Are the Blue Bombers in an excellent position to repeat as Grey Cup champs in 2022?

So are the Blue Bombers in an excellent position to repeat as Grey Cup champs in 2022?

Zach Collaros should have several more good years left at the helm. And once again having a very strong contingent of Canadians at the RB position even if Andrew Harris retires and having a Canadian WR who ranks among the very top players at that position in the league in Nic Demski give the Blue Bombers a great start at building a championship caliber roster. (Incidentally how did the Bombers' brain trust manage to let local boy Shai Ross slip through their fingers and end up with the Elks? I'd trade Drew Wolitarsky for Shai Ross in a heartbeat.)

My concerns are that they need Marc Liegghio to develop into a reliable game day kicker and that their defence is aging.

:question:

It’s gonna be tough. Lots of players going into free agency and not all will be as willing as Bighill to take a cut. Depends somewhat on which of the young bucks have a sniff at the NFL. The CFL overall is in tough $ shape, so the free agents might not all get the big offers elsewhere. Interesting times ahead.

A lot of our older guys are going to come back and that’s great but I can’t see how we’re going to improve on this years’ edition of the Bombers. I KNOW that we’re well positioned to make the playoffs next season. That’s all. Thanks to all the one year contracts I think a lot of other teams will have a great opportunity to play ‘catch up’.

I hope you’re right about the “older guys”! To be honest it’d pretty hard to improve on this year’s team, I just hope we can stay close to this level of talent next year. We’ll see how the “band of brothers” aura that’s around them these days lasts! One saving grace (alluded to earlier) is that many teams don’t have a lot of financial depth so we may not see large free agency offerings, and if those aren’t there some players may be tempted to stick with what they know they’ve got here.

I think it’s safe to say that O’Shea’s the coach these guys want to play for. If the offers are close they’re not going to move. Besides, Winnipeg is a bargain when it comes to cost of living expenses. You can actually LIVE HERE on a practice roster salary. Try doing that in Toronto or BC.

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Yeah I had that thought as well. If Osh moves on much of the team attraction may go with him…

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I think the answer is that it is too early to tell.

I agree that what O’Shea decides to do, if in fact he has a decision to make, will be an important factor. As he is under contract for one more year, any offer will have to include the GM position. I wouldn’t be surprised if Walters offers him a 5 year contract with a decent raise. A bargain compared to paying fired coaches and having that eat up your cap space.

The Bombers have many advantages over other teams. They currently have the best organization, a winning culture, the best fans, the best facility and a low cost of living, as was pointed out. They have major players such as Bighill and presumably Jefferson that will be living here and promoting the team to potential Bombers. There is the lure of bonus playoff money.

Having said that, the Bombers won’t be able to keep everyone nor will they be able to sign every free agent they might want to. I would be surprised, however, if they weren’t the betting favourite to win the Cup on opening day 2022.

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After winning a back to back all teams & plyers believe a 3 peat is possible. Of course it is, if the stars are aligned and the luck is on your side. Age is the biggest factor, older players are comfortable in their situation and want the energy to continue. However the danger sets in when management has to deal with this, how to build a team for the future and be loyal to the vets. The Bombers are now at that point. I cant see the winning again with all the pressure of being the target , injuries, age & restructuring a lot of contracts.

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This might be the better option to talk about the Bombers until next season...

My reply to the concern we are getting too old is that it's not just about age....its not like we have some old dinos that are useless. We have some of the best leaders (on & off the field) at each position. Any coach would handsdown take a vet roster over a rookie roster, no question.
I don't see how this should be something we should be concerned about as fans. If anything we should conitinue to be pumped about our team!

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You be Hans and I’ll be Franz.

“We’re here to pump you up!”

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So the peices are starting to fall into place. We got the Jeff's back. We got Biggie back.
I know we kinda have to wait to see who else signs over the next couple weeks, but who do you think is gone, and who do we need to target in FA?

Do we have Neuf & Couture signed already? I'm hoping we can get Byrant, but not sure. Is there a cheaper up & comer option out there?

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So far I think we are doing pretty good. All of the signings are no surprise, except I was worried about Jeffcoat. Likely Zach will sign. Worried about Lawler and Alexander and maybe Bailey the most. Don’t see Harris going anywhere but he’ll have to take less although I won’t be shocked if he retires. Don’t have a very good read on Bryant but you would think he would like to stay. Neufeld is signed. Couture I’m not sure. I would give Walters a B+ so far. I have said since the season ended that it is unlikely they will keep everyone but a few more big ones and they’ll be in good shape.

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It would suck to lose Lawler. Adams doesn't have much left, and we haven't had a threat like Lawler for awhile. Bailey was nice, but easily replaceable I think. Harris I think is not done, but is he willing to step aside more this year? I'd like to see him signed so he can break some alltime records, but if he's not willing to sign for a deal and give more time to Brady/Johnny, then it might be a tough one.

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I have said since the season ended that it is unlikely they will keep everyone but a few more big ones and they’ll be in good shape.

With free agency, for the players who chooses another team, opens the door for another player who likes what is going on in Winnipeg. Just saying.

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Pretty great day for the Bomber faithful with Collaros and Bighill signed!

Neither unexpected but good to have in the bank.

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Yup, another good day as a Bomber fan. I suspect a few more season tickets were sold this week.
Already excited to watch them play again!

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Hopefully we hear from Bryant next....if not, that is where we'll have to target in the next few months.
Lawler after that.

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Couldn't be done we were told.......... :sunglasses:

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Bryant....re-upped.....in talks with Couture.....Lawler not getting a lot of action down south...should be back....Desjardins could catch on a pr squad ...no gurantee's he's going to stick though.......Still a lot of work to do ....Walters is on it and is showing positive results so far

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Walters and Company just keep getting better and better at their jobs. We must thank our lucky stars that all the other CFL teams haven’t tried to poach the ‘brains’ of our outfit yet.

Hmmm. Speaking of ‘poached brains’… if fans get much more NFL deranged in Toronto we might have to bring in Danny Trejo.

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