Regime Status for 2019 - & BEYOND

Winnipeg Blue Bombers
1

Seems Miller and his chain gang have a good thing going now in Winnipeg - salaries well over $250k per anum for the main combatants (Miller, Walters, O’Shea, McManus, LaPolice, Nichols, Goviea, few others) with Miller pulling in the biggest ticket at around $440,000 (un-verified)

Lots of TSN TV money coming in. Provincial govt. has written off most of the loans connected to IGF Stadium and relaxed remittance rules for Miller and his organization.

Still a team with very little oversight and community connection - the board of directors is just a charade - mostly for media optics!

Can’t see O’Shea, Walters or Miller getting canned.

Richie Hall is running out of gas and getting old, tired and infirm. He’s obviously not putting in the hours - or just running out the clock.

This operation doesn’t like paying out salaries so O’Shea, despite his atrocious .500 record is safe. Same with Walters and Plop.

Scouting guys safe cuz the team doesn’t have the tentacles to provide replacements so expect similar low-yield results at CFL draft, FA acquisitions and southern scouting.

So only victims are Hall and maybe one other lower level coach, a couple of mid-level executives, etc.

There is obviously fan dissatisfaction in the air - but solace in the fact the team made playoffs and won their first playoff game under O’Shea.

Season tickets should be static - Miller trying to create a sales algorithm to sell more lower price tickets to boost attendance numbers; he’s anticipating another small write-down of seas. ticket holders, perhaps 3.5 to 5%

Major sponsors seem to like jock-sniffing and knife 'n forking - of which the bombers supply an unlimited amount.

Should be striking a Grey Cup planning committee for the 2022 or '23 event . . . .

2

You’re predictable as always. You just hate the Bombers and hope they lose. You give these phoney comments that if did this they would win. But in fact deep down you want them to lose so you can act all big and run them down. If it wasn’t for Mike O’Shea and Matt we wouldn’t have gotten this far. You’re always the first to turn on them and comment.

3

Spot on. Just to give anyone a hint of how offbase his stuff is, let's start at the top. $250K/yr for all those people and $440K for Wade Miller?

There is a new cap for the CFL front office starting in 2019 to include 11 coaches and 17 ops staff, so 28 total and the cap is set at $2.8 million, or an avg of $100k per. The salaries he's quoting would put the Bombers at the cap with less than half that staff. If he were anywhere close to being accurate, the Bombers would have to cut to fit under the cap.

Also this repeated false narrative about low yield drafts is preposterous. Since Walters has taken over they're in the top four teams in getting contributions from their picks. Outside of Ekakitie, you'd be hard pressed to identify another major bust in their top picks. Maybe Corney, but he missed most of this season with injury. Rebuilt the Oline with National talent and provided depth, an all star national safety, upgraded the special teams depth, and most recently completely rebuilt the National receiving group into what could be a strength for years to come if they can keep them together. There's about 19 or so draft picks on the roster in one way or another. Not sure there's another team that can boast that.

4

Most of our "successes" at the draft table are 3rd to 6th round flukes - where they're just looking at the draft bible developed by the scouting pool and guessing needs and guys.

Ekakitie is a profound bust, everyone agrees.
Jade Etienne is another losing proposition.
Q Spooner (15th last year) is still a round mound of work in progress
The kid we gave up a 1st choice overall with the braids rapidly turned busterooni
Have to look into the last 5 years, pretty sure I could come up with several more

5

The greatest yield on the draft tree for bombers was 2014 & 2015 (of recent)

Mattias Goosen © was selected 2nd overall in '14; Suckh Chungh (G) in '15 - Goosen has become an average CFL centre, very serviceable and great in the community - one of the few guys who lives in Winnipeg year round; he’ll never be all-star calibre and has trouble moving men against their will but he’s serviceable; Chungh is a different kettle o fish, perhaps our greatest draft success since Henoc Muamba (who bolted after fulfilling his initial contract). Chungh is a CFL western all-star who can move the odd man against his will and conducts above average pass protect.

Should be pointed out that same year bomber drafters became infatuated with Addison Richards long flowing & glowing locks and drafted stupidly at #11 overall. Lamar Durant & Adam Konar were drafted a few picks afterwards. OUCH!!!

6

In 2016 the bombers traded away their #1 pick and results were NOT good.

Trent Corney & Randy Couture came in at #10 & #11

Corney has pretty much disappeared from the planet earth, left camp early in the season cuz he wanted to rehab injuries on his own, rather than with weak bomber rehab guys.

Couture has blossomed into a half-arsed 6th or 7th OL spare guy, thats about where his career will go. Undersized and a bit under-powered to make up the difference.

