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Second year kickoff specialist Jared Young has been signed. Kickoff Distance of 83/94 with Hang Time at 28/47, and with kickoffs, distance is king. He has the rest of the season to bring his hang time into line. A quick look at the game logs will show that the Bombers kickoff teams have been giving the opponents an average starting position at the 33 yard line.

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Bombers Unveil Chrome Dome

In today's game the younger fans expect change, and Baltimore aims to please. Introducing an alternate home field helmet, the Bomber Chrome!

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Love it, just love it.

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ROF Division Champions: 2039 - 2043, 2045, 2047, 2054, 2056 - 2060, 2063, 2066-2067
WFC Conference Champions: 2018, 2041, 2042, 2057-2058, 2060, 2062-2063
CFL Champions: 2018, 2041, 2057-2058, 2060, 2062

Season Review

Six and Ten Doesn't Cut It!

Offensively the Bombers just don't have it. "It" being a serviceable quarterback. With the young weapons in the receiving corp and the pretty good young running back operating behind a good, not great, offensive line, a lot of the pieces are there except for the signal caller.

With a sure lock at a top ten pick, Bombers have a shot at a young quarterback. and given the wealth of wideouts, management is thinking of trading one young stud to make a move in the first round.

Defensively we played pass defense well. Run defense, not so much.

Specials were bad. Dead last in kick returns and our field goal kicker was near the bottom of the league.

Attendance continues to rank among the best in the CFL, so kudos to the fans.

Staff changes will be minor in the live staff draft, and we're going into the CFL Rookie draft looking for a quarterback. I mean, it's no secret what we need.

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A Look Back at 2042 Rookie Draft

1.27. RDT Ruben Barker, 47/57.
Kansas State
6-1, 290 lbs, Very Low Volatility
Well Liked.

The rookie started all 16 games and picked up 34 tackles, 14 assists, 2 sacks, 6 hurries on quarterback, and forced one fumble.

From a GM's position, I like the kid and think he's got a good future ahead of him. He helps put our Defensive Tackles at a top 10 rating in Roster Strength. His Static Bars in Pass Rush Strength and Punishing Hitter stand at 69 and 86 respectively, with green left in the other four bars. Low Loyalty rating will create some challenges in renegotiations, but I think he's a keeper.

Hoosier's Grade: A

2.18 QB Mario Copeland, 12/26.
Florida State
6-1, 205 lbs, Average Volatility
Need Scorecard

Static Bar in Sense Rush is 48, but he is a bust. If you're drafting for a kick holder in the second round, then you've got it. But man, this guy sucks.

Prognosis: will be cut next season prior to draft.

Hoosier's Grade: F

3.17. LDE Jermaine Hays, 24/30.
Maryland
6-2, 248 lbs, Very Low Vol.
Fan Favorite.

He got some playing time as he started seven games and played in all 16. Stats include 13 tackles, 9 assists, 4 sacks, 6 hurries on qb, and 1 quarterback knock down. Not bad. Not great, but not bad.

Static Bar in Punishing Hitter and Pass Rush Strength are 38 and 14 respectively, making him a pretty bad pick.

Prognosis: may stay as a backup.

Hoosier's Grade: D

4.19. FB Jacob Lesch, 26/32.
North Carolina State
6-0, 244 lbs, Average Volatility
Recognized

As fullbacks go, he will never be a great blocking back. Run or Pass blocking. Statistically he had 20 Key Run Opportunities and only picked up 4 Key Run Blocks for a 19 percent rating.

Running isn't much better. He carried the ball 8 times for a -1 yard average. Lesch did catch 15 passes out of 20 targets for a 75 percent average and picked up 95 yards.

He did register 5 Special Teams Tackles and forced one fumble.

Prognosis: May stay with team for Specials only. He'll never be our starter at fullback.

Hoosier's Grade: C-

5.18. RCB Marlon Covington, 26/34.
Texas Tech.
5-10, 177 lbs, Very Low Volatility
Fan Favorite

Played in six games and made one special team tackle, didn't defend a single pass, made six tackles and assisted on two.

Prognosis: With a Specials Bar of zero, and his bad bars all around, he'll be cut.

Hoosier's Grade: F

7.19. SS Arnie Lyons, 23/38.
Cal -Poly SLO
6-1, 219 lbs, Very Low Volatility
Recognized.

Pass Coverages and Run D still have green left, but Static Bar in Punishing Hitter is stuck at 20. Specials Bar is a 22/26.

He played in three games, defending zero passes and made one tackle.

Prognosis: Free Agency Looms.

