We need a decent pass rush DE in a big way. Jefferson and Davis would be the hardest to get as there are rumblings of NFL interest and their CFL would dearly want them back. Another question would be what key internal free agents would you consider passing on to get onw of these. I think Mike Jones and Unamba are going to have over inflated values after only having one good year. So maybe we let someone else overspend on them and use that money to get one of these pass rushers and I think Buren has more upside than Jones and I think we have a national diamond in the rough that suits well to play SAM linebacker in Jackson Bennett allowing us to go with two import DE’s and only one national receiver instead of two. Trust me I like Unamba but he has only done it for one year and he made all the league all-star teams so he will highly sought after and we only have so much money ans Banks, Saunders, Breaux, Dean, and Simoni are must signs and Banks will likely become one of the top 5 players in the league. I’d consider not signing Filer to free up money and Girard and Rice can take over. If Breaux heads to the NFL I suggest we spend that money on Ciante Evans or Wall both FA’s from Cal.
Oh yeah, the grass is always greener, so let’s get rid of Jones, Filer, and Unamba . Then next year we’ll be complaining that there’s too many new players and less cohesion on the team .
Fortunately, Tillman, Burke, Allemang, et. al. know what they’re doing. They are building a sustainable roster with solid Canadian and American players . As in major league baseball, free agency is expensive for the buyers and seldom successful . Wise drafting, scouting,and trading of surplus assets is the better way to go.
Pat Lynch (the old guy)
The money needs to come from somewhere, someone’s not coming back. I would question if they actually know what they are doing because as far as I can see whatever they have done has not worked.
There will be a new CBA this year,
I would expect the players union will be bargaining for much more $$$ for the players salary cap.
There will be more money to spend on players this year.
I’ll bet you a coke it doesn’t go up that much.
Players union can try all they want, when the majority of their membership doesn’t care, it’ll be back to work.
HAM will sign a great pass rusher. As a result a player will be released to make room for salary. People will complain:
“Offense/defense was never the same after they released player x”.
“Team will never succeed if we keep throwing money at underperforming FAs…eggs in one basket etc.”
“Argos signed player Y ???Arrrrgh, HAM is sitting on hands etc etc”
I would like to get Jefferson, but I think he will be the most expensive on the list. This draft has some nice prospects at defensive end, hopefully one will be wearing black and gold.
Bennett and Buren both look ready to start. If Filer isn’t resigned I think they use one of their picks on Alex Fontana. Girard also looked good at centre in the game against the Alouettes.
Not really anything to do with a pass rusher…(but it was mentioned in this thread, so…) ???
"I think Mike Jones and Unamba are going to have over inflated values after only having one good year. So maybe we let someone else overspend on them and use that money to get one of these pass rushers and I think Buren has more upside than Jones"
Let’s see:
Buren: GP - 4 Jones: GP - 18
Rec - 8 Rec - 49
Yds - 85 Yds - 841
TD - 0 TD - 3
Not really sure how you can come to the conclusion Buren has more upside… :
Okay I just have to ask but why is Victor Butler listed in this poll ? ???
Thanks Crazy Canuck I agree with you entirely. As for Pat and Chris. We can’t sign everyone as they will all be looking for a big raise and we will be competing with other teams on the bidding.Saunders will ask for a big raise and Banks will ask for MOP type money.We will also need big money to go after an elite pass rusher and Dean and Simoni will cost alot. I also think Brooks , Mathews and Palmer are smart signings.
