2008 Winnipeg Blue Bombers season

{{Infobox NFL team season

| logo =

| team = Winnipeg Blue Bombers

| year = 2008

| record = 8–10

| division_place = 2nd, East

| coach = Doug Berry

| stadium = Canad Inns Stadium

| playoffs = Lost East Semi-Final

| uniform = Image:CFL WPG Jersey 2008.png

| shortnavlink = Blue Bombers seasons

}}

The 2008 Winnipeg Blue Bombers season was the 51st season for the team in the Canadian Football League and their 76th overall. The Blue Bombers attempted to win their 11th Grey Cup championship, but they lost in the Eastern Semi-Final game against the Edmonton Eskimos, who crossed over from the West.

Offseason

=CFL draft=

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers moved up in the CFL draft without even making a trade. The Bombers moved into the sixth spot in the CFL's college entry draft when the Montreal Alouettes lost their first choice. The Alouettes lost the choice because the club exceeded its salary cap by more than $100,000.{{usurped|1=[https://archive.today/20120719020040/http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Football/CFL/Winnipeg/2008/04/29/5418906-sun.html CANOE – SLAM! Sports – CFL – Winnipeg: Bombers movin' on up]}}

class="wikitable sortable sortable" ! style="background:#13264B;color:#C9AF74;" width="8%"\| Round ! style="background:#13264B;color:#C9AF74;" width="8%"\| Pick ! style="background:#13264B;color:#C9AF74;" width="20%"\| Player ! style="background:#13264B;color:#C9AF74;" width="15%"\| Position ! style="background:#13264B;color:#C9AF74;" width="20%"\| School/Club Team
align=center\| 1	6	Brendon LaBatte	OL	Regina
align=center\| 2	15	Aaron Hargreaves	WR	Simon Fraser
align=center\| 3	24 (via Edmonton via Saskatchewan)	Daryl Stephenson	RB	Windsor
align=center\| 4	31	Marc Bestwick	DB	Saint Mary's
align=center\| 5	39	Don Oramasionwu	DL	Manitoba
align=center\| 6	47	Pierre-Luc Labbé	LB	Sherbrooke

=Transactions=

On May 20, the Bombers officially signed former U.S. college stars Bryan Randall and Cleveland McCoy.{{usurped|1=[https://archive.today/20120715190410/http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Football/CFL/Winnipeg/2008/05/21/5626551-sun.html CANOE – SLAM! Sports – CFL – Winnipeg: Blue strike QB gold]}}
On Tuesday, May 27, Milt Stegall announced that he will not participate in the Winnipeg Blue Bombers training camp after undergoing knee surgery May 2.{{usurped|1=[https://archive.today/20080603225805/http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Football/CFL/Winnipeg/2008/05/27/5680781-cp.html CANOE – SLAM! Sports – CFL – Winnipeg: Bombers veteran Stegall to miss training camp]}}
The Bombers also announced they've released veteran cornerback Juran Bolden. The 33-year-old Tampa native spent the 2007 CFL season with Winnipeg, but didn't play in the Grey Cup due to a hamstring injury. The six-foot-three, 210-pound Bolden was originally a fourth-round pick of the NFL's Atlanta Falcons in 1996. Bolden twice played for the Falcons ('96–'97, 2002–'03). Other NFL teams included the Carolina Panthers ('98), Kansas City Chiefs ('99), Jacksonville Jaguars ('04) and Tampa Bay Buccaneers ('05–'06).

Regular season

On September 12 at Rogers Centre, Milt Stegall became the most prolific receiver in the history of the CFL.https://sports.yahoo.com/cfl/news?slug=cp-cfl_stegall_record&prov=cp&type=lgns{{Dead link|date=December 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} The slotback caught a 92-yard pass at 9:02 in the second quarter to raise his career total to 14,983, breaking the mark of 14,891 yards previously held by former Stampeders receiver Allen Pitts. Stegall took a pass from Kevin Glenn and scored a touchdown, his second of the game. It put the Bombers ahead 28–3. The touchdown was Stegall's 14,983rd career receiving yard.{{cn|date=January 2024|reason=Original cite was deleted per WP:URLREQ#Canoe.ca}} With the record broken, the announced crowd of 28,453 stood to applaud the milestone.

