Preseason game 2 vs Calgary

thought I would start a thread for Friday's game.

I am hoping that we see Labatte, I guess he was practicing today, as was Rankin.

I want to see some action for Bamba...something tells me he is a keeper, and I hope he gets a crack in the game.

I want to see Willy get some action...at this point I would say he showed the most in the action he saw, and even if 3rd string is his fate he has earned a good look. O'Sullivan, IMO, would need to do something really impressive to crack the roster. He is going to be 33 soon, and the club would be foolish to start developing him. I know they were hoping he would step in and compete, but he needs to shine in vs the Stamps.

Looking forward if Willis playing will open things up a bit inside or for Rowe.

[url=http://www.newstalk650.com/story/restrictions-odell-willis-lifted-roughriders/61813]http://www.newstalk650.com/story/restri ... ders/61813[/url]

the above link was pretty good...Willis seems to be taking his probation in stride and be looking to be all for the club. Great to hear.

I am hoping Brackenridge plays solid, he looked to have some promise.

I want to see Eddie Russ put to the test. The secondary was lackluster vs BC, but he played alright. God I hope it was just an off game for Jackson...shaking some rust off.

Most of my concerns are the LB core and the secondary. We should see Patrick and Frazier, which will really help.

I also hope they plan on mixing up the returners a bit. The club does not have much for depth in the secondary, or so it would appear, so lets not risk Jackson returning!

If Labatte is hurt rest him some more. He's a given on this team.

Jackson will turn it on again this year. Playing backups influence the vetrans on coverage too. They don't want to lose and try to hard to help make impact plays.

Can hardly wait for Friday

well, let's hope that Durant doesn't pull another stinker this week.

and our defense has got to put together a much more solid outting vs Tate and the offense.

I think MLB is key. Is it Shomari or the old vet McCullough? Maybe Sam Hurl surprises everyone. That is the defense QB and I hoope to see more? Using a nin-import, is this the right way to go? The coaches must see enough?

Don't know much about Kromah either. He started weak side LB? Is he going to keep this spot or who else is getting time there? This is freeman's old spot.

Safety - can Butler stay put or will they use James Patrick? If Butler is so strong at safety maybe Patrick playes elsewhere (corner).

Labatte - can't see him playing. Would be super nice but they won't risk aggrevating. Best is likely out as well because he has not returned yet.

Lots of important spots to watch!

Same at RB, West, Sheets and Rankin...............and Boulay at FB (we'll find out if he can run routes and catch a ball)

I think they plan to use our MLB in a similar way that we used Trevis Smith in his day. More of a game manager who makes the play when needed but is not a Mo Lloyd type who will bust through things and disrupt plays. We will have to rely on others to make a large amount of the plays and have the MLB captaining and putting people in the right place. Shomari seems to be a very intelligent cerebral player and McCullough is the same. I am fine with having someone who makes very few mistakes while making very few big plays over someone like Renauld Williams who made some very nice plays but was all over the field making mistakes. I like Hurl, and learning from Alex Smith is only going to help. Excited for his future.

As for Butler at Safety, all the reports I am hearing is that Patrick will be there. Not sure what exactly that means for Butler, whether they bring him in on Dime situations as a cover LB/ blitzer. Going to be interesting to see how that shakes out.
Going to be a fun year I think regardless of how the boys do. A lot of people are going to get chances.

I agree. Simpson was a great LB, and was an impact player, but when McCullough played I thought he captained the D better as a whole.

in 2010 Patrick led the CFL with 9 interceptions at Safety. While he had 5 last year, that is a big presence to give up…he is so natural at it.

I have often wondered if Butler should be converted to OLB…I believe he would excel at it. He is fairly fast, and has top notch reaction to the ball/play. He loves making the big hit, and would provide great coverage on the flats. He is a little light, but not bad. Having a LB who could drop back into coverage (and do it reasonably well) could play havoc on an offense…no clue where he is going…blitzing, containing, flanking, RB shadow, coverage…

After 1 quarter...
Hill had a couple bad drops last week, and another bad one thus far...he has to be up against the wall at this point.
Russ has provided good coverage again.
Mckenzie had good coverage...but i missed who was covering on that big play by Lewis.
The D was blessed by a couple drops by the stamps, but have looked better thus far. Willis started well, and he and Hawkins seem to compliment eachother not too bad.
Best missing hurts a bit.
Oh...and Sheets, imo, won the rb spot in the last minute of 1st/2nd. West's fumble may be his last play.

