....Most of those injuries Fred are the usual preseason .. (except maybe Watson, which is a little worrisome)I'm sure the coaches and fans would like to see what kind of depth we have, and I'm sure we'll have most of our guys back for preseason 2.. T.O. will most likely go with rooks as well and the outcome will be second to getting a good look at what each team has...GoBigBlue :thup:
Watson and Sears. Not great news that a guy who missed most of last year and was counted on being a big contributor again is injured again, even if it is minor. With Leggett looking more and more likely to get the starting safety job and Unamba looking good, as well as trying to find a spot for Demond Washington, Sears could tub himself off the roster.
When did they move Teague Sherman from safety to LB? I caught a couple of practices early in TC and he was still in the rotation at S.
Ah preseason football, where you don’t have to follow the NI starter rule. This depth chart only shows 5 NI starters - Bucknor, Greaves, Morely, Kohlert, and Feoli-Gudino. There are a lot of import OL and I think the experiment to use 3 imports lasts only through TC as they figure out which guys to keep on depth roles behind the 2 starters. Jones I would expect to stick because of how well he showed last year and he can play either tackle spot. But there’s just not enough NI talent to start someone elsewhere to keep with 3 IMP OL starters, especially with Watson being so unreliable with his health.
Anyone else surprised to see Neufeld listed at RG? After so much talk about him playing RT and being better at RT than RG and him practicing mostly at RT until recently I was fully expecting he’d get a long look there in preseason. I think how that right side of the line looks, center on out, could see a lot of shuffling yet before game 1 of the season.
At RB, most looking forward to seeing Paris Cotton. The couple of practices I’ve seen he’s looked better than Grigsby. Ford having a bit of an injury certainly has opened the door that much further for one of the two to stick.
....Unless we're going with 'plug and play' on the o line wolverine, it is a little strange that Neufeld is being switched around...I see we're still adding O line imports to the mix ..Cordaro Howard being the latest...I would agree that we'll see a lot of moves on the o line, until the BigBlue coaching staff feel we got it right...Really looking forward to see what this little speedster Cotton can do and some of the new receivers...I just hope it's not one of these 'ho-hums' filled with 2 and outs...although that would give us a good look at the kicking game :lol:
Looking at that depth chart it certainly does have players in different positions then what was expected but for a pre season game not unusual to try guys at different positions.
Someone correct me if I am wrong but I only see 5 starting Canadians and that does not meet the ratio. So I would have to think that is a very loosely put together depth chart.
Noticable is that the roster on defense consist of really one true LB in Wild and the rest are DBs.
They did acquire a lot of DBs so it is not unusual that they will be going with a small and faster defense. Certainly seen by Banks at Will LB and Newman second on the depth chart as MLB.
I will be very interested to see how they are going to package the players on defense to balance out the ratio. I would suspect that Newman and Jake Thomas will play a large role on defense to go with Bucknor and Robertson at the Field CB creating two ratio spots on defense.
On offense the Use of the FB combined with rotating parts on the Oline would create the 5th ratio spot on offense.
Preaseason I believe they don’t have to follow the 7 NI starter rule, so they can freely rotate players of any status in/out to look at them.
Donovan Alexander who is injured is the likely starter at field corner, just not playing this game due to injury. With Lucas gone for the year, suspect a rotation of a combination of Thomas and one of the NI LBs could make up one starting NI spot.
Not really sure they have the roster flexibility to rotate guys on the Oline, or that such a thing is even an option. Think most teams want to settle on a starting 5 OL and hope they work well and that there are no injuries for consistency sake. The NI FBs will likely rotate with a NI SB/WR.
WRT to Ian Wild, he’s in tough IMO. He’s listed as the starter for today but expectations are that Kuale, out for today due to injury, starts there once the season gets underway. And he’s lost the LS job to Blake, a NI.
I do think rotating of Offensive lineman is a very odd thing. Going with 3 imports on the Oline will really make it very tough for meeting the ratio. I think game one ofthe pre seasonis just looking at gius at different positions as 5 on offense in the ratio and two on defense in the ratio would be ideal. I do not see where they would be able to find three ratio spots on defense with the personell they have.
Alexander at Field Corner is one position that I personally amnot quite sure is going to be a good fit. Unless he really has done something to show that he can move frombeing an All Star safety to have to cover a receiver. I will just wait and see.
