25/26 CFL (Non Bombers) Off Season Thread

[wbbfan]

2 hours ago, Noeller said:

Everything I remember reading is that Vibert is a "natural" C... Or, at least, that's what he'd played in college. I was hoping he was the guy next year but not sure how polished he is...??

Not really a natural centre, but proficient enough at C that it doesn’t matter imo. He could easily be a starter in this league sooner rather than later at either g spot or c. 

5 hours ago, 17to85 said:

At guard... he's never got much chance at centre where our actual centee being a matador would be an improvement. Kolankowski spends most of the game wandering around like he's lost.

I’d add, no guard has looked terribly great next to kola. 
Eli has excelled in heavy sets on the edge including in pass pro and inside. 

I have no question that eli, and any ar ni C in the league would be an upgrade over kola. he’s that bad. 

It is very hard to properly identify how good an ol is/can be when next to a turn style. The insertion of bond at G and hardrick kicking out to rt took us from a team giving up among the most hits/pressures/sacks to the best ol in the league. 

Id sure like to see how wallace, neuf, eli, vibert and/or vanterpool play with out kola giving up instant disruption and pressure as fast as the qb gets the ball. I mean the Ts will play better too.  Rando and vanterpool are serious contenders for all kinds of awards if c is fixed. 

[johnzo]

I am not qualified to judge OL issues, but it sure seemed to me last year that Brady was getting the holes he needed at the point of attack and that we were getting OL into the second level often enough. 

The ugly OL moments happened in pass pro, Zach dropping back against teams rushing 3-4 -- sometimes Zach wouldn't even get a steamboat before he had to start scrambling, he'd have a DT in his lap or an DE coming round the horn.  Which makes me hopeful that if we get pass pro sorted out, Zach will return to form.

[17to85]

The rare times kolankowski actually got a block at the point of attack Oliveira would inevitably have a huge gain. 

Simply put our centre sucks and bringing the heavy sets we used a ton of don't mean **** when the middle guy is beat so badly so often by 1 guy.

[wbbfan]

1 hour ago, johnzo said:

I am not qualified to judge OL issues, but it sure seemed to me last year that Brady was getting the holes he needed at the point of attack and that we were getting OL into the second level often enough. 

The ugly OL moments happened in pass pro, Zach dropping back against teams rushing 3-4 -- sometimes Zach wouldn't even get a steamboat before he had to start scrambling, he'd have a DT in his lap or an DE coming round the horn.  Which makes me hopeful that if we get pass pro sorted out, Zach will return to form.

run pro almost always does exceed pass pro. The izr scheme we run also means if the inside is shut down he can speed cut to the tackle. His vision while running has been a major part of his growth. It allows him to press the line but still pivot on a slight hesitation or over pursuit by the edge. 

I didn’t see nearly as much ol effectively blocking at the second level, or the classic down field scrum with our ol driving our ball carrier further for added yardage. But guys did get the opportunity, they just struggled getting on a guy and kicking him out or mowing him down. 

 Kola was also the guy heading down field more than the guards which creates a gap but doesn’t get you a seal at the second level. With teams shifting to line up in a 0 or 1 tech on kola that creates the situation where the guard carries the play side or head up dl and he slides off the double team down field. 

 

pass pro and ol play isn’t all time good, but with the way holding is being called, it has a massive advantage in pass pro. especially on the ends. All our ol has to play with inside leverage though to help compensate for our inability to seal the a gaps / nose lane. so our Ts give up too many rushes on looping routes to the qb with speed. 

 Does stan still have it to play head up on a guy and win the battle around the edge? Idk, i would rather see him kick in side. Every one gets better if the hole up the middle is slammed shut though. 

1 hour ago, 17to85 said:

The rare times kolankowski actually got a block at the point of attack Oliveira would inevitably have a huge gain. 

Simply put our centre sucks and bringing the heavy sets we used a ton of don't mean **** when the middle guy is beat so badly so often by 1 guy.

It was painful watching him cruise for a guy and not find any one. Even more painful when the broadcasters would try to make excuses. When you’re the guy who will be doubling then heading down field, you should have an eye on the guy at the 2nd level who you want to hit the whole time.  getting to the point and being all alone is such a red flag for awareness. even if a guy falls down at the second level you should be able to get the 2nd a gap defender. 

[SpeedFlex27]

8 hours ago, GCn20 said:

When playing from behind BO loses touches. However, in the games where we got behind early part of it was because he didn't run well. Is he the best back in the CFL? Could be, but not by much and he's paid as if he is almost twice as good as everyone else. He isn't and that's the problem. This isn't about BO's ability, it's about whether he is worth his astronomical salary. 

No kidding, Brady loses touches if we're behind. All running backs have that happen. It doesn't mean that we don't pay. Oliveira's a tank. He responds to more work. So, if we have a lead in the fourth qurter, we unleash the running attack & he controls the game wearing down opoosition defenses. Last year, we had a dumbass OC who never used him properly all season long. Like I said, we lose Oliveira it's a clear sign that this is a cheap organization. That they don't spend any money, on other teams or on our free agents. One other question, just what is astronomical when it comes to salary with Lawler, Hatcher, Zach, Harris, & Philpott??

Edited 45 minutes ago by SpeedFlex27

[rebusrankin]

So how much of a bump did Harris get from the $450,000 he got last year? Bet he's still cheaper than Zach.