Hoosier's Grade: D-

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Bomber's Signal Changes Ahead

Bomber's head coach Matt Willis will not be offered another contract with Baltimore.

Seventeen years in the league with a 30-34 Record and zero championships and three mediocre seasons with Baltimore at 19-27 isn't a glowing endorsement.

Assistant Coach Skip Keefer will not be returning either.

"We need to change Baltimore's expectations and bring in a Championship caliber coaching staff. Live Staff Draft for Baltimore will give us that opportunity to get that corrected."

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Left tackle Mark Wallace and the Baltimore Bombers are renegotiating a contract to keep the six year pro on the squad.

"Wallace dramatically improved his pass protection. Last season he allowed 12 sacks. He's cut that to 2 ths year." GM Hoosier

Bombers will need an anchor at that spot, especially with an projected influx of young talent on the o line.

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Good stuff.

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Baltimore Bombers Assistant Coach Grounded!






Forty six year old Skip Keefer, Bomber's assistant coach, has been grounded by GM Hoosier Owens. "Motivation, Play Calling, Scouting and Interviewing Ability Bars are substandard, and we have to have improvement." Owens.

Keefer has been in the league six years and has compiled a 12-52 record as offensive coordinator, and a 15-17 record as assistant coach.

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OMG, that's awful. I think I'd rather throw up in my mouth a little. He just plain shit the bed in Baltimore.

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ROF Division Champions: 2039 - 2043, 2045, 2047, 2054, 2056 - 2060, 2063, 2066-2067
WFC Conference Champions: 2018, 2041, 2042, 2057-2058, 2060, 2062-2063
CFL Champions: 2018, 2041, 2057-2058, 2060, 2062

Baltimore Offseason Priorities

1. Staff. Hire and Fire. Doesn't matter how good your roster is, if they can't coach, they can't coach.

2. Team Cohesion. Baltimore's Team Cohesion Ratings are worse than a high school dropout's report card.

We need more Mentors on defense. Two total in the defensive unit isn't going to cut it. Two Mild Affinities on the defensive squad isn't going to cut it, either.




3. Franchise Quarterback. Baltimore will move a stud wideout and draft pick or picks to move up in the draft if needed. We have to have a quarterback.

4. Improve the center of our offensive line.

5. Improve Specials by drafting rookies in the later rounds with good Specials bars.

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My observations on these priorities:

1. I think coaching may be more important than I gave it credit for previously. Not sure if this is version related or not, but coaching matters.

2. I was always big on cohesion from previous versions and going into last year we were near the top in all groups. After losing many players in the off season we are near the bottom in all groups and managed to make it back to the big dance. My cohesion with cohesion is less cohesive.

I still try to minimize conflict but don't avoid it at all costs. I'm more interested in mentors though. I always have a mentor at positions I have young players at.

3. Franchise QB? This ain't your father's FOF. The only studliness needed in a QB is avoiding interceptions. Stud QB's and stud WR's are not needed in the current version. Minimizing turnovers and playing solid defense are the recipe to success. Don't believe me? Interview the 2 serviceable journeyman QB's that took me to the last 2 CFL Bowls. Not impressive on paper or the field, just good at managing the game. Yes, I said it. Give me Trent Dilfer in this version of FOF.

4. Maybe I forgot to mention the O-line in #3. I'll take a stud o-line over a stud QB/WR combo any day in this version. Consider moving this to #1 on your list.

5. Another one I forgot to mention in #3 after minimizing turnovers, defense, and o-line. Special teams easily accounted for 2-3 of my wins this year that I can remember off the top of my head (including a playoff win - sorry Tulsa). Others have preached it in the CFL for years and I am officially on the bandwagon. Special teams may need to be moved to #2 behind o-line. This is the cheapest/easiest fix on the list and can be brought up to playoff caliber in an off season or two.

I'd be glad to hear everyone's feedback on my observations...

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ROF Division Champions: 2039 - 2043, 2045, 2047, 2054, 2056 - 2060, 2063, 2066-2067
WFC Conference Champions: 2018, 2041, 2042, 2057-2058, 2060, 2062-2063
CFL Champions: 2018, 2041, 2057-2058, 2060, 2062

I agree. I do think a "franchise qb" could be a fifty/fifty rated guy that can manage the offense. I'm not looking for a 70/70 guy, but if he's there, I'd take him.

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2043 Bombers Offseason Moves.


