Personnel changes for next game

[Waffler]

If this is a throwaway

"Play to the final whistle" MOS would be part of a throw away season? We'd have to be mathematically eliminated. In the CFL that happens very late.

[Blue In BC]

Some very good points and a well written summary.  The last point I might start to waiver on.  For years when D was dominant the rotation was king.  One of the teams that played earlier mentioned the complexity of their systems and how it was a balance between confusing players and not being to one dimensional.  A fine line the Bombers must walk.  Reminds me of late Dave Ritchie how he made all his stars play teams.  An interesting way to deploy the roster but perhaps not how I would approach it.  In the end rotation brings development opportunity.  Vets also can be more consistent.

This club has lots of soul searching.  For someone that has been so positive for so long, the tides have turned but perhaps we can surf this final surge to the playoffs and Zach can sing us a swan song for the ages. 

What's your summary on Ayers impact.  With the D playing so poorly he disappeared a bit or am I wrong? Is he a beast on teams.

These deeper dives on club are really enjoyable man.  While we sometimes battle, the very essence of this forum is on full display. 

You just didn't believe fully in late stage injury plaqued Harris like I did.  I was slightly exaggerating.  Unless my memory fails me, then forgive my ignorance

Sankey just too $.  Moxie isn't part of the solution but also not our biggest problem.

A healthy Kramdi will balance out the D a bit imo.  That's a few games away likely and might be too late.

I don't dislike Ayers. He is a very good ST player but is not used on defence that often. Roster size and ratio are limiting for every CFL team. The Bombers don't have a DI on offence except Calvillo.

My position is that we cannot afford to have him in the role he fills. Compare his stats to Smith and it's not a contest. Smith is a Canadian.

Many said Sankey was too expensive but we don't know what his SMS is or even whether we considered him. He's not shown in the top 10 LB's in the CFL. # 10 is listed at $141K ( T. Richards a Canadian ) so in theory he's less than that.

Cost for performance across the roster is complicated. We pay many players big $$$ and have chosen to allow others to leave past a certain thresh hold.

Rotation on defence has it's pros and cons but it has to work. It's not anymore. I mentioned games won since 2022: 15, 14, 11, 10 and this year we're 4 wins to date.  You have to have the personnel to match your strategy.

[Blue In BC]

You know better than anyone that to AR Peterson we lose a guy who is probably better at ST.  After that ST performance vs CGY, I'm not sure I want to see a "worse" cover team.

Not everyone is JA27 who is also good at ST.

You'd have to bench Novak, or Ball, or similar.  If Peterson was clearly better at ST, then he'd already be on the AR -- even with a healthy Brady.

Plus, not sure Brady would take kindly to Peterson sets coming in in the red zone just to give us some speed and edge threat... You want to be the one telling Brady he has no speed and can't reach the edge?

Thus, while the idea has merit, and might even get us more TDs, it won't happen here because of politics and culture.  It's simply not our way.

That's a valid point but we started using Novak and Ball as soon as they were activated. Who they replaced isn't quite clear. The point is that we have 12 players on ST's but only 1 RB. Our roster is full of ST players so IMO it's less of an issue than one we might have at RB as an alternative look. We did add and then take off Jackson after 1 game ( replaced by Woodbey ). In theory he'd be a back up DB if needed but Woodbey is a big add going forward.

I'd also point out other teams have the same issues and most seem to have 2 players at RB in every game. Or at least a DI that rotates in for some plays on offence.

If I had to make a choice I consider taking Shay off the AR. He doesn't seem to be in the mix on defence and he's not a great ST player. I'm still trying to figure out why we traded up to draft him and then don't use him. Was it a draft mistake.

[Tecno]

I'd also point out other teams have the same issues and most seem to have 2 players at RB in every game. Or at least a DI that rotates in for some plays on offence

But not every team... A few teams are one rb only teams and have been for years. CGY is one. HAM is usually one. BC too, historically, but not right now.

Most teams will AR two, but the other has to be a good STer or another role like FB. That's not the same as the heavy rotation teams like MTL, EDM, etc.

The jury is out on what's better. I'm not convinced either way is superior. Though it you lose a guy who's good at other things because of it, especially a DI, then I question its value.

The every down aspect, and the free dress backup of a FB makes the extreme Brady price a bit more palatable.

[Blue In BC]

But not every team... A few teams are one rb only teams and have been for years. CGY is one. HAM is usually one. BC too, historically, but not right now.

Most teams will AR two, but the other has to be a good STer or another role like FB. That's not the same as the heavy rotation teams like MTL, EDM, etc.

The jury is out on what's better. I'm not convinced either way is superior. Though it you lose a guy who's good at other things because of it, especially a DI, then I question its value.

The every down aspect, and the free dress backup of a FB makes the extreme Brady price a bit more palatable.

Do we need a FB, a TE, an extra OL and 3 Canadian receivers? It makes our offence very vanilla. We choose to not keep Augustine over MCI and Peterson and switched to an actual TE in the trade off.

Our offence is not exactly lighting up the league.

Calgary has often used a receiver that is a DI as an alternative look. This year it's McCallister who is the primary returner. I've mentioned that we would have used Logan in that role if Vaval didn't beat him out as the returner. Sometimes it's the choice whether the returner is a defensive back up or offensive back up.

