wbbfan

His inability to even get into the OLs pads before the ball was thrown on passing downs. Being one of the very worst DTs in the league against the run and the pass for a couple of years. He couldn't get off blocks, even against centres, didn't demand a double team, and couldn't block a rush lane or pass rush. Usage made him worse, and made it more obvious. But the drop off in his play was one of the steepest I've ever seen. 2021, Jake was overplayed and used suboptimally for a good chunk of the year. But that was one of the best defences of the era, and when Stove got healthy, he was unblockable in the pass rush and a true 2 gap nose, allowing Jake to go back to a more ideal 3tech. 2022 Jake was burning out in games earlier and earlier while slogging through more and more reps. He would have a handful of good plays a season, and largely relied on cleaning up after others blew up plays or the O screwed up big time. 2023 Jake was permanently blown up and unable to impose any kind of disruption to the pass or run game at all. He benefited from others' disruption in 22/23, which was the latest his instincts and football iq could carry his body. I mean, that is still 5 very good years at one of the rarer positions for a Canadian to perform at in that time. For a guy who started with mediocre at best athleticism, and who was run into the ground, that is pretty good. But it doesn't take much to earn the waste-of-space stigma. Especially at one of the most valuable positions on the football field. come back in one year and it will repeat lol

For sure. Senecal would play for the min im sure in that role. I'm not sure ford had the intangibles to make that work. But if he does, I'd be happy to have him. agree

I agree. I'd add that he has completely earned the stigma and bias against him. But I think the floor is very high for a replacement, given how we have struggled to coach and develop talent on the DL. The verdict is out on Jake as a coach, but I am not really worrying about him.

Yep, all-purpose back, see if he can run any kind of route or screens, motion packs etc. I'd teach him to handle kick-offs, even be a timing rusher off the edge to block kicks. And use him as the sneak guy. You could either roster him as the 3rd qb and use him as a flex player all over the rest of the field, or you could roster him as an RB, and carry 3 imp QBs. There is a whole lot you can do with a guy that dynamic. QB to S is a strange but surprisingly effective swap for athletic guys as well.

That's something. On the surface, he kinda looks like TCF. Listed 5'11 240, looks like he's smaller than that for sure. Which isn't bad, most teams don't run 240+ lbs lbers any more. Didn't play a lot after liberty. Doesn't have eye-popping measurables (especially if you expect him to be in the low 220s.) He got a decent look from the Colts in camp/preseason. Seems like they wanted to develop him as a teams guy. Strong, stocky thumper with excellent tackling. Looks quick enough, and has great timing/football instincts/IQ. His path to making it here would revolve around being a dynamo on teams as well. He's deep behind a bunch of guys, including key guys with the right passports. Love Ayers too, and want to see him developed. But his use was very stagnant last year; if it isn't a step forward for him, a young gun like Smith will be on his heels. We could also try swinging Ayers at S again in camp. Doesn't make any sense roster-wise to carry a DI at Lber. Other than taking a big step forward and getting a real shot at lber, if Ayers can make the transition to S that would help out his cause a lot. I mean, we know he isn't ever going to be a frickin DE lol

If he was willing to be the ultimate Swiss Army knife roster guy, I'd take him in a heartbeat. His athleticism and raw dynamic ability make him a way better end of the roster spot than we usually see. Now, Idk if hes got the toughness or the heart for that, but with the running qbs we are seeing with the right passports, I'd be kicking the tires on these guys. I like Senecal as a guy to fill that role as well. Or to check out and possibly develop into that role.

He's a good sleeper for this camp thats for sure, love to see a big long striding wr like that.

Wilson is as well. White/Wilson/Demski is going to be a nightmare for teams to cover and tackle.100% on the 50/50 guy. If we get that, our wr core will be in great shape.

I’m sure he will be good this year. I think solid chance he is close to peak production. But there is some risk.

I love what he’s brought to the field. I question how much is left in the tank though. He turns 32 this year, he missed a chunk last year and has had some injuries in the past. 102 games in 7 seasons, thats 24 missed games with 18 twice and 17 games once. It’s a coin toss if you get a full year or 2/3s from him. Hes supposed to be 100% right now, which bodes well. He made 246k max last year and didn’t take all that home. I think if he’s under 250k ish and 2 years or less it’s good. If you get some of that tied to games/sacks etc even better. He is exactly what we need from an imp dt.

