Afternoon Camp Thoughts

I got the chance to head down to McMaster today for the team's afternoon training camp session. Like yesterday, this was a no-pads practice (except for the quarterbacks and kickers, who donned pads); unlike yesterday, the team was on the field for nearly two hours and ran quite a few drills. Here are some of the things I saw:

• Carlos Thomas did not take part in practice and was in a walking boot. Ryan Hinds also sat out. I expect that both players will sit on Wednesday.

• During drills, Terence Jeffers-Harris had a dew drops. I could see him getting agitated after the second dropped pass. After that, though, he caught everything thrown to him.

• I saw Tate Forcier drop back to pass and have the ball slip out of his hand on two occasions. He is in a battle with Dan LeFevour for the No. 3 job, so mistakes like that could be costly. Other than that, however, it was another decent outing from him.

• The team practiced kick returns this afternoon and receiver Chris Duvalt continued his very impressive camp. He broke two for long gains – no one was wearing pads, but these would have been long gains even if they were hitting each other – and I expect him to see a lot of time on the return unit against the Argos. Add his return skills in with his excellent showing at receiver, and I think he's a near lock to make the team. Probably the most impressive player I've seen at camp.

• Deon Murphy has changed his number from 74 to 17.

• Both Mike Morreale and Damon Allen took in practice this afternoon. The two of them sat with each other and watched the proceedings for much of the session.

There is no practice tomorrow – or at least one not open to the public – which means the next time the guys take the field in front of people will be on Wednesday for their preseason opener against the Argos. Like last year, season seat holders were allowed to pick up 10 complimentary tickets and according to the team they were snatched up quickly. The game being against the Argos probably didn't hurt.