Devon Wylie

[Gill The Thrill]

Curious to see him in regular season action. Larry Taylor could also use the support on Kickoff and punt returns as he has been doing the bulk of that.

The Argos need a serious attention getter to get the crowd into it early.

[Will]

Not a bad debut for Wylie with 5 catches for 55 yards and a touchdown.

[Argo57]

He looked pretty solid, managed to get open and showed good hands as well.

[mchesher03]

think Wylie had a hell of a debut - great game. He's getting open and seems to have great hands as well - a welcome addition to our receivers. Looking forward to seeing what he can do on Sunday.

[ArgoGabe22]

I also liked that he made guys miss. Seems like I haven't seen that from an Argos reciever in awhile.

[R.J]

Solid debut by Wylie. He was finding a lot of holes/soft spots in the Als defence. I hope we use him more against Ottawa.

[AngeloV]

Solid debut by Wylie. He was finding a lot of holes/soft spots in the Als defence. I hope we use him more against Ottawa.

I would concur with that. He looked great.

[argotom]

Awesome game, he is a keeper.
Reminds me a bit of a combination Owens and Tasker type.

[Scooter McCray]

Awesome game, he is a keeper.
Reminds me a bit of a combination Owens and Tasker type.taskers dad played in the NFL.

[R.J]

taskers dad played in the NFL.
Thanks Rod Black.

[paulwoods13]

Good game, but comparing him to Owens and Tasker may be just a tad premature. I guess we could always sign him to a 10-year contract the way we were supposed to sign Swayze Waters. Or wait, was that Ronnie Pfeffer?

[Double Dare]

Good game, but comparing him to Owens and Tasker may be just a tad premature. I guess we could always sign him to a 10-year contract the way we were supposed to sign Swayze Waters. Or wait, was that Ronnie Pfeffer? Ha, ha.

[Reggiemac]

Devon wylie demonstrated why he was kept coming out of camp. Looks like a keeper for sure.

[OV Argo]

Good game, but comparing him to Owens and Tasker may be just a tad premature. I guess we could always sign him to a 10-year contract the way we were supposed to sign Swayze Waters. Or wait, was that Ronnie Pfeffer?

He did look pretty good - solid hands (no drops?), a bit of YAC yards ability it seems. He might get a look at returner too I hope - not overly impressed by Larry Taylor now though he has shown he can be a big return guy in the past in the CFL

One game though - so no 10 year contract; let's see Wylie together 5 or 6 very good receiving games in a row; and not meaning to be negative, but most of his receptions were short gainer or check down type passes - hard for me to be overly impressed by a receiver who just catches throws into his breadbasket/gut. Great receivers show consistent hands, AND make the super tough or circus catches - in full stride, jumping high, diving low, stealing the ball from DBs, AND also make big gainers - catching long bombs, breaking tackles for lots of YAC yards. I thought Spencer was starting to show some of that kind of ability late last season.

[mchesher03]

Good game, but comparing him to Owens and Tasker may be just a tad premature. I guess we could always sign him to a 10-year contract the way we were supposed to sign Swayze Waters. Or wait, was that Ronnie Pfeffer?

the only thing holding back his 10 year contract is a lack of loyalty on his part lol

[AngeloV]

the only thing holding back his 10 year contract is a lack of loyalty on his part lol

And thankfully the fact that a certain forum member isn't GM.

[Argo]

Thanks Rod Black.

Duron Carter's father is in the NFL HOF.

[...insert 14 regurgitations about individuals at best semi-relevant to, and drowning out, the current play(s) being run...]

[Ron]

Good game, but comparing him to Owens and Tasker may be just a tad premature.

Nobody was. Just the "type" of player he appears to be.

[Scooter McCray]

Thanks Rod Black.Just trying to add some insight and create new fans who may prefer the smell of the NFL brand.

