For whom does the bell toll this week?
I think there is a boxing expression that everyone has plan in the ring until they get hit. The CFL is no different as Week 1 is in the books and the best laid plans of Marc Trestman. Jason Maas and all took a bit of a beating.
I remember when the CFL had a four game exhibition schedule, so you would see rookies in the first game, then an increasing amount of veterans until the fourth game which would be a tuneup for the vets and a last chance for rookies to make their case.
The problem was fans didn’t want to pay regular season prices for games and players who might not make it the regular season. So two exhibition games got chopped and added to the regular season and now coaches walk a fine between giving rookies some game experience to see what they can do and providing vets with a chance to get into a regular rhythm which for football teams is a sweet spot.
So Marc Trestman doesn’t play Ricky Ray in the exhibition season, because everyone knows what Ricky Ray can do, but against the Riders, what we saw was a Ricky Ray that needed perhaps a week or so to get his timing with his receivers. Trestman saved his quarterback from injury in the preseason, but his lack of timing was a major contributing factor in Toronto losing to Saskatchewan.