Next Years Offence and Defence

Hamilton Tiger-Cats
1

First of all I would not change the coaching staff or G.M. If you disagree with that then anything you read must be taken in another context.

NEXT YEARS OFFENSE according to Rev.

Wide recievers - Brock Ralph, Jason Armstead
Slotbacks - Jesse Lumsden, Chris Bauman
Offensive line - needs improvement - not necessarily
whole sale changes, keep developing the first year guys and keep Hudson, Cavka?, Dykom...?
Fullback - Julien Radlein or Dickerson, I'm not sure
it may be a ratio decision
Running back - Terry Cauley 60/40 with Jesse Lumsden
Qb - Casey Printers - no question

Fill in the o-line for me and consider adding one stud o-lineman. A quick aside, even given that Lumsden and Cauley are terrific, I think the o-line is much better than people have thought. You do not pile up rushing yards simply with talent, the o-line should get some credit. Pass protection is another issue which is why I see a need for a stud pass protector. There are very big differences as everyone knows particularly when you have leanred to play in a run first mentality be it U.S. college or N.F.L.
Which is why we needed to be patient this year. Our o-line will be much better next year and moving forward.

On defense - I would say there are only a few starters I would absolutely keep - Cody at Safety, Moreno, Armour at Linebacker - I am not sure about Lofton, yesterday was ugly. Keith and Loshcher need some help. Every d.b. would have to earn a spot based on the next three weeks and in camp next year.

An intersting stat from yesterdays game was the teams leading or second in the divisions are leading or second in sacks. As you know we are last. Part of the catch 22 for our dbs is that they are learning at the expense of offences which have had lots of time for plays to develope and they have that time because our d-line has not been capable of getting serious and consistant pressure on the opposing qbs in my view.

Sign Nick Setta long term he's a terrific kicker.

I would also keep Nat Curry and Jason French around as well as having Richie Williams #2 qb.

I think that that offense would score 25 points a game but do not know if the defence could consistantly hold teams under 25. That being said i would say we could be 99 or perhaps 10-8 with not a great deal of other changes or additions.

A needs list would be: one stud pass protecting o-lineman, 2 solid veteran dbs and a go to receiver.

However,unlike many I think that Bauman can be that player but not at wide receiver but at slotback.

Line Jesse up 60 % of the time at the other slot and 40 % of the time in the backfield. You then get a lot more time with him in the mix and avoid the constant pounding. That frees up some attention for every other receiver. You get more out of Cauley and Lumsden and I believe Bauman as well, let alone Armstead and Ralph.

I have been very impressed with Cauley over the last few games. Terrific heart shown in Montreal and yesterday against Saskatchewan and a great catch.

Anyway, there's my diatribe, what do you think?

2

Armour is playing out his Option This year.
There working a Contact Extension.
He wants to be back here.

We need The Big Dog Back
If Zeke is heart of D he is the Lungs..

3

Lumsden at slotback - that's hilarious - somebody in the organization would have to be on serious dope to convert such a force at tailback to receiver - where he has little to no experience in the finnese of playing receiver at the CFL level, let alone the hands.

IMO - a lot of the ingredients for a pretty decent offence were on display in the first half of the last game - good play-calling variety and Printers making plays with his great ability; smart use of Radlein - a force as a lead blocker for the run game, plus some use of Dickerson as a tight end. Caulley is a quality back and would be a nice compliment/change of pace to Lumsden.

Like to see for next year - Printers gets really comfortable with the offence and stays healthy - and makes plays galore with his arm and some running/scrambling; a commitment to the run game with Lumsden/Caulley and Radlein gets the ball too on some power runs and screes passes; Dickerson or whoever else employed as a tight end some or plenty; some new receivers emerge or else the guys on the roster now deployed more smartly - Ralph should be at WR - he's not near suited enough for slotback - him and Armstead maybe make a good speed combo at WR; Bauman gets a shot at slotback - has the size and maybe he shows way better hands that i think he may have; another good hands slot emerges - will Gardner still be around or else find a new FA or draft a good slot prospect - bring in lots of competition at receiver across the board with basically nobody from this season pencilled in; O-line has some experience now with some good young prospects - Hage, Hudson and Gagne-Marcoux as the interior 3, maybe Woodard & Cavka at OTs but maybe Dyakwoski or Jordan Rempel emerge if given real shots. Do not use a high draft pick on another O-lineman with all the guys they already have in place (Ince might be able to play too).

