3rdand1.5

I like Robestelli as an up and coming import that may be an odd man out in Sask. Who shouldn't command a huge price, maybe not even second tier pay and KSB, sure some injuries, but again probably the odd man out in Sask. And should be in the second tier of Cdn pay, but has potential to be 1a,1b with Demski.

Dang $275 for Philpot and $315 for Hatcher.....the top tier receiver market is getting crazy... What the heck are the Riders going to do with all there FA receivers and some very good CDN receivers when put side by side Philpot......I can't see Emilus accepting less than Philpot, KeeSean Johnson has to be paid high as I think many other teams would be high on him and Meyers if he stays in the CFL again should command a high dollar....not even accounting for Bane jr and Robustelli, or fellow CDN's KSB, Tommy Neild and Mitch Picton.

Just looking at CDN's...not $ Brady starting with Peterson/MCI backing up at RB is a great CDN and has great depth (1) Kramdi and one of Shay/Smith starting at LB/Dime/safety whatever alignment JY calls it is two really good CDN's but with some shallower depth, larger drop offs if the back-ups go in, maybe Kelly can take a bigger step??, but IMO really good pieces to get CDN's on the roster (2 and 3) Wallace at guard he made steps in the right direction I love his physicality, O-line parts are interchangeable in regards to depth but we need some better CDN O-line depth (4) Nuefeld, at guard, and not sure if he can but I as a fan love the idea of his experience moving to center???? has got past his injuries and his veteran presence is important and IMO still a very solid player (5) Demski at one Receiver spot, and a guy like Kian Shaffer Baker...who seems to be the odd guy out in Sask. with Clercuis and Corcoran as depth, and with certain sets Clercius additionally on the field gives an upgrade and solid rotation and depth (6,7 and even 8 ) That gives us 7/8 IMO really good CDN starters with depth fairly easily, add in Lawson with regular reps and we could field 8/9 on some sets, add another quality CDN O-lineman in FA or maybe Eli or Vibert could step in at C and we could roster 9/10.... My point is we have options, we could weigh out Brady's salary, we could go all American DL, we could go to a 3 American O-line, etc.....and we don't need a ton of pieces to make it happen. We do need to add CDN depth and IMO at least one top tier starter.....

A few thoughts.... Something seems "off" with Jackson to me, The Edm situation, then missing all of TC and even with him here our QB and offence was the worst it has been in a long time, not real discussions about him.....I don't know just something seems off to me Philpot would not be a player I would target...while he has flashes he is in the tub just too much and it will take Demski money or greater to get him.... Mitchel...oh boy, hopefully he get's his life figured out, his future is more than just football...He really did not work out for us.... That FA list is so premature...but it does have some great O-line and D-line on it I would love to see us be in on a top prospect if one does make it to actual FA...Hutchins would be a dream...and I would pay almost whatever for the guy, but I don't see him in the CFL for a few years at best...but one can dream,,, A couple tough decisions IMO on a couple of our own CDN's in BO and Kramdhi, while they are both "ratio" busters, they are also really expensive.... Better CDN receiver talent is a spot we need, Demski is great, but older and somewhat injury prone, Clercius seems to have taken a step back in his development, Corcoran is a fine depth piece.....I hope one of the higher end Cdn's make it to FA, just not Philopt as described above why.....

Brady IMO is already an overpay.....he is a NI star and a very very good RB, a hometown guy, a really likable guy that fricken saves dogs....but.... If someone else wants to outbid us for him, and build a roster around a NI RB, then honestly let them.....We can't afford to hurt the betterment of the overall roster...same way I felt about Ford last year minus the intangibles....but this year we need help along both lines and that doesn't come cheap....

I want to hear we will be interviewing for a new OC now........

IF.....Osh left, which I think is not likely, but hypothetically, JY as HC with Bowman as DC, Hall still advising defence asst. coaching, and Lapo as OC.....deep experience in Lapo and Hall up and comers in JY and Bowman.....possibly even AH as Rb and offensive asst. to work with Lapo again provided young new blood, and a connection to the young guys......other assistants stay.....Walters stays, and puts key focus on the lines..... Ok flame away..if you wish.....

