Official Game Day Thread - Hamilton @Winnipeg, June 11, 2026

[Tecno]

Glad to hear CFL/TSN playing up how well WFC runs its business, and how good us fans are.  2Q14:49 they are talking about the post-game on-field stuff, which I always say the league should mandate every team do.  And they need to advertise it heavily.  It's not like a NHL team will ever let the crowd on the ice after a game!  Play it up.

I think the panel mentioned it too.  I think there's been a memo sent out to highlight our success.

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

Nield not good enough?  Watching the other top NATs & up&comers in the other week 1-3 games... I think we may have a middling guy at best.  Heck, maybe not even Woli level.

That dropsie in the EZ by Nield would have been caught by the best NATs in the league, and easily by most non-last-read IMPs.  What a beaut spiral by Zach, and in the perfect place (though he could have recognized coverage was a step slow and could have thrown a little less deep).

The margins are so thin this season you have to make those TDs.  There is no excuse.  Just have to make them.

Nield was a nobody I barely noticed in his previous seasons until that 2025 WDF catch.  He literally was not on my radar.  Never a good fantasy pick.  Not particularly great hands.  No diving "Dressler" ability.  No Kenny ladder circus.  Just a bigger body guy who seems at Woli level and has the right passport.

Then we signed him at pretty big money, for a non-star NAT who has basically done only one thing of note in his career so far.  Mistake?  And, as such, asking too much of him on that all-Nield first drive?

The pass immediately after, we throw a quick dig to tiny Cobb, who whiffs because the DB was on his back and just reached around his tiny body.  THAT is the play that Nield is made for!  Not the corner fade.  Bass ackwards.

We may need to temper our expectations on Nield.  We want the next McInnis (even since he's been diminished in mid-2025), but we may be lucky to have a Brissett.

One thing I will add in his favor, though, is he seems spot on with his routes, and it's nice that teams aren't keying on him so he's often more open than a star would be.

Nield's biggest advantage is Zach seems to like throwing the ball at him, brings back good memories of Greg Ellingson and Andy Fantuz I guess.  Like them Nield is a big target with a good catch radius and the ability to get open farther downfield. Probably doesn't have any acrobatic ability but that's the trade off, considering the rest of his receivers are shifty and fast but undersized, it seems he has a preference for bigger targets.

[Tecno]

Shocking how ignored White was vs HAM.  You'd think you'd give the ex-HAM the chance to stick it to his old team.  You know, like Wheatie did to us.

I'm halfway through my rewatch and there are very little angles to show why we weren't targeting White much.

Why force it to Nield so much?

[Tecno]

3Q10:57 WPG FG attempt. Could probably flag the D closest to the LS as he appears to be inside the LS's pads.  That's an illegal alignment.

They used that same rule on us later on, early in the 4th, but for the 7+ men aspect of it.  And note in that we had our guy miles away from the LS.

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

Shocking how ignored White was vs HAM.  You'd think you'd give the ex-HAM the chance to stick it to his old team.  You know, like Wheatie did to us.

I'm halfway through my rewatch and there are very little angles to show why we weren't targeting White much.

Why force it to Nield so much?

Take a look at the very last Vaval return after he got smoked, I suspect he was knocked out momentarily by the way his legs contracted, it looked a bit strange to me.   

[Tecno]

Take a look at the very last Vaval return after he got smoked, I suspect he was knocked out momentarily by the way his legs contracted, it looked a bit strange to me.

Slow mo looked that way but they cut too soon.  The live shot makes me think he was just seeing stars.  He was moving constantly post-hit.  Concussion guys usually have a moment of non-movement once the arms assume the sticking-straight-out posture.

But one thing I noticed was a few UR's uncalled on HAM.  Like 4Q2:47 Hill is riding Brady OOB and gives him both a final push and tug way after he's fully OOB, causing Brady to go hard into the signage.  Refs are like: "nah, all good brah".  Hill hides it REALLY well, like "I'm just riding him out here, no push, no tug!".

[Tecno]

Rewatch:

D:

Good plays:
Willams 2
Griffin 3
Kyrie 1
Moxey 1
Lawson 1
Reese 1
Holm 1
Willie 3

Williams is a keeper IMHO.  Nice speed, picked up the system really fast, executed well, targeted a fair bit but held his ground.  The DPI was iffy, don't read too much into it.

Willie haters: he was making plays and disrupting.  Some brilliant/fun stuff to watch.  Ceresna did NOTHING, if you want to compare.  Check out Willie 2Q2:59 bull rushing the gap hoggie laterally then shedding to make the tackle.  THAT IS PRECISELY WHAT WE NEED MORE OF.  Go watch it.  Fun stuff.

