Mike

I miss Raphael and Raphaol Ball from Ball State

Ottawa has god awful NI talent. Too much potential to break down.

He's not saying anyone is a coach killer. He's saying Poblah is a guy who is all potential, but counting on potential that never comes through is how coaches lose their job.

Etcheverry has a pretty simple philosophy on defense. His strategy is basically just to try and confuse the hell out of the offense. He wants guys who can blitz from pretty much any spot on the field, guys who can move from the edge back into coverage and he thrives on having versatile bodies who can basically just fly around out there. Defensive tackles that can come off the edge, defensive ends who are capable of filling the responsibilities of a LB, safeties that can blitz, it's a big giant attempt at organized chaos. The problem with it? The end result is that he often confuses the hell out of the offense but he confuses the hell out of his own guys too and you end up seeing blown assignments. That, and he tends to not adjust once he's been figured out.

Very different. First off, the QB-centre exchange is the most important skill in football. You can't do anything without it. You can't just plug anyone in at centre and expect them to be able to get the ball to the QB at a CFL level, which is the problem with guys like Kowalczuk and Parenteau etc. That is a huge skill in and of itself. The centre makes some calls to protections, but this is way overrated in Canadian football, most plays have the protections built in and basically what both the centre and QB both do is count how many guys are inside the tackles and which gap the defence is centered on, basically what they are playing as the strong side, which 99% of the time mirrors the offence or the width of the field anyways. This is different than American football, mostly the strong side of the field down south depends on the strong hand of the QB since the field is not nearly as wide. This is most of what the calls are, and the protection adjusts based on it, but every guy can see that when they look up, and if you're playing somewhere noisy, there's not a lot you can change at the line. Everyone is watching for potential blitzers, that mostly falls on the QB to make a call to react to that. adjust a route. OL have to block from their inside gaps out and do their best to take whoever comes...that's why you'll often see guys coming off the edge free when a defence sends more than 5. When you see guys come free through the 4 middle gaps, that means someone really screwed up, either took the wrong block or got completely dominated physically. Zone run blocking, it doesn't matter where the defence lines up or how many, they are blocking gaps and chipping upfield. Zone plays head to a side of the field, not a specific gap, you're basically creating a 3 on 2 situation for your blockers all along the LOS on the play side, allowing at least one of those guys to chip and get to the next level to take a LB or HB. The RB reacts and finds the opening. So really a centre doesn't call anything there, every OL needs to read their initial block and come out of their stance properly to get that done. The first 3 steps are key, can't waste any if you need to get upfield, or get a bit wider. I guess it depends what you think a sub-par lineman is. IMO, most of the centres in the league lately have all been subpar, meaning they'd really suck if you moved them to another spot where they actually ended up blocking someone 1 on 1 on the majority of snaps. But that's where the snapping part comes in, a guy who can snap very well and consistently can make a career, even if he struggles to make a block. Just look at a guy like Dominic Picard. If I had a dime for everytime he's literally been carried through the pocket by a DT, I could pay for my season tickets this year. Mostly you're just hoping they can be a good speed bump. Guards need to be more mobile, presumably you want them to be able to get to the 2nd level (LB's, HB's) in run blocking, although there are enough guys around the league lately that don't really have that ability (Kabongo for one). They both need to be smart enough to know where their block is and guards need to be patient enough in pass protection to not give up their inside gaps. Patience in OL is a sign of intelligence and football smarts IMO. This is really what the blitz is all about, challenging the OL to give up their inside gaps and a more direct route to the QB, the QB can read the outside rush, when it's coming right at him there's not much he can do. I just got a knowledge boner. This is probably the most intelligent post I've read on this forum.

Wally is a great GM. He's having a terrible offseason. You could also apply the same thing to Taman, but that's not really his fault.

Matthias Goosen

I have no idea. I know they were in on Ferri and Waters, but the money ended up being more than they were interested in.

Kory Sheets just signed in Oakland.

thank god lol

Wayne Smith back to Toronto.

Anthony Parker re-ups in Calgary

Bombers make the Graig Newman signing official.

Malik Jackson to Ottawa.

I'd swap out Edwards for Denmark but yeah.

Riders sign NI DE David Lee

I honestly can't remember the last time we DIDN'T have a good RB.

Your comment is a contradiction.. If hes and upgrade we should attempt to sign him at a rate that we can justify. If he is a great RB, then he should be a great RB on a team that can setup similar situations for him to excel.. But seeing what has happened here the past 5 years, i guess we might not be able to create the situation. So no simpson, or ford.. Then who? I can see us letting ford walk if he is really overpriced, but why Simpson? Inuries alone i suppose/ We may end up with a really shitty RB when we probably need a great RB to take the pressure of our willy. Your second sentence explains it all. The rate we could justify paying for Sheets is not a rate he will accept. On top of that, he's already said he will go back to Saskatchewan if the NFL doesn't pan out.

I like Gilmore but knowing that Etch is our DC makes it easier to understand why we wouldn't bring him back.

I'll never understand why Matthews took so much heat last year. He stuck it out right until the very end while he was stuck on the sidelines. He had NFL interest and he still stayed up here in a throwaway season to stick it out. He could've packed his bags, gone home and started prepping for the NFL. I have a lot of respect for him. Would love to have him back.

Of course Sheets is an upgrade. There's no reason for us (or any team other than Saskatchewan) to pursue him though. He'd cost a bundle and there's just no sense in paying a RB proven in one system to come play in another.

I'm thinking Dan West and JT Gilmore in Toronto, Akeem Foster might find work in Calgary and Mainor to Hamilton. Ford maybe to Ottawa?

Jovon has signed in Ottawa. I love it. First time he gets to play this year is in Winnipeg.

Back on topic, Jovon signed in Ottawa

Agreed. Weird is the best way to describe it.