Blue Bombers sign kicker Sergio Castillo

[Waffler]

It could well be that Walters let him walk after 2021 without an offer thinking Leggs could handle both roles and knowing he'd save enough on the cap to pay for an additional salary or two.  Didn't work out as well as he'd hoped, so he's probably happy to welcome Sergio back.  I'm pretty comfortable going with the kicking duo they had in 2021 as they can back each other up, but we'll see where this goes.

That is what happened. It was revealed on a CJOB pre-game show last year. Sergio was waiting for an offer that never came. I was surprised to hear it.

[Waffler]

But he's not a top kicker.  I think it was StatsJunkie that posted and showed his 2022 season stats weren't really better than Leggs. 

The thing I really like most about Castillo as a good fit for us is he seems way cooler under pressure, and thus may be worth keeping even if he only has "Leggs stats" because he'll be more "money" in the playoffs.  That's my theory.

I did read that Jones had him trying more 50+ yarders than would be normal. Not sure how that compares with other teams.

He has been money for us in big games. Fact. Bad weather too.

[Jesse]

TLB 100% nails it.  I don't think we made an offer to Castillo when he last left.  Or if we did, we low-balled it.  Precisely for the reason TLB says.  We had all our hope and faith in Leggs.  I don't see it as a snub, it's more a Nevis or Stove situation: we liked our backup plan and we knew we couldn't afford it.

I do.  I don't want to be the only, or one of only 3 teams, going over cap.  It's a bad look.  And having that bad look for $60k more cap is not worth it.  Now, if every team was doing it, then sure.  But that's currently not the case.

We absolutely tried to re-sign Castillio and have been attempting to trade for him ever since he left.

Jones what he did with Lawler - signed them for way too big deals and hoped to get them to restructure a year in (Jones gonna Jones). Both player said F-you and returned.

Edmonton media said that Castillio was asked to restructure and he said no - so he was cut. Now, we obviously will be paying more for him than we did for Legs last year but I think it will be in line with a regular well paid kicker money and not whatever gobsmack amount Jones paid him last year in Edmonton.

[Jesse]

I did read that Jones had him trying more 50+ yarders than would be normal. Not sure how that compares with other teams.

He has been money for us in big games. Fact. Bad weather too.

His average kick length was 5-6 yards longer than any other kicker and he was still better than Legs, lol.

[theaardvark]

TLB 100% nails it.  I don't think we made an offer to Castillo when he last left.  Or if we did, we low-balled it.  Precisely for the reason TLB says.  We had all our hope and faith in Leggs.  I don't see it as a snub, it's more a Nevis or Stove situation: we liked our backup plan and we knew we couldn't afford it.

I do.  I don't want to be the only, or one of only 3 teams, going over cap.  It's a bad look.  And having that bad look for $60k more cap is not worth it.  Now, if every team was doing it, then sure.  But that's currently not the case.

Its not a bad look, its the look of a team wanting a championship, again. 

And, FYI, that we spent $60k over, and two others went over the cap as well, the other 6 teams did not spend exactly to the cap.  Some probably were 100K or more under the cap.  So it wasn't a $60k advantage, it was much more.  And it was well inside the rules.

[Pete]

Also its worthy to note that according to walters the only reason we were above the cap was due to the amount of injuries we sustained. also resting a number of veterans late in the season and promoting players form the practice roster for those games also had an impact. Note Toronto was over as well. I'm not sure how the bonuses we paid Jefferson and Collaros for '23 is factored in.

[TecnoGenius]

Its not a bad look, its the look of a team wanting a championship, again. 

And, FYI, that we spent $60k over, and two others went over the cap as well, the other 6 teams did not spend exactly to the cap.  Some probably were 100K or more under the cap.  So it wasn't a $60k advantage, it was much more.  And it was well inside the rules.

Ask Ridermania if it's a bad look.  Most here have bashed other teams ("cheaters") in previous years when they've gone over the cap.  Let's not be hypocrites.

