‘Stay the course’: Miller on next year

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This article was published 09/04/2015 (4146 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Kyle WALTERS says he need to be more open to other people’s opinions.

Mike O’Shea says he needs to trust his own opinion more.

And Wade Miller? Well, on a day the Winnipeg Blue Bombers announced they turned a $3.9-million profit in 2014, the Bombers CEO said in reply to a question at Wednesday night’s annual Bombers Forum he didn’t feel like he personally needed to change anything heading into the 2015 season.

“Stay the course,” Miller told a crowd of about 300 people that gathered at Investors Group Field Wednesday night to hear the Bombers brain trust reflect on 2014 and look ahead to 2015.

Miller’s stand-pat message might work for the Bombers as far as off-field performance goes, but Wednesday night’s crowd was also anxious to hear what changes the team has planned on the field to get the Bombers back into the playoffs in 2015 for the first time since 2011.

Bonbers GM Walters and head coach O’Shea didn’t disappoint, pledging big changes for the coming season in the areas that plagued the Bombers worst in a 2014 season that saw the team open at 5-1 but limp to a 2-10 finish and miss the playoffs.

“The sacks (against), the rushing yards for, the rushing yards against — those were all things we needed to address in the off-season,” O’Shea said. “And free agency was fantastic for us this year.”

O’Shea lavished praise on Walters for being aggressive in free agency this winter and making dramatic upgrades to the offensive line, while Walters gave credit to the whole organization for making Winnipeg a place where highly coveted free agents such as new left tackle Stanley Bryant now want to play.

“Top to bottom, we’re a well-respected organization for the way we do our business,” said Walters. “And you saw that in free agency that Winnipeg is now not a negative destination… People want to come here, they want to play for Mike, they want to be a part of this city, they want to be a part of this beautiful facility.”

Walters said there are still holes in the roster the Bombers need to fill. He said the club is putting the finishing touches on preparations for the May 12 draft, where Winnipeg will have three selections in the first two rounds, including the second overall — providing the club a golden opportunity to improve its Canadian depth.

Walters said the club is also hoping to fill some roster holes at this month’s mini-training camp in Florida, which begins a week Sunday. The club is particularly light at linebacker right now, and Walters said he’s hoping the Florida camp turns up a couple of rookie gems to go along with free agent non-import Sam Hurl, whom the Bombers signed this winter and are hoping can start at middle linebacker in 2015.

One place there won’t be changes this coming season, however, is at starting quarterback. Just as he did last winter, O’Shea Wednesday night proclaimed Drew Willy as his starter. “In prior years, not having a definitive starter was an issue for this club. So I’m trying to eliminate that,” said O’Shea. “And we’ve found a good one…in Drew.”

paul.wiecek@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @PaulWiecek