The defensive secondary

[Wobbler]

As noticed by everyone, we've had a lot of personnel turnover in the secondary. Based on practice reports this week (from TSN Hashmarks) we can look forward to more on Tuesday.

- Ricardo Colclough has been getting most of the reps at field DB, replacing Antareis Bryan
- Jermaine Gabriel has been splitting reps with Matt Black at safety

Can those who have been attending games chime in with their assessments of our secondary personnel? Watching the stream/TV coverage makes this awfully hard.

FWIW...

- Watkins hasn't been very noticeable, which is obviously great. He seems to be covering well
- Carter had a bad game last week and has been sub-par overall. I think we've missed Evan McCollough quite a lot
- Black has been decent. He has the speed to be an effective sometime-blitzer, but I can't remember the last time he broke up a pass. He also has zero interceptions so far (Younger recorded five last year)
- The wide-side DB has been a revolving door, so no comment
- Lawrence has only played wide-side corner for two weeks, but he's been... OK?

[AngeloV]

As noticed by everyone, we've had a lot of personnel turnover in the secondary. Based on practice reports this week (from TSN Hashmarks) we can look forward to more on Tuesday.

- Ricardo Colclough has been getting most of the reps at field DB, replacing Antareis Bryan
- Jermaine Gabriel has been splitting reps with Matt Black at safety

Can those who have been attending games chime in with their assessments of our secondary personnel? Watching the stream/TV coverage makes this awfully hard.

FWIW...

- Watkins hasn't been very noticeable, which is obviously great. He seems to be covering well
- Carter had a bad game last week and has been sub-par overall. I think we've missed Evan McCollough quite a lot
- Black has been decent. He has the speed to be an effective sometime-blitzer, but I can't remember the last time he broke up a pass. He also has zero interceptions so far (Younger recorded five last year)
- The wide-side DB has been a revolving door, so no comment
- Lawrence has only played wide-side corner for two weeks, but he's been... OK?

Watkins has been Watkins. Teams just don't throw on him.
I've been disappointed with Carter, but it's actually Ahmad Carroll that he is replacing on the boundary half.
McCollough is definitely missed on the field half. It's been a nightmare with Janzen Jackson the only one that showed anything there this year. We can only guess why he is no longer here.
Hoping Lawrence can be something. If I were running things, I'd try him at the field half and move Black to the field corner and start Gabriel at safety. Only problem that brings up is if a starting Canadian DB get hurt, but if you are starting 8 NI's, not as big a factor as an import can then replace them. I thing Shane Herbert's injury hurt their NI depth back there big time.

[ArgoRavi]

Watkins has been Watkins. Teams just don't throw on him.
I've been disappointed with Carter, but it's actually Ahmad Carroll that he is replacing on the boundary half.
McCollough is definitely missed on the field half. It's been a nightmare with Janzen Jackson the only one that showed anything there this year. We can only guess why he is no longer here.
Hoping Lawrence can be something. If I were running things, I'd try him at the field half and move Black to the field corner and start Gabriel at safety. Only problem that brings up is if a starting Canadian DB get hurt, but if you are starting 8 NI's, not as big a factor as an import can then replace them. I thing Shane Herbert's injury hurt their NI depth back there big time.

I wonder if Herbert will be ready to play soon. He was placed on the nine game injured list, as was Swayze Waters, after the season opener so would be eligible to return for the game in Saskatchewan (thanks for the correction in the other thread, AV). We have to get this secondary settled. I believe that Bryan was injured in the first half of the Calgary game which is why he isn't in the lineup this week. The bottom line is that we have to find the five guys that we like and hopefully settle on them, barring further injuries, over the second half of the season. Jones believes that most of the mistakes that are being made are due to miscommunication and that IMO has a lot to do with all of the shuffling that the team has done.

[AngeloV]

The bottom line is that we have to find the five guys that we like and hopefully settle on them, barring further injuries, over the second half of the season. Jones believes that most of the mistakes that are being made are due to miscommunication and that IMO has a lot to do with all of the shuffling that the team has done.

Couldn't agree more Ravi.

[ArgoGabe22]

Don't forget Vinson (after injured DB) except I'm not sure what his timetable is if he will ever return? Was there news on Hebert's injury? I was under the impression it was a leg break but that's just what I thought from looking at it when it happened.

Jalil Carter seems to be getting beat on a long pass every game. So many times I see his back behind the ball getting burned.

Any comments on Gatlin? I believe he only played vs BC.

I agree with moving Black and putting Gabriel as the Safety. I think it's a natural fit for both of them actually. Gabriel is more of a prototypical safety and played there in Junior while Black is learning the position since last year.

[jerrym]

The bottom line is that we have to find the five guys that we like and hopefully settle on them, barring further injuries, over the second half of the season. Jones believes that most of the mistakes that are being made are due to miscommunication and that IMO has a lot to do with all of the shuffling that the team has done.

I agree totally. I remember Saskatchewan one year had five inexperienced dbs and the most scored on team in the CFL. However, they stuck with them and the following year it had the best defensive backfield in the league due to a combination of experience and better communication. Since the Argos have a few experienced players in the backfield, significant improvement could come this year for the team, just like last year, but even if it doesn't, continually changing players without believing the replacements are an upgrade never works out.

[ArgoRavi]

Any comments on Gatlin? I believe he only played vs BC.

Gatlin also replaced Janzen Jackson against Edmonton when Jackson was released on the day of the game. However, Bryan came back into the lineup for Gatlin a few days later against Calgary.