It’s not only a D bias. I get the feeling a lot from Chamblin that he only plays his Nationals because the rules say he has to and he sees having an extra national or two as a detriment to his team.
My question is did Richardson have such a good game against the Stamps while Alex didn't that they decided to take a risk on Richardson's health? That would be the only way that it remotely makes a bit more understandable. Still the age and potential factor of Alex would sway me in that direction.
I have a gut feeling they were hoping Alex would drop to his knees and be thankful they offered him a PR spot and then if Richardson got hurt or wasn't all they were hoping for they could bring in Alex. News flash and reality check time here guys not everyone is going to be grateful just to be associated with the Riders and hope one day they get to play for them. Plenty of other teams would have snapped up Alex too if Ottawa didn't so why on God's green earth did the Riders feel they were doing Alex a favor by asking him to be on the PR?
I don't blame Alex for one second on telling the Riders to shove it where the sun don't shine with their insulting offer of a Pr spot.
I love this team but man when I see something like this they really piss me off. To the point If I was the owner I would be looking at possibly firing whoever made this decision. While I probably wouldn't the person that messed this up would in no uncertain terms know that they are skating on very thin ice as far as keeping their job.
I see Toston got released are the Rider's too prideful or just too stupid to give him another shot? I thought again he showed great potential and if not for their depth Toston should have stuck with Stamps.
Personally I didn’t see anything special in Toston other than a lot of unproven hype.
I saw a few times again him breaking tackles and getting some hard earned yards. Not saying he is a Cornish or a Sheets but I think if he actually got some really good playing time I think he would surprise a lot of people.
I don’t think he would have been anything special. I mean Rob Cote beat him out of for the position and Cote is 100 combined yards per season player (a grand total of 70 yards rushing in 8 seasons).
All you have seen from Toston is a handful of preseason games going against a bunch of potentials.
Probably doesn't matter anyways I doubt the Riders would give him another shot. Again though in the interest of getting younger (Messam) giving him another shot wouldn't be the dumbest thing the team has ever done. (cutting Alex is ranking up there for that honor as of now)
maybe Cortez was not the problem ? only time will tell
This has been echoed a lot, even last season.
I’ll be honest, if Cortez is allowed to do his own thing as OC in BC, with a healthy Lulay with the current rule changes the Lions scare the hell out of me.
Agreed. Especially if staff continues to accept nationals on D. CC would seemingly rather not have any Canadians on D and play O with no subs if he could figure out a way.
Alex Pierzchalski is listed on the ORBs roster wearing number 18
They should of kept Alex!! dumb move on the Riders part!!
Totally agree and not a happy camper about them letting him go. In the limited action I have seen he was one of the best looking receivers out there. Ran good tight routes and knew how to get to the open spots. After making the catch he was like a bulldozer churning up field taking more then just one guy to bring him down.
This was a complete and utter fuster cluck by the team to let him get away and I had no doubt someone would snap him up in the blink of an eye.
Either total arrogance or ignorance on management to think he would settle for a PR spot after his showing that he belonged if not as a first stringer then certainly a good rotational guy to get those hard short 2nd down catches and yards or in tight to the goal where a quick hot over the middle to a big target that wasn’t afraid of getting to the dirty spots to make a play.
I have a feeling this one is going to sting Rider fans for a long long time.
Shame on management for messing this up.
Like all of you I agree, I think Alex P should have had a roster spot period. I dont know why Taj is there, nor Richardson. I would not have them on the team if i were calling any shots. I'm very biased towards Alex Carroll so i shouldn't say anything other than he is going to the PR and if Bagg goes down at all ( i hope he does not ) AC likely steps into that roll. Alex P was almost reminiscent of Elgaard. He was a great prospect that BT and CC were to blind to see the upside vs downside of other older players on the team. Seems like they want established (read: on the decline) vets at receiver, rather than young blood; which is rather disheartening to the team and franchise.
Side note: I like Durant, but from what i saw in preseason action, Glenn was the better QB.
AP has the size and hands from a national you don't see often. Will he turn into a bigtime player...who know...but he has what you look for. I don't think the staff overlooked him at all...I think they simply thought he would sign onto the PR realizing he would likely be on the 46 a lot. the problem here and now is that getz and dressler are givens at slot...demski backs getz immediately and another import will back dressler...that leaves AP a little bit of the odd man out....as as mentioned above, Caroll is most likely to back up bagg.
They still Fd up and should have displace a FB or DLman and 46d him. Here and now they have 3 guys...bagg, getz, rookie demski to fill 2 full time positions and 1 probably half time or better...they require a 4th national on the 46...not a maybe...they need it. Utility McHenry is 6d...so that is likely off the table as an option for a bit. Caroll...as good as he looks...is still a rookie...ideal to give him at minimum a few games of normal practice before looking to dress. The staff 100% knows they need that extra guy who has some level of experience...they signed Haidara today to fill that role...it was supposed to be AP. They screwed up hard on this one...don't see this level of f up too often.
Taj has had a respectable camp and a respectable pre season...nobody came close to displacing him. Hardin played well...not well enough to bump him. Richardson was dressing the day he was signed...CC is all in on him. Richardson should be solid...if he lasts....and the oldest group of receivers in the CL gets older.
Taj has a very well rounded skill set. He is a legit deep threat with pretty good hands, but is also has no fear to be clutch in traffic. He's proven to be a good downfield blocker as well. I'm glad that they didn't just toss him away. I know a lot of you hate Taj so go ahead, skin me alive for that comment. I don't give a s**t.
Let's not forget Kory Williams either. Impressed me very much since he's been a Rider. And then there's everyone's fave Ryan Smith who looks a lot more comfortable this year than last. It's a shame that Alex didn't want the PR but you can't keep everyone.
A note on Haidara. With my Lions' season tix I saw him a TON on ST last year and he was very very often first or 2nd dude down the field on the punt cover. Guy is all hustle. :thup: At the very least he can hopefully keep CC from giving Diamond Ferri another call.
There are a lot of “legit deep threats”, Taj is nothing special in that regard (his hands aren’t anything special either). Taj will not bother diving or lay out for any ball either.
He had two catches total in the preseason (and two drops). As far as training camp goes, I really can’t say he stood out in any way (other than trying to be the loudmouth during stretches). He wasn’t any better than a bunch of younger talent such as Hardin.
His camps started slow, but finshed strong. He picked up the new plays seemingly very well,. I am by no means a Taj booster…but nobody beat him out for that job. I am not too concerned with a drop or 2 in preaseason ball from a vet who normally has pretty solid hands. I don’t see how taj would realistically be cut…no will he make it past vet cut downs on week 6 or whatever…that is yet to be seen