Although a lot of teams and a lot of Canadian DBs are looking to the Field Corner spot for the next step of where Canadiantalent will eventually be a regular spot
Donovan played the field corner spot under current DC Gary Etchevarry’s system in Saskatchewan if I’m not mistaken, which is why he’s penciled in to start there again and not at safety. O’Shea has referred to Alexander’s experience in this D system and his ability to help with buy in from the other guys as one of the keys to why he’s here. Anyways, guys on D will be all over the place in his system so it’s not like the positions they are penciled in at meet with the traditional definitions or expectations of those spots. Plus they are really liking the former Maurice Leggett at safety.
Taking a second look at the roster for tonight, no Briggs or Eisho either.
Well that does make for some good reasoning so lets see. They seem to have specifically acquired 4 new Canadian DBs in Bucknor, Newman, Alexander, and Robertson as well as Sherman so they appear to be the type of players that will fit into the Etch D. Letting go last years starter Muamba.
From the imports DB acuired banks and Randle and have plans with SUber and Washington and Legget was the main NFL FA to be added.
.....Game one preseason...Weaknesses...very bad punt coverage...c'mon Mike O this was supposed to be vastly improved...we won't win much with special teams work like that....Middle Linebacker....did we have one out there....poor against the run...some suspicious play by the dbs. that didn't look good..... O line was suspect on a few plays but they;ll get better....Strengths...QBS. looked fairly sharp....although we should relegate Brohm to 4 behind Hall and Marve, AND I have a feeling Marvelous Marve may be on his way to no 2...Willy looked very good except on a couple of throws which could have easily been blamed on the receivers...Kemp looked good as well as steady ol Denmark..Running backs left me a little underwhelmed BUT I can see a big improvement once we figure out how to block downfield...... All in all it's just preseason and our lineup will certainly... morph.. Just my take...
There was one bad breakdown in punt coverage, but I think a lot of guys on the unit at that time are in tough to make the team to begin with. Overall they got down the field really fast, too fast in some cases costing them the no yards penalty. Both kickers looked good, neither one really standing out more than the other which could be bad news for Maher. Hajrullahu's couple of punts averaged less than Maher, so it may even come down to what the team things of Renaud once he can practice and play again. If they don't like Renaud's punting, Maher could still win the job I think.
Way too many penalties, I think all told we gave up over 1 1/2 lengths of the football field in penalty yardage. Thankfully it's only preseason.
Agree with you papa on Marve moving himself up the depth chart, though I doubt he gets to #2 until late in the season or to begin next year. Like him or not, Hall will remain #2 just because of his experience last year. I'm not sure they give a rookie that first back up job so quickly, especially since his big showing was in the last couple of minutes of the game against the other teams bottom feeders as well. Promising though and that will at the very least get him on the PR depending on how they feel about Brohm. The chemistry with the receivers is still a work in progress. The top end of the Oline depth chart seemed to give decent protection and when things broke down Willy was able to keep the play alive and get the ball off on a number of occasions. Bottom end of the Oline depth didn't fare so well.
I think Cotton moved just a wee bit ahead of Grigsby on the RB depth chart, but we'll see how things shake out once Ford gets healthy and back in the mix.
Defense - I have no idea what to think. Obviously it's the first preseason game and they are playing with basic coverages. Still they found a way to make Trevor Harris look like Ricky Ray. Once Harris was subbed out for Gale, the D seemed to play stronger, even after Harris came back in. I'll have to reserve judgement until I see the full defense on display, but man first indications are it's going to be a roller coaster ride. Thought Bruce Johnson stepped it up with the fumble recovery and near pick. He's had a real quiet training camp after standing out in minicamp, good to see him step it up.
On offense they seemed to go with the guys that wil be playing and the positions they will be playing during the course of the season. Defense however, especially the LB and DB seemed to have a lot of toying around with different guys at different positions That i did not think is their best fit from their previous experiences. The LB crew is very small.
The odd number of 9 teams again forced the Bombers into drawing a pre season game that was very early
For the QB situation in defense of Brohom being the third QB he did not get in till a lot of changes were happening. I don't think he is going to lose a roster spot based on this very early pre season game. He was Acquired after what McManus saw last season as he was running scout teams as the number 4 QB on the 9 game IR.
