{"id":84375,"date":"2025-08-20T19:21:08","date_gmt":"2025-08-20T19:21:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/84375\/"},"modified":"2025-08-20T19:21:08","modified_gmt":"2025-08-20T19:21:08","slug":"hogan-a-strong-weak-side","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/84375\/","title":{"rendered":"Hogan: A Strong Weak Side"},"content":{"rendered":"

Receivers are often the highest profile players on a football team. Many have huge personalities, while some are labeled as \u201cdivas,\u201d pass catchers who demand the football and complain publicly when they\u2019re not getting it.<\/p>\n

Dejon Brissett and Dave Ungerer III don\u2019t fit into either category.<\/p>\n

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Often overshadowed by Damonte Coxie and DaVaris Daniels, the pair of Toronto Argonauts both flirted with 100 receiving yards in last week\u2019s game in Edmonton. Each finished with 96 yards; Brissett reaching that total on seven catches, Ungerer on four.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou never know how active you\u2019re going to be in a game,\u201d Ungerer told Argonauts.ca. \u201cSometimes you\u2019ll have a week of practice where it feels like you\u2019re going to get a ton of touches and you don\u2019t, and then there\u2019s weeks where you\u2019re not getting the ball at all in practice; you feel like you\u2019re not going to be really involved in the game and all of a sudden you get a bunch of targets. It\u2019s just about being in the mindset that it\u2019s always coming.\u201d<\/p>\n

The football found its way to both players in Edmonton, with Brissett targeted eight times, Ungerer six. It was a busy night for players who don\u2019t usually see the ball as often as players who line up on the short side.<\/p>\n

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\u201cAny play you have to be ready, you never know,\u201d said Brissett. \u201cIt\u2019s always nice to be as active as we were, you just have to hope that happens every week. You definitely feel like you\u2019re more in a zone when you\u2019re more involved. When you haven\u2019t had any touches, sometimes it can get in your head a little bit and it\u2019s just a mental battle you have to go through as a professional athlete.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ungerer is the receiver most likely to have a game where he sees the fewest touches. It\u2019s not because of talent, but because of his position. The Pullman, Washington native \u2013 who qualifies as a National because his mother Sylvia was born in Toronto \u2013 almost always lines up in the \u201cZ\u201d spot, or flanker position. It\u2019s the receiver lined up closest to the sideline on the wide side of the field, the one furthest away from the quarterback.<\/p>\n

The Z used to be an exceptionally lonely spot, seeing few targets, but three years ago the CFL reduced the distance between the hash marks by nine yards. It made throws to the wide side shorter, bringing the once ignored position back into play.<\/p>\n

The days of Z tedium are over.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI don\u2019t think is very boring in this offence,\u201d Ungerer explained. \u201cI\u2019ve been a part of offences where it can get pretty mundane, nothing\u2019s really being created for you, but I think RD (head coach Ryan Dinwiddie) has done a nice job of getting the Z position involved. I don\u2019t get bored doing my job.\u201d<\/p>\n

The receiving duo has now played next to each other for three seasons. In this case familiarity hasn\u2019t bred contempt, but rather an increased level of comfort.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll it takes is a look to know that we\u2019re good,\u201d Brissett told Argonauts.ca. \u201cBut at the same time, we\u2019re so far away from Nick (Arbuckle, the Argos starting quarterback) that we\u2019ve got to have each other. Communication is our number one priority before every play.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The fact that Ungerer can act as a coach on the field shouldn\u2019t surprise anyone. His father is a football lifer, coaching at multiple Power Five schools including Alabama and Cal, where he was instrumental in recruiting Aaron Rodgers to the program from Butte Community College.<\/p>\n

Argonauts.ca put Ungerer\u2019s football genetics to the test, asking him to give a scouting report on Brissett.<\/p>\n

\u201cBig catch radius, great route runner, very smart,\u201d said one receiver of the other. \u201cHe\u2019s going to make contested catches, make guys miss. If he gets the ball in the open field he can run away from guys, so he\u2019s got great top-end speed. Those are all the things that would be on the scouting report. Off the scouting report it\u2019s his toughness, his heart, and how much he cares about the game. He\u2019s willing to play any and all special teams. He\u2019s going to do anything necessary to help the team win, that\u2019s the type of person he is.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Brissett is also from a sports family; his brother Oshae won an NBA championship with the Celtics in 2024. The receiver was asked to transition from athlete to scout and give his breakdown of Ungerer\u2019s game.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s going to be where he needs to be when he needs to be there. He\u2019s going to make the play that needs to be at any clutch moment. Grit, hustle, everything you\u2019d want in a guy. Speed and his physicality at the top of the route, he can create separation. He runs one of the best comebacks I\u2019ve ever seen.\u201d<\/p>\n

The pair can be counted on in the biggest moments. In last year\u2019s Eastern Final in Montreal, the Argos desperately needed a first down when facing a second-and-eight with under two minutes left. Arbuckle hit Ungerer for 20 yards to all but seal the game, while two plays later on another second-and-eight, Brissett drew a pass interference call to cement a trip to the Grey Cup, where the Mississauga native would catch a touchdown pass and be named the game\u2019s Most Outstanding Canadian.<\/p>\n

The Argos passing game has been effective this season, ranking second in the CFL with 308 yards per game through the air. Brissett and Ungerer will continue to do their jobs, fly under the radar, and provide Arbuckle with a pair of security blankets when they\u2019re needed the most.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Receivers are often the highest profile players on a football team. Many have huge personalities, while some are…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":84376,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[49,48,521,522,520,82],"class_list":["post-84375","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cfl","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-canadian-football-league","tag-canadianfootballleague","tag-cfl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84375","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=84375"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84375\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/84376"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=84375"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=84375"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=84375"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}