2023-2024 off-season

[Looner]

yeah cause he's a decent pass rusher but not a great run stopper and takes alot of offsides.

Thats something that doesn't get talked about enough and I'm sure is one of the reason Lemon has bounced around as much as he has in spite of his sack numbers. Tackles for a loss are almost as important as sacks, at least IMO

[tigerdar]

Sounds like he was asking for a fair amount more and I suspect thats the reason no one has signed him.

yeah cause he's a decent pass rusher but not a great run stopper and takes alot of offsides.

[Looner]

I completely agree with you. I think losing both Cerensna and Leonard at the same time is a mistake. If you want to make changes to the Dline, I have no issue with that. So you let one of them go, not both. There is tremendous value in having proven guys on the line so if the other guys take a while to get accustom to the league or falter all together, you have something to fall back on. When the Esks were the Esks and successful, they would sprinkle in new players but kept some vets to insulate the new guys because there is a learning curve for new players to the CFL. I am hopeful the guys they brought in work out great but there is no safety net if they don't.

I take zero value into a camp reporter saying guys look good or surprising. This is camp, it's not a regular season game. Yes they are all playing hard in camp but regular season games are different. In camp or even preseason, they are going up against guys who will be cut and maybe never play pro ball. Plus, when is the last time a camp reporter came out and didn't say the team looks good? I don't remember reading articles saying "the team sucks, we are screwed" in the middle of camp. I seem to remember media people talking about how player X and Y looked great in camp last year and they lost 9 games in a row.

I really hope they improve but we won't know until the regular season starts IMO.

I am still concerned for sure but as a Dline coach myself, its one of the easiest positions to slot a new guy into and have them be effective right away. I'm not saying it's an easy position to play as it is physically demanding but compared to some of the other positions, guys can sub in quickly.

Like you said, lets wait and see what we look like in game 1 before pressing the panic button or declaring them the best there ever was. IF Nkemdiche lives up to his potential (big if) the Ceresna trade will be a homerun in my eyes as we know Gittens and MBT have chemistry.

[Looner]

I would have resigned Leonard unless he was asking for a dump truck of money tbh. Ceresna...meh

Sounds like he was asking for a fair amount more and I suspect thats the reason no one has signed him.

[tigerdar]

Natural talent is one thing you can’t teach. While I’m with Q about the lack of proven CFL players on defence, at least the scouts seem to be trying to hit some home runs this time around. It may yield some more stars than last year’s focus on trying to find undiscovered gems in D2 ball.

Changes to the landscape south of the border could have really helped teams this year too.

I would have resigned Leonard unless he was asking for a dump truck of money tbh. Ceresna...meh

[BeaverSports]

if his head is on straight Nkemdiche well be an all star this year and a defensive player of the year nominee his talent level far surpasses anyone this team has had in years.

Natural talent is one thing you can’t teach. While I’m with Q about the lack of proven CFL players on defence, at least the scouts seem to be trying to hit some home runs this time around. It may yield some more stars than last year’s focus on trying to find undiscovered gems in D2 ball.

Changes to the landscape south of the border could have really helped teams this year too.

[BeaverSports]

Not much of a risk giving up an 8th round pick next year. Worth a shot.

No kidding. I don’t even think I realized the draft was more than seven rounds. The guy was allegedly a five-star prospect near the top of his class. Not sure what happened, but love the signing.

[tigerdar]

Sounds like the D line is surprising some people in camp so far. Nkemdiche has been a beast, Curtis came to camp bigger and stronger (At Jones's request) and Elliot Brown is being compared to Willie Jefferson (too early to do that but some of his measurables are similar). Its possible that we don't know as much about scouting as our coaches do and if they can take what they've shown in practice to the field, the Gittens trade is going to look real good.

https://www.goelks.com/2024/05/15/ex...efensive-line/

if his head is on straight Nkemdiche well be an all star this year and a defensive player of the year nominee his talent level far surpasses anyone this team has had in years.

[Sectionq]

I think it's still a tall order to lose Ceresna and Leonard, but would love to be proven wrong on this one. I'm also really intrigued by this Alfano move. He sounds like he was a heck of a prospect himself. Jones must have had a line on him no one else did.

I completely agree with you. I think losing both Cerensna and Leonard at the same time is a mistake. If you want to make changes to the Dline, I have no issue with that. So you let one of them go, not both. There is tremendous value in having proven guys on the line so if the other guys take a while to get accustom to the league or falter all together, you have something to fall back on. When the Esks were the Esks and successful, they would sprinkle in new players but kept some vets to insulate the new guys because there is a learning curve for new players to the CFL. I am hopeful the guys they brought in work out great but there is no safety net if they don't.

