I hear they will go with an American kicker Nick Setta . Is this true ? Is there really that much of a shortage of quality kickers that we have to use up a valuable import spot ? Is this guy that good ? Where would this impact us on the D-Line ? i hear they are thinkig of going with 2 Canadian D-lineman including Wayne .
Why Would a team dumping salary spend so much money on an unproven D-lineman in McKay-Loescher.
Why would a team trade a blue chip Young Canadian Offensive lineaman in Wayne Smith For a 3rd string QB in Butler . Out of all the transacations that is the one I can't figure out ?
What will they do with Lumsden and Holmes this year ? Start Holmes at SB ?
i Guess D'amour's days are numbered with Moreno and others in camp .Any idea which Canadian looks to start ? Auggie ? Muriaz ?
With Chong coming at QB , does this look like Williams gets pushed out ot does MAAS get traded ?
Right now I assume Guardner and Cavil have the inside track on the WR spopts with Ralf and possibly Holmes or Alston takin the SB spots .
8 I wonder if the new staff is high on Lumsden ?
9 i quite liked the pickup of cfl all star o-lineman Jerome Davis . That gives us two big successful bookends at tackle.
10 I find it hard to believe they could get rid of Cheatwood but this Quinton Caver looks like he could be another Joe Montford . i would assum he could team with Collier on the ENDS.
I Figure Moreno has a great chance to start at linebacker along with nattiel and one of auggie or MARIUZ .
Not sure why they don't go get Kharikari for safety as he is available .
13, Right now only Tay Cody seems to have a DB spot locked up . I asssume Bradley , Young , and Gordon are the favorites to grab the other spots .
14 Anyyone know why defensive co-ordinator RUST stepped down ?
15 I assume they will pick a few more players here or there but I do get the impression that these guys know what they are doing especially Taffe .
Interesting thread, gerbear9. Here is an attempt at answering your questions.
Yes, there seems to be a current shortage of Canadian kickers who can do both placekicking and punting well.
McKay-Loescher is only 25 years old and had five quarterback sacks in part-time action with B.C. last year. The Ticats seem to expect him to become a starter at one of the defensive end positions which would free up an import spot elsewhere in the lineup.
As Jason Maas had shoulder surgery in Dec/06, the Ticats were probably desperate for a quarterback with CFL experience as insurance when they made the trade for Butler.
4 through 7. Those are some of the big questions to be answered during the pre-season.
Since it's an entirely new coaching staff, all of the Ticat players, including Jesse Lumsden, will have to prove themselves to the coaches during the pre-season.
Agreed.
Tim Cheatwood was a very good Ticat player and most of the fans will miss him. That said, the new Ticat management is putting a higher premium on increasing the speed off the edges of the defensive line. Nautyn McKay-Loescher, Anthony Collier, Quinton Caver and Steve Josue are all quick. Again, the pre-season will determine who will start on defensive line but whomever is the non-starter will likely get plenty of action too.
There is an abundance of linebackers on the roster now. One cannot even rule out the possibility of an all American starting linebacker corps.
The quick and quiet release of Richard Karikari by the Toronto Argonauts remains a mystery. So far, there have not been any published reports as to why he was released.
Cody, Young, Bradley, Gordon and Kornegay would seem to be the frontrunners in the defensive secondary heading into training camp. It will also be interesting to see whether the Ticats go with a non-import safety or switch to an import at safety.
It appears to have been a mutual decision by Coach Taaffe and Rod Rust that the daily grind of being defensive co-ordinator would be too taxing on the health of Mr. Rust over the course of the season. He will still be involved with the team as a part-time consultant.
While Coach Taaffe and the other members of the Ticat coaching staff have extensive coaching experience, three of them (defensive coordinator Ed O'Neil, receivers coach Dennis Goldman, and offensive line coach Jeff Bleamer) have no prior CFL coaching experience. It will be interesting to see whether the team will be able to compete well against the other CFL teams right away.
outstanding answers TCTD . I would tend to agree with most of what you said. Thanks for taking the time to provide such good information .
OSKI WEE WEE
10 I find it hard to believe they could get rid of Cheatwood but this Quinton Caver looks like he could be another Joe Montford . i would assum he could team with Collier on the ENDS.
Another point to question 10 is that Cheatwood is rehabing his torn ACL. Im assuming the team felt he would not be ready for camp or atleast be slowed down so they decided to find a complete replacement instead of pay two guys to do the same job.
