Winnipeg Blue Bombers re-sign receiver Nic Demski to three-year extension

[Lincoln Locomotive]

Demski is top shelf as our offensive X-Factor.   He's a running back who can catch the ball and beat coverage.     His versatility is beyond compare and Buck uses his abilities to give our offence so many more options.    The fact he's a Canadian AND.a Winnipeg boy just make him special as a player.   No other team in the CFL can claim to have two native sons as legit all stars.....so yeah he's keyed on when it comes to stopping our O which opens up other receivers.....IE Schoen.   
If we  get Schoen back and Agudosi our offence will be scary especially after signing Lawler.    Who do you key on now if you're an opposition DC?   We also have a legit 1000 yard Canadian RB who can catch the ball....then throw in Janarion Grant now and then on Jet sweeps.
We are lucky to have Demski and I agree with Techno that he is worth every penny and was so happy he signed a long term deal with us!!!

[Sir Blue and Gold]

I'm trying hard to see it your way, and for moments I can say "ya ok" -- Demski an IMP == Bailey $$... But then I really think about it and I still think you are wrong.  Taking the WPG out of it, taking the NAT out of it... Is Demski a CFL top-10 receiver by impact (not necessarily stats)?  I would think many in the league would say "yes".  Now how about top-5?  I might say yes, again (especially after Burnham leaving).  If not top-5, he's close.

And would you agree he's CFL top-1 NAT receiver?  I would.  Certainly top-2.  Would you rather have Gittens?  Not me.

No one who wants to lump Demski in with middling-receivers has explained why so many teams' "keys to the game" in 2022 were "stop Demski".  Not a single article was written in 2022 that said "stop Schoen", or "stop Ellingson".  No, it was always "stop Demski".  So, explain it if you want to convince me Demski==Bailey.

Literally the only fault I can find for Demski at the moment is he's not a bruiser that can take the punishing catch across the middle flat (that's Bailey).  But it's a minor quibble because he can blow you up in nearly every other way.

Kurleigh Gittens Jr. put up 1101 yards last year in his third season in the CFL and second season as a starter. Demski has been in the league 7 seasons and his best year was last year w/ 772. As for this notion that you remember articles and therefore he's worth more is strange logic. Who wrote the articles? Are you sure that that's proof that defensive coordinators would rather stop Demski over Schoen or Elliingson?

[Jesse]

Kurleigh Gittens Jr. put up 1101 yards last year in his third season in the CFL and second season as a starter. Demski has been in the league 7 seasons and his best year was last year w/ 772. As for this notion that you remember articles and therefore he's worth more is strange logic. Who wrote the articles? Are you sure that that's proof that defensive coordinators would rather stop Demski over Schoen or Elliingson?

Yeah, the idea of using beat reporters "keys to the game" as proof of a players' value doesn't do much for me.

Demski will be our 4th option in our offence, behind Lawler, Schoen, and Brady. An incredibly valuable part of our offence, as we're a pretty balanced attack, but not the single most important player that teams plan around.

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

Yeah, the idea of using beat reporters "keys to the game" as proof of a players' value doesn't do much for me.

Demski will be our 4th option in our offence, behind Lawler, Schoen, and Brady. An incredibly valuable part of our offence, as we're a pretty balanced attack, but not the single most important player that teams plan around.

Demski is a wild-card, always good to have one in your deck, he makes unexpected things happen.

[Jesse]

Demski is a wild-card, always good to have one in your deck, he makes unexpected things happen.

Yup, love him to death. Happy as a clam he's on our team.

[theaardvark]

Kurleigh Gittens Jr. put up 1101 yards last year in his third season in the CFL and second season as a starter. Demski has been in the league 7 seasons and his best year was last year w/ 772. As for this notion that you remember articles and therefore he's worth more is strange logic. Who wrote the articles? Are you sure that that's proof that defensive coordinators would rather stop Demski over Schoen or Elliingson?

