Official Game Day Thread - Winnipeg at Edmonton, May 27, 2023

[Sir Blue and Gold]

I'm not aware that a team can roster more than 2 global players in 2022 even at the expense of an import. However, lets assume that is correct and that teams are unlikely to do that anyway.

Also not sure about your reference to Grey Cup roster. It appears we only used one global roster spot.

We only have one additional Canadian LB in TC ( Charbonneau ) and I doubt he beats out Maruo. Maruo was very good in 2022. He played well on ST's and had many snaps on defence.

It's doable to not have either an import DE or DT as DI's. Doable and best options overall are not the same.

If Liegghio is the punter he may only need to punt 6 times or so during a game.  A DE or DT will see the field more often.

Obviously we agree to disagree.

... I just don't think you are understanding. You can make that change with basically no real loss to the defensive backup depth regardless of it you can see it or not.

And the ratio is written such as, a minimum number of nationals, a minimum number of globals and a maximum number of Americans.

I'll try one more way to get through to you. If we didn't think we could roster a global punter, why in the world did we use all of our global draft picks on punters? It isn't rocket science, man.

[Blue In BC]

... I just don't think you are understanding. You can make that change with basically no real loss to the defensive backup depth regardless of it you can see it or not.

And the ratio is written such as, a minimum number of nationals, a minimum number of globals and a maximum number of Americans.

I'll try one more way to get through to you. If we didn't think we could roster a global punter, why in the world did we use all of our global draft picks on punters? It isn't rocket science, man.

If if you consider all Canadians, import and globals as equal than obviously "no real loss "" to defensive depth. I disagree.

Nearly half the global draft choices were for kickers last year and this year. Slim choices for much else at any position.  Also at that point we hadn't signed Castillo. We also signed another import kicker. Why did we do that or retain him once Castillo was signed. Same kind of issue. We brought in a Canadian punter and released him. Competition.

You're selling and IMO you have a bone to pick with Liegghio for any kicking situation. A rookie kicker may not do as well as he appears in TC or pre-season. 3rd year Canadian veteran has the edge.

I'm not buying. Let the chips fall where they may

[Sir Blue and Gold]

If if you consider all Canadians, import and globals as equal than obviously "no real loss "" to defensive depth. I disagree.

Nearly half the global draft choices were for kickers last year and this year. Slim choices for much else at any position.  Also at that point we hadn't signed Castillo. We also signed another import kicker.

You're selling and IMO you have a bone to pick with Liegghio for any kicking situation. A rookie kicker may not do as well as he appears in TC or pre-season. 3rd year Canadian veteran has the edge.

I'm not buying. Let the chips fall where they may

Selling what? Literally anyone can follow the logic I laid out. You're the one trying to say it would be super hard to fit a global punter on the roster. It's not. It's why we drafted them. Sure though, let's see what happens.

[Blue In BC]

Selling what? Literally anyone can follow the logic I laid out. You're the one trying to say it would be super hard to fit a global punter on the roster. Sure though, let's see what happens.

I said it was possible, but more difficult than you feel realistically.  Anyone can follow that logic. You're making a circular argument. At the best of times rookies winning anything out of TC to beat out a veteran takes some doing.

You basically wanted and had Liegghio cut before drafts of the beginning of TC. Go figure.  You want him gone and give him zero chance of retaining a spot. You don't seem to want to feel there is any chance he improves with another year under his belt and not having to do FG's and K/O's.

BTW, why draft a 36 year old global punter that hasn't kicked in several years. You do it for depth on the PR. I haven't checked his stats for the game yet. But sheesh.

Lets leave it to final cuts and see how the DI's and global selections fall out.

[LXTSN]

You guys should meet up and argue about this lol I was hoping to come here and see some talk about the game 

[Pete]

I felt that the following players impacted their chances of making the team;
Pigrome; definitely is the front runner for qb3..short but built solid and great running instincts (I was surprised though he only completed 2 of 4 passes)
Caleb Thomas looked good
Brian Cole at lb made some plays showed good range
BLO was a prime target
Stanton was solid. I'm not sure if he isn't a better alternative than Castillo Great kickoff distance and looked like a pro. If he doesn't make the roster what's the betting line that Edmonton picks him up.


on the flip side
all the de looked weak. Cooper especially looked like he was out of position a lot. Bennet looked like the rookie he is, he may need to bulk up a bit
the defence against the run reminded me of the early games last year, as dm83 stated the tackling was bad.
Augustine also didn't do much although that may be more on the oline not being their usual aggressive self - it is preseason afterall
Matt cole looked very shaky at the beginning but settled down with some fearless returns later

[Blue In BC]

