Regarding Williams: I wouldn’t necessarily classify it as a “desperation move” to have put Richie in when they did: Casey was on the sideline after all to approve of the switch…LOL Clearly Chang had to be pulled as a mercy act for both he and the fans. There was no way Chang was ready to lead a comeback, so it was apt for Richie to get his shot.
Everyone understood the Printers era was about to begin, so the sting of feeding the T.O. secondary with leather time and again wasn’t so lingering for me.
Please understand that Richie was our #3 on our depth chart at that point! There were those who ruminated about trading Richie in the weeks leading up to Maas being jettisoned as Printers was secured.
The Cats had seen some sparks with Chang in a backup role (the final drive in the Calgary opener, the Ralph strike vs. the Als, etc.) – that with the big game vs. the Bombers in the preseason led many of us in the Chang Gang to argue that in lieu of Maas lighting things up that giving Timmy a shot was the right call. I still think it was, just not against the Double Blue in hindsight. A couple of week earlier and who knows for sure?
Number three quarterbacks, contrary to perception, do not fall off the coaching radar precisely because they are used in scout team situations. They do get those reps in practice and work closely with the OC and/or HC in preparation for that, so they DO get looked at. The issue for me was not whether Williams should have gotten a look in game action because his results had been mixed (e.g. the mop-up against the Riders in Regina in 2005). The issue WAS continuing the Maas situation as the losses continued to mount. Both Chang and Williams needed their shot. Chang’s was on borrowed time when Printers loomed. Williams seized his in relief of Chang, showing the ability to move the pocket and hit receivers on the run.
The biggest difference in-game between Richie Williams and Timmy Chang is that Williams has greater passing accuracy when scrambling. His capacity to check down and hit secondary receivers is also far better since he has had the extra time to assimilate game speed FROM THE SIDELINE.
You can’t underestimate the advantage of being able to watch the action from the bench and get game speed imprinted into one’s thought process. For a young QB, that can be gold.
Instead of being thrown to the wolves (which arguably Chang was in the wake of Jason being the mauled golden fleece in need of a hook), Richie had that extra time to get ripe. Well, he may not be the instant saviour, but Richie Williams has proven that he can make plays when the real bullets are flying. He has the potential to be a very good QB in this league.
The apprenticeship of 2005 helped him even if from the comfort of our collective armchair Ticat Nation might wonder where Richie was all that time!
I really don’t think Willians circa 2005 was Chuck Ealey incarnate and the coaches totally missed his obvious talent. For his part, Ealey was a MONSTER NCAA talent whose only “crime” in the NFL m.o. of that period (1972) was that his pigmentation didn’t translate into getting pigskin opportunities at the quarterback position. Straight up.
Playing at Toledo may have put him at a disadvantage versus Div-1A juggernaut seniors, but the 35 consecutive win streak and being named First Team All-American by the Football News is what it is. It still stands as the longest win streak for a NCAA starter.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Ealey
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When Ealey came in week four of the 1972 and ignited the Grey Cup run, he had a team to work with. Throwing to Henley, Coffey, and Gabriel? LMAO A talented mobile QB who would be the equivalent of first-round draft pick material today in the NFL with that kind of offensive cast to work with (Jerry Williams as the perfect coaching foil) = recipe for success.
Richie Williams? He would be running for his life in 2005 under Paopao’s second-and-seven-by-numbers approach. It may be argued some years hence that having him at #3 then spared him from being damaged goods today. Or at the very least Changish: deer-in-the-headlights gobsmacked by the reality that the CFL, warts and all, is another kettle of fish for any NCAA “hottie” to have to navigate. Your rep only gets you to the dance line.
Williams’s time in Appalachian State was excellent, no doubt. His 1-AA credentials are comparable to Chang’s 1-A exploits – with a national title in tow at that. It’s a question that Chang’s preseason light-up against the Bombers moved his resume up the ladder. Not unexpected in that event. Circumstances…
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Getting into the dance in November is a big challenge for any import QB to overcome. Vince Ferragamo is the patron saint of martyred US “saviours” whose CFL careers became submerged in press-clipping overhype and picks to unaccounted-for defensive backs (counting to twelve can be an insurmountable task for even S.I. poster children like Vince LOL).
Seeing Timmy suffer that realization in his first full year as a pro isn’t such a bad thing in comparison to Ferragamo’s folly. However, the fragility in his situation is palpable.
So people are calling for Chang being sent out on a rail…I’m wary of dropping QBs after two starts. If one cleared out Canton or our Hamilton shrine of all the QBs who tanked big time in their first opportunities, you would have a small mountain of busts on each respective curb. It makes sense to upgrade the third-string slot when there is a clear alternative. I’m looking across the league and there isn’t a 3rd string guy that wows me over, frankly. Unless Obie and Rambo have a recruit on their radar, I don’t think it’s something I’d rush into.
Again, the price of developing QBs is that it is a process. We have the luxury of knowing that #1 and #2 is taken care of. This “#3 has to be off the charts, M.O.P.- YESTERDAY!” mentality that some (not all anti-Chang observers) have has to be checked, IMHO.
I’m interested to see how it shakes down. Ultimately it will boil down to how much work Timmy puts into his current role and whether his potential outweighs the possibilities outside the Ticat lair for him to be moved. His value to the team is going to be gauged by that equation, not by our collective memory of a Boatmen pickfest last September. If he puts the work in and can stick around, I’m not going to definitively count him out as a CFL player. Not yet.
We’ll see whether Obie drops a shoe soon. Hopefully it will not be a glass flip-flop. LOL I trust he will find a more-than-adequate resolution to our offseason angst.
P.S. Isn’t it great to be ventilating over #3 on the QB depth chart? Better times ahead!
Oski Wee Wee,