Q&A: Ticats GM Eric Tillman on the trades, Johnny Manziel and free agency

Q&A: Ticats GM Eric Tillman on the trades, Johnny Manziel and free agency

Great stuff here, Must read

Hate to break it to the Manziel haters but this aint over...yet

Seems that those that are continually asking what each of them do can get some answers from that Q and A.

Tillman handles part of the GM duties with regards to roster development (as part of the greater group) and Kent/Shawn handle the contract negotiations.

Still vague on who who handles concessions. I have some ideas.

Whoever handles concessions should be fired. The food is crap!

I think we all agree that the less said publicly, the better. So, let’s leave it there, please.

Tillman talking about Vernon Adams

We feel like his skill set is a good fit for June’s offensive system and June and Kent are excited about our quarterbacking trio of Jeremiah [Masoli ] , Vernon and Dane Evans. There’s been a lot of talk , speculation and stuff about our quarterbacking situation, but this is what matters - the guys in our locker room have total confidence in Jeremiah .

Reading between the lines here I’m thinking that it is closer to being over then ain’t over yet for all the Manziel lovers out there …

They just traded for Vernon Adams, what else do you expect Tillman to say?
Don' t care who their QB is, only how many games they win and attendance. Everything else is a detail.

Manziel is still ours until he finds himself another job. The Ticats are keeping him
in their back pocket for the next year until he wants to come out and play.
No trades will happen.

Still don’t think Manziel really ever was a serious product for Hamilton…he has got what he wanted…some well needed press so he can hook onto the new “silly ball” league starting up again in the states…he’ll make a mint before it folds.

Not liking how he didn't say much about re-signing Tasker & Dean. I feel like Laurent may leave because he wants more $ again...not sure how much more they can pay him when there are cheaper & just as effective alternatives (Zack Evans). Tasker & Dean have to be brought back, imo.

I have always been a big Ted fan. He does more than the stats tell us but he only had sacks in 2 games last season and finished the season on an 0 sacks in the last 8 games. 30 years old. How much tread left on those big tractor tires??

He's also never won a Grey Cup, he may go chasing a ring

Good interview. Tillman’s comments could be taken either way:

1. Possible Manziel deal is still in play

OR

2. This is embarrassing and we don’t want to talk about it

  1. I agree, concentrate on getting Dean and Tasker re-signed !!

I would let Laurent walk. He already is over paid for what he contributed last year.
At 30 now, he could very easily price himself right out of the league, if he is demanding even
what he made last year, a reported $200-250,000 a year.

You can get a great import tackle for half that money, who would be just as good as Ted, and
they have options to make up for the ratio situation they would lose since Ted is a National !!

Not sure why the Tiger cats should feel embarrassed by this situation.

They made a reasonable offer. They are waiting on Manziel and his ego to respond.

Was referring to June Jones excitement and declaration of JM becoming the highest paid player in the CFL, when clearly the TiCats actual offer to Manziel didn’t reflect anything near that. It appeared that June Jones and TiCats management were not at all on the same page.

I would strongly disagree the Ticats weren't on the same page. I have heard nothing but positives from all Ticat management in regards to JM the football player.
Just because the Cats don't want to pay a new player what he is asking for does not make the management disjointed. This is all the negotiation game, trying to get the most value for salary cap $$$.

Notice how Tillman artfully avoids answering the question about whether Hufnagel knew the Cats were planning to flip Hughes back to the west division, answering a different question than the question that was asked. Tillman obfuscates things by talking about how the Cats had genuine interest in Hughes originally, and downplays the fact that once Capicotti re-signed, the Cats still traded for Hughes with every intention of flipping him and conveniently didn't call Huf about it until after Hughes was Ticat property. Not that the Cats weren't acting within their rights, but Tillman is trying to leave people with the impression that they were honest with Huf about their intentions, which a careful factual reading of Tillman's comments shows wasn't really the case at all. Oh, but after Hughes was Ticat property, Tillman gave Huf a courtesy call to tell him what they were really going to do [eyeroll].

Again, not that the Ticats violated a rule, but we get this nauseating spin from Tillman to try to make it seem like the Cats were straight shooters in this deal, when they clearly weren't.

You can add another QB to that list, one with CFL experience and Hawaii roots.

http://ticats.ca/tiger-cats-sign-quarterback-moniz-and-two-offensive-linemen/

Moniz, 29, has suited up in 38 career CFL games with the Calgary Stampeders (2014-15) and Saskatchewan Roughriders (2016) as a backup and short-yardage quarterback, completing two of four passes for 29 yards and a touchdown, and adding 37 carries for 109 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns. The 6-0, 205-pound native of Wahiawa, Hawaii, was a member of Calgary’s 2014 Grey Cup championship team.
Prior to turning pro, Moniz played three seasons at the University of Hawaii (2009-11) and threw for 10,169 yards and 75 touchdowns in 34 games. He also rushed for 512 yards and 13 touchdowns, and established a number of school records including 560 passing yards in one game (Nov. 20, 2010, against San Jose State) and seven passing touchdowns in one half (Sept. 24, 2011, against UC Davis).