Offensive Coordinator Deon "In Like" Flynn has signed a contract extension. Bombers anted up 10m over four years. Baltimore front office considered offering him the head coaching job. "His first five years in Durham were impressive and he sure looks like a head coaching candidate to me. We needed to lock him up for future considerations and we still have to maneuver in the Staff Draft." Hoosier.

Bombers head coach Matthew Willis will not be returning to Baltimore. Willis compiled a 30-34 record in his four year tenure with only one winning season and zero playoff appearances. The 55 year old coach seems better suited as an offensive coordinator.

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Rob Barokas, formerly the defensive coordinator for Baltimore, has been promoted to fill the head coaching vacancy. Barokas has been with the Bombers the last four seasons after coaching at the TCY Division One level as the Maryland Terps head coach. The 45 year old is famous for his work with defensive lineman. "I loved his bars in Play Calling, Scouting, Motivation, and his Discipline Bar, even at 50, is an upgrade over our previous head coach." Hoosier.

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Herman Huntley Hired as Defensive Coordinator



Huntley leaves Santa Cruz and joins the Bombers Staff. Pass Defense was pretty bad for Baltimore last season. I looked at a coach with specialties in linebackers, but with a pretty obvious future youth movement at linebacker, I thought we'd get more bang for the buck if the secondary was emphasized. HC Barokas has the d line down, so this was a no brainer.


Oliver Givens Hired as Assistant Coach



Our running game suffered and with an Adjusted Line Yards rating of we -7%, Baltimore ranked third worst in the CFL. An Asst Coach with ability to work with our running back Emmons was a given. Givens was the head coach in the TCY with Towson State.

Tristan Snyder Strength Coach



The young guy is outstanding and has been on our staff for four seasons. It would have been a bad move to let him go.

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Coaching Staff

• Head coach Rob Barokas, Defensive line. Best Bars: Player Development, Motivation, Play Calling, Scouting Ability all over 75 plus.
  
  Offensive Coordinator: Deon "In Like" Flynn, Wide receivers. Best Bars: Young talent, Intelligence, Scouting Ability, all above 80.
  
  Defensive Coordinator: Herman Huntley, Secondary. Best Bar: Close race between Play Calling, Young Talent, Motivation, Discipline all around 75.
  
  Assistant Coach: Oliver Givens, Running backs. Bad Bar: Young talent, less than 25. Only flaw this guy has.
  
  Strength Coach: Tristan Snyder, Strength training. Best Bar: Conditioning close to 76.

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Free Agent Signing:

Twelve year veteran flanker Shaun Parker signs with Baltimore. Baltimore grabs a veteran punt returner and a wideout who will mentor the young receivers on roster. Bombers picked up two affinities with the signing.

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Bombers 2043 Rookie Draft.

1.8. LG Silas Anderson, East Carolina
6-4, 308 lbs
Average Volatilty
Interviewed: Hard 2 Read



At 20, the kid is already listed on the CFL's Strongest Man List. And that Static Bar in Strength is huge.

Four year veteran guard Brechbill has been moved to right guard.

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2.9. C Ronnie Guthrie, Kentucky
6-4, 322 lbs.
Very low volatility
Interviewed: Underrated.



I interviewed two centers and both had strong bench press scores in the combine. Both were basically interchangeable. So, Strength Bar is everything on the o line. Will start from day one.

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3.8. LB Conrad Benton, Michigan
6-2, 262 lbs.
Average volatility
Didn't interview



Pos Drill is slgihtly below average, but his combine scores and bars do match and the static bars look good. Will be converted to strong linebacker. And he needs to trim down. Solid Specials contributor.

I think he's one of those creeper guys that surprise.

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4.9. FB Shaun Jose, Arizona State
6-1, 248 lbs
Very low volatility
Didn't interview



Three great combine scores matched up with three average combines caught our attention, and the very solid static bars in Blocking Strength and Power Inside proved he's a decent fullback. Blitz Pickup looks better than advertised but Run Blocking is so so. We needed a better fullback, we got one.

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5-8. TE Walter Wheeler, Northern State
6-4, 266 lbs.
Very high volatility
Did not interview




He looks like a pretty solid blocking tight end and an extension of the offensive line. I like to hold my tight ends back in blocking schemes, and he looks like that type of tight end.

And an outstanding Specials bar gives me another option on special teams.

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6-9. DT William Weaver, Mississippi State
6-3, 305 lbs.
High volatility
Didn't interview



Combine scores in Strength and Dash caught my eye, and his Static Bars in Pass Rush Strength and Punishing Hitter look solid. Endurance bar is "allegedly" a non factor in the d and o line, so he give us depth. We'll see.

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