Drew Edward's guesses for our starting Canadians

Hamilton Tiger-Cats
#1
http://scratchingpost.thespec.com

After talking with Obie,

Drew guesses who our seven starting non-imports will be
and the positions on Offence and Defence they will occupy.

I'm guessing it will be Gauthier, Marwan Hage, George Hudson and Cedric Gagne-Marcoux

with Dyakowski, Bekasiak and a freshly drafted
rookie - Simeon Rottier - rounding out the mix.

A fifth will come from receiver where Obie said he’s hoping Chris Bauman
can make the leap to consistent contributor, along with Chad Rempel.

“We’re hoping that Chris Bauman can take step forward and start for us,? he said.

Obie said the Ticats will work out a some veteran non-import wide receivers

  • Dave Stala and Corey Grant were two names that came up -

to see if they have anything left in the tank.

“There’s some veterans guys out there that might be of interest to us.?

If not they will look to grab another in the draft.

That’s five.

On defensive, one of the NI spots will come from
linebacker with Ray Mariuz or Augie Barenchea

and the other will come from safety

where Obie’s hoping last year’s No. 1 pick Dylan Barker can contribute.

Sandy Beveridge and Sean Manning will also get a look.

If a non-import can’t do the job, Obie says
they’ll use two non-import linebackers.

That’s the plan as it stands now anyway.

“We’re getting ourselves in position
to give ourselves lots of options,? Obie said.


I would like to see Rontarius Robinson as safety.

If Dylan Barker shows well in our exhibitions games,
I would like to see him rotated in in certain situations

for a while to take advantage of his speed and get experience,

that would help get whoever our veteran back up Canadian LB is,
either Augie or Ray Mariuz, more playing time on Defence.

#2

Corey Grant ? ?
Isnt he still under contract with SSK?

Nevertheless a loud wakeup call for Baumann.

#3

The Riders often leave Corey swingingin the wind
in the off season after his contract expires, Zontar.

#4

Both Corey Grant and Dave Stala are great pickups provided they have something left in the tank. If they do and they sign with us we're going to have a deadly receiving core. And i mean DEADLY! :rockin:

#5

I wouldn't get that carried away over Grant and Stala.

#6

Who's getting carried away? are they not great receivers providing they stll have it in them? would they not be a huge help in our receiving core? That's all I'm stating. We could use a little veteran presence in the receiving core, let's hope they're still good.

#7

Yes they would, IF they have enough left. But it's a big if, I think.

Personally, I doubt they do.

#8

Mentioning 'great' is where you get carried away. Grant hasnt put up either 500 yards or at least 3 TD in the last 5 years and Stala where do you start with him? Camp bodies with limited potential other than possible serviceable special teamers.

#9

Don't count them out. Players can play alot better when they're pushed down and want to prove themselves. Just look at Cam Wake. Noone gave him a chance and look what he became when BC utilized him.

#10

When suggestions have been made here about NI receivers we can bring in, the names of Stala and Grant have come up. The idea of bringing in a veteran NI receiver sounds like a good idea, as Bauman needs competition and the team needs NI depth at that position. But I don't consider Grant what the team needs, as he might be OK for giving the team more depth, but that's about all. We do have Laurent Lavigne-Masse coming in, and it was interesting to see that his name was not mentioned. Also, Stala might not be at 100%.

And here is a section of that post I'd like to comment on:

On defensive, one of the NI spots will come from linebacker with Ray Mariuz or Augie Barenchea and the other will come from safety where Obie's hoping last year's No. 1 pick Dylan Barker can contribute. Sandy Beveridge and Sean Manning will also get a look. If a non-import can't do the job, Obie says they'll use two non-import linebackers.
So at this time, it's possible that the team may use both Mariuz and Barrenechea at LB at the same time? Hmm, I don't know about that. The D needs NI talent. I do hope Barker will be able to contribute so that the won't be lacking NI talent as much.

But as Drew said in that post, "that's the plan as it stands now anyway."

#11

How do you possibility Wake to Stala or Grant? Wake came in and from day one proved he could play. Grant and Stala had their time. Seriously, best case scenario what do you expect out of Grant or Stala?

#12

Essentially it will be 5 NI’s on offence and 2 NI’s on defence. I find it hard to believe that if a NI cant start at safety that their will be two NI’s at linebacker. You would think at least one would come from the DL.

#13

"Essentially it will be 5 NI's on offence and 2 NI's on defence. I find it hard to believe that if a NI cant start at safety that their will be two NI's at linebacker. You would think at least one would come from the DL."

This is a good point: d-line is another logical NI spot with Matt Kirk, Jermaine Reid or (if Obie's prayers are answered) Corey Mace at defensive tackle. What Obie told me was they wanted flexibility in their NI spots. With four NI o-lineman, a d-lineman, one wideout, two linebackers and safety they have the ability to plug another import into not one but two of those positions in case of injury or performance issues.

Two questions that will have to answered in camp: can Bauman, Rempel or an as-yet-unsigned veteran fill a receiver spot and can Barker or another NI fill the safety spot? If not, we'll see five Yankee wideouts or DBs.

#14

After all these years, I thought you guys were a lot deeper with NI talent. Where have all those draft picks gone ?

This could be the weakest contingent of starting NI's in the league.