Mike

We sucked in the preseason last year. People were worried and it turned out they had every right to be worried. We lost by a total of 7 points combined and our starting QB appears to be pretty good. I'd say we're miles ahead of last year at this time.

As sure as the sun will rise, we will all read way too much into preseason.

We can say Calgary had their starting lineup manhandle ours, but let's be upfront about one thing. We had non starters flat out kill drives with drops while Willy was in. Kemp with two (and a third later) and Barnes with one. Willy looked sharp.

Way too early. They've openly said they're not employing much of their scheme, are you just disregarding that?

Sucks about Newman. For so many reasons.

I like Riderfans. A lot of knowledge gets passed around there. But it's not the most objective board I've ever visited. Everything that is bad is bad. Unless a Rider does it. Then it's not bad. Which happens a lot of places. But I think it's amped up a bit on RF. Might just be the volume of their userbase though. see: Taj Smith being charged with aggravated assault see: Kory Sheets on Twitter see: Ricky Foley CFLPA comments When you get past that, it's an interesting read.

I PM'd them a while back for you and they said your account is active. Originally Posted by WBB-Mike Just passing along a message from a member of my site. He mentioned this morning that nobody here has activated his account under the name "Duressler47" and I told him I'd pass it along. Cheers, Mike Reply: Mike, Says: Duressler47 Registered User Mini Statistics Join Date 01-19-2014 Current Activity Viewing Thread Hey!!!!! Last Activity Today 12:43 PM

He actually was a tight end in college then converted to guard on the line. I'm pretty sure he converted to tackle, not guard. Tackle is where I'd like to see him too. Knapp did not show well at RT last year... On one day of practice. Either way, I like him at guard. Two imports on the OL is two imports, I don't care if they play tackle, center, guard or right wing.

Yep. It definitely helps. They don't appear to have taken away any eligibility options (anyone who once was still would be) but they've made it easier to determine in some cases and added different possibilities on how one could be eligible.

Here's another example ... a guy like David Scott from UBC. 5th year upcoming as a receiver for the school, born in Texas. He's probably eligible now, provided that he can successfully pass the citizenship test. That's one fairly decent prospect added already, without even looking much into it. Same with a guy like Travoy Martinez from Saskatchewan.

As an example ... Simon Fraser currently has 24 Americans on their spring roster. That's potentially 24 more "nationals" being added to the talent pool. From one school. Probably the school with the largest sample, but other big schools will have a handful here and there as well.

Not all that knowledgeable about the process but generally doesn't it take quite awhile to get Canadian citizenship, like at least a few years? A lot of these players who come up here from the U.S. might be out of the league by the time they get their Canadian citizenship. It's not about getting Americans who come up here to play pro ball granted "national" status. It's about getting the status granted for Americans who come up here to play CIS ball (or NCAA via Simon Fraser) I'm not sure how feasible it will be though. The rule is 1095 days in a 4 year span. So complete your degree, graduate as a senior, hit the CFL. Good for future guys who fit the mold of guys like Doc Cassama, Akiem Hicks, etc.

oh wow. From now on, all you have to do to be a "national" (non-import) is be a Canadian citizen at the time of your first contract signing. That changes A LOT.

Officially ratified. Will update with details as they roll in No more 9-game injured list. 6-game injured list now. 44 man active roster, 2 man reserve (instead of 42/4) Practice roster expanded from 7 to 10 (12 to 15 in fall) NO MORE NON IMPORTS AND IMPORTS They are now known as "nationals and internationals"

Yup. and make sure you dont sit in the end zone. You will be quickly escorted over to the assigned seating area. Let us know how Hall and Willy look today. Just to be clear, there isn't a practice today. They're travelling.

So it looks like ... 3 non-imports on the offensive line 2 non-import receivers 2 rotating on defense between Bucknor, Thomas, Newman and maybe a few other spare parts. That's not so bad.

A+ post

according to that thing we're starting 8 Canadians. and other than where injuries have taken over, it doesn't actually look THAT bad. obviously, it means nothing but maybe there's some potential. I like the idea of that offensive line they have there. Curious to see how they play.

You would think that hypothetically, given the opportunity to increase a NI talent pool that was stretched a bit thin with another team added to the mix, the CFL would take the opportunity to grant a guy like Cassama NI status if he qualified. Can you share any of the details from what you saw in the CBA? Curious to hear how they may determine NI status now compared to how they did before.

Also ... since you mentioned him before, what about Doc Cassama? I know he applied and was denied NI status. Is it possible he could reapply and new rules in the CBA could allow him eligibility?

Rids, what's the deal with Boris Bede? I swear he was with Montreal for a while last year. He's not anymore. Was he ever or am I just imagining things? And as of right now, is he a non-import?

Split this, just because I think it's an intriguing discussion but I didn't want to sidetrack a different thread.

The best players play many positions in high school ball. I'd bet most of the star receivers or running backs in this league, maybe even some defensive backs, played quarterback in high school for some period of time. High school is a different animal.

I thought Tillman had pretty much scouted Laurent on his own - no one seemed to have heard of him before the Supplemental...? The Laurent situation is a very unique one. Bruce Feldman (who was at ESPN at the time) came across a Duane Forde article ranking the top defensive linemen available in the CFL draft. He contacted me asking if those 10 guys were all better than Ted Laurent or at least why there was no mention of Ted. Bruce had written the fantastic book "Meat Market" and got to know that recruiting class very well at Ole Miss and Ted was part of that class. After a couple of emails it was confirmed that Ted would qualify for the draft but it was beyond the date to get onto the official draft list so he ended up in the supplemental draft in one of the largest supplementals in a long time. These kids that move with family members to the States during their teens are nearly impossible to keep track of especially when they move before high school. The high school kids are a little easier if they've made a name for themselves a bit. Hypothetically, what would happen if they found out a guy who had played in the NFL for a couple years (let's say he's 27 or 28) was actually eligible to be a NI. An established player. Would he suddenly be declared eligible for the next draft?