I felt that the following players impacted their chances of making the team;
Pigrome; definitely is the front runner for qb3..short but built solid and great running instincts
Caleb Thomas looked good
Brian Cole at lb made some plays showed good range
BLO was a prime target
Stanton was solid. I'm not sure if he isn't a better alternative than Castillo Great kickoff distance and looked like a pro. If he doesn't make the roster what's the betting line that Edmonton picks him up.


on the flip side
all the de looked weak. Cooper especially looked like he was out of position a lot. Bennet looked like the rookie he is, he may need to bulk up a bit
the defence against the run reminded me of the early games last year, as dm83 stated the tackling was bad.
Augustine also didn't do much although that may be more on the oline not being their usual aggressive self - it is preseason afterall
Matt cole looked very shaky at the beginning but settled down with some fearless returns later

Stanton might have a chance to beat out Castillo, but he might spend some time on 1 game IR or PR. One pre-season game versus Castillo 59 CFL games.

Global punters had good average length but not great net average. Could be poor kick coverage, bad hang time or placement issues of kicks. Not sure who was doing best of the two global punters. Not even sure whether both punted. Kick distance was about 1.5 longer than Liegghio.

However, one game in good weather doesn't necessarily equate to the same seasonal average.

Too bad can't re-watch the game to see who made which kicks for which results.

General feeling was the most kicks went to middle of field. That's not usually the best option but some of that may have been coaching decision. Coverage teams need to be evaluated as well. The kickers are being evaluated from being able to do what instructed. We don't have that info.

EDIT: The global kickers stats show in the game summary on the site. Both had 4 punts each with 48.3 and 49.5 yard averages.

[1chad]

Only caught the second half of the game, but the QB Pigrome looked good. Didn't see anything really outstanding from the receivers.

[Pigskin]

Run D needs a lot of work. Our return game wasn't very good without Grant. Other then that, a pretty good outing for our first pre-season game. Pigrome wins the #3 QB job.

[DM83]

The punting was adequate but coverage was not.  Ya know what was good!  The placekicking. None were blocked.

Leggio should be released to stop him from dangling in the wind, no wait it would be blocked, or what was Westwoods nickname?  ?Wide right Westwood??

So we need a rt defensive end, a middle LB, and. A couple corners who can actually tackle.
I fear Jeffcoat and Biggie may be showing the first signs of not being able to play at the CFL level.
Lastly, all the easy  7 yard runs by the Elks up the middle is a cause for concern.  LB s are supposed to step up into the hole and stuff at worst the hole, at best, make tackles in the backfield.  The boys we had at LB were very passive.  None made many if any, significant plays.  We might be in trouble .

[TecnoGenius]

Run D needs a lot of work.

That was a big problem in '22.  I was hoping we'd have some answers there.  Around '17-'18 our run D was usually best in league.  That was the Hall m.o., then for some reason we went away from it, or our run-stop personnel got weaker (Nevis leaving, Stove being injured, then leaving).

We've been able to win big without it, so who am I to say... but we'd all feel better if we had that killer run D back.

Maybe it'll materialize but not in week 1.

Bummer I missed this PS game; kid bday party I had to wrangle.  Friends' attempts at recording failed. 

[ModAdmin]

Game Recap | Preseason WPG 25 EDM 23

EDMONTON - There are no masterpieces painted in the Canadian Football League preseason, but there can be a few renderings in the dress rehearsals that serve as early eye candy.

Case in point: we give you the Winnipeg Blue Bombers' 25-23 win over the Edmonton Elks on a perfect Saturday afternoon at Commonwealth Stadium in which there were just enough flashes from the visitors to leave fans in Bomberland hungry for more.

"We won and it's always better to make corrections from the film with the scoreboard the way it is," said head coach Mike O'Shea. "We managed to see a lot of different guys out there. There were some good learning moments, me included (he bumped into an official coming onto the field after a missed field goal at the end of the game and was flagged for objectionable conduct) that we'll have cut up and have the film ready for the guys tomorrow.

"Most importantly, we had the opportunity to be physical against a different coloured jersey."

Saturday's win came in the first of two preseason games before the opener and in the process the coaching/management staff now has some video evidence to help make the hard decisions about the final roster.

"The good thing about next week is we can dress everybody," O'Shea said. "It's too early to tell whether we will or not. When we get home Al (Couture, head athletic therapist) will take a look to see how everybody's health is, we'll get some practice time in to see what we need to get ready for the first week versus Hamilton. We'll see what the health of guys are to make a few decisions."

Here are some quick takes from our perch in the press box...

5 THOUGHTS

1. The QBs - everybody focuses on the men behind centre and the Blue Bombers quarterbacks took turns doing their thing on Saturday. First and foremost was getting Zach Collaros work and getting him out of the game without any nicks. Mission accomplished as the CFL's reigning MOP threw for a score and lead another scoring drive in his quarter and a bit of work. He finished 5-of-8 for 93 yards with one TD - a picturesque 67-yard strike to Kenny Lawler - before leaving in the second quarter.

