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.
Itâs 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 thatâs great but I canât see how weâre going to improve on this yearsâ edition of the Bombers. I KNOW that weâre well positioned to make the playoffs next season. Thatâs all. Thanks to all the one year contracts I think a lot of other teams will have a great opportunity to play âcatch upâ.
I hope youâre right about the âolder guysâ! To be honest itâd pretty hard to improve on this yearâs team, I just hope we can stay close to this level of talent next year. Weâll see how the âband of brothersâ aura thatâs around them these days lasts! One saving grace (alluded to earlier) is that many teams donât have a lot of financial depth so we may not see large free agency offerings, and if those arenât there some players may be tempted to stick with what they know theyâve got here.
I think itâs safe to say that OâSheaâs the coach these guys want to play for. If the offers are close theyâre 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.
I think the answer is that it is too early to tell.
I agree that what OâShea 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 wouldnât 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 wonât 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 werenât the betting favourite to win the Cup on opening day 2022.
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.
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!
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?
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. Donât see Harris going anywhere but heâll have to take less although I wonât be shocked if he retires. Donât have a very good read on Bryant but you would think he would like to stay. Neufeld is signed. Couture Iâm 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 theyâll be in good shape.
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.
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
Walters and Company just keep getting better and better at their jobs. We must thank our lucky stars that all the other CFL teams havenât tried to poach the âbrainsâ of our outfit yet.
Hmmm. Speaking of âpoached brainsâ⌠if fans get much more NFL deranged in Toronto we might have to bring in Danny Trejo.