Rids

Great hire. Barron is a quality human being. 

Great hire. Barron is a quality human being. 

In the last 12 years Vancouver has hosted it three times and the world didn't end. 
 
There is a lot of debate over how much a CFL franchise is worth. The Flames bought 70% of the Stampeders for $16million. I'd suggest that the Argos are worth more than $10million. Unless there's some deal in the works to assume some old debts or some structuring like that. 

Wasn't a sell out but still 52,000+ for the game. 
 
8,000 more than Regina had the year before.
 
Pricing has as much to do with it as the buzz. Much like the Touchdown Atlantic games they've priced themselves out of average fan territory.

Too early to judge where to place him in the draft, I need more info. He's got a lot of options as he originally went to Penn as a DL and played as a freshman there. Transferred to Michigan State and also shifted to offense. As a blocker he's a throw back fullback. Makes great plays on the linebackers to open up running lanes. If a coach was interested in running a big formation especially in red zone moments he'd fit right into that. 
 
On the plus side I'll have an interview with him in the Guide. 

Too early to judge where to place him in the draft, I need more info. He's got a lot of options as he originally went to Penn as a DL and played as a freshman there. Transferred to Michigan State and also shifted to offense. As a blocker he's a throw back fullback. Makes great plays on the linebackers to open up running lanes. If a coach was interested in running a big formation especially in red zone moments he'd fit right into that. 
 
On the plus side I'll have an interview with him in the Guide. 

Here it is:
 
http://blog.ridleyscouting.com/Kent_Ridley_Thoughts/My_Thoughts/Entries/2015/1/29_Lots_of_Movement.html

Based on potential I think he could be a Shawn Gore type. Good hands, runs the routes properly. 
 
I think that Watson will have the better 2015 but come 2016 that will be the real comparison year.

Here it is:
 
http://blog.ridleyscouting.com/Kent_Ridley_Thoughts/My_Thoughts/Entries/2015/1/29_Lots_of_Movement.html

I did not see Coach Hall there in Mobile. Coach O'Shea was there along with front office staff - Danny McManus, Ted Goveia, Drew Morris and Kyle Walters.
 
Yes I would get a Mobile home! Being 5 minutes from the beach is a great thing!!! 
 
Hopefully more like this:
 

 
 
Than this...:
 

I did not see Coach Hall there in Mobile. Coach O'Shea was there along with front office staff - Danny McManus, Ted Goveia, Drew Morris and Kyle Walters.
 
Yes I would get a Mobile home! Being 5 minutes from the beach is a great thing!!! 
 
Hopefully more like this:
 

 
 
Than this...:
 

I did not see Coach Hall there in Mobile. Coach O'Shea was there along with front office staff - Danny McManus, Ted Goveia, Drew Morris and Kyle Walters.
 
Yes I would get a Mobile home! Being 5 minutes from the beach is a great thing!!! 
 
Hopefully more like this:
 

 
 
Than this...:
 

It's much more than that. True there are a lot of coaches looking for work or looking for an upgrade. Position coaches looking for co-ordinator openings, college coaches looking for position jobs and head coaches looking to fill out their staff. There's also scouts looking for front office jobs and scouting directors looking to fill their scouting staff. But that's only a portion of it all. 
 
Separate from that is the players. While the top guys are NFL bound and likely heading for a long career there are many players there that will not get drafted. It's a great chance to see guys side by side. Having film is a great thing but let's take a guy like Bryan Bennett who was given a shot at QB when Nick Marshall moved over to cornerback. 
 
Southeastern Louisiana played a schedule with schools like Incarnate Word so even though he had a little history at Oregon they haven't seen him against top cornerbacks. He's not NFL bound so the CFL guys were just as interested in seeing what he can do. 
 
Likewise many of the offensive linemen are going to be available for CFL teams in a year or two. It's a great time to pick up notes for the future. 

This is how you recruit. Nebraska making a push in all corners.
 

Well I'd say that his value has increased but it's just a representation of how deep the position group is this year. 
 
Jamie Wandell was a top 5 high school recruit going to Saint Mary's 4 years ago and he'll likely be the 12th or 13th OL drafted. (his story is unique unto itself but that's for another post)
 
 
Truthfully there's just that many names this year. 
 
In the chaos of it all there's always the CFL-esque flipside where having so many OL available in the draft will actually push a few of these guys down the list because teams will know the gap between OL #5 and OL #8 isn't very big compared to the drop from WR #4 to WR #5 or the steps from RB #3 to RB #4 to RB #5. 

It is my preference to formulate strongly-held opinions with as little real information as possible, including who the Bombers ABSOLUTELY WITHOUT EXCEPTION MUST DRAFT AT NUMBER TWO OR THEY ARE RUINING THE FRANCHISE!!! (trademark pending), and will vehemently shout down anyone who offers an opinion contrary to mine, so if you don't mind, your so-called "knowlege" has no place here.
 
Harumph.

Manziel would've been amazing as a Las Vegas Posse member. Probably would've ended with a Posse chasing him down...

You pay plumbers that don't work for you? Sounds like you need a better general contractor. 

A non-guaranteed contract for a guy that spent 3 years playing against NFL competition day after day; played 12 NFL pre-season games; started 38 consecutive games at Baylor; started a full season at JuCo. 
 
If he can play at RT then he's a bargain, if he plays at center or guard like a veteran then he's basically earning a vet salary from the get go. If he can't play any of those positions then he'll be released like a plumber that didn't do the job right. Big contracts in football are so different than in other sports which really propelled it's popularity in the US. The fact that a mistake can get you fired and fans aren't stuck with the player for 3 or 4 or 5 more years with a big price tag. Blue collar guys being paid like white collar guys. 

So you're saying that three years in the NFL hampered his development...?

Both Ohio State and Alabama had 3 turnovers. Ohio State turned one into a Pick 6. 
 
Elliott had 2 runs that were at the time the longest play from scrimmage given up by Alabama all year. 
 
The difference maker in the game was the big plays. Ohio State made them and Alabama couldn't when they needed them. 
 
Ezekiel Elliott had runs of 54 and 85 yards. Devin Smith's 47 yard TD catch and run. Steve Miller 41 yard Pick 6. A receiver throwing a TD pass to finish the first half. 
 
The Tyvis Powell INT down at the goalline was a killer for Alabama. 

Went through the remaining Bowl games and listed off the Canadians left to play (or at least their schools will play in a few cases)
 
http://blog.ridleyscouting.com/Kent_Ridley_Thoughts/My_Thoughts/Entries/2014/12/24_Canadians_Left_in_Bowl_Games.html
 
 

Merry Christmas! 

http://jessicaridley.com/Christmas.html

Went through the remaining Bowl games and listed off the Canadians left to play (or at least their schools will play in a few cases)
 
http://blog.ridleyscouting.com/Kent_Ridley_Thoughts/My_Thoughts/Entries/2014/12/24_Canadians_Left_in_Bowl_Games.html
 
 

Had 103 kids out for the camp in Winnipeg. That facility at the U of Winnipeg is AWESOME! Great to see a full length field like that with fantastic staff helping us out. We'll be back for next year!