[R.J]

Just trying to add some insight and create new fans who may prefer the smell of the NFL brand.
Don't take this the wrong way, but that does sound like something Rod Black would say. lol

[Scooter McCray]

Don't take this the wrong way, but that does sound like something Rod Black would say. lol I am playing to the audience SnowRogue. I did it on purpose. Don't worry, I take no offence. I was just playing along. I get why some might get annoyed with Rod's illiterations on the broadcasts but maybe a good thread would be...Who would you replace him with?

[Double Dare]

Who would you replace him with? A goat.

[paulwoods13]

I am playing to the audience SnowRogue. I did it on purpose. Don't worry, I take no offence. I was just playing along. I get why some might get annoyed with Rod's illiterations on the broadcasts but maybe a good thread would be...Who would you replace him with?

I've written this before. TSN can and should give one of the talented women on its roster a crack at play-by-play. I think Kate Beirness could definitely do it, and I bet one or two others on the team could as well. The time is right to break the gender barrier in sports broadcasting, and where better than the CFL which was decades ahead of its time in terms of equal opportunity for African-Americans. Other than Suzyn Waldman, who has done play by play for the Yankees for years, there have been few women leading game broadcasts. Time for that to change.

I'd also replace Forde it were up to me. He's knowledgeable and likeable, but bland and has a monotonous delivery. I'd use him for stuff like halftime analysis, scouting reports and so on. Replace him in the booth with Dunigan, who's always entertaining when he does colour, and consider bringing Walby out of retirement. Many hated him, but I found him informative and entertaining.

[Gill The Thrill]

He did look pretty good - solid hands (no drops?), a bit of YAC yards ability it seems. He might get a look at returner too I hope - not overly impressed by Larry Taylor now though he has shown he can be a big return guy in the past in the CFL

One game though - so no 10 year contract; let's see Wylie together 5 or 6 very good receiving games in a row; and not meaning to be negative, but most of his receptions were short gainer or check down type passes - hard for me to be overly impressed by a receiver who just catches throws into his breadbasket/gut. Great receivers show consistent hands, AND make the super tough or circus catches - in full stride, jumping high, diving low, stealing the ball from DBs, AND also make big gainers - catching long bombs, breaking tackles for lots of YAC yards. I thought Spencer was starting to show some of that kind of ability late last season.

Oh like Adarious Bowman, the most overrated receiver in the CFL who may make those "circus" catches but then drops 3 catches a game that are right in his chest. He's the CFL's version of Reche Caldwell, an overrated NFL receiver with New England who once led the AFC in catches and yards but would drop passes that Brady would put right into his chest, including a memorable one in a playoff game that was dropped in the end zone and cost the Patriots the game. Only playoff drop more memorable to me was Jackie Smith in Super Bowl XIII. Jacques Chapdelaine also dropped a sure TD in the 1983 Grey Cup and Brian Bratton in the 2012 Eastern Final had one bounce off his shoulder pad in the Alouettes last possession.

What was Wylie supposed to do, drop those easy passes. Perhaps he makes them look easy by being wide open for his QB, what an awful thing for a receiver to do.:ohno: Criticizing a receiver for catching passes thrown right to him is like criticizing an outfielder in baseball for tracking balls down easily with his speed and never having to make a diving catch or hockey goal scorer for scoring what's been branded as a "garbage goal" within 5 feet of the net because they can quickly pounce on a rebound. It doesn't make sense.

It's a good start for Wylie and he added something to the Argos receiving unit. I think he could build on that and could help the team out in the future. Not the biggest guy in the world, but so wasn't Wes Welker or Ben Cahoon who were also tagged with the labels of impossibility with regards to them being an elite receiver for the same reasons that are attributed to Wylie. I'm sure people said the same of Weston Dressler when he first came to Regina to play for the Roughriders. I think Wylie may have some of those attributes as he is smaller guy with good speed who can play in the league.

But we know the double standard...some guys need to play their way on the team, while others need to play their way off it.

