how many wins will the ti-cats have in '07

in response to bobs poll, in which only 59 people replied to a poll that really limits your options, heres poll to clairify things.

how many wins will the tabbies have in '07 ( regular season )?

I see us having 7-9 wins this season... what's more important to me is I think that we'll at least show up for every game.

I thinking 8-10 Wins..

The only problem with this poll..is that it doesnt necessarily show improvement. If we win 1 game and fight like hell in all of them(unlike last year) I will be happy

I'll have a better answer after training camp. I want to see how things go re installation of systems on both sides of the ball, the status of both lines (especially the D-line), and Setta's progress in the kicking area. Until there's a clear sense of how these things shake down, I'll defer.

Notice I haven't even mentioned the Maas saga...oops, I just did! :smiley: :smiley: :smiley: I need to see the rebound from 2006, big time.

I will say this: I am more confident in my optimism pre-training camp 2007 than at this stage in 2006. The main factor is knowing that the collective experience of the coaching staff is greater -- and the fact we have more coaches on staff will pay dividends.

In particular, the Ed O'Neil-Rod Rust collaboration gives me more confidence than what we've had in recent times. I want to see a defensive gameplan with some jam game after game.

The concept of mixing your pressures on the pass rush side is instructive here. Delayed blitzes from safeties, corners, and linebackers; zone blitzing, and better use of stunting has to be part of the menu.

Far too often in the Kavis Reed era, we saw the "send the house" approach when heat was to be put on the opposing offense. Lining up 8 in the box in blitz mode isn't the most cunning way to maximize pressure. The better QBs and coaches in this league can counteract that kind of set all night long. To me, you have to be selective in your blitzing approaches and as unpredictable as possible.

We gave up a huge amount of yardage against because we were either in the Life of Brian Suicide Squad "send the house" mode or we sat back too often in soft zones, IMHO. This includes soft zones even when we were defending inside our 30-yard line. We were trying to play it safe too often. I have no problem with a "bend but don't break" philosophy -- I am a Sudsy mark after all -- but you can't break. :smiley: :smiley: :smiley:

A hallmark of good defences in our league is that you build systems that are adaptable to your personnel. The kind of playcalling I mentioned above is scalable to the kind of talent you're putting out on the field. Playing smart, playing hard, and knowing your role (and the roles of your mates) are things you can control.

The ideal scenario is the emergence of a defensive line a la Covington-Walker-Skilman-Price in the 1980s that provides the maximum pressure possible with a 4-man rush. In lieu of that, one has to mix blitzing into the picture to get the kind of disruptive, physical, and opportunistic defence that produces championships.

We have had two of the greatest ballhawks in the history of the game with Less Browne (the INT king) and Mr. Everything, Garney Henley. Their heydays in Tigertown as defenders were arguably during the two greatest eras of Ticat defence in team history. The elixir is find the consistency of attacking defence to provide opportunities for this new generation of ballhawks.

Tay Cody could become an all-Canadian force if these aspects come together.

You can have all the intensity you want, all the focus in the world, but you have to be put in the best position to both have your physical skills and improvisational talent shine.

The Cats' domination of the sixties was no accident. I'm not expecting Ralph Sazio revisted on the sidelines leading the defence -- I just don't want a mixture of "what was that?" cluelessness or straight-up "deer in the headlights" whenever we have adversity.

If you fall on your shield, make sure the victor is too busy crawling away in injured haste to gloat. In football terms, that would make a seven-win season more palatable than the kind of efforts we've seen at times in recent years!

Oski Wee Wee,

Russ will be Making the Long Hall out The Hammer for Camp?

9-10 wins...we make the playoffs, head to the GC. Whether we win or lose I wont say.

OnKnight: To answer your question, I am planning to be back for a visit in late June. I'll have a firmer timetable in the next week. :wink:

Oski Wee Wee,

great Looking forward to Buying you a Beer

The Drop the Price From What I have been told … :o

Going undefeated is not an impossibility.

As much as I would like to believe that laughinghard there are just way too many question marks for me to buy into that opinion. Is our quarterback healthy? Will our lines hold out? Are our receivers good enough? Will the speakers be low enough?

Only time will tell.

9-10 wins is a possibility. Only time will tell.

8 - 9 wins this season and a playoff spot. After that, who knows?!

seems most are saying 6-10 wins.

It depends on how many times we play Ottawa

I'm with the 6-8 group although 18 and 0 would be nice, with the Grey Cup, of course.

I know; dream on!