Blue Bombers Transactions - December 6, 2024

[blue_gold_84]

Maybe but stats are a key component to achievement. In the WDF and Grey Cup he recorded zero stats. Lots of players get to hold up the Grey Cup when their team wins.

And he was the first back in 2019. Seems to speak volumes as to how much his teammates and coaches appreciate him.

[dd]

Thomas is the Bombers very own version of Rudy, and because of his passport, gets an opportunity to play probably the least glamorous position in football. He's a team first always type of guy, and that makes him a sentimental favourite. With ratio breaking NAT's at impact positions such as Oliveria and Ford, I just don't get how and why he sees the field as we seem to have more than enough NAT's on the field, but I m thinking he plays for a song and is very easy on the SMS hence see's the field from time to time and occasionally even makes a play!!

[TecnoGenius]

One is an allstar. The other is Thomas.  As they say, nice guys finish last. Thomas cannot seem to shed a block or do well to run stop or collapse the pocket.

Thomas can and does collapse the pocket.  Quite a lot.  He's very good at the bull rush.  However, he often overshoots and doesn't redirect well.  But that may be what he's told to do, as him swooshing past a QB does disrupt the play.

You are correct that Fatboi does have trouble shedding blocks to make run tackles.  It's probably his weakest point.  He often is double-teamed, though, but not always.  However, I also wonder if he's being coached to play this way.

What's amazing is his longevity and health.  Just think back to how often Nevis & Stove were injured.  And when they signed elsewhere for big $$ they basically never played again.

I think the biggest reason Fatboi is kept around is that MOS has clearly said the strategy for the roster is a mix of old + new players where the vets can impart all of their wisdom to the new guys.  And he clearly thinks this is critical.  This might also hint that Biggie is allowed to return in '25.  However, even Mafia has to let the oldsters go eventually.

[Blue In BC]

Thomas can and does collapse the pocket.  Quite a lot.  He's very good at the bull rush.  However, he often overshoots and doesn't redirect well.  But that may be what he's told to do, as him swooshing past a QB does disrupt the play.

You are correct that Fatboi does have trouble shedding blocks to make run tackles.  It's probably his weakest point.  He often is double-teamed, though, but not always.  However, I also wonder if he's being coached to play this way.

What's amazing is his longevity and health.  Just think back to how often Nevis & Stove were injured.  And when they signed elsewhere for big $$ they basically never played again.

I think the biggest reason Fatboi is kept around is that MOS has clearly said the strategy for the roster is a mix of old + new players where the vets can impart all of their wisdom to the new guys.  And he clearly thinks this is critical.  This might also hint that Biggie is allowed to return in '25.  However, even Mafia has to let the oldsters go eventually.

A team needs vets as well as younger players. I already mentioned the number of younger players we have in competition. That's the issue. When do you let the veteran go in order to retain the younger, more athletic and less expensive players?

You mentioned he collapses the pocket. That's only partially true. You want a DT to collapse the pocket into the face of the QB, not past and then behind him. He's not going to be responsible to contain the edge. Therefore he needs to push the QB back, not allow him to step forward into the pocket. Even you mentioned overshooting and not redirecting well. Those are big problems on a player that has never been a speed guy. Missing bringing a QB down by a foot is still a miss.

MOS has a habit of retaining some players past their prime. That's an issue when a given player was never more than slightly above average in his best days.

[TecnoGenius]

MOS has a habit of retaining some players past their prime. That's an issue when a given player was never more than slightly above average in his best days.

Wouldn't that actually be KW?  Isn't the GM in charge of picking the overall roster, and the HC is in charge of deciding who to put on AR?

Ya, I know HC has big say/sway in determining the overall roster too, but technically it's the GM's job and the buck stops with him, and thus he should get as much or more blame for "hanging on to" Fatboi than MOS.

[Blue In BC]

Wouldn't that actually be KW?  Isn't the GM in charge of picking the overall roster, and the HC is in charge of deciding who to put on AR?

Ya, I know HC has big say/sway in determining the overall roster too, but technically it's the GM's job and the buck stops with him, and thus he should get as much or more blame for "hanging on to" Fatboi than MOS.

I suppose it's both but I think MOS has a lot to say in these decisions. We've seen the " odd " weekly roster decisions on the AR and that's on MOS.

Anyway. We'll see how this goes and who gets re-signed and who doesn't Our DL needs upgrading and nearly all of them are potential free agents. I'm not sure who they want to keep or whether they target someone else that reaches free agency.

EDIT: On the unofficial roster list it shows that Lawson was due $135K. I don't know what Thomas was scheduled to earn in 2024. The question was that if Lawson wasn't due to be the primary Canadian DL starter, then how much was Thomas due to earn?

