Ronnie Pfeffer returns!

[R.J]

http://3downnation.com/2017/06/11/ca...argos-sources/

With Hajrullahu around, I don't think we really need him, but you never know I suppose, an injury could always occur.

[paulwoods13]

Our backup kickers didn't do great the other night, so this is useful insurance. It also makes things a little more squeezed for the Tiger-Cats who are not really happy with their two kickers and have already lost out on Brett Maher.

[Argo57]

http://3downnation.com/2017/06/11/ca...argos-sources/

With Hajrullahu around, I don't think we really need him, but you never know I suppose, an injury could always occur.

Great forward thinking by Popp, protect yourself in case of injury and block Hamilton's attempt at solving their kicking woes.
Love it!!

[Wobbler]

Insurance is good. I don't buy Dunk's idea that we should dress them both - Hajrullahu is a better kicker and probably a better punter too.

[OV Argo]

Insurance is good. I don't buy Dunk's idea that we should dress them both - Hajrullahu is a better kicker and probably a better punter too.

Disagree; big-time.

I've gone on here before about how risky/iffy/dumb it is (IMO) to dress only one kicker for any game and have him do all 3 jobs; an injury during a game (especially early) and you can basically kiss that game good-bye (unless you have a huge lead). And besides, there are rarely CFL kickers who have outstanding seasons at handling both the punting & place-kicking jobs - though it has happened some (see S. Waters for the Argos a few seasons back) - more often the dual kicker will struggle, some or lots, at one of the jobs (see S. Waters in all his other Argo time). Let a kicker concentrate on what he does best, and have another kicker for the other job, and they back each other up, in case of injury or even in game struggles. There are ZERO NFL teams - going on decades now - who carry just one kicker and have him do all the jobs. CFL roster size now is (IMO) plenty (way too) big, so you don't need a 5th string DB or linebacker who plays just special teams over carrying a 2nd kicker.

Now, if you had another game roster guy, who plays another position, plus is a pretty decent dual kicker as well (see Dave Stala) then there is not the big risk of having ZERO kicker to play during a game if injury strikes your main kicker. Maybe Graves could be this back-up/emergency guy for the Argos - he does play slotback, plus was a QB and punter in college ball.

Pfeffer has good potential to become a solid punter or place kicker. Should never have let him go in the first place, IMO.

[Wobbler]

Unless Pfeffer can out-punt Hajrullahu I wouldn't dress him. Kickers not named Swayze Waters almost never get injured, and those reserve LBs/ST specialists are useful every game.

But Trestman might be thinking the way you do, OV. We put a surprising amount of effort into evaluating emergency kickers last week.

[R.J]

While I do think we should've kept Pfeffer around a couple of years ago when we had the unreliable and highly overrated Swayze Waters, I'm not overly keen on dressing two kickers unless both are being used throughout the game. IMO Hajrullahu is a much better all round kicker than Pfeffer is at this point, but I have zero issue keeping Pfeffer around as a backup/insurance policy.

[ArgoGabe22]

Greaves was horrible at kicking and punting on Thursday

[Neely2005]

Smart signing by Popp.

[Gill The Thrill]

Greaves was horrible at kicking and punting on Thursday

I love this move and was wondering where Ronnie Pfeffer was as I thought he filled in quite nicely a couple of years ago when Swayze Waters went down. I didn't know if he was still with Ottawa or was an FA coming into the off-season.

As far as Greaves, the former QB/kicker from Acadia and great athlete coming out of high school in Barrie, his kicking wasn't up to pro standard on Thursday to be fair, and I do love to pull for those Canadians as I grew up watching the CFL and view Canadian players as the lifeblood of the league in terms of building local fan relevancy and marketing. Greaves looked nervous and rushed all his kicks...if he's got the strength, that could be worked on in the practice roster, and with a good private kicking coach. He's also listed as a receiver and is a good athlete. Cole Watson, an American from North Carolina had a good game receiving but his kicking wasn't great either.

Pfeffer, a national out of WLU is a capable kicker who has shown upside during game action, so I love this move and felt the need to post without even reading the other posts. The kicking game is a third of the game in Canadian Football, so it's very important you have a capable backup in case of injury or in case a kicker gets a mental block and loses their effectiveness the way Boris Bede did last year in Montreal.

[Gill The Thrill]

Insurance is good. I don't buy Dunk's idea that we should dress them both - Hajrullahu is a better kicker and probably a better punter too.

Hajrullahu hasn't exactly been Mr. Consistent during his CFL career. He was where Boris Bede was last year a couple of years back in Winnipeg, so I don't think his superiority in kicking to Pfeffer is as cut and dry as you make it sound. For those who are old enough, having one kicker has cost the Argos playoff wins and that was with a guy who could punt a ball 70 yds. Accuracy in placekicking is important and Pfeffer had some long FGs that were good out of the 12 that he made 2 seasons ago.

Teams dressed 2 guys with the old 34 man rosters back in the day, so 2 kickers in a 46 man roster should not be a problem. Even Dave Ridgeway shared kicking duties with Ken Clark early in his career with Saskatchewan.

[gilthethrill]

Greaves was horrible at kicking and punting on Thursday

I was hoping Greaves would be the next Chris Hardy, but it does not look like it. Glad to see Ronnie return. He did a good job in relief a couple seasons back.

[Argo57]

Hajrullahu hasn't exactly been Mr. Consistent during his CFL career. He was where Boris Bede was last year a couple of years back in Winnipeg, so I don't think his superiority in kicking to Pfeffer is as cut and dry as you make it sound. For those who are old enough, having one kicker has cost the Argos playoff wins and that was with a guy who could punt a ball 70 yds. Accuracy in placekicking is important and Pfeffer had some long FGs that were good out of the 12 that he made 2 seasons ago.

Teams dressed 2 guys with the old 34 man rosters back in the day, so 2 kickers in a 46 man roster should not be a problem. Even Dave Ridgeway shared kicking duties with Ken Clark early in his career with Saskatchewan.

Look at how the previous regime addressed the kicking game in 2015 (including letting Pfeffer get away the first time), smart proactive move by Popp.

[gilthethrill]

Look at how the previous regime addressed the kicking game in 2015 (including letting Pfeffer get away the first time), smart proactive move by Popp.

Maybe in 2015 Ronnie decided he would rather go to Ottawa and play rather than be stuck on the reserve list watching Watters play?

[ArgoGabe22]

I don't think Pfeffer will last long. I'm thinking they don't want to tire LH and may be trolling the Ticats in the process. I don't expect RP to take up a roster spot for very long unless it's absolutely necessary (injury).

[paulwoods13]

If Pfeffer has no other options, he might very well accept a PR spot. Ticats seem more concerned about place-kicking than punting at this point.

[AngeloV]

I'm not overly excited about this move. He was good on FG's in a tough situation when called upon in 2015, but I said it then, and will repeat it now, he's a terrible punter.

[Antwon]

I thought Hajrullahu did very well last year. Bounce back year for him and one of the few bright spots!
An insurance kicker is always good.

[Argo57]

Maybe in 2015 Ronnie decided he would rather go to Ottawa and play rather than be stuck on the reserve list watching Watters play?

That's a possibility for sure.

[AngeloV]

I don't think Pfeffer will last long. I'm thinking they don't want to tire LH and may be trolling the Ticats in the process. I don't expect RP to take up a roster spot for very long unless it's absolutely necessary (injury).

According to Frank Z's article today, he had a tryout with the Cats before the Argos signed him. His tryout must not have gone well, considering how bad their kickers have reportedly been in camp.