Winnipeg Blue Bomber Thread

[jerrym]

The Bombers have signed two former NFLers: RB Jalen Summers, who played in 11 preseason games with four NFL teams from 2016-2018 and DB Mykkele Thompson, who a fifth round NY Giants draft pick, who also spent time in the New Orleans TC.

[jerrym]

National DB Jeff Hecht has extended with the Bombers through 2019.

Hecht, an Edmonton native and product of Saint Mary’s University, played 14 games for Winnipeg last season after joining the club last summer.

He recorded eight defensive tackles, seven special teams tackles, two sacks, one interception and one forced fumble.

Hecht, 33, is entering his ninth CFL season in 2019. He has played in 114 career games with Saskatchewan, Montreal, Calgary and Winnipeg.

The Bombers acquired Hecht as a free agent in July, three months after he was released from the Roughriders.

https://www.bluebombers.com/2019/02/...efensive-back/

[jerrym]

The Bombers have added two International WRs, Dom Williams and Rasheed Bailey, as well as National DB Dexter Janke and International LB Kyrie Wilson.

6-foot-2, 200-pound Washington State University product Williams, a 26-year-old who’s bounced around a few NFL teams, finished his college career with 192 catches for 2,889 yards and 30 touchdowns in four seasons.

Bailey, a 25-year-old out of Delaware Valley University has had looks from the B.C. Lions and a handful of NFL teams. Bailey caught 165 passes in college, good for 3,138 yards and 29 touchdowns. ...

Winnipeg also re-signed linebacker Kyrie Wilson for a third season this week. Wilson saw action in five games last season, plus both playoff games. He recorded four defensive tackles, seven on special teams, with one quarterback sack.

Also joining the Bombers is Canadian defensive back Dexter Janke, who spent three years in Calgary after the Stampeders drafted him in the fifth round in 2015. Janke played 16 games with the Stamps, recording 14 tackles.

​https://winnipegsun.com/sports/footb...lmost-sold-out

[jerrym]

National RB Kienan Lafrance has signed with the Riders, likely feeling that the Bomber backfield is crowded with RBs and feeling he would have a better chance elsewhere, after being used sparingly in 2018 in gaining 137 yards on 36 carries, following a 2017 season in which he had 273 rushing yards on 68 carries in Riderville and 157 yards in the 2016 Eastern Final for Ottawa.

[jerrym]

John Hodge argues it is time for the Bombers to start three National receivers.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers got a fever and the only prescription is more Canadian receivers. The Bombers are in a state of ratio uncertainty following a free agent period that saw right guard Sukh Chungh sign with the B.C. Lions. Chungh’s departure came just two weeks following the announcement that centre Matthias Goossen had retired to pursue a career in law enforcement with the Delta police force. ...

Winnipeg had a contingency plan for losing one piece of their league-best offensive line in three-year veteran Michael Couture. But losing two pieces? That presents a much tougher challenge.
2017 first-round pick Geoff Gray signed with the Bombers in October following a one-year stint in the NFL. Gray projects as a solid contributor but the 24-year-old has yet to start a CFL game. Winnipeg also has some intriguing young Canadians in Cody Speller, Ben Koczwara, and Matthew Ouellet De Carlo. All should contribute in depth roles but none should be seen as day-one starters.
There’s also a chance that the Bombers will make a ratio change up front. “We understand our bread and butter is running the ball and pounding and being aggressive,” said Kyle Walters at his post-free agency press conference. “We will not sway from that mindset around here.” ...

Walters has hinted that the club could look to start a Canadian at defensive tackle. The problem is that Winnipeg doesn’t currently have the talent to make that work. Jake Thomas is a solid veteran and the Bombers added 27-year-old Maxx Forde to the roster on Sunday. Both are solid depth players but I’m unconvinced either should be considered a full-time starter. This year’s draft is also without a top-tier defensive tackle prospect.

One part of the problem is that Winnipeg has had a string of bad luck when it comes to national players along the defensive line. 2013 first-round pick Andy Mulumba retired from football in February of 2018 without signing a CFL contract following five years in the NFL. Veteran pass rusher Jamaal Westerman chose not to re-sign with the Bombers last winter despite receiving a solid contract offer from the club. Then there’s Faith Ekakitie, the Iowa product that Winnipeg drafted first overall in 2017. Ekakitie, released in last year’s training camp, has since been signed and cut by Montreal after missing the 2018 season with a torn Achilles.

