Blue Bombers Transactions - August 17, 2025

[Blueforlife]

How did patience work out for Kornelson?

Wow now really stretching there, I never commented on him, never said to have patience with him, I don't know very much about him

Please just drop this man, Let's talk ball

Patience will pay off with Houston, rushing him into the lineup against a weak opponent would have been a terrible decision imo.

[Blue In BC]

Wow now really stretching there, I never commented on him, never said to have patience with him, I don't know very much about him

Please just drop this man, Let's talk ball

Patience will pay off with Houston, rushing him into the lineup against a weak opponent would have been a terrible decision imo.

No, I don't recall you specifically talking about Kornelson much. But patience is not a fixed line.

The Bombers have released: Benson, White, Kornelson, Elsbury, Hagerty, Cooley and Bridges since the end of TC. Roster management is one thing but not all players will get patience or deserve patience. That was the point.

I don't get your thought about patience with Houston. If he's not physically ready that's one thing but he's a CFL veteran and played in Winnipeg so he's familiar with most of the players on defence and the system.  He understands zone and man to man coverage schemes.

Rushing him ( as you say ) might have been the best option against a weaker opponent. He'd get closer to game speed and reaction timing. Our next 3 games are against the Riders and then the TiCats.  That's hardly the optimum time to start your 1st few games. It's the direct opposite of what you suggested.

[Blueforlife]

No, I don't recall you specifically talking about Kornelson much. But patience is not a fixed line.

The Bombers have released: Benson, White, Kornelson, Elsbury, Hagerty, Cooley and Bridges since the end of TC. Roster management is one thing but not all players will get patience or deserve patience. That was the point.

I don't get your thought about patience with Houston. If he's not physically ready that's one thing but he's a CFL veteran and played in Winnipeg so he's familiar with most of the players on defence and the system.  He understands zone and man to man coverage schemes.

Rushing him ( as you say ) might have been the best option against a weaker opponent. He'd get closer to game speed and reaction timing. Our next 3 games are against the Riders and then the TiCats.  That's hardly the optimum time to start your 1st few games. It's the direct opposite of what you suggested.

Thanks for confirming if I commented on him, your memory is likely better than mine LOL.

You wanted to rush a guy that isn't game ready and the Bombers agree to wait.  Yes he likely isn't physically ready.  Yes he knows how to play but he also needs time to learn the latest version of the Bomber's playbook.  I suggest he starts when he is 100% physically ready.  Your suggestion to start him at 80% isn't a good option as I want to ensure he doesn't get hurt.   We need him.  Waiting will ensure a key signing can impact games for the rest of the year.  Yes we got some good teams coming up and he will play when ready.  Not going to be any easy games the rest of the way.  The forum was fairly split on the issue as per my poll.  I don't expect Houston to be lights out when he returns.  I expect him to take 2-3 games min to get up to speed.  Tough coming in mid season when everyone already has a leg up.  As long as he hasn't lost a step, he should be back to at least above average by fall.  Good teams with good QBs and receivers likely will still shred our secondary at times.  As long as our offense can produce, should be ok.  We will never know if he wasn't ready physically or needed more time to learn or both.  Only him and the Bomber brass would know that question.  I believe some consistency in our backend D and also the level of the opponent we are facing would have factored in as well.

Agree patience isn't a fixed line.  Never said it was.  I often speak of patience with a particular player or coach in mind.  I also use it when a unit of our team isn't playing that well, for example a new group at OL takes time to gel.  Yes not every player and coach will get patience.  Yes cutting players is a part of pro ball.  I am allowed to post my opinion about having patience with players as I see fit and you can counter that.  Countering that in general or with players I never spoke about isn't welcome imo.

I got a reputation on here about being patience and a homer during the early days of our mini dynasty.  This forum wasn't fun back then as I would be attacked for my view points.  Defending our defense, Hall and MOS was a regular occurrence.  I seen great things back then with this club and I still do.  We are not as good as we once were but our core is similar and I love the general philosophy that has built this organization back to greatness.  Not perfect that's for sure but this run has been so fun to watch.   I like consistency in players, management and coaches.  Go figure, Dave Ritchie is my all time favorite coach.  He loved his vets, well maybe a little too much but we had some good years with him and he was so fun to listen to.  The players play.  Best line ever.  I'm a go down with the ship kinda guy.  This ship will sink one day but I think we still got some freeboard left.

[Blue In BC]

I don't think I said I'd start Houston at 80% from a healthy point of view. However, 80% game reaction time is still probably better than most CB's. Maybe an extra 10 days helps him but practice and game speed are different animals.

Where he was with either of physical or mental aspect ready we'll never know. IMO the rust was the least of any issues. I mentioned man and zone coverages are known to him. Dawson never saw the entire DC playbook before being released after TC. He started his 1st game a week after coming back.

Logan coming onto the AR was a good thing but it may have been a choice between another returner or another DB. It was a question about whether Lawson of Vaval would be bumped as a starting CB if Houston returned.

It still is a question if Houston plays next game. I'd think Vaval would be bumped back to return duties over Lawson being moved. That's just based on such a small sample size for Vaval.

That creates the weekly ratio issue. IDK that we can roster 2 returners on the AR as far as a ratio numbers thing.

Vaval might have to beat out Lawson at CB or Logan as a returner to stay on the AR. I'm not saying he can't or there aren't other ways to accommodate 2 returners if he loses the CB race.

Then it means Allen or Ayers need to come off.

We'll all be watching how our secondary plays this week. We know Holm and Nichols are not the weak link. None of us are probably sure who that falls on now.

[Blueforlife]

Bombers added Lawson to the AR the week he arrived. I don't see rust as a problem that is resolved by waiting a few weeks. He may be a big rusty but even at 80% he's a top DB.

I thought you meant 80% good enough to start

I know what you mean now, my bad

[Blue In BC]

I thought you meant 80% good enough to start

I know what you mean now, my bad

You should read the last day of comments on the Bombers / Als early talk on the other site. It has several comments about development time in practice compared to actual games. Pro and cons in the discussion.

Some of the issues I mentioned about game speed, conditioning, intensity, confidence and physicality among other attributes.

Also discussed were roster decisions about who and why certain choices were made.

It's an interesting read. Take a look.

[TecnoGenius]

Leaving via FA to the highest bidder vs. getting called off of the couch are two very different things.

I don't expect him to be with the team next year.

Because once again we won't be able to afford him.  As was mentioned, we cheap out on DBs, especially CBs, a lot.  Even $120 is too much.  Need our ELC 2-year $80k scouting finds to keep the team SMS solvent.

If for some reason he's "damaged goods" in the optics dept, maybe we can get a "deal" and keep him.

As for Holm/Nichols, I really don't see us letting them go.  We seem to be matching other offers to keep them here, plus they take a bit of a haircut to stay here (they like it) and always get to the cup (free money).

[TecnoGenius]

Maximum value: $136,800
Maximum value: $154,000

Wow, DBs sure get the shaft.  And look what happens when you field so-so or bad ones...

They should all go on strike to demand higher compensation!