Aaron Hunt

What is wrong with him? Why has nobody picked him? Right about now the D-Line in Steeltown could use a big old glass of "better is better", so why in the world is Hunt not in black and gold yet? Instead of letting $150,000 sit on the bench why doesnt Obi release Avon and put the money to actual use and sign Aaron? Cortez clearly has no intent on using the talents of Avon in his offence this year so just release him? It honestly makes zero sense why he is still on the team.

The guy seemed really pumped to have an excellent season according to this article.

[url=http://www.cfl.ca/article/hunt-promises-2012-will-be-best-season-yet]http://www.cfl.ca/article/hunt-promises ... season-yet[/url]

But then he gets released by the Als after 4 games. What's the story with that? Maybe his production went way down or at age 32 he's maybe lost a step or two. Either way I think the Cats should sign him. Obie could get him for a decent price since his value went down after being released by Als. There's no way he could be worse than what we've got now.

Hunt likely had the misfortune of making too much money, juxtaposed with an average 4 game performance set (for him) with the Als.
Clearly Trestman had loftier expectations of Hunt...not certain..

It is unlikely however, that one of the greatest DT's in recent CFL memory has lost all talent and ability that made him an all-star in 5 of the past 6 seasons, including just this past year.

At only 32, he should have a few productive seasons remaining and could very well be a dramatic improvement to our line although Obie seems gun shy for some odd reason.. :?

the reasoning is an enigma to me as tryouts/physicals do not carry great expense.

The Als had a suspect Defence through the first 4 games. Then, in a "surprise" move, the release Hunt to everyone's shock. Since then, the Als Defence has regained some respect and had generally better play. A coincidence? Maybe, but all the more reason to trust that Obie (and all the other 7 GMs) know something the regular fan doesn't.

You may have answered the mystery earlier in your post when you noted “Hunt likely had the misfortune of making too much money…”
It’s possible that Bob O’Billovich doesn’t have the flexibility under the SMS to add the type of salary that Hunt (or other available DTs that have been suggested) would demand so why bring him in for a try out if you know you can’t afford him?
A disproportionate amount of the Ti-Cat salary budget has been invested in the offense IMO and there may be little or no money left to work with in order to upgrade the defense - unless you start to shed some player salaries elsewhere on the team. Import players who earn high salaries need to perform at a consistently high level in order to keep their jobs (reference Baggs, Stevie) because there are less expensive players available in the pool. Such is not the case for non-imports - If Hunt were a non-import, he would probably still be playing in spite of his mediocre play earlier this year.

you may be spot on seymour.
and if so, Hunt should be malleable in salary remuneration as the demand for his services do not appear to be as great as he would like.

a bargain is a bargain if Hunt (and Obie) is willing.

Aaron has pretty much always been a slow starter, probably the reason Wally would keep an eye on his weight to try and give him the best chance of coming out of the gate strong. When a guy gets in his thirties if he's not staying fit year round this can catch up to you...

The Als also have guys like Mullinder and Hebert that Obie released. So what do the Als know that we don’t?

I think Aaron Hunt would come in at a reduced salary now and would play aggressively and with a chip on his shoulder after being dumped by the Als. You have an All-Star who won the Grey Cup last year available. While at the same time you have a team that lacks quality D-linemen. Seems like a simple solution and perfect match.

Mullinder isn't an every-down player. Hebert was a leap of faith, but he'd also been out of the league for a few years. Don't think you can fault Obie for cutting him way back when. Kyries is in substantially better shape now, and also fits in with what we're trying to do with our safety: a blitzing safety who can come up in run support but who can also switch off with Chip Cox on safety duty, particularly in second and long situations.

Well Mullinder is a utility DL. He’s not a #1 inside or out but he is a capable backup and having done well in Etcheverry’s defense, the Als figured he would be a fit. As for Hebert, he showed up in Hamilton coming from the NFL and was carrying more weight than he is now and late int the season. I think he came in around week 15 didn’t really show much and then OB tried to cut his pay… He skipped 2011 altogether and showed up at Als camp 15 pounds lighter and in top shape. You can’t really fault Ob on these two.

