Official Game Day Thread - Winnipeg @ Calgary, June 5, 2026

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

Sure. But we have 2 new veteran starters on defence: Moxey and Ceresna.

Three rookies: Williams and Jenkins ( he's essentially a rookie ) and Dixon

Three veteran LB's whose roles have changed to some degree.

Losses of experienced defensive depth from the PR and / or the AR

Early injuries to some players from 2025 that might have had a role in 2026: Ball, Novak, Munier-Bailey to name a few.

I'm not sure what to expect or how long it will take to gel on defence. The 1st game will be an interesting test.

"....next question".

[Blue In BC]

"....next question".

I'm both optimistic and pessimistic. The beginning of every season is a bit like that. Calgary has some serious injuries and getting to play them early even on the road is probably an advantage for Winnipeg.

So GO BOMBERS

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

I'm both optimistic and pessimistic. The beginning of every season is a bit like that. Calgary has some serious injuries and getting to play them early even on the road is probably an advantage for Winnipeg.

So GO BOMBERS

I think it all comes down to how well Zach plays, does he have the capability to bounce back from 2.5 years of downward play and make the most out of his new teammates?  I'm giving him 50/50 odds right now, if we see a repeat of the same old issues in the next few games, I think it's over for him and this could turn into a long year.

[LXTSN]

This is what I'm expecting/hoping for today...
Start off with a good scripted first drive. Gotta score on drive #1 whether it's a FG or a TD.
Build a strong connection between Zach and the new receivers (White and Neild).

I don't expect to score more than 25 points, so we need to hold them off as much as possible. A good night would be only letting up 21 points from the defense.
Limiting the downfield throws. Would like to see Kramdi or our DB's break up some long balls, you know they are going to throw long!

[Blueforlife]

What are the likely last minute roster additions or deletions?

[GOLDMEMBER]

One area could be LB as a weaker area on the roster but guys like Griffin, Jones, Wilson need to make plays and no missed tackles.

DL should be able to get more pressures etc...

I like our DBs

Kramdi will be interesting at safety.

GO D GO

[Tecno]

No answer to bomberjunkie's roaster question? BinBC?

[Sir Blue and Gold]

Just going over the depth chart and trying to understand how all the ratios work. We've got 20 Americans, 21 Canadians, a Global and 3 QB (nationality doesn't matter) for 45 players.

The rules say we can only have up to 19 Americans. Am I missing something here?

The ratio rules are so stupid.

One of the Americans counts as one of the 21 Canadians as a naturalized American. Clear as mud?

You need a minimum of 44. But 45 can dress as long as 45 is a real national or global player.

I believe they also changed the QB national rule, not for roster counts, but practically speaking as one of your starting 8 a couple years ago.

In practice then for tonight, we have 19 real Americans, 20 nationals, one naturalized American who counts as a national bringing that count to 21 and one additional national since we've only got one global (in addition to three QBs).

Why on earth the best can't just play is beyond me but it makes for fascinating clarification posts among super fans.

[bomb squad]

Calling all CFL Fantasy Players! Who's got who tonight? I have Zack and Tim White.

[Jesse]

I think there was a miscount somewhere. I counted 19 Americans. 21 Canadians. 1 Global. And the 3 QBs.

[tlf]

Stomp the Stamps!  I want to see Ceresna pound some bodies tonight!

[Blue In BC]

No answer to bomberjunkie's roaster question? BinBC?

I haven't heard of any changes. I think we're only allowed to draw from the reserve or 1 game IR an hour before games. We don't have anyone on the 1 game IR to pull and Vibert would only be added if we had an OL or another Canadian come down not feeling well or something.

OTOH, I'm not quite sure whether we have one too many imports and need to send him to the reserve.

[Blue In BC]

The ratio rules are so stupid.

One of the Americans counts as one of the 21 Canadians as a naturalized American. Clear as mud?

You need a minimum of 44. But 45 can dress as long as 45 is a real national or global player.

I believe they also changed the QB national rule, not for roster counts, but practically speaking as one of your starting 8 a couple years ago.

In practice then for tonight, we have 19 real Americans, 20 nationals, one naturalized American who counts as a national bringing that count to 21 and one additional national since we've only got one global (in addition to three QBs).

Why on earth the best can't just play is beyond me but it makes for fascinating clarification posts among super fans.

No kidding. The league made it more complicated than necessary. The comments earlier were that the " reserve " is not mandatory and we only listed Vibert there.

So what's the point of all this? Increase the number of paid players but then it's " optional ". I'm not even clear what the mix of nationalities in the reserve is allowed. It's moot since they could just as easily be paid full salaries on the PR or 1 game IR if a team wanted. So were just moving chess pieces on the board so to speak.

The number of PR spots is restricted and I wouldn't expect players to paid fall salaries. That just wastes a PR roster spot. May as well put them on the 1 game IR as I mentioned in conversations last year.