Plenty of talent there already IMO, but of course look at new guys for next season; the main thing would be to deploy them wisely - a sharp OC and smart play-calling is key - give that to a talent at QB like Printers and you have something. Easier said than done, but as I said, I liked the look of the O in the first half last game - they were moving the ball and scoring against a pretty decent Riders defence.

4

A good post...

I would concur with most of what everyone is saying.

I'm impressed with Caulley. If Lumsden goes down, I would be happy to have Caulley fill in for him. Or, we could line them both up in the backfield and split their playing time. It would totally screw up defenses, as they are totally different runners. It would also take some heat off Jesse when it comes to injuries.

Printers is fine, but I hope he's worth the money. I'm afraid that after Maas, we've gotten another lemon. Hopefully, Williams will develop quickly and he can be a strong backup for Printers next year if he goes down.

The O-line needs to learn to pass protect as already stated. Dyakowski is developing, Cavka looks like a good pickup, Hudson is strong as usual.

Our D-line is inconsistent, especially in the middle. Keith and Loescher are great on the outside. Where's Belli and why did we get rid of him??

Our DB and WR is where the most work has to be done. I don't know if it's talent or coaching. Marcel says import WR are a dime a dozen. So where are they Marcel??

Setta's great. Looks like we've found are long-term kicker after some scary years with Boreham.

5

On to the D now: - Loescher is a force as a pass rusher and Keith looks like a good find - DE may be set? DT is a question mark - Scott & Dunbrack may still have some gas in the tanks as solid vets, but a real force (a la a Philbrick) is needed - maybe Reid or Bekasiak (a disappointment IMO - hasn’t got much playing time but done little IMO when he’s been in) can improve or emerge but bring in lots of competition there; Moreno & Armour are a very solid 2 for the LB corps - hope they return and another OLB emerges (Mariuz is good IMO and could do the job); Cody is the only real keeper in the current D-backfield but much more suited to D-half than safety; the rest of the D-backfield should be up for competition; can’t for the life of me figure why Karikari - the CFL all-star safety of a couple of seasons ago - has not been tried there - he’s struggled at D-half, as have most of the other DBs; Beveridge - who can hit/tackle and makes plays when he’s in at safety, might be a very good safety now too with his CFL experience, but maybe those 2 lack something on their resumes to the American coaches? Anderson might improve to be a good corner, but bring in lots of competition for DBs.

And Setta has been a pretty accurate FG kicker, but only so-so as a punter IMO - bring in another punter to challenge him and go with seperate kickers if it works out - the kicking game is too important in the CFL to settle for a guy who is good at one of the jobs but mediocre at another (and BTW - Boreham has punted for about the same average as Setta and also leads the CFL in kick-off distance).

6

I like everything mentioned except Lumsden at slot.

He's way too good at running back to be moved out of there. He's a terrific blocker.

7

I like almost off it as well. I'm not sure that I woul put Lumsden at Sb but I wouldn't mind seeing him used more a s pass receiving Rb where you can get him in space. I think with his recen tvulnerability to injury we may have to cut his carries /game a bit and maximize when and where he gets his touches. Caulley seems to be very capable.

LB's are set with Moreno, Armour, and Glasper next season.

DE's are set, need serious DT help.

DB's is a tough one because we get absolutely no pressure on the QB and these guys can't be trying to cover a guy all day. I would like to see some back as well as Bradley in the mix with a good pass rush before getting rid of them.

8

If we don't get Armour back here next year I will be livid. He is one of the most necessary players on our team.

9

I'm positive he'll be back. He wants to be here.