Argo rookie camp

Toronto Argonauts
1

Took in the Argo rookie camp workout today. Didn't see any real surprises from what I have seen or read of the newcomers.
WR Todd Devoe looks to be the pick of the new receivers, if they keep any other new receivers it will be a toss up as I thought most of the rest were fairly even, taking turns making catches and missing some. But Devoe looks like a keeper.

Canadian WR Obed Cetoute should get a good look as he has size and speed and pretty good hands. I think Brad Smith will be back at Queen's this year.

Jamel White is an experienced NFL RB and looks like he will be tough to bring down as he's short and stocky with some speed. Doesn't look to have great catching hands for anything except the short passes.
Josh Davis impressed me with his speed and good receiving hands. If he can run the ball the Argos may have a find.

Canadian RB Andre Durie definitely has some skills if he is recovered form injuries. I can see him being a force down the road.

Only five O-Lineman on the field 2 imports and 3 Canadians. Import Woodly Telfort looked good pass blocking.
Canadians Brian Ramsay and Michael Bailey look like projects that could be a year or two away from starting.

Only 4 D-Linemen 2 Canadians and 2 imports. Import Daryl Whittington looked good rushing the passer, but then again he was up against rookies.
Canadian Sean Simms looks like a good athlete, have to see how he does in game action.

Tom Arth looks like the odd man out at QB. Most inaccurate passer of the five IMO. Damon is still Damon, can still make the throws, when he concentrates. Bishop looks confident. Crouch and McMahon look even for now, with McMahon having a little better deep ball. But of course Crouch is the better runner.

I'm assuming the new DB's and LB's were not brought in for the rookie camp, also some announced signed OL's and DL's are either no shows or haven't reported yet.

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Sean Simms and I went to the same highschool in Etobicoke (Michael Power/St. Joseph), although he was a year ahead of me.

Remember how in highschool you wore the same ski jacket and running shoes when it started getting cold? Well, let me tell ya, Sean Simms and I had the EXACT SAME running shoes AND ski jacket! Pretty cool eh?

Man, this is such a dumb post, I shouldn't go online when I come back from the bar.

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dmont wrote

Remember how in highschool you wore the same ski jacket and running shoes when it started getting cold? Well, let me tell ya, Sean Simms and I had the EXACT SAME running shoes AND ski jacket! Pretty cool eh

So you’re saying Sean kept growing and you didn’t. :lol:
He’s a big dude now.

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hahaha noooooooo, he was enormous then too.

So i guess we had the same running shoes and ski jacket except for the size.

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Thanks for the update doubleblue, All players report when camp officially opens tommorow. I will probably go check a practise out. I havent been this excited to see a practise in a long time. I think everyone echoes my feelings with the 5 quarterbacks in camp. Of course Arth is out, but who starts? And Crouch or McMahon, I can’t pick one to cut. From what I hear, Crouch has all the desire and a workhorse, so maybe he makes it, but does McMahon land in Hamilton then and kick our butt?

I thought there would be a decent reciever too add. The Argos really miss a Robert Baker type since his departure. Someone must step up here.

RB is a question too. I don’t like report of RB with no hands, especially in this league and offense. I really believe in Jeff Johnson. He could be a star back. He has the speed and hands. It’s his year to start.

Ever post on Argofans.com? Its a better place to talk Argonauts. Well, keep us posted if you go again.

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I'm excited to finally see a CFL game again tomorrow, its been a long winter.
The Als are leaving some of their vets at home and the Argos will probably not dress some of their regulars...but I'm like to see the newcomers play in the first exibition game anyways. So we as fans will be watching along with the coaches to see if there is answers to some questions.

Can Bishop finally look like he putting it all together?

How will Crouch and McMahon perform?

Are some of the new receivers, Todd Devoe? Eugene Baker? Obed Cetoute?, good enough to help out Miles and Bruce.

Who's going to replace OT's Williams and Davis?

Is John Avery still going to be The GUY at RB and are the newcomers good enough to be his eventual replacements.

Is Aaron Wagner as good as advertised at LB?

Are the new DB's good enough to replace any of the vets or be kept as backups? Kellen Quick has been getting mentioned as looking good at CB.

Are the refs going to allow the punt return game to have some excitement again?
But then they always have a field day in exibition games because of the new imports not knowing all the rules.

So lots of things to watch for IMO. Thats what makes exibition games exciting for me.

Montreal has a fairly set team IMO but it will be interesting to see how OT Jeff Perrett, RB Jarrett Payton and QB Kingsbury perform. I would have liked to have seen Jesse Palmer give it a shot. If Cavillo goes down any time this year Montreal could be in trouble.

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Not a bad game for an exibition, although I'm sure Jim Popp won't be to happy with all the penaties his team took.
Bishop did a lot of good things but still has that tendency to throw into double coverage. Had other people open a couple of times he tried to force the ball to Bruce.
Crouch did some good things and then some not so good. Made a bad throw on his interception but he can do a lot of damage with his running ability and could put quite a bit of pressure on a defense if he had an offence designed to let him roll out and run a few times. Best scrambler since Flutie.
McMahon played really well IMO, his interception was not a bad thrown ball, but the coverage was tight and his receiver caught the ball but had the defender take it away. He needs to work on his QB sneak though. Looked expierenced and confident otherwise. Do the Argos trade one of these guys? Going to be hard to keep all four.

The starting OL of January, St. John, Folk, Robertson and Costa looked better than last years already.
Nice to see an Argo OL drive the DL back 4-5 yards, on running plays, for a change. Probably Ramsey and Keeping (if his injury isn't serious) as backups.

At WR, Bruce looks ready, Miles didn't see much action but he's in anyway. Todd Devoe didn't see a pass but started with the No. 1 unit. Pinball clone Brian Pray saw a lot of action at PR's and WR. He's quick and has good speed, so they will probably keep him around. Eugene Baker was a disappointment IMO, didn't show much on PR's or as a receiver. Could have caught up to one of Bishops's bombs if he didn't slow down running his route. Looks like Jeris McIntyre could be in the picture instead.

Canadian receivers Palmer and Talbot both made nice catch and run plays as well as Cetoute (he's a keeper).

John Avery made one good run but I was more impressed with White and Durie. Maybe Avery's time is up. If the Argos keep Durie it could be at the expense of Crawford or Williams, but they are excellent special team guys. But Durie has big league moves when he gets the ball.

The Argos defence looks set again, but the coaches are going to have to make some difficult cuts in the back end. The two Mays, Dorsett and Pile all look like they could step into the lineup and it wouldn't miss a beat.
Aaron Wagner played much of the game and got stronger as he got his feet wet. O'Shea may finally have a good backup who can be ready to replace Mike when he finally decides to retire, but not yet.
Canadian DB's Mitchell and Hercule both made some good plays. Hercule should make the practice roster to start with, but he could be a player down the road IMO.

Montreal aren't the same team without Cavillo, but they have a good OLine and a great first year guy in OT Jeff Perrett. The guy is huge and has a great surge, I don't see too many DE's in this league being able to stand him up. So with that OLine and Edwards running the ball along with Cavillo and Cahoon, they'll be tough.

Don't think they will dominate on defence like they did during the Mathews years though.

Excellent kicker in Duval, he and Prefontaine probably the two best in the league IMO.