Instead, the solution lies in the receiving corps.
Nic Demski re-signed with the Bombers on a two-year deal that will pay him more than he earned a season ago. He’ll be in the starting line-up — that’s a given. Drew Wolitarsky was the CFL’s third-leading national receiver in 2018 despite starting at the little-used field-side wideout spot. The Minnesota native deserves a chance to start at slotback where his physical style and full frame (6-foot-2, 225 pounds) can be used most effectively. That leaves Wolitarsky’s field-side wideout spot vacant. Enter Rashaun Simonise and Daniel Petermann, a pair of picks from last year’s draft. Simonise has the perfect frame for the position (6-foot-4, 200 pounds), while Petermann was effective when given the opportunity to perform a season ago. Why not let the pair compete for the starting role in training camp? If one player wins the job the other can rotate elsewhere in the receiving corps while also contributing on special teams. ...

Another factor is Andrew Harris. Harris is an elite player who dominated for stretches of 2018, recording a career-best 1,390 rushing yards. The five-time CFL all-star also turns 32 in April, meaning his days of handling 300 touches a season without succumbing to serious injury are limited. What better way to limit the hits on Harris than to occasionally deploy him at slotback? Nic Demski and Johnny Augustine are capable of taking on the extra carries with Harris rotating as a receiver.

There’s also the matter of this year’s draft. New Mexico’s Brayden Dickey, Laurier’s Kurleigh Gittens Jr., St. FX’s Kaion Julien-Grant, UConn’s Hergy Mayala, Arkansas State’s Justin McInnis, and Laval’s Alexandre Savard are all receivers who will receive first-round consideration. It’s the deepest receiver class in years and the Bombers are in a great position to take full advantage with four picks in the draft’s first 23 selections. The Bombers have struggled to uncover impact American receivers in recent years and are now looking to start an extra Canadian elsewhere on the roster.

https://3downnation.com/2019/03/01/i...ian-receivers/

[jerrym]

GM Kyle Walters discusses Bomber plans for 2019 including the possible use of three Nationals at WR and the impact of the loss of three starting OL below.

https://www.bluebombers.com/2019/03/...source=dlvr.it

[jerrym]

The Bombers have added Nationals LB DJ Lalama, who had 10 ST with Montreal in 2017, and DL Maxx Forde, who had 10 DTs, 1 sack and 2 FFs with BC over two years to their roster, as well as International RB Larry Rose III, who had 4,558 rushing yards with New Mexico State and then spent time with the NFL Titans and Rams.

[jerrym]

GM Kyle Walters says that he has told Weston Dressler that the team is "moving on from him". Having only made it into 2/3 of games due to injuries in the last two years and down to 535 yards last year, at age 33 the decision is not surprising, although he has had an outstanding career with 10,000+ yards in receptions.

[jerrym]

The Bombers have resigned International DT Drake Nevis for 2019. Last year he had 28 DT and 2 sacks in 18 games.

[jerrym]

GM Kyle Walters looks at the CFL Combine from the Bombers' perspective below.

“First impressions is this is a real, real intriguing draft,” Bombers GM Kyle Walters told bluebombers.comfrom Toronto. “Watching this over the past few days has put a smile on our faces. We’re thinking we are going to get two really, really good players we like in the first round.”
The Bombers lost three Canadian starters over the winter with the retirement of centre Matthias Goossen and the departures of right guard Sukh Chungh (B.C. Lions) and safety Taylor Loffler (Montreal) to free agency. The club believes Michael Couture and Cody Speller are ready to move into Goossen’s spot in the middle of the O-line and could now start three Americans on the offensive line, with Manase Foketi joining Stanley Bryant and Jermarcus Hardrick up front, and 2017 first-rounder Geoff Gray also figuring somewhere in the mix. ...

Walters, not surprisingly, won’t tip his hand as to who the club might be eyeballing with the two first-round picks, or even hint at what position groups they are considering. What he will admit is the Bombers are looking at improving their Canadian roster flexibility, not necessarily filling certain perceived positional holes. What that means is they could simply take the ‘best-player-available’ approach to at least one of their first-round selections. And with picks following in the 14, 23 and 32 the team should still be able to restock its Canadian talent cupboard.

“Normally, you look at this and you have to draw a line,” said Walters. “What I mean is, where’s that line where we think we’re going to get guys we really like and then have to start to think outside the box on guys that might be going back to school or who have been injured or somebody who doesn’t check all the boxes. Some years that line is drawn after two rounds where you are trying to get the top 15-18 guys. I think this year we’re going to be able to have 32 guys on that board that we really like. “And that’s remembering there are a lot of guys not here… there are probably 10 players across all positions that I think are top calibre players that aren’t even in this mix this weekend. It just adds to the overall depth.”

