Not expecting much in terms of trick plays or formations other than trying to trick the other team into thinking they might find something that will show up in the regular season.
Good chance to check out the Globals which may give the fans something to cheer about.
Thinking cameo appearances at best for most. Looking forward to seeing more of the receiver battle. Brady O will be pumped as will all the young guys. A big play by any one of them changes everything.
Thanks for the heads up about the video stream Fred C. I’ll give it a go.
Okay with the radio at the least and look forward to hearing the familiar voice of Bob Irving and the outstanding level of play by play and analysis that we take for granted in Winnipeg. That is something that is not everywhere. Wishing Bob good health and a strong year. Call it as you see it, like you always do.
Hoping for good games for Joe Este and Elijah Battle. No idea if Battle is a relation but if it is that would be worth checking out.
Bailey, Lawler, and Matt Hazel are all big guys. Kenny Walker, Tim Wilson, Lucky are 5’9".
Hearing good things about Brian Bennett. Nichols not playing and Streveler not expected to play much could be a good opportunity for BB to get some reps. Can’t imagine giving the 4th string guy too much time. Maybe Streve goes a quarter.
Fingers crossed for the globals. Imagine sombreros with the Bomber logo on it.
Charles Nelson reported on crutches. Whitey sounding like he didn’t use his blocking as he should.
Larry Rose III lets see what you got. Return game looking like a bust at the moment.
Say what you want about a veteran guy and they can get hurt as well but they know the scheme and play the percentages. Starting deep is a tough game to play.
…Doesn’t look good for Nelson…and I thought he showed best on returns…Looks like maybe Lucky caught a lucky break…Whitehead looked promising on a couple of plays but has to refine his return game for sure…Was it Larry Rose who let a punt go over his head and then promptly fumbled it?? Not a good impression to leave us with…
…We have A LOT of great potential at the international receiver spots…Going to be a tough cut down day, but it’s good to know we loaded up at the position this year, and we know we’ll have a good one to go along with Adams and Mathews…Sask. up next to test our guys and unless, Fred, we can come up with another live stream…it’ll be back to Irving and company giving us the picture over the radio waves…AND thanx Fred for the heads up on the live stream for the Esk. game
Lucky probably makes the team on athleticism. No doubt he will be a handful with his speed but he will need time to learn the game. Along with the new recruits on the Oline, he will be better next year with some game reps under his belt.
Receivers thinning the herd on their own as well with their play. Kenny Walker still reported to be catching everything. Somebody gets Thompkins spot so we’ll see there. Petermann turning heads also apparently. Curious what happens to Simonise for year 3.
Starting to think the Bombers didn’t do enough in the off season and are not where they need to be. Too much wishful thinking that the next man up is going to do a better job right off. Agree Gray needs to play to get better and chances are good he will be a long time Bomber but it will be a long shot for him to be all star caliber in year one.
Davis Sanchez is more optimistic about the Bombers. I hope he is right.
He does say that the secondary needs to gel and the OL will need time to get up to speed. Nothing else to worry about though.
Given that the Bombers were 4 - 6 against the west last year I will stand by my 10 - 8 prediction and hope they get hot down the stretch run. We’ll see.
So much for the OL depth that the Bombers were building. No surprise to see Ouellete de Carlo and Koczwara released. Add them to the list of draftees that never worked out.
Looks like Neufeld, Couture, and Gray will start with Desjarlais as 6th man. Would guess they go shopping if an injury comes along.
Bombers have done a terrible job of developing anyone. For a team with management in it’s 6th year it is sad to see them rely on rookies to fill holes. No big deal if it doesn’t work out. Contracts are in place.
…Don’t forget Eli the Hawaiian on the O joe…We have a potential starter in the wings once he gets his game up to speed…Looked great in camp so far…Conteh was a bit of a surprise but someone must have passed him on the depth chart and he was deemed dispensable
Neufeld is the wild card when it comes to Oline. I think it’s a foregone conclusion that with Foketi not showing up that the Oline will indeed have 3 Nat starters. If Neufeld is out out for a bit, they may need to IR him and if they start the season with Gray, Couture, and/or Speller/Desjarlais. If he’s good to go and they give him his spot back at guard, Desjarlais then probably hits the PR since Speller can back up at both centre and guard and last year they only carried one reserve OL on the roster. Regardless if Neufeld is ready I think Eli hits the PR to start the season to keep getting back into football shape, but if centre becomes a sore spot he could nab that role sooner than later.
There are going to be a number of tough decisions. There will be a good corner or two released and there are probably about 10 DL not including Kongbo they probably would like to keep. Mind you Kongbo is listed at LB on their roster. The last receiver spot is down to one or two guys really unless someone has a big game tomorrow like Thompkins did last year in the second preseason game in BC to snag a PR spot.
Flying Hawaiian did slip by. Believe he is McManus’s nephew so he will be okay.
Still a first year guy that never played the CFL game. He will need some time to learn but we can be hopeful. All I know is what they tell us and reports are that he is very physical which is good. My concern is a lot of the center position involves calling the blocking schemes where experience comes in handy.
Good point by Wolverine about Neufeld and if he is ready. Would be just one more thing they have not told us if he isn’t.
Still need to wait until they play the games but I am seeing deja vu all over again at this point.
With Conteh gone I am now hoping for Jake Firlotte. Good size and still young. We’ll see.
Coombs is a perfect example of a high draft pick who hardly played and then was released to flutter away. Toronto never really used him properly. I wonder why ?
Not sure Dan. When he played he played well. Time on the IR did not help.
New coach and new team. Derel Walker took a big chunk of available sms for the receiving corp.
Noel was pretty good last year and Coombs was pushed out to wide receiver in training camp. AC possibly making too much money for the limited targets he would see. Jimmy Ralph is a good player as well.
Hopefully he gets another chance. He could be trouble in a place like Calgary. Would prefer to see him as a Bomber. Time will tell.
One of the problems with bringing in Coombs is that they would have to pay him like Demski who reportedly got a bump from the $150,000 he made last year.
If they wanted to be ruthless and cold hearted they could sign Coombs for less and cut Demski but that doesn’t seem to be their style.
Coombs could be an excellent Dressler replacement given the chance. I’m not betting a lot on it happening.
When he did play he played really well but as far as I’m concerned he never got a fair shake. The Argos like the rest of the league knew they could just pick up another disposable canuck anytime. Smart teams know how much a good nat means…I would love to see Coombs on the Bombers where he always belonged.
Anyone seen Lyle lately?
His membership on here seems to be off the air, I dropped by his place, The Concierge said he left in a hurry, a couple of Canada Post delivery notes stuck to his door, I’m wondering if The Troika caught up to him?
Hopefully leaving in a hurry was not related to being on a stretcher. I emailed Sully to ask if he was banned but got no reply. I’m sure he is a busy guy.
No Lyle is part of the reason I am posting so much lately. Figured it might help get me in the same trouble if that was what happened to Lyle. I apologize for my rants but what the hay, it is supposed to be a free world.
Believe me it would make my day if I thought there was ever a chance Wade Miller would think to himself how much he dislikes my posts. Can’t wait to egg the statue of his beloved Canadian Mafia that he is surely planning and I’m not talking just once. The yolk will be on him.