Bomber fans have to stop panicking, already!!

Winnipeg Blue Bombers
1

I had to start a new topic, cause this really relates to alot of comments on various posts on our thread. First off i believe i read in the Lenny Walls topic someone stating that "this is a rebuilding year again", get with the program guys, this is not a rebuilding year just because we released Lenny Walls, it is not the end of the world, Lenny was a good player, but let's face it he was practically invisible until the last 2 games of the season. He plays a position that is easily one of the easiest to fill, we have some good player's already on the roster that could possibly step into that spot, Thaine Carter is a promising LB, Kordic, Browne, Labbe and the list goes on, lots of player's on the roster can step into Walls spot and do just as good if not better.

There will be alot of player's moving around in the secondary, LB-DB-S-CB and we will find a good combination of speed and skill, relax Bomber fans, there is still 3 months until training camp and alot can happen between now and then and i don't believe Mack is done dealing yet, so relax fellow BB Fans, we have alot of talent on our roster and we are still looking for more down South, FA Camps, Draft or Trade, we will be just fine. I look at our roster and i see nothing but TALENT and PROMISE, younger player's and proven Veterens. Like i said before we are not that far off from being on top again, but to say this is a rebuilding year is just wrong.

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....There's no panic bluengold....just'concern'....The Bomber fans have seen this picture too many times in the last 5 years......Out of that 5 we've got 'close but no cigar' once....the rest have been mediocre at best...I feel there's something bigger going on in the background of the BigBlues' operation...Could be a trade or a major signing...Maybe this salary dump (lennys) was a move to make room for an acqusition and had nothing to do with the sms at all(i hope)...It will be awhile before we hear that ol familiar mantra....'Well i'll give it to labour day' crap...Call me cynical but i have watched football operations for a very long time...and so far this team is getting off to a shakey start....This is the CFL though... and things can sometimes change quickly.... When bringing in new people it takes time for everyone to adjust...It just seems like we are on a continual wheel of adjustment... I hope to see something of real positive substance happening soon :roll: Meanwhile i guess we better get ready, for the other shoe to drop, with regard to the Kelly fiasco of 09 :thdn:

......as a side note....I do like how our new management and coaches are handling things with regard to the mess they inherited.....They are not coming out with 'finger pointing' and slagging the previous administration...such as was the case last year....They're seemingly taking the high-ground...For that i take my hat off :thup: Hopefully we'll get on the right road soon...(how many times have we all said that in the last decade) :lol:

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Well, according to the media,

If your last name is Walls, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers do not want you.

Actually, if you’re a Bomber who is at least three decades old and you make a pretty penny, it’s probably better to rent these days.

The Blue and Gold traded defensive end Gavin Walls to the Montreal Alouettes for Canadian defensive end Stan van Sichem on Friday and then, in a more surprising move, released defensive back Lenny Walls.

Gavin Walls, the CFL’s rookie of the year in 2005, did not see the trade coming, although he was due a roster bonus of approximately $15,000 on Monday.

“Age, injuries and money,? said the 30-year-old Walls, whose agent is renegotiating his contract with Alouettes GM Jim Popp. “It would usually be one of those three.

“I’m not fully excited because I did bleed Blue and Gold. If I was in the game for something else, then maybe I would’ve been doing flips and just hooraying, but I’ve always felt it was something that this community was missing, and that’s to win a championship.?

Walls, a CFL all-star in 2005 and a three-time division all-star, had 47 sacks in 95 career game with the Bombers. He suffered an ACL tear in October that forced him to miss the final five games of the season. He said his knee is feeling great, and he’s geared up to face his former team already.

“I can’t wait for the football season to roll around,? said Walls, who will lead a KidSport football camp on Saturday at the Winnipeg Soccer Federation Complex. “If you’re going to trade me in the same division, that’s just fine and dandy with me. Because I’m licking chops.?

Bomber head coach Paul LaPolice said the team is in fine shape at defensive end with second-year players Odell Willis and Phillip Hunt. Fred Perry, who is coming off a broken arm, is also in the mix, LaPolice said.

Van Sichem, 22, came to Canada nine years ago from The Netherlands to pursue a hockey career at Notre Dame in Wilcox, Sask., but he quickly turned his attention to football.

He became the career sacks leader at the University of Regina, and he was a fourth-round draft pick of the Alouettes last May.

The 6-foot-2, 229-pound Amsterdam product, who is coming off November knee surgery, will likely play special teams but could also get a look at linebacker.

“We’re trying to look at the big picture,? LaPolice said. “It allows us to not only get better Canadian depth, it allows us to free up money to spend on other areas.?

If Gavin Walls getting dealt for a fourth-rounder raised eyebrows, the release of Lenny Walls likely caused several facial muscle strains. He led the East Division with seven interceptions in 2009, but his age (30) and above-average salary didn’t do him any favours.

Word around the league is new Bomber GM Joe Mack wants to build a young nucleus with low-priced American talent.

LaPolice, however, hinted that Walls’ play may have also figured into the decision.

“We’ve evaluated films, and we just felt we wanted to go in another direction,? LaPolice said.

The Bombers are now without both of last year’s starting defensive halfbacks, as Jonathan Hefney signed with the NFL’s Detroit Lions.

LaPolice said the coaches have talked about moving cornerback Keyuo Craver inside.

Lenny Walls’ release was met with much consternation among Bomber fans, but LaPolice wants them to be patient.

“We’re confident in our abilities to go get players who can play within our systems and our roles,? he said.

LATE HIT: The Toronto Argonauts on Friday signed free-agent receiver Gerran Walker, formerly of the Saskatchewan Roughriders. The Bombers expressed interest in Walker, who was intrigued about joining quarterback Steven Jyles in Winnipeg, but he had early offers from B.C. and Toronto.