Sure what we did was "within the rules" in terms of the letter of the law.  We didn't fit in the cap and we paid the proscribed price.  However, if someone purposely goes over the cap then they are not playing within the spirit of the rules.

I bet if the number of teams going over each season gets worse (i.e. half the teams) then the league may clamp down.  The penalties are extremely weak and it really does pay for teams to go over, especially "rich" teams.

Also its worthy to note that according to walters the only reason we were above the cap was due to the amount of injuries we sustained. also resting a number of veterans late in the season and promoting players form the practice roster for those games also had an impact.

I can accept that, and it makes the "look" a little bit "better" for sure.  But other team fans will still see it as "dirty".

[dd]

Good to see Walter has finally come to his sense, it took him a year though and cost us a grey cup. Couldn?t give a rip what?s tied up in kickers salary, staying with leggio was destined for failure, again. You can?t tell me the players didn?t collectively breathe a huge sigh of relief on this one.

[pjrocksmb]

Good to see Walter has finally come to his sense, it took him a year though and cost us a grey cup. Couldn?t give a rip what?s tied up in kickers salary, staying with leggio was destined for failure, again. You can?t tell me the players didn?t collectively breathe a huge sigh of relief on this one.

Disagree on all you have said but competition for kicking is good.  I am excited to see what all our kickers can do and still believe Leggs has a future with us or elsewhere in this league.  I believe he would be worth the wait and I would love to see him as Bomber long term.  He needs to improve and I really hope he can continue his development.

The outcome of any CFL football game is determined mostly by how the team plays and also heavily influenced by the schemes, match ups and how good the coaches are.  Of course management has a part in the quality of players on the fied.  Seldom does one player directly cost a defeat or gain a victory, it's one of most teams sports around.  The team culture we see in Bomberland is also legendary and will continue to contribute to our success as a team.

Go Blue! Patience brought us two cups and will continue to pay off!

[Lincoln Locomotive]

His average kick length was 5-6 yards longer than any other kicker and he was still better than Legs, lol.

this was noticeable game in and game out when we constantly lost the field position battle with Legghios kickoffs.....especially in the GC game last year.    Castillo really pounds the rock deeper on his KOs on a more consistent basis.....and I'm glad we have him back.    After being so instrumental in our 2nd back to back GC I was surprised we let him go to Edmonton.....along with Lawler.   Now we have them both back in Blue and Gold and the Bombers seem hell bent on heading back to their 4th consecutive GC appearance.....

[pdirks67]

Here's the 2022 CFL kicking stats.
https://d3ham790trbkqy.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2050/11/2022_CFL_League_Statistics_Wk21.pdf

Some relevant numbers for Castillo vs. Liegghio
- Average FG Distance: Castillo did have the highest average attempt and successful kick yardage in the CFL, as was mentioned above.
- Convert Rate: Liegghio actually had the better conversion rate at 91.8% (vs. 89.7 for Castillo) - and both were well below the league average of 94.1%
- Overall FG Success Rate: Pretty close actually - Liegghio had an 82.1 success rate, vs. 84.1 for Castillo
- <40 Yards: Castillo was lights-out here at 23/24, while Liegghio was only "OK" with 21/24
- >40 Yards: Pretty close. Liegghio has a slightly better percentage with 11/15 (73%) vs. 14/20 for Castillo (70%)
- >50 Yards: Dicey for both of them. Liegghio was 1/3, Castillo was 3/6. Pretty much a coin toss for both of them. And surprisingly, Castillo's longest successful FG last year was 52 yards, vs. 55 for Liegghio.

I have to admit that I closed my eyes far too often on FG attempts last year. Having said that, the numbers only give Castillo a slight edge on Liegghio in my mind. If anything, Castillo was a bit more consistent in the short FG game, but it's pretty much a tie for converts and longer FG attempts. And BOTH of them are in the lower tier of kickers. In fact, if you look at all of the CFL kickers, it looks like a "Big 3" of Whyte, Small, and Parades, with Bede at the bottom and everyone else in the middle.

