Winnipeg Blue Bomber Thread

[Argo57]

Darian Durant finds another job signing with Winnipeg.

http://nationalpost.com/pmn/sports-p...-one-year-deal

[OV Argo]

Darian Durant finds another job signing with Winnipeg.

http://nationalpost.com/pmn/sports-p...-one-year-deal

Makes some sense i guess - in that a lot of CFL teams have a desperate need for an "experienced" back-up QB.

I wouldn't have paid Durant anymore than bare minimum CFL back-up QB wage; and I think it would be wayyyy smarter to try some younger QBs with some upside on the roster.

[jerrym]

Makes some sense i guess - in that a lot of CFL teams have a desperate need for an "experienced" back-up QB.

I wouldn't have paid Durant anymore than bare minimum CFL back-up QB wage; and I think it would be wayyyy smarter to try some younger QBs with some upside on the roster.

While I agree that Durant deserves to be backup to Nichols, I'm not sure what you mean by the bare minimum for a back-up QB, but if it is what the Bombers paid Dan LeFevour, then I would have to disagree as Durant, despite his very poor performance last year, has shown himself to be much better than that in the past.

[jerrym]

Durant says he is ready to take on a QB back-up role in Winnipeg.

“I just want to come in and help out Matt as much as I can and have a role with the team, whether it’s in meetings, whether it’s short yardage,” Durant said on a conference call Sunday after signing a contract with the Bombers late Saturday night. “I talked to Matt and told him that I’m just coming in to support you 100% — you’re the guy. You’ve helped build what is Winnipeg Blue Bomber football in this present day. I’m just coming in to try and help and do what I can. If my number is called then be ready and until then be that veteran guy to help him as much as possible.”
The Bombers clearly believed they lacked depth at the quarterback position last season — when Dom Davis and Dan LeFevour were the backups — and went out and got Durant just a few days after he was released by the Montreal Alouettes. ...
"I don’t think (being the backup) will be difficult at all,” Durant said. “When I first started my career, I was a practice-squad guy, then I was a third-stringer and I had to work my way up and everybody on the team has a role and I’m looking at this as ‘Where can my talents be best served?’ I felt like coming in, helping Matt, being a security blanket for him, helping out with short-yardage and just being around (offensive co-ordinator Paul LaPolice) in a good environment, that just made it an easy decision for me.”
Durant said the idea of retirement never crossed his mind. He said he was approached by three CFL teams after he was released by Montreal but chose Winnipeg because of the people in the organization and because he believes the team has what it takes to win. “When you’re working with good people, you always want to take advantage of that,” Durant said. “I’m big on work environment, going to work happy every day, being in a good locker room, being in a good situation and just seeing what coach (Mike) O’Shea has done with the team over the past couple of years, I see this as an organization that is definitely on the up and coming.”
The Bombers had other choices when looking for a veteran backup, most notably Kevin Glenn, the 38-year-old who was recently released by the Roughriders. Glenn has been the ultimate utility quarterback in recent years but clearly Bombers general manager Kyle Walters saw Durant as a better option.
“I hope that they see that I could still play and they can see that I can help this team,” Durant said. “Being a veteran presence behind Matt, being that guy on the field, myself and (quarterback’s coach) Buck (Pierce), helping him through reads — whatever it is that we may see. We had some tough battles with Winnipeg, myself over the past couple years. So I think that they think I can bring something to the table and that’s why they brought me in.”

http://winnipegsun.com/sports/footba...e-with-bombers

[jerrym]

GM Kyle Walters discusses below where Winnipeg is at this point in the off-season.

https://www.bluebombers.com/2018/01/...-kyle-walters/

[jerrym]

The Bombers have signed three players with previous CFL experience: Nationals DB Brendan Morgan, who was cut by the Bombers in 2017 after two years with the club, and WR Tylor Henry, a Bomber 8th round 2017 draftee who did not survive TC, and International Stephen Clarke, who spent four years with BC.

https://www.cfl.ca/2018/01/24/bomber...-clarke-henry/

[jerrym]

The signing of National DB Brendan Morgan and International DB Stephen Clarke suggests the Bombers may be willing to let one of their free agent DBs, TJ Heath or Moe Leggett go, if their salary demands are too high.

