Winnipeg Blue Bombers
PLAYER POS COLLEGE STATUS
Beasley, Deon DB Texas
Bowman, Marcellus LB Boston College
Butler, Kelly OL Purdue Retired (03/12/12)
Denmark, Clarence WR Arkansas Monticello
Garrett, Chris RB Ohio
Goltz, Justin QB Occidental College
Hefney, Jonathan DB Tennessee
Kashama, Fernand DL Western Michigan
Sears, Johnny DB Eastern Michigan
Turner, Bryant DE Alabama Birmingham
Vega, Jason DL Northeastern
Volny, Carl RB Central Michigan
For me, top priorities to retain are Turner, Bowman, Volny, Sears. Secondary ones would be Beasley, Vega. I'm leaving out Goltz because a lot will go into the decision as to whether they keep him, particulary if they target another teams FA QB, and whether Goltz himself wants to come back if he doesn't see an opportunity. Butler is retired obviously. Hefney has hinted he wants to test NFL waters once again, hence I left him off the list. Denmark has played well for us, though 2012 was an up and down year. I think we have some guys backing up there in Anderson, Doug Pierce that can move up. With Simpson and Ford, unfortunately this is one of those times where an injury costs someone a job, specifically Garrett.
I think a number of names we’ve already discussed - Reilly, McPherson.
Some others are not likely - Eliminimia and Olafioye in BC, Kuale from Tor are probably looking for NFL shots.
I’m surprsied to see Marcus Howard and Sherritt on the Edm list. Either they are taking a look at the NFL or I’m guessing will resign with the Esks before FA officially opens. I would be surprised to see the Eskies let 2 of their better defensive players hit the market. Kackert will resign in TO. I would expect the same with Bagg from the Riders and Gore in BC, but then I also thought the same with the Riders and Koch last year and they let him walk.
I do like Fraser from the stamps. Overall, I don’t see the LB that could fit as a SAM available. A couple of young olineman, not sure if any of those would be an immediate improvement to our line. Some of the older ones might be beyond their best before date. Overall I don’t see a difference maker here. Thoughts?
Mack getting an early start. I didn't expect he would get around to signing players till after the new year, but Goltz, Volny, and Garrett all signed. Bit surprised on Garrett, with Ford and Simpson playing well. Coming off the Achilles' injury, I think he'll have a hard time supplanting simpson and may have to show he's still got it as a returner to get a roster spot. I like what little I've seen of Goltz more than the what I've seen of elliott so I'm happy to see he's back. And I like Volny as well.
Defensive tackle Bryant Turner and receiver Clarence Denmark have had workouts with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, while weak-side linebacker Marcellus Bowman has had several invitations to work out for NFL teams but hasn't done any yet.
It may close today but it reopens in 2 weeks time if the players headed for FA don't sign in the interim. Bowman for instance has been doing a boot camp up here from what I understand with scheduled classes so he may not be free to do any try outs until later.
Tyron Brackenridge of the Riders. The CFL lists him as a DB but he actually played Sam LB last year. He led the team in tackles and was their nominee for Outstanding Def Player. On Riderfans.com they’re saying that Taman only offered him $68k. We should be able to top that easily.
Not thrilled at the prospect of going into 2013 as Muamba being the most experienced starting LB. Even with Bowman likely out for a portion and maybe even the full year depending on how his rehab progressed, still sucks to lose a hard hitter like that who had a passion for playing hard nosed football. Guy had passion, moreso than some of the other younger players on the roster. Sad to see him go to a division rival, if/when he's healthy enough to get back on the field he'll be a definite boost for them.
....Don't know what's going on here but why has the Cats med. staff given Bowman a pass AND sign him and we didn't....Our best linebacker???I'll tell you what, if he comes back to form and is healthy , plays lights out for the cats, then somedodys arse is going to be in a sling on the Bombers...What the hell is this??? Mack better have some answers... :thdn:
i liked boomkat but.. fact is, he had major knee surgery last week, MAJOR.. like sounds like reconstructive knee surgery.. the panic on these forums is awesome tho, the guy wasnt gonna be ready to start the year so he was gonna need to be replaced anyways, fact is.. he might not even play this year..
knowlton,johnson,williams,williams,eiben.. and now bowman? where does he fit in with hamilton even? id suspect he doesnt play this year at all.. i liked him, he's a good guy but reality is he's injured and more than likely wont play..
like some of you over react so much its crazy.. heads are gonna role? lol, gimme a break, why cuz the ticats signed an injured linebacker who probably wont play this year and quite frankly, as much as i liked boomkat, the last 2 years, he's missed a significant amount of playing time due to injury.
dunno whats worse, this forum or the ourbombers forum in terms of sheer panice and over reaction... LIKE FACT IS.. he wasnt gonna be ready in time for the start of the year, he was gonna need to be replaced anyways, terrell parker fillled in admirably when bowman was out later in the year.. like calm down, relax, start breathing, its not the end of the world... its not even the end of february yet for gods sake.
mack already explained it but apparently some people are too busy posting nonsense of these forums to hop over to bluebombers.com and actually listen to what the guy said.. BOWMAN IS INJURED.. SEVERLY.
