Finally, we have the first pre-season game! LFG

Both games are on CFL+, no regular TSN this year.

Position battles to watch;

DB, (22)Burrell, and (37)Texada lead this race through camp so far. (41) Williams isn't far behind. It will also be a big pre-season for (26)Woodbey and (0) Allen, who showed strong flashes last year but are fighting an uphill battle for AR spots. Bonus, the Canadians are having a tough battle as well (7)Stuart, (29)Ball, (16)Kelly are all fighting for a chance to play. Kelly needs to sustain some high-level play, as Ball has been a strong overachiever, and Stuart has tremendous attributes. (36)Javier is a sleeper pick as well. He spent time on the Riders' PR, played pre-season in the NFL, and had a knack for big plays in college to go with great size. (13)Addison, a former WR convert who immediately produced at DB, has incredible size and is another big-play college guy to watch.

DL, (90)Dixon, and (54)Jenkins are front-runners at DE, (35)Bailey, and (43)Gatkuoth have high hopes to provide us meaningful reps from the depth chart. 95(Hooper) is a depth-sleeper as well. While (91)Pace is the new DT to watch.

Of course, the OL will be a great watch, with mostly names we are all familiar with. Wallace's step forward in camp has been huge; this could be his coming-out party. And Eli now gets the chance to be C 1, while everyone gets the chance to finally be free of Kola. (62)Viebert, and(64)Ellsbury are lesser known guys to watch. I like a lot of what Viebert brings, and with a step forward this year could make a tough decision. Ellsbury is our no. 1 option at C if Eli doesn't work out.

Lber, we see a ton of returning guys and more CFL bodies than we could possibly carry. (39)Smith and (34)Shay are the ones we all hope have a big game and manage to move up the depth chart.

Rb/TE will be interesting to watch. (73) Daniels could be put in for blocking immediately, which could come at the expense of the 3rd rb. (25)MCI has flashed a significant step forward as a ball carrier in camp, on top of that huge play late last year. While (22)Peterson showed us a whole lot in relief of Brady last year. (35)Rocker, the token import RB of the year and winner of best name in TC, would only be fitting if he became the TC MVP.

WR, it's an ugly group today. No reason to mince words. (86) Clericius moving to the slot should be a good watch. They seem high on (82)Cobb this year in camp, after stapling his butt to the bench most of last year. (83)Nield will need to translate what he flashed last year in a big way for us. (17) Singer has had some plays in camp. Corcoran, Desrosiers, Hurford, Jack, and (89)feel good story Tachinski are all going to play significant reps. Hopefully its not like a rerun of Baywatch when they are out on routes.

(44)Keegan, the punter's rival this year, has been quiet after coming to camp late. (36)Lidster, Sergios intern has as well.

(79)Harrison is a former JET KR of the year winner and will see some KR work. (87)Davis, a very tall, slim-built converted QB from the arena leagues, will likely see some KR work today. (17)Singer, a WR to watch, has also gotten reps on teams this camp, though he doesn't have as much experience doing it as the rest. (35)Rocker may possibly do it this pre-season as well, as he was kind of a do-it-all back in college.

Stuart was picked on, but he was around the play just a few steps behind. As a rookie probably should expect that. The key will be processing faster and reacting without thinking.

41 minutes ago, rebusrankin said:

So do we think Smith will actually get a rotational shot this year? To me, you could start him and have Kyrie as the DI as he can back up both spots, contribute on teams and a smaller role might help keep him healthy but that seems like something the club usually doesn't do.

You start smith and use Kyrie as the naturalized player. Save the DI spot.

Will that happen? I think its a matter of time. MIght not happen at the start of the year (though it should) but I think by late season he will be starting.

43 minutes ago, sweep the leg said:

I haven’t seen him in practice, so I’ll take your word for it on his potential at lb. His processing looked more than just a step behind to me.

Hes looked pretty good in TC from what Ive seen. Great flow to the ball guy. Work to do in cover, but great instincts, plays fast and strong.

