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Yeah, you're right. Thomas isn't going to be a make-or-break for us at Dl coach. Howard was very solid here, though he had spectacular results a bunch of other places. Young too. But in general, we have really struggled to take talented kids and turn them into highly effective DL. And this is over a long period of time with many coaches. We've never gotten back close to having what Richard Harris brought. Jake won't be any significant down grade over the past couple years.

And how JY chooses to implement them. Jake is going to be an X's and O's guy, explaining the CFL game to players who maybe don't know much about it. Apparently Jake is one of the smartest guys when it comes to the film room, so I'm actually intrigued to see what he can do in that regard. Let's be honest, the Americans, they don't need someone to teach them the basics of playing DL... They probably learned more in NCAA than they would here... But what they could use, is a guy who knows the intricacies of CFL football and can explain what they're seeing on tape... Which I'm sure looks way different with an extra man and motion in the backfield and all that. It's a basic position coach gig... Way too much stress being used on this.

It's not that they aren't important at all. But the way people are talking about Thomas and acting like the DL has no hope now is over the top. The biggest factor to how well the DL will do will be the talent that is or is not on it.

Riiiight blame it on the time. :-)

Yes and no. Some positional coaches are far more important, like QB coach. The 2 closest after that are both Line coaches. Line play is the next most important after qbing, but the adjustment to the game up here is big and we don't get polished blockers or pass rushers from the ncaa any more. Pretty much every imp T and pass rusher is a project of one sort or another. Having a sub-optimal DL coach when we have JY and Hall running the D isn't the biggest deal. Thats part of why I'm not really worried about Jake. The bonus from him not being on the field any more is way bigger than any loss from having him coach the DL in the worst case. Player success doesn't directly translate to coaching success or failure either. A lot of great coaches have played but couldn't perform at the highest levels of their position group. I would love to have a great DL coach. I would even go more modular with the defensive coaching staff, have a Coverage coach, a front coach (Jake) and a pressure/pass rush coach. Even bringing in some one like that just for camp could be a big boost. Some one who can coach the finer points of rushing and winning battles with technique and athleticism.

Yes, last year was his 5th season. Glenn young coached the DL and Lbers before that. 17 and prior for a couple years was todd howard. But Richard Harris was the last time we had a great Dl coach. also worth noting is that Craig Roh was at least a half player half DL coach while he was here.

Honestly I don't know. And that's kinda my point. Most of us won't know/remember even though that was the Best DL we've seen in a long long time. Positional coaches aren't something to be stressing about.

Was it not Patterson? I thought he was here for 5 years so 2021 would have been his 1st year with us.

Edit - too early and not capable of reading.

Haven't they made the playoffs 20 out 21 years or something? Perpetually rebuilding is a bit of a stretch. Losing guys to the NFL does suck, but it's unavoidable. Compensation won't solve the problem you're talking about and will just result in less americans who are on the brink of the NFL signing up here. It's not like the NFL is begging these guys to come to camp. They'll just wait out CFL contracts or move on to the next player rather than pay for a CFL guy.

Without looking it up....who did the Bombers have as DL coach in 2021? The chances of them not using 2 CND receivers is pretty slim I'd say.

Demski for sure but Clercius? He's been a bit nicked up at times but hasn't missed a game AFAIK?

If starting 8 Canadians elsewhere then yeah that would be an ok scenario. I just don’t want to see them have to trot out jobbers like Corcoran or Cobb to be every down starters, and as much as I like Demski and Clercius the chance of both of them playing 18 games is slim.

So about our oline, what if we went American at C? Ratiowise we could go RB, 2WR, 2 OL, Linebacker, DL and Kramdi (S or linebacker).

via FOTWJ Haydn Fleury will remain in hospital overnight. He suffered a broken nose in addition to other injuries likely another concussion, More tomorrow

The CFL needs tio hire more U Sport coaches who are qualified. They deserve it as much or more than former players who are in good with their head coaches. I'll die on a hill for that statement having seen the committment these guys bring everyday when my son played at SFU.

The overwhelming majority of position coaches in our league are ex-players who retired and had zero coaching experience beforehand. Your complaint is unfounded. Jake's not our DC for cripes sakes. You can count the winning HCs of 4 out of the last 5 Grey Cups among them Osh, Mace, and Dinwiddie all retired and went straight into coaching.

I think my complaint is legit. Osh's priorities make no sense. A real weakness was our DL play. Solution? Bring in a guy who just retired has never coached. Who was the big reason the DL sucked so much to be the new position coach. I've said this before. There has to be coaches who have more experience in U Sport that could coach at that position. Why bring in a retired player like Jake when we could have brought in someone more than qualified from the Canadian College ranks? These guys deserve a shot as well & seem to never get it.

I disagree. I hate what we have asked him to do under Younger but he's probably the best suited DE in the league if we are going to continue that.

Personally I wouldn't be as critical hiring any existing coach but sitting through a season with an unqualified OC is currently affecting my opinion on inexperienced coaches. If Thomas had retired and coached at a lower level for a season or two before getting the position, i would have zero issues with it but I also can appreciate that a DL coach is nowhere near as impactful as an OC so it's not an apples to apples comparison.

You sure about that one? 🤣

Ho hum another L. Calm blue ocean. Calm blue ocean. Serenity now.

And on ,and on we go. Blame the refs all you want. Our so called stars arent playing like it.

What a bunch of f****** b******* these refs are. No call on Hart Throwing his goal stick and then just before that no call on Gabe. But as soon as Marner goes down oh penalty.

If we don't allow players the chance to go south as soon as they're able, they just won't come here in the first place. So we're still ******.