Evaluated film and Lenny Walls got cut ?

I don’t think so, the bolded statement makes more sense, I guess we will see.

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....What's a little more unnerving pigseye is Bells statement today.....not an exact quote ...but here it is..." The financial picture of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers is not a pretty picture....having said that the Bombers continue to be a viable enterprise.....OUCH....can you see a draft pic springing wings.... :roll: :roll: I sure hope not....we've taken enough hits.. :thdn:

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Where is all the money going? Didn't the Bombers have a number of sell-outs recently? This club has been mismanaged into the ground. It's not a good sign when you have to jetison starters for nothing because of money. The rooks who replace these vets will cost you victories because of their inevitable learning curve.

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Well, having a home playoff game is supposed to be a means of padding the old bank account. In the Bombers case however they lost money the last couple of times as there were more concession staff to pay than fans at the game.

When you have 3 or 4 coaches on salary, it isn’t hard to figure out.

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Regarding that bolded statement - more unnamed sources and rumour. Funny - weren’t people complaining that Taman was keeping too many high priced veterans on the roster and not recognizing their best before date? Perhaps fresh eyes (Mack and Taman) are releasing players they think are either past the date or close to it.

I think the Sun was grasping at straws by bringing up Gavin Walls’ bonus as a factor in the trade. As Gavin said himself, it’s one of three things - age, injuries or money. I think his knee injury and age were more of a factor for his being traded than perceived SMS issues.

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I don't know, folks. The secondary has taken big hits with Wall and Hefney gone. Walls's loss on the line will hurt more than some want to admit. Simpson gone. Nelson gone. Kavis Reed in.

My feeling is that this year's Bombers will be better on offense but worse on defense.

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…Mack says he’s going with cheap Americans on d…I hope he has a huge pool of them to draw from…cuz it looks like we’re in for a lot of uncertainity at a few postions…I wouldn’t be surprised to see a couple of more cuts…Ike Charlton for one…???I think to identify the Bomber players this year… we’re going to need a programme at every game :wink: :roll:

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Darn not being able to edit posts - I meant Mack and LaPolice, not Taman. D’OH!!

Gavin Walls is coming off a serious knee injury. I doubt he would have been playing every down and he was making too much to be a back-up or rotation player which is evidenced by the fact that the Als are renegotiating his contract and you can bet it ain’t to give him a raise.

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My original point was that his loss will hurt the Bombers’ on-field product. I don’t dispute the cap issues that forced Winnipeg’s hand, nor am I overlooking the reality that he may not be the same player post-injury, but I still believe that the Bombers’ D-line will be less effective without Walls even as a rotation player.

Incidentally, the player you acquired is also coming off knee surgery.

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The only way this makes sense is if cap space really is a big problem. If not, it’s absolutely unfathomable that Mack would be systematically dismantling the only functional part of the team last season just to save a few dollars.

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i agree. panicking is just unneccesary in febuary. like the OP said 3 4 5 months to go,lots of time.

In regards to the statement bell made about the financials, he was talking of this past year.. it wont be pretty. we are viable overall but the past year with kelly and the attendance taking a hit (some may say directly cuz of kelly) we lost some money last season. Thats all that means. Shouldnt take the comment out of context.

last year the bombers got rid of everyone playing defensive back, yup from malveaux to malbrough to samuels, only guy they kept was jovon johnson. Turned into a good one.. This year everyone but Jovon, Craver and Brandon Stewart (who imo, looked good when he played)(younger and cheaper also). really right now our secondary isnt as bad off as it was at this time last year... and you gotta think joe mack has more connections than mike kelly so im not panicking.

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They also kept our starting safety, Ian Logan, NI, maybe you heard of him ?

To quote Artie, I don’t mean to be a dick but, don’t bring a knife to a gun fight, K.

If you wanna preach, try a soap box.

Nobody’s pulling the chute, so quit attacking posters for their opinion and simply state yours.

Fair enough ?

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And I don’t agree. I think Willis, Hunt and Ortiz made Gavin Walls expendable. I also disagree that the trade was because of cap issues. We don’t know that. LaPolice said that the trade freed up money that could be spent elsewhere and that does NOT mean there are cap issues.

The player we got is likely going to be a ST player and back-up whereas that was not the role that Gavin Walls had with the Bombers.

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Bombers finally have a genuine starting QB in Steven Jyles. From what I have been able to see, QB is the only thing this team has been missing. Nothing to panic about, you now have a solid QB to take Bombers to the Grey Cup and most likely this year. As someone who has followed Steven since high school days, he is yur man. Steven will guide the Bombers to multiple Grey Cups. He is rarely injured and is very tough, makes the right decisions every time. I truly believe this, so chins up!

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Are you referring to all 50 snaps he has taken over his 5 year career? Wow he is an ironman.

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After looking back at all his plays I found you are correct. On EVERY single one of his Q.B. sneaks he has tried to fall forward instead of backwards. Wow things are looking up in Bomberland. You have a freaking genius at the controls.

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LOL. . . great responses to our resident storymaker, well done Taleback !

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regarding the bolded statement, usually when a HB is invisible, its a very good thing

and no. i am not panicking, or “crying” as the killerisme likes to put it. i was simply voicing my opinion. which is what i thought these football forums were all about

but to think people like Thaine Carter and Nick kordic who are NI special teams players, can go back in the secondary, AND do just as good as Lenny Walls, is foolish to put it nicely… they arnt even good enough to start at there own positions… which is LB, not DB… never mind switch to cover spots, and be one of the best in the league

And Defensive Half is one of the Hardest spots to fill… not the easiest