Last games O-line performance was the icing on the cake for me...I've been wondering for months about the fact that Marcel hasn't brought in anyone to improve this team...he is merely cutting players in return for players of the same position and or quality...or players that just end up getting released...He also brings in a whole heck of a lot of WR's who just get cut in a few weeks, I.E. Thyron Anderson, Witherspoon, Howry, etc. WR has not been this teams problem, O-line is this teams problem...yet Marcel has not even made an attempt to better this team with quality players
He trades OL Wayne Smith and WR DJ flick and who do we get in return? QB Rocky Butler who was later released. a complete loss of a good WR and a guy who could have made this O-line 5 times better than what they are now
When we traded Jason Goss to the eskies we got WR Richard Alston, and RB Nicolas Bisaillon, and rights to Chang...alston and bisaillon have since been released...
we trade Corey Holmes who can play slotback and Getzlaf a WR, and what do we get in return? ...another WR
with all the trades of good players, how haven't we been able to snag at least ONE decent O-lineman?
how many WR's has this team gone through this season? a lot more than we have gone through o-linemen...there is 2 WR on the PR but only 1 O-lineman on the PR...we have an over abundance of quality WR's on this team and hardly any quality O-linemen...and Marcel is not even making an effort to improve this struggling O-line
We have not had a good O-line for 3 or more years now, and it shows, with last weeks 5 sacks against performance it better show...All I am saying is that maybe we got the wrong guy for the job? Maybe he wasn't ready to be a GM by himself yet...if you want to bring in some guys to see who is better fine...but dont just stick with one position that has never been a problem before.
We have lost too many good ball players for basically no one in the past, and its the same story again with Marcel...
IMO, Mr. Marcel Desjardins is NOT the GM that we needed and were hoping for!
It is ridiculous what we have given up in trades to eventually give up again for equal or lesser value. Marcel will use the excuse that some of those guys wouldnt have been here anyway, but what kind of logic is that....get value for your assets.
When we traded Jason Goss to the eskies we got WR Richard Alston, and RB Nicolas Bisaillon, and rights to Chang...alston and bisaillon have since been released...
I recall a statement from Marcel when this trade was made regarding Richard Alston, That Alston was going to be one of the best receivers in the CFL this year !!!!! Yea Right !!!!!! Where is Mr. Alston now ???
Marcel is the best man for the job. He knows all the ins and outs of this league. As for the releases and everything else people are complaining about I doubt he is making these decisions on his own. The team is better than last year although the record doesn't indicate this. We are well on our way to becoming a great team in this league. The elements are in place. Now, we, the fans just have to let this new management group and coaching staff do their thing. Rome wasn't built in a day.
A better team than last year?
How do you figure?
Last in the league in:
total points scored, td's scored, td's passing, average points per game, passing yards allowed, qb sacks, interceptions, and many more...
this team is NOT better than last year…our O-line is worse…or QB is worse…and our DB’s are worse (who thought that could happen after last year) he has brought in some guys on defense that yes in a year or two could be good and improve but it certainly doesnt appear so right now…and he has done nothing throughout the first half of the season to make the offensive line any better when it its the biggest problem…A BIG GLARING PROBLEM! I just have little faith in him being the right man for a team rebuilding…again…after a rebuilding year
Our team is not worse, our defence is 100 times better now than it was at this point last year. The offence is a little better mainly because of Lumsden, it would be really ugly right now if he wasn’t out there. At this time last year we were getting destroyed 44-0 by a Butler lead Roughriders.
Jason Goss was not coming back to Hamilton. He knew it… the Cats knew it… and every other team in the league knew it. You can’t fault Marcel for making that “trade”.
Im not a big fan of this guy but im respecting what hes trying to do. Smith for Butler straight up would have worked for me but throwing in Flick was highway robbery… but having said that im not a fan of how he presents himself to the media. It seems he always has something to say almost like he wants to stir something up.
He’s badmouthed players that have left and hyped some of the average ones we are left with. He makes comments that contradict his head coach and doesnt seem to follow through on some of his plans, he said (We’re gonnna get bigger at receiver…) and replaced Peterson and Flick with Walker and Curry, we got smaller and less talented.
Having said all of the reasons i dont like him, he puts his money and his mouth behind good canadian talent and you cant win in this league without that.
I reserve total judgement until at least after he has one season of free agency.
In this league you can just go out and trade for good young Canadian talent. The guys we've drafted and signed are going to be great players in this league. You cant fill a complete line up with great players in one off season. Not to mention the guys hes brought in.
The last 3 years we never would have seen players like Setta, Moreno, Chang, NML. Armstead looked down right dangerous everytime he returned the ball. One coverage mistake and he was gone.
That's correct. In the CFL you have to build an OL through the draft and sometimes can complement with a free agent here and there. Desjardins in spite of drafting the best prospect in the draft (Bauman) drafted 3 of the top 5 Linesmen available and Considering Getvai ain't playing in Calgary and Montreal's pick has a 50/50 chance from recovering from serious injury I would say Marcel did pretty good in his first draft.
There really weren't any free agents to speak of this year with all teams offering bonus to key guys before season's end.
So its unfortunate that management and coaching has changed over Young's ownership. It set things back a bit. But when you see Moreno, Armour, Bauman, Armstead, Chang, Lumsden you got to say things are looking up. Ticats are two years away from being a powerhouse. When you look at the age of the Argos and you look at the age of Calvillo, Cahoon, Steagals, Roberts. Its just a matter of time. The only thing that could derail things is panic....So be strong !
This team is a mess right now but I am not be ready to give up on Marcel. He needs more time to make better trades.
The problem we have right now is on the field. We are not making use of the best players we have.
Let me start by saying that I think the team has the makings of being very competitive sooner rather than later. I think some of the trades have been ridiculous but I guess there were legitimate reasons behind them at the time they were being made. I think what makes them appear to be ridiculous now is the result of how good these players are performing now on other teams... I think I know the reason for that but there is no sense in getting into that now.
My real concern is how many of these good guys we've maanged to get, Lumsden, Chang etc are going to stick around after the abysmal season we have had. My concern is that next year half of these promising youngsters will be gone and we'll be again starting from scratch.
I am a firm believer that in the CFL there is no rebuilding years. There is only 8 teams and as we all know FANS AND TEAMS WANT TO WIN NOW. Its not the NFL where you give rookies millions of dollars to help you rebuild, the CFL has only 2 teams not make the playoffs. Example, 1997 Hamilton goes 2-16. The next year, Lancaster comes (proven winning CFL head coach, not to also mention he was as a player as well) Danny McManus comes, (proven CFL quarterback) and Darren Flutie (proven #1 reciever). Added to a defense that was already good enough and boom. 12-5-1 and a cup apperance. Now the talent of those three was a plus, but what they brought with them was the most key, A WINNING ATTITUDE.