While the Winnipeg Blue Bombers saw their season end earlier than they would have liked, the air of excitement surrounding the team right now is palpable and 100 per cent justified. After a stellar turnaround highlighted their 2016 campaign, the Bombers extended Head Coach Mike O’Shea and General Manager Kyle Walters on Friday to help solidify what looks like a very bright immediate future.
Blue Christmas
Getting O’Shea and Walters locked up to three year extensions was important for Winnipeg and is a deserved reward for both gentlemen. Not only were O’Shea and Walters pivotal in 2016’s turnaround, but they’re also instrumental in why the future looks so good for the Bombers.
O’Shea accomplished a ton in his third year in Winnipeg, but maybe more than anything else, he established an identity. Because of the seemingly universal respect O’Shea has from his players, it became evident as 2016’s great run continued how tight knit a family his team was. Combining Winnipeg’s solid and much improved core of talent with that identity makes them a formidable group heading into next season.
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So why is O’Shea so well respected by his players? Is it because he played 16 years in the league and knows full well what it’s like to go through the grind of a season? Or is it the personal connection he makes with so many of his players? Perhaps it’s his steady approach that doesn’t change regardless of results? In reality, a combination of all of the above has shaped O’Shea into the coach he is today.
It’s a pretty cool story when you think about it, too. I won’t lie; I was among many others who thought O’Shea’s time with the Bombers was almost certainly coming to an end as the team started the season 1-4. Now he’s locked up for another three seasons and will likely have his team galvanized to start 2017.
Walters, on the other hand, has quietly assembled a very nice collection of talent since taking over the reins as general manager early in the 2013 season. Amidst outside criticism, including from this column, Walters has stuck with his plan. Now that blueprint is close to bearing some real fruit
Consider how strong a job Walters has done in improving Winnipeg’s base of Canadian content. One of the team’s biggest weaknesses in recent years, Walters has either drafted or acquired key Canadian pieces with names like Taylor Loffler and Matthias Goossen coming to mind. In fact, 22 of the 25 Canadians on the Bombers’ roster currently were acquired since Walters took over. That’s a pretty crucial and impressive overhaul.
And while that strong group of national talent bodes very well for the future, Walters has a huge opportunity to make it even better. Walters pounced on an opportunity in September and now that decision is paying huge dividends.
With Mike O’Shea and Kyle Walters under contract, the attention turns to QB Matt Nichols (The Canadian Press)
Of course I’m referencing Winnipeg’s trade with Toronto that sent quarterback Drew Willy east. Thanks to a horrid 0-7 finish by the Argos, the first round pick acquired in that deal (along with promising DB T.J. Heath) has now turned into the number one overall selection in the 2017 CFL Draft. When you factor in their own picks, the Bombers will make three of the top 15 selections come May which gives them a golden chance to bolster their Canadian talent even more.
Sure, the off-season poses some questions for the Bombers. First and foremost on the list: will they get quarterback Matt Nichols signed to a new deal? Regardless, though, O’Shea and Walters have this team in a great spot to make significant strides on a successful 2016. If that doesn’t earn them a few more years, I don’t know what does.
Big hole
Since signing with the BC Lions as a free agent in 2011, linebacker Adam Bighill has turned into one of the CFL’s most dominant forces at the position. He might not be in the fold for 2017, though. The Lions granted Bighill’s request for a release on Friday as he explores options in the NFL.
Under the terms of the release, Bighill will return to the Lions if an NFL deal doesn’t work out, but the possibility of losing him is there. If that ends up happening, the hole in BC’s defence is going to be hard to fill.
Bighill has lit the league on fire in recent years and, most recently, has compiled back-to-back seasons with more than 100 defensive tackles. Since becoming a starter for the 2012 campaign, Bighill has never finished a season with fewer than 75 tackles and 33 combined sacks over that stretch.
Plain and simple, Bighill has turned into an elite linebacker and, alongside Solomon Elimimian, has also formed one half of the CFL’s most terrifying duo at the position. The pair combined for 237 tackles in 2016 and their versatility afforded head coach Wally Buono so many different defensive options this past season as a result.
Having another top end player like Elimimian still in the fold certainly helps ease the potential loss of Bighill. However, losing the ability to employ a duo of this one’s caliber would be a substantial loss. Kudos to the Buono and the Lions for honouring their side of an agreement and allowing Bighill to head south, especially because of how much they’d feel his loss.
Special signings
Last week we pinpointed the hefty number of key free agents the Calgary Stampeders have to make decisions on this off-season. Well, General Manager John Hufnagel and the Stamps got going on that workload early last week. Calgary signed kicker Rene Paredes and punter Rob Maver to new contracts in what likely amounted to no-brainer decisions.
Paredes just completed his sixth season in red and white and he’s built up a well-earned reputation of being automatic. I give the guy a lot of credit, too, because it looked like things were starting to get away on him a few years ago.
After his record-breaking 2013 campaign, Paredes seemingly fell off a cliff the following year. From one season to the next, Paredes saw more than a 20 per cent drop off in his field goal accuracy. He went from a record 94.7 per cent to 73.3 per cent which is a massive drop. For many at his position, a season like that is a sign of things to come, but not for Paredes.
Rob Maver and Rene Pareders have emerged as a premier kicking duo in the CFL (Johany Jutras/CFL.ca)
In the two seasons since the 2014 campaign, Paredes has missed a combined 14 field goals and has been successful more than 85 per cent of the time. Only Justin Medlock made more field goals than Paredes over the last two seasons and the latter has re-established himself as one of the league’s most reliable kickers.
All Maver has done in his seven CFL seasons is get the job done, specifically since being converted to a punter to start the 2012 season. In five seasons since taking over the job, Maver’s average per punt has grown to a career-high 46.9 yards this past season. But it goes far deeper than raw yardage in Maver’s case.
Maver is one of the better field position punters in the league. His ability to consistently kick the Stamps into advantageous defensive situations is one of the most overlooked contributors to their prolonged success.
Players like Maver and Paredes provide such a luxury to head coach Dave Dickenson. Their ability to punch through three points or pin the opposition inside the ten yard line is the difference between a risky midfield call on second-and-long or a high percentage play allowing the team to continue winning the field position battle.
Paredes and Maver have longevity for a reason: they consistently play at a high level. Sure, they might not be the very best of their peers in any given year. What they are, though, is among the best at their position every year over a long period of time. The inherent value in consistent special teams like that is huge.
