CJ Gable on notice?

Great read here from Drew Edwards.

I have to agree, Gable better have an outstanding camp!

Ticats sign running backs, put veteran C.J. Gable on notice
Posted on March 11, 2017 by Drew Edwards // 0 Comments

[b][i]Lost in the endless chatter surrounding the arrival of a certain former NFL quarterback in Saskatchewan, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats signed a pair of running backs on Thursday, effectively sending veteran C.J. Gable a simple message: there’s competition for your job this spring.

Gable has been a favourite of vice president of football operations and head coach Kent Austin for his entire tenure, signing the former USC star in April of his first year at the helm. Gable was spectacular in 2013 with nearly 1,400 combined yards in 15 games played and a nod as the East Division Most Outstanding Player.

That was, as it’s turned out, his best season to date.

Gable was beset by injuries to his ankle, shoulder and arm in 2014 and 2015 playing in just 12 of a possible 36 games over that span. For most running backs, back-to-back years featuring prolonged absences would be enough to spur most teams to move on but Austin has always expressed an appreciation for Gable’s ability to run, catch the ball and contribute in pass protection. It’s a combination that’s tough to find at any level, never mind the CFL.

Last season was something of a bounce-back year for Gable as he played in 15 games, registering almost 700 yards on the ground (good enough for sixth in the CFL) and making 39 catches for 405 yards. Given Austin’s seemingly pathological aversion to running the football – the Ticats were last in the league in attempts in 2016 – it’s hard to blame Gable for not producing more but his 5.5 per carry average was down a half-yard from his rookie year and came in fifth of the 11 running backs with at least 60 carries.

Gable will turn 30 in October and there’s plenty of research that shows that running backs generally peak at age 26 with declining production until age 32 when it falls off a cliff. Entering the last year of a contract that pays him in the $90,000 range, Gable is entering the risk-reward phase of his career (if he’s not there already.)

Enter the new kids. Among the five players signed on Thursday, two are running backs: Alex Green, who has played in 29 games with the Packers and Jets, and Cierre Wood, who was a star at Notre Dame. Green is 28, Wood just 26 and both will be on entry-level (i.e. cheap) deals.

There’s also 24-year-old Ross Scheuerman, who looked pretty good in a Sept. 16 win over Montreal where he had 16 carries for 79 yards and five receptions for 40 yards while finishing the game with a broken wrist that ultimately cost him the remainder of the season.

Competition is an inherent part of training camp so bringing in more running backs was inevitable. Gable will still have an advantage, given his knowledge of the system and relationship with Austin. But his injury history, declining production, age, and Ticats clear aversion to sticking with players who can’t stay healthy – just ask receiver Chad Owens as well as defensive backs Johnny Sears and Rico Murray – are all indicators that Gable, more than ever, will have to prove he’s still the best man for the job.[/i][/b]

http://3downnation.com/2017/03/11/ticat ... le-notice/

solid point, although CJ does a great job of receiving out of the backfield. could just be a redirect of game planning, get a bigger north-south-knock-over-some-DBs kinda RB in there too to be used in conjunction with CJ

Austin is being true to his word.
A few quotes, here, from the TiCat boss in a Nov. 16/16 interview by TSN's Marshall Ferguson:

"Everything is evaluated. There are going to be changes. We need to realign our thinking in respect to improving."

"There won't be a rock not turned over. We need to coach better, play better, get better players for healthy competition."

"We're going to be very realistic about where we stand with a critical eye and that starts with me."

"We've got to keep more players on the football field. That's something we really need to dig into and have been digging into for the last couple of years."

I don't maintain archives of these things, but I'm pretty sure we have not recently gone into a training camp without competition at the RB spot. Not too many starting jobs could be considered "guaranteed" - possibly Collaros, Simoni, Emanuel, Laurent, Tasker, a couple of O-linemen.

I'd say it's still CJ's job to lose since he's a known quantity, and given the importance of protecting the QB. Unfortunately I think another injury-plagued season would be his last with the team.

Gable is looking forward to the competition!!! :thup:

CJ GABLE?Verified account
@CJ_Gable
IF ANYONE KNOWS ME IM NEVER SCARED OF COMPETITION

https://www.instagram.com/p/BRgTwjAgvRt/

Is this a sign Austin has finally realized the importance of having a strong/fast running back to support an important part of a balanced offence. Anything short of this will be a failure in my view.

I want the 2013 Gable back! That guy was the best RB I have seen in decades.

In C.J.'s defence:

  • Having a 300 plus pound Argo D-lineman coming in late and crushing your arm backwards wouldn't help anybody's chances of playing a full season.

  • Every fan / player / coach saw our running plays coming a mile away over the past few seasons and the D keyed up on that.

  • Give C.J. the ball with a little screen pass and he is a huge, tough load to bring down at speed.

  • Probably the best back I've seen as far as pass protection goes.

  • Competition is a good thing - I wish C.J. all the best for a healthy and productive season BUT if there is a stud out there in camp then it will make things very interesting for coach and G.M. Austin. A tough decision to make...

A big improvement for this team will be keeping players healthy right out of training camp.

Players like CJ Gable have had their fair share of injuries and if we had a healthy Ti-Cat team last year I'm sure the team would have made another Grey Cup appearance or had a better run in the season and playoffs.

Lets get a healthy Tiger-Cat team this year and keep it that way!!

GO CATS GO!!!

I agree with most of what you wrote but I think tasker is also on the bubble because he’s injured every year.they’re bringing in a lot of receivers

seymour - In the three full seasons that Tasker had played on the team (didn’t count 2013 as he arrived in mid September) he has missed a GRAND total of 11 games or just slightly over 20%. I wouldn’t call that a high injury rate. The six games missed last season were his highest total. That’s recent so it seems like he’s missed lots of playing time. I’m wondering if the one game that he missed in 2014 might have been him being rested before playoffs but that’s just a guess - I can’t really remember.