Blue Bombers add defensive end to roster & Jeffcoat retiring

[The Zipp]

Oakman 6'9"/Jefferson 6'7" the twin towers. I also think Pete Robertson still mite be out there.

Is pete the guy that headbutted ZC?

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

Is pete the guy that headbutted ZC?

Yes Sir.  Zach may not approve.

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

Or considering the Jeffcoat way...  it all depends on his non-football career path.

Right now, its a buyers market for P/K.  Liram coming back into the league means 10 kickers for 9 jobs. 

Castillo might just wait for the market to change, due to retirement, performance or injury.  No reason for him to rush to sign a team friendly deal.  I hate the fact, but he's smart to wait until his price is met, or until there is a spike in demand.

A very reliable FG kicker is something the Bombers can't afford not to have. I don't think they would gamble their season on an unproven unknown, too much at stake.

[Blueforlife]

I don't recall anyone criticizing JJ94 for his play or commitment to the team. He's one of the best DEs in the CFL. I think most of the talk was about his injury probably. Only played 78 games out of a possible 104. So basically 25% of his career was in the tub. Good Luck JJ94 with your retirement.

People complained about him, his injuries and his play at times.  Many last year where very concerned about of defensive line.

Jeffcoat departure will leave a hole. I have always been a huge fan.  I would prefer to develop than sign a stud.  If a stud or prospect is available at a reasonable price I'm down.  I'm also happy to see what we can find at camp.  Could save a pretty penny if we could find a fresh face here (from camp).

[TecnoGenius]

I still think (and I know it's revisionist theory) but if Walter's signed Lemon last season we win the Grey Cup.

I'm not sure about that...  I think Sankey hurt us more than Lemon.  Stopping Brady (and Demski) runs was more critical to our loss than the odd sack/pressure.  Though no doubt we would have fared better had they not had Lemon also.  Looking realistically at that game, we really were like a hair away from winning, so really any little thing may have put us over the top.

It's hard to say.  Surely no-Ento = no-GC, but Ento wasn't a late pickup we had a shot at.  I think it was MTL's O that won that game, not MTL's D (strangely enough given the hype was the opposite).  And our O going soft in the late 4th (that's on us).

In both loss years I think if we had been the team forced into 3 downs all the way (down 4+: forced TD) last that we would have won.  It would have forced us to play boldly.  Giving the other team the 3-down situation is what lost the games.  When we're in the '24 GC, I hope we aren't down by 0-3: I want to be down 4-7.  Or up 2 scores.  Period.  No more of this close garbage, because clearly the braintrust doesn't have the guts to close.

[TecnoGenius]

The solution is simple, go get Oakman and move on. The guy is a young, upcoming beast and would look very good in blue and gold!!

I think the solution is to find rookies playing for the minimum.

You guys said it... no moolah.  A hidden, existing gem only we spotted last season is the only other option (~$100k).  In all likelihood we roll with the apprentice from last season in any open positions.  Time to step up.  Luckily we have a decent track record of success with this (a la the yearly parade & shuffle at DT).

Maybe some overstocked teams will be shedding good but affordable players throughout the season we can keep an eye on.  Might need more of an eye for cuts and talent than in previous years.

[Pigskin]

Fox has only 5 games of CFL experience. 2 with us and 3 with BC. Where Walker had 19 games of experience, before he took over as our starting DT last season. Watched Fox a lot last year at practice. He seems to have a good motor, and moves well.   

2021: 7 games, 8 DTs, 1 sack.
2022: 12 games, 12 DTs, 1 sack.
2023: 17 games, 37 DTs, 5 sacks.

[GOLDMEMBER]

In the end it is a bit sad to see JJ feel the need to have those remarks on social media. I'd love to be a fly on the wall during the Walters/JJ conversation.

[kkc60]

Oakman 6'9"/Jefferson 6'7" the twin towers. I also think Pete Robertson still mite be out there.

both of those names are certainly intriguing. Oakman and Jefferson on one side of the line with Haba and Lawson on the other could be a mismatch

[Pigskin]

Sounds like Winnipegger, Mason Bennett is back with Hamilton for another year. Two teams made him offers, but not enough to make him change his address. Sad, he's much better then our Bennett.

[BLUEBOMBER]

Sad to see Jeffcoat go but he is not irreplaceable. He was getting injured quite often and it wouldn't make sense to pay him a big salary for playing just half the season.

[Jockitch]

As a big Jeffcoat fan it is sad to hear of the retirement but do wish him the best going forward 

[theaardvark]

Sad to see Jeffcoat go but he is not irreplaceable. He was getting injured quite often and it wouldn't make sense to pay him a big salary for playing just half the season.

To be fair, he played 2/3rds of the season most years... but yeah.  Hard to pay a premium salary, even if he did show up for the playoffs (which he got paid extra for).

If he would have exited a little differently, I think he might have gotten a late season injury/performance call, and he could have had a long rest to recuperate his issues, and come in fresh.  Not sure if that call gets made after his interview.

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

Sad to see Jeffcoat go but he is not irreplaceable. He was getting injured quite often and it wouldn't make sense to pay him a big salary for playing just half the season.

I don't see this as a problem, he was being paid a premium when healthy and his play equaled that of a premium player every game he played.  When not healthy he was put on the 6 game and his salary did not count against the cap. 

The Bombers are no longer cash poor, they are cap restrained, so spending money outside the limiting cap is not a problem.  Placing him on the 6-game for one more season provides a great opportunity to find his replacement.  The scouts failed to find his equivalent last season or any of the previous seasons he's been moved to the 6-game, this is not Jeffcoat's fault.  His contribution is going to be extremely hard to replace with an ELC player, especially with the additional loss of Walker inside.

[theaardvark]

I don't see this as a problem, he was being paid a premium when healthy and his play equaled that of a premium player every game he played.  When not healthy he was put on the 6 game and his salary did not account against the cap. 

The Bombers are no longer cash poor, they are cap restrained.  Placing him on the 6-game for one more season provides a great opportunity to find his replacement.  The scouts failed to find his equivalent last season or any of the previous seasons he's been moved to the 6-game, this is not Jeffcoat's fault.  His contribution is going to be extremely hard to replace with an ELC player, especially with the additional loss of Walker inside.

I don't think Jeffcoat was ever on the 6 game... definitely not last year as he only missed 4 games, and the previous years it was 6 games per year, but I do not think they were consecutive, so, yes, every penny we paid him went against the cap, and that's hard to swallow for a premium salary.