Kongbo signs in BC...and traded to Hamilton

[Blue In BC]

Inflation, bankruptcies, co-vid fall out could affect a young man's lifestyle, and even an old man as well(me).

If Kongbo is from BC....Then sure why not sign where you have support from your family.

He might also be able to live at home and reduce his costs and live a better environment

[blue_gold_84]

FWIW, he did grow up in the lower mainland when his family immigrated here.

[Pigskin]

Inflation, bankruptcies, co-vid fall out could affect a young man's lifestyle, and even an old man as well(me).

If Kongbo is from BC....Then sure why not sign where you have support from your family.

I know right now in Winnipeg it's hard to find apartments. One of the Bombers asked me over the weekend if I had any apartments coming open at the end of the month. However with that massive fire, there will be a long wait to get into anything at this time. When he told me who the player or players were, we decided to offer our basement suite. We met one of the players yesterday and he will be moving tonight. I know Kyrie Wilson has been doing this for a few years now.

[blue_or_die]

We're paying our starting defensive ends a lot of cash. It's hard to pay three of them. Kongbo was cheap while he was here. The thing is, we don't need him, we just need an effective rotational end. Kongbo being Canadian made it somewhat easier to fit him on the roster but we started a third American defensive end plenty last year. The problem was the options we had didn't really work out. This year, let's hope for better results from the scouts on that front.

I think many viewed Kongbo as a possible future star Canadian starting DE for the Bombers and so not being able to continue to groom him under the Jeffs sucks. I agree that as a rotational/backup it was more of a "nice to have", but we have to covet our high ceiling Canadians.

[TecnoGenius]

But if it's a "handshake release" it would be nice to have contractual assurance vs just a handshake.

That's what I would like to see.  A hockey RFA that gives an RFA player the rights to negotiate with any team, but after agreeing to a contract, the RFA team gets a chance to match. 

This is exactly what I was getting at.  Interesting that other leagues have created similar things.  Any league that is a notch "under" a "better" league (CFL vs NFL) could use such a limitation.  It would also help with the "player retention / turnover" problem the fans & league are always moaning about.  Canada-wide the fans know Kongbo & Desjar equal The Bombers.  Now they equal somewhere else.

Here's another point: if Kongbo & Desjar had never gone to the NFL, would they be Bombers today?  My hunch is yes.  Certainly one of them.  Our NAT turnover rate is pretty low.

[TecnoGenius]

I looked over the Lions website as well as 3DN, as far as I can see Kongbo hasn't been interviewed recently, so it's hard to say why he decided to sign with the Lions.  Doubt we'll ever know, he doesn't seem to be a talkative guy.

  Understatement!  I've never seen even 1 presser or TSN or BB.com vignette on Kongbo.  Not even a sideline interview.  Dude must actively avoid the press, because I'm sure he'd be a good story.

[TecnoGenius]

The thing is, we don't need him, we just need an effective rotational end. Kongbo being Canadian made it somewhat easier to fit him on the roster but we started a third American defensive end plenty last year.

This is 100% true.  He's gravy.  He gives us more cheetah.  He keeps the 2 J's fresh without going "normal NAT" level of effectiveness.  With the new FAKENAT rules we might be able to achieve the same thing with a much cheaper end-of-the-line vet IMP.  Or one of the new ELC IMP DL steps up as a DI choice.

I would have liked to see Kongbo here, but and the end of the day, meh.

[TecnoGenius]

I know right now in Winnipeg it's hard to find apartments. One of the Bombers asked me over the weekend if I had any apartments coming open at the end of the month. However with that massive fire, there will be a long wait to get into anything at this time. When he told me who the player or players were, we decided to offer our basement suite. We met one of the players yesterday and he will be moving tonight. I know Kyrie Wilson has been doing this for a few years now.

That's very cool.  I guess we can't hope to find out who.     Not sure why apartments are hard to find, they are building them (and condos) absolutely everywhere for the last 7 years.

If you get lots of inside info from him we expect to hear all the dirt here!!   