Second q...
Odell and Willis are not hurt...so thats good
Frazier has been the weak link in the secondary
MLB is a question mark...run over a couple times
Hill appears to be yanked, as is West. I will be shocked if West is around...lets see Sheets, Rankin, Wynn. With Hill, I know he has experience with the club, and did well last season, but that is 2 drops in each exhibition.
The OL has holes, but actually looks better than i was thinking they would at this point. Lots of people are giving them flack...i will wait a few weeks and give them a chance to gel.
DD has looked pretty good. It will be interesting when the line comes together and Hill doesnt drop 2 easy ones in a row.
Lots of penalties...I will assume because there are so many new faces...axe that roster down for a week and it should improve.

Some questionable reffing...mainly in the Riders favor late in second.

Sheets HAS to be number 1 RB...looks amazing! The question now is who else...Rankin, Wynn, unlikely West

Willy got a great greating when he stepped on the field as the next QB. Fans seem to see he has potential, and am hoping this is an indication that staff is looking at him as backup and not just giving him time to compete for 3rd spot.

Tuchdown...DD may have some competition!
He just looks so poised. Multiple reads. Never stares at his target. Doesnt get raddled, and can sctamble. Saw a long pass to Dressler that he had good arm on...i am loving the look of him...i would say JT is done.

I realise it is preseason, and Willy isnt facing all starters...it is not that he is having success, it is how he looks achieving it.

Third
Willy played good through the third...there was a bad drop...not sure who it was...i think it was actually dressler...i wasnt looking too vlose at the play, and there were a couple that coulda / shoulda been PI, but every play he looked good. Definately did not look like a rookie to the CFL.

Hill continued getting a pile of playing time...i question this. He has done little to keep a spot.

Wynn looked good as a second RB. Seemed to really plow up the gut...a nice contrast. For a hard hitting RB he keeps his feet going, and appears to have some moves in him.

Hawkins looks pretty good. I had strong doubts, but after this game i cant see him not making the cut.

Looking forward to see who gets time after Willy.

In my eyes, a lot of questions have been answered tonight on position battles...i will give better thoughts when home

I knew it. I said it. Eddie Russ would impress. solid game for him. This should promote him from the PR.

Don't understand why Brown didnt get some time. Jt has a damn strong arm, but i just dont know. He did some really good things, but how do you weigh against Brown?

Sisco did alright

Harper looked very good, as did Moss.

Smith and Hill IMO dropped enough to be cut.

I hoped to see Rankin more, because i have to think West is gone. Wynn looked ok, but he doesnt seem to be the big play guy...a grinder.

Evans and Sholi should make a good combo as tackles

Brackenridge should make the club.

Bodnars kickoff at the end was a tough way to close it out, but some really good info on players. It was a good game...a few questions on D and I hope the OL gels quick. It was a loss, but a great tuner game

The thing that worried me was that the Riders know the secondary is suspect at the moment...Chamblin has said it a couple of times. Yet Hall's d did not blitz much. It was a drop back, wait for a mistake d. I know we dont see everything from the DC in peaseason, but this does concern me. I said it on another thread a few days ago...I believe Hall is coaching for his job...if the D fails, he WILL be the sacraficial lamb. I liked that we saw som man coverage in there...that is different for a Hall D...the lack of blitz is what makes Hall's run d so good...especially with a guy like Cornish, who drools at the thought of slipping past an outside guy, but there was not much of a push up front. Hall isnt big into blitzing, but I am hoping he will mix more in there this year.

ST was not great, but I have faith in Dickenson. A lot of new faces cycling in there, and teams doesnt exactly get first carck in practice. Ince the roster is set, teams will be fine, but i did like moss returning.

Frazier disapointed, but Russ impressed.

Really looking foward to next week...even more so looking forward to week 4 or so...gel time

Smith is gone...hard. I dont know why Hill got so much time. The only thing i can think is he has experience and did alright last season...but keeping him better not mean letting moss or harper go. Sisco wasrunning good routes, and looked sharp. Bamba didnt get much action, but i would think the td secure the canadian at least a PR spot.

Hawkins and willis on ends...hawkins surprised me

Tough call with JT and Brown. I mean, Brown is young, JT showed some leadership and some experience presnap changing the count up and rallying at the end...and damn strong arm, but hit n miss. wonder if the staff was like...hmm...ok JT...go win a spot....first drive....fail....then the TD....now a tough call.

Thanks for the review depop, I live in Alberta and it wasn't televised and TSN highlights don't do the game justice. I like the direction where going in, it would have been nice to see DD throw a TD but he was 9-12 and no picks! Way better game than last week.

THANKS FOR A GREAT LIST OF UPDATES DEPOP!

