Game 1 Day roster

[Blue In BC]

Just to continue a conversation from another post. What do you think changes before we finalize our game roster to start the season? I've added my earlier thoughts. Note there aren't really any wrong answers, these are just guesses as we adjust to the ratio and injury issues.


Just for the heck of it, these are the roster moves I expect before game 1. Barring unknown injuries of course.

1. Collaros to 1 game suspension as announced.
2. Lofton to IR. The real question is whether it's short or long term.
3. Munier-Bailey to AR replacing Weitz. Weitz may be headed for IR but that's a TBD
4. Vanterpool to PR. Vibert added to AR as OL depth.
5. Cobb added to AR as receiver depth and return capabilities.
6. Ayers to PR. IMO we'll have ratio room for Jones, Jones, Wilson and Griffin if we move to 8 starting Canadians.
7. Woods to PR.
8. Novak to PR.
9. Kornelson to PR.

If my math is right regarding the ratio, we'll have room to add 1 more import. Some will argue keeping Ayers on the AR. IMO we might see Person added to give us more rotation possibilities at DE. In theory we'd have Griffin backing up at SAM. 1 of the Jones would be a DI. That allows us to have 3-4 fronts at times and / or just the ability to rotate.

These changes might still leave us " over " the number of Canadians on the AR.

Anyway. Just a guess at this moment in time.

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

Just to continue a conversation from another post. What do you think changes before we finalize our game roster to start the season? I've added my earlier thoughts. Note there aren't really any wrong answers, these are just guesses as we adjust to the ratio and injury issues.


Just for the heck of it, these are the roster moves I expect before game 1. Barring unknown injuries of course.

1. Collaros to 1 game suspension as announced.
2. Lofton to IR. The real question is whether it's short or long term.
3. Munier-Bailey to AR replacing Weitz. Weitz may be headed for IR but that's a TBD
4. Vanterpool to PR. Vibert added to AR as OL depth.
5. Cobb added to AR as receiver depth and return capabilities.
6. Ayers to PR. IMO we'll have ratio room for Jones, Jones, Wilson and Griffin if we move to 8 starting Canadians.
7. Woods to PR.
8. Novak to PR.
0. Kornelson to PR.

If my math is right regarding the ratio, we'll have room to add 1 more import. Some will argue keeping Ayers on the AR. IMO we might see Person added to give us more rotation possibilities at DE. In theory we'd have Griffin backing up at SAM. 1 of the Jones would be a DI. That allows us to have 3-4 fronts at times and / or just the ability to rotate.

These changes might still leave us " over " the number of Canadians on the AR.

Anyway. Just a guess at this moment in time.

So many unknowns, so little information, guessing takes energy. I'm resigned to wait and see what they'll do and not at all worried about the decisions they'll make as they have so many good pieces to work with.

[Blue In BC]

So many unknowns, so little information, guessing takes energy. I'm resigned to wait and see what they'll do and not at all worried about the decisions they'll make as they have so many good pieces to work with.

LOL.  Nothing to worry about, just curious on which direction we go with the choices available. We get so little info from practice sessions etc. All of that is true week to week as we wonder about injuries and roster movement.

Anyway we'll see what develops early next week. I'm off to Whistler tomorrow for a couple of days so won't really be checking into all this until Tuesday.

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

LOL.  Nothing to worry about, just curious on which direction we go with the choices available. We get so little info from practice sessions etc. All of that is true week to week as we wonder about injuries and roster movement.

Anyway we'll see what develops early next week. I'm off to Whistler tomorrow for a couple of days so won't really be checking into all this until Tuesday.

I think they're off again for a few days now, so probably nothing will be revealed until mid-week.

[Blue In BC]

Aside from injury possibilities we have a 1st year OC and a 2nd year DC. That should give an early season advantage since teams will be less familiar we all previous tendencies.

Streveler starting game 1 is also a bit of a wildcard on how our OC decides to use him and how much free rein he is allowed.  The practice schedule doesn't show yet. Game is on Thursday so I'd expect Monday and Tuesday with a walk thru on Wednesday.

Looking forward to the game next week.

[Sir Blue and Gold]

Aside from injury possibilities we have a 1st year OC and a 2nd year DC. That should give an early season advantage since teams will be less familiar we all previous tendencies.

