....Out of nowhere comes the report and verified by Walters that Justin Medlock and Stanley Bryant are free agents come Feb.... IF not re-signed before hand... :roll: First we've heard of this...Walters goes on to say they re-negotiated mid season...He better get these guys re-signed for 17, or there's a couple of big holes that'll need filling...There must be cap issues in that we're skiritng the limit....orrrr maybe one or both have different ideas for 17'...Oh boy, with either situation...The situation I prefer is, it was just a cost saving measure and will be a formality to re-sign them...I sure don't like how things like this just pop up out of the blue.. :roll:
Walters said he thinks we're probably close up to the cap but not likely over it. It wouldn't surprise me either considering how many injuries we've had to the receivers and DBs. Said it before and I'll say it again - with two 1st round picks, Bond, Foketi, and Hardrick in the fold - Bryant may not be back to save money.
The offseason should be interesting. There are a few players in line for a raise, plus Bryant and Medlock may or may not be back depending on if the NFL comes calling. Nichols probably made a chunk of money off of bonuses this year, those dollars will be in the form of guaranteed money on a new deal should he resign but he'll still cost a bit more. There are a few more players looking to get a bigger deal as well - Darvin Adams, Khalil Bass. We might not be able to afford Kevin Glenn to come back as a back up unless he takes a more incentive laden deal. We'll have a bit of money to work with. It seems they benched Kohlert for the playoff game and he's probably the highest earning National receiver on the roster, good chance he's not back. And Sam Hurl returns he will have to take a bit of a cut from his 6 figure salary since he's not the starting MLB anymore. Intriguing offseason.
Welcome to my world Papa!!!
The bombers have always (for the most part) operated with utter disdain for the fans. All information is heavily processed and pureed to the point its almost not worth releasing. Just look at O’Shea’s disgraceful excuse for a press conference yesterday!
Contract terms are now verboten in bomberland, although thanks to the CBA we often learn what many key players (QBs, off-season acquisitions, etc. excepted).
Frankly, we can thank the Winnipeg Jets ownership and management who know most of their fans aren’t exactly brain surgeons - so they’ve perfected the “talk lots - say nothing” management style. I’m sure Wad Miller glommed onto it and said 'we gotta do something like that"… be terse and don’t walk away from interviews - just have the discipline to say what you want to say - not what the fans and a mostly house-boy media want you to say!
As for Bryant - the bombers prolly have an adequate replacement for him - at least $15k to $25k less than Stanley. Medlock is an interesting case. He’s really not replaceable with current CFL kickers. Wouldn’t surprise me if he slinks back to Toronto or Hamilton for 10k to !5k more than Wpg offers. Why? Don’t know! Medlock has Miller by the peanuts on this one folks - If Medzi wants $210k with a $45,000 signing bonus I’m afraid he’s gonzo Alonzo.
Miller might instruct Walters to give him $185,000 with $55,000 guaranteed (signing bonus)
Without Medlock and Matt Nichols the bombers would have been a 6-12 team this year; certainly no better than 7-11
…I’ll go further than that, if Medlock and Nichols weren’t here, we wouldn’t be talking about any contract extensions, only who do we bring in as our new head coach…AND that’s how fine it was…O’Shea’s won/loss record and lack of post season play and play-off wins in the last 3 years would have been glaring at 6 and 12…
…Sometimes I think that certain coaches and management types forget about just who pays the bills…Reluctance and even showing disdain for local media types, when trying to extract straight-up answers on behalf of the fans, is straight-up bull$hit…During questioning in the presser, Walters didn’t know how many fa’s we had?? Geez, you would think that would be top of his notes…Maybe the admission and fact that two more were added threw him for a loop…Walters says that those two will be back :roll: I have to agree there’s a strong possibility that Bryant will likely be a casualty …Further, IF we don’t re-sign Medlock :thdn: the cupboard is bare behind him…I’ll look at things a little more positive for a bit…We have a good core of players…A few additions like a stud middle linebacker and a defensive end to go with Westerman would be a start… Get a quality receiver in the draft AND O Lineman…I also believe Ritchie Hall will not be back… although if we can’t lure someone better, we could see a return and more of the same…Important dates for us now are free agency and the draft…Something to look forward to.
Not so sure re-upping Westerman is the answer either. His quality of play deteriorated significantly from his “rookie” season - very little oomph/penetration into the passing lane, negligible sacks and too many undisciplined late hits. I agree he needs help as the opposite side was even sadder than Westerman.
Linebackers are quick and spunky but also under-powered and not speedballs. Gamers like Bass and Wild have to be re-assessed. The other LBs, too!
D-backfield appears full of athletes - but poor coaching has them in retreat and drop back umbrellas at nearly all times. Pathetic.
Kohlert’s time has come and gone. He might get another chance with a bottom 2 team when Miller releases him. Free up some salary cap space and don’t draft a gumball like Etienne again!
Easy to say bring in a MLB with heft and monster tackling skills like Solly Bomb Bombs or Bighill - but they don’t grow on trees - guys that are slightly under-powered and under-sized are still used as depth special teamers in the NFL for $800,000 to a million/yr.
…Wouldn’t hurt to give Solo Minimum a look in fa…but that’s a long shot…Unless he’s thinking more money and has fallen out of luv with Wally
…Kohlert was a solid receiver but has fallen on hard times and will likely be replaced…Unless he rebounds in tc it most likely will be adios…
…I’m thinking that this Danny Vandervoot out of McMaster would be a nice draft pic…He’s ranked pretty high and reminds me a lot of Jason Claremont …Would be a nice replacement for Rory…We also have a local kid Geoff Gray, a highly ranked O Lineman and Winnipeg kid, that looks like a possibility…Would be nice to add some quality to a very sound O line…Justin Senior O Lineman, ranked first overall, will most likely find his way to the states…
…As far as linebackers go…they’re always thin in the draft BUT as far as canucks go I like Christophe Mulumba…Too far off to get serious though, but these players are worth a look and with the picks we have in 17’, we should be able to turn up something…
Can't decide which would be the more moronic decision by O'Shea?
Going for the 61 yd FG or re-upping Rich Hall?
Both are idiotic, I know but O'Shea is one stubborn cuss and he's loyal to a fault - even if its to a blithering incompetent!
…That last statement certainly has some truths…I see O’Shea as a coach who is very set in his ways…Very unyielding unless he’s given a directive from above…I see this as a plus in some respects, as we are certain to keep some sort of continuity,BUT a fault if we are keeping players for the sake of loyalty and not talent…I fear he may have that same loyalty to coaches (looking at Hall) and the team will suffer for if it, if better is available and we don’t act…I don’t think Mike O is able to change…He is what he is for better or worse…I see him extended and we ‘should’ have a better year than the one we have just finished…IF NOT…oh boy…this team won’t stand the strain and dark days will descend…I have to remind myself to stay positive and hope for the best with this club. :roll:
Hopefully, one or both of Walters or Miller have an allergy to incompetence - as M. O’Shea seems fully immunized. If Mike wants to re-up he has to be told he can’t bring Little Richard back. Otherwise, the O’Shea era ends and he’s free to explore special teams assistant opportunities both north and south of the border.
If Walters and Miller think they have to appease O’Shea in order to re-up him then “Houston, we have a problem!”