Blue Bombers agree to terms with veteran defensive lineman Jake Ceresna

[Sir Blue and Gold]

You need to be able to get pressure with 4.  We couldn't, and that's why we switched to a lot of 3.

With upgraded pieces on the DL we should be able to get there with 4.  We don't have to get sacks, but we need the QB to know/feel he doesn't have all day.  He has to feel he needs to get the ball out after 4-5s nearly every snap.

You need to be able to get pressure regardless of which front you're playing.

Pressure is not an option. No proven defense theory suggests this. Never in my life have I ever heard that playing a three man front means you don't need to attack the QB. This is just weird fake theory that some Bombers fans latched on to after watching our defense last year.

We do not need to lead the league in sacks or blitz rate. We do need to make the quarterback play faster than he wants while punishing him physically if he holds the ball.

These are baseline, generally agreed upon defensive requirements no matter the league or country.

[Jesse]

You need to be able to get pressure regardless of which front you're playing.

Pressure is not an option. No proven defense theory suggests this. Never in my life have I ever heard that playing a three man front means you don't need to attack the QB. This is just weird fake theory that some Bombers fans latched on to after watching our defense last year.

We do not need to lead the league in sacks or blitz rate. We do need to make the quarterback play faster than he wants while punishing him physically if he holds the ball.

These are baseline, generally agreed upon defensive requirements no matter the league or country.

And we often sent 4, Tony Jones acting as a guy on the line, but we just weren't good at it, as you've mentioned.

And the team is clearly trying to address that. Younger's system is still going to be what it is, but hopefully Lawson/Ceresna make it work better.

[blue_gold_84]

Pressure should be priority #1 for any D-line. Unfortunately, this team has lacked the horses on said D-line to do that consistently in recent years. I'm not sure the system in place has/had any bearing on that.

Ceresna is a stellar addition to remedy that issue. I still wonder about the bookend opposite Jefferson, though.

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

And we often sent 4, Tony Jones acting as a guy on the line, but we just weren't good at it, as you've mentioned.

And the team is clearly trying to address that. Younger's system is still going to be what it is, but hopefully Lawson/Ceresna make it work better.

If Younger wants to continue his 3 front line they should move to a 3-4 set with a different LB or DB coming on every play.  Mix it up like Noel Thorpe does, so the QB can never predict where pressure will come from.  Bombers had outstanding success rushing QB's with 3-4 sets back in the day.

[Sir Blue and Gold]

And we often sent 4, Tony Jones acting as a guy on the line, but we just weren't good at it, as you've mentioned.

And the team is clearly trying to address that. Younger's system is still going to be what it is, but hopefully Lawson/Ceresna make it work better.

This means JY's system fundamentaly didn't work last year with the personnel we deployed.

I'm fine if that's the conclusion and I'm hopeful things will work better this year. In my opinion, the system needs to go back to a more conventional approach which is no secret to anyone here.

It's important to recognize that the difference between Richie Hall's defense and where JY took us. It felt like it should be a continuation since it happened slowly but the result are metric tonnes apart.

[Jesse]

This means JY's system fundamentaly didn't work last year with the personnel we deployed.

I'm fine if that's the conclusion and I'm hopeful things will work better this year. In my opinion, the system needs to go back to a more conventional approach which is no secret to anyone here.

But how do you reconcile that with the fact that our defence was 1st in points allowed?

[Blue In BC]

But how do you reconcile that with the fact that our defence was 1st in points allowed?

We were fairly good in the red zone but did allow teams to consume time and long drives to get there. That's not the best combination. It impacts TOP for our offence and field position.

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

But how do you reconcile that with the fact that our defence was 1st in points allowed?

Does that really matter when they're the 6th best team in the league?  The defence was relatively ineffective playing against the CFL's best QB's.

[blue_gold_84]

Does that really matter when they're the 6th best team in the league?  The defence was relatively ineffective playing against the CFL's best QB's.

It does matter. The defense was still a stronger phase of this team than the offense was last season. I know that isn't necessarily saying much but it should be considered when breaking down the issues that impacted this team in 2025 - on both sides of the ball.

The lack of generating pressure up front seemed to stem from a poorly built D-line, which only hindered the defensive unit as a whole. The defense was solid in the redzone but struggled elsewhere on the field, surrendering long drives and big plays to opposing offenses far too often, particularly top tier ones.