[theaardvark]

Dline coach tells DC, tells HC, who tells GM what their personal personnel preferences are. 

GM decides which get signed based on that and on the budgetary factors in play.

I don't think one person makes a unilateral decision on any player, everyone has their appropriate input.

A few seasons ago, Thomas was a late signing, potentially he might have finished his career ( he wasn't going to play anywhere else) but they made room for him, and he's still here today...

[Waffler]

A few seasons ago, Thomas was a late signing, potentially he might have finished his career ( he wasn't going to play anywhere else) but they made room for him, and he's still here today...

Signed 3 days into camp he had this to say about his call back "I have exhausted my NFL opportunities". Great one liner, I still laugh thinking about that one.

"His talent, maybe people don't notice it as much, but we do. He
makes a lot of plays and a lot of those plays maybe don't turn into
stats necessarily, especially on the defensive side of the ball. The
play might not be the tackle or the sack. It might be the double-team.
It might be holding the point. It might be cutting off a runner,"
O'Shea said. "I know his value to us. That's why we keep on
re-signing him and bringing him back... because he's an unbelievable
contributor, a good pro and a hell of a guy in the locker room. He's
an East-Coaster, right? He's a guy you want to have around — you
just love those guys."

- MOS

[theaardvark]

One item people seemed to have forgotten is JT62.  The player he morphs into when we have OLine injuries.

[markf]

Yes He's backup O lineman, now and then goes in.

My recollection re Thomas is that he tried the free agent market.... Then came back and "re- signed" 😀 with the Bombers.
Or maybe they were just working on terms.

I can't remember when that was, and I could well be wrong.

Whatever else you think of him, (I think he's good) he is an iron man.

Right in the middle of all the mayhem....

Gets double teamed a lot for some reason.

East coasters, also.. Mike Miller.

[theaardvark]

Yes He's backup O lineman, now and then goes in.

My recollection re Thomas is that he tried the free agent market.... Then came back and "re- signed" 😀 with the Bombers.
Or maybe they were just working on terms.

I can't remember when that was, and I could well be wrong.

Whatever else you think of him, (I think he's good) he is an iron man.

Right in the middle of all the mayhem....

Gets double teamed a lot for some reason.

East coasters, also.. Mike Miller.

IIRC he never considered signing anywhere else.  2018 we were pretty stacked at Dline and NAT, so he wasn't a priority off the hop.  After most of FA was done, they made him an offer that was acceptable for him to return...  Faith Ekakatie was supposed to be the new guy, and Maroof got injured so Thomas signed in May that year.  Since tehn, he's been extended every January...

https://3downnation.com/2018/05/22/bombers-gain-experience-flexibility-re-signing-jake-thomas/

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

IIRC he never considered signing anywhere else.  2018 we were pretty stacked at Dline and NAT, so he wasn't a priority off the hop.  After most of FA was done, they made him an offer that was acceptable for him to return...  Faith Ekakatie was supposed to be the new guy, and Maroof got injured so Thomas signed in May that year.  Since tehn, he's been extended every January...

https://3downnation.com/2018/05/22/bombers-gain-experience-flexibility-re-signing-jake-thomas/

The unexpected retirement of 2019 3rd round draft pick Connor Griffiths in 2021 was a big surprise for the Bombers.  He was an earlier version of Cameron Lawson and at the time looked poised to take #1 reps away from Jake before he threw in the towel.

[theaardvark]

We had a bad run drafting NAT Dline there... and Jake never let them down, so there's that reason for keeping him around...  I don't imagine he makes considerably more than a first rounder would...

[Blue In BC]

We had a bad run drafting NAT Dline there... and Jake never let them down, so there's that reason for keeping him around...  I don't imagine he makes considerably more than a first rounder would...

That's true but Lawson might be the heir apparent? We also have Samson and Schmekel on the roster. Too soon to tell how they'll do in the long run. However, Lawson was scheduled to earn $135K so that's an indication.

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

That's true but Lawson might be the heir apparent? We also have Samson and Schmekel on the roster. Too soon to tell how they'll do in the long run. However, Lawson was scheduled to earn $135K so that's an indication.

All negotiations are not conducted on an equal basis, some highly educated Natl. players can play hardball and say, "this is the number I need to play football and delay the career I've trained for, pay me." Which might be how players like Lawson Kramdi and Gray get paid upper tier money early.

Versus some Imports from the US that received bad/little education and have little choice but to play football or pump gas for a living. In the great America, ghettos of poverty are just as bad as they were 50 years ago.