Bad Coaching Decisions and Time Management

Ok, enough on the players, they played a very hard last night. Edmonton was beat up with 4/5 players leaving.
The problem I see now, is COACHING and the decisions they make. The players can only execute what they are told too do. I will try to the best of my ability to show examples here on the coaching issues I saw arise last night.

  1. Last set of plays before the half. The goal is to score points not take a knee when there is time to score going into the half. Even though there was only enough time to set up for a field goal, even if Setta missed, could have scored at least a point going into the half, therefore having the advantage of scoring last before the half. Which can be a physc edge.

  2. Sequence of plays towards the end of the 4th quarter showed a lack of time management, which is so important to the CFL game. Calling a time out on 3 and short with a close game you will need that time out closer to the end of the game.
    In the CFL game 40 seconds on the clock is a wonderful amount of time to set up to score when only needed a field goal to win. This lack of organization on play calling comes from the coaching staff. They make the decisions. By huddling up after a play with time running down they wasted 10-15 seconds which in the CFL is potentially 2 plays.
    Maas nor Bauman cannot be blammed for this loss. Nor can you totally blame not getting a penality either. You should never bank on penalties to win you game. And it should never have come to that.
    The coaching staff has to step up to the plate here.
    Stop pulling the wool over our eyes. Hamilton fans are much smarter than this. If this continues, IWS will be a very empty place, sooner than you think.
    And don't think the crowd on Labour Day is any indication of support. The Labour Day Game is a entity all its own and thing to do before going back to school and a great way to end the summer. It will be the long haul after which will suffer.

**I would love to be proven wrong. This is a good team, but will need time.

i just want to add to the bottom of this

the team is 1-5
do you honestly think the coaches dont take any responsibility in that?

I don't see too much coaching problems really, They Ty-Cats are playing good football but it always comes down to something with them like a fumbled ball and a great drive from the opposing team or not being able to pick up those little extra 3 yards.

They do need more disapline because at the beginning of the season those penaltys really killed them, and some just by poor desision making by the refs, ie. They would have won that game against BC but some terrible calls from the refs were made, like 2 missed pass interfeirnce calls, (one in BC's enzone)and stuff like that.

But this team has been playing great football ther last couple of games and I just can't understand how they're loosing.

Last nights debacle last drive is all on Taffe

I agree 100% it is a coaching problem.

So don't expect any quick solutions.

TIME WILL TELL.

This team lacks discipline and that is the resposiblity of the coach. I wonder if the players are respecting the coaching staff. they keep making the same penalties every week. Nothing has changed.

Penalties were better last night, no rough play or non discipline penalties, no roughing the QB, not too many holding calls. Still taking Procedure and offside too much but overall i thought the team was better in this department last night.

No question the coaching is lacking. Only Easley and Taaffe have decent CFL experience (and Taaffe has been out of the league for five years). The other assistants are still feeling their way around our game. You can tell by some of the schemes and time management strategies the team uses.

Taaffe/Desjardins should have raided the other CFL teams for current assistant coaches. If the Cats had a Steve Burrato or Ritchie Hall or George Cortez on board, I seriously doubt they would be 1-5.

Now, like in the past few seasons, fans are having to put up with a "learning curve" with some element of the team -this time the assistant coaches.

Result same: miss the playoffs.

:thup:

How so? Please elaborate on this for me.

on the last drive, I saw an O-line that couldn’t give the QB time, a receiver that couldn’t catch a ball right in his hands, a ref who was afraid to call pass interferce.

About the only think I could pin on the coaches was the lack of a no huddle offence. We were calling plays in the huddle on the last drive and in week 7 I would think we should be able to have a no huddle package in play.

But, to say Taaffe is soley responsible for loosing that game on the last drive is absurd.

