The
2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
Winnipeg Blue Bombers
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West division. They play their home games at IG Fiel ...
season was the 51st season for the team in the
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...
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
The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at the Brick Field at Commo ...
, 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.
Transactions
* On May 20, the Bombers officially signed former U.S. college stars Bryan Randall and Cleveland McCoy.
* 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.
[CANOE – SLAM! Sports – CFL – Winnipeg: Bombers veteran Stegall to miss training camp](_blank)
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* 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
The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...
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
Rogers Centre (originally SkyDome) is a multi-purpose retractable roof stadium in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated at the base of the CN Tower near the northern shore of Lake Ontario. Opened in 1989 on the former Railway Lands, it ...
, 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] 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.
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.
Season schedule
Roster
Statistics
Offence
Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Milt Stegall Has 14,750 receiving yards
Defence
Awards and records
* Doug Brown, James P. McCaffrey Trophy
The James P. McCaffrey Trophy is a Canadian Football League trophy, awarded to the outstanding defensive player in the East Division. Each team in the East division nominates a candidate, from which the winner is chosen. Either the winner of thi ...
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
Dan Goodspeed (born May 20, 1977) is a former American football offensive tackle whose longest stint was with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He also played in the National Football League (NFL) and the XFL (20 ...
, CFL Eastern All-Star, Offence
* Kelly Malveaux, CFL Eastern All-Star, Defence
* Zeke Moreno
Ezekiel Aaron Moreno (born October 8, 1978) is a former professional American football linebacker.
Early years
Moreno, who is of Mexican descent, attended Castle Park High School in Chula Vista and was a letterman in football and baseball. In ...
, CFL Eastern All-Star, Defence
* Fred Reid, CFL Eastern All-Star, Offence
* Gavin Walls, CFL Eastern All-Star, Defence
Milestones
Playoffs
East
East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth.
Etymology
As in other languages, the word is formed from the fa ...
Semi-Final
Date and time: Saturday, November 8, 12:00 PM Central Standard Time
The North American Central Time Zone (CT) is a time zone in parts of Canada, the United States, Mexico, Central America, some Caribbean Islands, and part of the Eastern Pacific Ocean.
Central Standard Time (CST) is six hours behind Coordinate ...
Venue: Canad Inns Stadium
Canad Inns Stadium (also known as Winnipeg Stadium) was a multipurpose stadium in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
The stadium was located at the corner of St. James Street and Maroons Road, immediately north of the Polo Park Shopping Centre and the ...
, Winnipeg
Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...
, Manitoba
Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:2008 Winnipeg Blue Bombers Season
Winnipeg Blue Bombers
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West division. They play their home games at IG Fiel ...
Winnipeg Blue Bombers seasons