[AngeloV]

Oh like Adarious Bowman, the most overrated receiver in the CFL who may make those "circus" catches but then drops 3 catches a game that are right in his chest. .


Wow. You don't get it, do you. The fact that he gets open as often as he does, I'm sure the team will take his one drop for every 8 or 9 he catches. He's a beast. Allen Pitts was the same way, dropped his share, but in the end, made more plays than the majority of the receivers in the league.

[OV Argo]

Oh like Adarious Bowman, the most overrated receiver in the CFL who may make those "circus" catches but then drops 3 catches a game that are right in his chest. He's the CFL's version of Reche Caldwell, an overrated NFL receiver with New England who once led the AFC in catches and yards but would drop passes that Brady would put right into his chest, including a memorable one in a playoff game that was dropped in the end zone and cost the Patriots the game. Only playoff drop more memorable to me was Jackie Smith in Super Bowl XIII. Jacques Chapdelaine also dropped a sure TD in the 1983 Grey Cup and Brian Bratton in the 2012 Eastern Final had one bounce off his shoulder pad in the Alouettes last possession.

What was Wylie supposed to do, drop those easy passes. Perhaps he makes them look easy by being wide open for his QB, what an awful thing for a receiver to do.:ohno: Criticizing a receiver for catching passes thrown right to him is like criticizing an outfielder in baseball for tracking balls down easily with his speed and never having to make a diving catch or hockey goal scorer for scoring what's been branded as a "garbage goal" within 5 feet of the net because they can quickly pounce on a rebound. It doesn't make sense.

It's a good start for Wylie and he added something to the Argos receiving unit. I think he could build on that and could help the team out in the future. Not the biggest guy in the world, but so wasn't Wes Welker or Ben Cahoon who were also tagged with the labels of impossibility with regards to them being an elite receiver for the same reasons that are attributed to Wylie. I'm sure people said the same of Weston Dressler when he first came to Regina to play for the Roughriders. I think Wylie may have some of those attributes as he is smaller guy with good speed who can play in the league.

But we know the double standard...some guys need to play their way on the team, while others need to play their way off it.


Wasn't meaning to criticise Wylie - just saying hard for me to be overly impressed by a few catches - all right in the bread basket - in one game. Let's see the guy make some highlight reel catches and pull away from or deke defenders for big YAC yards.

Agreed that Bowman drops wayyyy too many passes (and he did seem to cure that in his huge season a couple of years back where he led the entire league in receiving by a wide margin - few drops that year - but back to plenty of drops last season); however - Bowman produces so many other catches and plenty of big plays - he gets targeted tons; sort of the same high reward/ high risk player that Chad Owens was for the Argos - fumbled wayyyy too much (including on returns) and also dropped lots of passes, but lots of big plays, in tons of opportunities. IF you think Bowman is no good, that's fine - but I'd guess every single team in the CFL would jump at the opportunity to get him if he was available. However - some other receivers might have outstanding talent, but for whatever reason, might just not get targeted lots or enough to really shine; Sinopoli & Ellingson for Ottawa are guys who show very good hands AND YAC ability - and each might lead the league in receiving IF they played on a team where they got a huge majority of the pass plays their ways; probably some such receiver examples on a lot of teams.

[Scooter McCray]

I've written this before. TSN can and should give one of the talented women on its roster a crack at play-by-play. I think Kate Beirness could definitely do it, and I bet one or two others on the team could as well. The time is right to break the gender barrier in sports broadcasting, and where better than the CFL which was decades ahead of its time in terms of equal opportunity for African-Americans. Other than Suzyn Waldman, who has done play by play for the Yankees for years, there have been few women leading game broadcasts. Time for that to change.

I'd also replace Forde it were up to me. He's knowledgeable and likeable, but bland and has a monotonous delivery. I'd use him for stuff like halftime analysis, scouting reports and so on. Replace him in the booth with Dunigan, who's always entertaining when he does colour, and consider bringing Walby out of retirement. Many hated him, but I found him informative and entertaining. I like these suggestions, particularly the gender change. This had not occurred to me (not sure why) but I think it is time as well. Kate also seems to be into the CFL. She would do a good job Dunigan is always good and so is his usual partner Gord Miller.