Gittens was in this REC Corps

RK   Date   NAME   Team   GP   REC   ATT   YARDS   YAC   AVG   LG   TD   30
1   2022   GITTENS JR., Kurleigh   TOR   17   81   116   1101   483   13.6   70   5   4
2   2022   DANIELS, DaVaris   TOR   15   61   85   860   257   14.1   54   4   6
3   2022   AMBLES, Markeith   TOR   17   72   109   737   345   10.2   37   5   5
4   2022   BANKS, Brandon   TOR   15   37   75   522   126   14.1   53   4   3
5   2022   PHILLIPS, Cameron   TOR   11   38   60   515   205   13.6   55   3   3

Demski in this:

RK   Date   NAME   Team   GP   REC   ATT   YARDS   YAC   AVG   LG   TD   30
1   2022   SCHOEN, Dalton   WPG   18   70   108   1441   368   20.6   81   16   12
2   2022   DEMSKI, Nic   WPG   13   64   86   772   238   12.1   50   10   5
3   2022   BAILEY, Rasheed   WPG   18   63   95   729   238   11.6   36   9   3
4   2022   ELLINGSON, Greg   WPG   8   38   50   598   109   15.7   46   3   2
5   2022   WOLITARSKY, Drew   WPG   14   36   49   471   84   13.1   41   1   2

Demski, in 4 fewer games, had twice the TD's, and 1 more 30+ catch... and 130 more rushing yards.

I'm liking his all around game as well, including blocking, in the backfield and downfield.  Not sure what Gittens does in that part of the game...

[TecnoGenius]

Kurleigh Gittens Jr. put up 1101 yards last year in his third season in the CFL and second season as a starter. Demski has been in the league 7 seasons and his best year was last year w/ 772. As for this notion that you remember articles and therefore he's worth more is strange logic. Who wrote the articles? Are you sure that that's proof that defensive coordinators would rather stop Demski over Schoen or Elliingson?

Does Ed Tait just write our keys to the game out of his butt?  Or does he get inside views and chats with players and DCs that we don't?  Pretty sure during practices and chats Tait is nearby.  He is paid by WFC, after all.  I'm sure the other teams each have a similar guy.  Those are the articles I was talking about.

It's a fair point, and you could be right.  But do you really think those reporters are ignorant to the reality, or not privy to the skinny?  Depends on how much you value Ed Tait et al, I guess.

Maybe all the house reporters just have a love-on for Demski!!   

P.S. You skirted the yes/no questions: would you rather have Gittens or Demski?  Quoting stats still doesn't answer the question. 

[Sir Blue and Gold]

Does Ed Tait just write our keys to the game out of his butt?  Or does he get inside views and chats with players and DCs that we don't?  Pretty sure during practices and chats Tait is nearby.  He is paid by WFC, after all.  I'm sure the other teams each have a similar guy.  Those are the articles I was talking about.

It's a fair point, and you could be right.  But do you really think those reporters are ignorant to the reality, or not privy to the skinny?  Depends on how much you value Ed Tait et al, I guess.

Maybe all the house reporters just have a love-on for Demski!!   

P.S. You skirted the yes/no questions: would you rather have Gittens or Demski?  Quoting stats still doesn't answer the question. 

I didn't mean to skirt the question. For one, Ed Tait is an in-house reporter. He's not a coach and I don't believe coordinators read his articles for clues on how to defend the Bombers offence (but that's just me).  I would rather have Gittens for a variety of reasons. He's a younger, more talented receiver for one. Demski is a great player in the Canadian context, a fine player overall, don't get me wrong. Not trying to slander the dude. He's from Winnipeg and resonates with fans and that's probably worth something too. I believe that a) his 10 TDs is an anomaly and won't be repeated; and b) as a sub 1000 yard receiver he is very much in the 'fine' but not 'premier' class when it comes to receivers overall. I think $190,000 is an overpay for the production and there's no way he gets close to that without the right passport.

