A look at the Bombers thus far.

Winnipeg Blue Bombers
1

D-Line

Looking GREAT. Fred Perry, Gavin Walls and Riall Johnson on the ends, Doug Brown, Tyrone Williams, and Aaron Mconnel in the middle! Some Questions would be Tyrone Williams with his age. Though he doesn't have the wear and tear a 37 year DT should have, 37 is still 37, and he suffered a few injuries last season. But also has a huge chip on his shoulder and said he will be training harder then ever before. Aaron McConnell broke the AFL record for sacks with 9 in 9 games, and is extremely athletic even for guys half his size(how many people can do a backflip?) which is an extremely huge accomplishment for a DT. But, how will he fair out in the CFL? I think he'll beat out T. Williams and be quite good.

Fred Perry suffered a huge injury last season. But came back a month or two early and played like a monster in the playoffs. Also has a chip on his shoulder. Looks like this unit will be a dominant force in the CFL this season.

Linebackers

Very good. Ike Charlton healthy is a very good SAM LB in this league... top three with Sean Lucas and Willie Pile IMO. MLB we will have Joe LOBO fighting it our with Big Blue Barrin. Both are very good LB's but I give the nod to Lobendahn in this one. He looked like an all star caliber MLB to me last year, actually driving guys back when he tackles, Very fast, good pass coverage(this is why he gets the nod over Barrin). And Siddeeq Shabazz will give us some monstrous athleticism and quality talent on the WILL. Very pleased with this unit over all.

Secondary

Lots of Questions. Though we have signed a lot of guys with very good resumes
eg:Derrick Strait - Projected as one of the best CB in NFL draft, 5-1, 189lbs more info Derrick Strait - Wikipedia
John Eubanks also looks impressive...

and traded for Lenny Walls who is huge, Impressive and Hufnagle was quoted(though I am to lazy to look) saying Walls was someone he could build his defence around. Also traded for James Johnson, and have incumbants Jovon Johnson and Willie Amos.
So it looks like it COULD be a huge improvement(certainly looks better then the past few years to me), but you never know with all these new players... I would feel a lot better if we still had Kelly Malveaux and Stanford Samuals under contract, that much is for sure.

Quarterbacks

Stefan Lefors, Ryan Dinwiddie and Bryan Randall really don't jump out and scream at you... No one will be scared of our QB's this season. Though they are athletic. They arn't proven by any meanes to even be addiquit. This could be and improvement, though thats a long shot. However, we shouldn't be any worse off then last season, with KG having a carreer worst year(still wish we renegotiated his contract) with Ryan here... But its a huge question mark and, logically thinking will be our biggest weakness heading into game 1.

Offensive Line

lost 2 really good tackles and an above average center. Some Question marks here but I am not overly worried. Obby Kahn looks as healthy as ever(have him on facebook, seen him on the tube sparring with Doug Brown at MMA training center) and will more than likely be a big upgrade over Picard. Labbate and Bates on either side of him will make for a very good interior offensive line. Tackles are the area of concern... January has a lot of potential and is still young.Played very well in Toronto, Not so good in Sask. Im hopefull he will return to Form. Luke Fritz has been a VERY good OT in the past. But suffered an injury and Montreal hasnt had him as a starter since. Its good we have a lot of competition here.

Runningbacks.

Joe Smith and Fred Reid to me look like the best duo in the league. I can see Freddy finishing in the top three for rushing yards despite splitting carries. Joe Smith will be especially dangerous inside with out Interior offensive Line... Hopefully he can use his size to his advantage and be a good pass blocker. We also have some good rookies coming in. Yvenson Bernard catches my eye. Looks like he was the reason Kinlaw never got a chance.

Recievers

Will be the strength of our offense along with the RB's. Even with their QB having a carreer worts season, they managed to have 3 1000 yard guys and impressed even though they had nagging injuries all season. Derrick Armstrong will be the go to guy.. solid possession reciever and can also beat guys deep with his size and vertical. Terrence is pretty good at getting behind coverage and making the big play, also very good at making rediculous Milt like catches. Romby last season was dominating in Milt's spot, and could very well be a top three reciever in yardage. Crazy speed and play making ability. Arjei Franklin I think is capable of being a Very solid NI reciever. at 26 he's getting better and better every year. 600 yards is quite the accomplishment considering the Quarterbacking and the fact that he is burried undernieth so many good recievers. Brock Ralph is really fast and has good size, but is inconsistant with his hands... He better not start ahead of Arjei is all I can say lol

2

Nice review. Looks good, pretty solid all around with big question mark at QB and defensive backfield.

