Floyd

I can't tell if its Crowton or Pierce's fault for our increasingly conservative playcalling as the game goes on ... I mean Pierce being in for the last two plays of the 1st half and calling two running plays? Weird. Blah blah... Either way, if Elliott was here, we would be a major contender. As it is, we're waiting for Buck to get hurt.

Our defence was very good but we have to consider that Montreal seems to be heading to self-destruct mode... in the last two minutes, it sure seemed like Calvillo called his own plays and it worked - all too well. I think it will be a mess in Mtl with Calvillo forcing himself to listen to newbies all season long... That being said, Anderson is a monster (possibly better than Gilmore), Parker has shown way better than I thought, Washington is excellent and Dunn I am not convinced. He ends up with some big plays but to be honest, he is not all that involved. JJ had a strong game I thought, same with BStew and Suber, Henoc was huge as usual... Difference makes: 1. Anderson 2. Henoc 3. Suber

He is playing SAM now... you want your LBs to be your leading tacklers. Hef had a ton of tackles last year because he was covering for Doe/Labbe/Logan/JJ, etc half the time. We had a weak LB core for a good part of the year.

Ya I know - I just mean there's more versatility with him on the 42... but freep saying that Zach Anderson, Green, Pierce and Thomas are on the 46... seems a bit odd

I would go with Calgary and Sask right now - both offences had a lot of time against good Ds Toronto and Montreal are good, Wpg, BC and Hamilton are close - only Edmonton is really bad imo Hard to judge Wpg - Buck's reads are slow so they have to protect longer but Simpson makes plays on his own... we'll see.

Don't we only need 20 NI? I think we have 22 Cdns on the roster right now... Anyway, I would sit Volny because Green can fill in as a blocking HB or TE if we need him. He's good at it and I like the guy...

If it was up to me, I'd have Kowalczuk, Pierce, Anderson and Volny... but I don't think that's going to happen. Think its really important to get Sherman, Lucas, etc playing time on ST Our ratio is messed up this year... if Muamba goes down, yikes. Hope we bring in that NI LB/DL pretty soon.

Too bad for him - probably on their speed dial I would think... But I also don't remember folks being up in arms about him leaving - I thought it was lame that we let him slip away for a fairly small amount but import receivers really are a dime a dozen.

Not sure Diedrick is an upgrade over Stephenson though...

As for lack of play action, Buck has never been good at selling it... That was the exciting thing about Eliott and why his INTs were mostly forgiveable. To me, Goltz seems more like a power/deep ball Dunigan type as opposed to a quick release P-A QB... maybe Hall has it, I sure hope so because without play action you don't succeed in the CFL.

I guess Mark Nelson was a bigger part of that D than we thought...

Sorenson doesn't have the speed to get upfield to do that. I worry that our new schemes mean we'll leave receivers and RBs on their own while we build fortress Buck.

I'm really surprised they didn't find a way to adjust their ratio...

We're already the youngest team in the league - again. Let's just go with it finally. I'm not a fan of Mack's continuous baby boom... but getting rid of Labbe and Morley is inevitable - either now or the off-season. TE is just about done - transition him to player/coach... and do you really think we'll even blink if Markett replaces JJ? It will surprise me if we get a lot of wins... we'll have a lot of competitive losses imo. I would just rather get a rebuild out of the way instead of pretending we haven't been in rebuild mode for the last four years.

Well, I am a big fan of CFL vets and I think we have cut the wrong vets at times... but maybe its time to get even younger, this sure seems like another rebuild year. JJ - have to say, it looks like hes lost a step, might as well put Markett in, JJ can win his job back if he wants it Labbe - his whole schtick is Special Teams - but he is a weak link now, I cant forget that pathetic fake in preseason, this game he was a nonfactor - who replaces him though... Morley - costly penalty, maybe the preseason antics were more a sign that he cant keep up... Edwards - never thought I would even suggest this but but maybe its time to transition to player coach... wouldnt cut him outright but too many waggle penalties, not enough practice and the refs all know he plays up the PI, its not working anymore And, of course, Buck... but thats another thread.

Agree. Speaking of ST, if any guy improved from an offseason training regimen, its Pontbriand. He surprised me... Labbe should be cut - I dont notice him anymore - thats good if youre DB not so good on ST, everyone else pretty much meh. I guess he was a locker room issue, but man this would be a killer D with Hefney... but whatever. Both Muambas need a bit more experience or mentoring... And well, right now I wouldnt be surprised if JJ gets replaced by Markett... so I guess its up to Suber.

