Quick Preseason Thoughts

Going to be a busy few days with cuts and a game on Thursday already. So I am going to give some quick thoughts on last night’s game now: 

-        Surrounded by back-ups, I did expect much from Maier but man he just did not look comfortable or confident. Coan didn’t exactly light it up but he looked a lot calmer in the pocket.

-        Despite his fumble, I am guessing Mario Anderson won the back up RB job… so long Pennix and all the wonderful puns I had planned (Pennix gets good penetration, opponents can’t handle Pennix, fans excited at the sight of Pennix, Pennix pulled out etc..)

-        The only thing Robustelli did better and more frequently than catch the ball was pop his should back in.

-        Daniel Wiebe might not be pro ready yet but I think he has a future if they keep developing him.

-        Phalen Sanford lived up to both his first name and his number.

-        Exume may be a solid special teams player but he is a liability on defense.

-        Joe Couch should make the team based purely on his hustle on the punt return that was called back anyway.

-        Weird series of events when Mace challenged the ruling of an incomplete pass (thinking it was a fumble). They said the ruling on the field stands, the pass was ruled complete but not fumbled. I think they eventually fixed it. Preseason for refs too.

-        I don’t care that it was our own coach, I still maintain that you should be kicked in the crotch if you challenge in a preseason game.

-        I love how Winnipeg just randomly but in Collaros for a spite 2 pass TD drive.

-        I love the concept of celebrating cultural diversity but holy hell… playing the “Mosaic” song on endless repeat for 15 minutes is a form of torture that has to violate the Geneva Conventions.

-        I want to know where they find the people who take part in the in game contest. 4 people were asked how many sacks Bobby Jurasin had in his career giving the hint that he is the franchise leader. One person said 36. 36! I know we have a long history of struggling but come on. The contestants were equally bad at the principles of Price is Right betting as Rider stats. 

Riders vs. Bombers: Preseason Game 2

It’s Game Day!!!! Savour that excitement because it will last until 2 minutes into the game when you remember that this will likely be terrible. I enjoy watching preseason football but you need appropriate expectations. Expecting a riveting preseason game is like watching Dude Where’s My Car and expecting high quality cinematic art. 

With a short turnaround to a Thursday regular season opener, anyone of any importance is wisely being sat. Those few names you do recognize (Micah, Rose) will likely be on the field for less time than it will take you to stand in line for an overpriced drink. This game is about determining who gets to be a back-up, who gets a practice roster invite and who might be driving Uber by the time the calendar rolls over to June. 

There are still some intriguing things to watch.

Jack Coan will get half the game and its his chance to show the coaches that he is progressing as a QB and worthy of keeping around. If he plays well, I expect a devasting hangnail injury could land him on the 1 game IR. Maier gets the first half so it seems wrong to skip over him. But his place is secure and honestly with a 3^rd string OL and 2^nd string receivers I don’t expect him to light it up. Its just a chance to get more comfortable in the Mueller offense. 

Anderson vs. Pennix for back-up RB will be a battle to watch. Personally I am pulling for Anderson because I think he can bring a different element to our run game. While he may lack in a last name I can make get puns about (if Pennix makes the team, look out), Hudon (Le Camion Canadien) already fills the role of power back. 

Big opportunity for the Canadian WRs, in particular Mimbs who gets to start. I think we keep 2 of Mimbs, Nield, Misseri, Wiebe and Picton (and a 3^rd on PR). No one has really separated themselves from the pack yet, so this is their chance. 

I will be closely watching Daniel Johnson. With Erik Andersen yet to take the field and presumably hurt Johnson and Zerr are it for Canadian OL depth (unless O’Day wants to lace them up one more time). If he can not look like a giant man on roller skates, it would do a lot to ease my OL concerns. 

Another draft pick who should get a good long look is Ali Saad. As mentioned Micah and Rose will not be playing much so Saad gets a long audition. With Dabire hurt he has a chance to seize a roster spot.

Another DL battle to watch is Eric Black vs. Aaron Patrick. At most we keep one of them and while we have many good DE’s we currently don’t a true number one pass rush threat off the end. Be nice if one of those two could take a step to one day becoming that.

We tried handing the punting job to Bailey Flint and that experience was much like a night with me… short and forgettable. This week we will try to hand the job the Joe Couch. So, you know, we'll see how that goes. I've already spent more time discussing punters than I care to.