For all we know, Obie may have already contacted Hunt with a reduced salary offer and been turned down. These guys do have some pride - Hunt is a 5 time all-star and, at his age, probably has other options in life aside from playing football for less than he thinks he’s worth.

8) They do have some pride, and it all evolves around playing football.
  Don't kid yourself, if Hunt had been contacted by Obie and even offered a contract in the $90,000 range, he would have
  grabbed it !!!

   These guys just want to have the best pay day they can get at this point in their life, and where can they earn the $$$
    they can get from just playing football for 6 months of the year ???

This situation reminds me a lot of when Allan Pitts got cut from Calgary. Fans around the league were clamouring for their GM to sign him (especially here in Ticat land), but no one signed him. He was done. This could be very much the same. (For a more local reference, think of Rob Hitchcock.)

But how do you know this for a fact? You don’t and for all we know seymour is right and Hunt turned down an offer from the Cats. You aren’t Aaron Hunt and you don’t speak for or represent him; don’t make the mistake of thinking everyone thinks like you do. Maybe Hunt was contacted, maybe he wasn’t; maybe he turned down an offer that wasn’t to his liking, maybe he didn’t. The fact is none of us know what Aaron Hunt is thinking and it is kind of arrogant for any of us to think that we do. At the end of the day, he’s not here and likely will not be here.

For me the rationale here in signing Hunt is that quality D-linemen are very hard to find. There just not that many good ones to go around compared to something like Running backs or receivers. If we still had a least a couple of guys like McIntyre or Hickman but we have nobody stellar right now that can make any impact whatsoever.

Bottom line is that Obie has to do something. Whether he's hoping that Hickman gets released or has his eye on some NFL cuts.

My guess, and this is strictly a guess, is that Obie believes Hickman will return. The Cats don’t own his rights (he is an out-and-out free agent), but he did say his preference was to return to Hamilton if he didn’t make it in Indy. From what I’ve read, he hasn’t played in either preseason game (someone correct me if I am wrong), so I think the chances of him making the Colts are slim. Of course, this also means he’s injured, so how effective he would be should he return is unknown. But my gut tells me that Obie hasn’t spent money on a guy like Aaron Hunt because he is keeping that money free to re-sign Hickman.

Even if that was to happen. That may or may not help this season. Players seldom do well when they come back late in the season. He could also be claimed off waivers by another NFL team.

I agree 100% with BWW, I believe there's a good chance we'll see Hickman back in Hamilton. You are correct that. He hasn't played in any of Indy's preseason games. But I can't say for sure if he's dressed or not. I haven't heard anything about him being injured either. Obviously I think he'd be a fantastic addition to the TiCats D-Line.

As far as the D-Line in general, here are my thoughts;

Move the guys around along the line. Not necessarily substituting in & out line a Chinese fire drill, but switch up between DT & DE. With the exception of Rose & Steele, who are pure DT's & Davis/Hickman @ DE, all the others can move between spots. Keep the offensive line unbalanced. Peach's bull-rush is effective but becomes stale & predictable when always playing at one spot. Same can be said for Boudreaux's spin move. McElveen is playing well,in my opinion at both the 3 & 5 technique. I think Ronnell Brown can also be utilized in that manner. The kid has speed & an explosive burst & should be able to play on the edge. Rose seems to be experiencing a sophomore slump & hopefully he snaps out of it soon. Eddie Steele is quietly having a decent year but all I ever expect of him is to hold his own & not put us in a disadvantage. To me he's a ratio spot holder. Peach is good but needs to vary his rush approach. Boudreaux is solid & can also benefit from being movednalomg the line. Davis is a definite keeper from what I can see. Add to that group, Hickman & I do believe we have the makings of a top notch unit along the defensive line.

Just stop with the constant substitutions & move the guys along the line. Sometimes speed guys coming off the edge, other times big fellas collapsing the pocket from the edge. Run some stunts, mix it up. Give these guys some help scheme wise cause I do believe they're solid players who can perform.