Nationalized Import ( Bomber )

[Blue In BC]

Based on our current roster who is that going to be? Keeping in mind this means a player not expected to be a primary starter.

The closest I can guess would be Grant who could come in a few times on offence to replace a Canadian of some pass downs?

??

[Sir Blue and Gold]

Based on our current roster who is that going to be? Keeping in mind this means a player not expected to be a primary starter.

The closest I can guess would be Grant who could come in a few times on offence to replace a Canadian of some pass downs?

??

Also, this year you can have one each of offense and defense. Next year you can have 2 on one side and 1 on the other.

Based on the current make-up: Janarian Grant could spend half the game at WR as long as a Canadian comes off somewhere (like for like could be Wolitarsky/Demski). You could also start Grant in the backfield and he could play in place of Oliveira. If we were going from a jumbo look we could potentially sub the 6th OL and sneak Grant on for something tricky like a two back look or whatever. On Defense it's a bit trickier. I think ideally you'd want to use it on the defensive line but I don't see anyone on the current roster that would qualify (Jefferson/Jeffcoat are going to play more than 49%). We could use it on Alexander and make safety a "Canadian position". Alexander could play half the game in that case as a safety and sub for both American HBs if we wanted him on the field more. It's a good way of opening up the possibility of having 4 Americans at WR if we wanted (since the defense would now be carrying 2 national spots [in reality 1.5].

[Blue In BC]

Also, this year you can have one each of offense and defense. Next year you can have 2 on one side and 1 on the other.

Based on the current make-up: Janarian Grant could spend half the game at WR as long as a Canadian comes off somewhere (like for like could be Wolitarsky/Demski). You could also start Grant in the backfield and he could play in place of Oliveira. If we were going from a jumbo look we could potentially sub the 6th OL and sneak Grant on for something tricky like a two back look or whatever. On Defense it's a bit trickier. I think ideally you'd want to use it on the defensive line but I don't see anyone on the current roster that would qualify (Jefferson/Jeffcoat are going to play more than 49%). We could use it on Alexander and make safety a "Canadian position". Alexander could play half the game in that case as a safety and sub for both American HBs if we wanted him on the field more. It's a good way of opening up the possibility of having 4 Americans at WR if we wanted (since the defense would now be carrying 2 national spots [in reality 1.5].

The problem is that I don't see Grant on offence very often in any situation except injury replacement. The same applies for Alexander. He's too good to not be taking most snaps on defence at safety. While he could be used to sub in for import DB's, what would the point be? You'd be making a change at safety and DHB in those situations.

I expected and have said I think this Nationalized Import ends up as a DI. The problem is that we didn't add one in free agency. Lemon as an example could have qualified and immediately strengthened our depth at DE.

SMS may have been an issue but you need that veteran American that would effectively see and fill reps in rotation. Lacey might be another candidate but same SMS issue. Darvin Adams counting as a Canadian could be a similar choice. It all comes down to right price.

So will watch as we get closer to TC to see if we made some sort of adjustment.

[Sir Blue and Gold]

The problem is that I don't see Grant on offence very often in any situation except injury replacement. The same applies for Alexander. He's too good to not be taking most snaps on defence at safety. While he could be used to sub in for import DB's, what would the point be? You'd be making a change at safety and DHB in those situations.

I expected and have said I think this Nationalized Import ends up as a DI. The problem is that we didn't add one in free agency. Lemon as an example could have qualified and immediately strengthened our depth at DE.

SMS may have been an issue but you need that veteran American that would effectively see and fill reps in rotation. Lacey might be another candidate but same SMS issue. Darvin Adams counting as a Canadian could be a similar choice. It all comes down to right price.

So will watch as we get closer to TC to see if we made some sort of adjustment.

Do you mean the 8th "Canadian" aka - American whose been here awhile? We have a whole ton of guys who qualify for that. Make it Stanley Bryant or Hardrick or Jefferson or Jeffcoat. I don't think we've actually seen exactly how it's going to break out/be policed so they likely all qualify. The more interesting decision is the Americans who are going to be taking 49% of a Canadian's snaps on O and D.

Let's say Demski gets hurt again for a few weeks. Instead of automatically reaching for O'Leary-Orange, we could platoon Alexander and the Halletts and start an American at receiver. It will open up some interesting possibilities, especially when Canadians get hurt which has always been one of the huge problems with the ratio. The flexibility will help backfill the lack of Canadian depth that every team has.

[Blue In BC]

Do you mean the 8th "Canadian" aka - American whose been here awhile? We have a whole ton of guys who qualify for that. Make it Stanley Bryant or Hardrick or Jefferson or Jeffcoat. I don't think we've actually seen exactly how it's going to break out/be policed so they likely all qualify. The more interesting decision is the Americans who are going to be taking 49% of a Canadian's snaps on O and D.

