so they don’t get the impression that we picked Jim Daley off the coaching staff
of some Pop Warner league down in the States coaching twelve to fourteen year olds.
[i]Special teams is fundamental football something any veteran coach can handle.
Special team’s success is determined by the players the coach is given to work with.
[/i]
Can anyone name a coach that coaches and pundits have raved about
because his Special teams coaching was so outstanding? Aside from
Mike O’ Shea who is being raved about due to his kicking team’s trick plays.
P.S.
If Jim had a bunch of beasts to block and tackle on his special teams, k/p,
and Justin Medlock to kick off, kick off or punt for him in Saskatchewan
his Special teams record might have presented quite a different picture.
Riders had Alex Smith in the early 2000s as ST coach. St was was always consistently solid. Under Kavis Reed Riders ST were decent - apart from that 13th man gaffe. Under Daley in 2010 Riders ST were absolutely inexcusably ABYSMAL! Great difficulty protecting their punter and kicker from blocks(including Congi’s injury). Several long returns against and very poor return average themselves. EMBARRASSING ST. Same group of players, different coach. In 2011 under Dickenson Riders’ ST - DESPITE INJURY PROBLEMS AT BOTH KICKER AND PUNTER - resembled decent ST execution.
The coach CAN make a difference. Absolutely. When Don Matthews got the HC job with BC in '83, he made ST such a priority that he handled it himself. The Don made ST truly 1/3rd of the game, forced the rest of the league to follow suit. He revolutionized our league. The ST coach is very important. Look at the Argos, they win and lose on special teams. look at the Lions, very strong special teams.
Furthermore Daley made what I consider THE DUMBEST play call (not just ST call but any play call) in any Grey |Cup that I have watched since 1979, when in 2010 he elected to send TWO punt returners onto the field and leave 10 men on the line with the Alouettes 3RD AND TWO on the Rider side of center. Absolutely begged them to fake and easily gain a free first down (leading to a FG in an eventual 3 point loss) with very little to lose at that field position. An absolute head-in-ass decision. Only Kim Popp’s '07 east-semi last minute gamble was a worse call, but Popp’s mistake was not in a GC.
That was what was so weird about the Riders’ run in 2010. They did it with no pass rush from the front 4 and with keystone cops special teams. They won so many games on big plays, emotion and heroics - long bombs and turnovers. It was so unbelievable to watch. It really was magic. Despite of their shortcomings they overcame with guts determination and terrific timing. I also think Etcheverry had a bit to do with it on the defensive side.
As you say, pundits and media never rave about ST unless they see long return TDs and cool trick plays. But those who watch closely know. the Alex Smith ST era (he is still Riders LB coach) was the Corey Holmes era and also had Paul McCallum's rock solid 40 yard punts exactly between the numbers and the sideline. They also had a few notable blocked FGs in 2005 (the infamous Duncan O'Mahony 0/3 game in BC and the famous look on Maciocia's face on the sideline in the last minute of an Esks game at Taylor Field.
As for Daley vs Dickenson, you can do a text search for Dickenson in this very site's Riders' forum for the past year and see all the glowing remarks about what the fans think about how Dickenson has totally turned the ST around from Daley's 2010 shambles. Several times by a few different posters you will see the comment, 'clean out the whole coaching staff - except Dickenson, he's great".
As for Daley's bonehead call in 2010 GC, if it had happened on the Montreal 25 yard line, or if it had been 3rd and 8, I'd agree with you that it would have been a gamble gone bad. But it was 3rd and 2 on the Riders 45 yard line. You MUST protect the line of scrimmage on 3rd and 2. You cannot take a guy off the line to return the punt. On the Riders side of midfield there is the least possible risk of field position for an opposing punting team. If you only put 10 dudes on the LoS instead of 11, you are inviting them to go after 2 easy yards with very little risk of field position. Not a gamble, just DUMB DUMB DUMB!
Furthermore, the reason that they tried (for the first time all year) a second returner was because their return game was in the toilet all year. A second returner gives a better start on there turn as the punter cannot punt away from the returner,or also perhaps they had a reverse type trick play up their sleeve. But if the return game hadn't have been so abysmal all year (I think the punt return average was about 7 measly yards) they would not have been so desperate for a return and would have left 11men on the LoS. And of course when under Reed in 2009 the return game was decent, and in 2011 under Dickenson, the return game was decent, why in 2010 under Daley was the return game so bloody awful?
They have Barnes who is very,very good and Drurie will continue to progress. Their offense and special teams will be good to very good and Chris Jones has never fielded a bad defense. When you look at both teams that’s where the big difference is Jones is going to own Creehan.
Jones is an experienced DC and very, very good recruiter. So he can go and shop for the pieces he needs and he will have his unit running at its peak much quicker.
We’ve gotten younger this year across the board (particularly on the defensive line) and we’re already a pretty young team. Calvillo and Flory are really the only two ‘greybeards’, now that Stewart and Wilson are gone.
I like Hamilton’s receivers, and Cortez should be able to revive Burris’s career, but the O-line is a huge question mark and Mallett is coming off injury and is two years removed from meaningful pro playing time. Questions also on defense which is under its third DC in as many years (and a rookie DC, to boot). Then there’s Medlock’s departure, which is a significant loss in terms of the battle for field position every game, not to mention the range at which you can think about going for field goals. Hamilton should be a fun team to watch this season, but they’re a work in progress.
Went to mini camp all 3 days, the whole team and the new coaches look veery good at this point. They worked the players very hard for the whole practice. Ive been to a lot of practice in the last 3 years and these 3 days have been the most captivating I have been to!
Now I no why they say
"Obie Know Best" :rockin:
I truly believe that now after watch what came to town the last 3 days!
GO CATS GO! :thup:
It was nice to see all the fans out to support them in the mini camp, and a SPECIAL thanks to the Ti-Cat organization for allowing the fans to watch this happen! :thup: