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#1

Blue Bomber & CFL Discussion Forum / Re: 2024 Free Agency Signings/...

Last post by ichabod_crane - Today at 12:16:21 AM

My guess is future HoFer.  Manny show dance.

Manny should have hung it up many years ago. I think Sask picked him up off the scrap heap when the Lions never resigned him some years go. Brought him in for a veteran presence I guess.

#2

Blue Bomber & CFL Discussion Forum / Re: Argo QB, Chad Kelly sited ...

Last post by ichabod_crane - Today at 12:05:19 AM

I feel every day that Kelly is in camp should not count as part of his suspension. I didn't see Lawler once last year during his suspension just in comparison. To be clear, Kelly is suspended for the 2 preseason games. Training camp is some kind of loophole? The whole Argo franchise disgusts me over this. They seem to believe that only winning will bring back fans despite much evidence to the contrary and will bend or break any rule they want to.

Toronto has suddenly become LOSER city with it's pro sports teams. Leafs crash and burn AGAIN in the playoffs. CRaptors stunk the joint out last two seasons. Jays are terrible this year and probably won't even make a wildcard spot. Argos in major doldrums now. Toronto FC seem to be the only hopeful team on the horizon this year for sports fans in Toronto!

When Argos had Doug Flutie, arguably the best player the CFL has ever seen the Argos still did not draw great crowds unless it was  the labour day weekend rivalry or playoffs. Too many wannabe Americans in Toronto who think ONLY THE NFL is worth watching when I see way too many 6-3 games every year during the NFL season....snore! Only a few teams worth watching in the NFL due to long history or great players/teams (KC, Dallas, used to be New England, Forty Niners, Bills, Packers). I follow the Vikes as their old head coach was Bud Grant, but they have NEVER won the Super Bowl yet after 4 tries. DA MIKE DITKA BEARS (The Fridge, Jim McMahon) had some characters and even a popular rap song in 1985! A lot of over hype and mega cash involved down there. Of course everyone wants to play down there as could be set for life with the paydays down south and who can blame players with short careers.

Football to Americans is like hockey to us Canadians...they think it is THEIR game when the rest of the world is close to catching up if not surpassing them at times.

#3

Blue Bomber & CFL Discussion Forum / Re: Argo QB, Chad Kelly sited ...

Last post by ichabod_crane - May 13, 2024, 11:49:55 PM

Yup, the buck stops there.

USA President Harry Truman could not have said it any better!! THE BUCK STOPS AT THE TOP!! Take responsibility and action or give up your position Pinball.

https://www.trumanlibrary.gov/education/trivia/buck-stops-here-sign



To be fair, Kelly has been CONVICTED or JUDGED about nothing yet except in the court of public opinion and many allegations. EVERYONE deserves their day in court whether we like it or not. That is what our justice system is built around. Railroading anyone even if it looks cut and dried is not something I would condone on anyone. Maybe if he loses his civil case the Argos will do something more....I have no clue.

Mini Mack Heron and Jim Thorpe were tossed out for life in the early 70's by the Bombers for some dope issues (maybe more than that-some criminal behaviour?). Bernie Ruoff canned over pot after 1979 season! That looks so ridiculous in todays day and age where I see pot shops on almost every street corner! People forget that is how Trevor Kennerd and Bob Cameron got kicking/punting jobs in 1980 with the Bombers since Ruoff was canned and went to the Tiger Cats afterwards for many more years.

#4

Blue Bomber & CFL Discussion Forum / Re: Argo QB, Chad Kelly sited ...

Last post by ichabod_crane - May 13, 2024, 11:39:07 PM

If Kelly wasn't a top-3 QB he'd probably can his butt.  As it stands, after this year he may still can his butt, or trade him off (probably the best scenario).  Unless Kelly wins another GC, of course...

Kelly only helped win the Grey Cup in 2022 in a backup role off the bench when Argo's starter went down in that game. If Bethel-Thompson does not crater in that game (think it was called an injury....who knows it that was the truth?), Bombers probably win that game. I would not call less than half a game him "winning" the Grey Cup. Not sure how much backup work he did during the regular season for the Argos. Bethel-Thompson surely took a high percentage of the snaps that season.

Following year Kelly becomes the main man after Bethel-Thompson bolts for some mickey mouse league, wins league MVP, then royally stinks the joint out in the second half vs the Alouettes in the Eastern Final. A thing of "beauty" it was too! I believe based on the timeframe I have read of the allegations his nonsense with that trainer occurred just before the Eastern Final last year (I could be wrong). This is why his head maybe was not in the game and he threw up easy interceptions like shooting fish in a barrel!

The guy has talent, but seems obvious he can be thrown off his game if he is not mentally into it. This entire fiasco may end his career in the CFL. Maybe he can pull off a Michael Vick rebound although Vick was convicted of a crime (dog fighting rings & gambling) and served time before coming back to the NFL. Vick was never quite the same player after returning. Just like that Houston Texans QB who went to Cleveland. They signed him for a crazy ton of money and he is stinking the joint out so far. I sometimes wonder how these NFL GM's get their jobs as signing that clown had warning signs all over it!!

