wbbfan

The scheme certainly did get lazy. But I think the cause was a bit different. It seems to me like the last year and a half or so so a lot of frustration between zach and buck, and possibly the staff and buck. I think zach became a weak spot for buck just like nichols did for lapo. We saw a few games prior where the screen game and read option seam attacks worked brilliantly. But that is not how zach is wired. I think Buck wanted to rewire the offence to work around stuff that doesn't suit zach, and he got push back. So he pulled out the old wrinkles and let the offence flounder running just what zach likes.

That’s a good point. The ol is for sure an entity all its own. They Maybe the greatest anachronism in all of sports. Especially the Canadian ol up here. May as well still be the 70s with them in many ways. It’s kind of funny too actually, ol are more athletic and trim now like they were back then. Still gigantic human beings these days, but the middle of the late 80s through early 2ks we saw a ton of heavy none athletic guys. Think he was banged up to end the previous year too. Being a tall guard who turns 37 this year and has played some 140 games mostly starts will make it hard to stay healthy. And slow down recovery

Honestly, camp isn't nearly what it used to be. The limitations on impact, banning of junk like Oklahoma drill, length, etc, have de-toothed it significantly. It isn't like the old days where the 2 a days had guys re-tapping raw skin and doing 2 full run-throughs of full contact and high exertion. The off season for players is also far more active, and you don't need to do nearly as much reconditioning. Now that said you still have to be smart, not like chris jones blowing out a half dozen guys ACLs per day for the first few days. Frankly, I don't care if the vets sit half the day or every other day or what ever they need to. As long as they can be ready to play 1q of the first preseason game, 1 half of the 2nd, and be at full pop for the first regular season week. Aside from injuries in camp and guys coming back from injuries, if a vet can't consistently do that, they are probably done anyway.

I think he’s a high level business side guy for this position. I do have concerns though with the fact he has no experience running a league or team, in football, and that his tsn ties could be a conflict of interest with the upcoming tv deal renewal. Maybe for us maybe for them. I don’t know. Jbr summed it up perfectly. In whelmed. I don’t think many people want the commish job.

All the vets need to play half a game in the last pre season game.

I don’t think he got lucky in the wf, if any one was lucky it was buck. I think he’s had two good strong games in the play offs here, and they are similar. He was able to get his deep shots. That’s kind of how it goes with Zach. He could score a td on every drive, or complete barely 10 in a game and toss a bunch to the wrong team. Hes always been that guy. Live by the sword die by the sword. I get rolling with that a few years ago. I don’t think zach is zach any more. I’m not expecting to see 3-4 td passes in a half or score on every drive into the 4th any more. I think his injuries from the past season and a half ish. I think he’s injured and aged to a point where he just isn’t that same guy. At this point, I would take other guys over Zach right now going into the season. Straight up, I’d rather bank this year and the future both on any of Dru/rourke/vaj. I wouldn’t be happy paying rourke that money, and I’m not sold on Adam’s maturity/culture. But I’d still take the risk on those guys. Even just for this year. The fact all 3 should play as good if not better next year is a bonus. Id love to be wrong, and I think the oc/ol changes and wr health will go far to help Zach. But at this point I kind of expect us to finish with another qb as our starter one way or another.

The thing is his bad games have very largely been in the post season with all kinds of teams around him. That kind of consistent struggle is worthy of criticism. Sport performances are biased towards play off success. From Marino to big shot bob. Expectations are higher in the play offs, success and failure are amplified justly. We’ve seen similar loses our self here like with Kelly off the bench. The chances for a qb other than Zach winning that game was real low for us. But the chances of post injury Zach winning it was zero.

I think we could potentially look at one of the two who have been in camp with us and are candidates to switch to wr, late late in the draft. A wr who can be a short yardage guy, holder potentially, maybe run option pack etc and be an extra qb as a Canadian offers a lot. 6th round type thing. I see no chance we take a qb that high. We are really well poised to get some depth guys with lots of upside in the exact spots we can use them. Makes no sense to go after a qb, even if we thought rourke was the guy and would be here soon. Which he certainly won’t be here any time soon, and I’m not sold on him.

Nailed it. The get off is the single most important tool they can have. The next, is their ability to shed/beat blocks. Neither of these come from raw athletics. Big de at 3tech would be great. Realistically, that spot doesn’t need to be significantly better at run stopping than an end. And facing all ni ol you can get a good consistent pass rusher easier than vs the imp tackles of the league. Yup. Active hands playing the pass lanes is important, with in your rush. You can’t run 4-5 rushers with a goal of getting pkd. You have to push the pocket and create pressures.

Every thing clicked in that game. Ssk couldn’t even get in our way to slow us down. Probably peak buck, peak zach play off performance. I think that performance was due to many factors, I think we’d a won easily in a lot of worst case scenarios. Buck had a few good games that year. He showed some great game prep and adaption a couple times. I had a lot of optimism for him following that, if he took a step forward from his best moments of that year he’d be well on the road to greatness. I was bitterly disappointed that instead he collapsed to his worst level, sustained that and hit new depths. A great oc is consistent, innovates new ways to succeed with game plans and adjustments and is always pushing his offence into the future. Buck flashed those things but never came close to sustaining them. That means he never hit great imo. He’s still really young though. And a change of scenery could be just what he needs. Could well still become a great offensive mind. I like the guy a lot, but I’m glad he’s gone.

I’m convinced zachs hand was busted up that whole time too. He’s had 3-4 really bad follow through motion plays where he hit his hand on helmets. It may never be the same after last years gc. Zach has had very few good play off games in blue n gold. Often just good enough in the wins. We should’ve had a ton more blow out wins. Injuries, personnel, buck, a lot of issues at play.

