the league.

Ian Wild OR Bass - They don't play well together, neither one of them is a middle linebacker. Wild hasn't even played great at OLB this year. But he always and is a really good player. I believe one of them should be traded and Henoc Muamba(ideally) should take over as our MLB. 

Westerman - Should be the reigning MOC, was an absolute force last season. Like Bass & Wild, he hasn't played particularly well this season but he's a guy I know can turn it around and play at an elite level.

Cummings - Hasn't been spectacular, but hes caused some good pressure and is a nice young building block.

Medlock - Great kicker, not sure we can afford to pay him that kind of $$$ long term but he's the best K in the league. 

I'm not really sure that anyone else on our team has played well enough to be considered part of our ''core''. Kohlert for example, is a guy I've always really liked him but seems to have really slowed down the last two seasons. Of course his spot on the field plays a big part in that, but he's a guy who's taken a bit of a step backwards instead of forwards. 

 

Edited July 2, 20169 yr by Blueandgold

18 minutes ago, Root said:

The one name I missed out for replacing the venerable Mr. Hall is Corie Chamblin the former Grey Cup winning Rider head coach, who's got a defensive pedigree. If memory serves didn't he already do time in Winnipeg?

I think the top dogs like Miller and Walters might not want a guy with a soiled and arrogant reputation coming into town and ruining the current love fest between players and coaches. But the bow has to break somehow!

yeah, I think he spent a year in Stoney for murdering the Riders defense...

I get why people want us to hire Chamblin.  He's a name that people recognize so that means he's got to be good.  Funny thing is, when I talk to people, you know who wants the Bombers to hire Chamblin the most?  Rider fans.  

11 hours ago, iso_55 said:

Supplemental picks are fine for teams like Calgary & Hamilton who want to add to their already talented roster. Not a team like the Bombers who are desperate for Canadian starters on the OL. Not backup linebackers. And Walters gets paid to make these decisions so if he doesn't make the right one well, the criticism on him. Not saying Waggoner is a bad football player but he wasn't worth losing the 2nd selection in the CFL Draft over .We already made a bad supplemental pick when Joe Mack was GM with Kito Poblah. Other than Ted Laurent how many of these picks have been successful?

Walters needs to go. He's been in charge of the national recruiting for 7 years now and the best he's done is Chung and Goosen, major fail.

when they got chungh all the posters were cracking opening the champagne.  In fact after this years' draft there were celebrations of Walter's brilliance. Not saying who is right or wrong.

 

I did read at riderforum that they think Neufeld isn't very good. same as some people here. I watched him play a bit, don't really have an opinion.

Our O line is so huge I can't understand why they don't just run right at some of these defences.  just keep pounding it. They blew Calgary back pretty good on a few running plays to the left side. I mean to say our O line is massive. and they are not big gut guys.

 

Edited July 4, 20169 yr by Mark F
bad speling

I don't think Walters needs to go... these guys he's brought in have all shown promise or have played great before.

It's not like Wild and Bass were scrubs... last season they showed what they can do.   He brings in Bryant and before he came to us he was playing lights out.

It's definitely not the GM or the talent coming in....  Smith , Harris , Dressler... those are fantastic players.

The issue is clearly coaching ....  O'Shea is probably in over his head.    He is not getting execution from all the talent he has.    I'd axe him in a heart beat... cut him out bring in Higgins and keep Hall/LaPo.   

Being a great manager is all that matters when being a HC...  some guys are not cut out for doing that.   

Higgins benches Bowman in Mtl.....smart move and you want to bring him here? Why ? You hoping he benches Willy?

1 hour ago, DR. CFL said:

Higgins benches Bowman in Mtl.....smart move and you want to bring him here? Why ? You hoping he benches Willy?

If memory serves, Bowman dissed Higgins in front of the whole team for wanting to do things differently. Apparently Bowman was under the impression that his opinion was of greater value than the coach's. Popp agreed with Bowman.

2 hours ago, Brandon said:

I don't think Walters needs to go... these guys he's brought in have all shown promise or have played great before.

It's not like Wild and Bass were scrubs... last season they showed what they can do.   He brings in Bryant and before he came to us he was playing lights out.

It's definitely not the GM or the talent coming in....  Smith , Harris , Dressler... those are fantastic players.

The issue is clearly coaching ....  O'Shea is probably in over his head.    He is not getting execution from all the talent he has.    I'd axe him in a heart beat... cut him out bring in Higgins and keep Hall/LaPo.   

Being a great manager is all that matters when being a HC...  some guys are not cut out for doing that.   

Wild is the last Mack remnant on the team, of course he can play. We have been waiting for Walters to recruit a defensive end who can play forever, hasn't done it. The secondary outside of Randle is a joke after rewatching the game. Walters problem is that he can bring in free agents from around the league but he is terrible at finding players on his own. He may have finally found some receivers who can play but it's taken 3 seasons. Where is the home grown depth? The drafting hasn't been so **** hot, the interior of the offensive line which are his best draft picks are hit and miss too. You can not possibly excuse Walters in this. Never mind that if you really believe that the coach is horrible who do you think hired the coach? 