4 minutes ago, 17to85 said:

Stuart was picked on, but he was around the play just a few steps behind. As a rookie probably should expect that. The key will be processing faster and reacting without thinking.

They picked on his side late. But what was happening is the switches in Jys split field cover zone weren't happening. With the PA cameras, it wasn't clear that 1 guy was messing everyone up, but the whole side was struggling. But the deep cover assignment was the most problematic, which wouldn't be stuarts assignment.

Elgersma needs a lot of seasoning, and i believe he will work hard. Realistically, he should be 3rd string. He may throw great in practice but the game is moving too fast for him right now.

Loved Smith/Shay/Singer

Very worried about Tui. He needs to be a lot better.

Edited yesterday at 05:57 PM1 day by GCn20

32 minutes ago, GCn20 said:

Elgersma needs a lot of seasoning, and i believe he will work hard. Realistically, he should be 3rd string. He may throw great in practice but the game is moving too fast for him right now.

Loved Smith/Shay/Singer

Very worried about Tui. He needs to be a lot better.

Elgersma, yeah pretty much. We will see how game 2 goes but I think he will essentially be qb3. If perkins’s runs short yardage maybe they’ll roster elgersma as 2 but functionally use perkins as 2.

I’m not worried about eli yet, he barely played C. Ellsbury played most of the snaps. But his performance sure does lead to us being thin at C.

3 hours ago, wbbfan said:

Elgersma, yeah pretty much. We will see how game 2 goes but I think he will essentially be qb3. If perkins’s runs short yardage maybe they’ll roster elgersma as 2 but functionally use perkins as 2.

I’m not worried about eli yet, he barely played C. Ellsbury played most of the snaps. But his performance sure does lead to us being thin at C.

Tui didn't play much but he was not good...worse than Kola bad...still early tho. It was mental mistakes and that probably from being less than 2 weeks on the job. Hes gotta get better before the season tho

Edited 22 hours ago22 hr by GCn20

Elgersma will be QB2. Lots of drops on easy catches by recievers.

23 minutes ago, CrazyCanuck89 said:

Elgersma will be QB2. Lots of drops on easy catches by recievers.

I'm not certain about that. Game 2 will be very very important.

4 hours ago, GCn20 said:

Loved Smith/Shay/Singer

What did you love about Shay? The only times I noticed him was when he tried to blitz.

42 minutes ago, CrazyCanuck89 said:

Elgersma will be QB2. Lots of drops on easy catches by recievers.

2 drops and a bunch of bad decisions. I’m very high on him but let’s give him some time.

2 minutes ago, Jesse said:

2 drops and a bunch of bad decisions. I’m very high on him but let’s give him some time.

Elgersma has all the tools. With Collaros & Condell tutoring him he'll be fine. Just needs time as you say.

Edited 21 hours ago21 hr by SpeedFlex27

Perkins looked better and did more in one quarter than Wilson did in 3 seasons.

4 hours ago, wbbfan said:

Elgersma, yeah pretty much. We will see how game 2 goes but I think he will essentially be qb3. If perkins’s runs short yardage maybe they’ll roster elgersma as 2 but functionally use perkins as 2.

I’m not worried about eli yet, he barely played C. Ellsbury played most of the snaps. But his performance sure does lead to us being thin at C.

We have Vbert but no idea how good he is.

13 hours ago, Tracker said:

We have Vbert but no idea how good he is.

I am guessing that it's Tui's job, he's gonna have to sharpen his pencil is all.

14 hours ago, CrazyCanuck89 said:

Elgersma will be QB2. Lots of drops on easy catches by recievers.

I think he's going to have to show a lot more in game 2 because right now Perkins has a better command of the offence.

14 hours ago, sweep the leg said:

What did you love about Shay? The only times I noticed him was when he tried to blitz.

I thought he showed good hustle and movement to the ball. He didn't show up on the stat sheet, but he flowed to the play nicely.

17 hours ago, sweep the leg said:

What did you love about Shay? The only times I noticed him was when he tried to blitz.

