Offensive Line

[northof30]

It appears to me that Zach rarely gets more than a couple of seconds in the pocket before being rushed, hurried, forced out of the pocket or sacked. What has happened to our offensive line? 

[Sir Blue and Gold]

Pass protection has been much better than run blocking this year on the whole, but Zach doesn't have as long to hold the ball like he did in a couple years ago.

Ball needs to keep coming out on time.

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

Pass protection has been much better than run blocking this year on the whole, but Zach doesn't have as long to hold the ball like he did in a couple years ago.

Ball needs to keep coming out on time.

Zach has to accept the long ball is an occasional option to be used with caution, at risk of being slammed to the ground and KO'd, especially in the next 2 games.  Feed him "Play Safe" Matt Nichols film till he pukes, he's going to have to put his ego aside and throw a lot of check-downs if he wants to win enough games to make the playoffs.

[bunker]

The two pillars of it, Bryant and Neufeld, are aging out, we've struggled to replace Hardrick, and we seem to have to replace an all-star left guard every year or two. Not to mention the weakest link, who is "central" to the problem (Kolankowski).
I actually think our O-line has improved a bit recently, probably due to Bryant being back in.

[Pigskin]

The two pillars of it, Bryant and Neufeld, are aging out, we've struggled to replace Hardrick, and we seem to have to replace an all-star left guard every year or two. Not to mention the weakest link, who is "central" to the problem (Kolankowski).
I actually think our O-line has improved a bit recently, probably due to Bryant being back in.

With the age of our OL, I was surprised when the Bomber took Shay before Fortin in the draft. Fortin now starting for Calgary.

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

With the age of our OL, I was surprised when the Bomber took Shay before Fortin in the draft. Fortin now starting for Calgary.

According to John Hodge, Fortin is already the top Center in the league.

[TecnoGenius]

With the age of our OL, I was surprised when the Bomber took Shay before Fortin in the draft. Fortin now starting for Calgary.

Ouch... although if he can't play OG then he's of limited use.  We're pretty dead set on Ko-man and already have Eli at backup.  Swapping out Ko for a great C might help is a little, but it's not where our real problem lies.

Whether it's the "dumbest move of the century" or not will have to be answered after 1-2 more seasons to see if Shay is a full-time ratio-busting starter or not.

[TecnoGenius]

OL problems are all:

1. Injuries every other week causing near constant shuffling of AR OL.  No gel.

2. Lofton tub bound 99% of this season so far.

3. Vant/Rand not OT material IMHO.  Maybe Rand can do spot duty on RT... but I don't want him as my full time desired starter going forward, and certainly not in '26.  Last few games he's the one letting in lots of the pressure.

4. Wallace still slow on pass pro: he let in a lot of heat too last game.  He might not be the answer either.

5. Neuf/Stan getting a tad older each year and getting 5% worse as a result.  Not much, but it adds up.  I wouldn't ditch either right now, but the year will come soon.

6. We let the NAT pipeline get bare by making OL a low priority in the last 2 (3?) drafts.


Stan Vant Ko Neuf Lofton <--- will be a very good line if we can get them all healthy.  It'll be the best line we can hope to field this season short of some miracle trades.  FA will need some major renovation.

[LXTSN]

One thing to keep an eye on is the Detroit Lions training camp cuts.
Giovanni Manu is listed as the third string left tackle, and will be on the chopping block, or potentially a PR player.
The Bombers drafted him last season in hopes that one day he would come back to play in the CFL. Still only 26 so it could still be a couple of years if it doesn't work out for him. I watched their preseason game the other day and he could really move his feet for a 6-8 340lb big boy!

Might never play for us, but he's a top notch prospect that could help the future of this OL.

[Waffler]

With the age of our OL, I was surprised when the Bomber took Shay before Fortin in the draft. Fortin now starting for Calgary.

I'll say it again, I don't care.  Calgary was GIFTED 2 draft picks by BC forfeit. Those players turned out to be:
Christopher Fortin
Quincy Vaughn

Every team should have moved up one, that would have been fair.

