Analysis of Bomber Defense as of June 16

Winnipeg Blue Bombers
1

I spent some time analyzing the offense and i am pretty sure the offense is pretty much set in stone, but i will also throw out my opinion on the offense as well soon. I would like to talk about the defense and my reason is this: I believe that we have an excellent core of defensive player's and being optimistic and over hyping any player, we may just have one of the top 2 or 3 defenses in the CFL in 2010: This is what is listed on the Bomber website as of today (June16)

CORNERBACK:
Jovon Johnson, LaVar Glover and Keyuo Craver.
These 3 player's know how to get the job done and provide the veteren leadership that every team needs, Jovon and LaVar are great coverage corner's and never give up on a play, Craver improved greatly throughout the 2009 season and i think he will have a solid year as well.

DEFENSIVE BACKS:

Donald Brown, Brady Browne, Bernard Hicks, Jerry Ralph-Jules, Clint Kent, Nick Kordic, Brandon Stewart, Alex Suber and Jason Tate.
Alot of talent at the DB position, i have always liked the play of Brandon Stewart and i thought he would have been close to a lock at DB, problem is Hicks, Suber and Kent have had an amazing camp thus far and even Kavis Reid singled out Suber and Kent for there play recognition. Brady Browne has had a promising camp and i would expect him on the roster one way or another since he is a NI Manitoba Boy, Donald Brown has experience and has also had a very good camp, this will be a hard choice for Kavis, LaPo and Mack.

LINEBACKERS:

Marcellus Bowman, Thaine Carter, Ike Charlton, Shawn Gallant, SaMario houston, Pierre-Luc Labbe, Joe Lobendahn, Giancarlo Rapanaro, Chris Smith, Courtney Smith and Rian Wallace.
This group of player's is a coaches nightmare, most of these player's have had a solid camp so far, Lobendahn looks great and should make us forget about Barrin, if Lobendahn stays healthy he is a better MLB than Barrin in my opinion. Veterens such as Ike Charlton and Labbe have had a good camp, i heard somewhere that our draft pick Chris Smith has been good and has learned the game and plays faster than most rookies. Courtney Smith and Thaine Carter look good as well and SaMario Houston has come on strong lately and looks like he could be a graet player. More tough choices for The Bomber Staff.

DEFENSIVE LINE/TACKLE/END:

Jarrall Chandler, Moton Hopkins, Phillip Hunt, Doug Brown, LaDarien Scott, Deji Oduwole, Don Oramasionwu, Dorian Smith, Odell Willis and Willis Remond.
Great group with many different aspects and abilities, Doug Brown is a for sure, Odell Willis looks like he never missed a beat from last and i believe that he will have a great year. Phillip Hunt looks like he is ready to improve more from last season, Dorian Smith looks like he belongs here. Heck...LOL... They are all looking good.

FOR THOSE FANS/NON FANS WHO THINK OUR DEFENSE WILL STINK WILL BE IN FOR A HUGE SURPRISE IN 2010, I ACTUALLY THINK THAT WE IMPROVED THE DEFENSE. EVERYONE THINKS WE WILL SUCK BECAUSE WE LOST L.WALLS, G.WALLS, HEFNEY, SIMPSON. I THINK WE HAVE A FEW GOOD PLAYERS THAT WILL FILL THE SHOES.

2

Well blue for your sake and for the sake of all the other long suffering Bomber fans, i hope you're right. I really agree with you about Willis. . . that was a steal of a deal getting him, I think he's destined for stardom in this league.

That said, it is not just the personnel losses that cause concern about Winnipeg's defence. Hope you are correct that those players lost (and they were good ones!) are going to be adequately replaced.

But to me the main concern is losing a fellow that I thought was a pretty darn good defensive coordinator in Mark Nelson, and replacing him with Kavis Reed.

Reed's record as a DC in Hamilton and then in Toronto is not something to give one a lot of confidence. And the less said about his work as a special teams coordinator in Saskatchewan probably the better.

So that's where my main concern would be. We shall see, and soon !

3

There have been some things said now about our defense last year that makes me think we may be better off with Reed. The players have been saying that the defensive playbook this year is a lot bigger than last year too. Bob Irving mentioned during the broadcast of the game against Montreal that one OC had told him that in a game last year the Bombers defense called the defense for 9 plays in a row and that made it a lot easier for the opposition.

4

Well that certainly gives cause for some optimism.

But given Reed's track record, I'll have to see the finished product on the field first before being convinced.