[Gill The Thrill]

Wow. You don't get it, do you. The fact that he gets open as often as he does, I'm sure the team will take his one drop for every 8 or 9 he catches. He's a beast. Allen Pitts was the same way, dropped his share, but in the end, made more plays than the majority of the receivers in the league.

Comparing Adarious Bowman to Allen Pitts and you're telling me I don't get it, you're a riot. :ohno:He dropped very few passes compare to Bowman. I guess it was because Flutie and Garcia put it right in the numbers, how awful for an offence.:)

This sounds like the same BS I was reading on here 4 and 5 years with regards to Chad Kackert rushing and finding open holes quickly. The rebuttal then was," yes but will he last," and " he does fumble though," and "Boyd is the leading rusher so there's no room for him"...yaddah, yaddah, yaddah.

Give Wylie credit for having a decent first game period...I bet if he was an injured vet and not a rookie who came back and did nothing, the same folks would say, "give him time, he still needs to get used to game action," . So if that's the case, give a rookie who came out of the practice roster and contributed with 5 catches in game 1. He also adds to depth because there always seems to be someone playing WR, SB, and even RB, which in this offence is another receiver who seems to be injured, so the more that are capable CFL players, the merrier.

We need to keep good players and not release them and build the depth of other teams which is what sometimes happens in this league.

[AngeloV]

Comparing Adarious Bowman to Allen Pitts and you're telling me I don't get it, you're a riot. :ohno:He dropped very few passes compare to Bowman. I guess it was because Flutie and Garcia put it right in the numbers, how awful for an offence.:)

This sounds like the same BS I was reading on here 4 and 5 years with regards to Chad Kackert rushing and finding open holes quickly. The rebuttal then was," yes but will he last," and " he does fumble though," and "Boyd is the leading rusher so there's no room for him"...yaddah, yaddah, yaddah.

Give Wylie credit for having a decent first game period...I bet if he was an injured vet and not a rookie who came back and did nothing, the same folks would say, "give him time, he still needs to get used to game action," . So if that's the case, give a rookie who came out of the practice roster and contributed with 5 catches in game 1. He also adds to depth because there always seems to be someone playing WR, SB, and even RB, which in this offence is another receiver who seems to be injured, so the more that are capable CFL players, the merrier.

We need to keep good players and not release them and build the depth of other teams which is what sometimes happens in this league.

Never called for the release of anyone. Just pointing out how laughable your referring to Bowman as overrated is. And for the record, I liked what I saw of Wylie.

[ArgoGabe22]

I don't think anyone suggested releasing Wylie. I think OV just said he didn't do anything extraordinary since he caught easy passes in only his first game. Which of course should be expected of a receiver.

[argolio]

Oh like Adarious Bowman, the most overrated receiver in the CFL who may make those "circus" catches but then drops 3 catches a game that are right in his chest. He's the CFL's version of Reche Caldwell, an overrated NFL receiver with New England who once led the AFC in catches and yards but would drop passes that Brady would put right into his chest, including a memorable one in a playoff game that was dropped in the end zone and cost the Patriots the game.I don't get that comparison at all. Caldwell was never rated as anything more than just a guy, only played with the Pats for one season (the only year he ever started more than six games), and never came close to leading the AFC in any statistical category. Bowman's career yards per catch is 15.5, Caldwell's was 12.2. Bowman was a major contributor on a title winner. Caldwell's year in the sun as a starting receiver ended up being a rare but huge error by Belichick.

How much did you lose betting on that Pats that day?

[gilthethrill]

I don't think anyone suggested releasing Wylie. I think OV just said he didn't do anything extraordinary since he caught easy passes in only his first game. Which of course should be expected of a receiver.

I hope Wylie lasts longer than Eric Drage.

