Here's what we have so far...

Let's look at the whole thing so far....

The Team Strengths are....

Managment

Great owner
GM looks like he's on the ball
Coaches are on the ball (no pun intended).
Offensive line
Running back
Quaterback (we now have depth and what looks to be a solid reliever)

Fans

Top notch (I kind of like to think of us as part of the team)

Team Weakness

Totally new defense (this might be painfull to watch at times)
Receiving core (the trade helped but jelling process in this area takes time)

Specialty teams are...a wait and see.

Early predictions

A great start. We the fans wanted change and we got it. The people in place at the top I feel will get us there but we need to understand that this team will likely undergo several more key changes before they become real Grey Cup contenders. This is where we need to be patient and continue our team support. Here's to a better season!

Receiving Corps

Hopefully, not

Receiving Corpse.

Here's my evaluation:

Coaching - looks to be a significant upgrade - In the least, this team is showing far more discipline - We will have to wait for a real game to see how well the coaches plan for games, and make adjustments

Management - continue to be strong - This year will be a big test after last years performance. If the team does not perform well, attendance may start to dip this year. Personally, I still think we need a Pigskin Pete, but that's just a pet peeve of mine.

QB - We appear to be marginally better here - Maas appears to have some more strength in his arm but he is still injury prone. We appear to have at least more potential with Chang, but I'm not certain about depth as Butler has not impressed

RB - Again a marginal improvement - Jesse appears to have benefited from being in camp from day one, as well as some more experience. I hope our offense will have some plays that have Holmes and Lumsden in the backfield to keep the defense guessing who will get the ball. Depth may be a bit of an issue here.

OL - This one could go either way at least at the start of the year - This one confuses me. We keep bringing in great prospects, but still don't seem to have great results. The O-Line still appears to be average, but certainly has a ton of potential and depth with some of the recent young additions. We may be able to trade a Canadian O-Lineman at some time this year to bring in some help.

Receivers - Maybe a little better here - We brought in a ton of players to compete, and appear to have found some decent players, and have recently added Anderson who has shown some skill in the past. The regular season will tell just how good we are, as we have done this in the past, and still have not found a real "diamond in the rough"

Offense - I still believe this may be this teams week spot, although I feel we should be better than last year. Coach Taffe has indicated he wants to run some more. We'll see if Jesse can handle the load. Maas is still a questionable starter. We once again have an unproven receiving corp. Injuries to some key players could make this situation worse.

DL - Little improvement if any - This was a major weakness last year. We suffurred from a poor pass rush last year, and cannot continue to give QBs time to make plays. Possibly the week spot of the D.

LB - Some improvement - It appears they may have found a good one in Moreno. This alone could be a big improvement.

DB - Some improvement - We filled some holes at the end of the year last year, and picked up Karikari. The safety spot still could use an improvement.

Defense - I think we have improved here - If we can stay healthy the backside of our defense could be the strength of our team. The D Line and DEs still appears to be an area of concern. We have some young guys who may improve through the year hear, and if this continues to be an issue, we may be able to find some cuts from the NFL to help. Depth is an issue accross the defense.

Kicking - A definate upgrade - Nick Setta looked good, particualarly punting. I suspect his placekicking may not be as good as his punting. Myers will be on the PR if Nick gets hurt, and appeared to be able to fill in admirably.

Special Teams - An upgrade here - The punting alone will help us with field position. We have done a good job of obtaining players who are good on special teams, particularly if they are not starters. Punt and kick returns will be more of a factor of blocking than anything else. We once again have signed a number of players who can perform this role. We'll see who is smart enough to keep the posiiton.

Overall - I think we can expect to be better, but our results could really be impacted if we have a rash of injuries as we did last year. I like the direction that we are going, we have drafted fairly wisely, and have a lot of future talent, but that talent will take some time to develop. How long it takes to develop, and just how great that talent is remains to be seen. The start of the schedule is rough for us. By Labour Day, we will really know what this team is make of.

PJ

Resaonably succinct and objective posts overall. Positve and well thought out opinion thats helped me "catch up".

Well done boys, to me,this is what is possible, and wish there was more of,when the real fans step up. :wink:

(Really) Go Cats!

I don’t know why people get so worked up about this.

Actually, MadJack, both are grammatically correct.

You see, core refers to an “essential part of anything”. Furthermore, albeit primarily Scot, core refers to a small company or group of people.

So, by definition, core is perfectly acceptable.

Corps, by definition, is a group of persons working together for a common goal or under common direction. As such, corps works, too.

the chemistry along the oline always takes the longest of any unit to gel. im not too worried about that because we got a lot of depth/youth and we intend on pounding the ball this year.
the team overall looks more organized all around this season and so far the coaching staff and management appear to be pro-acting on what we have to add to improve this team rather than a wait/see approach, which i personally am pleased to see.

No, JustAGuy, they are not both correct.

If you wanted to say that your group of receivers were the strongest aspect of your team, then to say that your group of receivers is the core of your team would perhaps be acceptable. But to refer to a "receiving core" is grammatically incorrect; it is a receiving corps.

“No, JustAGuy, they are not both correct.”

So, your double negative suggests that you agree with me. Glad we settled that. :wink:

It's nice to see a polite exchange in defence of our language. Perfect grammar doesn't seem to be required, but a minimum standard is appreciated.

LOL..........puts me in mind of a good joke.

Professor of linguistics tells his class "in most languages, a double negative is a positive. However, in NO language can a double positive be a negative."

Small voice from the back of the class yells out "Yah, right".

This reminds of an exchange a professor of mine
had many years ago with a first year student

Students seldom interupted professors in lectures but
one student timidly rose to his feet, put up his hand

and nervously express a differing opinion
about some ‘facts’ the professor had presented.

The Professor rubbed his chin thoughtfully,
and slowly and carefully remarked,

Very…very…interesting. [ long pause ]

Completely incorrect…but…
very…very…interesting. :wink:

Well summarised, P.J. - I think you covered it all, except one category. It is called the ‘Intangibles’. YES, this is one we often forget, but is a key ingredient in Championship teams.
‘Intangibles’ includes the following:
- Leadership
- Experience
- Bench strength
- Versatility
For this year’s crop of players, I feel we lack in all these categories. This is because you need VETERANS on your Team, who have been through the grind, and know what needs to be done to get a win.
Sure, we will be competative, & we will increase our WIN counts. BUT, if the games are close, we will not have the extra edge to come up on top.
This is just my gut feeling, from following Ticat football for over 30 years…

The Eagle - :cowboy: :cowboy: :cowboy:

I am excited for this years team!We can always improve when the chances are there!Should be exciting watching!

Thanks Eagle for the compliment, and yes I would very much agree that the intangables that you list could play a big part in how far this team will go this year. My gut feeling is that while we currently look better on paper than last year, we still have a way to go to contend with the stronger teams. Not a lot has been done to provide immediate results (ie. signing or trading for proven veterens). This team is young and has a lot of promise in the years to come, but I expect they will make some mistakes this year, and at some time depth will be an issue at some positions.

Hopefully this team will stay healthy and will continue to improve through the year. Anything is possible if we play strong in the second half. Just making the playoffs will be a good step in the right direction this year. Anything more than that would be gravy.

PJ