There are also a few veterans I think could be at risk of losing a roster spot and need a good showing to ease the pressure off.

-        Mitch Picton – I love Picton and am rooting for him. Versatile, smart, hard working. But at 30 years of age at some point we may decide to go younger. There are 4 younger guys vying for his spot.

-        Mario Alford – This one has been talked to death already. I still think he starts the year as our returner but likely does not finish.

-        DeMarcus Fields – I realize we can’t rest everyone but Fields is the only starting DB dressing, which can’t be a great sign for him. I still think he beats out Heckard and Sanford but its far from a guarantee.

-        Joe Robustelli – Not really a veteran but as a year 2 player he can’t just be as good as his competition (guys like Janneh and McCray). He needs to outright beat them or we will move on to someone with a higher potential ceiling.

I am generally just looking forward to being back in the stands enjoying all the foibles of preseason ball. Penalties called on players who aren’t even in the game, offside and procedure penalties galore, a guy dropping a perfectly thrown pass a Rider Prophet yells out “CUT!” from the stands.

Monday Morning Sentimonies: No Where To Go But Up

Riders 9 – Bombers 15

The Riders opened the preseason in Winnipeg on Saturday with a game that was an accurate metaphor for pretty much any trip to Winnipeg… you regret agreeing to take part almost immediately, don’t enjoy yourself and spend the time counting down the hours until it can be over.

Let’s start with presentation of the game itself on CFL+. Look, I appreciate the CFL’s efforts to make game freely available online (its a good move) but the point of airing free content is to build your brand, not actively contribute the narrative that you are bush league. Given the dominant demographic of CFL fans, people logging in may have assumed they inadvertently clicked on Web MD because they got an error message saying “backend not healthy”. If you had enough patience to wait until the game came up you were treated to about the only thing that would rate worse than Snow White on Rotten Tomatoes.

They used the Bombers’ in-stadium jumbotron feed so whole plays were missed, those you did see were awkwardly zoomed in so you only saw a portion and there were gratuitous shots of the stands (O’Shea is my Daddy guy I have so many questions and at the same time fear for pretty much any of the answers). It was awful. An elementary school kid with a cell phone could have streamed it better on Snap Tok (or whatever they use these days). I would have much preferred the very simple approach of just one wide angle camera shot where we see the whole field. Sometimes simpler is better. 

Anyway onto the game…

About the best way I can summarize the game if you were not masochistic enough to subject yourself to preseason football is this: Brett Lauther kicked 67% and was by far the best kicker we had on the field. (By the way, I pre-warned you about Lauther). 

To be fair there were a few good things. For me, the best part of that game was Jaxon Ford. I noticed him make more plays in that game than I saw our starting safety make in the entire 2024 regular season. He was always around the ball (and not 3 steps too late), he hit hard, he made plays. He showed how a safety can actually impact a game. He’s fully healthy and I hope this leads to a greater role for him on defense as a result.

Other guys that I noticed in a positive way:

-        There was not much going on in the passing game but Brayden Misseri had some nice catches and made a case to be kept around as Canadian WR depth.

-        Drae McCray looked speedy on returns. What I liked most is he gets up field in a straight line quickly. Play of the game was clearly seeing Castillo bounce off him.

-        Special teams coverage should be solid once again. Noticed Aubrey Miller and Braxton Hill making tackles.

Lots of concerns about the lack of passing production but I’m not overly worried. Would liked to have at least seen some sustained drives but it was not all on the QBs. Maier’s INT was the right read but the WR fell down as he was releasing the ball. Receivers slipping cost Harris a completion too. It’s the first preseason game… we will be fine. 

Overall we seemed to have escaped the game with no major injuries which is the most important part. On to next week. 

Other random thoughts:

-        Starting OL looked good, as did the starting DL… considering half our starters were not playing.

-        Punting was not so great and makes me wonder how bad Joe Couch must have been to be cut that early in camp.

-        I love preseason for moments like Brian Garrity’s first FG attempt… if you can call it that. It’s nice being able to laugh about comical failures of Rider players instead of curse like I will come the regular season.

-        Can’t say I got a great look at his coverage skills but the combination of wearing Double 0 as a number, leaving your undershirt untucked like a skirt and having the first name Phalen makes me think that Sanford will be cut.