[AngeloV]

I hope Wylie lasts longer than Eric Drage.

Or Pernell Moore.

[Gill The Thrill]

I don't get that comparison at all. Caldwell was never rated as anything more than just a guy, only played with the Pats for one season (the only year he ever started more than six games), and never came close to leading the AFC in any statistical category. Bowman's career yards per catch is 15.5, Caldwell's was 12.2. Bowman was a major contributor on a title winner. Caldwell's year in the sun as a starting receiver ended up being a rare but huge error by Belichick.

How much did you lose betting on that Pats that day? Didn't bet on the game, not a big gambler but remember how featured he was in the Pats offense that season despite not being impressed, and you're right on that he didn't led the AFC in catches but led the Pats in receptions and yards.

I think it's a fair comparison based on dropped balls, as both have, and had, that same reputation in their pro football careers. Can't see Bowman having accomplished more than Caldwell had he played in the NFL, as he was never drafted but was ranked as high as a possible late 1st round pick at one time during his NCAA career, while Caldwell was a 2nd round pick. Had Caldwell decided to play in the CFL, he could've contributed to some team's success, but he was still making decent money primarily being used as a secondary receiver in the NFL.

[Gill The Thrill]

Never called for the release of anyone. Just pointing out how laughable your referring to Bowman as overrated is. And for the record, I liked what I saw of Wylie.Hope you enjoyed Bowman snuffing out a couple of big drives for the Eskimos yesterday in the 2nd half with his lousy hands. He bobbled a sure TD pass from Riley which gave Wpg rookie safety Taylor Loffler enough time to stick him making sure he didn't catch it. Dropped a couple of others, and was given a real soft defensive PI penalty in Edmonton's only TD of the game as his big contribution despite displaying alligator arms on the play and not even jumping for the pass. I'll stick by my opinion of him as being overrated thank you.

Man, this Eskimos team is killing me on CFL pickem, losing 2 in a row at home.


Or Pernell Moore. I liked Pernell Moore, great speed on Punt and Kickoff returns. Too bad he tore up his knee and was never really quite the same after that. Who was Eric Drage??? I don't remember him at all.

[gilthethrill]

Hope you enjoyed Bowman snuffing out a couple of big drives for the Eskimos yesterday in the 2nd half with his lousy hands. He bobbled a sure TD pass from Riley which gave Wpg rookie safety Taylor Loffler enough time to stick him making sure he didn't catch it. Dropped a couple of others, and was given a real soft defensive PI penalty in Edmonton's only TD of the game as his big contribution despite displaying alligator arms on the play and not even jumping for the pass. I'll stick by my opinion of him as being overrated thank you.

Man, this Eskimos team is killing me on CFL pickem, losing 2 in a row at home.

I liked Pernell Moore, great speed on Punt and Kickoff returns. Too bad he tore up his knee and was never really quite the same after that. Who was Eric Drage??? I don't remember him at all.

Eric Drage was a possession receiver who played in 9 games with the Argos in 1994. He had a couple good games but soon found himself unemployed.

[ArgoGabe22]

Eric Drage was a possession receiver who played in 9 games with the Argos in 1994. He had a couple good games but soon found himself unemployed.

And no one seems to know what happened to him either. I found an old CFL thread from 1995 discussing Drage. It must be the only piece ever written on him on the Internet since there is very little written on him. Especially as an an Argo.

[argolio]

Didn't bet on the game, not a big gambler but remember how featured he was in the Pats offense that season despite not being impressed, and you're right on that he didn't led the AFC in catches but led the Pats in receptions and yards.

I think it's a fair comparison based on dropped balls, as both have, and had, that same reputation in their pro football careers. Can't see Bowman having accomplished more than Caldwell had he played in the NFL, as he was never drafted but was ranked as high as a possible late 1st round pick at one time during his NCAA career, while Caldwell was a 2nd round pick. Had Caldwell decided to play in the CFL, he could've contributed to some team's success, but he was still making decent money primarily being used as a secondary receiver in the NFL.Still don't buy the comparison. Caldwell was a reserve roster player for almost his entire career. And what Caldwell or Bowman might have done in the other league is meaningless speculation.