[Sir Blue and Gold]

One thing to keep an eye on is the Detroit Lions training camp cuts.
Giovanni Manu is listed as the third string left tackle, and will be on the chopping block, or potentially a PR player.
The Bombers drafted him last season in hopes that one day he would come back to play in the CFL. Still only 26 so it could still be a couple of years if it doesn't work out for him. I watched their preseason game the other day and he could really move his feet for a 6-8 340lb big boy!

Might never play for us, but he's a top notch prospect that could help the future of this OL.

He's kind of a lottery ticket but it's even better than that. He's only 24.

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

I'll say it again, I don't care.  Calgary was GIFTED 2 draft picks by BC forfeit. Those players turned out to be:
Christopher Fortin
Quincy Vaughn

Every team should have moved up one, that would have been fair.

Agreed, that was a bizarre decision, it's bound to happen again in the very near future, the CFL needs to tighten up their forfeiture of draft pick rules in that situation..

[LXTSN]

One thing to keep an eye on is the Detroit Lions training camp cuts.
Giovanni Manu is listed as the third string left tackle, and will be on the chopping block, or potentially a PR player.
The Bombers drafted him last season in hopes that one day he would come back to play in the CFL. Still only 26 so it could still be a couple of years if it doesn't work out for him. I watched their preseason game the other day and he could really move his feet for a 6-8 340lb big boy!

Might never play for us, but he's a top notch prospect that could help the future of this OL.

I've been keeping up with this as a Lion's fan (Detroit Lions of course) and the deadline to make roster cuts is tomorrow.

Well, the Lions just released Dan Skipper, who was one of the 2 left tackles ahead of Manu in the depth chart. Skipper is probably one of the best or most utilized back up OL in the NFL. This big move for Detroit likely means they are very high on Manu.

Bad for us but great for the big man!

[TecnoGenius]

I'll say it again, I don't care.  Calgary was GIFTED 2 draft picks by BC forfeit. Those players turned out to be:
Christopher Fortin
Quincy Vaughn

Every team should have moved up one, that would have been fair.

I'm still not positive that's not what happened... Does anyone have a definitive list of the team draft order for 2025?  Not saying you're wrong, just that I don't believe it can be this way!

If CGY was just gifted BC's 1&2 picks then that would mean CGY would select (roughly) 1st, 7th, 10th, 16th, 19th?  The key being 7th AND 10th... did this happen?  If so, this is just plain bleepity bleep.

Why not just take BC's forfeited picks out of the list and shift everyone up to compensate?  You know: delete row in the spreadsheet??

[Waffler]

I'm still not positive that's not what happened... Does anyone have a definitive list of the team draft order for 2025?  Not saying you're wrong, just that I don't believe it can be this way!

If CGY was just gifted BC's 1&2 picks then that would mean CGY would select (roughly) 1st, 7th, 10th, 16th, 19th?  The key being 7th AND 10th... did this happen?  If so, this is just plain bleepity bleep.

Why not just take BC's forfeited picks out of the list and shift everyone up to compensate?  You know: delete row in the spreadsheet??

https://press.cfl.ca/bc-toronto-saskatchewan-and-ottawa-exceeded-2024-salary-expenditure-cap

In addition to being fined, the BC Lions will forfeit the highest of their first- and second-round selections (Nos. 3 and 9) in the 2025 CFL Draft due to the amount by which they exceeded the cap. BC retains its lower second-round selection (No. 11).

Per the CFL Constitution, the team with the highest waiver priority – in this instance, the Calgary Stampeders – have been awarded BC's forfeited picks as the final selections in the first two rounds – Nos. 8 and 17.

Compare this to Edmonton who lost a first round pick due to using it in the supplemental draft. In that case Edmonton was just skipped over, no pick. That is how I feel the forfeited picks should also be.

The whole draft recap is on wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_CFL_draft