drafting Barker instead of Emry was a mistake

Barker can't crack our starting lineup even though the weakest guy in our secondary, Beveridge, is playing in front of him. Meanwhile, Emry is now the STARTING STUD MLB of the Alouettes (and he was making plays all over the field last night, including in our backfield!).

We should have taken Emry at #1 overall.

In all fairness, we weren't seeking a LB at that point and were desperate for a N/I safety. I'm sure Barker will get the start soon, probably just needs some fine tuning before he get's the call.

Next time I’m sure they’ll bring their crystal ball. :roll:

Interesting isn't it. People in Montreal were pissed because the Als picked Emry instead of Giguere... Tough bizness diss football bizness...

It's too early to be conclusive about a draft pick being superior to another. Really. One can state that one appears to be superior at the moment, but let's take another year or three before we make that call.

Understand that a) Barker's season-ending leg injury could not have been foreseen and b) some guy named Moreno was in the middle, replete with an East all-star nod, making a MLB replacement not something immediate on the radar.

Emry can play, no doubt. I think Barker will be a very good player for us. IMHO playing safety in the CFL is one of the most challenging positions in the game. MLB is as well, but Emry is surrounded by excellent players and his transition hasn't had a hiccup.

If one really wants to be critical of a first round pick the Cats have made, look no further than Chris Bauman. We're in year three here and the results so far are not encouraging.

Oski Wee Wee,

I think oski-oui-oui is bang on. At the time, you guys were set at MLB, and Hfx is also right that Popp took heat for not drafting Giguere. It’s easy to critique drafts in hindsight, but who could have anticipated Barker breaking his leg and missing an entire season? Randee Drew, a veteran DB for my Als, had a season-ending injury midway through last year and is still not quite ready to return. Barker will be fine in the long run. Bauman? Not so much.

Questioning our past drafties is not the things we should be talking about, everyone needs to realize were 2-2 normally 0-4 so give me a break.

Listen to this guy… he knows whats up.

Also, our D only gave up 21 points against the best team BY FAR in the CFL. In the Als first 3 games they averaged 44 points and against us they only scored 21.

This team is leaps and bounds above the last few seasons.

I think this guy a dud. Bad pic :thdn:

The Ticats Biggest Mistakes Ever in Bob Young Era..My Top 5
(1) Trading Wayne Smith and DJ Flick for Nothing
(2) Zeke Trade
(3) Force Retirement of Hitch and Mike.
(4) Blacking out the Hall of Fame Game
(5) Casey Printers Signing .

Why diss Beverage, he,s Just now getting to start and doing a good job, no Deep balls against says the safety is taking that away, and that QB,s respect him, wont be long before he,s on a highlite reel Hammering a slot over the middle :rockin:

Right on man. I agree.

All these people down on Beveridge just don’t seem to understand what the free safety needs to do out there. I watched the entire game and didn’t see one bad play by him. Not sure what others are seeing that disappoints them.

If he wasn’t good enough he WOULD NOT be starting. Geez people…

I have trust in Greg Marshall as a defensive coordinator to put the best players out there (I did not have the same confidence in Creehan). If he thinks that right now the Cats’ defence is better off with Beveridge at safety, so be it; if and when he thinks Barker is ready to step in and can do a better job, I’m sure he’ll make that call…I’ll leave it up to him, it’s his job.

Another big part of being the free safety is being the QB of the DB's. He has to be able to read offensive formations and motion then call out a coverage to the other DB's. Obviously Beveridge would be much better than Barker at this alone with 7 years under his belt. Plus its not like he has never started before. Over his 7 years he has had at least 30 starts.

Some people seem to think he should be up making plays all the time or something. A safety is the last line of defense and other than on blitzes or fake blitzes is always deep. If he is making tackles then some or all of the people in front of him have missed their assignment. His job is not to cover any one player but to flow to the ball and provide support. If someone comes over the middle right in front of him thats when its his play alone to make. Beveridge has not made any over the middle errors since the first game and that was only once. In case no one has noticed pretty much all QB's complete over half their passes so that means that even the very best give up plays in broken coverage.

In the 90's I was a starting free safety at Western and Waterloo and had a tryout with the Ticats in 98 plus (and please forgive me) was in the Winnipeg rookie camp in 99. I know what I'm talking about and I know how to tell if a player is good enough. Beveridge is good enough and even a little better than he needs to be in some areas. His hitting skills are outstanding.

If our #1 pick is not starting in his first year then that to me says Obie is doing his job well.
Now Barker can take his time to develop (he was written off last year due to injury) and like mentioned earlier in this thread time can prove that he is a better pick than Emry.
Hindsight is always 20/20

Barker will make a very good NI saftey in this league. It is pretty much a rookie year for him this season. He has the size and speed to play. If you have noticed he has made some very strong tackles on special teams.

Typically it takes about 3 years for a NI to develop, especially in a skilled position.

Beverage is not a bad player. It would be nice to have a little more play making ability from the safety spot (i.e. turnovers) but what he lacks in speed and playmaking ability he does a good job tackling.

Way too early to make the ass essment yet .If marshall thought beveridge was not up to the task then he would of moved an import to safety and start augie or kirk.Obie tried to give the coordinators options.

Let's hope they both turn out All Stars and manage to stay healthy :thup:

:thup: :thup:

The league needs more Canadian stars.