Leaderboard

I don’t know why people think this is an either or situation with Brady and Schoen. Why do people think we’re going to be SO tight to the cap? We pay Collaros and Lawler premiums for their position and other than that, we probably don’t have anyone making top 3 money at their spot. MAYBE Nichols? Willie/Jeffcoat/Alexander/Bighill/Bryant/Hardrick/Neufeld are the “big” veteran earners and at this point, their deals should be getting cheaper every year not more expensive. Not to mention there’s the very obvious need to get a bit younger and faster next year, I’m sure the only way we’re going to be in a position to make a cap crunch work is if we somehow miraculously get Dru Brown back.

I love Oliveira but if we lose Schoen because we spent money on Oliveira then as a fan I'll be pissed right off.

we crapped the bed all yr on how we used and allocated our DI's and yes.....we have 1 player basically at top of the salary food chain for his position (ZC) and thats it...a couple others in the upper echelon (top 3-5 at their position) but also not breaking the bank either...we have the SMS to sign who we want without issue Some of our vets who are top wagers on our squad if re-upped...will re-up for similar....if not a pittance more....some could be back for less too...they wont break the bank ...it worked last yr and easily will this yr 2 guys will need substantial bumps..Schoen and BO....Schoen u get done, and I sure BO knows what the max should be...anywhere, and you offer him it...or close to it within our cap and if it doesn't float his boat....so be it...he's the easiest position to replace on an entry level and have that player be impactful even as a rookie We also will be shedding some foot soldier higher salaries....or better be....and also some vets who don't fit the plan for 2025...Thomas...Kolo..Briggs...JA....Darby... We also need to draft actual players who can step in and be productive on offence/dfence and stray away from this "special team" only player....that mantra has now got us in a bit of a hole as we lacked adequate in game, and even short term injury coverage, and also the fact our ST unit was one of worst in league should also make change inevitable. Any athlete who is pro calibre and a starter before the CFL and entering the league can play special teams...if they cant...why they even here? The player who obviously isnt pro calibre....but.....could contribute on ST is a poor draft strategy....look at past 10 yrs of drafts of the players other teams picked up, that we passed on who contribute as actual producing player, just to grab a guy who jumped out on teams, but offered nothing much more than that....after our first couple high round picks...we have brought in a lot of slugs and plugs....

I think that's a good comparison. Teams put the right pieces around Damon Allen, and won championships with him - even at 42 or whatever it was. No one asks how you won a championship (unless you're the 2007 Riders).

Yes you can. The entire area is ticket holders only. Once you're past security the entire arena is available for you. woohoo.

People sell ford's passing short IMO. He ain't a world beater but he isn't as awful as some make him seem. He has a lot of development to do as a passer so it will be interesting to see if he manages to improve.

Tre Ford isn't just a running QB. He had a 102 season efficiency rating. Threw twice as many TD's as Picks. He threw for 2069 yards in 10 games which would be close to 4K for a whole season. He did all this on a piss poor team.

It's taken me years to craft my talent.

I recall a younger Damon Allen also taking off after his first or second read. The 'savvy vet' version of Allen played more along the lines of what you describe

No idea why fans like Noeller always put down what Allen did as a qb in the CFL. Second all time leading passer in CFL history behind Anthony Calvillo. Four time Grey Cup champion with 3 different teams. Played 22 years at a high level. He did what he was paid to do. Win. And win he did. Tre Ford would be lucky to have a career where he wins a single Grey Cup. Forget about 4. Allen went 22-2 as a high school starting qb in Los Angeles& signed with Cal State Fullerton. Ford was recruited by a number of U Sports football teams but only Waterloo said he would play qb so he signed with them. So, there were questions about his ability as a qb going back to HS. Meanwhile, Allen was one of the top high school qbs in the State of California. Why do I mention that? Noeller just said if Allen can be something then Ford could as well. Right now, there's really no comparison between the passing ability of Ford compared to Allen. What I see from Ford is what I've seen from every running qb who has ever come up to the CFL. A run first mentality. If a couple of receivers are covered he takes off. He doesn't have the time (or perhaps the patience) to go thru his reads because his OL is bad. So, it's not all his fault. However, a problem OL will hinder his development as a qb. Now, Ford may develop into a first rate CFL qb eventually but we'll see. He has a long way to go. He could do well being coached by Buck or Jordan Maksymic. But we all saw how bad Derek McAdoo was. It's not just coaching. It's also the quality of coaching as well. I just don't know if a HC like Chris Jones has the patience to wait.

Ford can be pretty good...He needs some decent coaching....a co-coordinator to work with him, and and tailor certain things to him, and be in the right environment...Not sure if it's optimal with Jones leading the team, but I can see him doing quite well with pieces all around him....mainly coaching and guidance

He's still learning... I have faith. If Damon Allen can be "something", what I've seen from Tre Ford tells me he can be at least that.

Even in that group I don’t think ba has ever been paid even 100k. * I checked and we actually gave him a raise for last year and he made 101k. Which was the 17th highest in the league. Leaving him as our only db in the top 20. I think he basically flip flopped pay cheques with rose. Jeffcoats price was down a bit and tbh the de market is up. Plus he’s on the ir for one or two 6 game stints any way lol. I don’t think biggie has made elite money since he took that huge pay cut to stay. *he’s actually 3rd, but far below what he used to make and that’s still a lot below what the market will be this off season. Big Stan at 8th highest and yoshi at 20th. Ham has two in the top 4 3 in the top 10. Tor 2 in the top 7. Honestly our pay to the top guys like you said is way below market average, the issue is we are just really old. No ones got their best football a head of them. Our changes will stem from that, we won’t be hard pressed financially or cap wise. Zach could always renegotiate to stay a drop to 450-500k pretty easy too. I could see biggie possibly taking another team friendly deal to do less of a role as needed too.

I've had no problem going down to the main level from the 300 level. Metal detectors and ticket scanners happen before you enter either area. I've never seen anyone stopped from going up or down.

Yes and no. It's tied in to what positional players we want to use spots for DI's. Augustine has a role on ST's as well. All part of the balancing act. We should be looking at a different option than McCrae IMO. While he's not a bad player, he doesn't really excel at RB, receiver or returner. If we lose any of Oliveria, Augustine or Grant we might see different skill sets in among the choices for our DI's. Obviously IMO we should be looking at the whole import FB as a current choice. That would open up options for our back ups.

All we are saying...😊

The Argos generally have a pretty decent OL. It'll be interesting to see how MBT fares elsewhere.

MBT does like to argue with his teammates on the sidelines.

Iso has been a grumpy old man for 87 years now. I like the consistency, this place would be weird without it.