[jerrym]

WR Weston Dressler discusses the upcoming Bomber season and what it means to him to reunite with Darian Durant in this podcast.

https://www.tsn.ca/radio/winnipeg-12...-team-1.979930

[jerrym]

Bombers' Most Outstanding Defensive Player DB Chris Randle talks about the 2017 season and his goals for the upcoming season below.

https://www.bluebombers.com/2018/01/...eteran-leader/

[jerrym]

Geoff Gray, Bomber's 2017 eighth overall draft choice, has signed a two year contract with the Cleveland Browns, which had grabbed him off the Jets PR late in the season, so it's unlikely the Bombers will be seeing him anytime soon.

http://winnipegsun.com/sports/footba...nd-year-in-nfl

[jerrym]

Winnipeg has signed International DB Anthony Gaitor who played 12 games for the BC Lions last year, making 38 DT and 1 interception.

https://www.bluebombers.com/2018/02/...nthony-gaitor/

[jerrym]

The Bombers have cut QB Dominique Davis, who saw little action in three years with Winnipeg, suggesting the team did not have much confidence that at 28 he would develop into a decent CFL QB.

[ArgoRavi]

The Bombers have cut QB Dominique Davis, who saw little action in three years with Winnipeg, suggesting the team did not have much confidence that at 28 he would develop into a decent CFL QB.

When Davis had his opportunity to play last season, he did not seize it. This is an appropriate move for the Bombers.

[doubleblue]

The Bombers have cut QB Dominique Davis, who saw little action in three years with Winnipeg, suggesting the team did not have much confidence that at 28 he would develop into a decent CFL QB.

Does this open up a spot for Fajardo?

[jerrym]

Does this open up a spot for Fajardo?

It could but if he is after playing time, he is probably better off going to Ottawa where behind Trevor Harris is the rather pedestrian Ryan Lindley, the injury prone Drew Tate who has only played 3 games in each of the last two seasons, and the very inexperienced William Arndt and Danny Collins rather than sit behind Nichols and Durant in Winnipeg.

[jerrym]

Andrew Harris wants the Bombers to try to sign Kienan Lafrance. This makes sense as it would give Winnipeg a good backup National RB who could spell Harris without upsetting the National/International ratio. Despite leading the league in rushing last year, Harris started to wear down towards the end of the season, so Lafrance could help reduce Harris' wear and tear. They could still use International Timothy Flanders who is a good receiver out of the backfield as well as a runner.

[jerrym]

Andy Muamba, Winnipeg's second overall pick in 2013, won't be coming back to the Bombers in the future as he is retiring from football, at least that is what he says. It appears from the article below that the Argos are not the only team having disputes over two year contracts. Muamba's decision could also affect who the Bombers go after in free agency.

Mulumba has spent parts of the last five years in the National Football League after signing as an undrafted free agent in 2013 with the Green Bay Packers and then getting looks from the Kansas City Chiefs, Oakland Raiders and Los Angeles Rams. ...
The decision by Mulumba comes following a tumultuous few months in his dealings with the Bombers: He turned his attention to the CFL after his NFL options had apparently been exhausted last fall, but Mulumba’s agent made some disparaging public comments about the CFL in the media and then asked for his client to be traded when he didn’t like the team’s first contract offer.That rankled Bombers GM Kyle Walters, who said this when asked about the status of Mulumba at his season-ending media availability last November:
“We’ve called him for two years and he had zero interest in coming to the CFL. Zero interest. This year they decide that they’ll listen, but they only want to come for one year. It really doesn’t work like that, truth be told. If you want to come up here for a couple of games this year and be a free agent after next year, here’s the offer. This is standard procedure. Do your research, this is the way it works.” ...
“I put an offer out on whatever the day it was and have heard nothing. Absolutely no counter offer, nothing back. The next thing I heard through the media was that they wanted to be traded or he was going to retire. I said, ‘This is your negotiating ploy? I don’t quite understand that. Why don’t you send me what you’d like?’ I’ve yet to hear a counter offer. But now Andy Mulumba (if he signs) is committed for 2018 and 2019, regardless of where he goes. His idea of signing for the remainder of ’17 and getting out of his contract for 18, which seemed to me was their top priority, is no longer an option. He’s now committed to an ’18-’19 contract if he wants to play in the CFL.” ...
His decision does potentially impact what the Bombers might do in CFL free agency, which begins February 13th. The Bombers have started veteran Canadian Jamaal Westerman at defensive end over the last three years, but he is scheduled to become a free agent, as is another Canadian, defensive tackle Jake Thomas.
Canadian defensive linemen under contract for 2018 include end Trent Corney and tackles Faith Ekakitie and Ian Marouf.