Not having an offensive player as a DI is a liability IMO. That doesn't change the issue for Peterson, but our depth is zero if Wilson or White get injured in game.

Anyway, I am expecting at least a minor airlift of new faces for our PR. I see the Riders just added the UFL defensive player in 2025 to their AR for yesterdays game. Others like Maudlin and Lemon have been added to rosters recently. Start with newbies on the PR and see what develops from there.

I would bump 1 current starter depending on health of possible replacements. At this point I don't even care which one but we need a shake up. One of Bryant, K. Wilson, Ayers or Moxey. Giving up nearly 90 points in the last 2 games and 121 in the last 3?

We're on our bye and need to come out ready to play against a struggling Redblack team that might be 0 - 8 by the time we see theme. Playing a team that desperate is our weakness.

[Blueforlife]

If this is a throwaway season, I am immediately benching/cutting/trading:
Nield
Cobb
Stan
Nichols
Moxey
maybe Kyrie

I'm instead starting Singer, Corcoran, Vant, <insert HB here, maybe via trade/couch>, Vaval/the-backup/or-Bonds.  Yes, Corcoran isn't great, but the idea is to shake things up and give the younger guys with maybe some upside more reps.  If they suck, start one of your IMPs or find a dropped DP REC from the last 1-2 seasons -- there's lots.

And Smith and Shay are starters immediately.

As for QB, you make Zach & Dru take pay cuts or they're traded away/cut.  You make Dru sign a 2-3 year deal at a massive discount.  Zach decides what his future is and you lock him into it (probably done after '26).  Then you tell the QBs they stay in and play.  If you get sacked and you are owies, you stay in.  If you don't stay in you're benched/traded/cut.

And I seriously consider starting Elgs.  I don't care how much he sucks.  Tell him it's ok to suck -- we WANT him to suck.  Just get reps and learn on the fly, tell him we have total faith it will make him a legit 2027 starter.  Tell all the fans in every presser and radio show that Elgs is allowed to suck and this is the plan and don't boo him.  Tell them he's the future Rourke and this pain must be tolerated.

If this sounds like a C.Jones "rebuild year", then I guess it is, and I'm finally starting to see why he did it all the time.  Sometimes the play and players are just SO BAD that "there has to be consequences".

Slow roasting Taylor is my preferred path, regardless of how good we are.  Rushing him could cause issues.

Flip side that's the only way to learn.

As soon as some new players (and hopefully a new defensive coordinator)gets shuffled into position they'll be latest and greatest best ever also and the told-ya-so's can re-commence. The cycle CNA then continue of pretending to know what he's talking about while simultaneously saying the same thing over and over and over.

None of this is remotely accurate, fair,not called for and borderline personal shot.  Would appreciate that we talk ball / personell changes.

The forum, including me will continue to debate any changes to the team in a subjective manner based on our own personal opinions and varied takes.

No need to be like that.  None of us have all the answers but allowing space for all opinions and posting styles is what makes this place great.  Collectively we boil things down as a group pretty well.

Some like to claim folks as one dimensional or paint them with a single brush, when overtime we all vary in how we support the club, what we post and how we react to the ups and downs this organization has.  The crest of success is behind us and we will all continue to call it like we see it as the next wave builds or crumbles.

[dd]

If this is a throwaway season, I am immediately benching/cutting/trading:
Nield
Cobb
Stan
Nichols
Moxey
maybe Kyrie

I'm instead starting Singer, Corcoran, Vant, <insert HB here, maybe via trade/couch>, Vaval/the-backup/or-Bonds.  Yes, Corcoran isn't great, but the idea is to shake things up and give the younger guys with maybe some upside more reps.  If they suck, start one of your IMPs or find a dropped DP REC from the last 1-2 seasons -- there's lots.

And Smith and Shay are starters immediately.

As for QB, you make Zach & Dru take pay cuts or they're traded away/cut.  You make Dru sign a 2-3 year deal at a massive discount.  Zach decides what his future is and you lock him into it (probably done after '26).  Then you tell the QBs they stay in and play.  If you get sacked and you are owies, you stay in.  If you don't stay in you're benched/traded/cut.

And I seriously consider starting Elgs.  I don't care how much he sucks.  Tell him it's ok to suck -- we WANT him to suck.  Just get reps and learn on the fly, tell him we have total faith it will make him a legit 2027 starter.  Tell all the fans in every presser and radio show that Elgs is allowed to suck and this is the plan and don't boo him.  Tell them he's the future Rourke and this pain must be tolerated.

If this sounds like a C.Jones "rebuild year", then I guess it is, and I'm finally starting to see why he did it all the time.  Sometimes the play and players are just SO BAD that "there has to be consequences".

None of this is going to happen. We aren't benching anyone, not MOS style. He'll coach them up. MOS style is to not give up, rather fight until the bitter end with the guys you have.

Elgersma should never see the field again this season. He is beyond brutal/not ready to play.

Defense needs to REALLY pick it up. I expect to see Jones back at MLB, still need to figure out who and how we replace Kramdi as his injury creates ratio issues.