Ceresna was double-teamed most plays and neutered.

Griffin good speed, hard hitting.  Me likey.  Almost certainly better SAM than Kramdi.

Nichols a bit slow and whiffs on too many tackles against beef, though still pretty sound mentally.

Scheme / placement confusion: 1Q4:35.  This was recurring all night.  Major & Moxey often have no idea, looking to others for the play even when the snap occurs.  Kyrie & Kramdi CLEARLY directing everything, as expected.  Makes sense we want them in the middle.  Jones directs NOTHING, just goes where told and executes, and that's fine.

Our home D noise may have made our D worse.  Might explain why they did better in CGY.  They'll have to learn to figure all of this out with home noise.

Many of the big explosions, like Wheatie passes, were when the D guys were still motioning figuring it out at the snap.  The confusion disrupts the players' normal ability, making them lose a step... especially Moxey vs Wheatie.  If Moxey was just focusing on his assignment and doing his job, I think he's more than capable.  So I'm not as worried about Moxey now.

Scheme sometimes did fail though.  Crossing rubs and run blocking expose weaknesses that even 100% comms and execution wouldn't solve.  Will need to come up with better schemes for these specific plays or every team will use them to ream us.

DL neutered most of the game.  Blitzing didn't help much.  Not too creative with stunts.  Like 2025, we do a lot of LB-sits-back-then-jogs-up-when-blockers-stay-in thing.  I guess that's good for contain, but otherwise takes away from the pass-rusher count and loses you a coverage guy dropping back.  I actually think there's too many sneaking up/contain guys most pass plays with these useless half-hearted jogs.  Even on a show-blitz bring-blitz the edge guys are often half-hearted jogging instead of full beans to the QB.  It means you will never reach him before the New CFL Standard Of Mostly Short Pass.

Saw almost no 3-man rush.  So we 100% abandoned it?  Why not 95% abandon it, to keep people guessing?  More Thorpe/Hall, less WYSIWYG.

Upside:
- D might be better in away games with quiet.
- D might get better when the vets don't have to direct the noobs as much.
- Williams / Moxey should be serviceable

[Tecno]

O:

Great SY/Perkins.  100% so far.

Bad: Brady no holes, ever.  OL utterly failing.  Brady didn't shed a single first contact.  See my post in the EDM thread.  HAM in contrast looked like world beaters with their mediocre OL and no-name RB.  Want to vomit?  Brady 1Q1:30.

OL superb at pass pro.  A couple of the Zach sacks he was totally safe in the pocket, but got happy feet and (as usual) picked the wrong direction to "escape".

Zach's throws are too slow.  Have to find more zip or every "open" sitting REC is covered for an INT, hellacious hit, or immediate tackle.  If he can't find zip, abandon the short pass sits and only throw in stride, or to those deeper zone holes that have wider margins.  Compare ball speed with the young stud QBs...

Zach's range on par with 2025.  40-50 fairly easily (starting point of Zach, not LoS).  Probably can do 55, maybe 60 with uncomfortable effort.  Serviceable, but far from Alexander, Rourke & VAJ.  (How does VAJ do it with that tiny little scrawny body of his? Amazing.)

Run blockers missing their 2nd levels regularly: Stan, Neuf, Daniels.  Bit surprised we're making Stan a steamroller.  Don't recall that very much.

Condell nice new routes & concepts.  Some fresh thinking.  Layers and clearing and complexity.  More back to the Lapo years.  Nice to have a highbrain for the first time since Lapo.  Almost certainly will ramp up as each week progresses.

Condell good at finding ways to buy Zach time for double-move routes & waiting for the zone hole sit.  Good use of bootleg.

Nield great on the completions, stunk on the whiffs which may have cost the game.  Not sure I'd make him #1 though... which he seems to be so far!

Cobb (and Corcoran?) at 5th read sometimes wide open for easy 1st down, Zach doesn't even look that way.  D knew it and chased the deeper "real" REC instead.  Zach deficiency.  Ignores the options when game is on the line, assumes you can only throw to your top guys.  Top teams use everyone.

We did a mugging late in the game, LOL.  Didn't need it, it turned out.  Turnabout is fair play if the league isn't going to do anything.

Condell highbrain is starting the "set ups" even now.  Giving the opponent film rooms odd things to worry about, setting up later-season wrinkles.  Love it.  Only ever saw 1 set up from Buck (in how many seasons?)... Lapo would have like a dozen going at a time all season.  I won't give this Condell one away, though it should be pretty obvious to anyone watching.  I hope to see a new set up every week... and will love the eventual payoff.