That’s a great question! My personal expectation about Tavai was that he was a serviceable CFL caliber DE that would hopefully benefit from playing alongside a couple all star caliber DTs.
Mason Bennett is definitely a candidate to play a bigger role this season. Valentin Gnahoua has looked good when used on special teams, but he’s probably not a top candidate to be a regular on the DL. Malik Carney got into a handful of games last season and seemed to play well so maybe a rotational or more option?
Add in a couple prospects that we’ve been nurturing and a couple new recruits to the fact that whoever earns the spot will be surrounded by 11 absolute studs on defence and this definitely isn’t my greatest concern.
Back to Tavai… I would rather he stayed than left, but I now shift my attention to who remains without significant worry. While on the topic of worries though, my OL concerns have reduced noticeably over the off season, but my nervousness around the kicking game remains high. Hopefully we just need those guys for PATs and kickoffs anyhow!
Yup , he definitely could be a diamond in the rough for us . Certainly one to keep an eye on . There is currently 9 DE's listed on the roster for training camp . The breakdown being 5 Americans / 3 Canadians / 1 Global .
You have to figure that we will keep at least 4 to 6 on the roster somewhere when the dust settles after final cuts .
I, too, think Iceman1 has presented a good possibility in Bingham.
There were only a couple of situations, last year, when they didn't have both Davis and Howsare available to start at the DE spots, so no chance came up for Bingham, sitting behind Mauldin and Carney on the full team depth chart. Now, Carney and Bingham are both looking at a good opportunity to become a regular in the line-up.
Regarding another player, since nothing been announced, I'm wondering if there's a chance J.R. Tavai has "retired" just to open up a spot on the roster, for an extra rookie, during the early days of camp?
You've mentioned this like 300 times in the last couple of years. What I would like is for you to explain why Masoli is great between the 20 yard lines and then the drives stall in the redzone? Playcalling? Nerves? Lack of killer instinct? What's your opinion?
The one drive I saw he threw a nice pass to the endzone but the DB made a great play to break it up. Then on 2nd down he got blitzed and was sacked immediately. Not really his fault on that drive the FG unit had to come out.
What I think is the defences change their coverage when they have to defend the endzone. Not as much zone coverage. The whole "bend don't break" philosophy goes out the window when the other teams offence is threatening to cross your goal-line. More blitzing and man on man coverage. I think it's affecting not just Masoli but most QBs league wide.
The trend I'm observing is that in both games so far this week the scoring was low again. In the Argos vs. Als game each team found the endzone only once. In both games none of the teams scored more than 20 points. Looks like moving the hashmarks closer wasn't the answer.
Well actually the ex-Cats ( Collaros & Ellingson ) did indeed get revenge on the ex-Cats ( Masoli & Acklin ) . Interesting fun fact by the way , Masoli's last three games played have all been against the Bombers . All three have been losses.
Well not to play devils advocate here but isn't the name of the thread " Tiger Cats players moving on" which would signify talking about former players that are now playing elsewhere ? Just saying is all .
I know it's only halfway thru the 2nd week of the schedule but so far we have seen a lot of former Cats playing elsewhere already in this young season . Banks and Davis in Toronto , Masoli and Acklin and others in Ottawa , Collaros and Ellingson in Winnipeg just to name a few .
I think Jeremiah’s biggest thing is lack of confidence. The third and inches play was a good example to me. Instead of just putting his head down and plowing forward, he overthinks it, stands up and looks for the perfect spot to go over centre. Hesitation killed that play. If he overcomes the mental part of his game, he can be successful - otherwise these questions will keep dogging him. I’d put Trevor Harris in the same boat. Another guy who seems to march the ball up and down the field but seems to have a hard time putting it in the end zone.
Thanks for that answer. That's the kind of football analysis that is interesting to read.
You might be on to something about the mental part. I would add that Masoli always seems really calm, cool, and laid back. During a turnover or bad play he doesn't seem rattled or fazed by it. However that lack of emotion that helps him forget a bad play might also translate into a lack of urgency or killer instinct when down in the Red Zone.
I don't know if anybody can put a finger on it but it is an interesting discussion.
I've had family members who have met him and said he was really friendly and polite. I wish him success in the future just not against the Cats.
I think they'll get their revenge on Hamilton for discarding them like waste when the two teams meet in July!
I suspect later on tonight we'll all be wishing Hamilton kept Acklin too. He has looked good and the Ticats looked like they could have used a reliable receiver last week.
Looking forward to tonight's game. Expect Hamilton to win. Their defense was strong in game 1. Their offense needs to establish their running game to take the heat off the great Dane. Quick passes and no second and one handoffs from shotgun position. It's a long long way to Regina. Or was that Daytona.
He keeps getting intended TD passes knocked down by Bombers DB Nichols. Twice that I saw last night, and of course at the end of the Grey Cup. My suggestion to JM would be to stop throwing against Nichols. I predict he will follow my advice, for at least the next 16 games.
