Argos at Als

[GOLDMEMBER]

Which Dickensen? The Greater or the Lesser!

On another note, did Craig Dickensen ever play in the CFL or even college? We all know Dave's resume, but the "lesser" I know much less about.

BOTH!

[TecnoGenius]

Bob Irving agrees too:

Janarion Grant keeps reminding the Bombers of what they lost. He should still be here.

Blame WM for forcing us to pay ~$30k more for Brady.  That's the difference that would have got us Grant.  KW probably had it all budgeted to the nickel.

[TecnoGenius]

apparently $$ wasn't an issue according to Jeff Hamilton

KW was asked point blank about Grant and Jeffcoat (and more) in the off-season and said that he'd consider every play who wanted to come back for ELC.

Grant shouldn't play for ELC, that's insulting.  So of course he went to TOR because they offered him $120-$150k.

Now, there may be things in addition to money... like Grant having too many injuries, and him looking pretty bad after he came back from IR in 2023.

Wouldn't that be funny if the GC this year is WPGvTOR and Grant rips a KOTD on us, like we did to them in '22, eh?  Zach better score enough to make up for it!

[TecnoGenius]

Egad, Caleb Evans is gawd awful. How is this guy still kicking around the cfl. The guys had 100 chances to prove what he's got, and he doesn't have anything. Montreal is in trouble if fajardo goes on the IR, going to zero with a bullet

Because Evans is Prukop.  He is a SY specialist who should never be called into main-QB duty.  And he's pretty good at SY.  Not Prukop level good, but pretty darn good compared to the other options out there.

What this shows is that MTL's big weakness this year is no valid backup to Cody.  If Cody is out a little while now (looks like he had ice/bandages on his hammy?), then that sucks for MTL.  They probably won't win squat.  And if that's the case, the little gnome guy needs to get on his téléphone and find himself a real QB, stat.

Pipkin or Fine to MTL?  Feels good to have Strev, man!!

[TecnoGenius]

I will hold final judgement and wait and see if he can last the entire season. Right now it looks like a bust for the Bombers although we still have to wait and see how our new returners pan out with a few more games to show their stuff.

I would bet money Grant will not play all remaining games.  He never did for us, why would he now, especially that he's >30.

However, that doesn't have to be a deal breaker.  Just give him a no-bonus incentive-laden contract.  No SMS risk at all that way as long as you always 6G him.  Who knows, maybe that's what TOR did.  Just look how Grant busted open the game tonight and how MTL couldn't stop him giving TOR "cheating-level" field position all night...

[TecnoGenius]

Aside from a couple of exceptions, all 'No Yards' penalties are 15 yards whether the ball is caught in the air or it hits the ground first.

2019 - 105 No Yards penalties
2021 - 84 No Yards penalties (short season)
2022 - 55 No Yards penalties
2023 - 63 No Yards penalties

This is a great stat.  Thanks!  I've liked the always-15 change ever since it came in.  Still think they could have kept the hovering in, though, for a combined 25Y penalty.

[TecnoGenius]

Overall thoughts:

1) MTL doomed without Cody unless they find a "real" QB.

2) MTL DBs are severely weakened without Dequoy.  Is he the secret stick that stirs the drink?  Ento always looks like league-best DB, but tonight he did absolutely nothing.  All of the DBs were looking weak and lost.  Maybe it's the roving johnny-on-the-spot I-got-your-back Dequoy that allows all the other DBs to undercut routes.  No Dequoy: no more ballhawking as they have to stick to their assignments.  Interesting.

3) MTL also lost a starting OL.  Clearly they are depth-challenged.  Maybe they spent all their SMS on having their starters be league-best at the expense of weaker-than-average depth?  This is the first real test for MTL in terms of injuries and depth.  Their week 1 lineup was basically the GC lineup minus Mack and trading Stanback for Fletcher... that's amazing continuity.  Now they are facing adversity.  Welcome to the club, Als... now you know how we feel!

4) If Dequoy was dressed, and Cody and the OL didn't get injured, MTL easily wins this game.  Dukes still isn't that great, and teams have figured him out.  I feel sorry for anyone gambling on this game tonight, and a bit sorry for myself picking Fletcher and their D in fantasy.  (But I am smiling that 40% of players (not me!) picked Philpot and probably made him captain and he only got them 14pts, or around 1/2 to 1/3rd of his usual haul.)