=Season standings=

=Transactions=

September 9: Winnipeg acquired middle linebacker Zeke (And Destroy) Moreno and a conditional draft pick from Hamilton for its first-round draft pick in 2009 and the rights to Canadian defensive lineman Corey Mace.{{usurped|1=[https://archive.today/20120718182243/http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Football/CFL/Winnipeg/2008/09/10/6722231-sun.html ]}}

=Season schedule=

class="wikitable sortable sortable"

! style="background:#13264B;color:#C9AF74;" width="6%"| Week

! style="background:#13264B;color:#C9AF74;" width="8%"| Date

! style="background:#13264B;color:#C9AF74;" width="20%"| Opponent

! style="background:#13264B;color:#C9AF74;" width="10%"| Score

! style="background:#13264B;color:#C9AF74;" width="10%"| Result

! style="background:#13264B;color:#C9AF74;" width="10%"| Attendance

! style="background:#13264B;color:#C9AF74;" width="10%"| Record

align="center" bgcolor="#ffbbbb"

| 1

| June 27

| vs. Toronto Argonauts

| 23–16

| Loss

| 26,155

| 0–1

align="center" bgcolor="#ffbbbb"

| 2

| July 4

| at Montreal Alouettes

| 38–24

| Loss

| 20,202

| 0–2

align="center" bgcolor="#ffbbbb"

| 3

| July 11

| vs. BC Lions

| 42–24

| Loss

| 26,735

| 0–3

align="center" bgcolor="#ffbbbb"

| 4

| July 18

| at BC Lions

| 27–18

| Loss

| 37,174

| 0–4

align="center" bgcolor="#ddffdd"

| 5

| July 24

| vs. Calgary Stampeders

| 32–28

| Win

| 26,882

| 1–4

align="center" bgcolor="#ffbbbb"

| 6

| Aug 1

| at Toronto Argonauts

| 19–11

| Loss

| 28,523

| 1–5

align="center" bgcolor="#ffbbbb"

| 7

| Aug 8

| vs. Montreal Alouettes

| 39–11

| Loss

| 27,674

| 1–6

align="center" bgcolor="#ddffdd"

| 8

| Aug 14

| vs. Hamilton Tiger-Cats

| 37–24

| Win

| 25,484

| 2–6

align="center"

| 9

| colSpan=5 align="center" | Bye

| 2–6

align="center" bgcolor="#ffbbbb"

| 10

| Aug 31

| at Saskatchewan Roughriders

| 19–6

| Loss

| 30,985

| 2–7

align="center" bgcolor="#ffbbbb"

| 11

| Sept 7

| vs. Saskatchewan Roughriders

| 34–31

| Loss

| 29,770

| 2–8

align="center" bgcolor="#ddffdd"

| 12

| Sept 12

| at Toronto Argonauts

| 39–9

| Win

| 28,453

| 3–8

align="center" bgcolor="#ddffdd"

| 13

| Sept 19

| at Hamilton Tiger-Cats

| 25–23

| Win

| 19,102

| 4–8

align="center" bgcolor="#ddffdd"

| 14

| Sept 26

| vs. Edmonton Eskimos

| 30–23

| Win

| 29,794

| 5–8

align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb"

| 15

| Oct 4

| at Edmonton Eskimos

| 36–22

| Loss

| 40,453

| 5–9

align="center" bgcolor="#ddffdd"

| 16

| Oct 10

| vs. Toronto Argonauts

| 25–16

| Win

| 27,368

| 6–9

align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb"

