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Apologies for not having my usual sentimonies posted on Monday. I went to see Avengers Sunday and was too distraught to think about football. I mean the musical duet was magical, the Thanos/Hulk romantic relationship was maybe a bit much but what really got me was the plot twist around Captain America actually being Darth Vader's son and turns out he was dead the whole time and they only win when they figure out the flying V formation. Oops sorry for spoiling it for people.
Anyway, back to football:
- The CFL Draft goes Thursday. I still maintain that the Riders will use their first round pick on a receiver. Hergy Malaya and Justin McInnis are the names that jump out to me but Kaion Julien-Grant and Brayden Lenius-Dickey are also options. In the second round my guess is DL or OL. We need a DB to back up Edem but there are only 2 decent ones in the draft and both are facing possible suspensions.
- Solomon Elimimian has been a topic of conversation across the prairies after news surfaced that he was being released. The Riders are one of 3 teams showing interest. This is definitely a proceed with caution scenario as he's old and injuries are starting to slowly pile up (can't imagine making 100+ tackles year in year out is good for the body). But when healthy dude is one of the best to ever play the position. It will come down to whether the money makes sense. But he is worth exploring.
- The other name of interest is Jeff Knox. Now he's no Elimimian but he is 5 years younger, more versatile and has experience in our defense. He's also a good player in his own right. He can play outside and middle LB (like Equavoen did). It all depends on how much each of them want salary-wise but there is a case that Knox is a better for for our needs than Elimimian. Also Knox is easier to type, which in my world is a plus (won't someone think of the bloggers?!)
- Maybe I missed something or maybe its just an oversight but Matt Elam does not appear on the Riders' roster on their website. Anyone know what happened?
- The other topic is the ongoing negotiations between the CFLPA and the league. Both sides are doing the best to gain leverage in the negotiations. The League by not paying bonuses and delaying negotiations. The CFLPA by taking a strike vote and threatening to not show to camp. I think that like usual and deal will be made at the 11th hour without any kind of disruption to the season. If the CFLPA can remain as united as they currently say they are on this reporting to training camp issue it would really strengthen their position but the closer this gets to camp the more I'll be watching for cracks. Easy for Mike Reilly and other top players to not report to camp (Reilly has top hat money) but if you are a new player whose livelihood depends on getting a chance to earn a paycheque a lot tougher to jeopardize that chance.
3 comments:
Have to agree. Knox might be a better fit but a few teams think Elimimian has some juice left. The injury wasn't as serious as his Achilles in 2015 so I don't have that many concerns. He's just a year off his 144 tackle season & @ 32 should be good for another year or 2. He would be a major addition for this year. I don't know - I have a hard time picturing him in anything but orange but that's over. IMO we need help @ LB. We'll have one National there (pending how many Nationals are required this year). It looks a lot like Moncrief & newly acquired Davis round out the other 2. Davis is a career special teamer to date so I'm not all warm & fuzzy there but maybe as a depth player. It's going to be interesting to see what happens in the draft this week. We need a receiver Round 1 & need depth @ DT & Safety. DB's available getting slimmer with dropouts. Probably could use another OL. If Shepley steps in who does he replace? Got a handful of 30+ starters. Schram didn't work out in Hamilton but who knows. Still a lot of moves to be made league wise.
The Bouka signing is big. Addresses one area.
Apparently Knox is not in the cards. Bouka is a huge signing (assuming he stays healthy)
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