Doublezero

Nicked-up apparently. Speed or not, he won't make the club from the tub. Too bad really, he was on my list of players to watch prior to camp.

There will be no more low-scoring defensive battles. It's like 7-7 aerial. Scores will be 99-86 for the Bombers. QBs were throwing completions today they often failed to execute last year. That's because the defenders were hamstrung. All the receiver needs is one step on the defender and its over. There will be lots of short yardage dives from the 1 yard line after illegal contact calls, I'd expect, and much high-fivin' in the stands. The game is going to change. Big time. Not saying is better or worse. But it'll be different.

It occurs to me that the reason the O seems significantly ahead of the D (reversal of the usual training camp state of affairs) is because of the new non-contact rule for defenders. Definitely the game tilts toward more offensive success and ST scoring.

Day 5 at TC. Was there a short while for a bit of ST, players rest time and scrimmage. Noticed Ryan Reaves visiting his brother. O looks to be substantially ahead of the D at this point, surprisingly, as it seems usually to be the other way around at camp. Neufeld nicked-up apparently, so S. Chungh starting at RG and Jace Daniels at RG. Chungh benefitting from lots of instruction from Picard and soaking it all in. Z Anderson and G Peach pretty much having their way with that side of the OL while I watched, however. Tried a bit of the old Wade Millerooski by handing the ball for an off tackle dive to #38 Lattanzio who is a bit of a freight train. That play used to be called a #44 Woody in my day - not sure what they call it now That was fun to witness! #81 NI Kris Bastien continues to make great catches in traffic, he has stood out for me at each of the 5 rookie and Main Camp practices I've attended so far. Did not see Stanley Bryant out there and someone said he had been there but was limping and not practicing today. I liked how Derek Jones looked at CB and Don Unamba playing a lot of reps at LB. T Sherman filling in for Leggett and directing traffic out there. Didn't see much from the LBs but only saw a a very short bit of the full pads scrimmages - they were definitely hitting hard out there and going full tilt. M Willie made a good grab on a hell of a bullet from Yantz in traffic. Yantz getting instruction/correction on roll-out technique and launch point from Gene Dalhquist. Stoudermire was burned a few times at HB - just as he was in the few game reps he saw at that position last year if I recall correctly - wondering if they will just keep him on O and ST? #0 Shaq Richardson is supposed to be impressing people - I think O'Shea singled him out for praise the other day. He seemed to be not having such a great day today but someone said he is a team guy during meetings and the like. It's going to be hard to start anyone other than Bucknor Johnson Leggett and Washington as 4 of the 5 in the D backfield I would guess. But then again, who can adjust best to the new no contact rules? I didn't see much of the RBs, but one of the receivers #88 Gordon was fielding kicks again and I haven't seen anything but good catches and no drops from him at receiver so he might be one of those under-the-radar surprises at this camp.

Drones would be good! It is harder to assess everything from the sidelines, especially O-line- D-line LBs - much better to be a few rows up. You can't see much of anything that takes place over on the far side of the field during scrimmage or even skelly. So that's one of the reasons I haven't been over more often. It's just not that much fun watching from the side. You can see when an RB happens to make directional cut to gain daylight but defensive pursuit angles, closing speeds etc,are very hard to judge from the sideline. For example, it appears Hurl tends to turn his hips too soon to set up the cut-off angles and so he ends up nearly always in pursuit. I was watching from the sideline and only watched him for 3-4 plays from a bad angle so that's not definitive.Hard to judge from the sideline how fast players are actually moving through lanes and what they see or don't see. One general observation: everyone seems intense & businesslike as would be expected with good competition for jobs.

I went to watch TC a few times last year, and filed a few overly optimistic observations/thoughts. FWIW, here's what I have seen based on rookie camp and one main camp session so far. B Randle is probably a keeper at tailback. Drew Willy takes too long to set up and get rid of the ball, even when there is no D to read. We are pretty set at DB with Bucknor Johnson Leggett and Wash. Seems J Adams will be added. Good NI depth at LB and those guys will be vital on teams with the new rules. Waggoner and Derek Jones both are excellent players and will make an impact. That rook O lineman Sukhs Wind. Right side of the O line looks strangely wonky but could be Neufeld and Dile | Tyler. D Adams seems to be winning the flanker job. Kohlert and JFG are working hard and JFG may be better. Glad we stole Kris Bastien from Regina, he's looked surpassingly good as has Graig Newman on D. I still like T. Sherman, too. Lots of stud receivers, J Reaves def an athlete. Haven't seen much from D Allen. RB D Scott will be one of the first cuts due to an obviously nagging injury. I heard Tedford in BC say 3 QBs is optimal - and that's from a former QB. I'd like to think we'll keep Yantz somehow, since he does not look out of place at all. I'm one of the few, apparently, who likes Brian Brohm. I'd also keep Portis before Marve. But what do I know? It's still early. Go Blue!

Local journalists who actually know a little bit about football and who are interested in the game's nuances would be a nice thing to have. But, alas. That's why I enjoy this forum - there's usually, regularly, more valuable and informed news and info here than from the paid media.

Gracias.