| 17

| Oct 18

| at Calgary Stampeders

| 37–16

| Loss

| 30,110

| 6–10

align="center" bgcolor="#ddffdd"

| 18

| Oct 26

| at Montreal Alouettes

| 24–23

| Win

| 20,202

| 7–10

align="center" bgcolor="#ddffdd"

| 19

| Nov 1

| vs. Hamilton Tiger-Cats

| 44–30

| Win

| 24,595

| 8–10

=Roster=

class="toccolours" style="text-align: left;"
colspan="7" style="background-color: #023876; color:#D3C096; text-align: center" \| 2008 Winnipeg Blue Bombers roster
style="font-size: 95%;" valign="top" \| Quarterbacks {{CFL player\| 4\|I\|Ryan Dinwiddie}} {{CFL player\| 5\|I\|Kevin Glenn}} {{CFL player\|10\|I\|Bryan Randall}} Running backs {{CFL player\|26\|N\|Graeme Bell}} RB {{CFL player\|29\|N\|Brian Guebert}} FB {{CFL player\|32\|I\|Fred Reid}} RB {{CFL player\|33\|I\|Joe Smith}} RB Receivers {{CFL player\|22\|I\|Jason Armstead}} KR/PR {{CFL player\|83\|I\|Derick Armstrong}} WR {{CFL player\|81\|I\|Romby Bryant}} SB {{CFL player\|82\|I\|Terrence Edwards}} SB {{CFL player\|86\|N\|Arjei Franklin}} WR {{CFL player\|15\|N\|Aaron Hargreaves}} WR {{CFL player\|85\|I\|Milt Stegall}} SB {{CFL player\|89\|N\|Jamie Stoddard}} WR \| style="width: 25px;" \| \| style="font-size: 95%;" valign="top" \| Offensive linemen {{CFL player\|55\|N\|Ryan Donnelly}} G {{CFL player\|66\|N\|Alexandre Gauthier}} LT {{CFL player\|64\|I\|Dan Goodspeed}} RT {{CFL player\|60\|N\|Ibrahim Khan}} C/G {{CFL player\|57\|N\|Brendon LaBatte}} G {{CFL player\|67\|N\|Matt O'Meara}} G {{CFL player\|53\|N\|Dominic Picard}} C {{CFL player\|62\|N\|Bobby Singh}} G Defensive linemen {{CFL player\|97\|N\|Doug Brown}} DT {{CFL player\|90\|I\|Kai Ellis}} DE/MLB {{CFL player\|99\|I\|Jerome Haywood}} DT {{CFL player\|91\|N\|Shawn Mayne}} DE/DT {{CFL player\|77\|N\|Jon Oosterhuis}} DT/DE {{CFL player\|98\|I\|Gavin Walls}} DE \| style="width: 25px;" \| \| style="font-size: 95%;" valign="top" \| Linebackers {{CFL player\|40\|I\|Cam Hall}} OLB {{CFL player\|47\|N\|Pierre-Luc Labbé}} ILB {{CFL player\|41\|N\|Anthony Maggiacomo}} ILB {{CFL player\|42\|N\|Neil McKinlay}} OLB {{CFL player\|19\|I\|Zeke Moreno}} ILB Defensive backs {{CFL player\|25\|I\|Robert Bean}} CB {{CFL player\| 8\|N\|Greg Bearman}} S {{CFL player\|20\|N\|Marc Beswick}} CB {{CFL player\|30\|N\|Steven Holness}} CB {{CFL player\|24\|I\|Jovon Johnson}} DB {{CFL player\|31\|N\|Ian Logan}} S {{CFL player\| 3\|I\|Anthony Malbrough}} HB {{CFL player\|27\|N\|Kelly Malveaux}} OLB/DB {{CFL player\|16\|I\|Stanford Samuels}} CB Special teams {{CFL player\|50\|N\|Chris Cvetkovic}} LS {{CFL player\|18\|I\|Alexis Serna}} K/P \| style="width: 25px;" \| \| style="font-size: 95%;" valign="top" \| Inactive List {{CFL player\|14\|I\|Willie Amos}} CB 7px {{CFL player\|44\|I\|Tom Canada}} DE 7px {{CFL player\| 0\|I\|Ike Charlton}} OLB 7px {{CFL player\| 9\|N\|Warren Kean}} K/P 7px {{CFL player\|61\|N\|Kyle Koch}} OL 7px {{CFL player\|95\|N\|Matt Kudu}} DT 7px {{CFL player\|58\|I\|Joe Lobendahn}} MLB 7px {{CFL player\|13\|N\|Jason Nugent}} DB 7px {{CFL player\|54\|N\|Matt Sheridan}} G 7px {{CFL player\|51\|I\|Barrin Simpson}} MLB 7px Practice Roster {{CFL player\|68\|N\|Darryl Conrad}} OL {{CFL player\|12\|I\|Kerry Johnson}} WR {{CFL player\|21\|N\|Casey McGahee}} WR/DB/KR {{CFL player\|93\|I\|Josh Miller}} DL {{CFL player\|23\|N\|Michael Roberts}} DB {{CFL player\|96\|N\|William Snow}} DL {{CFL player\| 2\|I\|Marcus Winn}} LB Italics indicate Import player [http://www.bluebombers.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3&Itemid=254 Roster] updated 2008-10-11 [http://www.bluebombers.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3&Itemid=254 Depth Chart] • [http://www.bluebombers.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=11&Itemid=81 Transactions] 46 Active, 10 Inactive, 7 PS

