Louie Richardson. Mike Cornell. Teague Sherman. Matt Bucknor.

 

41 tackles

2 sacks

3 forced fumbles

2 tackles for losses

3 pass knockdowns

 

That's what those 4 guys have brought to the table this season after careers that totaled 82 games dressed and 51 tackles as their only stats registered in a defensive setting. 4 guys who were all undrafted. I'm not about to proclaim any of them to be 2014 CFL All Stars, but these 4 guys are taking a considerable amount of defensive reps this season and while they're not lighting the league on fire, they're proving to be contributing members to one of the league's toughest defenses. Some may suggest this is just Gary Etcheverry being Gary Etcheverry, but I think it has a lot to do with Mike O'Shea and Kyle Walters. These are guys who want that lunch bucket mentality. I truly think O'Shea means it when he believes his roster consists of 44 starters on a weekly basis. Guys like Richardson and Cornell are getting opportunities that they would have never got before. Even players like Kyle Norris and Derek Jones are seeing reps in our defense. Jake Thomas has been a contributing member. And the funny thing about it? It's working.

 

Is this going to give pause to the line of thinking that Canadians are not viable solutions in certain areas of the lineup? If this keeps up, is the league going to use the Winnipeg franchise as a model to support the idea that maybe our (the league, not Winnipeg) Canadian talent is not as weak as some suggest? And maybe all these guys need are a chance to prove it? Will we see more undrafted players getting the opportunity to show what they've got for meaningful offensive or defensive reps?

 

Whatever it is, I love it. How can you not cheer for these guys.

 

 

Bucknor is playing much better than Jovon Johnson did last year, and he's a Canadian. Says a lot about what a great job Walters has done upgrading the talent level.

Just looked it up pass knock downs

Sears 2

Bruce Johnson 2

Leggett 3 (impressive considering he's only played 2 or 3 games)

Washington 1

Bucknor 2

Randle 3

Bucknor is playing much better than Jovon Johnson did last year, and he's a Canadian. Says a lot about what a great job Walters has done upgrading the talent level.

 

Bucknor is playing much better than Jovon Johnson did last year, and he's a Canadian. Says a lot about what a great job Walters has done upgrading the talent level.

 

and how bad JJ has gotten (no offense to Bucknor though I agree he's been playing well). Oh, forgot, JJ is 'back' if he does say so himself. 

Bucknor is in Stewarts spot and #RandleIsland is in JJ spot.

The important thing..... is that this team is changing the way.... it thinks

The important thing..... is that this team is changing the way.... it thinks

 

Precisely.  They actually had a workable Plan B when a Canadian lineman went down.  When was the last time that happened?

This is a really nice thread Mike ... good insight on your part .... I am looking forward to Fitzgerald starting to shine .... I expect he could become an important slotback for us ... not a speedy Gonzales but owning the middle of the field when there is lots of traffic there

As we thought 'outside the box' when we used our tight end formation and passed the ball to the tight ends, we thought outside the box when we signed players to utilize when the the need arose.

Case in point…signing Feoli-Gudino to compliment Corey Watson when he inevitably went down.

Worked out really fine so far.

Plenty of teams pay lip service to the concept "next man up"....but, this team just does it, week in, week out.

Plenty of teams pay lip service to the concept "next man up"....but, this team just does it, week in, week out.

Because they had too.

That being said. Toronto looks pathetic with they depth/ backups on offence.

 

Plenty of teams pay lip service to the concept "next man up"....but, this team just does it, week in, week out.

Because they had too.

That being said. Toronto looks pathetic with they depth/ backups on offence.

 

 

Well, if Watson, Moore AND Denmark went down at once, our depth might be a different story...

I think having to play Sewell at tackle was as big of a factor as not having Owens and Durie. The left tackle position was one of glaring weakness and the riders just exploited it.

As we thought 'outside the box' when we used our tight end formation and passed the ball to the tight ends, we thought outside the box when we signed players to utilize when the the need arose.

Case in point…signing Feoli-Gudino to compliment Corey Watson when he inevitably went down.

Worked out really fine so far.

 

Which is why I think so many on here dislike(d) the double tight end set.  They remember it from the past, where the opposition always knew we were going to run when the extra blockers came out. Nothing like a few throws to the fullback to keep them off-balance.

I especially like the tight end set with all the smaller LBer's that seem to be trending with teams.

I especially like the tight end set with all the smaller LBer's that seem to be trending with teams.

Yup. Watching beasts like fitzgerald get matched up with a sam in space is pretty entertaining... Even pontibrand would bulldoze thru most me thinks..

I really liked how we used Pontbriand and Fitzgerald in our last game - it seems like we have been consistently increasing their workload every week.