Hambone wrote: ↑Tue Jan 26, 2021 5:35 pm
Murdoch wrote: ↑Tue Jan 26, 2021 2:09 pm
Montreal looking good at receiver with BJ Cunningham signing to go along with Eugene Lewis, Naaman Roosevelt and Jake Weineke. Not sure how they plan to work the ratio. Henoc Muamba helps.
In 2019 they typically had 3 OL plus Muamba at MLB. Safety was a starting spot with Loffler but he only played 6 games with Lokombo (10) and Cranston (2) starting in his absence. Ackie started 7 games at LB after joining them early in the season. When he went down after Game 13 for 4 games Foote drew in to replace him as a starter. Ackie came back for 3 starts and Foote went back to a backup role. A combination of FB Moore (8), WRs Faubert-Lussier (4), Julien-Grant (1), Malcolm Carter (3) and RB Christophe Normand (1) combined for another starter. Overall it was a patchwork quilt for them to get to 7 starters.
It's looking like they might be a patchwork effort again. Since 2019 they did reacquire former Montreal starting OL Philippe Gagnon but lost Trey Rutherford to retirement so looks like they will again be 3 OL starters. They also have added former Lions Junior Luke and David Menard to should be in decent shape to have a starting NAT spot on the DL. However they have yet to re-sign either Loffler or Lokombo.
The Als might have lots of options for NI starters, IF they can re-sign Muamba & Loffler (Lokombo was signed by the Argos last year, but has yet re-signed there, so i guess the Als could sign him again).
The loss of starter OG Rutherford could hurt but they do have replacements in the wings in vet Gagnon plus a couple of former draft picks (Laval hogs factory all-star Sam Thomassin & US college ball product Wilkinson) And they still have former supplemental draft pick Tyler Johnstone (former award winning / top rated US college ball OT) on the roster (but yet re-signed) and though he has had CFL injury problems, he remains a potential OT starter IMO.
Faubert-Lussier was re-signed and he started a lot of last season at wide-side WR (he's more of a big body slot type)- but he was almost never targeted and a waste of space IMO; listing Moore as a "starter" at fullback is basically meaningless since they rarely deployed an H-back; they do have former draft pick K. Julien-Grant (big, fast target with good U Sport production) as a receiver prospect and why he was not tried more last year over Lussier is baffling to me. They also have import Quan Bray who played last season to go with the above mentioned import receivers and they might think of going all import in the 5 pack.
Defence is where they could deploy a bunch of NIs - vets Junior Luke & Menard come home for their D-line and Maciocia would know them well; and they have former draft picks J-S Blanc (ST ace) and Bo Banner to play DE; and they drafted a couple of D-Lineman last draft - U Sport all-star DT Cam Lawson and B. Marion from Maciocia's Carabins = they could easily think of starting 2 Canadians in the D-line rotation. Top draft pick M-A Dequoy is a real interesting DB prospect IMO - big, blazing fast, U Sport all_Canadian D-half who got an NFL look and could probably line-up anywhere in a CFL D-backfield - be interesting to see if he gets a real shot to play right away. SO - Muamba, Loffler + one or two D-linemen + maybe Dequoy could see 4 or 5 NI starters on D.
Be interesting to see if the Als - with Maciocia as GM and more than half the coaching staff Canadian - go with standard CFL 7 only NIs need apply thinking. Also be telling there if former Laval star QB Hugo Richard (big arm and can can run) can make their QB depth chart, after being on the PR last season - the back-up options behind Adams are limited to some new import QB signings and that other import QB they have (Schiltz?) who played a bit for the Als and looked lost/useless.