Holden Caulfield
He's guilty
My notes will mostly involve just players that made me look at "who the hell is that" the most. Both good and bad.
OL Tomoya Machino - Japanese guy drafted in 2nd round of global draft in 2021. He was a beast at RG in that game. Lining up with the #1's in place of Patrick Neufeld helped, but there was one run in particular where he had to pull from RG and ends up sealing the end on the left with a great shutdown block. Very impressive and could certainly force himself into the conversation about depth OL.
DT Cole Adamson - I mean it was mostly one play, but what a play. From the DT spot he bullrush through 2 blockers and wraps up the QB. It was an impressive show of strength. He is a great prospect, albeit returning to U of M this year so one to watch for next year.
S Malcolm Thompson - What a performance from him. While I'm not sure how well he will be in coverage, he is at very least Taylor Loffler part 2. Runs downhill with a purpose and shows great timing. Hits like a ton of bricks. I think he just put himself in the lead for the S job until Alexander gets healthy.
S Nick Hallett - The other end of the spectrum from Thompson. He struggled in many respects tonight, IMO. Missed some tackles, overrunning plays. Not impressed.
WR Dalton Schoen - He looked damn near identical to Greg Ellingson out there. I swear I thought it was Ellingson at first. Not speedy, not big just a dependable solid option. Looks every bit Ellingson part 2.
RB Greg McCrae - This is one I didn't expect to like. An American RB behind our 3 Canadians, good luck. But he stood out. Looked explosive in the return game, and looked solid running routes as he played for a bit as a SB. That versatility gives him a chance.
DL Cedric Wilcots - Noticed him being pretty disruptive out there. They had him out on kick cover as well which is surprising for a man of his size. Think he has a chance on the DL.
SLB Donald Rutledge Jr - Has some serious hustle on him. Has good speed gets around the field and some size on him to step up in the hole as an actual LB when needed. Might be a good find for the Maston injury.
RB Johnny Augustine - This guys impresses damn near every time the ball in his hands. He is going to force the Bombers to play him more and more, IMO.
QB Dru Brown - He looked fine. He looked like a CFL rookie getting his feet wet. I know he spent a bunch of time on PR last year and played that garbage time half, but he looked much more comfortable this year. QB prospects are rarely electric early, who knows.
QB Dakota Prukop - Did not look very impressive. Tough to have any rhythm in pre-season, no panic there yet, IMO. He'll still enter the year as the backup.
LB Les Maruo - Played quite a bit at WLB. Looked WAY more comfortable out there this year. He was either unsure or just randomly throwing himself at people last year in limited action. He is likely to be the primary Global on the roster this year unless Bombers convince Hansen to come back (new CBA does say Globals must be paid at least league minimum, not sure if they can get more).
CB Winston Rose - Looked rusty uninterested. Hard to judge veterans like this though.
DB Demario Houston - Thought he looked pretty ok. Seemed to be in control and finding his coverages.
DB Josh Miller - Expected more from a year 2 guy, even if he was just a PR guy last year.
DB Evan Holm - I follow ALOT of Bomber stuff in all sorts of media. This is one of the few names I hadn't heard anything about at all. He dropped his first punt return. Showed ok burst in his other ones, but I thought he struggled in coverage when he went in late. Hard to say though since I thought Tyrell Ford was really struggling beside him (Ford was playing corner, Holm HB).
LB Malik Clements - One of the brighter spots on defense once they got deep into the backups. Thought he brought some energy and physicality at MLB.
RB Kyle Borsa - Disappointing first showing from the rookie. Likely to be RB #3 though so no real worries right now.
DB Redha Kramdhi - Thought he was trying to do too much out there. Got extensive looks at SLB, but overall wasn't quite up to where I'd have hoped for for a guy that should be pushing to play some defense this year after a year of great ST play.
K/P Ali Mourtada - Missed another f***ing XP. I've been trying to think about the hashmarks moving in will help him, he's making cheering for him very hard. For a guy who's never punted before he actually punted fairly decently though.
Few more guys like DL Will Evans, WR TJ Simmons, WR Lucky Jackson, WR Blake Jackson, DB Patrice Rene, DL Jordan Bernier, OL Liam Dobson, K/P Marc Liegghio all had some moments, hard to say where they landed.
Felt bad for DB Marlon Character. Looked like he was in alot of pain, potentially knee. It was on ST in the 2nd quarter before he likely would have had some defense time, tough break.
Tommorrow will be interesting. As I mentioned before I'm expecting 10-15 cuts to come tommorrow. For alot of those guys it might the last time they will be able to play pro football. It's a tough thing, even if the guys just aren't up to snuff, you are still ending dreams.
