It has been rather quiet on the Chad Simpson front... Anyone with news ?
Would we like to see him here? Would he be a good fit ? .... we do seem to wheel and deal with the 'peg quite a bit due to Taman''s connections there..
Could this be in the works ?
:wink:I thought so when he was a FA
Taman has been good at finding running backs throughout his career and I suspect he will deliver again this year. Isn't Chad Simpson injury proned?
Never thought of that…BT has found some gems.
No…he does not have a history of injuries to my recollection.
I've said it before and I will say it again, RBs in this league are a dime a dozen. Guys like Sheets don't come around every year however you can always find a serviceable to great RB with ease. Down in the states there are hundreds of good RBs that come out of the NCAA every year and only a few of those every year make the NFL. The rest of those backs fall through the cracks and many end up coming to the CFL.
In my opinion it really isn't worth it to sign a guy who already has league experience unless he is a guy like Sheets, or Cornish who are a special talent. Guy like Simpson will make more money than a young back out of the NCAA or even off a NFL practice roster and he likely won't be much better. If I was Taman I would wait to see the fallout of the draft and see who's out there and grab some of them to fight for a spot.
Simpson is All Star calibre for sure but the foot injury has shyed teams away. There are just so many RB who can run behind a good line that are healthy.
Simpson was not injury prone during his NCAA or NFL starrted 2012 on the IR but clearly was healthy and dominate starting in game 5. Last season he shut himself down when the season was lost.
CFL GMs would know the scoop and if he indeed has a clear Bill of Health there would not be a search he would be the guy for sure, hwoever if he is still struggling with the foot...
He is much Better than Garrett IMHO so if he is healthy someone will get one heck of a RB.
Simpson also one heck of a Kick Off returner if a team did return by comitte type thing like in Winnipeg last year
If they can get him cheap enough fine, but if they did I would treat him like any other back coming into camp fighting for a job. There’s tons of talent out there. Bring in some kids and some NFL practice roster castoffs and make em show us what they got in May. Someone will earn the job and rush for 1200 yards making 75k (or less).
Simpson’s pretty good. If they can sign him for about 80k-ish, sure bring him in and fight for it.
I would agree with that. If there is reason to believe like in 2012 that he is still not 100% and has all signs pointing that he will be within the 9 week IR period I would have the Riders place him there. He would of course as mentioned need to accept a minimal 80K about with insentives added in should he appear mid season to last 6 games and turn it on like he did in 2012. I mean if they brought Garret in Simpson IMHO is much better a RB than Garret was.
I can see the riders doing this with several positions rec, DT and Canadian Safety where there will be several players who are not on the opening day roster but spread in reserve on the PR, 9 game IR, and 1 game IR few the first few weeks should there still be some very close battles going on.
With the $$$ now to pay more than the cap allows having guys on reserve where there salry does not count against the cap would seem to be a practice they may continue to use. And why not after many years of struggling to make ends meet they have built to the ability to pay a few more better players than some teams without goin crazy and have them in reserve using the 9 game IR to their advantage.
IMHO
I really love weeing what a fan base can do with good organiziation and just love for a team and a way of life
Agreed
Disagree a bit. It doesnt hurt to have a vet compete if they come in at the right price…plus, there is no saying they make it through camp. I am not huge on an all rookie backfield. It could be fine, but it could also be a mess. The RB position is so huge in the CFL. NCAA guys do not block as much, and often are not the receivers you need them to be out of the gate. As good as Sheets was, these are still 2 areas he needed drastic improvement on. He did get better at blocking, but his receiving hands were plain bad. Now put in someone who has similar blocking and receiving abilities, has never seen the CFL and its wide fields, the 1 yard gab, and is most likely a downgrade in his running abilities…yeah…there is a concern. If they knew that they were letting Garret go, and that signing Jock was iffy, they should have scooped up some level of experience IMO. Bringing in AC as a RB coach should augment some of this a bit though…he was very well rounded.
It will be interesting to watch this slot in Florida for sure
It really depends where they come from whether they have the blocking/receiving skills out of college. A RB out of Oregon will have receiving skills because it is part of their offense. Where as a RB out of a place like Ohio State or Auburn is more likely a pure runner.
To say a RB out of college won’t have these skills is a very bold generalization. There are likely better rounded back coming out of college right now than Sheets. Luckily sheets made up for his lack of blocking/receiving by being one hell of a runner. Wes Cates was easily the best all around back in the league in his prime. Great blocker, great receiver and solid runner and I would bet he was good at those thing’s before he came to the CFL.
Like Sheets Simpson had a pretty good wealth of NFL expereince which helps a lot IMHO coming to the CFL with that pro expereince.
Depending on if they think they find a couple of guys who have pro experience outside the CFL free agents.
Simpsons health is the issue here. For sure if he was 100% he would not be availble. In 2012 you can see that he was a top RB all star. So if Healthy there will be now guessing, they would know they have an All Star.
Great point about Sheets he kearned the skills he was lacking in 2012 the blocking and receiving and hense NFL will now take another look
I dont think it is a bold generalization at all. Few players going into pros are well rounded at any position…but most also don’t step into a position that has no experience there to fall back on learn from to round themselves out. Hughes is the most experienced guy, and he has never exactly been an every downer…good enough or not, he simply hasn’t. Yeah, they can likely pick up someone who excels in an aspect or 2, heck, they might even pick up a well rounded player…or strike gold twice and find Sheet’s equivalent…but any of those players need time to develop, or they would likely be NFL bound. the HB is such a huge roll and deeply involved in every down…it is a lot to step into with 1 week as a rookie, 2 weeks of camp and a couple pre-season game, especially when you are learning a new field and rules.
Like Sheets and Simpson they get caught in a numbers game or in the wrong place at the wrong time. For Sheets spent 3 years bouncing mostly on practice rosters never got that break.
Simpson spent his 3 years with the Colts returning Kick Offs mainly. numbers game for him teams need turnover and space for younger rookies who wll be as good but could be great.
These are the players that the Riders will be looking for to fill the RB spot. highly unlikely that a pure NCAA rookie will come into Regina and get the job. Although for a spot on the Canadian part of the roster Coombs is a natural hybrid and the best prospect to come out of the CIS in some time that has his skill set. Where the Riders will be drafting at it could be a great pick with the top CFL ready OLineman already gone. LB/DE types usually play lots of STs and they already have 3 Canadians at that spot. Rec take time to develop. Coombs could make an impact right away from a scoring threat returns/SB/RB. not too many Canadian players come out at that position too often