Berezik Cut

We’ve had some great running backs over the years…my pref’s over the years as short as their stint might have been are…starting with those after Andy Hopkins and Doyle Orange…would be; Jimmy Edwards (same time as Doyle actually), Rufus Crawford (as much success catching out of the backfield), McAdoo, Ronald Williams, Troy Davis, Cauley, Lumsden, Cobb. There is definitely a few more. As far as full-backs go…I’d go with Neil Lumsden, Bragganola, Knight, Bushey, Radelin…in that order. (Sorry Jed Tommy). I don’t know how Berezik performs at practice. But, I’m sure expecting a hell of a lot from Chevon Walker and Coubourne after seeing what Berezik did last Wednesday on TV and then getting cut. Berezik’s carries reminded me of a Jesse Ranek type. Not often do I get excited about a running back. But, I did last Wednesday. Hope they know what they are doing by cutting this guy.

I was impressed with him as well, although not as much as I was with Walker. Also remember that he was running against the Argho's 2nd and 3rd string defence, which may have made him look a bit better. (Walker's string of great runs was against their first string, just to put things in perspective.)

The problem is that we only have so many spots for runningback, and Cobourne and Walker pretty much have two locked up, with Grant possibly coming back later this season. I suspect that he might end up getting picked up somewhere once injuries start to take their toll.

Josh not Jessie Ranek, and Lee Knight was a reciever if thats who your refering to. I think Walker has more speed and cutting ability and thats what kept him around.

Lee Knight was switched to fullback the last few years of his career.
He actually got moved there on Labour Day one year – 1991? – when our top 2 running back got hurt early in the game and he (and Ernie Schramayr, I believe) tore the Arg*s to shreds. I think he moved permanently to fullback not long after that.

This is a shame. He looked good in camp on the days we went and he did play well, but as mentioned he was playing against 2nd and 3rd stringers. I hope this speaks more about the talent level ahead of him.

On another note, what kind of dumb luck has us not even out of camp yet with 3 guys on the 9-game??

Do not like this cut, he will come back withsome one else and haunts us.

Don’t hold your breath.

I watched the game as well and frankly would have been surprised if he wasn't cut.

Yeah, he bulled up the middle for some tough yards, but the kid has no speed on the outside.

A couple of times he was tracked down quickly and I couldn't help but think the other rookie Walker would have turned the corner and made some yardage.

Last year Terry Grant would have busted a couple of those for big plays.

The kid's just not fast enough imo.

He could be on the practice roster. You never know. I agree that he looked impressive.

Pat Lynch(the old guy)

Running back is the easiest position to fill.

You can’t compare them because they’re two different kind of RBs. Berezik is more of a power back like how Lumsden was. When it’s 3rd and Goal and you need a bull to bust through the line. Small fast guys like Walker usually get stuffed in those situations. I think the Cats released him because of limited roster space and not performance. He showed enough potential that he will probably get a look from another team.

Don’t compare Berezik to Lumsden. The latter was often the fastest guy on the field, while Berezik didn’t look very fast at all.

I swear I did not have the PVR stuck in fast forward mode when I reviewed the game. Berezik had 9 carries for 61 Yards which is 6.7 yards per carry. Last I heard that wasn’t too shabby.

I’m assuming you’re talking about Neil Lumsden here? If so, I would agree that Berezik does have a similar style. I fully support having, and using, a traditional fullback for short yardage situations. But Berezik doesn’t have the size at 5’11", 210 lbs. to be a traditional fullback. And while he looked good against the Arghos 2nd and 3rd string defence, how would he do against their 1st string defence? But more importantly, the fullback / tight end is typically a non-import position; at least that’s how the Ticats have filled the position for the last few years. Berezik would have had to be absolutely amazing to make them change this.

If, on the other hand, you’re talking Jesse, then no. Berezik just doesn’t have the flat-out speed that Jesse had, where he would still be accellerating at the end of a 70 yard run. Berezik looked like he stopped accellerating after about five or ten yards.

8-10 yds per carry?

Are you speaking of pre-season YPC Spinner?

I checked Renek’s career stats with Ottawa and it seems his best season was 2003 at 6.4 yards per carry, while his worst was with the TiCats at 4.0 YPC in 2006.

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He did have a few very good years with the Riders…I’m guessing injuries curtailed his career.

Well I think we are always disappointed when players get injured. But I’m not sure why the best response to that possibility would be to keep Berezik now. The team has room for a certain number of players at any given position. At the moment at running back we have Cobourne and Walker, plus Stephenson and a number of players at fullback. We’ll have to cut more of them soon enough. I guess the team decided Berezik wasn’t going to make the team. That being the case, cutting him was the right decision.

And during that time, the Cats have been able to find quite a bit of talent at running back, like Terry Caulley, DeAndra’ Cobb and Terry Grant. Chevon Walker looks to be the next unknown player to become a contributor at running back. One of the areas of the team I worry about least every year is running back. Berezik is unlikely to be picked up, so if Walker or Cobourne go down, he can easily be brought back. He wasn’t going to overtake either of those guys anyway, so there was no reason to keep him around. He played well, but not well enough to beat out Cobourne or Walker.

Who was the other back that Terry Grant beat out at last years camp?

He was a big bruiser with good speed and I remember being very impressed with him at the time.

Glenn Milner was the guy. It was hard not to keep Grant after his impressive run against the Als in pre-season.

After the 2nd Pre-season game, I'm still thinking...Chevon must have done great things in practice. With Cobourne at least you know what you're getting.