OL Tomoya Machino - Japanese guy drafted in 2nd round of global draft in 2021. He was a beast at RG in that game. Lining up with the #1's in place of Patrick Neufeld helped, but there was one run in particular where he had to pull from RG and ends up sealing the end on the left with a great shutdown block. Very impressive and could certainly force himself into the conversation about depth OL.
DT Cole Adamson - I mean it was mostly one play, but what a play. From the DT spot he bullrush through 2 blockers and wraps up the QB. It was an impressive show of strength. He is a great prospect, albeit returning to U of M this year so one to watch for next year.
S Malcolm Thompson - What a performance from him. While I'm not sure how well he will be in coverage, he is at very least Taylor Loffler part 2. Runs downhill with a purpose and shows great timing. Hits like a ton of bricks. I think he just put himself in the lead for the S job until Alexander gets healthy.
S Nick Hallett - The other end of the spectrum from Thompson. He struggled in many respects tonight, IMO. Missed some tackles, overrunning plays. Not impressed.
WR Dalton Schoen - He looked damn near identical to Greg Ellingson out there. I swear I thought it was Ellingson at first. Not speedy, not big just a dependable solid option. Looks every bit Ellingson part 2.
RB Greg McCrae - This is one I didn't expect to like. An American RB behind our 3 Canadians, good luck. But he stood out. Looked explosive in the return game, and looked solid running routes as he played for a bit as a SB. That versatility gives him a chance.
DL Cedric Wilcots - Noticed him being pretty disruptive out there. They had him out on kick cover as well which is surprising for a man of his size. Think he has a chance on the DL.
SLB Donald Rutledge Jr - Has some serious hustle on him. Has good speed gets around the field and some size on him to step up in the hole as an actual LB when needed. Might be a good find for the Maston injury.
RB Johnny Augustine - This guys impresses damn near every time the ball in his hands. He is going to force the Bombers to play him more and more, IMO.
QB Dru Brown - He looked fine. He looked like a CFL rookie getting his feet wet. I know he spent a bunch of time on PR last year and played that garbage time half, but he looked much more comfortable this year. QB prospects are rarely electric early, who knows.
QB Dakota Prukop - Did not look very impressive. Tough to have any rhythm in pre-season, no panic there yet, IMO. He'll still enter the year as the backup.
LB Les Maruo - Played quite a bit at WLB. Looked WAY more comfortable out there this year. He was either unsure or just randomly throwing himself at people last year in limited action. He is likely to be the primary Global on the roster this year unless Bombers convince Hansen to come back (new CBA does say Globals must be paid at least league minimum, not sure if they can get more).
CB Winston Rose - Looked rusty uninterested. Hard to judge veterans like this though.
DB Demario Houston - Thought he looked pretty ok. Seemed to be in control and finding his coverages.
DB Josh Miller - Expected more from a year 2 guy, even if he was just a PR guy last year.
DB Evan Holm - I follow ALOT of Bomber stuff in all sorts of media. This is one of the few names I hadn't heard anything about at all. He dropped his first punt return. Showed ok burst in his other ones, but I thought he struggled in coverage when he went in late. Hard to say though since I thought Tyrell Ford was really struggling beside him (Ford was playing corner, Holm HB).
LB Malik Clements - One of the brighter spots on defense once they got deep into the backups. Thought he brought some energy and physicality at MLB.
RB Kyle Borsa - Disappointing first showing from the rookie. Likely to be RB #3 though so no real worries right now.
DB Redha Kramdhi - Thought he was trying to do too much out there. Got extensive looks at SLB, but overall wasn't quite up to where I'd have hoped for for a guy that should be pushing to play some defense this year after a year of great ST play.
K/P Ali Mourtada - Missed another f***ing XP. I've been trying to think about the hashmarks moving in will help him, he's making cheering for him very hard. For a guy who's never punted before he actually punted fairly decently though.
Few more guys like DL Will Evans, WR TJ Simmons, WR Lucky Jackson, WR Blake Jackson, DB Patrice Rene, DL Jordan Bernier, OL Liam Dobson, K/P Marc Liegghio all had some moments, hard to say where they landed.
Felt bad for DB Marlon Character. Looked like he was in alot of pain, potentially knee. It was on ST in the 2nd quarter before he likely would have had some defense time, tough break.
Tommorrow will be interesting. As I mentioned before I'm expecting 10-15 cuts to come tommorrow. For alot of those guys it might the last time they will be able to play pro football. It's a tough thing, even if the guys just aren't up to snuff, you are still ending dreams.
