QUARTERBACK - C
Ben Holmes was not great today. He had three good passes, but he also threw a hospital ball to KGJ and some bad picks. He clearly has the arm talent to be the backup, but a tighter performance will be needed next week. Cameron Dukes brought some fun anarchy to the game and threw a nice TD to RaJae’ Johnson. Bryan Scott showed some real accuracy and finished the game with two scoring drives against lighter competition. Surprising he was the last to get in.
RUNNING BACK - C
No real running success for most of the game. Leake looks like he is ready for the season and Adeboboye had a nice play. It is not a position that draws the eye for the Argos, and it did not today. Juggernaut got to smash into some defenders, and he will be ready come the season. McMahon came in late, but he showed the potential game breaking skills he is bringing to the Argos.
RECEIVERS - B
Connected to a lack of quarterback play in the first half, not much from the starting RECs. Brissett had a nice Jet play and a terrific 2pt conversion catch. Future all star RaJae Johnson tracked a fadeish ball beautifully in the end zone. Downfield blocking on the jet needs to be better. Ungerer III and Bird flashed in the second half for what it is worth.
OFFENSIVE LINE - C+
Pass protection was decent for starting group. Backups were ok, but some big misses led to free shots on the QBs. The run game is still not this unit’s strongest suit, but the offensive line was not the issue today. Not picking up the 3rd Quarter delayed blitz almost killed Scott.
DEFENSIVE LINE - B
Hamilton did not to try to run that much, but Toronto was up for the task as they did not have any sustained success on the ground until late. The quarterback pressure needed blitz heat, so that needs to improve.
LINEBACKERS - B-
Kwamou was burned on a deep drop on the first TD, but I tend to give LBs a break on deep pass coverage. The linebackers kept the Hamilton run game in check, but nothing really popped from a unit missing some stars like McManis and Muamba.
DEFENSIVE BACKS - D
Not a great day for the secondary. It is always hard during the preseason to evaluate scheme success but there were some TERRIBLE busts on deep coverage and some poor tackling left a lot to be desired. A nice pick by Stiggers was great to see and further proof he is going to be a contributor, but he was lucky to not get tossed for his fight. Daniel and Holden both showed some blitz skill.
SPECIAL TEAMS - D
It started well, with a nicely blocked opening kick return, but some real problems arose. Having Pickett as the second returner with Leake did not work, as Hamilton smartly forced him to bring back kicks to diminishing returns. Sadly, McMahon did not look a natural at the gig either. Haggerty boomed the ball all day but on the Hamilton KR return, he outkicked the coverage, so he needs more hang time or more directional kicks to help the team use leverage.
COACHES - B
Tough to take much from the planning for a game that does not matter but the day had highs and lows. A poor opening by the starters suggests less than ideal preparation heading into the game, but the bounce back in the second half definitely shows a team still responding to the coaches.