[Jesse]

Does that really matter when they're the 6th best team in the league?  The defence was relatively ineffective playing against the CFL's best QB's.

They lost games because the offence kept turning the ball over. That's not on the defence.

[Tecno]

We were fairly good in the red zone but did allow teams to consume time and long drives to get there. That's not the best combination.

That's literally the "bend but don't break" D.  Hall (now Younger) is basically the epitome of that.  So this should surprise no one.

Some actually do think that's the best combination.  It's the "force the dink & dunk as it can't be sustained for 60Y" paradigm.  It's not wrong, usually.  Only SSK recently mastering the "dink & dunk to the nth degree" has put a fly in that ointment.

My biggest beef with the D last season was how many running TDs we gave up, especially to SSK and MTL.  That was embarrassing.  You need to force teams to the risk of passing TDs, not let them just waltz in!  I want that to stop completely in '26.  Back to the Stove-era run stop.  Make them earn their TDs.

[Blue In BC]

That's literally the "bend but don't break" D.  Hall (now Younger) is basically the epitome of that.  So this should surprise no one.

Some actually do think that's the best combination.  It's the "force the dink & dunk as it can't be sustained for 60Y" paradigm.  It's not wrong, usually.  Only SSK recently mastering the "dink & dunk to the nth degree" has put a fly in that ointment.

My biggest beef with the D last season was how many running TDs we gave up, especially to SSK and MTL.  That was embarrassing.  You need to force teams to the risk of passing TDs, not let them just waltz in!  I want that to stop completely in '26.  Back to the Stove-era run stop.  Make them earn their TDs.

Yes but that's usually has a defence that applies more pressure on the QB to force mistakes. You can't let a QB have that much time and have the DB's give 10 yards of cushion.

Field position and TOP are critical as well.

[Sir Blue and Gold]

But how do you reconcile that with the fact that our defence was 1st in points allowed?

Truly good defenses pass an eye test. Dominate defenses can power teams to championships. There are plenty of examples of this.

Our defense in 2025 was never one of those. They beat up some bad quarterbacks and had some good games against better talent but then would go out the next week and get absolutely torched. 

When the chips were down, they got pounded into the sand.

I don't put much stock into an average over the course of the season. Games are won and lost individually. JYs defense might have been better than our offense for big chunks of the year but it was ultimately a flawed unit who very much deserved to go out in the East Semi.

[Pete]

Truly good defenses pass an eye test. Dominate defenses can power teams to championships. There are plenty of examples of this.

Our defense in 2025 was never one of those. They beat up some bad quarterbacks and had some good games against better talent but then would go out the next week and get absolutely torched. 

When the chips were down, they got pounded into the sand.

I don't put much stock into an average over the course of the season. Games are won and lost individually. JYs defense might have been better than our offense for big chunks of the year but it was ultimately a flawed unit who very much deserved to go out in the East Semi.

that we allowed 42 points against in the playoff game against Mtrl is an indicator that our regular season defense wasn't as good as the stats say. The inability of our defense to generate pressure was a big factor. We only had 6 dline dressed and Munier=bailey hardly played. They were gassed by the end of the game.
LY we insisted on playing a ton of linebackers we need to find a way to rectify this . Most teams dress 7-9 dlinemen no one else dresses just 6.(especially with one being Thomas and the other being a global) Personally I think we need another quality dt especially since we haven't re-signed Woods. The other factor is we can't afford to have an import lb that only plays special teams.

[Sir Blue and Gold]

that we allowed 42 points against in the playoff game against Mtrl is an indicator that our regular season defense wasn't as good as the stats say. The inability of our defense to generate pressure was a big factor. We only had 6 dline dressed and Munier=bailey hardly played. They were gassed by the end of the game.
LY we insisted on playing a ton of linebackers we need to find a way to rectify this . Most teams dress 7-9 dlinemen no one else dresses just 6.(especially with one being Thomas and the other being a global) Personally I think we need another quality dt especially since we haven't re-signed Woods. The other factor is we can't afford to have an import lb that only plays special teams.

Agree and add... in a game where pressure would have been doubly effective playing a QB on one and a half legs.