He got burned at sam once, and that side did struggle in coverage late. But it was very much a group effort in coverage that failed.

What I liked in what I saw was his kick cover and physicality were really good again. I think he's a bit out of place as a sam tbh. He has the athleticism, but doesn't have near the polish dropping back that frequently into coverage. I think he'd be much better off at wil/mac or backing up Kramdi at S. Though he could well develop into a great ratio breaking sam at some point, but its one of the hardest positions to adjust to for guys who are pure cover players.

16 hours ago, Jesse said:

2 drops and a bunch of bad decisions. I’m very high on him but let’s give him some time.

Zach is gonna rub off on him a lot, already seems to be happening. Elgersma was aggressive, and thats not bad. But he did fail to pick up post snap coverage adjustments and didn't take what the D gave him. It is good that he didn't wilt though. Id like to see him learn to play more with in the system and work medium to long range rather then deep to short, but we might be hard up for that to happen with no QB coach and Zach as the incumbent.

16 hours ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

Elgersma has all the tools. With Collaros & Condell tutoring him he'll be fine. Just needs time as you say.

I think year 2 Elgersmas' floor will be very high. And his ceiling is tremendous.

16 hours ago, MrFreakzilla said:

Perkins looked better and did more in one quarter than Wilson did in 3 seasons.

Nailed it. He made the best of a bad spot, took what he could and used his legs when he needed to. His run-throw processing was better then I expected and saw in the UFL. It is a small sample size, but its easy to see why the other 2 qbs fled town.

17 hours ago, Noeller said:

I'm not certain about that. Game 2 will be very very important.

I expect Perkins to be QB2 and Elgersma to be QB1. for 1, the defence gets more out of prepping with perkins running scout team then Elgersma. For another, his experience in terms of preparation as a professional is extremely valuable. He also provides an instant change of pace if zach has to come out, and we can continue with a streveler pack based around short yardage/heavy set and hurry up with perkins.

16 hours ago, Tracker said:

We have Vbert but no idea how good he is.

I'm bullish on Vibert, but he wasn't great in the first game. He did play mostly Guard, and he wasn't bad, but he didn't pop off the page either. I expect him to get a lot more reps and some time at C in game 2.

2 hours ago, GCn20 said:

I am guessing that it's Tui's job, he's gonna have to sharpen his pencil is all.

I think he's going to have to show a lot more in game 2 because right now Perkins has a better command of the offence.

I thought he showed good hustle and movement to the ball. He didn't show up on the stat sheet, but he flowed to the play nicely.

Shays ' teams play comes from a great instinctual athletic ability to flow to the ball. He shows that on D, but its still raw compared to Smith.

21 hours ago, wbbfan said:

Elgersma, yeah pretty much. We will see how game 2 goes but I think he will essentially be qb3. If perkins’s runs short yardage maybe they’ll roster elgersma as 2 but functionally use perkins as 2.

I’m not worried about eli yet, he barely played C. Ellsbury played most of the snaps. But his performance sure does lead to us being thin at C.

Yeah TUI hardly repped at Center....I not concerned there...I think they wanTed to see ELSBURY....Hopefully they saw enough....not good

to touch on the Shay comments here...Shay shouldn't be at SAM...he's a MLB thru and thru....doing him a diservice forcing him there.

...he's really good on teams and his roster spot is safe....I hope this yr we realize that we can backfill the roster with the depth/ST guys but actually use the guys who canin a pich tale a few reps, and have the potential to push for reps, as opposed to use these ST only guys with zippity dodah for upside....High upside guys can play ST too...a lot of times better than the ST only sluggos...

4 hours ago, GCn20 said:

I am guessing that it's Tui's job, he's gonna have to sharpen his pencil is all.

I think he's going to have to show a lot more in game 2 because right now Perkins has a better command of the offence.

Let's be honest, you're so invested in the argument that Eli hasn't played before because he's not good enough you're not budging off that position any time soon.

I am not sure if Perkins has a better command of the offense, but what he has is more pro experience and is more comfortable out there at game speed. Just a shame the guys arm is meh.