A much better and direct comparison is Perry Tuttle. He dropped lots of easy balls yet made some ridiculously difficult catches, and was a big play specialist like Bowman.

[paulwoods13]

It's too bad there aren't published stats on drops. While Bowman drops a fair number, he also gets targeted more than anyone else, I think. To me the most meaningful stat would be something like success rate at "executing the play." So you'd get a +1 if you caught a ball thrown to you, a -1 if you dropped a catchable pass, or fumbled, a 0 if you were prevented from catching by a good defensive play, etc. And then express it as a percentage -- i.e how many plays were you expected to do something, and either succeeded or failed. Some NFL teams closely track success in executing your specific assignment. So if it's second-and-one and you rush for one yard, you are credited with "success" because the objective was to get a first down. I think that's a smart way of looking at it.

[R.J]

It's too bad there aren't published stats on drops. While Bowman drops a fair number, he also gets targeted more than anyone else, I think. To me the most meaningful stat would be something like success rate at "executing the play." So you'd get a +1 if you caught a ball thrown to you, a -1 if you dropped a catchable pass, or fumbled, a 0 if you were prevented from catching by a good defensive play, etc. And then express it as a percentage -- i.e how many plays were you expected to do something, and either succeeded or failed. Some NFL teams closely track success in executing your specific assignment. So if it's second-and-one and you rush for one yard, you are credited with "success" because the objective was to get a first down. I think that's a smart way of looking at it.
Derek Taylor did a segment about Bowman and his drops early in the season. Not sure if the video can still be found on TSN.ca, but a conversation about Bowman and his drops has occurred here before and IMO catching under 60% isn't a good thing.
http://www.argofans.com/showthread.php?3623-Around-the-CFL&p=76144&viewfull=1#post76144

Would I take Bowman's big play ability over his dropped passes ? Yes I would, but I agree with Gill - Bowman is overrated.

[Will]

Nearly identical statistics tonight with 5 receptions for 52 yards. Decent.

[ArgoGabe22]

Nearly identical statistics tonight with 5 receptions for 52 yards. Decent.

Made tougher catches this time around, really had to quickly turn up field on that little jet run. Hopefully, OV was a little more impressed after his latest performance.

[OV Argo]

Derek Taylor did a segment about Bowman and his drops early in the season. Not sure if the video can still be found on TSN.ca, but a conversation about Bowman and his drops has occurred here before and IMO catching under 60% isn't a good thing.
http://www.argofans.com/showthread.php?3623-Around-the-CFL&p=76144&viewfull=1#post76144

Would I take Bowman's big play ability over his dropped passes ? Yes I would, but I agree with Gill - Bowman is overrated.


Bowman might be over-rated; he also led the entire CFL in receiving, by a huge margin, 2 seasons back; he gets targeted tons, drops lots, but also makes lots of difficult catches, gets deep plenty, has some YAC ability = plenty of receiver talent, just not consistent hands. Bowman was the top rated receiver in US college ball, pre-draft time, by one NFL publication I buy every year - not that this means or proves much for the pros, but his CFL production (yardage/ # of catches) in the past 4 or 5 seasons is top notch and cannot be denied.

[OV Argo]

Made tougher catches this time around, really had to quickly turn up field on that little jet run. Hopefully, OV was a little more impressed after his latest performance.

Sort of impressed by his hands, and looks quick & shifty; again - let's see him make some catches on the fly, some difficult/circus grabs; show some YAC pulling away from defenders; I hope he has this ability and gets more opportunity; so far though, mostly short or check-down throws that he catches right in his gut.

[marcwagz]

I disagree. Whenever i see him catch he stands still,gettimg 1-2 yac yards at most.

Good for a first down but little more