Hello, Toronto Argonauts. The Hamilton Ticats just released offensive lineman Jordan Boatman. I know you’re deep on the roster along the offensive line, but some things are just written in the stars, aren’t they? Or written on the rippling waters as you embark on your 150th anniversary season. What say you give the man an oar and see what happens?
Here are five pre-season takeaways.
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THOSE QB NUMBERS SIGNAL GOOD DAYS ARE COMING FOR EDMONTON
Head on over to CFL.ca’s quarterback tracker, and scroll down to the Edmonton Elks. Look at those numbers. I’ll wait.
MID-TAKEAWAY WHILE I’M WAITING BONUS TAKEAWAY: That picture of Chris Jones that the Elks used to promote their upcoming video of ‘mean tweets’ is gonna be my go-to image for responding to questionable comments on my timeline. All. Season. Long.
Now that you’ve had a look at the QB tracker, back to the takeaway.
Pretty great stuff there, right? I added it all up. Elks’ QBs went 59/81 for 620 yards over two games, with three touchdown passes and zero interceptions.
Particularly head-turning: Kai Locksley going 30/44 for 341 yards and two touchdowns. The Elks obviously wanted a longer look at Locksley – mostly a receiver last season – and they got that. And he showed well.
Edmonton’s quarterback numbers from pre-season are reason to be (here’s a phrase that gets tossed about more than a tackling dummy at this time of year) cautiously optimistic heading into the 2023 campaign.
HOLD YOUR HORSES A BIT ON SOME OF THAT CAUTIOUS OPTIMISM OVER HERE
It’s not that good showings in the pre-season *can’t* be indicators of what’s ahead, it’s just that they won’t necessarily be.
Still, you’ve gotta like what you saw from the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Friday night, particularly in their quarterback saviour, Trevor Harris.
Trevor Harris completed all four of his passes in his preseason debut for the Riders (The Canadian Press)
Harris made a brief but dazzling appearance in a win over Winnipeg, going 4/4 for 72 yards and leading the team on an 89-yard touchdown drive. He kept it cool in the postgame, though, reminding everyone that the Bombers had rested a lot of regulars.
“I don’t think there’s a ton to take away from it aside from the fact of the team supporting each other and everybody in sync, playing well,” said Harris.
Still, if you’re a ‘Riders fan you have got to be charged up by what you saw, including an animated and excited Saskatchewan sideline whenever the cameras were aimed over there.
It’s a good start for a possible Roughriders turnaround.
“A lot of times confidence breeds confidence,” said Harris, sounding – to me at least – cautiously optimistic.
HE’S BEEN REBOOTED, SO LOOK OUT
Another team, another reason for cautious optimism. (Teacher says “every time the phrase ‘cautious optimism’ is used, a tackling dummy gets its wings.” Or something like that.)
The Montreal Alouettes beat Hamilton to close out the pre-season and – just like Harris with Sasky – they got a short, sweet and impressive outing from a veteran. Running back William Stanback may have carried just four times against the Ticats – for 25 yards and a healthy six-yard average – but it was his comments afterward that hinted at a dominating runner who is ready for a bounce back.
Alouettes running back William Stanback appeared in only five games in 2022 (ticats.ca)
“I felt really light and nimble on my feet,” said Stanback, post-game. “I just felt really good. I felt like I’m back to myself and how I was before.”
If he is back to his old self and how he was before, with an injury-upended 2022 season far back in the rear view, he’ll be a key component in making the Als’ offence tick in 2023.
William Stanback is feeling optimistic. Opposing defenders should feel cautious.
IT IS REASONABLY CERTAIN THAT NEVER HAS IT LOOKED SO MUCH LIKE ‘GO’ TIME FOR VERNON ADAMS JR.
“I just felt a lot more comfortable out there in seeing things better,” said Adams Jr. after his scintillating performance against Calgary on Thursday night.
Adams Jr. went 12/12 during his appearance, throwing for 213 yards and three touchdowns. We’ve seen him take command before in his career but perhaps never quite like that.
He’s said it, his coaches have said it and his teammates have said it; this off-season of studying the Lions’ system has paid dividends. Certainly looked like it on Thursday.
At long last, we may finally be on the cusp of seeing what a consistently excellent Adams Jr. can accomplish. How would I describe my optimism in that regard? Hmm… it’s there, but it is of the
somewhat-guarded variety.
BONUS TAKEAWAY: You can take the QB out of Montreal, but you can’t take Montreal out of the QB. Adams wrapped up his post-game media conference by asking reporters: “C’est bon?”
AN EYEBROW IS RAISED
Should Ottawa fans be concerned? Sure, a number of veteran quarterbacks barely played in pre-season, but play they did.
Not Jeremiah Masoli, however.
It is true that he is a veteran who probably wouldn’t need much action to tune up prior to the regular season, but coming off a major injury the way he is, you’d expect the REDBLACKS would want to road test his leg a bit prior to opening kick off. The fact that they did not do that in pre-season might not necessarily be cause for concern.
Sets off some alarm bells for me, however.
We’ll see if there’s reason for those bells come depth chart day. For Ottawa, that’s Friday. I suppose the thing to do is to remain cautiously optimistic. (Yup, again)
AND FINALLY… You have my attention, Tyrrell Pigrome.