-        I remain a staunch fan of Bertrand-Hudon aka “Le Camion Canadien”

-    Rather than hold a season ticket holder event just prior to a road game would it not have made more sense to have it DURING the game and have it up on the Maxtron or in the lounges. I do like that the team is starting to put effort into these things but sometimes I think they miss some easy wins. 

Riders vs. Bombers: Preseason Game 1

It’s time for my first game preview of the year, which means we’ve made it through another offseason. Football is back. That means my blood pressure and alcohol intake will be trending up and my time spent on recreation and family time will be trending down. There is a real sense of optimism surround the Riders… which I find very uncomfortable. Apparently I am too used to misery and cynicism.

Saturday we will get our first look at the 2025 squad. I expect some spot appearances from starters and a heavy dose of the back-ups/future unemployed. I am ok with that. For one given the state of our already growing injury list I would prefer if anyone important could be wrapped in bubble wrap and be kept as far away from the field (and Winnipeg in general) as possible. But also, our starting roster is set for the most part. We know what we have in guys like Harris, Ouelette, Emilus, Baker, Milligan, Rose, Thurman, etc… The majority of roster spots available are back-up/depth roles. The football gods are already telling us our depth will be tested this year so the quality of the back-ups will be a key determinant of our season. 

Here are some specific things I will be looking for: 

Canadian WRs – The plan appears to be to start Emilus, Baker and Duncan-Busby. Lots to like about those 3 but over an 18 game season we are going to need more than just them to fill 3 Canadian WR spots. We know Picton is a reliable fill-in but I will be watching guys like Nield, Mimbs, Wiebe and Misseri. We likely need at least 2 of them to pan out to get through the year. 

Returners – While Alford is the likely starting returner when the season opens, I don’t think that is a guarantee and I think its even less of a guarantee he finishes the season in that role. If someone can step up and show they can be an impact returner and back-up a WR or RB spot then I think they have a good chance to wrestle that spot away. Myers is a solid returner, we’ve seen that. Be nice to see what Drae McCray or Mario Anderson can do. 

Young OL – Any hopes that last years continuous cycle of OL injuries was a one-off have been all but erased. I still feel really good about our starting 5 but depth behind that is far less certain now and we will need to see some you guys step up. I will be watching Daniel Johnson to see how he is progressing. Erik Anderson to see how pro ready the rookie is. Also can an import like Nick Jones show progress in year 2? Is Brandon Kemp ready to be the back-up tackle? As much as I think Micah Johnson is a better OL than a lot of actual OL we’ve had over the years, I would be just as happy keeping him exclusively on D this year. 

LB – Thurman and Reavis will man two of the LB spots (and do so at a high level) but I will be very interested to see how we run that 3^rd spot. CJ Avery has seen time there. AJ Allen and Dalke have been splitting the spot to give a Canadian option. Is Nick Wiebe going to be able to stay healthy? Can guys like Aubrey Miller and Braxton Hill step up to be reliable depth when called on? 

DB – I remain a pessimist when it comes to our secondary. I think its no better than last season. Milligan and Sayles will be outstanding. Fields will serviceable. Safety and the other CB spot scare me. I really would love to see Tevaughn Campbell allay my skepticism. But I think a more realistic goal is seeing what we have in our new guys. I really like Heckard and hope he shows well. Lots of hype around Antoine Brooks hope that translates to the field and not just Terrence Nunn of the ’25 camp. Also would love to see Jaxon Ford take another step forward (and give us a reliable option if/when Lokombo struggles). 

I will also take this opportunity to remind you that the preseason and first couple weeks of the season are the annual “Brett Lauther struggles prompting people to want him replaced only for him to eventually get back to being awesome and make us forget he ever struggled” part of the year. If they let him kick, he’s going to miss. Please don’t panic. It’s part of his process. Kinda like how the Oilers need to start every regular season terrible before remembering they are cup contenders. 

Also remember that this being preseason the refs will be doing an homage to Zach Collaros… expect lots of missed calls. 

For years I just assumed we would lose every preseason game (because we did for an entire decade) but we are actually on a preseason winning streak (for as much as that matters). I don’t care if we win and back-ups playing on the road doesn’t strike me as advantage us. Plus Winnipeg will have all the emotion from raising yet another Grey Cup banner… oh wait, I mean Grey Cup participant ribbon (it’s a dynasty so I’m told).

