Welcome to the arms race known as CFL free agency 2016. Big name players were available to be talked out of their former club and join a new one; others were cap casualties and forced to find other franchises to call their own. And the 2016 Winnipeg Blue Bombers were the biggest destination of them all.
Crucial Season: 2016 Winnipeg Blue Bombers
There is one thing that remains clear and transparent: it’s possible, with the right core in place and key additions made in free agency, to put a team over the top. The question is, how much money should a franchise spend in search of success on the field?
A famous saying comes to mind during free agency: show me a good team on paper, there will be a better team on the field. Truer words have never been spoken about the 2015 Winnipeg Blue Bombers. They had a lot of hype behind them entering the year, and look what happened.
Kyle Walters, seemingly unfazed by the lack of production in the free agents he acquired in the last off season, is at it once again in 2016. His is an all-in mentality. The moves make a lot of sense for a team that struggled offensively: Weston Dressler is now wearing blue and gold, as are Andrew Harris and Ryan Smith.
Walters seems confident he can turn this into a war in the air. If that’s the case, with Drew Willy as the lead general on the field, it seems likely that Winnipeg will be one of the front runners in the usually stout CFL west division.
Two straight seasons of disappointing football for the blue and gold left the Bomber front office scratching their heads on how to improve this team. After the 2015 debacle, Winnipeg needed big changes to compete in the west division. Changes have now been made, and no one can look at the 2016 Winnipeg roster and say that this team will be bad.
Paul LaPolice will be running the blue and gold attack and will be looking for Dressler, Harris, and Willy for leadership on the field. Only one problem here: how do you get a group of talented individuals to put their egos behind them, and think about the team first?
This is a crucial season for the Blue Bombers. There is no excuse for underperforming now. If Winnipeg manages to keep Willy healthy and keep Matt Nichols involved, we will see the road to Toronto come through Winnipeg in the west.
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