Bombers also picked up bloated 380 lb. guy Rupert Botcher that year (write-off), Frank Renaud & Shayno Gauthier - the latter two guys serving as serviceable special teams assassins cuz nobody else wants those jobs!

7

…… As well there’s the guy we got in the supplementary Garrett Waggoner who quit on us… when we could have selected Singleton…BUT all in all I think that Walters has done a fair job…The draft game is a tough one to call in this league with all of the talented eyes casting their gazes south…soooo I think we do alright…Loved most of the picks last year…I think we now have the best Canadian receiving corps in the league right now…We just need a qb. who can get the ball to them ;D

8

Our QB is fine. Matt got us this far and finished pretty good stat wise compared to other teams QBs.

9

Head Office and Coaching Staff cap doesn’t appear to include The WAD.
It seems to include only football related staff, not management.
C’mon, you think the guys voting are going to include themselves?
It’s Winnipeg, it’s The CFL!

10

Priceless - The Wad completely outsmarted and intellectually overpowered Randy. . . . which tells you more about Randy than Wad . . . .

11

"The new measures will limit teams to a coaching staff of 11 and other football operations staff to 17. The total compensation for those 28 employees is not to exceed $2.738 million.

17 minor staff @ half time @ $65,000.00,
7 coaches at $95,000.00
Oc @ $250,000
DC @ $225,000
Big Mike @ $495,000

Rebuttal?

12

Think all your figures are close - except Big O ain't grabbin' $500k from the Wad-Pot. More like $330k to $360k. Should get a bit o raise for breaking his maiden in playoff football. Plop is prolly in the $260k to $275k range, DC around $180 to $200k

Of course, Randy thinks he's got things figured out when it comes to a cap on football operations expenses. He hasn't dealt with something like Wad before. Wad is the Terry Balkan of the CFL.

Here's the rub. Whats to stop Wad (or any other CFL CEO) from moving a few jobs from football ops to latrine machine?

13

Will Richie be back? No doubt the most hotly debated topic in Bomberville over the past few years. My hunch is he will.

14

big mike is the best

15

…Not even a murmur bout Hall staying or going…It’s top secret ya know…cone of silence dropped and we’ll most likely have to wait and find out when tc breaks…That’s the way it goes around here ain’t it…Actually the D came around toward the end of the season but you have to wonder if Ritchie wasn’t getting a helping hand…Hall’s health was in question last year …Has he totally recovered??That could be the deciding factor on where we are going with the dc position…

…As far as Bob Barker being brought in…hmmmmmmm…He might have been good at one time … but nowadays …not so much…The hamburgler dropped a big stinky when he got Walters to free Willy for a great little DB and a first rounder,Looks like Drew has reached elite hobo status and will likely retire in that category UNLESS Sask. gets a desperate notion and pulls a Willy resurerection…So all in all I think Barker has slipped and he’s got a long way to go to recover his former self…Good luck to him

…Don’t see any change with the mafia men in our regime at present and there likely won’t be any unless we regress this year…then somebody is going to swim with the fishy’s …So much can happen in this off season and the guessing game has begun in earnest

16

I must admit I snickered a bit when Bob Barker traded Ky Walters a packet of goodies for Boxcar Willy. Only excuse is that Barker was crying out for help in Toronto and just 'bout willing to do anything! (looking like an idiot in trading good stuff for Willy brought him to that level)

17

Two “Get Smart” references in the one week. All good in my book. The cone of silence is a highly critical piece of equipment around the Bomber office.

Don’t hold off on the “Hogan’s Hero’s” stuff either by the way.

18

Noticed chat on another forum that suggested between Vancouver and Toronto they lost $21 million on MLS last year. 15 by one, 6 by the other. Not sure which is which.

Begs the question “what is the motivation for getting into this game”.

More opportunity for the accountants seems the only plausible excuse.

I’m not the guy they will be marketing to but honestly would need to look at a list to name one player in the league. Pretty sure Pele and Maradonna are both done. Maybe Neymar.

Bombers were never mandated for this and have no business sticking their nose in imo. Not that that will slow Wade down.

19

If nothing else the blocked attempt to poach Lapo should start a conversation about the next man up plan be it related to people moving on or whatever. Traffic accidents / strokes / self asphyxiation etc kind of things can happen.

Curious if something happens to Wade Miller, does Kyle Walters get another last man standing promotion?

Might be a good question for the BOD to ask.

20

Joe, I'm surprised you didn't know

Wad IS the BOD

all the other so-called community appointees are nothing more than fancy dan jock-sniffers and/or knife 'n forkers.

Wad is calling the shots.

Things will have to take a bad turn before the heavy rotund fellow is sent packing!