[Jesse]

KW was asked point blank about Grant and Jeffcoat (and more) in the off-season and said that he'd consider every play who wanted to come back for ELC.

Grant shouldn't play for ELC, that's insulting.  So of course he went to TOR because they offered him $120-$150k.

Now, there may be things in addition to money... like Grant having too many injuries, and him looking pretty bad after he came back from IR in 2023.

Wouldn't that be funny if the GC this year is WPGvTOR and Grant rips a KOTD on us, like we did to them in '22, eh?  Zach better score enough to make up for it!

KW said he had money set aside for Grant. I bet he also wanted to be included in the offence more and we said no.

[blue_gold_84]

KW said he had money set aside for Grant. I bet he also wanted to be included in the offence more and we said no.

It'd be nice to get the whole story but I doubt that ever happens.

Losing Grant - to the Argos, of all teams - sucked enough. Watching him torch opponents only makes it worse.

[Jesse]

It'd be nice to get the whole story but I doubt that ever happens.

Losing Grant - to the Argos, of all teams - sucked enough. Watching him torch opponents only makes it worse.

I don't know how much more to the story there can be. He wanted some combination of money/play time, he asked for a different combination and didn't get it.

Of all the vets I personally would have cut and moved on from - Grant wasn't one of them. But I'm just a dumb fan.

[Blue In BC]

Fajardo's hammy will be evaluated on going. Those things never seem to heal quickly and could bother him to some extent all year.

It didn't look good on TV so I'll be a bit surprised if he's able to play next week. Beyond that is a TBD but it might restrict his running and escapability.

[theaardvark]

That first jam 10Y past the LoS technically impeded the R.  He was slowed down basically by the amount he was "overthrown".  You can watch his slowdown in stride, and it's obvious.

However, most fans don't want to see that called DPI, as it's so early in the route and it looks really minor/weak.  And the CFL doesn't often call this as DPI (IC maybe, sometimes).  So it's all ok for them to clarify this, setting precedent for the rest of the season.

Holy Moses... those MTL horns are driving me nuts, especially during the Lalonde sideline updates.  Ambrosie needs to do something about those horns.

Change the regulations to abn "mechanically assisted horns".  Even though those are hand pumped, they are mechanically assisted.  Hoens that rely on lung power, or bells, or thundersticks are all fine, those irritating pump horns bring nothing to the game, and make broadcasts terrible.

[theaardvark]

Fajardo's hammy will be evaluated on going. Those things never seem to heal quickly and could bother him to some extent all year.

It didn't look good on TV so I'll be a bit surprised if he's able to play next week. Beyond that is a TBD but it might restrict his running and escapability.

He will definately be out next week, I'll put money on it.

(they have a bye)

Next game is two weeks on Thursday in MTL against SSK

Maas was complaining about the 5 day turnaround... we will see if this gets more traction

[Stats Junkie]

That first jam 10Y past the LoS technically impeded the R.  He was slowed down basically by the amount he was "overthrown".  You can watch his slowdown in stride, and it's obvious.

However, most fans don't want to see that called DPI, as it's so early in the route and it looks really minor/weak.  And the CFL doesn't often call this as DPI (IC maybe, sometimes).  So it's all ok for them to clarify this, setting precedent for the rest of the season.

Under normal circumstances, the first jam that you refer to could be called as 'Illegal Contact'. On this specific play, that contact is perfectly legal.

On the play in question, Evans handed the ball to Fletcher who then pitched the ball back to Evans. Once the ball was handed off, 'Illegal Contact' was off the table and remained so for the remainder of the play. DPI became an option once the ball is in the air to Spieker.

The reasoning behind this ruling is that once the ball is handed off all receivers could be considered lead blockers. Defenders are permitted to treat them as such which means DBs can interfere with the receivers as much as the receivers would be permitted to interfere as part of their blocking assignments.

This ruling would also apply when two QBs are on the field at the same time. 'Illegal Contact' applies only when QB1 has the ball but it is no longer an option (for the remainder of the play) if the ball goes to QB2.

[J5V]

Fajardo's hammy will be evaluated on going. Those things never seem to heal quickly and could bother him to some extent all year.

It didn't look good on TV so I'll be a bit surprised if he's able to play next week. Beyond that is a TBD but it might restrict his running and escapability.

the temptation is always to come back too soon and reinjure. He'll be gone for a while if they're smart.