I have been impressed with what the Bombers have been doing in the off-season, and figured they were going to be a great contender. The moves they are making into FA season, IMO, could easily make them a front-runner. Bomber fans have to be rather pumped moving forward with the GC in town this year.
Did you see Marquis Mc Daniels tweet earlier? I thought it was kind if funny but hope it does not become the trend, load up when GC is in town, dump everyone for SMS reasons the next year. Diminishes both all of the above ,contracts,SMS and GC. :thdn:
I'm not a huge fan of loading in a home Grey Cup year but given how it's worked out for the Riders and Argos when they did it can't fault a GM for doing it. But in this case I don't think this is what Walters is necessarily doing. Oline has been a sore spot with the Bombers for a while and having given up 71 sacks last year changes were necessary. Getting an all star caliber lineman at just a bit more than the the guy he's replacing was costing you is a great deal IMO. Dile if healthy can help out with the Oline issues as well. The other guys are mainly depth signings. Mind you, they didn't announce the length of the deals as far as I know. If they signed everyone to one year deals then it becomes much more suspect. And there's no guarantees. Bombers have only been to the playoffs what, once in the last 5-6 years? Have to get over that hurdle first.
I agree, and it was also stated that the Bombers have Cap room to play with, so this makes sense to be making these moves. I don’t think they are overstocking for a home GC run, I think they are building nicely. They have picked up a range of players, not just high end free agents.
The moves the Bombers made were undertaken to improve the team. I see no connection between these roster upgrades and the Grey Cup. But they do help.