4 minutes ago, 17to85 said:

Let's be honest, you're so invested in the argument that Eli hasn't played before because he's not good enough you're not budging off that position any time soon.

I am not sure if Perkins has a better command of the offense, but what he has is more pro experience and is more comfortable out there at game speed. Just a shame the guys arm is meh.

I'm invested in good OL play. Nothing more. Eli missed two blocking assignments during the game. Are you suggesting that was a figment of my imagination? C'mon man. I want Eli to do well, he needs to sharpen his pencil and that has nothing to do with anything I've said about him in the past. The proof is in the pudding. I absolutely believe Eli is good enough, what I'm seeing is not a lack of natural ability but brain cramps that need to be rectified.

Perkins, does have a better command of the offence but yea...not the strongest passer out there. I have no doubt that Elgersma is the better QB in time, but right now not so much. That could change quickly given TE's natural abilities. Just needs to get used to things.

1 hour ago, wbbfan said:

He got burned at sam once, and that side did struggle in coverage late. But it was very much a group effort in coverage that failed.

What I liked in what I saw was his kick cover and physicality were really good again. I think he's a bit out of place as a sam tbh. He has the athleticism, but doesn't have near the polish dropping back that frequently into coverage. I think he'd be much better off at wil/mac or backing up Kramdi at S. Though he could well develop into a great ratio breaking sam at some point, but its one of the hardest positions to adjust to for guys who are pure cover players.

Zach is gonna rub off on him a lot, already seems to be happening. Elgersma was aggressive, and thats not bad. But he did fail to pick up post snap coverage adjustments and didn't take what the D gave him. It is good that he didn't wilt though. Id like to see him learn to play more with in the system and work medium to long range rather then deep to short, but we might be hard up for that to happen with no QB coach and Zach as the incumbent.

I think year 2 Elgersmas' floor will be very high. And his ceiling is tremendous.

Nailed it. He made the best of a bad spot, took what he could and used his legs when he needed to. His run-throw processing was better then I expected and saw in the UFL. It is a small sample size, but its easy to see why the other 2 qbs fled town.

I expect Perkins to be QB2 and Elgersma to be QB1. for 1, the defence gets more out of prepping with perkins running scout team then Elgersma. For another, his experience in terms of preparation as a professional is extremely valuable. He also provides an instant change of pace if zach has to come out, and we can continue with a streveler pack based around short yardage/heavy set and hurry up with perkins.

I'm bullish on Vibert, but he wasn't great in the first game. He did play mostly Guard, and he wasn't bad, but he didn't pop off the page either. I expect him to get a lot more reps and some time at C in game 2.

Shays ' teams play comes from a great instinctual athletic ability to flow to the ball. He shows that on D, but its still raw compared to Smith.

Didn't love the run blocking by the 2nd group OL. That will need to be a lot better. That's a part of the game that really shouldn't require a lot of time or chemistry to be high level if you have high level run blockers.

on a different note...based on the big gallop last yr...and the run on Saturday where it looked like he was shot out of a cannon...Calling it now with that size and crazy speed...and more usage...I bet MCI rips off one of...if not the longest run from scrimmage from a RB in league this yr...

Edited 2 hours ago2 hr by Booch

18 minutes ago, GCn20 said:

I'm invested in good OL play. Nothing more. Eli missed two blocking assignments during the game. Are you suggesting that was a figment of my imagination? C'mon man. I want Eli to do well, he needs to sharpen his pencil and that has nothing to do with anything I've said about him in the past. The proof is in the pudding. I absolutely believe Eli is good enough, what I'm seeing is not a lack of natural ability but brain cramps that need to be rectified.

Perkins, does have a better command of the offence but yea...not the strongest passer out there. I have no doubt that Elgersma is the better QB in time, but right now not so much. That could change quickly given TE's natural abilities. Just needs to get used to things.

Didn't love the run blocking by the 2nd group OL. That will need to be a lot better. That's a part of the game that really shouldn't require a lot of time or chemistry to be high level if you have high level run blockers.

