Two to test FA.

.....Apparently the agents for Morley and Oramasionwu, have said their guys would possibly be testing the fa market...So long to Morley...This guy was one of the weak links on our O line last year...no loss....As for Oramasionwu...he'd be a bit of a loss..We've been grooming him for quite awhile but i think Muamba is going to fit in nicely on the d line anyways... :wink:

Uh…what? Donny O is a Dlineman, Muamba is a linebacker, and I don’t think there is any plan to play him on the Dline. Donny O showed promise and could’ve been (and still could be if he sticks) heir apparent to Doug Brown on the Dline. If he leaves they will need another starting NI somewhere. It may become more of a necessity to start Muamba at linebacker or, if he needs more seasoning, maybe they start off with Labbe like they were doing at the end of the playoffs and move on to Muamba as the season progresses. Morely will be in tough to find a job elsewhere, but TO, Edmonton, Riders, Hamilton are always taking on FAs so maybe he finds a job somewhere else. NI guard should be one of the easiest spots to fill a hole and there are a couple of young in house candidates already.

Wonder what's up with Donny O? Does he know something we're not in on ? Seems to me he has a situation here that fits his needs, that is ; he's known and he knows the defence and the DC is staying etc. so is it the strive for more money? more playing time? questionable advice from outsiders? O Donny! Good luck anyways!

…Donny O is a capable d linemen …seeing spot duty for D.Brown…If Doug does decide to retire for certain, Dons leaving could hurt…I’m quite aware of the position Muamba plays…We have interchanged players (on d ) before and have converted guys before (see Greaves to O line)…From what i hear Muamba is very versatile plus the guy is very early in his development…In any event losing D.O. would not be the end of the world…He was joking on twitter that the contract offer from Mack was a joke…I don’t think this is the best way to secure a new deal :wink: Would be nice if we heard something from Bomber management in the next little while :roll:

Greaves was a Dlineman moving to the Oline, same beast just different side. Moving a LB to Dline spot is usually to an end spot to rush the passer. That would mean taking out one of WiIlis, Kashama, Vega, or Mainor off the field. Muamba would be at least 30 plus lbs too undersized to play as an interior dlineman, he’s around 60 lbs lighter than Donny O looking at the bomber roster page. I think they keep him at LB with the long term goal that he develops into a steady NI LB that can play regularly like an Eiben or an Emery. LB will be a tough spot to crack with the group that’s here though so maybe they use him as an edge guy that can rush or drop back in coverage as an extra LB. Maybe MLB depending on how JoLo comes back from yet another injury that ended his season. Too bad because he was having a great year up until he got hurt and the D was lacking something after he was gone.

Totally agree with you wolverine. Muamba is too light to be in the interior of the D line, and I wouldn't mess with his head at this stage of his young career by making him switch positions.

Don’t agree…that’s what they said about the conversion of Greaves from d to o line (who i’m hoping will crack our o line this year) … :wink: Anyway Bombers I’m sure will use their players to their best advantage…It it means adapting so be it :wink: Besides MJ didn’t one of your d players get switched from his familiar position to another which was more beneficial to the Als…Who was that player again??? :wink:

papa you're probably referring to Chip Cox moving from DHB up to SAM.

A few players have made that switch. . . Jordan Younger, Markeith Knowlton. . .

And it is not unusual for a LB to play part time at rush end (Kitwana Jones). .. but to take a LB like Muamba and move him to DT I think is highly risky; he doesn't have the bulk. You can't compare it to Greaves, who moved from one line to another line. . . he is still a lineman. I think Muamba's future is MLB.

Only way Muamba plays Dline in anyway is as a part time Jack type that can rush from the outside or drop backs into coverage. By his size on the bomber roster he would not last a full season playing DT unless the team asks him to put on 50lbs in the hopes they can convert him - no way they take a first round talent and ask him to put on that much weight to convert to a new roster spot. Going from LB to halfback or safety, DE, or even flip side of the ball to FB, TE is doable but taking a guy like muamba and converting him to a lineman spot like DT is like asking a RB like volny to play tackle. Moving Greaves from Dline to Oline is easier to do considering there is some crossover in the physical requirements. At any rate, we'll see in a few months.

There's no need to convert Muamba. If Labbe and Muamba rotate at MLB then an import could be used on the d-line without there being any ratio problems.