You are correct. Opposing teams are very thorough in their scouting and roster analysis. It's not that they would intentionalyl go after a specific player/injury. But the information that a player has a specific injury can and will be exploited, for sure.

On the sidelines this AM for an hour or so. Stoudermire, Gordon, Anderson and Veltung fielding punts. T. Sherman picked Willy. #22 Randle at RB working hard. Brohm gets rid of the ball quicker than Willy, even when there's no D to read. Bastien made a couple of very nice grabs receiving including an accurate thread-the-needle rocket from Yantz. Portis made a perfect long throw to Moore that was a thing of beauty from start to finish. Waggoner very energetic with good football instincts - ditto Derek Jones. Chungh looks to be winded all the time. Sorry I don't have more but had to leave ... Team looks to be very competitive across the board. Richards, who had company today among those watching, appeared to be a tad despondent at being held back by whatever little boo-boo he had going on.

Marve will never be #1 due to his knee. He started in the final game last season only because the 2 QBs ahead of him on the DC were hurt. If Willy struggles this year, Brohm will be the guy.

Thank-you Mike. Really looking forward to this season. Finally it is here!

NFL scouts suggest he's got good hands but slow off the line (which factors less with the waggle). He is a product of a good system and coaching, he became more productive each year as a CIS player, and was invited to the 2015 E-W Shrine Bowl (with Darryl Waud) and to the NY Giants minicamp, plus he's got good size. Looking forward to watching him - hoping he might surprise some of us who were initially skeptical of his selection in the #11 spot. Here's one scout report http://www.nfl.com/draft/2015/profiles/addison-richards?id=2552481

Around 9 mins in.

Now that I think of it, Kito Poblah had #1 after Charles Roberts.

Geez, how could I forget about Ken Ploen? But has that number been retired forever? Who else wore #1 besides Blink?

Don't know if these are etched in stone but Bombers have assigned numbers to some of the rookies and some vets have different sweater numbers this year. Stoudermire has gone from #15 to #1 for example. Jamaal Westerman is #55, Jordan Yantz is #18, Sukh Chungh is #69. If Addison Richards and Garrett Waggoner are signed to contracts, guess Waggoner could be #11, which appears to be open. Wow, lot of bodies on this roster: http://www.bluebombers.com/roster/index/team/5

I really don't think Lattanzio is competing to be the starting FB. I think they're looking at him to be used as a FB in certain situations, like Vega lining up as a TE on the odd occasion. Sure. But they're also looking for impact on ST, especially with the rule changes which will change the kick game substantially. Didn't Walters call Lattanzio "a rolling ball of razor blades?" So what's the point of having a guy like that sitting on the PR?

Some good players on the outside looking in. Could Lattanzio win a job over Pontbriand? It seems some folks are all over Sherman but I wouldn't be surprised to see Bucknor, Sherman and Jones on the 21. On the other hand, with the new kick rules, it might come down to speed on ST and younger legs so you could be right and we'll see Morgan. Not sure how cap hits are to be balanced but there's a lot of salary chewed up on the O line and an improved Canuck LB corps. Could we see Neufeld on the IR again and Goossen on the 21?

It's exiting to speculate how 2015 will unfold for the Bombers. Lots of new and interesting players under contract equals tough competition for jobs: some good players are not going to make this team. Sophomore season for MOS and a new and very experienced DC should spell fewer points against. It'll be interesting to see the league implement the new rule changes and to see the evolution of our CFL game - hopefully the changes are for the better. Who will be our kick returner(s) and have we found someone unforgettable there? Not really sure about our OC or Drew Willy but holding out hope that they will surprise. What will be the impact of a 'Thunder & Lighting' 2-back set? If we get a 1000 yard rusher and at least one 1000 yard receiver then we should make the playoffs where anything can happen. Go Bombers!

Guy is a rocket. It'll be interesting to see how he does on the wider CFL field and with the new kick rules this year.

Cool. We going to find out if Bombers brain trust has an eye for talent.

I've been wondering why they didn't replace Grigsby with Cotton sooner for that 7-8 game stretch where it was evident Grigsby was slow hitting the openings (such as they were) and that he was always down on first contact. Buck Pierce is the running backs coach, was it his call to keep Grigsby as starter while our run game sucked? That said - really pumped about the RB competition this year and will be extremely stoked if we actually go with a double RB set.

Wonder if teams are shepherding National QBs such as Yantz, Brandon Bridge and Andrew Buckley because they anticipate a possible roster rule change? Obviously it coudn't happen til next season. One option is to just change the ratio to accommodate several possible scenarios including 22 Nationals and 22 Internationals, as Andrew Bucholtz suggests: https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/blogs/cfl-55-yard-line/cfl-s-unfair-rule-gives-qbs-brandon-bridge--andrew-buckley-an-uphill-battle-222925652.html The list of Canuck QBs in the CFL isn't very long but we've seen some good ones who were weaned on the rhythm of 3 downs and the unique angles and options of a 65-yard wide field: Russ Jackson, Gerry Datillio and Frank Cosentino ... http://cfl-scrapbook.no-ip.org/CFL-CanadianQB.php

Hope the Blue Bombers can find a way to keep this Canadian player. Or to put it another way, hope Yantz can show he can contribute and is CFL ready.