Streveler starting game 1 is also a bit of a wildcard on how our OC decides to use him and how much free rein he is allowed.  The practice schedule doesn't show yet. Game is on Thursday so I'd expect Monday and Tuesday with a walk thru on Wednesday.

Looking forward to the game next week.

Not convinced any of that gives us an advantage but still think we can come out on top. Looking forward to next week too!

Streveler is good for a run heavy game mixed with short passing. It doesn't matter who is calling the plays. That's what he can do and if Hogan assembles a game plan that's very different from that we've probably already lost.

Younger is as good a defensive coordinator as there is in the league so I don't think anyone is looking at him without knowing what you're going to get. Tons of 8 man zones with some pressure looks as the offense gets into scoring range. Will be a good test for Rourke who's gonna sling it regardless.

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

Aside from injury possibilities we have a 1st year OC and a 2nd year DC. That should give an early season advantage since teams will be less familiar we all previous tendencies.

Streveler starting game 1 is also a bit of a wildcard on how our OC decides to use him and how much free rein he is allowed.  The practice schedule doesn't show yet. Game is on Thursday so I'd expect Monday and Tuesday with a walk thru on Wednesday.

Looking forward to the game next week.

Ok, thought the game was next weekend, Thursday night changes everything.  As hard as Strev might try I don't think he'll beat the Lions if he can't put the ball in the endzone more often.

[TecnoGenius]

4. Vanterpool to PR. Vibert added to AR as OL depth.

I mostly focus on starters, and not depth so much.  In-season I really only worry about changes to depth.  So with no starting point yet, I can't speak to the depth guys so much yet.  It really is anyone's guess at this point.

You're probably right on most guesses.

But why slot Vibert ahead of Vanterpool as backup?  I guess because he's NAT?  We've often gone with only 1 backup OL, and as long as that's a NAT that's often good enough.  Assuming you are ok with rolling the dice a bit and bring Fatboi's 50-69 jersey!

I'm still not convinced Lofton won't dress.

Not convinced on Case too.  I guess Logan isn't coming anytime soon, but we have no one else that can return?  That Vaval guy will be on IR??  Vaval looked way better, and we always need more D (Vaval), never more O (Case)... but I guess we need at least 1 backup on O now that Johnny is gone.

[Jesse]

I mostly focus on starters, and not depth so much.  In-season I really only worry about changes to depth.  So with no starting point yet, I can't speak to the depth guys so much yet.  It really is anyone's guess at this point.

You're probably right on most guesses.

But why slot Vibert ahead of Vanterpool as backup?  I guess because he's NAT?  We've often gone with only 1 backup OL, and as long as that's a NAT that's often good enough.  Assuming you are ok with rolling the dice a bit and bring Fatboi's 50-69 jersey!

I'm still not convinced Lofton won't dress.

Not convinced on Case too.  I guess Logan isn't coming anytime soon, but we have no one else that can return?  That Vaval guy will be on IR??  Vaval looked way better, and we always need more D (Vaval), never more O (Case)... but I guess we need at least 1 backup on O now that Johnny is gone.

omg. This would kill me. Exact same thing we did last year (and many other times).

If a guys has been out for the entirety of training camp, he should be able to practice before he steps on the field in a game. You're not putting the player or the team in a good spot by trying to wedge injured guys into the line-up.

[Blue In BC]

I mostly focus on starters, and not depth so much.  In-season I really only worry about changes to depth.  So with no starting point yet, I can't speak to the depth guys so much yet.  It really is anyone's guess at this point.

You're probably right on most guesses.

But why slot Vibert ahead of Vanterpool as backup?  I guess because he's NAT?  We've often gone with only 1 backup OL, and as long as that's a NAT that's often good enough.  Assuming you are ok with rolling the dice a bit and bring Fatboi's 50-69 jersey!

I'm still not convinced Lofton won't dress.

Not convinced on Case too.  I guess Logan isn't coming anytime soon, but we have no one else that can return?  That Vaval guy will be on IR??  Vaval looked way better, and we always need more D (Vaval), never more O (Case)... but I guess we need at least 1 backup on O now that Johnny is gone.

We used 2 Canadian OL back ups most of the last couple of years. So if we start 3 Canadian OL, that's a change I'd expect.

If Vanderpool is significantly better than Wallace then they might make that decision. It's the ripple impact on the ratio and we'd lose 1 import on defence.

It could go either way but I lean towards the 3 Canadian OL because we seem to always stack the DI's on defence. Vaval and Castillo are two.