class="toccolours" style="text-align: left;"

colspan="7" style="background-color: #023876; color:#D3C096; text-align: center" | 2008 Winnipeg Blue Bombers roster

style="font-size: 95%;" valign="top" | Quarterbacks

{{CFL player| 4|I|Ryan Dinwiddie}}
{{CFL player| 5|I|Kevin Glenn}}
{{CFL player|10|I|Bryan Randall}}

Running backs

{{CFL player|26|N|Graeme Bell}} RB
{{CFL player|29|N|Brian Guebert}} FB
{{CFL player|32|I|Fred Reid}} RB
{{CFL player|33|I|Joe Smith}} RB

Receivers

{{CFL player|22|I|Jason Armstead}} KR/PR
{{CFL player|83|I|Derick Armstrong}} WR
{{CFL player|81|I|Romby Bryant}} SB
{{CFL player|82|I|Terrence Edwards}} SB
{{CFL player|86|N|Arjei Franklin}} WR
{{CFL player|15|N|Aaron Hargreaves}} WR
{{CFL player|85|I|Milt Stegall}} SB
{{CFL player|89|N|Jamie Stoddard}} WR

| style="width: 25px;" |

| style="font-size: 95%;" valign="top" | Offensive linemen

{{CFL player|55|N|Ryan Donnelly}} G
{{CFL player|66|N|Alexandre Gauthier}} LT
{{CFL player|64|I|Dan Goodspeed}} RT
{{CFL player|60|N|Ibrahim Khan}} C/G
{{CFL player|57|N|Brendon LaBatte}} G
{{CFL player|67|N|Matt O'Meara}} G
{{CFL player|53|N|Dominic Picard}} C
{{CFL player|62|N|Bobby Singh}} G

Defensive linemen

{{CFL player|97|N|Doug Brown}} DT
{{CFL player|90|I|Kai Ellis}} DE/MLB
{{CFL player|99|I|Jerome Haywood}} DT
{{CFL player|91|N|Shawn Mayne}} DE/DT
{{CFL player|77|N|Jon Oosterhuis}} DT/DE
{{CFL player|98|I|Gavin Walls}} DE

| style="width: 25px;" |

| style="font-size: 95%;" valign="top" | Linebackers

{{CFL player|40|I|Cam Hall}} OLB
{{CFL player|47|N|Pierre-Luc Labbé}} ILB
{{CFL player|41|N|Anthony Maggiacomo}} ILB
{{CFL player|42|N|Neil McKinlay}} OLB
{{CFL player|19|I|Zeke Moreno}} ILB