They offered him a loyalty contract.. guess he turned it down.. hamilton offered more.. probably a hefty signing bonus and for a guy who may not even play a game this year.. is that really a risk people are willing to take? considering hamilton is stacked STACKED at linebacker... perhaps they were willing to take that risk where we are not so why would we risk giving him a big signing bonus to not play.
…how the hell do you know he won’t play this year… You got a crystal ball…Do you think Austin is dumb…He wouldn’t have even entertained the guy if he didn’t think he had a chance of suiting up…I’ll tell you one thing …Bowman better NOT come back healthy and be playing lights out football in 2013, cuz someone is going to be held accountable… :thdn:
get a grip man, u sound like a 4 year old kid who just had his favorite toy takken away... like for gods sake.. HE JUST HAD MAJOR MAJOR KNEE SURGERY a week ago, who are you kidding.. u are just way to panicky and instead of actuallly logically looking at things, you need to blame people..
fact is, these are just facts, i said i liked the guy but facts are facts.. in the past 3 seasons, he has missed 11 games due to injury, and just had major knee surgery a week ago.. he didnt even go to any of his nfl tryouts because his knee was messed up that bad..
like stop with the insanity.. honestly, how can u predit this in february? if he's back in july.. well, what if hes not back till labour day or later or not at all? he was gonna have to be replaced, if he's ready in july tho.. ok fine but dont sit here on february 17th with a gun to your head or macks head because he signed with hamilton.
talk about panic, like seriously? what a joke...
hamilton took the risk.. why because if he isnt healthy they got knowlton,jamal johnson,rey williams, shomari, eiben, and others to fill in for him.. thats why they took the risk.. its risk reward.. if he's ready.. ok, if he's not.. thats fine too cuz the ticats already have a good linebacking group..
the panic is ridiculous and calling people dumb and names? really? like seriously? is that what these forums are all about? insulting people who arent jumping off cliffs cuz a guy who has missed 11 games in 3 seasons and who just had major major knee surgery signed elsewhere? whatever. this is why people leave these forums, because god forbid they dont panic and blame people and act like its the end of the world, NOPE.. GOTTA PANIC AND BLAME PEOPLE. what a joke. THIS FORUM is a joke also and there is a reason why only 6 or 7 of you post on here all the time.
…LOOK…Can you answer me this??? Why does Austin take a chance on him and WE DON’T…Wake-up man (or whoever you are)…This club was light on linebackers as it was???You better pray that Mack has got someone else in the pipeline or it’s going to be a looooong year…You say it’s early///Don’t make me laugh…In case you haven’t noticed teams around the legue are loading-up NOW for the season…Let’s see …we have a BIG question at qb… our defence is starting to have question marks…(sam being a biggie)…No panic my friend but I’m sure as hell concerned as a fan should be with the moves so far or lack-thereof to fix a basement dweller of 2012. :x
…AND you better read a little closer there son…nowhere did I insult anyone but it seems to me you were going down that road with the 4 year old crap…
Hamilton reportedly offered Bowman more money than Winnipeg and Mack was less sure of his ability to return to full form from this injury. Bowman has since suggested it was not as major an injury as it was made to seem. If they overplayed his injury its a big loss.
Mack, Moll, and co. have done a good job finding DBs, they always seem to have ones that they don't want to cut come end of training camp. On the flip side they've had less success over the 3 years finding LBs. Bowman I believe was one of their finds. And they drafted Muamba. Kent was a FA signing. A number of guys have been around here and haven't made an impression - Merrill Johnson, Bernard Hicks, Rico McCoy, Dustin Doe, Javon McKinnon. They didn't have much success finding a replacement for the SAM as we all know, with the hope that maybe Sears can fill that position full time this year. Terrell Parker remains the only import on the roster at the moment and he was OK at best when he got to play. I'm sure they will have a few more faces in camp but now without Bowman available, even if he would have only been a mid to late season return, its a loss and now they really need to hit on a couple of guys they bring in this time around.