Mark H.

Could have used him 'round these parts, truth be told

I missed that y'all signed Bourke - congrats

We used to joke about guys who came for the buffet in TC - it's simply not funny anymore

Except that 2 - 3 of our 5 starting OL have been Americans.

Too true. I just hope the OL talent and protection schemes are being given their due diligence this time around. I would say our entire season pretty much hinges on this. They seem to have improved the talent pretty well in most other areas. Perhaps they are counting on Harris to be a difference maker in the protection schemes, and that's why they've mostly stood pat with the current OL. TBD

I'm more concerned about Picard being brought in in the first place. The people playing beside him made him look better than he really was - Bombers' scouting dept. / coaches needed to recognize that. We have some knowledgeable football people on these boards. Their opinion of Picard at the time of the signing proved to be 100% accurate.

Amidst all the positivity and hope swirling around the Bombers, certain things about the current regime continue to leave me quite concerned: MB's schemes: given what took place in Montreal back in '07, why was it not recognized that his scheme was a problem in terms of QB protection? I realize that our interior OL has been weak, but the scheme did very little to help with that. Picard: why was it not recognized that he could no longer be an everyday starter? Why was this not properly assessed before he was signed? As for the current free agency bonanza, I'm cautiously optimistic. I still remember the 'amazing work' Taman did during 2008 free agency. Somehow, there always seems to be one area of the team where they are trying to shove square pegs into round holes. Bomber management's apparent lack of awareness in these scenarios leaves me quite concerned. Those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it.

Harris will be a huge boost to our pass protection.

Those 12 yarders were pretty intense

Bring Bob Essensa out of retirement, with Kirk Kielback to make him sound hot

Yeah I highly doubt Bryant needed to sign here. Every team starts one or two import tackles,and he's a good one

Ahhhh the old dime a dozen recruiting logic. I concluded years ago that there is no such thing. If it were true, we would've had better imports on the OL in recent years.

Suffice to say, Bomber fans are not even a little surprised by Chick's contract.

15 bucks in section M man - those were the days. Prime time view of several Kevin Glenn interceptions from there

I gotta agree to disagree with you on that one - I think people are starved for a winning team and looking for a good excuse to party.

One winning season is all it will take to fill the stadium again. Just give Manitobans a reason to cheer - they'll be back.

OK, let's take a shot... 1. Bo Levi Mitchell - smart, good arm, runs a dynamic offense 2. Zach Collaros - great arm, good variety and rhythm in his drives 3. Mike Reilly - unorthodox, tough, just win baby 4. Ricky Ray - still good if given the weapons, needs solid YAC receivers 5. Hank Burris - as opposed to Frank 6. Drew Willy - sound pocket passer, needs time in the pocket, needs a more effective short game 7. Trevor Harris - potential?? 8. Kevin Glenn - can still play, a poor man's Ricky Ray 9. John Jennings 10. Drew Tate - decent QB, inconsistent as a starter 11. Rakeem Cato - see Trevor Harris 12. Travis Lulay - duct tape? 13. Matt Nichols - not a bad backup, cheap currency 14. Jeremiah Masoli - decent backup, an unfortunate corn oil name 15. Brett Smith The Rest - throw mud at the wall and hope some of it sticks Like this Quote Edit Options Message for the 2013 Bombers: "Kids, you tried your best and you failed miserably. The lesson is, never try." -Homer Simpson

This just in: off - season @ IGF

And you need the number 4 in there somewhere - man, it's just an incomplete list.

Would say that it was employed based on the strengths of that particular OL?

The injury trend is not about to change anytime soon.

Yes. Charlie Roberts did rather well with subpar Olines over the years. An RB who produces YAC consistently would help the OL a great deal.

I don't even recognize all the names in the OP

At the risk of stating the obvious: it's the players who are right on the verge of making the NFL who make the most impact up here. The Henoc Muamba's & Doug Brown's of the world.

More diversity in your starting Canadians would also improve the quality of your special teams. In most of the games I watched this year, I found that the OL was over-matched by the DL. In almost every games, there seemed to be a DE that the OTs could not consistently contain and/or they were getting away with blatant holds. Management teams need to be taking a hard look at this trend.