Ti-Cat fans and myself included have been calling for a Big Full Back on our offense for some time now to help Cobb and hammer the ball in the end zone, can we get one from the NFL cuts or do we start to play one of our guys??
John Williams is not enough, we have tried him, we need a Chris Szarka type of player or maybe we have that player in Darcy Brown or another, for whatever reason no one else is in the back field along side Diandra Cobb. If we had a Big Full back he would fill the dual role of blocking for Cobb and another option to hand off to the Big Back on short yardage situations.
Look at Robertson for the Argo's with his size he gets to the end zone the majority of the time when the Argo's are in the red zone and between 15 to 10 yards out. Cobb is a great running back I'm not knocking the guy in any way, however if we had that Big Full Back who Porter and Glenn could rely upon to either open the hole for Cobb or score in the Red Zone or hand off to on third and a yard or two to go, we would be that much better as a team, it seems to be just one of the current missing links on this team.
Also, we seem to have a few full backs on the roster Darcy Brown, John Williams, Robert Pavlovic, (Andre Sadeghian, he's listed as a running back but seems to have FB size) I don't know why we only see Cobb currently in the backfield I'm sure one of these guys could help out greatly, even on rotation or limited play???
Also, how much longer is Tre Smith out for, Tre Smith would be much needed on Kick/Punt returns and Terry Caulley is listed on the active roster add Terry Caulley with Cobb in the back field and that would make an interesting combo, I'm sure they would work well together. Let's Get Cobb some blocking upfront and Caulley or a full back for the red zone, "Cobb & Caulley"
Let's Eat the Al's Raw Tiger-Cats this Friday,It will be Friday Night Football in the Hammer, time for another WIN and another Gladiator, GO CATS GO!!!
I agree Cybercat, and have posted several times that they need to have more than one back in the backfield.
I thought I saw them put in Williams as a leading blocker on some plays on Friday, but as you said, we could probably do a little better. With Cobb not being a power back, he needs space to be successful. Having a fullback in the backfield on short yardage will help get more blocks up front, and you can occassionally give the ball to the full back to keep the defense guessing. Jamal Roberston is often successful because he runs behind Jeff Johnson who is a great blocker, and often keeps the linebackers from getting to the back. When we have Cobb in the backfield alone, it is often easy for a linebacker to get to him before he gets to the line of scrimmage on short yardage plays.
I would also like to see Caulley in the game to be able to use a two back set at times, and also for insurance. If Cobb were to get hurt in a game, who takes his spot? The only problem is finding an import to sit.
Great posts, I agree, I guess we need to change it up in the Red Zone, I think other teams pretty much know it's either a pass or a hand off to Cobb, if Porter is in the game there is always his rushing ability to worry about however Glenn has become pretty mobile as well.
I would just like to see us get a power back in the game as a blocker upfront for Cobb or running the ball in himself, either way it would be a win, win situation.
Don't see how the size of the back is the cause of this so-called "problem".
It's more blocking and play selection and if the blocking isnt there it doesnt matter who's carrying the ball. If Cobb was being constantly stuffed at the goal line through lack of power you could make that case but almost every time a play to Cobb hasnt worked its because the defender has beaten the block and/or read the play.
In the CFL a full back is really only handy in short yardage (Tafralis does this well enough) and the occaisonal odd play here and there and Williams does that already.
I see the problem as calling predictable runs and not using our weapons effectively. When you're at the 20 yard line you should automatically be looking for Bruce, Stala and now I think McDaniel. These guys have the tools to get it done. Why you would pass to Currie who is dropping everything is beyond me.
Your still not seeing it, if we keep playing with your insight we will never get to the end zone. As a Cat Fan I'm trying to give some ideas of what might work when nothing has so far, our Red Zone production stinks, I like to be truthful about it and call it as I see it.
Many time Tafralis has been very close or just made the First Down, when we are in the Red Zone, how many times have I seen the ball handed off to Cobb and he has been stopped. Yet other teams in the CFL who use a big back rushing typically get the job done. Cobb is great in the open field however limited in his ability in the Red Zone.
Let me tell you size does matter if you have ever played one down of football, anyone who says size does not matter in football is out to lunch period. Especially when trying to get the ball in the end zone on short yardage.