It would not hurt to place Marve in the number 4 development spot with a contract and a spot on the 9 game IR for the season
Just curious what was the official attendance at the game ? I realize it was only preseason but on TV it appeared that the crowd was sparse,showing a lot of empty seats.I'm guessing that perhaps there was a lot of no shows ? or are there a lot of fans in the Peg taking a wait and see approach.I didn't watch the entire game,but what I saw it looked like you went toe to toe with the Argos and the team showed a new found enthusiam that was rarely seen on last years team.Good luck to you guys this year,I maybe called crazy,but I think the Bombers are going to surprise a lot of people this season. :cowboy: :thup:
Believe it was announced at 24K, some reporters before the announcement were speculating just under 20K which would put it over half full either way. Who knows these days as they always announce paid attendance and not the real live butts in the seats. 24K is roughly where the season ticket figures are at. I think some people just stayed at home, with it being a preseason game and on TV which allowed them to also watch Game 3 of the Stanley Cup and/or game 2 of the Calder Cup finals which the Jets farm team is in.
Man this new preseason schedule sucks. The bombers play again Saturday and then sit and wait for almost 2 full weeks before they open the season. The practice time is nice but it sucks to go so long without playing a live game.
24K was announced but I would agree that likely season ticket holders stayed home. Also you can’t just judge the revenue from the gait from just attendance in the seats anymore. Remeber IGF has all 30 some suites sold out for season and a waiting list. So it you add that to 24K paid in tickets is good for pre season.
The Bombers did get the terrible pre seson schedule that comes with the Odd 9 teams. This was an early game and then they do not play in that last weekend before the season begins.
Planning a live scrimmage to mimic game will probably be what they do a week before game 1
DE Stafford Gatling, DE Louis Nzegwu, OL Quentin Saulsberry, OL Tyson Pencer, and DB Kris Robertson
Robertson seemed like a lock to make last years team, guess not this year. Speed was one of his assets, wonder if the knee injury cost him some of that.
Pencer is a shock to me. He struggled vs the Argos on Monday but I don't think they have to cut down until after their game on Saturday, would've thought they give him one more game to try redeem himself, especially when you consider the NI depth issues. Guess Wylie didn't see much hope in him.
The others, no big loss. Saulsberry was more an interior lineman and those will be NI spots now that Morely has become more comfortable at centre. Peach had a big game. Hopefully he keeps that up. Last year he had a big first game and disappeared.
At first blush it was a shock to me too. . . but then I realized that he was a Joe Mack draft choice, and given that man’s draft record, maybe it’s not a shock after all. . .
Our draft record overall since 2000 has been brutal. You go back even before him we had draft years where not a single draft pick ever played a regular season game for the team (2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009). From 2000-2009, the year before Mack took over, 10/41 draft picks played at least 1 year with the team, roughly 25%. That’s bolstered by an anomalous 2008 draft where 5 of 6 drafted players stuck with the bombers for at least a full season, the sixth is Marc Beswick who went on to be solid special teamer elsewhere. You take out that year at our draft rate falls to 5/36 or 14%.
Mack’s era drafted more players that have made the team but most have contributed very little aside from Henoc. Some of that is explained by the brutal drafting before him and needing bodies to fill NI spots though. Comparatively, his drafts in 2010 and 2011 were better than what the teams done in prior years but 2013 was ridiculously bad for the team. Jury’s still out on 2012 as Stephan and Thomas can still carve out a niche on the team and Bilukidi is looking like he may be running out of chances in the NFL and may find himself up here in a year or two. If Bilukidi comes up and somehow Mulumba finds his way here, which isn’t entirely unrealistic since GB added a number of players at his spot this offseason, Mack’s drafts will be looking quite different. Still, Mack will be forever remembered as his high risk gambles that all busted. This was not a team that could have afforded such gambles while other teams made safe smart picks at the top of the draft and improved their teams.
Wow it is a bit of a surprise that both Robertson and Pencer were released considering they were both high draft picks.
Robertson I can only guess is not the same player since his injury affecting his speed. Pencer is the seal of the old regime and its mistakes. As someone mentioned probably seen as not having the ability.
I would like to know more about Robertson and see if it is a matter of his injury being a career ending.
Newman, Bucknor, Alexander are up for major time on defense and Teague( ahead of Robertson) along with a 4th round draft pick in Derek Jones out of SFU, playing teams and developing rookie respectively. Jones is just 22 and drafted out of
NCAA FSU would still be eligible to play Junior football in PFC. I would wonder if they do Practice roster him and have him play for the Rifles on the weekends.