Ray has just been placed on the 6 game injured list and Sims was cut June 7th. Judging from his post-surgery throwing progress, 6 games appears more realistic for Ray than it did for Travis Lulay last season (his first game appearance was in game 8 last year at TOR).TheLionKing wrote:TORONTO – There was a little extra zip to the footballs being thrown by Ricky Ray at practice on Thursday.
Despite being freshly activated off of the injured list, the Argos star quarterback is not close to returning.
Still recovering from off-season shoulder surgery, Ray has slowly been increasing the intensity of his practice regiment.
“Today I got to throw a little bit more and it felt better than it has the first few times,” said Ray. “I’m making progress which is a good thing. I still got a ways to go but definitely today was a very positive day.”
According to head coach Scott Milanovich, the team is keeping Ray focused on individual drills rather than having him practice with the team.
He’s coming along. He’s not close yet,” said Milanovich. “Today was a positive step where he threw the ball. He felt a lot stronger but we’re still a ways away.”
Still hopeful that Ray will return sooner rather than later, Milanovich joked that he was trying to get Ray into the team’s first pre-season game on Tuesday against Winnipeg.
That would go against the throwing program that has been set up for Ray, one which he is strictly following.
“What’s just been helping is just doing the strengthening and all the rehab,” said the 35-year-old Ray. “My shoulder’s just still a little bit weak and I got to get it a lot stronger and we’ve been working hard at that this week. I feel like I’m getting some results from it.
“Today I was able to throw it with a little bit more zip, nothing that’s even close to being where I need it to be but to where I was able to actually push through some of the soreness. So it was definitely a positive day for me and hopefully it will continue to do that.”
Ray revealed that he is only allowed to throw a maximum of 25 yards at this stage of his program. He said he did two throwing sets on Thursday, which is an improvement over the single set he was previously permitted.
At this point, Ray said his shoulder wasn't any worse when throwing and that he had the same feeling in it throughout his workout. He is still icing his shoulder after practice to reduce inflammation.
Sims struggling to get reps
There was a lot of buzz surrounding Blake Sims when he signed with the Toronto Argonauts. The ex-Crimson Tide entered training camp to compete for a backup quarterback spot but has struggled thus far to have a chance to prove himself.
“He’s not getting a ton of reps out there which is normal. The other guys are getting reps ahead of him. He’s got a good arm,” said Ray. “When he’s throwing one-on-ones he gets zip on the ball. He can throw it downfield. It’s just him trying to get a grasp of the offence and the more he’s here, the more he is watching.”
Ray also said that it may take until the pre-season until Sims can get some full team reps and it would be there that he would have the chance to play and show what he can do.
A reason for Sims’ lack of snaps could be his late arrival to the team. By the time Sims had signed with the Argos he had already missed crucial development practices that are a typical rookie would take part in.
“He’s behind the 8-ball. He missed the mini-camp, he missed the rookie camp, so he’s behind,” said Milanovich. “Right now he’s trying to get some mental reps, hopefully we’ll start getting him some more team reps as this thing goes along.”
Another hurdle in the way of Sims is adjusting to the CFL game. Coming from the NCAA, there are a lot of adjustments that need to be made according to Ray.
“The ball is different, the field, the extra player, what you’re doing on offence,” said Ray. “There’s a lot of things that your mind has to get used to and it takes time. He’s still in his first week of being out here and learning his game so he’s just trying to take it all in.”
Looks like the Argos have decided to go with their 2 most experienced CFL options, incumbents Harris and Gale.
https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/blogs/cfl-5 ... 20872.html
The Canadian Football League can be a tough place for rookie quarterbacks, and we saw that again Sunday with the Toronto Argonauts' decision to release Blake Sims just nine days after they signed him. Sims, who shone with the Alabama Crimson Tide in 2014 and led them to an SEC championship and a berth in the inaugural College Football Playoff, looked like an impressive signing when the Argonauts picked him up on May 27, especially given his positional versatility and his performance at the college level. He seemed to be in a relatively good position, too, given the ongoing health issues of starter Ricky Ray and the team's lack of depth at quarterback, plus Toronto's decision to sign him to a three-year deal. Plenty of big-name NCAA QBs haven't panned out north of the border, but Sims' stats seemed to suggest he was worth at least a shot. However, it seems that his relatively late arrival and Ray's health issues may have both worked against him.Milanovich says in there (as transcribed by AL.com's Mark Inabinett) that Sims was "behind the eight-ball" thanks to coming in later in the process than the team's other quarterbacks, but he also says "We'll be patient with him. We're not expecting too much too soon." That clearly wasn't the case in the end, but that may not have been entirely Sims' fault. Indeed, it may have been thanks to Ray's ongoing recovery from offseason surgery for a torn labrum; he's been barely throwing so far. Milanovich told media Sunday Sims was the odd man out with the team looking to add a veteran to provide more insurance for Ray's health:
"It was just a situation. We usually try to keep a rookie quarterback as our fourth guy. With Ricky and his shoulder, I think we just thought it was going to be better to look for some veteran guys to possibly fill that spot this year. ... We didn't know what Ricky's scenario was going to be and we still don't. But I don't know if it would be wise not to strengthen that room with a guy that's a veteran, which we haven't done yet but I expect us to soon."
In any event, Sims' quick departure is certainly curious. He reportedly signed a three-year deal with the Argos in May, which is longer than the minimum two-year rookie contract; that would suggest the team saw something in him, at least initially. His college stats would certainly support that too; Sims completed an impressive 64.5 per cent of his passes in 2014, and completion percentage is huge for success in the CFL game. He also threw for 3,487 yards with a 28/10 TD to interception ratio, and he ran 83 times for 350 yards and seven touchdowns; he was quick enough that there was talk he could go pro as a running back or receiver, and mobility can be a huge asset in the CFL (and also should have helped his chances of sticking around, as he provided the Argos with a very different short-yardage option and a different look in the pocket). One knock on him that may have kept him from getting a NFL shot (he was undrafted this year, and didn't receive a contract offer following minicamp tryouts with Green Bay and Washington) was his size; at 6'0'', 208 pounds, he's much shorter than most quarterbacks. However, most CFL passing records are still held by 5'10'', 178-pound Doug Flutie, so if any league's going to take a chance on a smaller guy, it's this one.
Now, it's worth noting that Toronto didn't have many options if they did want to create room for a CFL veteran quarterback. The Argos' first two spots were occupied by Ray and primary backup Trevor Harris (the likely starter if Ray isn't ready to go by the first game), so it came down to Sims, Middle Tennesssee product Logan Kilgore and Abilene Christian product Mitchell Gale. Neither Gale nor Kilgore had the college resume of Sims, but both have more time with the Argos, more time in the CFL and more time in Milanovich's offensive system. That may have helped them save their spots for now.
There are a couple of potential scenarios that could have happened here. One is that the Argos fully intended to give Sims just a short chance to move up the depth chart, and that he didn't show enough in practices to justify keeping him around over Gale or Kilgore. Even if Milanovich's comments about being patient with Sims and setting a low bar for him were accurate, perhaps he didn't clear that bar. Another option is that Ray's injury started looking worse after Sims was signed, forcing the team to change their plans and start looking for a veteran instead. From the outside, it's going to be hard to tell exactly what happened here. It seems unfortunate that Sims didn't get more of a chance in Toronto, though, as his college production and skillset could have made him an exciting CFL player; lots of big-name NCAA quarterbacks haven't been able to make the jump to the CFL, but Sims seemed like a good candidate. We'll see if he gets a shot with another CFL team or not.
