One week in, here’s the view
So, a week deep, what are we seeing in the Hamilton TigerCats?
Well, although two pre-season games over the next 12 days will heavily affect the view, some things are coming into sharper focus.
Others, though, have become a bit more opaque, while still others remain as crystal clear as they appeared when camp opened.
Among the latter: Despite the bright spotlight on the other J.M., this is Jeremiah Masoli’s team on offence; four of the five offensive linemen are set and the fifth, Landon Rice, is likely embedded, too; four of the starting receivers will be Brandon Banks, Luke Tasker, Jalen Saunders and Shamawd Chambers; Larry Dean and Simoni Lawrence are unchallenged on two-thirds of the linebacking tier; the middle of the five-man secondary is locked in with Abdul Kanneh, Courtney Stephen and Richard Leonard; Ted Laurent, Adrian Tracy and Justin Capicciotti will open as three of the mainstays of the multi-man defensive line rotation; two-way player Nikita Whitlock makes the team and will affect the roster rotation; and free-agent signee Lirim Hajrullahu is the don’t-have-to-lookover-your-shoulder kicker.
Barring injury and some astounding performances in the pre-season games, that leaves not more than a handful of still-unanswered major questions on the starting group — for the next few days, at any rate.
But that handful is a little bigger than it was Friday afternoon.
With starting defensive tackle Davon Coleman traded to the B.C. Lions Friday night for a draft choice, the Tiger-Cats suddenly have another starting position battle in camp.
It’s the second such positional question in less than a month that had been unanticipated by the general public. All-star guard Ryan Bomben was traded to Montreal so the Ticats could draft receiver Mark Chapman, who has yet to sign. That deal opened the door for the veteran Rice, and a slew of young Canadian linemen coming up behind him.
Jason Neill and former starting NFL tackle Bobby Richardson are the leading candidates to replace Coleman. Neill might have a slight nod at this point after showing well in his eight appearances with the Ticats last year. Both 25-year-olds are looming presences at six-foot-three.
Chapman’s sustained absence could eventually have an impact on the depth and breadth of the Ticats’ commitment to establishing
a frequent two-Canadian receiver package. Chambers has one spot sewn up and returnee Felix Faubert-Lussier is making a very strong case for himself as the second reliable option. Rookie Jacob Scarfone has impressed, but without Chapman, the depth of field here — while still impressive — might not yet be enough to go doubleCanadian as often as originally hoped.
Returning cornerbacks Demond Washington and Don Unamba had a leg up coming in and
still have that leg up after the first week, but there are numerous contenders to unseat them, and the two preseason games will clearly be the determining factor. Washington left the field during Sunday’s practice.
The area of biggest uncertainty is the defensive position that was arguably the most wide open coming into camp: SAM (field side) linebacker.
It remains that way, and more so, after first-up Mariel Cooper was hurt early and hasn’t participated since. DJ May, who replaced
him at the top of the depth chart, was hurt on the weekend and Jackson Bennett, the 2018 second-round pick who has a very bright future in Hamilton, limped off late Sunday. Randall Evans, a first-year CFLer out of Kansas State, has assumed top reps there.
“We should get Coop back shortly,” head coach June Jones said Sunday. “I think we’re going to be OK there, but as always in camp, you get all these minor things and you’re short.”