Yep, just like gcn20 said, I fully expect we utilized last years cap space to front load a bunch of the early re ups. You never see that much action before new years in the cfl. I’m a kw apologist, I expect him to get a lot done in free agency. Nothing less will do.

Awesome get. Love his fit here, still need a downfield possession guy with size. Plus dl and ol of course.

that whole offence put up great numbers. But he did have good numbers the year before too. Yeah I think his fit would be great with demski, wilson and zach.

Mack has been good at that, yes. But Eberhardt last year was better downfield than Mack has ever been. 14.8 YPC vs 19.2, which I believe lead the whole league. Eberhardt also had a better catch rate, and in 85 fewer catches has the same amount of tds, just 400 fewer yards, and 140 ish les yac. Eberhardt also hasn't missed a game since he broke into the league. If you give him 100+ targets in a year, you will get some kenny lawler type production. I'd be very happy with either, but Id take the upside and health of Eberhardt over Mack.

Im surprised he didnt get more of an NFL look, but then I also think he could've gotten nutty money in free agency. Curious too. Imo, Wr, DL, Ol those are the position groups to spend money at. OL can be a bit hard for team-to-team transitions, though. And of course QB. Better to spend a million on your 4 wrs and go all young guys in the secondary imo. Gittens is yeah. I like all those guys. Johnson had a decent run in the NFL before coming up, older than I thought as well but still in his peak. I'd be very, very happy with that. I think you still need some insurance policy, guys, like sterns. And more Canadian WR depth, but that would be fantastic.

2001 was the most gut-wrenching GC loss for me: the drought, plus that talent gap between us and the stamps. You sure are right about that. The pre-ship teams played everyone so tough. The magic with finding Zach, moving BA to S, etc, in 19 was insane. And the 21 team was a monster that played like they had a chip on their shoulder. That unit could've hung 50 in every single game. Zach got to sit and chill in so many 4ths lol. I think the 21 atmosphere of being unbeatable from the outside, and the fact that we kept scraping our way back to GCs, softened things up a lot. Mos needed to tighten the reins in those years, not loosen them.

i’d be counting the days till contract is up yep

outside of clercius/woli, our wrs haven’t been those guys for a while. with demskis more demanding down field role, schoens injuries, and baileys departure we lost that culture. We got a couple guys who are alright. But not much, nothing like what we used to have.

wow wonder how much he got

the real concern is always will we put the best players in position to play, and will we give young guys their shot? The best way to insure that isn’t a problem is to get rid or guys like kyrie. How many guys have we moved on from by way of mos/bench/cut vs off season not extending releasing etc

I think you might be right, but I am wrong half the time...

My new hardline stance is going to be against whoever is responsible for the catering. 😁 Seriously, though, that is such an easy area to be a slam dunk in. Other leagues, namely the MLB and NFL, have been realizing this and starting to capitalize on it. Several MLB teams have been drastically improving their major league and minor league meals. NFL teams have been doing a much better job of fueling their athletes for the demands of their position and for the goals of dietary plans. If we seriously invested in food, the infrastructure for SnC/medical, Travel, and FaF experience, I think we would see a ton of value on the field. If I was Doman, Id focus on that rather than big concerts.

Can you think of any successful cases of that being the case currently, or recently, in the cfl? For the life of me, I can't think of a time the GM and HC weren't in lock step. Even the two power-mad guys in Montreal are united. Still a pending free agent. I'd love him, but I don't think we kick the tires on him.

Yeah, that just isn't how football in this day and age works. KW stated in I believe the season-ending presser, or the one for the extensions, that the nature of the working relationship between him and Mos is not one is the boss. He said it used to be a lot of tug of war over every single move, and that it's closer to being on the same page now. But he also picked his battles. If you look back at the past 30+ years of this team, the number of times the GM was the HC's boss is few and far between. It's about as many seasons as the GM was the HCs errand boy. And most of those outliers went or ended very poorly for us.

And Thomas. But yeah, the paydays and bringing back guys like Kyrie do make it much more questionable. We have yet to see what the spending is in free agency. With massive needs on DL and WR, I can not see us being inactive. FA, and then the draft, are going to be keys to the offseason quality. We need to kill it in both.