SHEETS DEFINITELY PLAYED LIKE A MAN WHO WANTS A JOB... I CAN'T SEE HOW HE WOULDN'T BE NUMBER ONE, DESPITE WEST'S EXPERIENCE... TOUGHER CHOICE BEHIND HIM... GOING WITH AN ALL ROOKIE GROUP OF RB MIGHT BE A TOUGH ONE TO JUSTIFY

WILLY LOOKED QUITE GOOD AGAIN... SHOULD HAVE THE NUMBER TWO SPOT LOCKED UP. O'SULLIVAN DID DO A GREAT JOB FINISHING THINGS UP AT THE END OF THE GAME THERE, EVEN IF HE DIDN'T EARN EXTRA STYLE POINTS...
I THINK MOST PEOPLE WOULD AGREE THAT WILLY PERFORMED THE BEST ON THE FIELD. WITH THAT BEING SAID, I DON'T KNOW IF I COULD EXPECT THEM TO KEEP O'SULLIVAN AROUND ON THE THIRD STRING, OR WOULD HE BOTHER STAYING? I THOUGHT HE DID LOOK PRETTY COMFORTABLE OUT THERE THOUGH, ALL THE SAME.

IT SHOULD BE A INTERESTING COUPLE OF DAYS, WHEN WE WAIT TO SEE THE CUTS COME DOWN... THE BIG TOUCHDOWN WAS THE KISS OF DEATH FOR CHERY, WILL IT BE THE SAME FOR BAMBA?

SISCO HAS BEEN HANGING OUT ON THE PRACTICE ROSTER FOR A WHILE NOW, WHILE HE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING TOO UGLY IN THIS GAME, IS IT GETTING TO THE POINT WHERE WE MIGHT AS WELL CUT HIM IF WE DON'T SEE HIM STEPPING UP?

WHO WAS IT THAT LET THAT PASS BOUNCE OFF THEIR SHOULDER PAD IN THE ENDZONE? THAT WAS A PRETTY UGLY DROP!

Crud…had something written and it cappooffed when submitting….try again…

I liked what Chamblin did for the most part. He looked at this from an evaluation perspective, not as much team performance perspective. The players seemed to respond well to him which was great. As mentioned, I have concerns with the defensive strategy I see forming thus far. The lack of blitz was concerning, but seeing some man coverage mixed in was refreshing. I think Miles will bring the secondary together. Again, as stated a few days ago, I believe Hall is coaching for his career. If the defense sputters, I do believe he will be sacrificial lamb, and that Miles or Walker would move up.

ST was concerning all around, but there are so many new faces around that this should be expected. It is a revolving door for Teams time in practice, and the don’t exactly get priority in practice. Once final rosters are determined this will shore up within a couple games.

For the receiving corps:

  • Bagg was fairly invisible again, but finally caught one. He looked nervous out there, so hopefully taking his first hit will boost his confidence.
  • Dressler dropped an easy one and was clearly upset at himself…it was a bad drop at a bad time, but he is an all-star, and this was an anomaly. Both DD and Willy looked comfortable and in stride with him.
  • Getzlaf was clearly a favorite target. He looked really good. Better than last year IMO…confident on each play, not looking up field too soon.
  • Harper is a keeper. He looked to just fit, and made one really nice catch.
  • Moss was also solid. I would like to see him as a returner. Jackson and Dressler are solid returners, but it scares me seeing them do it, because they are pretty important in their regular spots. Moss looked good returning, and making him a returner keeps him on the roster. He did very well receiving as well, so it keeps that option and redundancy there.
  • Both Bamba and Sisco looked good, despite not much thrown at them. Sisco had really clean routes, and made a couple nice blocks. He would have had a big play but the ref accidently stepped into the passing lane. Bamba of course had the big TD. I would hope his Canadian status at minimum keeps him on the PR.
  • Taj Smith is a no brainer cut…horrid, and he looked like he gave up. A couple drops, and I think he knew in the back of his mind he was not likely going to make the cut, and just stopped.
  • Hill, well, they sure gave him an abundance of opportunity. All I can figure was that they wanted him to prove he deserved a spot…and I don’t think he did. The job was his, but I would think is now Harper’s. He had the benefit of a decent season last year, and already being with the club. I know that makes cutting harder, but IMO he should be gone. I really thought he would be on the club going into training camp, but 4 drops in 2 games, another I would state as catchable…it was his job, and I believe he played his way off of the team.

At RB:

  • West has to be a cut. I have never been high on him, and this outing backed all of that up. Not a backup, not on the PR…gone.
  • Wynn looks like a solid grinder, and thus a keeper. He just kept pushing…I don’t know if he could be stopped at the line in 3rd and short…kinda like our favorite Regina councilperson.
  • Rankin…too bad he did not get more time…I don’t even know what to say.
  • Sheets…starter. No question. If he is not, I don’t know if I could watch this team this year.

