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a play making DT and 2 legit ends rotating opposite WJ...and we will see WJ have a career yr this yr....he played way too many reps last 2 yrs and it hurts his impact...Kudos for him doing it...but shave off 10 or so reps a game at minimum for him...and watch him dominate

We had an issue with Jeffcoat, he was a good guy all indications were he was a great teammate and when healthy a force, but.......he was in and out enough that we didn't really develop a replacement "rip the bandaid off" as someone above mentioned and overall, it hurst us. We are seeing the same with Biggie. I get he was hurst most of last year, but he was not good enough. Biggie is a perennial all-star, one of the best MLB to play and we got many great years out of him, unfortunately if we keep him in and out we will do the same thing we did with Jeffcoat. IMO at this point Biggie should be insurance only, park him on the 6 game and have a true open competition for MLB. If the guy we roll with falters Gauthier is a very serviceable stop gap, but I don't want him to be the main day one starter, and I really like the guy......

I actually like our prospects at LB this yr...Moses and Ayers to me look like legit CFL LB types....and this camp guys will actually get a legit look and opportunity. I fully expect Wilson to be Wilson so no real concerns there, and with Cole and what he brings, and his motor and sideline to sideline pursuit skills...I not concerned where we put him, Just put him in the starting lineup!! Not too worried about the DB's one bit to be honest, and the loss of Jeffcoat I truly think will be an addition by subtraction thing....If he was 1 16 to 18 game a yr guy, then be a bit concerning, but he wasn't and with the jettison of Jackson cause we made an actual smart draft pick, we are going to likely have 2 import ends opposite WJ as well as a disruptive DT this yr....who attacks plays....not recieves them, and hopefully (knock on wood) minimal Thomas in the middle and let Lawson grow into the premiere Canadian DT...which he likely will be... Like mentioned...I bet by game 6 with no injuries, we will have a better defence than we seen last few yrs, and almost 2019 esque....This is the most legit and real talent with a shot to make an impact on the Dline and LB crew that I have seen here pretty much since 2018

I actually think by ldc our D will be the best it’s been since the end of 21. We need the fresh blood and we’ve got some studs in camp. Ayers is a gooder too. It’s not a huge group of imp lbers (either in size or number of bodies) but it’s really talented.

It hasn't been much different the past two seasons. When the O is off & the D needs to pick up the slack and make some stops...they usually don't. As far as I'm concerned, the only good games from the D happened when the Jeffs were able to crank it up to another level. The West final was one of those games.

Whats Avery Williams up to? Still a FA as far as i can tell.

This all makes me really hope Dylan Moses can play up here.

Its a good thing our offense is going to be bonkers. With Jeffcoat gone/new DE, Bighill hurt/clearly in decline, BA's play suspect/decline, Cole moving positions, new guy at DB, i can foresee alot of 37-34 games this season. The days of our soul crushing D are long gone me thinks.

Between Moses, Ayers and Gemmel if there’s not a replacement in there, there needs to be more competition brought in

need to finally treat the last hold over of the loyalty/reward system like a band aid and rip er off and let stuff heal in open air....Bring in a guy with the skill set for the position...and let him grow and learn on the fly in the early part of the season and see if he takes the job and runs..Much like we did with that SAM a few years back...once he kinda flatlined and gassed out...we made a deal for Darby.....keep Biggie on the 6 game for now and so he gets paid...and is here as a defacto coach/mentor and if we need him for spot duty....he is good coverage as you know he can play....I just think full time reps now for him is a big ask

Clearly i was being facetious, my point being Bighill was borderline awful at times last year, whiffing on tackles all over the field and repeatedly being two steps behind plays. He was impactful in the wrong kind of way last season.

go watch university then...when you factor in filling out a roster...PR an injury lists with all Canadian talent...roughly 675 guys will be needed minimum to fullfill that....so basically you would be watching a glorified semi pro league...40 percent of guys would be top notch...rest....would b=never had made an active roster...I wouldnt pay 2024 money to watch that yeah....that be brutal and major step backward and for ratio reasons we dont need but 1 Canadian on defence anyway...so yeah...thats a major fail...no knock on Gauthier as he fills a key role....it not being prolonged starter tho

I'm going to be hopeful that the team does one of the following: -Cole to Wil and Kyrie to MLB -Cole to MLB -Rookie starter at MLB

https://tvline.com/news/the-cw-fall-schedule-2024-lineup-superman-and-lois-final-season-thursdays-1235238372/

I completely and 100% agree. IF Bighill has an injury that will keep him out any length of time there is still time to get on the horn and bring in a dozen IMPs that would do better than Gauthier. It is a massive downgrade, let's not pretend it isn't. Bighill wasn't at the top of his game last year, and probably never will be again, but suggesting that Bighill/Gauthier is a wash is a gross exaggeration.

Like @Mike said. If a 32 year old career STer becomes the starting middle linebacker for 6 weeks or more, somebody ****** up really bad.

Agreed but you know its going to happen. Something about Gauthier being a good soldier, that tackle in the playoffs in 2019, and all the confidence in the world in him, blah, blah, blah.

There’s absolutely zero need for it. We’re not talking about a spot injury, we’re talking about a potentially prolonged absence with the ability to have an open camp competition.

I can't remember who said it, Brendan Taman maybe but for sure an ex-CFL GM, that the hardest part of recruiting talent for the CFL wasn't finding good players it was convincing them to come to Canada after you find them.

Gauthier will start until Bighill is back. Its been done in the past, they'll do it again. The way Bighill played last season its not even that much of a downgrade which is very sad to say.

I think we are really well poised considering we didn’t keep Clement’s in the off season. We have some really high upside imps. But you never know we’ve cut blue chip guys soo fast their head would spin in the past. Aside from gauthier monstering his way to the role by beating every one out (not highly likely) if Cole ends up as our starting S, we’d be a kyrie injury and or rookie flop away. Both of which is more likely. While he had a career performance in the gc, and he isn’t the last Canadian on our roster who should start, we are already trending to be over the ni starter amount. We should by no means go 2 over. I think the other main chance would be if neuf was really hurt and we had to flip to 3 imps on the ol. Though even then I think it’d be kola Eli and Dobson inside with big Gabe as 6th ol. The rookie imps are perfectly set up with a chance to succeed in a big way though. Ayers, Moses, petrishen, gemmel, and Thomas have a huge opportunity. Cole has the big leg up being a 2nd year guy, but I think he’s bound for S.

Players were called Designated Canadians & I explain this rule on this thread.

In the 60's, you could become a Canadian on a CFL roster after playing for the same team for (I believe) 5 seasons. So guys like Ken Ploen, Ron Lancaster,George Reed, D i c k Thornton, Wayne Harris & Don Luzzi could play as Canadians & not Americans. They also had to live in the community for that long as well so it required Americans to take up permanent residency in Canada in the city where they played. They were called "Designated Canadians under CFL rules. That probably explains why there were more "Canadians" playing on teams back then, then there are now. The thing that irked Canadian players is they felt that it took jobs away from actual Canadians so they hated that rule. I don't believe that anyone sued anybody. I think it was just eliminated in future CBA's in the late 1970's or 80's once these players with that designation retired. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Again, the Bighill injury comes down to terrible roster management & no succession plans at that position. Why we wouldn't sign a younger inside linebacker during free agency with potential to push Bighill out the door if he can't keep up is mind boggling. We all love Biggie but let's be serious. he's not the same player he once was. He needed to be pushed & it ain't happening.

I feel like we've seen it over and over when Bighill's not on the field. No reason for me to expect otherwise.