Jesse

And Cole in for Kramdi.

I mean, that’s still 2 moves to cover one spot.

That only makes the cut more likely.

The way he’s being talked up around here makes me think he’s a guaranteed cut.

To submit to the league. They have almost assuredly done that. They just haven’t announced it to us yet.

We know that Cole, Moses, Petrishen are not getting the opportunity to play beside Wilson, Kramdi, Gauthier. It's hard to say they're being given the opportunity to earn a roster spot when you're not even trying to look at players side by side.

1. I'm not a Kramdi hater, though I believe he should have to play to earn his spot (but he's not playing so...) 2. I'm not defending the coaches here, I'm just saying we can easily assume this is what's happening.

I think so. I seem to remember him not practicing after the pre-season game.

I have no reason to think he won't be starting at SAM. With only back-ups playing, I think it's fair to assume all former starters are written into their old spots in pen.

This is more important than whether Zach plays or not. Keeping in mind that we had Dru Brown in each of the last couple of years as well. This year, we have a couple rookies taking snaps, one of whom has been here for a few days. How do we evaluate any of the offensive players? How does the OL begin to come together as a unit (with a two new starters this season)?

I think we do, I'm just saying you don't need to do the whole thing for a preseason game. If the CFL can manage a video feed and audio, why can't TSN produce a cost effective version to get it on air?

Ok, but we’re getting the video feed. So how much more expensive does it need to get?

I can't see Calgary being any good. Both Sask and Edmonton have clearer paths to success, imo.

He needs to have at least one monster year if he expects to keep getting paid like he is. But he's never played 18 games.

That's why they're keeping so many guys around, I guess. Every gets a chance to show their stuff. The one thing MOS did say about the receivers, is that everyone is having good and bad moments. Just waiting for someone to take the job.

When it comes to Rutledge (or other examples of guys staying in depth roles or bouncing back and forth from the PR), and I’ve mentioned this a couple of times now, we can’t take the onus off of the player. I know we get excited when we see a guy make plays in game, but we also don’t know if he’s not where he should be on the field within the scheme, is he playing selfishly, is he dogging it in practice or in meetings? There’s so much that we don’t see. And we’ve been far too successful to think guys are losing snaps for no reason. As to competitions in training camp, obviously there are guys who walk in to TC safe. But we also saw with Andrew Harris that when they lose their stuff, they’re gone. We brought in Daley when we weren’t getting enough at SAM, eventually replaced him. We acknowledged our kicking game wasn’t enough and kept bringing back Castillio, brought Lawler back into the fold. We are capable of recognizing weaknesses. And again, I am all on board with some of MOS’s roster management decisions. I’m just also acknowledging that there’s a lot we don’t see.

It’s funny that you list the examples of the coaches doing exactly what you want them to do. We bring in LBs and DTs and QBs every year. But they have to prove that they can hang in there first, and then they have to stick around to show that they know the play book, are culture fits, etc. And I do agree with you in principle, but I really think you’re banging the drum too hard. It’s almost like arguing with aards on the other forum. Even when I agree with him, he just takes it so far in one direction that I feel the need to disagree with him.

Absolutely. But I’m solely talking about the on field performance.

I brought this up earlier too. The onus is on the players to prove themselves.

Yup. Our first game came really early. Haven't a lot of practice time with anyone to make cut down decisions.

I honestly don't think Chad Kelly is that good. Toronto is a stacked team and I think Dukes will carry them just fine.

Starting is such a dumb term for DT though. It doesn’t matter how he’s listed on the DC, it’s what percentage of snaps he gets.

I think you're talking in circles here, man. Of course they earned their spots. There are always circumstances which dictate when guys are given their first opportunities.

I'm honestly not sure the point you're trying to make here, Booch. There's always a path to where a guy gets his opportunity. You explaining each guy's history doesn't make it a moot point. These are examples of Americans earning roster spots. This year, we'll see even more. I'm just pointing out that there' more that goes into it than the couple splash plays we see in games.

Now the problem with this line of thinking is guys like Alexander, Holm, Lawler, Nichols, Parker, Schoen, Streveler... who all came in and earned significant roles from Day 1. Obviously the process isn't and can't be perfect. But it's not like we have zero examples of it. Even with a veteran heavy team, there are examples every year of Americans coming in and earning spots.