Let's say Demski gets hurt again for a few weeks. Instead of automatically reaching for O'Leary-Orange, we could platoon Alexander and the Halletts and start an American at receiver. It will open up some interesting possibilities, especially when Canadians get hurt which has always been one of the huge problems with the ratio. The flexibility will help backfill the lack of Canadian depth that every team has.

Yes, the 8th Canadian as you defined.

It's not a question entirely of who qualifies. It's a question of which of those players is only going to see 49% or less of snaps. There is no way barring injury that Bryant, Hardrick, Jeffcoat or Jefferson will fall into that category.

In your example of Demski getting hurt: I don't see the need or possibility of platooning Alexander and Hallett in order to start an American at receiver.  We don't have that receiver that qualifies. If we had re-signed Ellingson and used him as a Nationalized Import as a rotation player, that would work.

If we sign Darvin Adams he'd qualify but these are SMS issues. Find an import veteran that works closer to an ELC.

I suggested players like Awe ( before he signed a new deal ), Lacey, Lemon or Coleman but these are not low cost players.We haven't signed any of them.

Ah well. I can see the benefit and we may add that player or two before TC. 

Realistically I think doing it on the defence will be easier than on offence.

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

Yes, the 8th Canadian as you defined.

It's not a question entirely of who qualifies. It's a question of which of those players is only going to see 49% or less of snaps. There is no way barring injury that Bryant, Hardrick, Jeffcoat or Jefferson will fall into that category.

In your example of Demski getting hurt: I don't see the need or possibility of platooning Alexander and Hallett in order to start an American at receiver.  We don't have that receiver that qualifies. If we had re-signed Ellingson and used him as a Nationalized Import as a rotation player, that would work.

If we sign Darvin Adams he'd qualify but these are SMS issues. Find an import veteran that works closer to an ELC.

I suggested players like Awe ( before he signed a new deal ), Lacey, Lemon or Coleman but these are not low cost players.We haven't signed any of them.

Ah well. I can see the benefit and we may add that player or two before TC. 

Realistically I think doing it on the defence will be easier than on offence.

Good potential for an older DT, who could platoon with Jake and Cam Lawson, Coleman may be the best candidate left who qualifies but they could also dig up Nevis.

[Sir Blue and Gold]

Yes, the 8th Canadian as you defined.

It's not a question entirely of who qualifies. It's a question of which of those players is only going to see 49% or less of snaps. There is no way barring injury that Bryant, Hardrick, Jeffcoat or Jefferson will fall into that category.

In your example of Demski getting hurt: I don't see the need or possibility of platooning Alexander and Hallett in order to start an American at receiver.  We don't have that receiver that qualifies. If we had re-signed Ellingson and used him as a Nationalized Import as a rotation player, that would work.

If we sign Darvin Adams he'd qualify but these are SMS issues. Find an import veteran that works closer to an ELC.

I suggested players like Awe ( before he signed a new deal ), Lacey, Lemon or Coleman but these are not low cost players.We haven't signed any of them.

Ah well. I can see the benefit and we may add that player or two before TC. 

Realistically I think doing it on the defence will be easier than on offence.

You are getting confused on a few points.

So the 8th "Canadian" has no snap limitations. I am going to assume that just like any other "real" Canadian (okay, not real, but as defined by the ratio) any American that meets the criteria qualifies for that spot. Any American starter who has been in the league for five years or the same team for three counts. We have a whole bunch of players eligible for that.

The 49% snap count only relates to the 2 (3 next year) naturalized Americans who can replace one of the 7 starting Canadians for half the game. We don't need to have a "receiver that qualifies". We could platoon Hallett and Alexander and start a first year American receiver because we'd now have 2 Canadian spots on defense (and 5 on O), even though the safety spot it rotated nearly 50/50.

[pjrocksmb]

I find this stuff a wee bit hard spinning.  Nice to have some folks that understand it lol.

[Blue In BC]

You are getting confused on a few points.

So the 8th "Canadian" has no snap limitations. I am going to assume that just like any other "real" Canadian (okay, not real, but as defined by the ratio) any American that meets the criteria qualifies for that spot. Any American starter who has been in the league for five years or the same team for three counts. We have a whole bunch of players eligible for that.

The 49% snap count only relates to the 2 (3 next year) naturalized Americans who can replace one of the 7 starting Canadians for half the game. We don't need to have a "receiver that qualifies". We could platoon Hallett and Alexander and start a first year American receiver because we'd now have 2 Canadian spots on defense (and 5 on O), even though the safety spot it rotated nearly 50/50.