I'm surprised we retained Case. Vaval will be the returner and he'll also be available as a DB as a DI. We don't have much depth at DB that we can keep on the AR because of ratio. Injuries to Kelly and Makonzo changed that a bit

[TecnoGenius]

omg. This would kill me. Exact same thing we did last year (and many other times).

And that's why I said it's likely.  We know Mafia.  Not saying it's right.

But ask yourself: was Randolph as good as Lofton at RT?  (Maybe close?)  Plus: Was Wallace good enough to be our starting LG?  (Maybe, kinda?)  If the answer to either of these is no, then -- assuming he can play -- Lofton will start.

My gut still tells me that the Lofton thing is just a vet / precautionary thing, like happens all the time, like BO20 last TC.

If I'm Mafia, my lineup, if healthy is:
Stan Randolph Ko-man Neuf Lofton

That is only 1 change over the great post-season crew last year, and a known good setup (Randolph was great at RG in '24).  Consistency & continuity is king in week 1.

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

We used 2 Canadian OL back ups most of the last couple of years. So if we start 3 Canadian OL, that's a change I'd expect.

If Vanderpool is significantly better than Wallace then they might make that decision. It's the ripple impact on the ratio and we'd lose 1 import on defence.

It could go either way but I lean towards the 3 Canadian OL because we seem to always stack the DI's on defence. Vaval and Castillo are two.

I'm surprised we retained Case. Vaval will be the returner and he'll also be available as a DB as a DI. We don't have much depth at DB that we can keep on the AR because of ratio. Injuries to Kelly and Makonzo changed that a bit

Don't get why they kept Case over Myron Mitchell, they cover the same bases and Mitchell performed well in training camp while Case sat out. Proves you can make the club from the tub!

[Jesse]

And that's why I said it's likely.  We know Mafia.  Not saying it's right.

But ask yourself: was Randolph as good as Lofton at RT?  (Maybe close?)  Plus: Was Wallace good enough to be our starting LG?  (Maybe, kinda?)  If the answer to either of these is no, then -- assuming he can play -- Lofton will start.

My gut still tells me that the Lofton thing is just a vet / precautionary thing, like happens all the time, like BO20 last TC.

If I'm Mafia, my lineup, if healthy is:
Stan Randolph Ko-man Neuf Lofton

That is only 1 change over the great post-season crew last year, and a known good setup (Randolph was great at RG in '24).  Consistency & continuity is king in week 1.

I'm super biased because I'm not a Lofton fan. My exact scenario that I wanted from least year was Randolph winning the spot this year, so I'm just pulling for it.

[TecnoGenius]

I'm super biased because I'm not a Lofton fan. My exact scenario that I wanted from least year was Randolph winning the spot this year, so I'm just pulling for it.

I guess.  I don't think anyone is "Lofton fan".  But he does get the job done (well!), is cheap, and doesn't seem to get injured much.  He's almost ideal in that regard.

But then if Wallace or Eli don't pan out at LG we're in a bit of a pickle with no options.  If you give Randolph RT then what do you do with Lofton?  I guess hide him on the 6G for a while then what?

Still also leaves the issue of not enough good NATs to fill the jumbo 6th/7th.  If we do my lineup we get to keep Wallace/Eli as jumbo and backup.  Perfect!  Worry about shaking things up in '26.

Worrying about RT is a luxury right now.  The big question mark and worry is how we can have a Dobson/Desjar level LG... Ain't gonna win much if our OL play is worse than last season.

[Jesse]

I guess.  I don't think anyone is "Lofton fan".  But he does get the job done (well!), is cheap, and doesn't seem to get injured much.  He's almost ideal in that regard.

But then if Wallace or Eli don't pan out at LG we're in a bit of a pickle with no options.  If you give Randolph RT then what do you do with Lofton?  I guess hide him on the 6G for a while then what?

Still also leaves the issue of not enough good NATs to fill the jumbo 6th/7th.  If we do my lineup we get to keep Wallace/Eli as jumbo and backup.  Perfect!  Worry about shaking things up in '26.

Worrying about RT is a luxury right now.  The big question mark and worry is how we can have a Dobson/Desjar level LG... Ain't gonna win much if our OL play is worse than last season.

I just don't care what happens to Lofton, lol. He's a placeholder.

And I don't want him to lose his spot to injury, I'm hoping Randolph clearly beats him out.