Secondary:
There are some concerns…

  • Tristan Jackson looked better than last week but not as good as last season.
  • Frazier looked not so good…all night…it was his first game so I am hoping it was rust.
  • Eddie Russ was the best in the secondary. I know I am rather high on the guy, but he has done nothing but impress in his limited action since training camp last season. I say he is on the active roster, and I believe he will be a starter. He may not be a starter in week 1, but I believe that by week 4 he is.
  • Patrick was the second best in the secondary. Looked pretty good, as per normal.
    I could easily see Jackson, Frazier, Russ, McKenzie and Patrick in the secondary…McKenzie would be the week link, and thus somebody else may step in.

LB Core:
ILB - Shomari did not look great…got run over a couple times. McCullough looked good.
OLB - Backenridge I believe is a given.
OLB – This is a guessing game, and will take some serious discussion from the staff. Kromah I think could land it, but they have a few guys to really look at footage on. I still would love to see Butler try on the spot. Makes it a Canadian spot, and you can rotate him back as safety and bring up Patrick…There are just so many options by doing this move…I think he would be a good fit…speed, hitting, great pursuit, great man coverage for a LB, never know if he is in containment, blitz or coverage…I know I brought it up before, but I really hope the coaching staff considers this.

DL:
DT - Shologan and Evans could make a great duo inside. I know I like Veikune, but Evans has impressed. Starting 2 Canadian DT might be a mistake though. Evens has to be a guarantee for the active roster though.
DE – I never gave Hawkins much chance of making the club, but after that game I don’t see how he doesn’t. He and Willis could make a nice tandem. Willis was a really nice addition in his short stint. He looked good for not having that much practice in. The question is who else stays…Ellis or Rowe? Ellis looked a bit better, but Rowe is what…5 years younger or something? If you are looking at building…plus I think you could sign Rowe a little cheaper.

OL:
Yes yes…not great blocking…again…this is to be expected. A revolving door. New faces. It will take gel time, but they looked better than I anticipated for being a pieced line. The OL probably takes the longest to gel…secondary would be a close second.

Poor Bodnar…that kick had to crush him. I am thinking he will be around though. I believe they will give him punting duties. Redundancy at kicker can pay off.

So, when this team is put together it has great potential…or at least the way I would see put it together based on what has been shown…we will see if the coaching staff sees it all similar with the plethora of extra footage, stats, info, personal relationships, etc that they have access to. The big point…I see one hole in the secondary…MAYBE 2….I lean towards 1. There are questions on, IMO, 1 OLB spot. There are a few coins to flip on the DL. The backup RB must be determined, and there are some cuts to make in receiving, though for me those would appear to be easy…though I thought Cherry would be around at this point to so…who knows.

Rather long winded, but I know the game was not on TV so…

oh…Like I said in an earlier post…a tough decision on 3rd QB as well.

I think it was a pretty good game for the offence - big improvement over last week. But the defense seemed to lack intensity - no pressure on the Qb to speak of and then typical of Richie Hall defensive strategy we give up enough yardage for Calgary to kick the game winner. If we are to have any chance this year we either have to get rid of RH or score one heck of a lot of points.

Well, I am hoping Chamblin pushes th DC in certain directions. If Hall, as DC, can not meet those requests then Chamblin has to have the kahunas to evaluate or re-evalute staff. If he is not getting what he wants, as I said, I believe Hall will be a sacrificial lamb.

The ball is in the HC's court. That goes for all of his staff.

Thanks depop. I was also hoping to pvr but no dice. I could not even listen to rockin Roddy Pedersen the voice of the Riders, but got home to catch the last 4 minutes and the postgame callers. Better than nothing.

Well, all the excitement of who gets cut and such has come and gone.

Surprised to hear Effrim Hill still around. But I am happy to hear Harper and Moss were solid.

Secondary..........where did they play Patrick (safety), nobody has said anything about Butler? Just wanted the interview with Chamblin and the one corner spot could be Tristan or Woldu? If Woldu he said that allows them to go import elsewhere (I'm thinking MLB)?

How did the other corner play (Nick ?) If you don;t hear a guys name that is good (if you are a DB). I also heard good things of Chris mcKenzie. I think they are very high on Macho harris but he was hurt most of camp. I think he'll be inside DB when he gets healthy/possibly Russ as well or did Russ play himself onto the corner?

Healthy to hear Odell and Hawkins are moving around. I guess that leaves Sholy and George on the interior?

Anyways, a guy could go on all day.

Against the Cats they face an aerial attack. Lots of change to their O-line so if we can shiut down Cobourne and make them throw all day they become very one dimensional. But henry can throw bullets and he can run and burn you that way..........so our MLB is going to need to be a fast one to keep Burris contained..............if not game over. He has multiple weapons for receivers.

I'd say they had alot of defensive changes. The green have had alot of changes.............so this will be 50/50. I hope our O-line can allow big running yards, tire their defense out and wear them down.

Thanks depop for the game feedback