1 hour ago, 17to85 said:

Wild is the last Mack remnant on the team, of course he can play. We have been waiting for Walters to recruit a defensive end who can play forever, hasn't done it. The secondary outside of Randle is a joke after rewatching the game. Walters problem is that he can bring in free agents from around the league but he is terrible at finding players on his own. He may have finally found some receivers who can play but it's taken 3 seasons. Where is the home grown depth? The drafting hasn't been so **** hot, the interior of the offensive line which are his best draft picks are hit and miss too. You can not possibly excuse Walters in this. Never mind that if you really believe that the coach is horrible who do you think hired the coach? 

Walters convinced Miller the bombers needed an upgraded scouting system - so they hired Dan McManus and a couple other guys. The fruit is not coming home to roost on this move as the americans brought in have been mediocre defensive backs, non-dominant offensive linemen (large but not in charge) and promising but not proven running backs. Other than Cummings they haven't been able to rope any quality/dominant defensive linemen. A couple of promising receivers brought in in the shadow of Dressler and Smith but certainly NO SJ Greens, Nik Lewises, Geroy Simons, etc.

What are they paying McManus and the scouts for?

We haven't recruited a better defensive end than Greg Peach in three years. That's beyond pathetic. 

To say nothing of import OL.....

Big Dan Goodspeed was the last really good import OT we had - since then a ton of overweight, jolly and unexceptional hires!

Its a mystery wrapped in an enigma. Hiring someone like Tom Higgins to evaluate the entire on-field operation wouldn't hurt (other than some coach's egos)

1 hour ago, Blueandgold said:

We haven't recruited a better defensive end than Greg Peach in three years. That's beyond pathetic. 

Westerman has been pretty good. 

2 minutes ago, sweep the leg said:

Westerman has been pretty good. 

But also a known quantity and not really an unknown discovery

Keeping is worth keeping. (Veteran OL help in second half of the season, once rehabbed and off the IR).

Two games in they're all worth keeping for now. Give them a chance to turn it around. 

I think the secondary will look much better once the dl gets its crap together. They're having to cover for too long and that's a tough position to put two rookies in.

Willy, Goossen, and Westerman have been the biggest disappointments to date imo. 

 

When Fogg and Posey get replaced the DBS will also be better. Perhaps Bruce Johnson also. 

Randle.  Adams. 2 solid corners when healthy. The guy from Toronto looks good so hopefully he gets a chance soon. Cuz posey and Fogg ain't working 

Front 7 isn't working either.....

Then it's on Hall. The D plays soft. Isn't aggressive. I'm not even sure if we try to blitz that often even. Hall has our guys playing soft. Talent is there on the d line. Westerman Shologan Cummings are 3 very good players. Green is a rookie but has his moments. The problem is obviously with the D coordinator then. 

Edited July 5, 20169 yr by Goalie

I also think if our lbs could of tackled better last game... it makes a difference but wild and bass both struggled big time. Ppl wonder why Knox was kept around and why they brought the kid from Montreal in a few weeks ago. Obviously linebackers aren't as good as we thought 

week ****ing 2.  dont forget the lion like 2 years ago started 0-5 or 0-6 and still finished will a 9-9 record and playoffs.  I get it, we stunk last 2 games,  but seriously we could be 2-0 right now and if we **** the bed next week these same posts would erupt.  some of you people need to take a break off sports for real

It does feel a little early to be going this bat crap crazy. I agree. Need to chill a bit. Personally I've stayed away a bit... not posting as much the last few days on the bomber forum here.  It's just so crazy lol. Really is. Pointless to post anything logical cuz peeps are just to busy going crazy. O and 2. Yup. End of the world. 

Yes it is still early but there still seems to be repeating tendencies occurring that were prevalent the past two seasons. Never mind the overall record of this organization were is the evidence of actual improvement?

8 hours ago, sweep the leg said:

Two games in they're all worth keeping for now. Give them a chance to turn it around. 

I think the secondary will look much better once the dl gets its crap together. They're having to cover for too long and that's a tough position to put two rookies in.

Willy, Goossen, and Westerman have been the biggest disappointments to date imo. 

 

Goosen has been nothing if not weak at guard. Westerman is rounding into form - lots of great players kind of glide the first 3 to 4 games of the season before asserting themselves. I remember guys like Bill Frank, Frank Rigney, Bob Molle who were OK early but near all-stars when the season was well underway.

Willy is more a mystery meat. A classic dropback passer with limited escapability. Troy Westwood thinks he's developed a nervousness he didn't have when he came here from Saskn. Who wouldn't after taking such a vicious beating game in and game out. Whether he can regain his mojo or continues slumping is the question. A smart head coach would make better use of his resources if Willy continues to fail. Continuing to play him past the half-time vs. the Ticats would basically doom O'Shea as head coaching material. It goes without saying that Willy's career is in jeopardy if he continues to wash out.

I'd say the acid test for putting Nichols in Thursday is how many drives over 5 plays the bombers have in the first half. If they get 10 possessions and solid drives over 5 plays (2 or more first downs) in 6 of those possessions that should be enough to keep Willy going into the 3rd quarter - even if the other 4 possessions result in 2 and outs.

10 hours ago, Goalie said:

Then it's on Hall. The D plays soft. Isn't aggressive. I'm not even sure if we try to blitz that often even. Hall has our guys playing soft. Talent is there on the d line. Westerman Shologan Cummings are 3 very good players. Green is a rookie but has his moments. The problem is obviously with the D coordinator then. 

Oh they blitzed against Calgary plenty. Johnson came from the secondary multiple times but never got home.