You omited Kicking and special teams but that's jus 1/3rd of the game :wink:

3

thanks, and yeah... I didnt think of special teams. Solid returner in Armstead, very suspect kicking and have signed a few guys that can cover real well.

Also, Derrick Strait is 5'11... 189 lbs... not 5'1 lol

4

Well done james, a very comprehensive review and, other than, as HfxTC points out, omitting special teams~kicking, I think your analysis is pretty accurate; a very good, objective take on how things look in Winnipeg. Congrats.

Is Armstead returning?

5

thanks, and I hope so... had some legal issues.. domestic violence..

If he can come accross the border he will be... However, kelly did bring in a few returners just in case.

6

Who did he bring in, may I ask? Guess I haven’t been following it closely enough.

Surely not Keith Stokes for the umpteenth time…

7

Good reading James.

What can you really say about qbing & kicking that hasn't been already ?

Unproven at best. It has to improve over last year, otherwise, gonna be a long season.

I've been trying to think who Kelly reminded me of and I think it's Dunigan when he GM/HC/OC etc etc the Stamps.

That team had a very good front 7 on defense and not much else. However, the Bombers seem to have more talent overall and at least our qb's have been in the league awhile if not much playing time.

8

Chris Jackson was the latest, spent some time with the Jags and Saints.

9

Justin Surrency was with the Seahawks and Vikings.

10

....ON the comparison between the present day Bombers and the stamps under Dunigan.....at least Kelly doesn't have an owner trying to get his quarterbacking son a job...... :wink: :lol:

11

,,,great post James 123.....There is a lot of unknowns on this club.....including the coaching.....It's going to be a different type of year.....how successfull......now there is the 64 MIL. DOLLAR QUESTION??????..I can't wait to get a closer look at things during tc....so a more accurate assessment can be made.....Not long now.... :rockin: :wink:

12

I was looking at the roster and at this point there isn't any headroom for injuries to Non Imports at all and if Kelly goes with an Import at Safety instead of Logan right now he'd have to go with what looks like two Non Import receivers.

13
:roll:

4 on the o-line
1 fullback
1 receiver
1 on defense

14

So how does that work on five receiver sets?

15

Winnipeg's weak QBing and O-Line will negate the impact of their receivers and RB's. And Winnipeg's weak secondary will negate the impact of its LB's and D-Line. And kicking is a big question mark in Winnipeg, too.

The Bombers will have a losing season in 2009, but might have a shot at 500 in 2010 when Kelly (or his replacement) plugs the holes I just mentioned.

16

You replace the FB or RB.

17

‘’’

…i prefer to look at it this way and compare us to the eastern opposition

the Als. …still look solid and if their qb. holds together and Cahoon hasn’t gone over-the-hill…they are the tough dog in the pack

…Bombers …still have a lot of talent on their roster… green qb. yes BUT overall they are better on paper than either the toothless Cats…( no qb. of note…believe me Glenn ain’t the answer)) or the talent depleted Argos

…Cats…though they have also made a lot of changes…come up short on the defensive line…defensive backfield (you think the Bombers have problems) and their receiving corps and running backs are NOT as good as Wpgs.

…Argos…very green in the coaching dept…have lost a lot of talent to the nfl.( Dorsey and Parker for ex.) will scramble to stay ahead of the Cats…

The real stuff starts shortly… the real proof will be on the field :wink: :rockin: Let’s go BigBlue…

18

Hard to argue there papa...........aside from the Als, the other 3 eastern teams all have large question marks.

For Winnipeg, it's coaching, QBing, and the kicking game.

For Hamilton, it's QBing, receiving corps, and defensive line.

For Toronto, it's coaching, receiving corps, running game, and replacing stars like Parker and Dorsey.

We shall soon see who resolves their questions marks the most effectively.

19

Truthfully, as a bomber fan, I see our secondary, qbing, kicking and o-line all in limbo heading into the season. That’s a lot of question marks but it doesn’t necessarily mean they will suck in all those areas either.

20

Agreed. Question marks are just what they imply: questions. As in, questions without answers. :slight_smile: There’s a lot of uncertainty for the Bombers at secondary, QB, kicking, and (to a lesser extent) O-line, but that doesn’t mean all those positions will tank. One of the QBs could surpass all expectations and become a legit starter. The O-line could jell faster than anyone predicts. It’s why the game is played on the field, not on paper.