Monday Morning Sentimonies: Training Camp Thoughts

I assume that as you read this post on Victoria Day you have a full day planned out of how you will honor Queen Victoria and the Victorian era. I will attempt to be brief today so as not to take away too much of your time from honoring the Mother of Confederation. It’s a hell of a case study to try and track how we evolved from this being a day to honor a queen to this being an excuse to go get ploughed with your buddies while camp in what is almost ways super crappy weather. 

A full week of training camp is now in the books and the Riders are gearing up for their first preseason game this Saturday. Like most of you, I have been trying my best to keep up from afar. Lets get caught up on some of the noteworthy things coming out of Saskatoon.

O-line has by far been the hottest topic of discussion. We unfortunately kicked off training camp with a significant injury to a projected starter (great omen). McEwen will be out for the foreseeable future. Never a good thing to lose a starting Canadian but the saving grace is that for the fist time in a long time, we have the depth to not be in full panic mode despite the injury. 

American Jacob Brammer has being playing guard likely signaling a change in ratio (at least until McEwen is back. Though I think even then, Brammer at guard is Plan A). I really liked Brammer as a rookie so excited to see what he can do in year 2. Starting only 2 Canadians (Ferland and Fry) helps mitigate the loss of McEwen. It also means our depth will be less strained. 

Noah Zerr was a surprise release but he was a victim of a lot of things not working in his favour. An American at guard reduces how many Canadians we need to keep around. The arrival of 2025 2^nd round pick Erik Anderson did not help. Mace is also very happy with the progression of 2024 pick Daniel Johnson. He’s a guy I have been keeping an eye on. He was considered a developmental project but had enough raw talent to get an NFL training camp invite. He may well be the next late round O’Day pick to pan out. Would not surprise me to see Zerr show back up mid-season if there are more injuries but for now, if we feel we are confident enough in our roster that a guy who was a half decent emergency fill in last year was deemed expendable this early in camp that’s gotta be a good sign. 

Some new names that I keep hearing positive things said about include: WR Wayne Ruby, DB Eddie Heckard, DL Alex Gubner, DL Aaron Patrick and DB Antoine Brooks. It will be interesting to see if they are noticeable when they are playing in a real game… or at least as close to real as preseason is. I also keep hearing Joe Robustelli's name a lot. We liked him enough to keep him around all last year so there must be something there. 

I am glad to hear that its all very positive news and vibes coming out of camp but honestly, ask yourself if you have ever heard anyone say “I’m just disgusted with our talent level this year. Just pure garbage. There will be some very easy decisions to be made.” Go back to the training camp reports of 2015… I bet you will find a similar level of optimism. I am optimistic about the season but I will temper my excitement until we start lining up against other team.

Monday Morning Sentimonies: Main Camp

Hello football. Goodbye any conversation or personal relationship not based on football for the next 6 months. 

There is a real sense of optimism surround the Riders this year. Most likely due to the fact that for the first time in many years we enter the season looking to build on a strong foundation from last season, rather than try to desperately patch up a broken and generally pathetic foundation.

Of the 45 players that suited up in the 2024 West Final 34 are returning and only 6 of those gone were starters. That does not leave a lot of open spots for newcomers to crack the team. Good problem for O’Day and Mace to have, tough gig for the players. Anyone wanting a roster spot better show up Sunday ready to answer the call… unlike Zach Collaros.

Let’s take a look at some of the spots they may be up for grabs.

Back-up RB

For most of last season Thomas Bertrand-Hudon (aka le Camion Canadien) was our back-up RB and that likely continues. But one of the new American RBs will be making this team in some capacity. Given his CFL experience Khalan Laborn will have a leg up in the competition. Much as I would love to see what someone of Pennix’s size can do, big RBs don’t often pan out up here. Its often not the size of the RB but their motion that matters.

American WR

The departure of Sterns and Bane still being injured in the short term leave openings at WR. Johnson is going to have a big year and I remain a big believer in Meyers. That leaves at least one spot. My eye is on Wayne Ruby who had a strong rookie camp and Drae McCray who is a solid returner. I don’t think Alford is lock on this team anymore so if someone can be a strong returner and be more than an occasional emergency WR, they have a chance to unseat him.

