Trade Ray?

One of the things I’m sure you’re sick of hearing me say is that only with a stronger OLine can both the play of the QB and the worth of the offensive scheme be judged. No protection/ability to run block, no success.

What happened when the Esks were at the 1yd line. 1st attempt, missed block. 2nd attempt, OLine pushed back. Sure D’s make goal line stands, but with the Esks it’s a regular occurrence to not be able to make a yard… and 99% of the time that has to do with the OLine giving up ground instead of taking it.

Hopefully those days are behind us

Hopefully we’re not in the minority, I’m only speaking hypothetically here about trading him and what I’d want to get if we did.

Strasser puts in our running QB (Zabransky) and calls passing plays :cry:
The 2 O-linemen we cut are immediate starters on other teams :cry:
If Strasser keeps his job I’ll be amazed and I hate to say it but probably a fan of some team that likes winning instead

I read in an article some where (all things being considered) that Tillman will/could very well gut the team by up to 33%. There is huge plans/changes at the end of this season me thinks.

in order for the Eskimos to get successful quickly, they need to go after players that have some experience but at still young enough to last for a while.

drafting a straight rookie and them making him a starting O-lineman could spell disaster!

you need to be smart with who you keep and who you let go.

[url=http://www.torontosun.com/sports/football/2010/09/22/15443196.html]http://www.torontosun.com/sports/footba ... 43196.html[/url]

Ricky Ray via trade to Toronto? I dunno, maybe Ray does want out.

And it could also work out very well. . . Exhibit A, Calgary drafting two kids who became starters on the O line in their rookie season, Newman and Tsoumpas.

[i]“We dug ourselves a pit, and we understand that,? Eskimos head coach Richie Hall said on Wednesday after, in his words, the Eskimos were “sluggish? in practice.

“But how are you going to get yourselves out of the pit? You don’t do it by feeling sorry for yourself and giving up. If you want to achieve something, you have to go out and do it.?[/i]

Is anyone else getting sick of these comments from Hall? The problem, Hall, is the team isn't motivated to pull itself out of the farkin hole, and that falls on you! Instead of saying the same crap game after game, why don't you try getting this team motivated to play 60 frakkin minutes! God, I hope Tillman cans Hall.

Hall can only make so much lemonade with the lemons he's been given. I know Tillman will likely axe him in the offseason but franchement, la, Maciocia really did a number on the Esks. No Canadian talent, no depth, no building from within, no long-term plan, just signing other teams' rejects year after year and hoping to catch lightning in a bottle. Is it coincidence that Edmonton and BC, two of the league's bottom-feeders, also feature absolutely horrendous offensive lines? I don't think so.

It took Maciocia years to cripple this organization, and it will likely take Tillman years to get it back on its feet.

Wow…the big news in that article for me is that Tillman still lives in Regina. that shocks me given everything.

Well Chief, I’m beginning to wonder if perhaps Hall maybe Questioning himself; Am I (realistically) Head Coach material?

If he is questioning himself, that's a good thing. Maybe he'll step down. :lol:

I think all Strasser is doing with using Zab like that is trying to exploit what the D is expecting… i.e. Zab comes in = running play. Now if Zab could get the ball to his target accurately we likely wouldn’t be questioning that would we?

If you mean McGrath and Armstrong…
Armstrong only started because of an injury. Once that player came back Armstrong didn’t start. There was also some talk about Locker Room problems.
McGrath, though starting, still isn’t playing stellar football. I’d be surprised if he holds on to that role. Even so, I’d rather see Wojt or Hinse get time to develop as both are likely to be better long term investments than McGrath.

Don’t mistake my comments re: Strasser to be ones of unassailable support. I certainly do hold him somewhat accountable. But you have to realize that the Esks have had some of the worst OLines in the team’s history over the past few years. IF all they do is axe Strasser without making significant changes to the OLine then you can bet you’ll see the same results… as in RR on his back, RR hurried and unable to run the play as called, RR or JZ stuffed on a 1yd goal line gimme, etc. So simply trying to say Strasser sucks is, IMO, vastly short of seeing the whole problem.

How about the occasional run play then, or should we save them for Ray since the Defense won’t expect that? I’d say Ray runs as well as Zabransky passes. I’ve seen little evidence of developing a strategy that at least has a remote chance of being competitive. I do not believe this team is as talentless as the scoreboard shows. I’m not saying they’re good, but they shouldn’t be as embarrassing as they have been.

So unless I post for the 1000th time that our O-line sucks I’m not seeing the whole problem? :roll:

The thing about Armstrong and McGrath is they've both been signed by teams with poor O-Lines: BC and Toronto. Personally, I won't miss McGrath, and with DM being gone, we don't have to worry about giving up a draft pick so he can come back.

The Esks have been running the ball WAY more with Strasser than with Worman. Not only that, but at least RR lines up behind center once in a while with Strasser calling the plays.
I too don’t think that the team is talentless, but I do think the OLine is severely compromised to the point of making both many of Strassers play calls and RR’s efforts to execute them destined to failure no matter what.

Sure… if that’s what makes you feel good about yourself, go for it! :lol: Me, I’d opt for an intelligent discussion instead. Your call.

I'll put this as nicely as I can: You and I are way too different to attempt a proper discussion. I mean no disrespect and I appreciate the offer.

???

You seem to think the only problem is Strasser.

I seem to think that while Strasser may be part of the problem, as well as some key personnel in the receiving corps, that a lot of the problems stem from an OLine that obviously struggled for most of this season (and the past several as well).

I’d like to think that both of those stances are somewhat like minded and would lead to a worthy discussion. But I guess not.

Anyone else want in on this topic?

Eh. I think we’ve beaten most of these topics to death. I’m going to sit back and wait to see what Tillman does.

I hear what you’re saying Chief. :thup: