Jerome Heywood signs with Bombers

[jlh2640]

http://www.ourbombers.com/messageboard/ ... php?t=8310

WINNIPEG-BOUND: The Bombers have agreed to terms with free-agent defensive tackle Jerome Haywood.

The 5-foot-9, 280-pound Los Angeles native had 21 sacks in the last five seasons with the Montreal Alouettes and Ottawa Renegades.

Haywood played under Bombers defensive co-ordinator Greg Marshall and defensive line coach Richard Harris in the nation's capital.

The Bombers shipped defensive tackle Ron Warner to the Edmonton Eskimos on Wednesday, so Haywood, Nate Davis and Eric Wilson will battle for the vacant tackle spot next to Doug Brown.

[Lionut]

Jerome was a fan favourite amongst Renegade Nation. While he is very much unlike Nate Davis in personality, he shares Davis's, err, "conditioning" problem, and thus has a tendency to wear down late in games, and late in the season. If he is in shape and motivated, though, Haywood could really help the Bombers...

[TheLionKing]

A defensive tackle at 5'9" 280 lbs.

[OV - 54:40]

A defensive tackle at 5'9" 280 lbs.

And James Quick Parker played DE in the CFL at 5-10, 215.


Heywood is a good DT IMO; the Argos and a number of other CFL teams with need at DT should have signed this guy - he's been available awhile since the Als cut him.

[Blue In BC]

I dunno. His lack of height bothers me but he has played for Marshall and that has o be a good sign about his character at least.

I don't expect him to win the starting role, but could fill the taxi squad roll that Booker did in 2006.

Basically an injury replacement or possible DI.

[Tighthead]

Although that is pretty short, you tend to want a DT who can keep his shoulder pads nice and low. In the NFL now, the ideal nosetackle (in a 3-4 alignment) is really short and thick so that they are hard to move. They aren't really meant to make many plays, but take up the C and a G and blow up the interior run game.

In rugby, I always preferred to go against a tall prop than a short one, all things being equal.

[Hambone]

A defensive tackle at 5'9" 280 lbs.

And James Quick Parker played DE in the CFL at 5-10, 215.

"Quick" would be considered an innovator in that he changed the stereotype of the DE position. He was probably the first true rush end. He was built like an OLB but lined up as a DE. It was his explosive speed from the snap that allowed him to excel at the position. It would be interesting to see how he'd perform in that role in today's game at that size. Offensive linemen Parker competed against then are not quite as physically formidable as they are now. In the mid-80s Chris Walby was considered a monster and an exception at 6'7" 275#. In 2007 he'd be average. To see how times have changed here's the numbers on the East and West All-Star Offensive Lines from Parker's 1985 Defensive Player of the Year season along with the numbers of the 2006 winners:
1985 East All-Stars:
C - Marv Allemang - HAM 6'3" 255
G - Dan Ferrone - TOR 6'2" 255
G - Lloyd Fairbanks - MTL 6'4" 240
T - Kevin Powell - OTT 6'4" 255
T - Roger Cattelan - OTT 6'5" 270
1985 West All-Star:
C - John Bonk - WPG 6'2" 245
G - Leo Blanchard - EDM 6'4" 260
G - Nick Bastaja - WPG 6'2" 255
T - Chris Walby - WPG 6'7" 275
T - John Blain - BCL 6'6" 265

2007 East All-Star:
C - Brian Chiu - MTL 6'2" 286
G - Scott Flory - MTL 6'4" 290
G - Jude St.John - TOR 6'4" 305
T - Bernard Williams - TOR 6'9" 285
T - Jerome Davis - TOR 6'5" 291
2007 West All-Star:
C - Jeremy O'Day - SSK 6'3" 300
G - Jay McNeil - CGY 6'3" 280
G - Dan Comiskey - EDM 6'5" 302
T - Gene Makowsky - SSK 6'3" 270
T - Rob Murphy - BCL 6'5" 310

Weight wise Walby was the big man in 1985. In 2007 he'd be the second lightest all-star. The 2007 all-star OL tips the scales at an average of 292 pounds compared to 257.5 in 1985. I would submit that despite the extra bulk today's OL players are quicker and more athletic thanks to improvements in diet, conditioning and coaching technologies. No doubt Parker would still be a very good player in today's game but I don't think he would be nearly as dominating given he'd be giving up 75 pounds on average versus 40 20 years ago. I would think that would wear on him physically unless he could bulk up himself into the 240 range.

[OV - 54:40]

Exceptional players come along who aren't part of the stereotypical - have to be this size or so fast - to play position x, notions that a lot of football thinkers are so in love with. Players are bigger in general now - better training/diet/conditioning and throw in supplements or roids perhaps? Still lots of room for smaller players who have the skills, finesse and smarts to play a position that some would write them off at. The Esks line-up 205 pound AJ Gass at MLB - a lot of football experts would be screaming "under-sized" or "too small", but there are dozens of such examples in the game and there are always exceptions to the cliched rule - don't get me going with my example of the Denver Broncos O-line that won back to back SB titles a few years back - they were all under 300 lbs.; but we constantly hear from the cliche speakers about how "all NFL O-linemen are huge" and way bigger than their CFL counter parts or how player x has no chance cause he's "too small" - whatever

Somebody mentioned Heywood at 5-9, 280 - he's still as heavy as or within 20 or so pounds of most interior O-lineman he would be up against; Parker was about 40 to 50 pounds lighter than a lot of the OTs he faced back in the day.

I also believe there is a greater tendency now to be a bit generous or over-estimating with roster height & weight listings and they were maybe oft inaccurate in the past too; Walby was listed at 290 in the 91 CFL Guide - i bet he was more like 300 + for most of his prime - him and Gorrel together were one of the biggest OT combos in pro ball back at that time.

[Hambone]

Exceptional players come along who aren't part of the stereotypical - have to be this size or so fast - to play position x, notions that a lot of football thinkers are so in love with..

"Stereotype" I find to be an overused word in discussing player attributes. A better word would be "ideal". And that goes beyond the basic height and weight statistics. A player lacking in a particular category can still be very effective by being exceptional in another. "Quick" Parker was able to excel at the rush end position thanks to exceptional speed, quickness and intelligence that overcame his lack of size and power.

The Esks line-up 205 pound AJ Gass at MLB - a lot of football experts would be screaming "under-sized" or "too small".

I would submit that Gass' lack of size remains a detriment to his game despite his success. I love everything the guy brings to the plate, but he simply cannot be counted on to stay healthy. He has put in only 2 full 18 game schedules in 9 CFL seasons. Playing undersized at arguably the most physically demanding position has taken its toll on both Gass and the Esks. Personally I would be looking to go in another direction at MLB if I was running the Green and Gold. I think MLB is too important a position to leave yourself relying on a player who is likely to miss significant portions of the season because he lacks the size to handle the physical abuse. Any year Gass can play 14 or more games it has to be considered a bonus for the Esks.

don't get me going with my example of the Denver Broncos O-line that won back to back SB titles a few years back - they were all under 300 lbs.;.

As for Denver I would suggest that it would be absolutely essential to have a smaller OL to overcome the altitude issue. It had to help them throughout the season which in turn likely helped the OL keep fresh into the playoffs.

I also believe there is a greater tendency now to be a bit generous or over-estimating with roster height & weight listings and they were maybe oft inaccurate in the past too; Walby was listed at 290 in the 91 CFL Guide - i bet he was more like 300 + for most of his prime - him and Gorrel together were one of the biggest OT combos in pro ball back at that time.

I'm not sure if there's a greater tendency now than in the past at that stuff. I tend to take the numbers with an equal sized grain of salt regardless of era. I'm sure they don't fudge them anymore now than they did 20 years ago. Having said that from seeing many CFL and NHL players in civvies they often don't seem as big as their stats would indicate. But one quickly notices that much of their bulk is down below the waist as in the thighs and legs compared to the rest of us armchair smucks who tend to have most of our weight above the belt.

[Rammer]

A defensive tackle at 5'9" 280 lbs.

And James Quick Parker played DE in the CFL at 5-10, 215.

"Quick" would be considered an innovator in that he changed the stereotype of the DE position. He was probably the first true rush end. He was built like an OLB but lined up as a DE. It was his explosive speed from the snap that allowed him to excel at the position. It would be interesting to see how he'd perform in that role in today's game at that size. Offensive linemen Parker competed against then are not quite as physically formidable as they are now. In the mid-80s Chris Walby was considered a monster and an exception at 6'7" 275#. In 2007 he'd be average. To see how times have changed here's the numbers on the East and West All-Star Offensive Lines from Parker's 1985 Defensive Player of the Year season along with the numbers of the 2006 winners:
1985 East All-Stars:
C - Marv Allemang - HAM 6'3" 255
G - Dan Ferrone - TOR 6'2" 255
G - Lloyd Fairbanks - MTL 6'4" 240
T - Kevin Powell - OTT 6'4" 255
T - Roger Cattelan - OTT 6'5" 270
1985 West All-Star:
C - John Bonk - WPG 6'2" 245
G - Leo Blanchard - EDM 6'4" 260
G - Nick Bastaja - WPG 6'2" 255
T - Chris Walby - WPG 6'7" 275
T - John Blain - BCL 6'6" 265

2007 East All-Star:
C - Brian Chiu - MTL 6'2" 286
G - Scott Flory - MTL 6'4" 290
G - Jude St.John - TOR 6'4" 305
T - Bernard Williams - TOR 6'9" 285
T - Jerome Davis - TOR 6'5" 291
2007 West All-Star:
C - Jeremy O'Day - SSK 6'3" 300
G - Jay McNeil - CGY 6'3" 280
G - Dan Comiskey - EDM 6'5" 302
T - Gene Makowsky - SSK 6'3" 270
T - Rob Murphy - BCL 6'5" 310

Weight wise Walby was the big man in 1985. In 2007 he'd be the second lightest all-star. The 2007 all-star OL tips the scales at an average of 292 pounds compared to 257.5 in 1985. I would submit that despite the extra bulk today's OL players are quicker and more athletic thanks to improvements in diet, conditioning and coaching technologies. No doubt Parker would still be a very good player in today's game but I don't think he would be nearly as dominating given he'd be giving up 75 pounds on average versus 40 20 years ago. I would think that would wear on him physically unless he could bulk up himself into the 240 range.

Well I imagine that Walby is on pace for today's OL weight, yet I never thought of him as being a man of the times.

The weight changes along both sides of the lines, is the main reason that any comparison of 60's/70's/80's/90's teams against a current squad don't wash with me. The game evoles to the point that I consider today's GC championship team to be the best in the history of the CFL.