3rdand1.5

Political stuff aside, the beer was always cold, the wings were always hot........

Our new stadium is nice....But I preferred the old location and amenities of the old site.....hit the mall food court if you wanted, a vendor and a night club across the street, so many lounges and restaurants and easy stumble away, many private businesses "allowed" staff and friends a private property place to tailgate......so much "free" street parking an easy walk away....etc......but overall the new stadium experience is really good....not without some driving/bus logistic concerns and a very serious lack of "easy" walking to amenities.....But huge props to Wade and his teams for the gameday experience and amenities inside the stadium, the bike system, the outside pregame areas, working with so many lounges and restaurants to provide shuttles and making a really crappy in and out drive flow decently.

Cdn depth is weaker...... O-line and D-line are what I see as a "concern" Cdn depth, is less and weaker than last year. Oline, is weaker today as we "lost" Dobson we may go three imports or Wallace may take the spot......we may have a surprise, or a draft pick exceeds his growth curve...but today this is unknown and as such it is weaker IMO D-line, was IMO weak last year and while Vaughters helps, it is still IMO not strong enough.....too many "maybe" variables for me...Is Lawson recovered, will he be a force, does Vaughters fit, can he log the extra minutes, has Willy taken a step back, will Woods trajectory continue to trend up? etc. Too many unproven variables...so IMO as of today a concern As I said and others have said it appears we have a great RB core, a great QB core, our receiver core while not as high a ceiling has a much-improved floor, our specials are better, I really believe or LB care is stronger, and I feel passport and CDN depth aside our D-backfield is as strong as it was last year. CDN depth in relation to injuries and overall depth is a concern, our d-line over-all is a concern and depth and CDN talent on the Oline is a concern...... I don't feel we have had a great offseason thus far, but certainly nowhere near as bad as some feel it has been...I actually like the fiscally responsible direction, and I do strongly believe that none of Lawler, Dobson or Ford where worth to us what they got paid elsewhere, even though Ford and Lawler are very high, ceiling (passport/talent) players......

180....a bunch of guys who have had success in this league some even showed flashes of excellence but fell out of Favour for one reason or another, be it injury, situational fit or other, that have a desire to prove themselves.....Not all our FA signings will but I feel a few will Taking the 30,000ft view I don't hate the look of our roster, while less upper ceiling talent, I feel as if we really brought the floor up I am moderately concerned with our o-line/ratio and our d-line as of today....I would have liked to see a stud DL and a solid Cdn. to replace Dobson.... I am deep down hopeful a stud NFL cut comes available similar to the Biggie situation years ago and we have the $$ to sign them like we did with Biggie

IMO Qb-stronger than last year RB-stronger than last year Receiver-this one is really tough, ceiling lower but it appears to be more balanced...for now a wash O-line- as of today weaker-probably my second biggest concern as of Feb. 12th DB-I almost would call it a wash...but Fords passport does hurt, so today I say slightly weaker LB-I actually really like the potential I say it is stronger than last year DL-A better mix of experienced vets mixed in than last year-I thought our D-line was a big concern going into last season and I again think it is this season, in fact my biggest concern on our roster as of Feb 12th-for now a wash Specials-appear to be far stronger Cdn. talent and depth-significant weaker Global-honestly can't evaluate yet Overall stronger in 4 components (QB, RB, LB, specials) Overall weaker in 3 components (O-line, DB, CDN depth) Static in 2 components (Rcvr, DL) and Global I can't......

The Alouettes make the addition of Shawn Oakman official. A Justin Dunk report is money in the bank. The Hamilton Tiger-Cats have re-signed Canadian receiver Brendan O’Leary-Orange, who posted a career-high 335 yards after joining the team last season. Well.........Not my ideal news....lol.....