I take zero value into a camp reporter saying guys look good or surprising. This is camp, it's not a regular season game. Yes they are all playing hard in camp but regular season games are different. In camp or even preseason, they are going up against guys who will be cut and maybe never play pro ball. Plus, when is the last time a camp reporter came out and didn't say the team looks good? I don't remember reading articles saying "the team sucks, we are screwed" in the middle of camp. I seem to remember media people talking about how player X and Y looked great in camp last year and they lost 9 games in a row.

I really hope they improve but we won't know until the regular season starts IMO.

[adb]

I think it's still a tall order to lose Ceresna and Leonard, but would love to be proven wrong on this one. I'm also really intrigued by this Alfano move. He sounds like he was a heck of a prospect himself. Jones must have had a line on him no one else did.

Not much of a risk giving up an 8th round pick next year. Worth a shot.

[BeaverSports]

Sounds like the D line is surprising some people in camp so far. Nkemdiche has been a beast, Curtis came to camp bigger and stronger (At Jones's request) and Elliot Brown is being compared to Willie Jefferson (too early to do that but some of his measurables are similar). Its possible that we don't know as much about scouting as our coaches do and if they can take what they've shown in practice to the field, the Gittens trade is going to look real good.

https://www.goelks.com/2024/05/15/ex...efensive-line/

I think it's still a tall order to lose Ceresna and Leonard, but would love to be proven wrong on this one. I'm also really intrigued by this Alfano move. He sounds like he was a heck of a prospect himself. Jones must have had a line on him no one else did.

[Looner]

Sounds like the D line is surprising some people in camp so far. Nkemdiche has been a beast, Curtis came to camp bigger and stronger (At Jones's request) and Elliot Brown is being compared to Willie Jefferson (too early to do that but some of his measurables are similar). Its possible that we don't know as much about scouting as our coaches do and if they can take what they've shown in practice to the field, the Gittens trade is going to look real good.

https://www.goelks.com/2024/05/15/ex...efensive-line/

[BeaverSports]

I didn't realize Nelson was a Sunderland pick. The guy is huge, which is what gives him an opportunity, but he wasn't a standout for the Bears which suggests he isn't going to cut it in the CFL.

I am wondering about Saxelid. The Stamps signed him, but I think he is still hurt. He doesn't have a number on their roster and I don't think he has practiced. Mark Stephen said he would look into him for me. The Stamps could use some veteran Canadian depth on their offensive line. If they get some injuries, they will be in trouble.

I really liked Saxelid. In fact, I think you'll find a few posters on this forum who did too. He can slot into any position on the offensive line and I always thought he had really good footwork. He could be a ratio breaker at tackle. He's had some injury trouble of late, so that may be the only concern here. He seemed like a sneaky good addition for you guys.

[Childress]

Nelson was a Sunderland pick, not a Jones pick. I think almost everyone thought he was a reach at the time and, if I recall, some who watched U of A football thought he was better suited at OL than DL. Still, he carved out some decent playing time rotationally last year and looked to be improving somewhat. If the coaching staff believes there's better talent - and if they're accurate - we've likely got a better football team.

While Sunderland had some decent drafts early, that 2021 draft isn't looking too great as there's nothing on the roster to really show for it. I really liked second-rounder Grant McDonald as a rookie, and didn't love giving him up in the trade with Saxelid for the Ford pick, but he didn't look to have a great season with the TiCats in 2022 and actually retired a year later.

I didn't realize Nelson was a Sunderland pick. The guy is huge, which is what gives him an opportunity, but he wasn't a standout for the Bears which suggests he isn't going to cut it in the CFL.

I am wondering about Saxelid. The Stamps signed him, but I think he is still hurt. He doesn't have a number on their roster and I don't think he has practiced. Mark Stephen said he would look into him for me. The Stamps could use some veteran Canadian depth on their offensive line. If they get some injuries, they will be in trouble.

[Ti-Catfan89]

Nelson was a Sunderland pick, not a Jones pick. I think almost everyone thought he was a reach at the time and, if I recall, some who watched U of A football thought he was better suited at OL than DL. Still, he carved out some decent playing time rotationally last year and looked to be improving somewhat. If the coaching staff believes there's better talent - and if they're accurate - we've likely got a better football team.

While Sunderland had some decent drafts early, that 2021 draft isn't looking too great as there's nothing on the roster to really show for it. I really liked second-rounder Grant McDonald as a rookie, and didn't love giving him up in the trade with Saxelid for the Ford pick, but he didn't look to have a great season with the TiCats in 2022 and actually retired a year later.

Too bad about Grant.