Greenwood has tremendous size and athleticism. That’s a great guy to have in camp. Hall is small for and end which isn’t the biggest deal, he does have really good athleticism for the edge but not as amazing considering his size kind of what you should expect for that size. Camp can’t come soon enough. Soo many great position battles coming up.

I have a lot of hope that S will be a good fight where the best guy wins. WR I think will as well. I am really hoping we go that way at Lber and don't instantly pencil in tony and kyrie. I don't think tony ill be penciled or penned in, but I worry kyrie will be. C, I have little to no hope. DT, I have some hope with lawson. From my perspective, some guys are personal favorites but not the best man. Wallace is a big one. he could step up and become that guy, but I think it's better than even money chance that he won't be better than one of the Imports. Makonzo is my favorite, but I think he will be and should be a depth piece / rotational guy. Cadwallader is a favorite but not the best guy on D. And Adams at DL is a big favorite for me, but not the best guy. He is going to be in tough this year. Woods, Lawson, Vaughters, and Willy are going to be tough to crack. Plus, we won't have a ton of DI flexibility with Lber, DB, Kr, and K almost certainly all locked up. Game action is worth 10x camp reps. Maybe more. For me, camp evaluation is more about mistakes, red flags, and intangibles. Throw a right tackle or end at the left side and see how they do. Throw a tackle at the guard, have your RB run routes half the day, and see if his hands are as good when you force him to rely on them rather than when he has to make the odd snag. Camp keeps you in camp, live fire reps is where you make the team. That is also why I am a fan of throwing your green guys, especially at turnover positions, against the other teams' starters. See how those guys do versus league starters, rather than guys who will be working at a Kinkos or some thing in a couple of weeks. I'll also say that live reps in person are worth a lot more than game film, which is worth a whole lot more than highlights. And we have made decisions that clearly broke with all logic in camp. Like investing a couple picks in NI rbs, and not giving those guys a real chance no matter how they perform. Like Rosery, who could've been a key depth Wr, Rb and teams guy getting cut for guys who are interchangeable with him at one of those roles but with out the versatility.

https://3downnation.com/2025/04/01/what-does-the-new-rogers-nhl-tv-deal-mean-for-the-cfl/ will the new cfl deal be the biggest ever? Almost certainly. Will it be big enough that it has a substantial impact and creates any sort of noticeable change? I kind of doubt it. I’m more worried about tsn dying off than I am optimistic that the cfl being its corner stone means big things for us.

Love how he moves in coverage. A Canadian S who can pick up any one on a bust underneath is a great luxury. Forget if he takes a step forward this year. I just want to see more of what we’ve seen from him.

Yep and we’ve brought in a lot of guys who S or half. Good chunk of big guys who aren’t likely to make it on the corner.

It’s gonna be a fantastic battle, if it’s an open battle with the best person winning. And I don’t think we will just pencil some one in and let them keep the job no matter what.

People sleeping on him thinking he’s like the late stages oft injured Hallett boys. Kelly’s a legit run and cover guy. Impressed me with physicality and ability to play down hill against the run. Small sample size, but he’s shown a hell of a lot of promise. I’m not a fan of the token Canadian at S that teams have frequently run out. Including us at times. But Kelly isn’t that guy. Should change his name tbh. Aside from being a cooler name, once the ball is snapped kola hits the vanishing point. … I’ll show my self out lol

He’s soo much like Glenn it’s scary. Doesn’t have that hyper speed release, bit better athlete though. Soo many similarities as passers though. The same mistakes and turn overs.

I don’t think the return to school then back to the pros to the drafting team the following year has provided much though I like it in theory. We’ve used it a bunch but not it any success I can recall. We don’t expand the coaching staffs with guests much any more, and tc rosters are massive these days. I think we’re past the point of diminishing returns on having soo many guys and not enough time eyes or footballs to go around.

It’s not bad faith, it’s actual football eval vs bad impressions. Acting and treating woli like he’s Jamie stoddard is arguing in bad faith. What you’re missing is, if he came up as an imp he never would’ve been used as a primary blocker, and bc wasn’t a run heavy team. He would’ve been looking at a lot more pass catching volume. He has all the tools and has shown that here. He would’ve been much better off being viewed as a wr first and foremost. People sleep on what woli is in term of size athleticism hands and football iq. He’s an excellent route runner and there is a damn good reason he is instantly a clutch target for every qb he’s played with.

https://3downnation.com/2025/03/30/opinion-subtle-tweak-to-cfl-training-camp-roster-rules-could-mean-less-opportunities-for-canadian-development/ we have used the second camp exemption a ton of times over the years. On one hand it likely leads to less Canadian guys in camps, but when you’re at 100 guys going down a couple might improve time and quality. Especially for junior camp invites.

Can’t say that at all, they were always injury ravaged despite having big names. Woli has never been the worst starting wr we have. you aren’t basing that opinion off any level of football evaluation. You’re going off gut, and your gut is wrong. Woli was the best wr in cali hs history. He was a 4 star prospect on most reports and a very close 3 on 24/7. Do you want the removal of the ratio?

And? He sat most of 17. Out gained half those guys in his first main year. Only two of those guys had significantly better rookie years, and one is one year wonder jones. Geroy Simon was once expendable too. Woli made this team with some very very deep wr cores. Every year here is better than Demskis best year before arriving here. His 17, 22, 23, and 24 years are both would’ve easily been 1k-1200 seasons as a top 3 target. Bunch of vet WRs have been going to the nfl and bouncing around on the league on big deals for less production than wolis better years. And that’s with out any of the blocking role. If you think he’s a blank passport you’ve completely lost the plot. He might be the most reliable and clutch ni wr in the league since his rookie year. He accepted a lesser role here because that’s our system and that was the fit with soo many other productive catchers and RBs.

Bc tried to sign him as an American before he got his ni status.