For a guy who’s admitted to Squishy a couple of times he doesn’t pay much attention to the Elks, your team is giving you a chance to acquaint yourself with them.
First Tony Jones who, BTW excelled at WIL & MLB before he was let go & landed in Winnipeg. Makonzo now comes over. And before that it was Mitchell & Cobb. I do believe Mitchell will be a pleasant surprise.
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Agree! Lets see what the Rourke/Pierce Pizza combo does in the short run. Rourke is a canadian version of Buck Pierce. Remember Pierce? He was quite the on-field athlete. A fearless runner (too fearless for his own good in the end) plus an above-average passer and field general. Just exposed himself to too many threats and head injuries thru his relatively brief career.
Best overall Pizza Combo is what Chef Ed whipped up in Edmonton. Maybe they should switch the Grey Cup in Winnipeg as Kyle Bombers (Walters) has kinda raised the White Flag. Not a White Out - a White Flag.
Wade Miller, current Bomber CEO is aiding and abetting Walters in raising the white flag of surrender. Bombers are depending on an old and now rickety QB to carry them into a 6th straight Grey Cup. Ain’t gonna happen. One exception - if Mr. Collaros has the best season of his storied career - the Bombers could patch together a 10-8 or 11-7 season and make a reasonable challenge for the Western Slot in the GC.
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Wade Miller, current Bomber CEO is aiding and abetting Walters in raising the white flag of surrender. Bombers are depending on an old and now rickety QB to carry them into a 6th straight Grey Cup. Ain’t gonna happen. One exception - if Mr. Collaros has the best season of his storied career - the Bombers could patch together a 10-8 or 11-7 season and make a reasonable challenge for the Western Slot in the GC.
Couldn’t agree more…And if Collaros goes down for any significant amount of time, even 10 wins will be difficult to reach.
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What I am failing to understand is why Miller & Walters cut the supply line short this year, OF ALL YEARS.
Bombers (Winnipeg) is hosting the Grey Cup. Why not make every effort possible (even infringe the salary cap) to get in as the home team before 39,000 screaming, boisterous passengers?
This one defies gravity - to put it LIGHTLY . . . . .
Go nuts this year! Finish the dynasty on a top note . . . . . . .
Next year guys like Walters, O’Shea can find new coaching and GM jobs, Miller can resign before he’s even 55 and a rebuild can begin - before Bombers host another Cup, prolly between 2035 and 2038.
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For your guys sake I hope your year isn’t as bad as last time Regina hosted the GC
As you say, the scenario playing out in Winnipeg defies rational explanation. Yeah, I like the P. Logan signing among a couple others, but these moves don’t counter the malaise that brought this team to its knees in the last 3 Grey Cups. I feel that losing a 4th straight GC is quite nominal though as I do not expect this team to come out of the West this year. The white flag flying over Princess Auto Stadium is a beacon to the rest of the teams in the West that the division is now up for grabs unlike it has been now for the past few years.
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The only reason the grading kid from Hamilton at CFL.ca gave the Bombers a C+ is its an unwritten rule to provide failing grades like F or D. Its still a house league - and Kid Ferguson is a house-boy.
One saving grace is that Walters could be sand-bagging like the team did in 2024, a horrid start that saw most pundits punt them out of playoff contention, let alone being the western fawn in the Grey Cup. Walters & Miller could be concocting an evil plan to go after a group of “Hell’s Angels” if things come out of the starting gate lame. Use that $400k to grab late NFL cuts, guys in other markets who get cut due to performance, etc. Otherwise, I’m sensing tons of disgruntled Wpg fans sharing our concerns - and that could affect Bomber attendance - although Miller does have a Sword of Damocles hanging over locals. ie. If you want to get to the Grey Cup game - better have a Bomber season ticket to guarantee your bum-bucket.
You’ve listed Hamilton twice - I take it the Artgos are #5??? At this early pt I can’t disagree with you. I think a lot of people would have Ottawa higher but I can’t see them at better than 3rd or 4th in the East. Is Wpg a non-playoff team this year. Not sure how I stand there.
We’ll see how everything looks by June. As usual thought provoking.
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Argos lost the most in free agency – all-stars, depth players, you name it. They were decimated. They did sign their most important free agent, McManis. But he’s lost most of his stellar teammates. I don’t see how they are going to recover from this blow. If they do, I’ll give management a genius rating. So they get an F until proven otherwise.
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100000% agree about Ferguson and all other writers here.
I think this is going to be one of the closest years between 1st and last in each division we have seen. Every team has bonified QB’s and good looking rosters on paper. Going to be an interesting season.
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Argos got hammered this time last year as well. I fully expected a slow start for them as they rebuilt. GCs aren’t won in February and they did a great job with the fix in 2024.
As for the Bombers, my suspicion is they kicked the money pail down the road as far as they could and it caught up with them. The $400k might bail them out yet.
I agree the Argos lost some important guys especially on the D line but as mentioned they had some big departures after 2023 also. The players they signed in FA, other than Kevin Brown and retaining their own guys, are not overwhelming I’ll agree. What will be key is the rookies coming in - the front office has proven they are adept at reloading and based on that track record I’m betting TO will be in the hunt again in 2025. The excellent coaching staff, save for Will Fields and Demetrius Maxie, remain intact which also augers well for a return to the top.
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I think Hamilton’s grade is high, based on Lawlor IMO. WPG wisely chose to keep Schoen over him IMO. He’s not great in the locker room and his production has declined as injuries pile up. They already had Tim White and Dunbar Jr (since departed) so I don’t see Lawlor as filling a weakness they had and he’s getting big coin. Could be a flop of a signing.
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Don’t think Kenny ‘J’ Lawler will be a complete flop. Both he and Schoen have proven to be somewhat injury prone. Depends on how Lawler is receiving passes. If he’s clear of coverage and being led into the deep zone, he’ll do quite fine, especially if Bo-Levi (or whoever is QB) can hit him. If Lawler is used for intermediate and short patterns, he’ll take more than his fair share of abuse, thus the injury proviso.
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Schoen played in 37 of 39 games before his injury. Those injuries happen but he could be fully recovered come June. Kenny has a history of missing games - whether by misadventure or injury - & more each year. That’s 1 reason his contract is loaded with incentives including 1 for playing 15 games.
I’ve seen Kenny risk his body for even short passes, so I agree with you. I recall seeing him stretch out for a pass which was out of bounds. It’s fine being a showman but you have to use some common sense.
And Picksix is not the 1st to mention Lawler wasn’t great in the locker room. A couple of well connected insiders said just that. It’s not surprising even Ted mentioned he needed some growing up. Is he there yet? Lawler wrote the same flowery love letter to Edmonton fans, teammates etc. & hardly stepped off the plane in Winnipeg before dissing the city. I expect Kenny will be full of praise for his new team & city pretty quick.
FWIW Brandon Barlow just landed in Edmonton. Only 27 & he was on the Argo DL in 2023. Never worked out in Hamilton. So - we have a complete ex-Argo DL starting 4 in Edmonton. Shouldn’t be tough to getting them to mesh there.
Unfortunately there is something about great WRs & ego.
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Having a high grade on free agency isn’t necessarily a good thing. It just means you had more holes to fill.
Saskatchewan was in the same boat as Edmonton was last year but the Riders seem to have a nucleous of players now under contract.
Why is Hamilton graded a B in free agency so far especially they signed Kenny Lawler, Brian Cole III and Reggie Stubblefield who are very significant upgrades to both their offence and defence, which it was very shaky. Ted Gevoia has absolutely aced his first free agency signings which they should be graded at least a A+
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