Among the top prospects who weren’t in attendance were Laval defensive end Mathieu Betts, Tennessee defensive lineman Jonathan Kongbo, running backs Brady Oliveira of North Dakota (a Winnipeg product) and Maleek Irons of Ohio; receivers Justin McInnis of Arkansas State and Hergy Mayla of Connecticut; offensive linemen Alex Fontana of Kansas and Shane Richards of Oklahoma State while Fresno State defensive back Mathieu Boateng was sent home on Saturday after refusing to run the 40 (he did run last week at a pro day). ...

Walters offered up his assessment on those that were in attendance. “The O-line… the top guys that you thought were good, are good and there were a couple more that caught our eye,” he said. “The D-line group is solid, maybe not spectacular, but there is some good quality depth there. But based on the testing we just saw, this receiver group we’ve been talking about with intrigue certainly backed up all of the hype, for lack of a better term. They’re big kids. They’re not 170-pounders. These kids all train and work hard. They’re in the 190-200 range and running really quick times.”

Here’s where the ratio flexibility factor comes into play for the Bombers. Management is thrilled to have starters Nic Demski and Drew Wolitarsky returning and being pushed by last year’s draft picks Rashaun Simonise and Daniel Petermann. But the depth at that position doesn’t mean the team will steer clear of adding another receiving prospect with one of its early selections in the May 2nd draft. “Any ratio flexibility and depth is good,” said Walters. “We do like our current receivers. They’re young and they’re good. But there’s nothing wrong with adding another young good one and then figuring it out from there. Having as many good football players in the building is a good thing.”

Walters said the team spent Friday and Saturday conducting one-on-one interviews with 25 draft prospects, including some of the 18 global players in attendance from Germany, France, Finland, Denmark and Italy. ...

“The ‘Global’ kids, a couple of them have shown to be intriguing guys,” said Walters. “It was a real good experience for the European players and to be able to sit down and interview them… it was great to talk to them and hear their stories.” ...

“But the big takeaway here is just how solid this draft is. That’s not always the case. A couple years ago when we were picking No. 1 overall it was, ‘OK, let’s see what we can find here… there might be some reaches, but we’re not exactly sure.’ That is not the case here: everybody is going to be feeling pretty good about their first three rounds of picks and I’m now more confident in that based on the talent and what we’ve seen here.”

https://www.bluebombers.com/2019/03/...combine-recap/

[jerrym]

WR Drew Wolitarsky discusses how the growth of his relationship with QB Matt Nichols contributed to a tremendous increase in his production in his second CFL season below.

https://www.cfl.ca/2019/03/27/morris...homore-season/

[jerrym]

Below is an article on one of the CFL's all-time greats: Bomber RB Gerry James who also played for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

5 Quick Facts about Gerry James

1. His father, Eddie James, was a member of the 1935 Grey Cup champion ‘Winnipegs’ and went by the nickname ‘Dynamite’. James was then dubbed ‘Kid Dynamite’ when he rose to fame with the Bombers. Both men are in the Winnipeg Football Club, the Canadian Football Hall of Fame and the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame and Museum.
Gerry James was also inducted into the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League Hall of Fame. After retiring from football he owned, managed and coached the Yorkton Terriers and also coached with Melville, Estevan ad Moose Jaw after initially coaching in Switzerland.

2. James was a running back and placekicker after first making the club at age 17 and while still in high school. James was the Bombers leading scorer in 1960, 1961 and 1962, led the team in rushing in 1954, 1955 and 1957.
He still ranks fourth on the team’s all-time touchdown list, is fifth all-time in rushing and scoring.

3. James appeared in six Grey Cups and was part of four championship teams in 1958, 1959, 1961 and 1962. He was the first winner of the CFL’s Most Outstanding Player Award, first presented in 1954, and captured it again in 1957.

4. In 1957 James set a CFL and Bombers record with 18 rushing touchdowns. The CFL record stood for 43 years and still stands as the best in Bombers standard.
James had 19 touchdowns that season, a mark that wasn’t broken until Milt Stegall had 23 in 2002.

5. James also starred as a hockey player. He helped the Toronto Marlboros capture the Memorial Cup in 1955 (after leading the Winnipeg Monarchs to the final in 1952) . He made his NHL debut with the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Montreal Forum in 1955 on the team’s top line with Ted Kennedy and Sid Smith (Eric Nesterenko was injured) and would appear in 164 games over five seasons. James is the only athlete to suit up for both the Grey Cup and Stanley Cup finals in the same season (1959-60).

https://www.bluebombers.com/2019/04/01/313440/

[doubleblue]

The Leafs could use a player of Gerry James ilk now. Everybody on the opposite teams had their heads up when he was on the ice.

