"The Winnipeg way fits who I am" | Darby fitting in with his new team

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"The Winnipeg way fits who I am" | Darby fitting in with his new team - Ed Tait

A player can hear it a thousand times, but until he really lives it - until it truly hits home - it's nothing more than a phrase spit out so often it?s clich?: 'Great game, crappy business.'

Well, Alden Darby has now lived it all for the first time this week after being traded to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers from the Toronto Argonauts on Monday. And a day later he found himself in a different city and a different locker room still trying to wrap his head around how his life had been so suddenly uprooted.

"This is my first time ever being in this position, this situation, so there were actually a lot of things going through my mind," began Darby in his first meeting with the media on Wednesday. "My brain really didn't clear up for a few hours, it was actually really foggy. It was surreal... It's kind of like, 'What do I do? My life is here, my cars are here, my apartment is here...'

"There was a lot going through my mind at the time, so I just took a little time to take a deep breath. I had heard a lot of good things about Winnipeg, the city and of course the team. Being the defending Grey Cup champs there was a lot of good vibes and good energy I heard from former teammates of mine and previous teammates of mine about Winnipeg and the organization.

"I was actually really excited after I calmed down and realized that everything would be OK."

Still, that's a ton to have to process. Darby lived in Toronto year round and was one of the team's most popular players and one of the busiest in the community. And then on Monday he was approached by an Argos staffer who asked him to accompany him out of the locker room.

Jokingly, he asked 'Should I bring my playbook with me?' He said, 'it's fine' and I said, 'You sure?'

"So I walk in there and that's when I found out about the trade. Everybody loves football, but football loves nobody," he added, later. "That's one of the things my close friend Shaq Richardson said: "Man, we've been gone for about a year and we forgot about the business side of things." That's the harsh reality, it's still a business and teams have to make the best business decisions they believe for the team, regardless of a player's status in the community or how much teammates may or may not like the person."

The Bombers are getting an experienced defensive back in Darby, who appeared in 43 games from 2017-19 with the Argos. He'll be added to a crew here that will be experiencing a lot of change after the departures of Winston Rose and Marcus Sayles and now the season-ending Achilles injury suffered by Mercy Maston earlier this week.....

More on Alden Darby here!

[Blue In BC]

Welcome to Winnipeg.

[The Zipp]

Looking forward to seeing him play in Blue and Gold...After his first big play at IGF I am sure he is going to love it here.

[theaardvark]

How do we pluck good players from Toronto like this, for literally spare parts?   TJ Harris... now Darby... sounds like Darby is a lot better team fit, though, Harris was a baller, but seemed to not quite fit the OShea room.

[Blue In BC]

How do we pluck good players from Toronto like this, for literally spare parts?   TJ Harris... now Darby... sounds like Darby is a lot better team fit, though, Harris was a baller, but seemed to not quite fit the OShea room.

It's possible that circumstances made the trade a good trade for both teams. We obviously needed a solid replacement / experienced CFL player to replace Maston.

The Argos needed help on their OL and Poole may have been considered a solid prospect. It's also possible that the Argos needed to trim some SMS space with all the big name signings.

Looking at the Argo roster the only OL from 2019 returning is Campbell as far as I can tell. ( chops licking ). We play them early on. Our DL should feast on the re-build.

Tricky balancing act with SMS and need to declare rosters July 30th.

Argos have 12 players on their suspended list. Not sure how many of those didn't show up for TC compared to in Covid protocol. I read Willis is on the list due to his wife about to deliver their baby.

[NewBlue]

It really seems like OShea values personality, even over talent.  Over the past few years all we've heard is how this is a "team first" place, and how players from around the league are taking notice. In a short year, building that team atmosphere so quickly will be important.

As ar as Poole....we'll have to see if he even becomes anything. He may not have even made the 1st cuts here.

[CrazyCanuck89]

It's possible that circumstances made the trade a good trade for both teams. We obviously needed a solid replacement / experienced CFL player to replace Maston.

The Argos needed help on their OL and Poole may have been considered a solid prospect. It's also possible that the Argos needed to trim some SMS space with all the big name signings.

Looking at the Argo roster the only OL from 2019 returning is Campbell as far as I can tell. ( chops licking ). We play them early on. Our DL should feast on the re-build.

Tricky balancing act with SMS and need to declare rosters July 30th.

They still have Simba and Richards, two of their 2019 draft picks.

Argos have 12 players on their suspended list. Not sure how many of those didn't show up for TC compared to in Covid protocol. I read Willis is on the list due to his wife about to deliver their baby.

[Blue In BC]

I didn't notice Simba on any of the game depth charts for 2019. He only shows active for 1 game. Richards showed active for 8 games.

In any case, I stand corrected although I was referring to starter or significant back ups on their OL in 2019.

Even with some veteran additions it's going to take time to gel. Speller is on the suspended list and missed significant TC time. Would have expected him to start at center and he might but communications might be rough early on.

[pjrocksmb]

It really seems like OShea values personality, even over talent.  Over the past few years all we've heard is how this is a "team first" place, and how players from around the league are taking notice. In a short year, building that team atmosphere so quickly will be important.

As ar as Poole....we'll have to see if he even becomes anything. He may not have even made the 1st cuts here.

MOS has created the best team culture we have seen for years.  The consistency in our coaches and management is the foundation of our greatness.