Does the cap/ratio impact of Castillo outweigh his slight improvement?

[dd]

Disagree on all you have said but competition for kicking is good.  I am excited to see what all our kickers can do and still believe Leggs has a future with us or elsewhere in this league.  I believe he would be worth the wait and I would love to see him as Bomber long term.  He needs to improve and I really hope he can continue his development.

The outcome of any CFL football game is determined mostly by how the team plays and also heavily influenced by the schemes, match ups and how good the coaches are.  Of course management has a part in the quality of players on the fied.  Seldom does one player directly cost a defeat or gain a victory, it's one of most teams sports around.  The team culture we see in Bomberland is also legendary and will continue to contribute to our success as a team.

Go Blue! Patience brought us two cups and will continue to pay off!

and I disagree with all of what you have said on this. Patience went out the window in the GC game when our kicking game cost us a championship. We would have 3 cups in 3 years had we had Castillo, but you and your patience are happy to lose a game we should have won had we had a kicker. Sorry, I am not in that camp, and it looks like BB management isn't either.

[pdirks67]

Patience went out the window in the GC game when our kicking game cost us a championship. We would have 3 cups in 3 years had we had Castillo, but you and your patience are happy to lose a game we should have won had we had a kicker. Sorry, I am not in that camp, and it looks like BB management isn't either.

I agree that Liegghio has been a second-tier kicker to this point in his career. My question is whether Castillo is much better at this point in his career. Both of them were mediocre last year, stuck in the middle of the pack and WELL below the performance of the Big 3 (Whyte, Small, and Parades). I'll be very interested to see if any of the newbies push both Castillo and Liegghio.

[TecnoGenius]

I have to admit that I closed my eyes far too often on FG attempts last year. Having said that, the numbers only give Castillo a slight edge on Liegghio in my mind. If anything, Castillo was a bit more consistent in the short FG game, but it's pretty much a tie for converts and longer FG attempts.

Does the cap/ratio impact of Castillo outweigh his slight improvement?

This is why we'll keep Leggs around as the # place-kicker, probably the whole season, and if Castillo isn't much better by labor day, I could see Castillo getting PR'd or cut.  Castillo has to be much better to steal the job.  Otherwise it makes no sense, except from a "cool under fire" standpoint for the playoffs.

Castillo has never been a top-3 kicker.  People are acting like we just hired Medlock again, and that Leggs is a Pallardy or Milo.  It's just not reality.

[pjrocksmb]

This is why we'll keep Leggs around as the # place-kicker, probably the whole season, and if Castillo isn't much better by labor day, I could see Castillo getting PR'd or cut.  Castillo has to be much better to steal the job.  Otherwise it makes no sense, except from a "cool under fire" standpoint for the playoffs.

Castillo has never been a top-3 kicker.  People are acting like we just hired Medlock again, and that Leggs is a Pallardy or Milo.  It's just not reality.

Agree all except I see both kickers doing well and sticking around.  By well I mean middle of the pack.  Heavy agree with the reality comment.  Castillo is a wee bit better than you suggest IMO.

and I disagree with all of what you have said on this. Patience went out the window in the GC game when our kicking game cost us a championship. We would have 3 cups in 3 years had we had Castillo, but you and your patience are happy to lose a game we should have won had we had a kicker. Sorry, I am not in that camp, and it looks like BB management isn't either.

Happy that we lost a game, now I heard it all.  Leggs isn't as bad as you suggest and he didn't lose the game, the entire team did.  To suggest Castillo would have won us that game is a huge stretch.  I prefer to live in reality not coulda, shoulda, woulda land.  The better team won the cup that day, end of.  They won because all three phases of their game were better than ours and we were out schemed.

We can agree to disagree.  We will know mid season how this plays out.