I believe if we still had Buck or Lapo calling the plays on O, we win at least another game or two and would have possibly been fighting for first in the West.... Easiest change has to be OC Second to that we need to spend, turn over more rocks to improve the lines....they are not as bad as they looked, but we can not have "good" or "reliable" any longer... IMO you give Zach a better O-line and real offensive scheme, give Younger an improved D-line, and give OSH a few players and an OC that take tasks away from him and leads like Biggie, Harris or Buck did and I believe we would be a damn good team.......But we cannot fill those with "good" or "reliable" like we rolled out this year we need to find "great" and "exceptional"

Realistically we can't get rid of all our veteran leadership. Osh does give his leaders much responsibility, and we run a really unique defensive scheme....in saying that some of these guys need to be looked at under a microscope and an honest evaluation needs to be done on not just play or intangibles but the whole picture including return on investment... Some defensive examples may be, and these are all FA so "easy" to cut bait with if we choose...note we have some special teamers deeper back-ups like Gauthier and Cadwalader and a bunch of DB's..but DB's are something we seem to do such a good job with, I won't get into them...but here are some LB and DL question marks Kramdi he is one of the smartest guys out there and is pretty good player with versatility....but is he worth what his next contract will be worth.... Griffen...how do we view him can he be a main stay.... Wilson injury prone, a year older looked really good this year, is the risk of him being healthy worth it, and as mentioned what about what is behind him, can we save some money here, maybe flip it a CDN spot... Willy, one of the best that has been, adds tons of leadership and voice, but is that still worth what his next contract will pay him... Vaughters, he was good, solid dependable, but is that really what we need opposite of Willy...maybe, but did the few flashes from some other guys make him expendable... Schmekel, the guy looked light years better before injury, he is a FA does he have a future behind Lawson... Lawson...he won't be cheap, he has injury concerns... Thomas...will he retire....he has tons of experience and knowledge of this team, is as reliable as time itself but is he really the future, is he really a starter.... Woods...Some flashes, he is a FA so he won't be on a cheap deal anymore, is he a guy that can solidify the middle? We can't or shouldn't sign them all, nor should we cut bait with them all....

Go Buck....

Do we have a list somewhere of who is a FA this offseason?

My 2 cents.. Wbb summed it up pretty good, Walters did some really good things, but many of them didn't see the roster. We seemed to have luck letting guys on the O line go to other teams for years always having the next guy....but then we seemed to stop drafting for position and drafted best athletes, but didn't always utilize them. This has been a slow process but came to a head this season. D-line for years we didn't prioritize spending, it has worked, with Willy as our only "prize" we have done this for years, but this year Willy's play fell off, Daughters was good, dependable but not great....and we suffered from it. Coaching MOS has always had good to great coordinators, some may not like Buck but the guy is a really well liked very good coach, going with Hogan was a miss. Can't sugar coat it, it was miss. Jackson, is a bit of an enigma....what did he do this year.... MOS appeared more stressed and flustered this year...why I feel the loss of guys like Andrew Harris, Biggie, Hardwick etc. that he stated were like coaches actually helped him more than we realize...not only did they both lead in exceptional capacity MOS trusted and had faith in them in assisting. He had full faith in Buck and Buck did tons behind the scenes to help....take all that away and MOS lost too many helping hands. We have leaders but they are not the same. Miller (sp teams coach) has filled in some of those roles and it would not suprise me in the least to see him continue and develop into a very good coach with expanded roles one day. I feel MOS without all the between input he was used to get "fumbled" a fair bit this year...I still believe he has some great qualities, but like any human he has weaknesses also...he needs the right guys around him to fill his weaknesses and we didn't give him that this year... We needed leadership and experience, but it appears this year we went to the well a bit too deep...it was clear the roster management could have used younger arguably more talented guys many times, but we rolled out the veterans....I do I understand the thought process, but as we step back it's clear now some of this thought process hindered the overall betterment of the team. In closing I believe Walters and Osh can get us out of this, Walters needs to focus on and spend on the lines. Osh needs to be surrounded with great coordinators, and he needs to start to move on as tough as it will be for him from some of his veterans....