Canadian WR

With Emilus and Baker entrenched as starters, depth at the position is a must. Duncan-Busby pencils in as one of those depth guys. That leaves old reliable Picton competing with Mimbs and Nield. I am an unabashed pro-Picton guy given his ability to know and back-up every position. But the bigger, younger Nield should push him hard in Camp.

O-Line

I know this Hardrick, Ferland and McEwen will be starting. Tate and Gagnon will start camp as the likely starters at the other 2 spots but I don’t think they are guaranteed anything. Fry could easily leapfrog Gagnon and maintain the starting spot he held at the end of last season. Brammer and Kemp (along with a chance of a returning Reid) could push Tate.

I will be watching to see the progress of Canadians like Daniel Johnson and Zerr. Based on how last season went its likely one or both of them will get called into action at some point.

D-line

I fully expect the starters to be Carney-Johnson-Rose-Ray with Baldonado, Korte-Moore, Dabire and Colonel Sanders as the back-ups. That means a newcomer is going to have to be damned impressive to be anything but a practice roster guy to start. But at 29, Carney is only starter under 30 so the search for the “next ones” remains important. In particular while we have a lot of good D-ends, we lack a dominant one. I think our strength is the interior of that line and it will make the job of the Ends’ easier but if an A-a-ron Patrick or Jordan Smith could step up that would be great. 

American Linebacker

We have great depth at Canadian LB (Allen, Herdmans, Straker, Exume, Oneyka) but while our starting Americans are rock solid (Avery, Thurman, Reavis), depth behind them is concerning. I expect a few DBs to get moved to LB in camp but currently our only other American LBs are Braxton Hill and Aubrey Miller. I think Miller has a real chance to take the next step. 

Punter

It’s the epic Flint vs. Couch battle. It will not be super exciting to watch and you may not care who wins but of all the battles occurring in camp this one is probably the most impactful.

Monday Morning Sentimonies: Rookie Camp

Football starts this week!!!!

Rookie camp opens on Wednesday and while odds are that most of those players will not actually make it onto the Mosaic turf, it’s still exciting. It’s a new Rider season and in the words of Michael Scott “No question about it. I am ready to get hurt again.” 

So lets take a look at some of the names to keep an eye on as rookie camp opens:

QB – Really the only thing to watch here is if Jack Coan can take another step forward or if Michael Hiers can overtake him. Baring something unexpected our QB depth chart is set and Coan and Hiers are competing for a practice roster spot. O’Day has always been high on Coan so I will be watching to see how big of a step he can take forward in year 2.

RB - Another veteran group that will be hard for a newcomer to crack. Ouelette will be the starter. Hudon the primary backup. Laborn has CFL experience. That leaves Trent Pennix and Mario Anderson needing to make a big impression to make the roster. Realistically I think Anderson has the better chance but dammit if I don’t want to see what a man of Pennix’s size can do. He’s 6’2, 234. Mostly I would like the opportunity to brag about the size of our Pennix.

OL – We brought in a ton of American OL. With Hardrick and Tate penciled in as starters, Brammer as dept and a chance Reid returns it may all be for nothing. But as last year proved, you can never have too many OL.  From a size perspective the 6’8 315 mountain of a man that is Julius Buelow stands out though his college experience is mostly at guard. Jamir Ross-Johnson was a free agent signing of the Packers and has played two seasons in the UFL so he is the most experienced guy.

DL – D-end is the place to watch here. Other than maybe Saad, I don’t see a newcomer cracking the tackle position with Rose, Micah, Dabire and Sanders. We do need depth at end though. I think there is more to Justin Jefferson than just the same name as one of the biggest stars in the NFL. I also am interested to see what Jordan Smith can do as a former 4^th round NFL pick.

LB – While I assume some of our new DB recruits will end up auditioning as cover LB, we only really have one true rookie LB at this point, Braxton Hill and even he spent time on the practice roster last season.

DB – If I am looking to make this team I think CB is one of the best chances. Like most spots, our starters are set but we need depth. Eddie Heckard is a guy I will be watching here. Solid college career that ended at BYU. He got an invite to Broncos mini-camp in 2024. At 5’10 he does not have the height the NFL wants but his skillset could translate well to the CFL game.