Defensive backs

{{CFL player|25|I|Robert Bean}} CB
{{CFL player| 8|N|Greg Bearman}} S
{{CFL player|20|N|Marc Beswick}} CB
{{CFL player|30|N|Steven Holness}} CB
{{CFL player|24|I|Jovon Johnson}} DB
{{CFL player|31|N|Ian Logan}} S
{{CFL player| 3|I|Anthony Malbrough}} HB
{{CFL player|27|N|Kelly Malveaux}} OLB/DB
{{CFL player|16|I|Stanford Samuels}} CB

Special teams

{{CFL player|50|N|Chris Cvetkovic}} LS
{{CFL player|18|I|Alexis Serna}} K/P

| style="width: 25px;" |

| style="font-size: 95%;" valign="top" | Inactive List

{{CFL player|14|I|Willie Amos}} CB 7px
{{CFL player|44|I|Tom Canada}} DE 7px
{{CFL player| 0|I|Ike Charlton}} OLB 7px
{{CFL player| 9|N|Warren Kean}} K/P 7px
{{CFL player|61|N|Kyle Koch}} OL 7px
{{CFL player|95|N|Matt Kudu}} DT 7px
{{CFL player|58|I|Joe Lobendahn}} MLB 7px
{{CFL player|13|N|Jason Nugent}} DB 7px
{{CFL player|54|N|Matt Sheridan}} G 7px
{{CFL player|51|I|Barrin Simpson}} MLB 7px

Practice Roster

{{CFL player|68|N|Darryl Conrad}} OL
{{CFL player|12|I|Kerry Johnson}} WR
{{CFL player|21|N|Casey McGahee}} WR/DB/KR
{{CFL player|93|I|Josh Miller}} DL
{{CFL player|23|N|Michael Roberts}} DB
{{CFL player|96|N|William Snow}} DL
{{CFL player| 2|I|Marcus Winn}} LB

Italics indicate Import player

[http://www.bluebombers.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3&Itemid=254 Roster] updated 2008-10-11

[http://www.bluebombers.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3&Itemid=254 Depth Chart] • [http://www.bluebombers.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=11&Itemid=81 Transactions]

46 Active, 10 Inactive, 7 PS

Statistics

=Offence=

==Passing==

class="wikitable sortable sortable" ! style="background:#14345B;color:#ffc322;" width="16%"\| Player ! style="background:#14345B;color:#ffc322;" width="9%"\| Att ! style="background:#14345B;color:#ffc322;" width="9%"\| Comp ! style="background:#14345B;color:#ffc322;" width="9%"\| % ! style="background:#14345B;color:#ffc322;" width="9%"\| Yards ! style="background:#14345B;color:#ffc322;" width="9%"\| TD ! style="background:#14345B;color:#ffc322;" width="9%"\| INT ! style="background:#14345B;color:#ffc322;" width="9%"\| Rating
align="center" \| Kevin Glenn	454	293	64.5	3637	20	20	85.6
align="center" \| Ryan Dinwiddie	160	93	58.1	1299	5	6	79.2
align="center" \| Bryan Randall	22	9	40.9	99	0	1	36.0
align="center" \| Fred Reid	1	0	0	0	0	1	(−414.6)
align="center" \| Timmy Chang	1	0	0.0	0	0	0	2.1
align="center"

{{Cite web |url=https://www.cfl.ca/statistics/league/stat/Passing/year/2008/ |title = CFL.ca |access-date=2017-08-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081211021918/http://cfl.ca/statistics/league/stat/Passing/year/2008/ |archive-date=2008-12-11 |url-status=dead }}