None of the groups' run blocking was remotely good enough. I very much expect to see a drastic improvement and Eli taking a lot more snaps at C in the first half of the 2nd game.

Bryant was worrisome to me in pass pro, though he didn't play long. Vanterpool looked like he took a 2 year step backwards, which is a big disappointment. Elsbury was brutal in run blocking. Wallace gave up a big speed rush at T early but settled in pretty good after that. I wonder if he isn't too big to play T for an entire game though. Vibert was solid, Id like to see more of him at C. Poncious and Pares were average in pass pro and poor in run blocking. Mazzccua is a freaking tank. Id keep him around to develop. Rando picked up where he left off last year. Very good pass pro, solid run blocking.

4 minutes ago, Booch said:

on a different note...based on the big gallop last yr...and the run on Saturday where it looked like he was shot out of a cannon...Calling it now with that size and crazy speed...and more usage...I bet MCI rips off one of...if not the longest run from scrimmage from a RB in league this yr...

He needs more touches than the 3rd/4th Canadian WR. Move him around and get him the ball off screens and any way possible.

18 minutes ago, wbbfan said:

None of the groups' run blocking was remotely good enough. I very much expect to see a drastic improvement and Eli taking a lot more snaps at C in the first half of the 2nd game.

Bryant was worrisome to me in pass pro, though he didn't play long. Vanterpool looked like he took a 2 year step backwards, which is a big disappointment. Elsbury was brutal in run blocking. Wallace gave up a big speed rush at T early but settled in pretty good after that. I wonder if he isn't too big to play T for an entire game though. Vibert was solid, Id like to see more of him at C. Poncious and Pares were average in pass pro and poor in run blocking. Mazzccua is a freaking tank. Id keep him around to develop. Rando picked up where he left off last year. Very good pass pro, solid run blocking.

He needs more touches than the 3rd/4th Canadian WR. Move him around and get him the ball off screens and any way possible.

Once they figure out how to, and to actually, use MCI he will be an X factor.

1 hour ago, Booch said:

Yeah TUI hardly repped at Center....I not concerned there...I think they wanTed to see ELSBURY....Hopefully they saw enough....not good

to touch on the Shay comments here...Shay shouldn't be at SAM...he's a MLB thru and thru....doing him a diservice forcing him there.

...he's really good on teams and his roster spot is safe....I hope this yr we realize that we can backfill the roster with the depth/ST guys but actually use the guys who canin a pich tale a few reps, and have the potential to push for reps, as opposed to use these ST only guys with zippity dodah for upside....High upside guys can play ST too...a lot of times better than the ST only sluggos...

I'm thinking there is no realistic way we use Shay at SAM. My thinking is that Younger didn't want to show too much but they wanted to see if and where Shay could go as a 4th Lber in a 3-4 defence. They blitzed him, they used him in coverage out of the SAM. My thinking tho, is that IF Shay goes in on a 3-4 it would be because he brings some versatility.

1 hour ago, GCn20 said:

Once they figure out how to, and to actually, use MCI he will be an X factor.

I'm thinking there is no realistic way we use Shay at SAM. My thinking is that Younger didn't want to show too much but they wanted to see if and where Shay could go as a 4th Lber in a 3-4 defence. They blitzed him, they used him in coverage out of the SAM. My thinking tho, is that IF Shay goes in on a 3-4 it would be because he brings some versatility.

yeah....possibly to just see what he could do there in a pinch.....He is versatile and demon on teams...a demon on teams who can actually play...Much like Smith

1 minute ago, Booch said:

yeah....possibly to just see what he could do there in a pinch.....He is versatile and demon on teams...a demon on teams who can actually play...Much like Smith

Yep. I’d line him up like an h-back, and motion him to and from the slot as well. Send him out in a fb alignment then send him to the slot. He isn’t a natural wr obviously but if he’s 1on1 with a mlber, with the waggle and his quicks he will be open on a hitch, out etc.