Off-Season Roster Analysis: Special Teams and Summary

In part 6 of 6 we'll look at the Blue Bombers special teams heading into the 2014 season and summarize what we've looked at for the entire roster.

Special Teams depth chart as of today (March 15, 2014):

K- HAJRULLAHU 
P- RENAUD
KR- Woods, Ford, Washington, Denmark
PR- Woods, Washington, Denmark, FEOLI-GUDINO

Kickers

The kicking situation is a major concern.  

Mike Renaud survived a challenge by Brett Cameron, Billy Pavlopoulous and Australian Tim Hutchison in 2013's training camp. To this point, the Bombers have not brought in any competition for Renaud at the punter position.

Lirim Hajrullahu is a CFL rookie fresh out of CIS....undrafted at that. Hajrullahu was first-team OUA at both punter and kicker, and second-team All-Canadian as kicker.  

Hajrullahu's kickoff average in 2013 was 61.6 yards and he made 85% of his field goals with two makes over 40 yards.  The kickoff average suggests that Hajrullahu has the raw leg needed to play in the CFL, he needs to prove that he can put the ball on the numbers and between the uprights in the CFL.  For comparison, the Blue Bombers averaged 55 yards per kickoff with Palardy and Deangelis in 2013.  Of course, it may have just been that windy....

The first-team All-Canadian placekicker in 2013 was Johnny Mark out of Calgary, who is eligible for the upcoming 2014 CFL Draft, and was second-team All-Canadian as a placekicker the in 11 and 12 as well. Mark averaged 53 yards on kickoffs and hit 88% of his field goals, five of them more than 40 yards.

Mike Renaud finished just above the CFL league average in both gross and net punting in 2013, which is about where the expectation for him should be.  He's developed into a steady punter who can put the ball where he wants, this is something he struggled with at times in the past (and something we are going to track this season, punt and kickoff placement).  Renaud is not a placekicker...at all.  Watching him attempt converts in a 2010 game when Louis Sakoda was a last minute scratch following the release of Alex Serna was painful. 

It is inconceivable that the Bombers will enter training camp without competition at kicker.  The question is who will the competition be.  Is a guy like Johnny Mark a target for the Blue Bombers in the draft, and will he last until the 3rd round (Bombers pick 2nd and then 20th) in a shallow draft class?  Are the Bombers willing to go with a rookie fresh out of CIS as the placekicker?  Will the Bombers bring in an import who can potentially compete for both the placekicking and punting jobs?

Kick Returners

In terms of kick returning, the Bombers have a good amount of players who can do the jobs on the roster heading into 2014.  Will Ford was All-CFL as a kickoff returner.  Aaron Woods provided ball security, a consistent 20 yards on kickoffs, 10 on punts and was seemingly one shoestring tackle away from busting a lot of big runs on punts and missed field goals.  Demond Washington is a threat each time he hangs onto the ball and Clarence Denmark is a safe and reliable guy who will catch the kickoff or punt.  Washington and Denmark are likely to be key players on defense and offence in 2014, so it is unlikely they will return kicks in all but extreme circumstances.  Ford can't catch punts, so he'll be limited to kickoff returning.

The big question in terms of kick returners will be the health of Aaron Woods.  The foot injury that Woods suffered tends to be one that does not heal easily and can reoccur or affect speed and agility moving forward.  Another question would be whether Woods sees an expanded role for the Blue Bombers in 2014.  Offensive Coordinator Marcel Bellefeuille is the guy who made Corey Holmes and Marcus Thigpen focal points of his offence.  Will he do the same in Winnipeg?  

I expect that the Blue Bombers will add 1 or 2 more guys to compete for a spot primarily as a returner.

Kick Cover

Taking a look at the coverage units, the Bombers lose their top 3 special teams tacklers from 2013 (Green, H Muamba, Stewart) and a key veteran in Pierre-Luc Labbe.  The Bombers cover units in 2013 were pretty good.  They allowed one punt return touchdown and sported good averages with opposing teams averaging 8.2 yards per punt return and 19.3 per kickoff return.   Good benchmarks for returns are 8 yards for a punt and 20 for a kickoff.  Anything under that is very good for a cover unit.

Solid bets to take on a bigger special teams roles in 2014 are Teague Sherman and Phillippe Dubuisson-Lebon. 

Full Depth Chart

Players under contract as of March 15, 2014:

62 (27 non-imports, 35 imports)

13 open roster spots (75 max in off-season, 68 plus non-counters can be brought to training camp)

You'll notice that the Bombers are short one non-import starter based on this depth chart.  I believe they will decide in training camp how the 7th NI spot on the field will be deployed.  There are a few possibilities (in no particular order):

-Neufeld starts at RT.

-A 3rd NI Receiver/tight end spot taken by Feoli-Gudino or Brescacin, or rotated between a couple receivers.

-A 2nd NI spot on defence split between Thomas, Lucas, Newman at WIL/DB, Bucknor at DB.

In my opinion the 2nd NI on defense is most likely at this point.

QB- Willy, Hall, Brohm, Marve

RB- Ford, VOLNY

FB/TE- PONTBRIAND, FITZGERALD

WR boundary- Moore, Sims, Urrutia

SB- WATSON, FEOLI-GUDINO

SB- KOHLERT, BRESCACIN

SB- Denmark

WR field- Kelly, Robinson, RENAUD

LT- January

LG- GREAVES, PALIWODA

C- KOWALCZUK

RG- MORLEY, PENCER, SWISTON

RT- Jones, NEUFELD, Knapp

DE- Vega

DT- Turner, THOMAS

DT- Anderson, LUCAS

DE- McAdoo, Griggs, Peach, Gatling

SAM- Banks, Dunn

MLB- Parker, Hogue

WIL- Wild, Tate, NEWMAN

Weak CB- Randle, Sears

Weak HB- Washington

S- ALEXANDER, MUAMBA

Strong HB- Suber

Strong CB- Markett, BUCKNOR

Rookies- Loper, Leggett

K- HAJRULLAHU

P- RENAUD

KR- Woods, Ford, Washington, Denmark

PR- Woods, Washington, Denmark, FEOLI-GUDINO

Special Teamers- STEPHAN, SHERMAN, WEST, DUBUSSION-LEBON

 

Mid-February Roster Analysis: Winnipeg Blue Bombers Defensive Line

In part 4 of 6, we take a look at the Blue Bombers defensive line.

