Top Paid lists by position according to 3DownNation

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

https://3downnation.com/2023/04/17/the-cfls-15-highest-paid-quarterbacks-for-2023-season/

$600K Zach is #1 in all departments.


https://3downnation.com/2023/04/22/the-cfls-15-highest-paid-linebackers-for-the-2023-cfl-season/

Biggie is #3 at $165K.


https://3downnation.com/2023/04/21/the-cfls-20-highest-paid-defensive-linemen-for-the-2023-season/

The 2 Jeffs made the cut.


https://3downnation.com/2023/04/20/the-cfls-20-highest-paid-offensive-linemen-for-the-2023-season/

2 current and 3 former Bombers in the top 20, the O-line has become a testament to recruiting and development.


https://3downnation.com/2023/04/19/the-cfls-20-highest-paid-receivers-for-the-2023-season/

Lawler and Demski are the only 2 in the top 20, Schoen will be on there next season.


https://3downnation.com/2023/04/18/the-cfls-15-highest-paid-running-back-and-fullbacks-for-the-2023-season/

Brady and Johnny made top 15, Mike Miller made the list of 5 highest paid fullbacks.


https://3downnation.com/2023/04/23/the-cfls-20-highest-paid-defensive-backs-for-the-2023-season/

Previously discussed.


https://3downnation.com/2023/04/24/the-cfls-15-highest-paid-specialists-for-the-2023-season/

Leggs came in 10th at $80K and there's only 9 teams!  At least he's cheap!

[dd]

You get what you pay for. There is no value in being cheap if results aren't produced. I'd rather us spend money on a kicker that consistently produces vs cheapout and it costs us in the biggest game of the year

[TecnoGenius]

$600K Zach is #1 in all departments.

I rewatched the GC again.  We all fault so many people (rightly or wrongly), like Leggs, Sayles, Demski, OL, Ellingson, Biggie, Buck, Hall, etc.

But has anyone yet faulted Zach?  He was pretty bad all game.  0 TD, 1 INT, not many yards.  Lots of sacks.  That 4th Q INT (misread of the D: knew he had zone but didn't account for a roaming Muamba) was pretty unacceptable in that it almost sealed the deal.

The last 2 series in particular Zach was seeing ghosts and had happy feet.  Understandable as they were clobbering him all night.  But near the end he was getting overly excited when they just rushed 3 or 4.  He was hearing footsteps and looking for fast releases even when he had the time for another second+ in the pocket.

It may have been his worst game of the whole season.  The OL and Buck share a lot of the blame, for sure.  But when he's the highest paid CFL player the buck has to stop with him.  We needed a better Zach in that 4th Q.  I think we all expected more.  I hope the loss fires him up for 2023 even more than it does all the other guys.

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

I rewatched the GC again.  We all fault so many people (rightly or wrongly), like Leggs, Sayles, Demski, OL, Ellingson, Biggie, Buck, Hall, etc.

But has anyone yet faulted Zach?  He was pretty bad all game.  0 TD, 1 INT, not many yards.  Lots of sacks.  That 4th Q INT (misread of the D: knew he had zone but didn't account for a roaming Muamba) was pretty unacceptable in that it almost sealed the deal.

The last 2 series in particular Zach was seeing ghosts and had happy feet.  Understandable as they were clobbering him all night.  But near the end he was getting overly excited when they just rushed 3 or 4.  He was hearing footsteps and looking for fast releases even when he had the time for another second+ in the pocket.

It may have been his worst game of the whole season.  The OL and Buck share a lot of the blame, for sure.  But when he's the highest paid CFL player the buck has to stop with him.  We needed a better Zach in that 4th Q.  I think we all expected more.  I hope the loss fires him up for 2023 even more than it does all the other guys.

Nobody ever mentions the reason Zach sucked and lost the GC was probably due to the needless injury to his left foot he sustained late in the 4thQ of WSF.  Because of that stupid injury he lost his mobility and the ability to put extra zip on his passes which were both critical to the end result.

To put Zach's injury into context the Bombers had a 28-13 lead on the Lions with 5 min. remaining in the 4th. Why for the love of god was Zach still in the game at that point, and worse yet why was he attempting to run the ball beyond the LOS when a punt would easily protect the lead? 

1. I Blame O'Shea, poor coaching decision, overly cautious and showed no confidence in Dru Brown to finish off the game.

Last season Zach ran the ball 6 times for 49 yds., I can easily recall on at least 2 of those runs he suffered injuries and had to be removed from the game.

2. I Blame Zach, he should be fined $10K by the team every time he ventures past the LOS, if there is no play throw the ball away. 

[TecnoGenius]

Nobody ever mentions the reason Zach sucked and lost the GC was probably due to the needless injury to his left foot he sustained late in the 4thQ of WSF.  Because of that stupid injury he lost his mobility and the ability to put extra zip on his passes which were both critical to the end result.

Ya, I guess we can forgive him a bit.  However, in the post-game interviews, a TOR D said they game planned a ton to keep Zach from rolling out.  It was their main focus, and it showed.  But if Zach wasn't mobile anyhow, was it necessary?

That said, during the plays I was talking about his ankle certainly looked fine.  He never did limp off the field.  Looked mobile enough, and even was tempted to take off at times.

His worst crime -- the INT -- had nothing to do with zip.  He chucked it right to Muamba.  Neither did the batdown, which appeared to have a ton of zip (would Demski have been able to catch such a hot ball... hopefully it wasn't going to be behind him.)

2. I Blame Zach, he should be fined $10K by the team every time he ventures past the LOS, if there is no play throw the ball away. 

Ha, but then the Nichols-bashers will start accusing him of turning into Nichols!  That was one of the big differentiating factors when Zach stepped in.

Come to think of it, I'm not sure I've ever seen Zach throw a ball away since he arrived in WPG??  Amazing.

[Pete]

This year if he gets into trouble just throw the ball in Lawlers direction...chances are he'll come down with it!

[TecnoGenius]

This year if he gets into trouble just throw the ball in Lawlers direction...chances are he'll come down with it!

Ya, you can tell he was missing something like that in the GC.  After the Muamba INT he got very conservative and was double-thinking himself on every read.  If he had had Lawler somewhere with no one over top he could throw whatever sick impossible pass his way and have no risk of INT, and 50/50 he comes down with it.

We didn't go over the top much in that game (just the 1 failed attempt?).  I think it cost us as the D just kept tightening up the LoS.