In retrospect Brady Olivera got shafted for the MOP award last year. A total difference in character from Kelly the LOSER! They should revoke that award like the IOC does with cheating Russians or whomever grossly shames themselves in the Olympics and give it to someone more deserving!

[love watching defense]

#5

Blue Bomber & CFL Discussion Forum / Re: Our Defense in 2024 - w/ J...

Last post by TecnoGenius - May 13, 2024, 11:30:12 PM

I always love watching defense but I think we'll see some different things. How are we feeling?

I too am a D guy.  I have way more fun watching our D dominate than our O.  The pinnacle was the 2019 GC.

I'm feeling optimistic (my usual) about Younger.  I would have stuck with Hall as long as we could, but maybe "as long as we could" was now.  But so much is unknown...

I have little doubt Younger was already responsible for a ton of our D under Hall.  He probably had a lot of input even on play calling and strategy.  He certainly had a ton of input on the field level and in practice.  It should be an easy transition for the players.

You could argue the buck stops with Hall for (our D) losing the '22 and (especially) '23 GC.  There is no reason we couldn't have stopped that last, hail Mary, MTL drive.  Letting both Kelly and Cody run double-digit yards on their winning drives is not easy to excuse.  A lot of this is on Hall, for not setting up the scheme to win.  And Hall may have been losing the D locker room as a result -- if the players stop trusting the system.

Putting a fresh face in there without the losing baggage may help propel us to victory, finally, this year.  From a morale standpoint it could be critical.

As for what Younger will do: he's done a couple of pressers I've seen/read where he gives some insight and it sounds like he's a "simplifier".  He talks about there being only so many schemes / options / choices for a D play call.  He strikes me as much more of a straight-forward play caller instead of the master-obfuscator that Hall was ("Smoke and Mirrors").

Hall would often try to confuse you with what he's showing, and put pieces in really weird places to try to get the picks and force the mistakes.  It was his main emphasis.  Hall was never that good at looking at the specific opponent and coming up with the best calls to counter the play this down.  He was more a big picture, whole-game/scheme guy.

I think Younger will be more traditional and also be more of a counter-play caller.  He'll try to guess the next play and specifically tailor the scheme to that.  Which means we could get a lot more INTs and spectacular sacks.  But it also means we could get blown up by a lot more explosions.  It could be back to 2014-Bombers style of D, which was basically exactly that.  Remember how we slowly grew into "must stop the explosions"?  But it also grew us into the "less big turnovers" team...

All I want to see is a playcaller who can anticipate everything Calvillo/Maas did to hose us on that last drive and turn all of those plays into INTs.

Oh ya, and for the love of all that is holy, blow up those poopin' MTL hitch screens!  Behind the LoS preferably...

#6

Blue Bomber & CFL Discussion Forum / Re: Our Defense in 2024 - w/ J...

Last post by TecnoGenius - May 13, 2024, 11:13:45 PM

Two reasons.

!: He's been talking retirement for a while.

2:  If we hadn't promoted Younger, he would have been scooped up by another team as a DC.

3: To re-sign KW and Buck with pay bumps we had to come up with more coach-SMS$$ and the only way to do that was dump Hall & Boudreau for the cheaper (mainly because of seniority) Younger/Miller.

It's probably "all of the above".

#7

Blue Bomber & CFL Discussion Forum / Re: 2024 Free Agency Signings/...

Last post by TecnoGenius - May 13, 2024, 11:09:34 PM

DL Laurent retires: https://www.cfl.ca/2024/05/12/two-time-cfl-all-star-ted-laurent-announces-retirement/

Possibly another HoFer?  He's 36(!!).  He sure gave HAM a ratio-buster at DT for his 7 years.  I hope HAM gives him a good send-off at a game this year.

#8

Blue Bomber & CFL Discussion Forum / Re: Where to watch 2024 CFL pr...

Last post by TecnoGenius - May 13, 2024, 11:06:48 PM

That feature has always been there, if anything TSN is cutting it back by limiting playback to 48 hrs.

This is CFL, not TSN.  TSN has had delayed/replay, but CFL for last pre-season did not.  Don't worry, I got them confused at first, also, as for me "CFL on TV" == TSN.  But apparently not for the pre-season, and foreign market.

Just to be clear, TSN is having nothing at all to do with the PS games, except for the 2 they are airing.

It does make me wonder, though, if that means the camera crews for the non-TSN games are amateurs/CFL-provided instead of the TSN guys, or maybe the TSN guys contract with CFL just for those?  Surely they aren't just going to have 1-cam, the all-24?  Someone's still gotta be in the "truck" calling camera switches...

#9

Blue Bomber & CFL Discussion Forum / Re: Our Defense in 2024 - w/ J...

Last post by Sir Blue and Gold - May 13, 2024, 10:22:43 PM

It will be interesting to see if player preferences stay the same, who chooses if Kramdi and Jake start, does Ford get the opportunity to play corner or does he start over again from the back of the bus?

I imagine Younger would have final say with input from the rest of the staff.

Player preferences probably will change especially if scheme or position responsibilities change too.

#10

Blue Bomber & CFL Discussion Forum / Re: Main Training Camp News an...

Last post by Blue In BC - May 13, 2024, 10:21:28 PM

I see we signed Chris-Ike today. Good news.