[theaardvark]

I didn't mean to skirt the question. For one, Ed Tait is an in-house reporter. He's not a coach and I don't believe coordinators read his articles for clues on how to defend the Bombers offence (but that's just me).  I would rather have Gittens for a variety of reasons. He's a younger, more talented receiver for one. Demski is a great player in the Canadian context, a fine player overall, don't get me wrong. Not trying to slander the dude. He's from Winnipeg and resonates with fans and that's probably worth something too. I believe that a) his 10 TDs is an anomaly and won't be repeated; and b) as a sub 1000 yard receiver he is very much in the 'fine' but not 'premier' class when it comes to receivers overall. I think $190,000 is an overpay for the production and there's no way he gets close to that without the right passport.

Gittens as a pure WR probably has the edge, sure.  But that's not all Demski brings, and the other aspects make him well worth the SMS$ spend.  Rather have Sayles, Couture or Demski?  Demski will make a bigger impact, and is the same or less SMS$

We got good value in the Demski contract, and getting it on paper for 3years, doubly so.

[blue_gold_84]

Demski is more of a gadget/hybrid receiver, where Gittens is more of a traditional receiver. As a pure receiver, Gittens has the advantage. As a versatile receiver, Demski has the advantage. Their NAT status is a wash. Both are back-to-back all-stars; also a wash.

Demski and Gittens are pretty hard to compare apples to apples, IMO.

Also: stats alone don't tell the whole story.

[theaardvark]

Demski is more of a gadget/hybrid receiver, where Gittens is more of a traditional receiver. As a pure receiver, Gittens has the advantage. As a versatile receiver, Demski has the advantage. Their NAT status is a wash. Both are back-to-back all-stars; also a wash.

Demski and Gittens are pretty hard to compare apples to apples, IMO.

Also: stats alone don't tell the whole story.

Unfortunately, they don't keep stats on blocking...  or on drawing coverage... or on breaking coverage... things Demski does that do not show up on a stats sheet...

[blue_or_die]

I think Nic Demski is our #3 receiver only because Lawler and Schoen are so uber talented.

I am also very intrigued and hopeful for Agudosi, but we shouldn't use the superficial stats against Demski and then at the same time pump Agudosi up based on the 1 or 2 games or whatever where he was actually healthy. If Nic were healthy all year, his 772 yards in 13 games extrapolates to over 1000 in a season if folks are still using that as the main benchmark these days.

[TecnoGenius]

Ed Tait is an in-house reporter. He's not a coach and I don't believe coordinators read his articles for clues on how to defend the Bombers offence (but that's just me).  I would rather have Gittens for a variety of reasons.

You got it backwards, again.  It's not that DCs read their house reporter for ideas, it's that their house reporter gets to hear and watch their DCs.  So whoever is the house reporter in SSK sees their team and DC talk and plan around Demski and then goes and writes their "Keys To The Game" and says Demski is a key.

Again, see my Tait example.  Is Tait just a lucky fan who gets a cushy gig writing made up nonsense from his imagination sitting in his basement all day all summer long, or is he an "insider" present at IGF who is allowed to spill some of the beans to us fans?

[Sir Blue and Gold]

You got it backwards, again.  It's not that DCs read their house reporter for ideas, it's that their house reporter gets to hear and watch their DCs.  So whoever is the house reporter in SSK sees their team and DC talk and plan around Demski and then goes and writes their "Keys To The Game" and says Demski is a key.

Again, see my Tait example.  Is Tait just a lucky fan who gets a cushy gig writing made up nonsense from his imagination sitting in his basement all day all summer long, or is he an "insider" present at IGF who is allowed to spill some of the beans to us fans?

Okay, have it your way. Demski went into negotiations citing the number of times he was covered in Ed Tait's "keys to the game" segment.

[GOLDMEMBER]

Oh you 2 LOL