...First of all ...how did this thread on 'possible fa's' morph into a Muamba conversion :lol: ....I think we'll admit that conversions are possible...that's my argument...Cox was considered too small for the change he made...There was all kinds of 'ballyhooing' in Mont. about it, until (I believe it was Burke) changed his position and they wondered why he hadn't played there in the first place...Anyway , I.m not saying that Burke will do the same thing here with Muamba...I'm saying conversions are POSSIBLE and can work out quite well...AND if a guy has to bulk up and 'change' (see Greaves).(.AND it doesn't matter if he continues to play a line position), the footwork for an o lineman and d lineman are completely different... Seems he's making the transition :wink:

there's nothing wrong with converting players but you have to be realistic. Greaves went from Dline to Oline, he did not have to bulk up. There are guys switching from Oline to Dline all the time at all levels of football, its a doable conversion. It's pretty rare to ask a guy to play an interior spot on the Dline that is a linebacker, that's a whole different beast. Would you ask a RB to play center or guard on the line? No way.

Getting back to the FA topic. Donny O and Steve Morely won't be the only 2 to hit FA. I would guess at least 2 of Brink, Elliott, and Buck are still unsigned once FA starts, not that they won't still remain Bombers but I"m sure they explore what their options are. I wouldn't be surprised if the Riders or Argos take a run at Elliott and/or Brink as both of them have subpar options behind their starters. If Morely leaves, no big loss. There are options there at guard. Both starting tackles are heading into FA though, Doublas and January. Would be interesting to see if they can hold on to both or lose one. Since they've been starting 2 import tackles and backing them up with Butler, another import, I don't know if they have a quality NI that can start at tackle right now.

No offense, papa, but you’re off the mark here. It was Popp, not Burke, who suggested that Cox would be a good fit at SAM backer. As for size, it was never an issue. Cox was replacing Tim Strickland, himself a smaller tweener LB. The question was whether Cox could adapt to the new role. I was one of the people who questioned the move, only because I felt Cox was our weakest cover DB the year prior, but that was precisely why the switch was made: to give Chip a chance to play close to the LOS, hit people, and make plays. But regardless, the body type for a typical SAM backer in today’s CFL is very similar to the body type for a DB. Not the same thing at all comparing our situation to moving a linebacker to defensive tackle, two different positions with vastly different average body types and sizes.

...Sorry bout the mix-up between Burke and Popp...couldn't remember exactly who proposed the change...Anyway ...talking about transitions ....AND a large change at that....How about a d lineman to offensive guard .. Of course we don't know how successful Greaves is going to be but from what i've seen and heard this kid has made the change admirably...I'll agree position changes are not easy AND you have to have a similarity of sorts (ex. qb. to receiver) BUT not impossible :wink:

[url]http://tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=387800[/url]

Morely resigned so he's not going to FA.

[url]http://www.winnipegsun.com/2012/02/14/labatte-not-talking-to-bombers[/url]

Donny O is going to FA, as are, at least according to this article, Aaron Hargreaves and Andre Douglas. Obviously its become apparent over the last couple of weeks that LaBatte is headed to FA as well. Although this article says that January is close to resigning.

With Khan still under contract, Morely resigning, and January being close, 3 of the 5 regular starting Olineman are coming back. Whether you like which 3 of the starting 5 from last year are locks to be back is another issue. With some writers suggesting Labatte leaving for the Green is inevitable they needed to keep from having too much turnover on the Oline, at least until the training camp battles sort things out. Last think you'd want is to hit training camp looking for 3 or 4 new starters on the Oline. Douglas might get some looks from other teams (my guess is Edm, Sask if they don't get Labatte, Toronto, and maybe Mtl) but Kelly Butler is still in the fold.

Actually not too, too bad. If Bombers can pickup O"Neil or Picard, the drop off isn’t overwhelming.

Saw these tweets posted at the EP:

Kirk Penton (@pentonkirk)
“Joe Mack just met with the media, and Brendon LaBatte didn’t even respond to Mack’s latest attempt to reach out to him. #Bombers

“Mack said he’s been trying to extend LaBatte for a year and a half to no avail. #Bombers

“In other words, you might want to think twice about getting that LaBatte 57 jersey for the upcoming season. #Bombers

Joe Pascucci (@ Pascucci015)
“Joe Mack wouldn’t say that Brendan LaBatte had been stringing him and the club along in regards to a new contract the last year. I will”

“Blue Bomber GM Joe Mack says OL Brendon LaBatte and his agent have not responded back to him since last Friday.”

“Mack says club made Labatte substantial offer but sometimes you can’t compete with geography. Labatte is from Weyburn, Sk”

...If LaBatte bolts....I hope Mack has a very good plan B :roll:

Hate the tactic by Labatte, why string the club along, they have to have time to make other plans if you are leaving, a simple yes or is no would do.

The whole interview is on the Bombers home page for those interested. By the look of it all that Joe is left with is hope that Saskatchewan is sticker shocked when they get Labatte’s demands.