In 2013, the Blue Bombers defensive line had some dominant efforts, and some forgettable ones.  They finished up with 51 sacks, 15 of them by Alex Hall, who was traded late in the season to Saskatchewan. Other than Hall, the Blue Bombers did not feature any notable edge rushers.  What is notable about this group is the pass rush generated by the interior, in particular Bryant Turner and Zach Anderson.  They each finished with 7 sacks.

Let's take a look at who the Bombers have under contract at this point (as of February 28, 2014):

Veterans-

Bryant Turner (6'2 275 26) is entering his 4th season as a Blue Bomber and CFLer.  Zach Anderson (6'3 280 24) is entering his 2nd season as a Blue Bomber and CFLer.

Turner and Anderson are mainstays for the Bombers in the middle of the defensive line.  They are remarkably similar as smaller tackles who both lean towards pass-rushing more than run stopping.  Turner and Anderson can make some spectacular plays against the run when they win plays off the snap.  If they lose off the snap, the ball carrier is into the 2nd level immediately.  They are inconsistent against the run.  

This is a trade-off that the previous regime (and Tim Burke's defensive scheme in particular) preferred, playing with two three-technique (most effective in the outside gap of the guards) tackles rather having one three-technique and a nose tackle (inside gap of the guards). Anderson is young and he could develop into more of a nose tackle.

This raises two questions for training camp.  Does this preference for pass rush carry forward into the Walters-O'Shea-Etcheverry regime?  And, if it doesn't, are Turner and Anderson redundant?

Etcheverry is tough to read.  He doesn't have a lot of tendencies when it comes to lining guys up in certain spots snap after snap.  Generally he schemes to fit talent in, rather than fit talent into his scheme. Etcheverry likes to show different looks, and likes versatile players. Bryant Turner can line up anywhere on the defensive line and rush the passer.  Seems like a good fit.  Anderson is also a talented, high motor guy with some versatility.  I think we'll see some interesting fronts utilizing the abilities of Turner and Anderson.

Jason Vega (6'4 260 27) returns to the Blue Bombers after spending the 2013 season in the NFL.  Vega totaled 12 sacks in 26 games with the Blue Bombers in 2011 and 2012.  

Vega is a multi-dimensional player...something you don't see a lot along the highly specialized defensive line on both sides of the border.  He is a solid player who does his job and a little extra, against both the pass and the run.

Vega is an excellent pass rusher with multiple moves and a high motor. Unlike other "pass rush specialists," Vega is not out of the play if he doesn't beat the tackle around the edge off the snap or if he gets into a handfight.  Vega is an effective pass rusher from both the edge and from a three-technique position (outside gap of the guard).  This ability allowed the Blue Bombers to throw pure pass rushing fronts out against obvious passing downs in Vega's previous stint in Blue and Gold.

Vega will start at defensive end, and rarely leave the field.



Greg Peach (6'3 255 27) is entering his 6th CFL season, 2nd as a Blue Bomber.

Peach is Vega-lite.  He's not particularly great at any aspect of pass rushing, but he has a decent motor, he plays intelligent in terms of gap control, but he takes stupid penalties.  Like Vega, Peach is a versatile player.  He can play away from the line of scrimmage and drop into a zone or cover a running back coming out of the backfield.  Maybe this versatility will make him useful in an Etcheverry defense, but we can do a lot better in terms of pass rushers.



Ryan Lucas (6'6 280 29) and Jake Thomas (6'2 275 23) are both entering their 3rd year as a Blue Bomber.  They are the non-import contingent on the defensive line.

Both Lucas and Thomas are strictly interior defensive linemen.  They are both best described as "depth players."  Neither one is quite good enough to start, neither one is a threat to generate a consistent pass rush.  They are both at the level of coming in for 15-20 snaps a game, holding a gap, not having any major screw-ups and playing a role on special teams.

Lucas and Thomas should be able to take enough snaps on defense to form a 2nd NI starter on defense along with some snaps taken at LB and DB by other NI defenders.

Prospects-

The Bombers currently have two young defensive end prospects under contract:

JD Griggs (6'5 260 23) and Michael McAdoo (6'7 245 24).

We got to see them both in limited action at the end of the 2013 season.  They are both Alex Hall look-a-likes, tall and long.  McAdoo was a highly rated NFL prospect before running into some eligibility issues at North Carolina and then rupturing his achilles while a member of the Baltimore Ravens.  Griggs was right out of college in 2013, with a brief stop in the camp of the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The Big Picture-

The starting defensive line as of today (Feb 27) would look something like this:

DE Vega
DT Turner
DT Anderson
DE Peach/McAdoo/Griggs

The defensive line is a position of strength for the Blue Bombers, and there is really only have one spot up for grabs at rush end.  There is a strong possibility that the Bombers will use a DI spot on a third defensive end.

In terms of additions before training camp, another interior lineman, another edge rusher or two are likely, along with the potential release of Greg Peach before training camp as he is somewhat redundant with Vega back in the fold.  Another non-import or two would be nice to battle Lucas and Thomas for a roster spot.  Drafting Evan Gill with the 2nd overall pick and having him in training camp would change this picture quite a bit.