You're right I may be confused about some points and still am.

Those players that count are already starting.  I see no advantage in platooning Alexander with Hallett since Alexander is a better player.

Even the idea of starting a 1st year receiver ( as the example ) is an issue. It assumes we use a DI spot to do that. Our receiving corps is not a weak area.

As the post above yours and what I commented earlier, I think Coleman would be an example of the kind of player we could use. Ultimately we need an import that isn't normally a starter that will only play 1/2 a game. That's what I said in the post your quoted.

The line below is copied from your earlier comment. That seems like you contradicting yourself?

" The more interesting decision is the Americans who are going to be taking 49% of a Canadian's snaps on O and D".

[Sir Blue and Gold]

You're right I may be confused about some points and still am.

Those players that count are already starting.  I see no advantage in platooning Alexander with Hallett since Alexander is a better player.

Even the idea of starting a 1st year receiver ( as the example ) is an issue. It assumes we use a DI spot to do that. Our receiving corps is not a weak area.

As the post above yours and what I commented earlier, I think Coleman would be an example of the kind of player we could use.

We wouldn't use a DI spot in that scenario (another change is that there are only 2 DIs this year). The advantage would be the gain of an American who you perceive as better than your backup Canadian at the cost of a 49-51 rotation of a 'national' spot (in that example). There is the potential for an advantage there even if you don't see it.

Scenario: Demski is hurt. How best to replace him with your depth?
Traditional option: Replace Demski with another Canadian receiver or bench another American elsewhere on offense or defense so you can start an import receiver there.
2023 option: Rotate Alexander (who qualifies as a naturalized Canadian) with Hallett 49%/51% of snaps and start an import at receiver. 

Benefits: Alexander gets a game cheque and still plays. A superior import starts at receiver to replace Demski's production.

Obviously this assumes the import is better than O'Leary-Orange. Or at least it assumes that the import receiver is a net benefit with Alexander starting 49% (instead of 100%). Is it actually? That's for the coaches to decide but it is a decision that they have the opportunity to make now.

[Blue In BC]

We wouldn't use a DI spot in that scenario (another change is that there are only 2 DIs this year). The advantage would be the gain of an American who you perceive as better than your backup Canadian at the cost of a 49-51 rotation of a 'national' spot (in that example). There is the potential for an advantage there even if you don't see it.

Scenario: Demski is hurt. How best to replace him with your depth?
Traditional option: Replace Demski with another Canadian receiver or bench another American elsewhere on offense or defense so you can start an import receiver there.
2023 option: Rotate Alexander (who qualifies as a naturalized Canadian) with Hallett 49%/51% of snaps and start an import at receiver. 

Benefits: Alexander gets a game cheque and still plays. A superior import starts at receiver to replace Demski's production.

Obviously this assumes the import is better than O'Leary-Orange. Or at least it assumes that the import receiver is a net benefit with Alexander starting 49% (instead of 100%). Is it actually? That's for the coaches to decide but it is a decision that they have the opportunity to make now.

Yikes. Only 2 DI's was news to me. I suppose that means 2 players are re-classified as Nationalized instead of DI's. Obviously an advantage would be gained if an import is better than the Canadian back up.  While many of our imports could qualify as Nationalized, there aren't any that should see reps reduced.

Our roster can and will change before and during TC.

My question or point is that kind of player doesn't exist on our roster at the moment.  Based on our current roster, can you name our 2 DI's and our 2 Nationalized players?

I'm liking this Nationalized American idea less and less.

[Sir Blue and Gold]

Yikes. Only 2 DI's was news to me. I suppose that means 2 players are re-classified as Nationalized instead of DI's. Obviously an advantage would be gained if an import is better than the Canadian back up.  While many of our imports could qualify as Nationalized, there aren't any that should see reps reduced.

Our roster can and will change before and during TC.

My question or point is that kind of player doesn't exist on our roster at the moment.  Based on our current roster, can you name our 2 DI's and our 2 Nationalized players?

I'm liking this Nationalized American idea less and less.

Players that can qualify as the nationalized 8th "Canadian" (reminder: they can play 100% of snaps):
Adam Bighill
Willie Jefferson
Winston Rose
Brandon Alexander
Jermarcus Hardrick
Stanley Bryant
Rasheed Bailey
Janarion Grant
Jackson Jeffcoat
Kyrie Wilson

On top of the nationalized player playing 100% of snaps, there are 2 more nationalized Americans (from the list above) that can replace 49% of snaps from a Canadian (one on offense and defense this year). This is where the conversation gets more interesting.

