The conference:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUSCa0meTWA
Ed Tait's key take aways:
https://www.bluebombers.com/2026/02/12/key-takeaways-from-kyle-walters-media/
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Some absolutely juicy quotes here. A lot of confirmation about things we've guessed and shutting down of things we guessed incorrectly.
Most interesting thing is at the very end regarding last season. "Too many veterans not playing each week." Other theme about midway is going back to a training camp where spots can actually be won and not to take the mindset of a week 1 roster from day one.
Good.
As long as we execute like that we can go back to winning. Need the best players today. Not the best players three years ago. Culture is a pre-requisite to winning it is not the end goal.
Other themes: spending money on the interior of the defense. You don't do that unless they are going back to a more 4-3 approach. They do like Ceresna's ability to play DE in 3-4 sets. So it's not going away, which it shouldn't, but it can't be the main package, which, again, it shouldn't.
Scouting needs to find us a DE and a corner. Possibility to go 3 National receivers and 3 American offensive lineman. Americans coming in to compete at Centre. Elgersma may or may not be here this spring. Will bring in a more veteran QB if he's not.
He doubled down a couple of times saying, "we can't have our roster set before TC begins". He wants a true competition on multiple spots getting the best combination of guys possible.
Especially on offence, where there are options to change the ratio in the WR core or along the OL to get the best on the field.
Quote from: Jesse on February 13, 2026, 04:44:12 PMHe doubled down a couple of times saying, "we can't have our roster set before TC begins". He wants a true competition on multiple spots getting the best combination of guys possible.
Especially on offence, where there are options to change the ratio in the WR core or along the OL to get the best on the field.
Surprised how open the O-line is on the inside, in a battle against Imports I see Eli coming up short vs. Neuf or Wallace, might lose Randolph and Vanterpool in the process unless they accept backup status. Doesn't sound like Walters is keen to use the 1 game IR as he did last year to stash healthy players.
Sounds like Neild was a big piece, he will get an inside SB spot many hoped for, while Clercius and Corcoran compete or share the outside spot, did not mention Cobb.
Quote from: Jesse on February 13, 2026, 04:44:12 PMHe doubled down a couple of times saying, "we can't have our roster set before TC begins". He wants a true competition on multiple spots getting the best combination of guys possible.
Well, or he's just saying that to light a big fire under the vets complacent butts! Either way it should have the desired effect.
Quote from: Sir Blue and Gold on February 13, 2026, 04:17:07 PMOther themes: spending money on the interior of the defense. You don't do that unless they are going back to a more 4-3 approach. They do like Ceresna's ability to play DE in 3-4 sets. So it's not going away, which it shouldn't, but it can't be the main package, which, again, it shouldn't.
Rewatching the GC I was surprised to see how much SSK was only bringing 3. Not as much as us, but not miles different, either. The difference was their 3 could sometimes get through, and the QB knew it.
I think the way KW worded the 4-3/3-4 bits, and was basically saying "Younger gonna do what Younger gonna do", hints that (at least) KW isn't putting a stop to it. We may see a lot more of the 3 man rush than many people here want.
Maybe the sweet spot is to do it more like SSK did it in the GC.
The thing I like about KW is he just lays it all out there. He's like Alternate Universe MOS.
He gives you so much meat to work with and doesn't hold back very much. It makes it very easy to understand the thoughts behind the '26 roster and what we still need to do and where we're headed.
Sometimes I almost think it's too much info, like giving the other GMs an advantage to foil his plans or something. From a fan standpoint, I love it, though!
Quote from: Tecno on February 13, 2026, 09:08:38 PMThe thing I like about KW is he just lays it all out there. He's like Alternate Universe MOS.
He gives you so much meat to work with and doesn't hold back very much. It makes it very easy to understand the thoughts behind the '26 roster and what we still need to do and where we're headed.
Sometimes I almost think it's too much info, like giving the other GMs an advantage to foil his plans or something. From a fan standpoint, I love it, though!
Walters has to pack it in, he only makes 4 appearances a year, after FA, after the draft, after TC and after the season.
Quote from: Tecno on February 13, 2026, 09:06:17 PMRewatching the GC I was surprised to see how much SSK was only bringing 3. Not as much as us, but not miles different, either. The difference was their 3 could sometimes get through, and the QB knew it.
I think the way KW worded the 4-3/3-4 bits, and was basically saying "Younger gonna do what Younger gonna do", hints that (at least) KW isn't putting a stop to it. We may see a lot more of the 3 man rush than many people here want.
Maybe the sweet spot is to do it more like SSK did it in the GC.
You're kind of failing to grasp the basic lesson. Saskatchewan's defense was constantly getting pressure all season. They wacked QBs all day long. It really doesn't matter if you think they ran more 3-4 or 4-3 in the Grey Cup. That's not the takeaway.
And why would we invest in the interior of the defensive line and then run a ton of 3-4?