Jones will be in high demand as he is a national who put up the 2knd best numbers amongst national receivers only behind Sinopoli. I think Jones numbers were inflated as he was used more as a target after all our injuries and with everyone healthy his numbers would be much lower. So some team will be paying him large for the year he had this year and I hope it is not us as we can’t sign everyone. June Jones loves Buren and chose to play him over Sinkfield. Buren was just getting his feet wet but looked very good with big potential June Jones indicated Buren was one of the teams best receivers. Buren’s numbers don’t match Jones because Jones was much more familiar with the offence and Jones was pretty horrible the first half of the season dropping balls off his helmet and under the sun etc. Buren is cheap and will only get better and is more athletic and had a great career at Simon Fraser. As for Vic Butler, my bad as he is on the CFL free agent list.I should have added the other DE in WPG with the long last name. I really like Unamba but so will the rest of the league as he was voted as a CFL all-star by both the players and coaches/ writers Some team will pay him as such and he has only done it for one year at SAM. He is good but likely not worth the money that a team or two is willing to pay for one big year and we need to sign a big time pass rusher instead as we won’t be going to the Grey Cup with the pass rush we had this year. Not to mention the fact we have a diamond in the rough ratio buster national in jackson Bennett who is cheap and has shown well at SAM and special teams. We would also be able to start two import DE’'s and one more import receiver instead of two national receivers.We can’t keep all our FA’s that we like if we chose to sign one or both of these two guys then we would not be able to sign an elite pass rusher or one or two of Dean, Simoni, Breaux, Banks, Saunders. This list of players is elite and very proven and very hard to replace . As for Filer , I think he is over rated and as a national likely paid well and we could use that money to help pay for the guys I mentioned and Girard would be a decent cheaper replacement. You will all see that we won’t be able to sign two or 3 players that you would have liked and maybe sign a player or two from other teams by signing a rush end and maybe a shut down corner if Breaux goes to the NFL .OK Pat tell me which players from my list you would not sign to sign Jones, Unamba and Filer. I think with Orlondo as head coach and likely as DC that we will see Courtney back at safety over a much slower Daley. My point is to spend money on proven stars that are very hard to replace and not spend the money on players that may have only had one good year and will be in great demand and have a decent replacement. If anyone thinks we don’t need a much improved pass rush and thus a proven CFL rush end please advise.
Good question Bobo. When this guy “jumped ship” (pun intended!!) with the Argos last season, did he get suspended? If so, does the 2018 season count against his contractual obligations? Is he now a Free Agent? I don’t think he got to fulfill his destiny South of the Border last year. So, we know what he wants to do first. I don’t think we’d be in his plans!
Try to read your own post. It's nearly impossible. Paragraphs are your friend...
Personally, my opinion is that your ramblings are out to lunch. Filer is an excellent centre. Saunders may not even be able to play next year, as it takes over a year to rehab from an ACL repair (you keep forgetting/ignoring this point).
Why let the players that excelled leave "because they will cost to much" is the same defeatist attitude that has plagued fans for decades. Yes, we probably won't be able to keep everyone, and somebody's favourite player will be playing fir a different team. But to give up on excellent players because they will be wanting - very deservedly - a pay raise is ludicrous...
I'm really looking forward to following Victor "Crimes Against Humanity" Butler's career in the NFL. Hopefully he gets plenty of offers as a 31-year old who, as far as I can tell, has not played a game in the NFL since 2012. Among the factors keeping him out were a torn ACL (2013) and a drug suspension (2015). I imagine he'll be able to write his own ticket.
Greetings Displaced Fan :
Let’s keep in mind this is just friendly voicing of ideas and suggestions we make for fun playing GM and see if you can make some predictions and see if you are thinking as they are.
I am not certain about Saunders health and when he will be ready to play.If he isn’t ready to go then might have to look at signing a Sinkfield or Chris Williams . I don’t think Tolliver suits June’s offence. This could also free up money for Unamba.
As for Filer , I think he us average at best and I feel that the tackles and guards are more critical positions in pass protection and the Running game. We can just agree to disagree on him.
I feel we can spend this significant money wiser where the players are better and Girard has been groomed to replace him and is about ready and cheaper like 70K or less.
I am not trying to be self defeating or give up on good players. I am merely recognizing we have many quality free agents that other teams will covet thus increasing their salary.
The players I chose are good players but not as likely to be worth their projected market value.
Don Unamba is the perfect example of someone that will be very coveted and become very expensive for someone who has had one good year.
I also feel strongly that Mike Jones is not as good as his numbers showed and thus not worth what his market value will likely be. Also , I quite like Buren and his upside and lower salary.
We have a very low budget of just over 5 million and Banks and Breaux are both going to be over 200 k. Masoli, Tasker, and Laurent are all making good coin. Simoni and Dean are must signs and likely will cost around 180 k each.