1:00 p.m. EST — After lighting up the legal tampering window by agreeing to terms with a boatload of high-profile free agents, the Edmonton Elks won’t be announcing the majority of their moves today, according to TSN’s Farhan Lalji. Players like Jake Ceresna, Robbie Smith, Tyrell Ford, and David Beard are being flown in for medicals on Wednesday morning before anything is announced. While no issues are expected, general manager Ed Hervey is a stickler for the details. So we shouldn't hear much out of Edm. for a few days.....and well that's most of the big name FA's.......lol

Awe to BC Carey extends in T.O Arcibald to Mtrtl Tommy Stevens to Sask. Cole officially to Hammy Haba officially now to T.O

Not to overly defend him, but Lucky was injured last year and played through it......his main skill is his quickness and speed, and his injury severely hampered that last year.....in saying that I am also excited to see what Logan can do....

My ideal news would be Mc Ewen, Oakman and BOLO.....at least think all three are still available....On reasonable contracts, none of them are worth an overpay for...but I always want to add to both the O-line and D-line O-line Mc Ewen is really good, probably a bit pricey but.....I believe he would upgrade our line Oakman...yes partially blinded by his size and athletic ability...but I can picture Vaughters, Willy and Oakman on at the same time, Willy and Oakman both have insane athletic talents...I could see them dominating id Oakman is invested..and he shouldn't be too high of a salary BOLO...I think he fits well here a rotational piece with experience to compliment Celercius, and fill in when Demski is knicked....

I don't care if we look to have the best "on paper". I don't think Woli or Bailey were great receivers in the traditional sense, certainly not all-star pass catchers, but they filled a role and did a really good job doing it. When they were in the line-up IMO our entire receiving core was better, not because they could stretch the field or were making highlight real catches week in and week out while putting up gaudy stats...no our core was better because they did a great job in a different role. they were dependable, reliable they were tough, they were team guys not selfish stats guys and they generally stayed healthy. Last year offense suffered, I strongly believe a good receiver core has a mix of types and we didn't really have that last year and as a result kinda forced guys into roles they should not have been in and in turn saw Zach forcing balls he shouldn't have. I think we have moved in a slightly different direction in our receiving core and hopefully it will turn out to produce more consistent results than it did last year....

I still think 275 is an overpay...just my opinion Oakman and McEwen/Couture could IMO be a solid fit here. They seem to have not been scooped in the first wave.. .perhaps they are asking too much..but one of those of those lineman and Oakman on reasonable contracts would again IMO be really nice adds for us. BOLO back as depth would be a great signing I feel. Lets see, what happens....

It is what it is, but Edm. is handing out a few "nutty" contracts.......I guess no one can say there are not trying.....Every team us included have big contracts, Edm though is going to have a tough time building continuity I feel as many of the contracts are not sustainable beyond a year or two......I guess they are hopeful they catch lighting in a bottle and contend in the short term.....Time will tell and on paper they have talent, but so much turnover in the players, in the coaches in schemes, and IMO too risky of a home run hitter in Tre Ford.....I see them possibly lucking out a win or two but struggling early until/IF the build some chemistry.....certainly not a boring offseason in Elk land

A few cents from me. I like Lawler but I don't think he is worth the rumored 275k..... I actually like the potential of our LB crew this year I am concerned with D-line, I am guessing we have something more to this coming before TC I feel we got solid value for Schoen, hopefully he is recovered Losing Ford isn't great...but IMO in no way is he worth what Edm. paid him and we have at least what I believe to be still a very good defensive back end Edm. went crazy.....call me crazy but I felt like they were coming around late last season, but they have cut and diced, and meal pieced so much over there, I will be shocked if they even look competitive for the first third of the season T. O is having a Grey Cup yard sale.....they lost alot.... Hogan is a......look it up, who is this guy.....but with JJ mentoring him I hope we see similar results as to what we did with Younger on defence...it's yet to be seen, but I will give it benefit of the doubt I think we add one upper mid tier o-lineman, o-line must be priced up right now and waiting for a domino to fall I do share some concern with the receiving core with Schoen's health is question, it's a bit thin...again I think we still sign a upper mid tier guy as the top tiers are all but "signed" somewhere Overall more change than we have seen, but maybe we needed more change than we have seen....