==Rushing==

class="wikitable sortable sortable" ! style="background:#14345B;color:#ffc322;" width="16%"\| Player ! style="background:#14345B;color:#ffc322;" width="9%"\| Att ! style="background:#14345B;color:#ffc322;" width="9%"\| Yards ! style="background:#14345B;color:#ffc322;" width="9%"\| Avg. ! style="background:#14345B;color:#ffc322;" width="9%"\| TD ! style="background:#14345B;color:#ffc322;" width="9%"\| Fumbles
align="center" \| Fred Reid	101	709	7.0	3	0
align="center" \| Joe Smith	124	617	5.0	5	0
align="center" \| Kevin Glenn	29	102	3.5	0	2
align="center" \| Ryan Dinwiddie	21	101	4.8	1	1
align="center" \| Bryan Randall	12	78	6.5	0	0
align="center" \| Terrence Edwards	4	32	8.0	0	0
align="center"

{{Cite web |url=https://www.cfl.ca/statistics/league/stat/Rushing/year/2008/ |title = CFL.ca |access-date=2017-08-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081018181320/http://www.cfl.ca/statistics/league/stat/Rushing/year/2008/ |archive-date=2008-10-18 |url-status=dead }}

==Receiving==

class="wikitable sortable sortable" ! style="background:#14345B;color:#ffc322;" width="16%"\| Player ! style="background:#14345B;color:#ffc322;" width="9%"\| No. ! style="background:#14345B;color:#ffc322;" width="9%"\| Yards ! style="background:#14345B;color:#ffc322;" width="9%"\| Avg. ! style="background:#14345B;color:#ffc322;" width="9%"\| Long ! style="background:#14345B;color:#ffc322;" width="9%"\| TD
align="center" \| Romby Bryant	63	1156	18.3	85	9
align="center" \| Derick Armstrong	81	1010	12.5	63	5
align="center" \| Terrence Edwards	76	1010	13.3	64	7
align="center" \| Arjei Franklin	52	620	11.9	73	1
align="center" \| Milt Stegall	30	470	15.7	92	3
align="center"

{{Cite web |url=https://www.cfl.ca/statistics/league/stat/Receiving/year/2008/ |title = CFL.ca |access-date=2017-08-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081010201906/http://cfl.ca/statistics/league/stat/Receiving/year/2008/ |archive-date=2008-10-10 |url-status=dead }}

Milt Stegall Has 14,750 receiving yards

=Defence=

Awards and records

Doug Brown, James P. McCaffrey Trophy

=CFL All-Stars=

Dan Goodspeed, Offensive Tackle
Doug Brown, Defensive Tackle
Zeke Moreno, Linebacker

=CFL Eastern All-Stars=

Doug Brown, CFL Eastern All-Star
Dan Goodspeed, CFL Eastern All-Star, Offence
Kelly Malveaux, CFL Eastern All-Star, Defence
Zeke Moreno, CFL Eastern All-Star, Defence
Fred Reid, CFL Eastern All-Star, Offence
Gavin Walls, CFL Eastern All-Star, Defence

{{Cite web |url=https://www.cfl.ca/article/2008-east-west-division-all-stars |title=CFL.ca - 2008 East & West Division All-Stars |access-date=2017-08-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081206180127/http://www.cfl.ca/article/2008-east-west-division-all-stars |archive-date=2008-12-06 |url-status=dead }}

=Milestones=

Playoffs

=[[Canadian Football League East Division|East]] Semi-Final=

Date and time: Saturday, November 8, 12:00 PM Central Standard Time
Venue: Canad Inns Stadium, Winnipeg, Manitoba

class="wikitable"

! Team !! Q1 !! Q2 !! Q3 !! Q4 !! Total

style="background-color:#DDFFDD"

|Edmonton Eskimos

Winnipeg Blue Bombers

References

Winnipeg Blue Bombers

Category:Winnipeg Blue Bombers seasons

Category:2008 in sports in Manitoba