As most of us are pretty bummed out over last nights game, the offensive line I see is one of the biggest concerns I have. If you look at it, last night was a very close game with all things considered. We did give them alog of field position and had challenges pining them deep. However, my concern each and every game is the lack of time Casey Printers has to get the ball off. He was under constant pressure last night and running for his life. This seems to be the over the past few seasons now where we can't seem to sustain the rush of give our QB's ample time to make the play. In some cases it's also the receivers not coming back but from what I'm seeing the other teams seem to have easy access to the QB's. I'm not sure even if Doug Flutie was here would make a difference. I think Casey had a good 1st half and it looked like he was back to his BC day form. In the 2nd half I don't know what happened to him. I don't know why we didn't use Jesse more??
The amazing thing is that they can run block which is the harder of the two to master but, when it comes to pass blocking they are BRUTAL. Time foe some changes ie a new left tackle.
One of the big problems is, we don't have any dump off passes to keep the defence honest. They're teeing up on the QB every play and leaving areas wide open that could be attacked if we had an OC that would notice.
Woodard is BRUTAL. Not a CFL-class offensive tackle at all. He gets beat on almost every play and is constantly redirecting his block right to the quarterback.
The other thing is the poor playcalling from Bellefeuille that makes virtually no use of the quick-passing game, which would help blunt the edge of a blitzing defense by getting the ball out of the QB's hands quickly.
You need the correct talent to start with with. Take a close look at who we have each key position. Has beens - over rated Canadians and 2 really poor American tackles who couldn't bblock to save their lives. It was obvious after game one - same old - same old. Nothing will change..............
100% agreement. The CFL is a PASSING league, and without an aerial game, youre cooked. That aerial game is of course dependent upon BLOCKING , and brother, if it wasnt for NO blocking we wouldnt have any at all. Those tackles are ALWAYS outmatched. Given our amazing running game and the attention the backs demand, the pass attack should be, at the very least, adequate. Being as bad as it is speaks volumes about the state of the blocking. Undoubedtly, we lead the universe in HURRIES. How long until Printers goes down with another injury ? Gees, we dont want to SCARE this guy out of town !
I hope Obie has some aces up his sleeve...
take a look at Trey Darilek, cut from the Dolphins and spent a few games with the Esks last year. We still have his CFL rights but our o-line is looking great and we really dont have room for another import there so you could probably get him for a reasonable draft pick. One posible hangup... he's played center/guard so far... could he move to tackle? dont know.
I do know he brings a real nasty streak and aggression to the line
Dyakowski and Hudson have played tackle during their careers, Peter at LSU and George had from time to time as a Renegade as I recall. There is some flexibility in that respect. Hopefully Davis and Cavka will be an improvement (bye bye Woodard) and we can see if our pass blocking can improve to a pro level. Again, I think we also need to go to more two-back sets to have a blocking back for the pass game and allow Lumsden/Caulley/Smith to release out in the flat for screen plays and outlets.
Anything out of the backfield re the passing game is preferable to Rodriguez, Mitchell et al playing Invisble Man for stretches in the game. We’re having teams tee off on our QBs because we don’t get our RBs out in space fast often enough.