I can forgive a couple whiffs for being really the only guy keeping our ST together...

I agree to an extent... but I would add unsung stars as: 1 - Suber 2 - Watson 3 - Henoc Not a lot of flash, but the things they were doing allowed your three stars to get noticed. Muamba and Suber both had nice nights - everyone had breakdowns... Watson was open all the time and just didnt get his number called - I worry that he is off the radar...

Lets just not talk about how this team could be awesome if Elliott had at least been given a chance at TC... its really too much to take. Buck is terrible, even the fanboys know this deep down. Hall ends up as our only option... until then, its a lot of 3-7 point losses. Maybe even after that too...

Dunn surprisingly good. Hall surprisingly not that good. Both Stewart and Johnson got abused at times. Suber had a good game. Jury out on Cauchy - but promising. Still would really rather have Washington and Hef in the lineup. How many mistakes does Burke get? I like him but he's cost us. And Crowton's calling looks a lot like Lapo... Honestly, not ready to annoint Etienne as our next legit NI receiver... but there is promise. TE has used up his PI schtick - we have to deal with that. I feel like we threw a 3rd down pass to him just based on getting a PI call. Renaud and Palardy had good games. Buck can't get hurt soon enough so we can FINALLY move on. Sorry, but its true. I would have high hopes for this team if we had Goltz, Elliott, Hall as our QBs... instead, it seems like another 2010 close but no cigar.

Montreal Wow, Edem starting - wow. I'm kind of torn - I really wanted us to take him but sure would be nice to light him up. Wouldn't at all be surprised if Hebert ends up back at S and Brouillette at SAM though... Parker and Tisdale both question marks for me... And, yeah, its weird not seeing Whitaker there. Wpg Dunn scares me WIll be nice to see what Denmark can do and Etiennne but I still say Kohlert ends up taking back his spot Guess we'll find out if Buck can actually check down his receivers...

The east is totally up in the air... Toronto is in the best position but still a ton of new guys. I really think we will be fighting for a crossover or in a slug race with Ham and Montreal. Note: Oh yeah, Taylor Inglis... I was trying to remember the Kelly OL that was supposed to be our next LS/C, whatever... I now feel a lot better about our depth - forget my concerns that our NI depth was 'suspect'.

If there is a case to be made for ANY of our guys 'losing a step', I believe it is Labbe late last season and again this pre-season. He is not the ST performer he used to be. Brouillette is their main backup at LB in Montreal... so they have a proven top player (albeit with concussion trouble) plus Boulay and Verdon/Dublanko or whoever... So you have a 'starter' who can perform at a top level at SAM or MLB or S as the main backup plus two more young guys... plus Edem who should develop as S or SAM Probably a bad example to pick Montreal... Its not just the bombers... I would say Suspect - Bombers, Hamilton, Edmonton Good - Calgary, Sask, Montreal Mid-range - BC, Toronto

So, you take a shot at me for asking who will be our long snapper if Cvet gets hurt... and then mention that Pontbriand can do it. That's funny! I actually feel better about that now - I had no idea Pontbriand had ever done that. We've been spoiled by Cvet and that one year when he went down was, um, painful. Was that the Kelly year... it might be... I mean I want a 'backup LS' precisely for the fact that we don't have to airlift Matechuk halfway through the season. So anyway, don't try to make my post more negative that it actually is... and, no, the type of depth I'm looking for is not impossible... we have had two years to draft or secure an MLB backup to Muamba. I cheered for Labbe in 2011 but it is clear he just cannot cut it. That's really ALL I am asking for at this point. A decent NI backup for Muamba... if Stephan stays healthy, that is a big step. Same thing with Kowalczuk - the guy can't snap... I just wanted to see Greaves or someone getting reps at C and also have another prospect, like Dunn, on the 46 or PR who can snap - getting the QB the ball is kind of critical. The receiver depth is fine with me... but again, its wait and see. Wait and see translates to 'suspect'... Then again, our depth at RG is fantastic! Go Swiston!

As long as Labbe is our depth behind Muamba, it is suspect. Stephan has yet to prove he can play and prove he can stay healthy. Poblah, Kohlert, Etienne, Carter are all not 'proven' commodities... potential yes, but big question marks. Kowalczuk is our backup C - nuff said. After our 35 year old (?) long snapper, who do we have backing him up? Fitzgerald...? And yes, West looked great in camp but, again, prove it in a game. On the upside, Greg Bearman is not on the roster.