Wish Woli the best....he was the kinda player fans just liked, seemed like an awesome spirit he did.... I am unsure on the Jake and Kyrie re-ups, but believe we made the correct decision on Biggie I am really curious to see what our receivers and o-line will look like...and what the market is on some of these guys...it seems receiver is trending down pretty drastically...but all it takes is one overpay to re-skew it

200k for Willy J 230k for Flo.......crazy to me to think superstar D-line get this and receivers have been breaking the 3's.......

Does anyone actually know if Schoen will be ready for TC? If he is legit 6 gamed to start it may make it easier for us to get him signed and work with cap space......

IMO we have some really high salary guys.... I get it we have had a "core" mostly together for a bit and have been to multiple GC's...that is expensive and guys deserve to get paid, while some may be higher than I would like to pay, if we didn't pay them what we are, a good chance someone else would. In saying this Zach and Brady take a very big chunk of the cap and Demski isn't exactly cheap either, IF we keep one or both of Lawler and Schoen....and we saw how bad Zach looked without them...now also subtract Ontario.... they will also take big chunks...admit it or not if we don't sign them someone else will near the top of the receiver pay scale, we don't have a cheap O line and Dobson won't come cheap either again either we pay-up or he will get it from someone else......We just saw Willie didn't come cheap, I would imagine unless we pull BC math we don't really have much to play with for a guy like Ford. I would really like to keep him, but I can't see a situation where another team won't make him the highest paid DB...and as good as he is I just don't believe we have the ability to pay him like that.......We have the "ratio breaker" high ticket guy with the top salary at his position already in Brady I just don't think we can afford the luxury of having a second......

So...what's the over under on Fajardo becoming the starter in Edm. My guess is by week 7........

I wasn't expecting Jones this quick, I don't think it is a bad signing by any stretch, but surprised he was among the first signings. We do need to get younger in some spots IMO and maybe this is a start......

I think we would be naive not to think at least a few guys follow Buck to BC....We all know Omar isn't afraid to disregard the cap to get the guys he wants.

Buck deserved to be a HC, I think BC is a good fit for him. He had the luxury of a good situation here in the Peg and some personal stuff to work through. The timing and location of this worked out, and I wish him all the best....just not while playing us.... Tedd has from all respects a very good reputation, again I wish him all the best We have been so fortunate that we have kept not only players but coaches throughout this amazing multiyear run, but alas change was inevitable. Whether we hire from within or externally so far Miller and Walters track records have been pretty good. I believe they at least deserve benefit of the doubt, and some grace based off all the success they have bred here over this amazing run. Very, very happy to have Stan back, he was my number one guy I wanted back.

My guess...and just a guess, is that we don't end up with either ford. Tre IMO is too raw and in a difficult position, with Fajardo, Mc Beth, Mair, Masoli, Streveler etc. potentially being available. This year QB's who have taken teams to the cup and even won it are potentially available....and not many teams will be looking for a number 1, so he is still looking to be a "bridesmaid" I think. Tyrel has shown he is patient with the NFL, I think he will have some interest, and can't blame him for trying.....I think if/when he has his sights set on the CFL his ask will be too much for us.

Walters indicated he would like to try and get 3 or 4 top priority guys signed by the end of the Calander year.......Who do some of you think those 3 or 4 would be? My best guess is Bryant Jefferson Schoen with Dobson/Neufeld as 4a/4b

Have to see how it plays out in Edm. but so far the optics from here are questionably blurry at best..... Can someone confirm if BC is off teh hook for Campbells salary and article i read somewhere stated they are allowed "one" firing without it affecting front office cap.... The amazing Omar may in BC may be a bit of a meddler it seems..... It is IMO great to have consistency here for the most part....