I always liked this guy. He never really got the chance to show all he had in Hamilton but that was the state of the roster then. In Montreal he showed flashes...
Great skills, home grown, injured a lot.
i really dont see why his retirement was such a big deal... career backup that "chould" have started.... but never did...
don't look now, Cody Ledbetter is retiring too... lets have a parade....
Unlike the Bruins, who haven't hoisted a cup in oh so many years, Eric played a big role in our last Cup victory. In an era where Canadian running backs rarely carry the rock, he performed well. Good on him. He deserves the attention.
Eric Lapointe was a big favourite in Montreal. A hard worker, oft injured but very effective as a backup when healthy. I have always liked his play. I wish him all the best moving forward.
Oski Wee Wee,
“never” started? - i believe you are incorrect there.
2 time GC winner - led the GC game in rushing as a rookie for the Ticats; career CFL 6+ (!) yds./carry average; twice the longest run from scrimmage in a CFL season; 5 rushing TDs in the 05 play-off season.
Yeah, but just OK as a “back-up” RB - as a Canadian he should have known his place there; no need for congrats on a pretty decent CFL career -who’s making the “big deal” about it anyways? - seems like a minor blip CFL announcement. Some clown comparison to Lebetter is an insult though IMO.
:roll:a retirement announcement for a non-import role player, the guy was never a superstar franchise back, wasnt a team captain or locker room leader, didnt really raise the game of his teammates, i dont see a need for any hoopla for this guy, at least robert edwards has a resume of doing great things in the nfl and at georgia.
Canada hypes up role players too much, first tie domi gets a big retirement announcement and hype and now lapointe.
Who's next kevin eakin.
Eric Lapointe was one of the best non-import running backs to play in the CFL recently. And it's not very often that a non-import running back can accomplish as much in the CFL as Lapointe did. After being a two-time Hec Crighton Award winner in the CIS, he may not have always been given fair chances in the CFL. I remember him proving a few critics wrong with the Ticats after he did not get much of a chance in Edmonton. And his performance in the 2005 EDF game versus the blue team (the one in which the popcorn incident took place) certainly should be mentioned. He filled in for Robert Edwards very well, rushing for 112 yards on 15 carries for 7.5 yard average. (Click here for my information source.)
And the article posted on CFL.ca puts it better than I could. If you want to know why his career accomplishments and his retirement are at least somewhat siginificant, click here.
go across the league, and ask how many fans know about him, i didnt realize this guy even won a hec creighton until last year, he is a nobody, the average cfl fan has no idea who he is.
Bang on dude - the guy was a “nobody” NI scrub at best - no “hoopla” needed for sure; can’t wait till the Ticats cut that lame-O Lumsden too and put him in his place - another canadian nobody.
Lapointe got shafted by the Argos, I still blame them for killing his career along with injuries.
Not sure how he got shafted by the Argos - that was the Skippy Huard regime in 2000 and they traded for Lapointe (him and the rights to Steinauer for O'Shea); he did start some for the Argos early in that disaster season and then he got hurt some i think plus Mike Jenkins emerged as a very good starting RB.
Why the Ticats traded away Lapointe after he had a 6.6 yds/carry average and the longest run in that CFL year as a rookie is another question.
…and the average CFL fan is also a complete boob!
(Generalized comment pointed at many that think their “arm chair QBing skills and coaching knowledge” :roll: makes the grade…most should go back to their seats at Tim’s and have a cruller & calm down.) Just because someone has perfected the 36 Trap on NFL Game day doesn’t mean they know what they are taking about either :lol: :lol: :lol:
Just reading some of the comments on the threads shows how some people are so low class.
Lesson #1
…Don’t speak harshly of what you do not know.
Lapointe was so underrated. He was glorious with Ronald Williams the year we won the Cup. He ran out the clock/moved the chains, he was money. Too bad he was traded to toronto to get O'Shea back for a second go a around...Did you make that trade Uncle Ronnie?
if lapointe was so good he would have gotten superstar money and be paid like a top rb with a bigtime multi-year contract, and if he was so good he would have won a few top canadian awards and he would have had nfl tryouts.
Eric Lapointe is/was a True Warrior. He made the CFL a better place for Canadian running backs.He deserves every accolade that comes his way.I'll never understand why we let him go, except that he wanted to play in Montreal.
I think Eric Lapointe set at least one Ticat record when he was here, maybe the most rushing yards by a rookie Ticat, and/or the longest rush from scrimmage by a rookie Ticat.
I think it was Tony Miles who was traded along with Lapointe to Toronto.
I think he was one of the best Canadian running backs Ticats ever had, certainly the one with the most potential. (I don't include Gerry MacDougall, as he was considered a Canadian, as I think Jim Coleman or Bob Hanley said, because "his parents happeded to honeymoon in Niagara Falls".)
Where has mightypope gone? I look to him to confirm/refute my thoughts/recollections.
…once again, as I had mentioned earlier. Look at this “response”??? Maybe you should do a little research…here let me help you
Herb Zurkowsky, Montreal Gazette
Lapointe, 32, retires having played 109 regular-season games with Hamilton, Toronto and Montreal, where he spent the final six seasons of his career
(No multi year contract??? How did he stay 6 years???.)
He gained 2,416 yards on 396 carries, scoring 16 touchdowns, while maintaining an impressive average of 6.1 yards a carry. He also caught 56 passes for 380 yards, with one major.
"One thing he’s always been is a team player. I can’t compliment him any more than that," said general manager and head coach Jim Popp. "He never complained about not getting the ball or not being a starter. He’s got plenty to cherish.
A two-time winner of the Hec Crighton Award, given to the outstanding player in Canadian university football, Lapointe arguably might have received more of an opportunity, had he been born an American, and certainly would have played more had injuries not derailed his career on so many occasions.
…and on a final note I get the feeling Lapointe has contributed to the CFL more than you ever will.
:cowboy:Anyone else agree / disagree?
The CFL is better for having guys like Lapointe in it.
Good Luck to Eric!
One thing about Lapointe’s play that doesn’t get enough recognition IMO, and maybe because he was never a full-time starter for a whole season, is his career yds./carry average at 6.1; to me, yards per carry is a very good and maybe the best indicator of a running back’s pure ball carrying ability when measured over a long term - several seasons and on different teams. The only other current or recent CFL RBs with career averages over 6 yards to my knowledge (and i bet we could go back a good decade or more) are Kenton Keith and Corey Holmes (- who’s another not full-time starting back) - who both played with a Rider offence that led the league in rushing for a number of years. Lapointe’s CFL production when he was given the opportunity is superior to quite a few “star” RBs who get way more recognition than Lapointe ever did. Lapointe was a superb tailback and one of the most under-rated CFL players ever - just IMO.
He also played tough on special teams and that is I think where he suffered one of his injuries that limited his chances at RB. I don’t think anybody is expecting the guy to get a parade for retiring or anything and it was just a fairly simple retirement announcement that brought up the topic here. Frickin’ sad IMO - the ignorance about and lack of respect for this player who accomplished some pretty decent things in his CFL career (as noted in this thread) - instead some take it as a chance to dis the guy; but not overly surprising there coming from some “fans” who know little about the game and don’t watch much of it but like to run their yaps like they do anyways.