I don't really care what we run as long as we get pressure this year. I'd expect more 4-3 than last year though. Not that that will be very hard.
Quote from: Sir Blue and Gold on February 14, 2026, 12:09:08 AMThey wacked QBs all day long. It really doesn't matter if you think they ran more 3-4 or 4-3 in the Grey Cup. That's not the takeaway.
Except so many here bash the 3-4 scheme to the point that they want it run 0 or maybe 2 times a game. I was a bit shocked to see SSK running it maybe up to 10 times in the GC, especially since I didn't notice them running it much in the reg season.
Maybe that was their special wrinkle for the GC...
Quote from: Sir Blue and Gold on February 14, 2026, 12:09:08 AMAnd why would we invest in the interior of the defensive line and then run a ton of 3-4?
I don't really care what we run as long as we get pressure this year. I'd expect more 4-3 than last year though. Not that that will be very hard.
Agreed on your final sentence. I want to see a pass rush at least as good as HAM or EDM was generating in '25. Getting anywhere close to '25 SSK effectiveness will be gravy.
But your point about "why invest in DT then go 3-4" is a non sequitur, as proven by SSK in the GC. If we are good enough then we can get pressure even with 3. We all want to see more 4-3, but the Ceresna signing does absolutely nothing to prove that will be the case.
Heck, Younger could see Ceresna and be thinking "yay, now I can run MORE 3-4 and get some pressure!". You never know. However, I'm the odd man out here thinking Younger/Hall have a method to their madness and will figure out how to make it all work.
We will use 3 man fronts a lot and the entire league has also done this for a number of years. I agree with Techno, the criticism of our 3 man front is overstated. That said we need better outcomes out of our DL and I think that will occur this year if we can find a few more aces.
And I'm with you Techno on how Hall and Younger will figure it out, they are an incredibly talented and experienced combo platter.
And what's up with KW doing an audio-only interview? Usually these things are in the PAS annals press room.
KW living it up in Hawaii right now? Doesn't seem the case unless the phone he's using has exceptional sound quality. Really does sound like an everyone-present-in-room presser, yet no vid.
Weird.
Quote from: Tecno on February 14, 2026, 02:48:56 AMExcept so many here bash the 3-4 scheme to the point that they want it run 0 or maybe 2 times a game. I was a bit shocked to see SSK running it maybe up to 10 times in the GC, especially since I didn't notice them running it much in the reg season.
Maybe that was their special wrinkle for the GC...
Agreed on your final sentence. I want to see a pass rush at least as good as HAM or EDM was generating in '25. Getting anywhere close to '25 SSK effectiveness will be gravy.
But your point about "why invest in DT then go 3-4" is a non sequitur, as proven by SSK in the GC. If we are good enough then we can get pressure even with 3. We all want to see more 4-3, but the Ceresna signing does absolutely nothing to prove that will be the case.
Heck, Younger could see Ceresna and be thinking "yay, now I can run MORE 3-4 and get some pressure!". You never know. However, I'm the odd man out here thinking Younger/Hall have a method to their madness and will figure out how to make it all work.
People bash the 3-4 scheme last year specifically in Winnipeg because it was a terribly implemented 3-4 which resulted in little pressure, few turnovers and was carved to pieces by competent QB play in big moments. It put players in tough assignments far too often on both the defensive line and in the secondary.
3-4 as a football concept is not inherently bad. Saskatchewan running it more in the Grey Cup, if they even did, doesn't mean
our 3-4 was good or effective football. Saskatchewan's defense powered them to a Grey Cup. Ours blew up as an East crossover team.
It doesn't need to be confusing.
Quote from: Tecno on February 14, 2026, 02:48:56 AMExcept so many here bash the 3-4 scheme to the point that they want it run 0 or maybe 2 times a game. I was a bit shocked to see SSK running it maybe up to 10 times in the GC, especially since I didn't notice them running it much in the reg season.
Maybe that was their special wrinkle for the GC...
Agreed on your final sentence. I want to see a pass rush at least as good as HAM or EDM was generating in '25. Getting anywhere close to '25 SSK effectiveness will be gravy.
But your point about "why invest in DT then go 3-4" is a non sequitur, as proven by SSK in the GC. If we are good enough then we can get pressure even with 3. We all want to see more 4-3, but the Ceresna signing does absolutely nothing to prove that will be the case.
Heck, Younger could see Ceresna and be thinking "yay, now I can run MORE 3-4 and get some pressure!". You never know. However, I'm the odd man out here thinking Younger/Hall have a method to their madness and will figure out how to make it all work.
The difference is Sask. often used blitzing LB's to add pressure while Younger used the extra man in pass coverage. Bizarre formation in the ESF highlighted by TSN had Tony Jones stranded in the flat in pass defence a couple of times while the Als ran the ball straight up the middle.