Special Teams – The surprise retirement of Adam Kosak leaves us with a riveting punter competition in camp. I mean I’m sure probably anything you can imagine is more riveting than two foreigners kicking a ball really high but its an important battle nonetheless. After 2 seasons of Korsak’s fantastic directional punting I am just hoping we don’t regress back to booming them straight down the middle and cheering punt singles.  

Assessing the 2025 Draft Class

It must be getting close to the CFL season if you start seeing me work more than one day a week. The CFL Global and Canadian draft went down Tuesday.

While I wholeheartedly support the global initiative, I’d be lying if I said I knew anything about the global draft. Past drafts have brought us solid players like Baldonado and Korsak so our 2025 picks may turn into to something of value down the road. But trying to hype and analyze the results of a draft that is half punters is like trying to hype economic policy discussions on public radio.

So let’s focus on the Canadian draft…

O’Day has been fairly successful as a GM when it comes to the draft and I think 2025 is a continuation of that. When in doubt focus on building the trenches. Take some educated risks. Add some late round guys with potential. I think he ticked all the boxes. We won’t know the full value of this draft class for a couple years (Emilus seemed like an odd pick at the time but certainly panned out well. Mattland Riley seemed like a safe pick and ended up being a waste) but at this point I like what O’Day has done.

Let’s take a closer look at the picks.

Round 1 – 4^th Overall, DL Ali Saad

I love our current D Tackles but they are both the wrong side of 30. We need to start planning for the future here. Other than my inherent trust of a football program from Bowling Green using orange as their primary colours, there is lots love about Saad. Big, strong presence in the middle. Pairing him with Dabire could allow a ratio switch down the road. We lack impact Canadians on D so this was a logical place to focus in round 1.

Saad has been invited to mini-camp with San Francisco but odds are good he will be in training camp when it opens.

Round 2 – 13^th Overall, OL Erik Andersen

Picking OL early is never a bad strategy. In theory we should have enough depth on our existing roster but just look at how far down the depth chart we got last season due to injury. You can never have too much OL depth. Andersen played tackle in university. While he likely moves to guard in the CFL he at least as the experience to play tackle in a pinch. He’s strong the in the run game. 

Andersen has been invited to mini-camp with the Giants but, like Saad, odds are good he will be in training camp when it opens. With Kyle Hergel yet to shake loose from the NFL, I think it was important to continue to add OL depth.

Round 3 – 25^th Overall – QB Kurtis Rourke

O’Day stepped up a took a big swing here and I love it. Rourke was drafted in the 7^th round by the 49ers so we likely have to wait a year or 2 minimum on him and there is risk he never comes north. But when you have the chance to add a starting QB with a 3^rd round pick I think its well worth the risk, especially for a team with uncertainty at QB beyond this season. Now is the perfect time to take a risk like this because we have no glaring needs. Even if Rourke never plays in the CFL I still like this pick, because in the event he ever does he will bring value 100 times more than the pick we used to secure his rights.

Round 4 – 34^th Overall, LB Seth Hundeby

This pick is also about building for the future as Hundeby will be going back to school in the fall. But his athleticism was on full display at the Combine and he has had a very productive career with the Huskies. He’s a guy that could step in on special teams next year and potentially grow into a contributor on D. With a ton of uncertainty around the durability of last years second round pick Wiebe continuing to search for LB depth is important.

Round 5 – 43^rd Overall, DL Liam Hosksins

At this point in draft you are either drafting raw talents you think have a chance be molded into top end players or grinders/effort guys to fill out special teams. Hoskins strikes me as the latter. He’s a bit of a tweener at 240. Team will likely have him bulk up to play DL or trim down to play LB.

Round 6 – 52^nd Overall, DB Gideon Agyei

Unlike Hoskins, Agyei strikes me as the other type of late round pick you see, a raw talent we think we can develop. Given that we plan on starting 2 Canadian DBs, I think Agyei has a chance to stick on the practice roster as we will need depth there.

Round 8 - 69^th Overall – WR Daniel Wiebe

I hate how every short white receiver automatically draws Weston Dressler comparisons. There will not be another Dressler. That said, if you are going to take a guy late in the draft, a local Saskatchewan kid who is going to work his tail off is as good a bet as any. Wiebe has speed so he has a chance.