Assuming everyone is healthy, on offense you likely see Janarion Grant as a Naturalized player. On Defense it's harder to say because we only have one national starter (Thomas/Lawson) last year which doesn't leave a lot of room to maneuver. Last year towards the end of the season our DIs were Grant (SB/WR), Adams (DE), Holm (HB) and Cole (MLB). None of those three defensive players are eligible as anything but DIs. On paper, Alexander still makes the most sense to me (if you are looking for someone on D) but in a perfect would we would have a DT that could take reps from Thomas/Lawson (although that can still be done without any new action if you have Briggs, Cadwallader, Gauthier, or Maruo sub at will/mlb). Perhaps the Bombers (when perfectly healthy) would only have one (Grant). There will absolutely be more options and cases to be made once the injuries hit though.

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

Players that can qualify as the nationalized 8th "Canadian" (reminder: they can play 100% of snaps):
Adam Bighill
Willie Jefferson
Winston Rose
Brandon Alexander
Jermarcus Hardrick
Stanley Bryant
Rasheed Bailey
Janarion Grant
Jackson Jeffcoat
Kyrie Wilson

On top of the nationalized player playing 100% of snaps, there are 2 more nationalized Americans (from the list above) that can replace 49% of snaps from a Canadian (one on offense and defense this year). This is where the conversation gets more interesting.

Assuming everyone is healthy, on offense you likely see Janarion Grant as a Naturalized player. On Defense it's harder to say because we only have one national starter (Thomas/Lawson) last year which doesn't leave a lot of room to maneuver. Last year towards the end of the season our DIs were Grant (SB/WR), Adams (DE), Holm (HB) and Cole (MLB). None of those three defensive players are eligible as anything but DIs. On paper, Alexander still makes the most sense to me (if you are looking for someone on D) but in a perfect would we would have a DT that could take reps from Thomas/Lawson (although that can still be done without any new action if you have Briggs, Cadwallader, Gauthier, or Maruo sub at will/mlb). Perhaps the Bombers (when perfectly healthy) would only have one (Grant). There will absolutely be more options and cases to be made once the injuries hit though.

It gets complicated quickly, in his last press-conference Walters said they have no plans to make use of this adjustment this year, but will keep their eyes open to see what other teams do with it.  I could see them making use of it later in the season or in the playoffs if they thought it could give them an advantage.  As a fan I hate the push to replace more Natl's with Imports, more trying to fix what isn't broken.

[Sir Blue and Gold]

It gets complicated quickly, in his last press-conference Walters said they have no plans to make use of this adjustment this year, but will keep their eyes open to see what other teams do with it.  I could see them making use of it later in the season or in the playoffs if they thought it could give them an advantage.  As a fan I hate the push to replace more Natl's with Imports, more trying to fix what isn't broken.

My guess is that they will ultimately make use of it but will largely come down to injuries. Walters is also talking to multiple audiences here, so if he says he has plans for it, he is basically telling the guys listed in my list that they could be only playing half the game. From the Canadian perspective, he's telling his current starters they may not be full time starters anymore.

Additionally, assuming things stay largely the same, it makes no sense not to make Grant a nationalized player because he is able to sub for Canadians and there's literally no downside to having that option.

[Blue In BC]

Players that can qualify as the nationalized 8th "Canadian" (reminder: they can play 100% of snaps):
Adam Bighill
Willie Jefferson
Winston Rose
Brandon Alexander
Jermarcus Hardrick
Stanley Bryant
Rasheed Bailey
Janarion Grant
Jackson Jeffcoat
Kyrie Wilson

On top of the nationalized player playing 100% of snaps, there are 2 more nationalized Americans (from the list above) that can replace 49% of snaps from a Canadian (one on offense and defense this year). This is where the conversation gets more interesting.

Assuming everyone is healthy, on offense you likely see Janarion Grant as a Naturalized player. On Defense it's harder to say because we only have one national starter (Thomas/Lawson) last year which doesn't leave a lot of room to maneuver. Last year towards the end of the season our DIs were Grant (SB/WR), Adams (DE), Holm (HB) and Cole (MLB). None of those three defensive players are eligible as anything but DIs. On paper, Alexander still makes the most sense to me (if you are looking for someone on D) but in a perfect would we would have a DT that could take reps from Thomas/Lawson (although that can still be done without any new action if you have Briggs, Cadwallader, Gauthier, or Maruo sub at will/mlb). Perhaps the Bombers (when perfectly healthy) would only have one (Grant). There will absolutely be more options and cases to be made once the injuries hit though.

If we only have 2 DI's and 2 of the Nationalized come from the " list mentioned ", doesn't that reduce the number of Americans on the roster by 2?  All of those players are starters.

Even Collaros qualifies as a Nationalized player. There isn't anybody on the list except Grant that I want to see have less reps. Hence the issue of the entire Nationalized concept.