The signing of an elite player such as this gets its own thread.
The rushing game was the team's achille's heel the entire season and in one bold stroke fixes it with a back that can do everything better and with considerabley more versatility than Cobb.
Shows team is comitted to winning and taking the next step. A great signal to seat holders and serious fans .
:thup:Great signing at a great price :thup:
Man he is gonna "eat the als raw"
Cobourne definitely loves to talk, but he runs hard and that's what we needed. There were a few games last year where the passing game wasn't working right from the 1st quarter and we were doomed because we had no run game(i.e. east semi against the blue team). With a run game we'll be able to pound the ball and grind out those tough games.
I just posted that in the free agency thread so i'll repeat here. ^
If you're going to throw money around I'm glad its on him and not the whackjob Anderson or even the good/average Tisdale. There's an entertainment and fan appeal issue here too.
Young needs to sell tickets and its the offense that does that.
Just a couple clips of what we can expect from our new running back..
"CHILL SON" lol
[url]Avon Cobourne East-West Shrine TD Run - YouTube
100 yards rushing and receiving
[url]Avon Cobourne - 100 yards rushing and receiving vs. Toronto - July 29, 2010 - YouTube
Just like Jordan02 I just finished posting this on the Free Agent thread.. ^^
From an entertainment and fan appeal perspective, it doesn't hurt that Cobourne is a tough S.O.B. too. 
It's the versatility that's key.
Rushing and receiving at the level Avon brings is rare- certainly in these parts. Opens up an entire new facet for KJ to explore.
And he's a really good blocking back as well. . . that part of his game gets overlooked from time to time.
This makes the Ticats a lot tougher. Colborne is probably the best game changing free agent out there this year IMO.
Good job Obie.
Agreed. I'd say he is one of the best, if not the best, blocking back in the league. You guys snagged yourselves a terrific all-around player. :thup:
Best of luck, Avon ... except when you play the Alouettes. :twisted:
Very good point, at times last season Glenn would have been able to make a play but the blitz was not picked up.. Cobourne is a great blocking back and we already know he is a tough SOB. So we know he will not shy away from taking on that bigger defender to allow the play to be continued..
And as mention also, at 75k a season it's a major steal for a running back of his caliber!
Als already had one of the dirtiest, chirpiest secondary in the league. Anderson just put them over the top.
Yes, but can he play D-line? :lol:
Well this was certainly a good signing. My next question is going to be if the Cats are considering putting Thigpen & Cobb for kickoff return as a result of this development.
Or O- Line :lol:
Yeah, would have been great to get Huntley but you cant sign everybody.Who knows if he was ever really in play.
D -line is still good right now but to improve it is where Womack and scouting comes in. And Womack has a proven track record so there's reason for optimism in filling in the gaps.
Could definitely see Thigpen now moving to receiver, possibly to free up McDaniel for a trade (as rumoured elsewhere)?
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I don't know if it's a steal. It is a good contract for the Cats, because they won't have to pay him more if he doesn't reach certain plateaus to trigger his incentives. If he does reach those plateaus, you're paying him $130k -- not cheap. If he doesn't, yes, you save money, but at a cost on the field.
Offers were made to Anderson (a risk at the best of times) and Tisdale (good but good enough for the money he was after?) you can't get everyone you want and you end up with an elite RB that adresses a highly significant flaw in the offense.
More than one way to look at things and there's no guarantee but there's much to optimistc about, imo.