Quote from: Throw Long Bannatyne on February 14, 2026, 04:23:41 PMThe difference is Sask. often used blitzing LB's to add pressure while Younger used the extra man in pass coverage. Bizarre formation in the ESF highlighted by TSN had Tony Jones stranded in the flat in pass defence a couple of times while the Als ran the ball straight up the middle.
One of the issues with the 3 man front wasnt just the lack of pressure by that group, it was they didnt even create enough disruption for the blitzing lb to be effective. We did have to do a better job of not telegraphing which lb but also tying up more olinemen to create opportunities
To me, Willie was a big part of the problem of no pressure. Jake was obviously not impactful in the middle, but Willie mostly made one attempt to go wide, and once it didn't immediately work, he would back off and spy the QB while waving his arms around the line of scrimmage. Sometimes that was due to a double team, but often it was not. Vaughters was actually more impactful most of the time in terms of pressure.
I don't know if Willie's play was a product of instructions from Younger, a bit of laziness, or lack of motor due to age and too many reps. But I hope it changes this year. Hopefully the disruption caused by Ceresna will open up more opportunities for him. And hopefully the 2 new "J" ends get some reps leaving Willie fresher when he plays. He took far too many reps for his age last year.
Quote from: bunker on February 14, 2026, 05:46:08 PMTo me, Willie was a big part of the problem of no pressure. Jake was obviously not impactful in the middle, but Willie mostly made one attempt to go wide, and once it didn't immediately work, he would back off and spy the QB while waving his arms around the line of scrimmage. Sometimes that was due to a double team, but often it was not. Vaughters was actually more impactful most of the time in terms of pressure.
I don't know if Willie's play was a product of instructions from Younger, a bit of laziness, or lack of motor due to age and too many reps. But I hope it changes this year. Hopefully the disruption caused by Ceresna will open up more opportunities for him. And hopefully the 2 new "J" ends get some reps leaving Willie fresher when he plays. He took far too many reps for his age last year.
I wouldn't have brought Willie back and I wouldn't have brought Stanley back.
Quote from: Throw Long Bannatyne on February 14, 2026, 04:23:41 PMThe difference is Sask. often used blitzing LB's to add pressure while Younger used the extra man in pass coverage.
To be more clear, in the GC SSK used 3-4 more than you'd think, and most of the time actually only brought 3. In fact, there was so little blitzing going on by SSK because their normal 4 (or 3) could get significant pressure most of the time.
Either SSK's DL was that good, or MTL's OL got really bad since '23, or both.
Carney and Micah Johnson were beasts on their line both gone this year waughters will help but they need another solid iceman to makeup for what they lost
Quote from: Tecno on February 14, 2026, 09:18:54 PMTo be more clear, in the GC SSK used 3-4 more than you'd think, and most of the time actually only brought 3. In fact, there was so little blitzing going on by SSK because their normal 4 (or 3) could get significant pressure most of the time.
Either SSK's DL was that good, or MTL's OL got really bad since '23, or both.
Why are you hyper fixated on the Grey Cup and then extrapolating that to draw season and multi-year conclusions? Zooming in on one game is noise. The Riders defense was primary a 4-3 in 2025. Saskatchewan's defensive line really was that good last year and Montreal's offensive line was a bit above average. It makes no difference how anyone played in 2023 to any point you're trying to make.
Quote from: Sir Blue and Gold on February 14, 2026, 11:15:01 PMWhy are you hyper fixated on the Grey Cup and then extrapolating that to draw season and multi-year conclusions? Zooming in on one game is noise. The Riders defense was primary a 4-3 in 2025. Saskatchewan's defensive line really was that good last year and Montreal's offensive line was a bit above average. It makes no difference how anyone played in 2023 to any point you're trying to make.
I said at the outset I was noting the SSK GC D scheme because it seemed to differ from what they did most of the year. I wasn't extrapolating it across the season, I was noting the contrast.
Zooming in on one game is fine when that game is the most important one of the whole year!
Except when MTL's OL in '23 was probably league-best and helped win them the GC, and AFAIK much of the personnel has remained. I made the comment because I thought MTL's OL in '25 was still dominant. When 3, 4 or 5 OL remain constant year to year it's perfectly valid to make comparisons. For instance, we've usually only changed 1-2 OL every year during the Dynasty Years.
Quote from: Tecno on February 15, 2026, 12:11:56 AMI said at the outset I was noting the SSK GC D scheme because it seemed to differ from what they did most of the year. I wasn't extrapolating it across the season, I was noting the contrast.
Zooming in on one game is fine when that game is the most important one of the whole year!
Except when MTL's OL in '23 was probably league-best and helped win them the GC, and AFAIK much of the personnel has remained. I made the comment because I thought MTL's OL in '25 was still dominant. When 3, 4 or 5 OL remain constant year to year it's perfectly valid to make comparisons. For instance, we've usually only changed 1-2 OL every year during the Dynasty Years.
Generally speaking, if you're looking at teams playing in the Grey Cup, you're probably looking at teams that have good to great offensive and defensive line play on the whole.