Without question, we need an elite pass rusher and that would likely cost around 200 k. Saunders would be asking for over 150 k and so would Chris Williams.
In my eyes, I think Jones will be asking for about 150 k and he is just not worth it and Buren would be earning around 60 k.
Unamba will likely be getting offers around 170 to 200 k after a stellar year. I am not as sure that he is the real deal as much as I am sure of Dean and Simoni and both are harder to replace.
Jackson Bennett is ready and well suited to play SAM and he looked great when he played there and since he is a national he is a ratio buster allowing us to play an aditional import at DE and Receiver.
I am just trying to keep the highest priority well proven players at the
key positions and speculate and anticipate roughly how much other teams would be willing to spend on our FA’s
I identified Jones, Unamba and Filer will most likely be asking for more money than we can afford under the cap and if we did sign any of them we’d be unable to afford others of higher priority.
I predict these are the 3 guys we don’t sign .That’s just my opinion and we are just having fun playing GM. I like all 3 players and would love to have
all our priority players back but that is tough to do in free agency. It just takes one team to drive a players price well above what you are willing to pay.
An example is DE Westerman was signed by Montreal for 220 k and Winnipeg had to decide if they can afford that and if he’s worth it. His salary is so high because he is a national who was performing at an import level.
This deal was alot like what Fantuz and Laurent were
making as nationals performing at an import level referred to as ratio busters.
Westerman did not perform at that same elite level last year in Montreal and Hamilton like he did in WPG. So Wpg made the right choice not to sign him and spend the money elsewhere.
Westerman will most certainly be released as he is no way near worth his current salary. Some team will then likely sign him for more like 150 k.
My prediction is we sign DE Davis out of Calgary and that Breaux will draw interest and cause us to go after a shut down corner like Evans in calgary. I think Orlondo will be the DC as well and put Courtney back at safety over the slower Daley. I also think we will bring back Reinbold to coach specialty teams as he did so well when he was here.
Hey Gerbear, congrats on the style change in your last comments . It is much easier to follow your ideas . While I don’t necessarily agree with all of them, how you present them is important to these old eyes.
The Dork succinctly stated that the salary cap is a balancing act . You have to keep your top Canadians and high impact Americans like Speedy and Luke . If an agent overvalues his client, like Scott Boras does in baseball, some clubs view the player as toxic to their salary structure.
You pay the players what you think they’re worth but the club also has to sell their culture . The Cat coaching staff and modern facilities should give us an advantage over the Als and Argos in recruiting . The cost of living in cities like Vancouver can affect player choices . Their careers are relatively short and CFL budgets are tight .
Coach O and Coach Jones are popular with the players in the league . If the Cats dip into the free agent pool, the kids already know what to expect in the Hammer . It’s a small league and players talk.
Pat Lynch (the old guy)
I don’t think Chris Williams is even in the equation as far as re-signing. Achilles injuries take several months (or even a year) to heal properly.
Plus he’s had, I think, now 2 non-contact injuries in the recent past which would have me pass on him regardless.
Gerbear, as PatLynch said, it was FAR easier to read your latest post.
Thank you.
We can agree to disagree on Filer. I was his harshest critic during his first starting year. I now feel that he is one of the best in the league right now.
As for Jones/Buren - why can’t we keep both? Don’t forget, for every Canadian starter, you need a Canadian backup.
Westerman is as good as gone, so that saves us $200k for Banks/Breaux. I don’t feel that either Saunders or Williams will be able to play this year.
As for Jones/Buren - why can't we keep both? Don't forget, for every Canadian starter, you need a Canadian backup.Shamawd Chambers will probably not be re-signed and he was still under the 2016 contract he signed with EDM after winning the Most Valuable Canadian in the Grey Cup in 2015. It was probably a pretty good contract for him. I would say that both Jones and Buren could be re-signed as Chambers replacement Saunders will be re-signed and he will be even better this year Banks will for sure be back
Our starting REC corps will be Tasker, Banks, Saunders, Addison, Jones
Tillman will find a way to get most everyone back
DE Tracy probably won't want to move to far now that he is marrying a local girl,
TiCats TV reporter 2016, Kayla-Marie Williams
Good news.