5

could the reason reed's past defense have been so "poor" as some say, and thought last years was so great eventho we finished ranked near the bottom in every category except interceptions really be that the offense struggled quite abit also when reed was defensive coordinator. who was his qb's? michael bishop?

i mean, stats are great and all but fact is they really dont tell u the whole story.

i remember hearing irving mention that too, thought well that explains all i need to know about last year. and quite simply the conclusion i came too was every coach outside of dyce and harris were all morons last season and the players seem to agree.

the guys on the team last season have a chip on their shoulders because they want to prove that last year was just a joke, u think its easy for them to got into a game with like 10 offensive and defensive plays.. terrence edwards even mentioned, he said something like, u dont like thinking you are going to lose most games u play but at times last year, it was hard to not think like that, he said something along the lines of, we tried to win but alot of the times alot of us knew it wasnt gonna happen.

they had no confidence in last years group at ALL... throw in some younger players, a coach who gets it, a team effort from joe mack to paul lapolice to kavis reed to all the coaches having input, and u have the 2010 blue bombers. if u think its just kavis reed putting together the defense, u havent really paid attention to much. Ive heard multiple times from lapo and irving that the defensive schemes have input from everybody.

6

Well I am not saying that Hefney would be an easy replacement as he was the MOP on the Bombers last season, but i think there are at least a couple of player's that have stepped it up in camp that could fill Hefney's shoes and those are big shoes to fill. The player's we have will be suitable replacements for Hefney, maybe not an all star like himm but you never know. Hefeney was a nobody last season and looked what happened, maybe we have a diamond in the rough in camp just like Hefney.

Possible Replacements for Hefney Include: Clint Kent, Bernard Hicks, Alex Suber and Brandon Stewart .... All have looked pretty good to this point and i like the way all these guys give it there all even if they don't have a chance.

I think the departure of Nelson actually opened the door for an improved Bomber defense, he was a good DC, but Kavis brings a playbook with lots of motion and confusion and last season it seemed the Bomber's had a small list of defensive plays in the book, we will be fine!!

Replacing Gavin Walls is no problem, already done. Remember Walls was getting up there in age and was bound to decline in his play eventually, it's nice to see some young blood on the Dline. Odell Willis is a top notch end and will only improve, Phillip Hunt is a great young end with more upside than alot of people think, these two alone have made me forget about Walls. And we can't forget about Dorian Smith, Odowule, Oramasionwu who are all young and can be very good player's, Smith showed last year that he can play. The new guys are making a mark as well Remond Willis and Chandler have been good so i am not worried about the DLINE.

Linebackers Replacing Lenny Walls will not be that hard, everyone thought when he was traded/fa or whatever we lost a great player, true we lost a very good player but in reality he didn't really start to show until the final 2 weeks of the season. He is easily replaced by any of these player's: Courtney Smith, Chris Smith, Rian Wallace, Houston, Bowman or Thaine Carter, all of which have been steady during camp and Houston has sure turned it up a notch over the past week or so and is looking like he wants that roster spot.

7

lenny walls wwas a hb, so i think u must be talking about shabazz in that last paragraph... the same guys to replace hefney will be the guys filling lenny walls spot...

8

i would suggest our defensive backfield will be, jovon,stewart,suber,glover.craver as backup cuz he can play either corner or halfback.

i think im ok with that. suber just reminds me abit of hefney but he's shorter so the nfl wont look at him at all. This kid could be a bomber for years. If tate can also play hb and cb, he has a shot at being the 5th db also cuz i would think if both were similar, they would choose tates youth over cravers experience for the 5th spot anyday. i would too.

9

I don’t think Craver will be a back-up. He seems to have had a really good camp. I think it would be more likely that Suber or someone else would be a back-up.

10

We potentially could have 2 Johnsons and 3 Smiths on defense this year (plus a Smith on offense). We have Jovon Johnson on the corner and Merrill Johnson is an LB. Courtney and Chris Smith are also LBs and Dorian Smith is on the d-line. That could be fun for the TV and radio guys. "The Bombers sent everyone on that play. Smith, Smith, Smith and Johnson got some really good pressure which led to a bad throw and an interception by Johnson." 8)

11

Good one Blue Blood.

I recall, many years ago, a sportscaster was giving the results of the previous night’s hockey game between Toronto and the Quebec Nordiques (back when the Nordiques were a powerhouse team with the three Stastny brothers).

He said, as I recall. . . “first period, Quebec goal, Peter Stastny from Anton Stastny and Marian Stastny. Later in the first, Quebec goal, Anton Stastny from Peter Stastny and Marian Stastny; early second period, Quebec goal, Marian Stastny from Peter Stastny and Anton Stastny. . . and on and on like that, until. … half way through the third period, Quebec major five minute bench penalty for having too many Stastnys on the ice !!”