https://www.bluebombers.com/2018/02/04/andy-mulumba-moves-football/

[ArgoRavi]

Guys like Mulumba and Victor Butler need to be realistic about their opportunities in the NFL. Both are too old and too expensive for an NFL team to want them. I know that it is hard to give up the dream of making a tonne more money but they need to be realistic if they want to continue playing pro football.

[jerrym]

Ed Tait use stats over the last few seasons to argue that having a good backup QB is extremely important. He also argues that that Bombers could have the best 1-2 QB combo the team has had in years.

First, let’s admit the obvious: quarterback is the most important position on the field and a franchise that has questions behind its starter – regardless of his history of durability – is juggling hand grenades the minute the team steps on the field for training camp.
To that end, consider that over the last four years only four Canadian Football League starters suited up for all 18 games for their clubs – Mike Reilly of the Edmonton Eskimos last year, B.C.’s Jonathan Jennings in 2016, and Ottawa’s Henry Burris in 2014 and 2015. Last year, four other quarterbacks – including Nichols, Bo Levi Mitchell of the Calgary Stampeders, Ricky Ray of the Toronto Argonauts and Kevin Glenn, then of the Saskatchewan Roughriders and now of the Esks – made 17 starts.
It’s worth noting as well that 19 different QBs started games for the nine teams across the CFL in 2017, down from the 20 who started games in 2016 and 26 in 2015. And the nine quarterbacks who made the majority of starts for their respective clubs last year combined to post a 74-64-2 record, with the starters for the six playoff squads at a combined 61-38-2.
But of the other 10 players who made starts for their teams, only four – Lions veteran No 1-1A Travis Lulay, Winnipeg’s Dan LeFevour, Saskatchewan’s Brandon Bridge and Drew Tate of Ottawa – helped lead their team to victories. ...
And the combined record of those 10 back-up quarterbacks who made starts? Try 6-16.
Those are just some of the numbers that help justify the importance of having a quality No. 2.
The 2017 season ended with Durant watching from the sidelines in Montreal and with concerns about a decrease in his arm strength. He’ll step into a different situation in Winnipeg, where he is reunited with former Riders teammate Weston Dressler and offensive coordinator Paul LaPolice, and highly-respected QB coach Buck Pierce. Just as important is the experience he’ll bring to the Bombers, with 128 career starts to his name (61-66-1, but 58-54-1 prior to last year’s disaster in Montreal). ...
In adding Durant, it could be argued the Bombers now have their best 1-2 punch at the position in some time.

https://www.bluebombers.com/2018/02/...ad-qb-tandems/

[jerrym]

Bombers have decided to let Internationals WR Clarence Denmark and OL Travis Bond go in free agency.

Bond, 27, played the last two seasons in Winnipeg, where he was named a CFL all-star in 2016 after filling in for an injured Patrick Neufeld at left guard in Week 6 of that year. Neufeld later replaced the six-foot-seven and 356-pound Bond late into the 2017 season after Bond suffered a lower-body injury. But once he was cleared to play, it was Neufeld who was called upon in a 39-32 loss to the Edmonton Eskimos in the West Division final. Neufeld, who is Canadian, has since signed a two-year extension with the Bombers.
Denmark was the longest-tenured player for Winnipeg, as he’s been with the team for the better part of the last seven seasons. After being released at the start of the 2016 campaign, Denmark made a miraculous comeback. That year, he recorded a career-high eight touchdowns despite playing in just 10 games.

https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sp...473579763.html