I think people seem to be missing the Cats single biggest weakness right now, special teams return game. We have no gameplan, returners have no lanes and we frequently get penalties and never haver pressure on the opposing punter. That is this teams biggest weakness right now IMO. That had more to do with this loss on the whole than anything else.

of course the coaches must take SOME responsibility - but it always comes down to execution on the field - unfortunately we have young/new players - you should expect a loss for every rookie that starts - last night was Bauman's turn

I think people seem to be missing the Cats single biggest weakness right now, special teams return game. We have no gameplan, returners have no lanes and we frequently get penalties and never haver pressure on the opposing punter. That is this teams biggest weakness right now IMO. That had more to do with this loss on the whole than anything else.
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I wish that was the Cats' biggest weakness. We would be winning more games if that was the biggest problem. Our biggest problem is we can't win games and the cause is deeply rooted in the offense. We know what it is, we've all talked about it, we don't necessarily agree on it but ignoring it is not going to make it go away. it hasn't worked yet anyway.

Don't underestimate special teams. What I noticed watching the Hamilton-Edmonton game on Saturday night was that Hamilton almost invariably took penalties that pushed them back when fielding kicks, and couldn't block well enough to let Holmes break any big returns. You do that often enough and it comes back to haunt you. There's a world of difference between always starting inside your 15 and having a good chance of starting at, say, your own 45.

Firing Greg Marshall was the largest mistake this organization has made in the past few years. Three coaches since 2005, no wonder the team appears disorganized. Marshall is a player's coach, he proved that during his successful tenure at McMaster, and should have been given a better shot with the Cats.

But you can't fire Taaffe now. If you do, you just continue the cycle of firing good coaches before they've had a chance to put their stamp on the team. I don't think you even think of firing Taaffe until midway through NEXT season.

Just some food for thought/stoke the fires. But did anyone ever consider that the reason for some of the penalties was because the players are trying so hard to make plays or are trying to play perfectly for their coaching staff that it is leading to penalties? I am sure some of you will find that to be a bit of a stretch, but it is something to consider.

As for the time management, it might be important to note that the offense team is almost entirely brand new in terms of personnel, as well as the system and its terminology. With the short pre-season and the season still young, it might take some time for a no-huddle offense to develop just like it took some bumps to get the red-zone offensive playbook figured out. Jason Maas and company don't have the luxury of already knowing the hurry-up offensive play calls or the ones that Charlie Taaffe and Mike Working tend to run in those circumstances.

This team is a work in process, and from what I see, the team is growing and maturing together, and the coaching staff is re-acclimatizing itself to the CFL well over the first third of the season.

  • paul
Firing Greg Marshall was the largest mistake this organization has made in the past few years. Three coaches since 2005, no wonder the team appears disorganized. Marshall is a player's coach, he proved that during his successful tenure at McMaster, and should have been given a better shot with the Cats.
Firing Marshall was most definitely the right thing to do. Good grief, now I<m starting to read nonsense about firing Charlie Taaffe as well.

Come on, guys. While I had to agree with the pole at the start of this thread in that poor coaching should take on SOME of the responsibility for our dismal showing thus far, the question was worded that it was impossible to vote any other way, but “YES”.

The coaches can only do so much and after that, its up to the players to execute. Its also up to the players to WANT THE WIN MORE THAN THE OPPOSITION.

The coaches can’t go onto the field and play for the players. Each played on any team, has to face up to his own responsibility. Citing the coaches for their inadequate play isn’t fair. There are far too many other variables to be considered.

Marshall had plenty of time to get his act in gear and he failed. Taaffe and company are just getting started, please don’t call for their heads already.
Lets get reasonable.

The bye week provides the opportunity for the staff to fix the horrific lack of a no-huddle offense that clearly set the team back in its game management. It's inexcusable to siphon time off the clock in the huddle when the offense should be ATTACKING late in the game through hurry-up mode.

Oski Wee Wee,

We couldn’t kill the clock that efficiently if we were protecting a lead!!!

Unfortunately, I've had to say it before, and I'll now I'll say it, yet another time ....

... this coaching staff, appears to be clearly in ...

... 'over their heads'. (in my opinion)

This 'Bye Week' should be the 'make it - or break it' week for them.

It really could be a 'Bye!' week for some of them.
(again, in my opinion)

The 'Status Quo' can/should no longer be accepted.