"It was nice to get out there and throw the ball around a little bit and take some live reps," he said. "It's always hard to replicate game speed and so it was nice for all of us to get out there and play at game speed. Too many two-and-outs, but we were able to put together a couple of drives and put up some points so that was great."

No. 2 man Dru Brown looked comfortable too, as he pieced together a solid drive in the final minute of the first half that led to a field goal. He went 3-of-5 for 35 yards yards.

Tyrrell Pigrome exploded off the page in his time at the controls, flashing both his howitzer of an arm and his lickedy-split speed in his first drive. The possession began with an errant snap out of the shotgun that resulted in a 17-yard loss, but he settled in immediately by hitting Jeremy Murphy for a 34-yard strike. Two plays later he broke out off right tackle and then hit turbo boost in a phenomenal 45-yard TD run, his second of the game after scoring early on a QB-sneak.

His skillset - featuring the big arm and the lighting speed - makes him an intriguing option for the short-yardage package the Blue Bombers have run so successfully over the last few years.

"It felt good to be out there," said Pigrome. "I'm blessed to be here, blessed for the opportunity. I'm so thankful for it. Great team win. We've still got a lot to do, including me, so we've got to just keep progressing as a team and keep getting better day by day.

"It was definitely fun going out there and competing against somebody different, a different team. It was very different from practice... one thing for me was how fast the play call is. Twenty seconds goes by fast when you've got to call the play so I've got to get better at that. Everything else was fun and I was happy to be out there."

Josh Jones entered the game with four minutes left and his first pass attempt was put on the ground by the receiver, but he did go 1-of-3 for 10 yards - the one completion to Murphy converting a second-and-eight with 1:27 left and keeping the offence on the field.

2. The Collaros-to-Lawler combo could be deadly again. Collaros opened the game with three straight incompletions but found his rhythm with the TD throw to his old big-play threat for the Blue Bombers? first score. He also targeted Lawler on another deep toss that drew a pass interference penalty covering 29 yards to set up the second TD.

Lawler's addition was the biggest splash made in free agency by the Blue Bombers and his return makes the receiving corps that much more deadly. His mere presence should also open even more space for the rest of the receiving corps. Worth noting: Dalton Schoen did not make the trip, with Brendan O'Leary-Orange starting in his place.

3. The kicking battle - one of the storylines in camp - became only further muddied by the three guys who came to Edmonton. Placekicker Chandler Staton connected on his lone field goal attempt ? a 34 yarder ? and averaged 67.8 yards on four kickoffs. Both Global punters, Jamieson Sheahan and Karl Schmitz, were excellent ? Sheahan averaged 48.3 yards on four punts, Schmitz was 49.5 on four punts and the two showcased excellent hang time.

"Very good," said O'Shea. "They're a great group. It's really interesting to have this many good players and good guys in that room."

4. The Blue Bombers dressed over 60 guys on Saturday and the playing time was spread out all over. At first glance, here's who we thought helped themselves, besides Pigrome and the kickers, mentioned above:

    Jeremy Murphy, the club's third-round draft pick earlier this month, finished with two catches for 44 yards - that yardage total second only to Lawler for the Blue Bombers.
    Defensive tackles Caleb Thomas and Aaron Sterling both registered sacks.
    Damian Jackson, the former Navy SEAL, played fullback, defensive end and also handled some long-snapping chores. That kind of versatility could be big when the roster is put together.

5. Evan Holm has had an outstanding camp and further backed that up on Saturday. He played both corner spots and took some snaps at halfback and has returned kicks in the past, although he didn't against the Elks. The preseason stats aren't always accurate, but his stat line from Saturday shines with four tackles, a tackle for a loss, a sack and a pass knockdown.

NEXT: The Blue Bombers will be home for their second and final preseason game, with the Saskatchewan Roughriders visiting on Friday, June 2nd and a 7:30 p.m. start.

https://www.bluebombers.com/2023/05/27/game-recap-preseason-wpg-25-edm-23/

[DM83]

Nice report.
Thanks

[Blue In BC]

It could be argued that the single scored won the game. It forced the Elks to go for a 2 point convert that was unsuccessful. At time thought holding the Elks inside their 5 yard line would have been preferable, short field an all. However teams can march downfield from their deep zone and hindsight is always 100%.

Ultimately the single point WAS the difference and resulted in the win. Whether the kick was intended to go out inside the 10 yard line is an interesting question but it worked out great.

[M.O.A.B.]

Would love to see highlights of Piggy's 17-yard loss, 33-yard 2nd down throw and 45-yard ran TD.