Stamps GM Huff not keen on Bombers FA hoarding

[b]Scott Mitchell @ScottMitchellPM
John Hufnagel NOT holding back on what he thinks of the @Wpg_BlueBombers free agency strategy. #CFL #Bombers #CFLFA

Scott Mitchell @ScottMitchellPM
Huff on #Bombers: “They didn’t sign any of their guys and they sign other people’s guys. I prefer to sign my own guys.That’s just me? #CFLFA

Scott Mitchell ?@ScottMitchellPM
Huff on Winnipeg Blue #Bombers activity today: “I’d say that’s a little surprising. How many years are they going to do it?? #CFLFA[/b]

[quote="tangledweb"][b]Scott Mitchell @ScottMitchellPM
John Hufnagel NOT holding back on what he thinks of the @Wpg_BlueBombers free agency strategy. #CFL #Bombers #CFLFA

Scott Mitchell @ScottMitchellPM
Huff on #Bombers: “They didn’t sign any of their guys and they sign other people’s guys. I prefer to sign my own guys.That’s just me? #CFLFA

does Winnipeg have any free agents worth signing ?

...Sounds like a bunch of sour grapes coming out of Alberta...Fa's, all 10 of them weren't worth re-upping John and the talent out there was hard to pass up on...Easy one to get your head around Huff...AND if you're re-signing your own guys ...what happened to Simpson and Keon Raymond...guess they didn't get the message.. :lol:

What a cry baby. The bombers didn't sign any stamps players, and once a player goes to free agency, it fair/open market.

Huff knows his club is going to get beaten down by the bombers now and he's throwing a tantrum.

The bombers won the off season, and just as the Redblacks last year, it led to success.

Bombers have frequently won the offseason. Trouble is its been awhile since they’ve won the regular season and playoffs :wink: :lol:

not sure why Huff has a problem with this as it is called FREE AGENCY and a great opportunity for any club (including the Stamps) to improve themselves via the open market.

and why would Huff expect the Bombers re-sign the same players that helped guide the team to a 5-13 record?

I like Huff...Excluding Dressler and Nichols, we just signed 3 really good Imports and 3 really good Non-Imports and another who may be a future star. A lot of trouble spots have been stitched up.We just became a pretty good team and that's only on paper. Wait till we hit the field and maybe get a few games under belt and then the Huffer can judge. I like what we've done. I have renewed hope.

he is not whining or judging, just giving an opinion. is he allowed to do that???

I think what Huff is hinting at is that the Bombers hardly bring any talent into the league and try to build their roster with other teams finds. Can't argue with him.

What the heck is all that about? The Bombers have had the least talent in the league for the past 5 years now and are still extremely thin at depth.

Agreed.

…This is a business…you do what you have to, to get better…AND I dare someone to argue with that…Have a problem with it…tough…as of today this club is a contender and something I’m sure Mr. Hufnagel is quite aware of…He seemed to like everything when he was winning it all…Guess he just got a little worried :lol:

That’s kind of what I was thinking. Really doesn’t sound all that aggressive.

And I think he re-signed something like nine of his own guys. It’s not like he’s making stuff up. Plus, you know…he’s been pretty successful with that method.

he is just poking them...he is not bitter, just taking a jab that they have done it a few years in a row now and it has gotten them nowhere (they did well this year but still did not make a big splash on the OL as of yet). Lots of poking around the league today for first day of one of the busiest starts ever to FA season...rather liked that.

LOL, I wasn’t aware that the Grey Cup was won on the first day of free agency. I admire WPG’s aggression on the FA front, but it doesn’t change the fact that spending like a drunken sailor on free agents typically doesn’t lead to the best results.

One way in which WPG could get better in future is by … you know … finding fresh talent on their own and bringing that talent into the league, instead of just going after the players everyone else has already developed. Would be much cheaper and more conducive to good SMS management.

Huf beat Wally Buono to the Bombers dig this year. It's not the first dig he's had at the Bombers of the years, won't be the last. Maybe it's like HfxTC suggests, maybe it's a complaint, maybe it's a dig, maybe he has unresolved issues from his time as a player here, maybe he's having fun. Whatever, he's entitled to his opinion. And really, I think the Bombers organization and fans would love to not have to be a major player in free agency. Unfortunately we've gone through a decade of bad decisions by board members who aren't football people in hiring GMs who then each had their own unique method of ravaging the roster and so here we are. If we could erase what Mike Kelly and Joe Mack did to our team we'd do it in a heartbeat. Problem is that it's taken a long time to remedy their damange.

We've tried to focus with rebuilding our National talent via the draft, but the draft will be of limited help this year. And, of course, patience is thin. Walters is doing what he needs to do to give his coaches the players that will return the team to the playoffs. Huf has been lucky to work in Calgary where he came in and started with a good baseline of talent, has had a fair amount of stability, and hasn't had to deal with meddling by board members or ownership. His tune might be different if they had a couple of losing seasons.

One area of concern is the O-line. Sign all the offensive stars you want; if you can't protect Willy, it won't matter if you have Milt Steagall in his prime catching passes for you.

And while I agree with wolverine's general point about rebuilding, I'll just say that some of WPG's recent wounds have been self-inflicted, such as hiring Bellefeuille, then not firing him after one season, and perhaps even the selection of O'Shea as head coach. Ottawa went from 2-16 in year one to Grey Cup contention in year two; it should not take Winnipeg this long in a nine-team league just to make the playoffs.

IMO if Willy had stayed healthy Winnipeg finished 3rd in the West and made the playoffs.

The 'Pegs management and coaching is under a lot of pressure to put something competitive on the field this year. They have had their two years grace and results are expected by the third no matter if they had rotten luck the last couple or not.

This is the current regime's do or die year.

That’s true, but SSK was brutally bad and BC wasn’t much better for lengthy stretches. Both teams will be improved this year right along with Winnipeg.