I don't understand how we do t even look like we want to be there.....watch Mtrl jumping around, flying, playing to the whistle, high diving etc.....Wpg..ho hum, walking around, ending up on their asses, being brushed off like flys, no energy on the bench..... I can't believe we sell our the stadium we support this team province wide like no other and they can't even show up and act like they care..

Lol....Alexander is going to bring his espresso machine on the field next drive.....he has the time to make one each snap

Oh boy it looks like pretty bad early.....

Don't turn the ball over on offence, and don't go away from Brady for long stretches...I don't care "what the defence gives us" or that they "stacked the box" demoralize them by running right into it like we used to do....if we want it more then prove it, smack them harder and grind out the rough yards....we are NOT going to win this game by "airing it out".....

So Oakman suspended and released from the team.....Well one less D lineman to worry about! Defensive lineman Shawn Oakman has been suspended indefinitely for violating the Canadian Football League’s Gender-Based Violence and Harassment Policy, the league announced on Friday, and the team also announced that they have released the fifth-year veteran. The suspension is effective immediately, and the Alouettes made the decision to release Oakman effective immediately as a result.

Honestly, IMO let Jones have his moment, he was really the least of concern this year, heck even as poor as most of the D-line has been even they are as whole not the biggest concern on this team. The defence as a sum of all parts was actually a really good defence.....the offence on the other hand......

Yes, our past history with injured guys in the playoffs is questionable....... I also forgot to add the best part of the game is ....NO MORE AIR HORNS.... that was the best single change the league did all year.....

Mass has developed into a good coach...and he has tuned his temper down many levels....but he is till a very whiney coach...he is always in a refs ear it seems....So as Noeller points out the team emulates that.....but at least...... NO AIR HORNS....all game.........

I too would like to see Jenkins for Person, and Baily for a depth Canuck.....I really like Allen and Holm, Housten, Nichols, Parker with Lawson backing up, I do like our LB core, Griffen and Woodsby both have impressed me, and although one could argue the two Canucks should have had more reps, they do seem to form solid depth, If a rested Willy can find his form, with Jake, Lawson, Woods rotating in between him and Vaughters with Baily and Jenkins actually rotating I believe the D-line will be decent. Overall. I am not concerned about the defence, especially if we have at least a bit of rotation along the D-line......I like our specials, I think we have an advantage on that 3rd over Mtrl. It's all the offence that scares me......save two games they have been utterly terrible this year....and I mean terrible, look at the ints. this year.... we won a game with what 9 passes...and are going into teh playoffs with two completely putrid offensive games back to back.... any one of the three qbs we have played at times have a D player in their face almost instantly...and can't find open receivers...it can't be all three...it has to be routes and schemes...., heck week 18 we saw a guy come clean through the A gap......untouched.....our deep ball is virtually nonexistent...at least to our own team that is.... we forget to manage the clock and seem to have little to no comprehension of situational awareness, we appear to gamble when we should play safe and play safe when we should gamble, save for one game we have not seemed to build on plays throughout the game to get into a rhythm....I don't have the yardage stats, but we must have the worst flats passing attack in the league...false starts, offsides, no ends like it were preseason most of the year...I could go on but I don't want to be too depressing..... IF our offence even plays a decent game, like 200 yards passing, no turnovers avoids avoidable penalties and uses our run game, we will win with the defence and special teams we have...we can and I dare say "should" with our experience win this game...but the offence at least needs to show up and protect the ball.......This year though that is a tough ask

1st star to Strevelor recovery...... Baily, the two new ends, Shay, Holm, MCI and Peterson all had great games Crunches were all the Also going down...

....me thinks the scheme just sucks.....

Our d has done good, specials good...nice to get some guys reps Baily and Shay have looked recent in the first half....in person Ayers is really good on specials...while I don't always love the way he is used on the roster, I see his value on specials.

Well, the weather is great...but after watching three QBs man this offence all with the same results.....I have officially concluded that it doesn't matter who we have at Qb....or receiver the offence just sucks