[jerrym]

When The Halifax Chronicle Herald ran an editorial supporting government funding of a football stadium for a Schooner football team, one reader reminded people about what happened in Winnipeg.

I was surprised to see Winnipeg cited in support of a stadium in Halifax (April 3 letter). We should definitely not look to Winnipeg as an example of “if they can do it, so can we.”

Research by economists frequently notes that public sector investment and subsidies are not repaid in economic benefits for host cities, contrary to most proponents’ arguments. Manitoba’s premier called Winnipeg’s situation an “unsustainable scam” last fall when he announced the second of two write-offs of taxpayer loans for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers stadium, totalling around $200 million.

https://www.thechronicleherald.ca/op...g-bomb-298231/

[jerrym]

The Bombers have signed International WR/KR Dennis Parks, who previously attended Green Bay and Cleveland Browns TCs, after being an All-Conference punt returner selection.

[jerrym]

The Bombers are shopping one or both of their first round picks, fourth and fifth overall, because of their belief that there are many talented players available who would be first round picks in other years and they can pick up some of these even in the second round.

[jerrym]

Winnipeg has signed International DBs Terrance Baldwin and Malik Boynton, who had been in the AAF.

Baldwin (5-10, 180, West Liberty, June 1, 1996 in Tampa, FL) recently worked out for Bombers scouting staff in Florida, running 4.38/4.39. Baldwin spent four seasons at West Liberty as a corner, recording 131 solo tackles, 31 passes defended and one interception in 41 games.

Boynton (6-0, 190, Austin Peay State University, June 30 in Detroit, MI.) played four seasons for the Austin Peay Governors, tallying 158 total tackles, 11 pass deflections, three forced fumbles and one interception in 43 games played. In his senior year, Boynton was named team captain and led the Governors to an eight-win season. In 2018, Boynton spent time with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Memphis Express of the AAF.

https://www.bluebombers.com/2019/04/...ldwin-boynton/

[jerrym]

There is controversy over the Bombers' financial position, but I am sure the Argos would like to have their financial problems.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers continued to misrepresent their financial position this week by reporting a profit of $2.6 million for 2018. The community-owned club, in fact, lost $104,403 last year, a figure not found anywhere in the team’s press release Tuesday on the state of its finances.
When asked about it, Bombers’ spokesman Darren Cameron said the team excludes its annual stadium loan payments when reporting its operating profits. “The operating profit is before our annual excess cash payment to Triple B (Stadium),” Cameron said in an email. “Actual loss is after the annual excess cash payment to Triple B.”

Trouble is, Bombers brass didn’t include the “actual loss” anywhere in its press release. The $2.7-million stadium loan payment last year to Triple B, which owns the facility, is an operating cost. It shows up as an operating cost in the club’s audited statement of operations. The overall profit or loss is calculated after all operating costs, including the stadium payment, are included. The bottom line in the team’s audited operating statement shows a loss of $104,403. ...

Yet nowhere in the Bombers’ communication to the community Tuesday, including in its press release and in the “article” that appears on the team’s website, does it mention a loss of any kind, much less the $104,403 figure. When you read the press release, it gives the impression that the club’s $2.6-million “profit” includes the stadium loan payment. ...

The release goes on to say the “profit” is a testament to how well the club has been managed, with no mention anywhere that the team lost money in 2018. The club’s treasurer Bill Baines wrote in the annual report that the team’s net assets were reduced by $100,000 in 2018 “due to the annual excess cash payment to Triple B Stadium Inc. exceeding the excess of revenues over expenses from operations for 2018.” But that’s not reflected anywhere in the press release or the online story.

https://winnipegsun.com/news/news-ne...ng-its-numbers

[jerrym]

The Bombers have lost several valuable Nationals starters in the offseason, including guard Sukh Chungh to BC, all-star centre Matthias Goosen to retirement, and all-star safety Taylor Loffler to Montreal. Below is a look at their remaining National talent.

https://www.bluebombers.com/2019/04/...series-part-3/

[jerrym]

The Bombers are bringing 15 American receivers to their free agent camp with the expectation of bringing about seven of them to their main camp as they focus on adding a big play receiver, after failing to sign one during free agency. Of the 38 players, another 14 will be DBs in the hope of improving their defence.