[TecnoGenius]

Not so sure about that, it's practical money management, excessive over spending on one player is going to leave them short all down the line.  I was thinking about Bailey's future the other day, poor guy is never going to get his bump in pay as long as Schoen, Lawler and Demski are lined up in front of him.

Bailey can easily become the #1 or #2 receiver.  He just needs to perform better than the rest and have the hot hand.  If we put him wide we can easily move him back into the slot if he's hot.  Let's say he goes 12 for 12 on his first pass attempts.  We'll give him the ball a lot then.  Buck & Zach very quickly focus on the hot hand: that's very apparent.

But Bailey has his share of dropsies and whiffs, often can't get open, and thus he's not the 1st/2nd read.  But he is a great sleeper you can run curls and crossers all night to then do the one post later in the game where no one follows him.  Every Bomber receiver is a legit TD threat.  Buck is blessed.

[theaardvark]

Apartments are not hard to find.  *Affordable* apartments are another case.  Especially on less than a one year term. 

I remember when I had met some of the then new Bombers at a poker tournament, and gave some a iift "home" they were sharing a house that a Bomber supporter rented to them in Charleswood.  IIRC, Woodson, Stephan and Pencer were the roomies, and even sharing the house, the rent was tough for guys on PR/ELC/IR deals. 

Sure, there are lots of places available for the veteran guys making good coin.  Not sure if the TC dates allow for using dorm spaces for the TC camp fodder until the AR/PR are set and the guys can go out and seek longer term accommodations based on making the team. 

[Pete]

This is 100% true.  He's gravy.  He gives us more cheetah.  He keeps the 2 J's fresh without going "normal NAT" level of effectiveness.  With the new FAKENAT rules we might be able to achieve the same thing with a much cheaper end-of-the-line vet IMP.  Or one of the new ELC IMP DL steps up as a DI choice.

I would have liked to see Kongbo here, but and the end of the day, meh.

The thing is if Jeffcoat gets hurt he'd become the main guy Last year we didn't have that. Also we also need to look at the future.Its rare a player gets more resilient when they get older

[Sir Blue and Gold]

You could probably make the case we'd be better off with Kongbo than Jeffcoat, however, it's not an easy one.

Kongbo has 4 sacks in 26 CFL games. In the NFL he played OLB which is similar, but not exactly like, a pure DE and he had basically zero stats and little playing time down there. He's quite literally never done it before in either league. It is rare for a Canadian to have the stature and ability that Kongbo has but it's a pretty big gamble none the less. You are basically betting a sizable SMS chunk that a 27-year-old is finally going to put it all together starting in June and have the durability and consistency that an starting DE needs to have.

I can see why we didn't.

[DM83]

Kongbo - was adequate.  I don't remember any big plays.  Of course, that doesn't mean he was ineffective, just as part of the D-Line did his expected assignments.  I do believe he has good speed, and of course, that makes him someone the offence has to be wary of.

Whoever pays him, is where he should go.  He should now focus on a CFL career.  I.M.O.

[Waffler]

Also we also need to look at the future.

We are loading up for THIS year. Is it not widely assumed this is the last kick at the cat for this group? Not easy to keep so many vets and still outbid BC where he surely got starters money.

[Pigskin]

Apartments are not hard to find.  *Affordable* apartments are another case.  Especially on less than a one year term. 

I remember when I had met some of the then new Bombers at a poker tournament, and gave some a iift "home" they were sharing a house that a Bomber supporter rented to them in Charleswood.  IIRC, Woodson, Stephan and Pencer were the roomies, and even sharing the house, the rent was tough for guys on PR/ELC/IR deals. 

Sure, there are lots of places available for the veteran guys making good coin.  Not sure if the TC dates allow for using dorm spaces for the TC camp fodder until the AR/PR are set and the guys can go out and seek longer term accommodations based on making the team. 

That's why we are willing to help these young players out. He's a second year player with not a lot of income, so we are giving him the same deal as our Ukrainian family. Showed up yesterday with a 2lb container of protein powder, a play book, and a large bag of laundry.

As far as inside info. He said AB is not practicing because we are trying to trade him. LOL