You can’t surmise things like that. You can’t just say Toronto wouldn’t have won if they didn’t have Chad Owens, because they did. You can make a wager as to whether their chances would be greater or lesser than they originally were, but to call Chad Owens the game winner is bogus.
And everyone makes mistakes, for crying out loud. Are you so critical of this one mistake that you need to bring it up time and time again? Jim Popp’s human, like the rest of us, and he’s said before that he wishes he didn’t have to trade him. But look at the Montreal Alouettes. Look at the team he’s assembled that’s been to nearly every Grey Cup this decade. Are you going to downsize him for making one mistake? Yes, we learn from our mistakes, but dwelling on them is futile.
If you like Chad Owens so much, why don’t you just go and become an Argos fan. :roll:
In the end, what did having Owens and Boyd accomplish for the Argos? Jack squat. They were non-factors in a blowout loss.
It makes me chuckle to see all the hype surrounding players who play the most volatile skill positions in the game of football. Boyd is a walking injury clinic at a position where even healthy players burn out in three or four years because of the immense physical toll on the body. As for Owens, history is strewn with the corpses of kick returners who enjoyed one or two good seasons, only to flop for the remainder of their CFL careers (Keith Stokes, anyone? How about Bashir Levingston? Dominic Dorsey? Corey Holmes? Tristan Jackson?). Yet every year, it seems like some fans forget the past and start thinking that one great season for a kick returner will automatically translate into many great seasons for that kick returner, despite history showing us otherwise.
The Argos' strength basically lies in two positions which can be extremely volatile from year to year in terms of performance. You want to pin your hopes on an injury-prone drama queen of a running back and a malcontent kick returner who asked to be traded before camp had even ended? Be my guest. Me, I'll take the team on its way to a third consecutive Grey Cup game, the one with a future Hall of Fame quarterback, all-star receivers, and a running back who, besides being the MVP of last year's Grey Cup game, also ran roughshod over the Argos when it mattered most -- in the playoffs.
Chad Owens and Corey Boyd are Special Teams Player of the Year and runner up to leading rusher of the year, respectively. Together they raised the Argonauts from the ashes…and most likely saved the franchise…at the very least restored hope to a perpetual cellar dweller.
On a team with a good…or even great quarterback…they would have all but ensured a Grey Cup appearance.
As it is, they brought an otherwise anaemic team to the eastern final…that’s all they did.
It’s highly disrespectful to belittle the accomplishments of a team that’s just been beaten by your team…but I guess that’s to be expected.
For my part I’m happy to express my admiration for such inspirational football players…and their undeniable talent.
Of course a lot of Alouettes fans lament the fact that Owens is the “one that got away”. You’d hardly be a fan if that didn’t sting. It’s just a shame that management feels they have to obfuscate the issue…instead of simply admitting the mistake, and whatever considerations that led to it. But that’s one of the fun parts of being a pro sports fan…guessing what’s really going on behind all the hype.
Jim Popp is overall a great GM…has all my respect and appreciation.
For whatever reason…he just blew it this time.
Toronto bashing is always fun and I`ll add my 2 cents!
On the series prior to the Maypray punt return TD, Tor. had 2nd and 2 yards to go. You would think the coach touted as coach of the year would give the ball to the running back touted as the 2nd coming of Mike Pringle to gain the 2 yards.
Instead he has his ace QB attempt a pass, Bowman sacks him, and then comes the punt to Maypray.
Elizondo has a long way to go as an offensive coordinator. Lemon is awful, but I don’t think you can pin 100% of his awfulness on him alone.
That said, Barker is to blame for his stubborn refusal to give Bell a chance even after it became abundantly clear that Lemon wasn’t improving. I still think it was a huge mistake for him to cut every previous quarterback on the roster. As much as I give Barker credit for spearheading Toronto’s resurgence this season, I could also argue that said resurgence might have been a whole lot better had Barker not purged his roster of CFL-ready QBs and gone with a 30-year-old NFL retread who is, quite frankly, very poor.
Umm, calling Cody Pickett and Stephen Reaves “CFL-ready” is a huge stretch. Clearly Joseph was a CFL QB but he was way past his best before date and had been part of too much internal turmoil to have been able to be part of a true competition for the No. 1 job.
It was mainly Pickett I was thinking of. Sure, he wasn’t great, but he had started some CFL games in 2009, which is more than anyone could say about Cleo Lemon. On top of that, Barker handed the job to Lemon out of training camp despite the fact that Bell had done better in preseason action. Looks to me like Jim was blinded by Lemon’s NFL credentials, which tends to be typical of the Argos in general. NFL reject? Come to Toronto! We really, really want to be associated with the NFL in any way, shape, or form! :lol:
Disagree on all counts. Bell had better stats in preseason but he was facing second- and third-string defenders. According to Barker and to fans who took in much of training camp, Lemon outperformed Bell day after day through camp. And he was/is definitely more of a leader than Bell (who BTW looked terrible – way worse than Lemon – in most of his relief appearances this season).
There is no evidence supporting the suggestion that the Argo brass fall into the trap of being NFL wannabes. Admittedly a lot of Torontonians are like that, but not the team’s management.
And just because Pickett started a few games does not make him a viable CFL QB. He was, to be blunt, atrocious. Lemon was way better than Pickett by his second start of 2010. He has a long way to go to improve (and I agree with the suggestion from Blogskee that he has to show significant improvement in 2011 or it will be over for him) but he is miles beyond Cody Pickett.
C'est certain que Lemon avec Barker, Owens et Boyd a été bien meilleur que Pickett avec Andrus, Dorsey et Robertson.
Cependant, je suis loin d'être certain que Lemon aurait fait beaucoup mieux avec Andrus, Dorsey et Robertson. L'équipe d'instructeurs des Argonauts de 2010 est beaucoup plus compétente que celle de 2009.