By Elliotte Freidman,
CBC Sports
Right around noon on Friday, Charlie Taaffe is going to reveal his plans for Saturday’s game against Montreal. I have no inside knowledge into what he is going to say, but if I was in his shoes – these would be my quotes:
“Timmy Chang, I like your desire in asking for the starting quarterback job, but you’re not getting it. We are going to continue starting Jason Maas, but both Chang and Richie Williams will see action. This is going to be a rebuilding year and we’re not going to ruin a potentially great young QB.”
If you are going to give Chang a shot, put him a situation where he has a legitimate chance to succeed. If Bernie Faloney played in this offence, his number wouldn’t be honoured on Ivor Wynne’s walls. This team does not have a deep threat. With two veteran linemen out and a rookie playing guard despite being a natural centre, the line cannot protect the quarterback.
You risk getting Chang hurt or destroying his confidence. Neither is acceptable at this point in his career for him or the franchise. Sure, you might sell a few extra tickets right now, but what if this fails? Where do you go then? In his two relief appearances, he’s shown some real skill. But he’s also shown wildness and inexperience. Show him video of Michael Bishop then and now, or Anthony Calvillo before and after, and say, “Kid, this is why we aren’t rushing you. You need to grow into this job.”
“We will consider trade offers for Jason Maas. But if you want him, you have to give up another ready-to-play QB in return.”
Boy, I feel badly for Maas, one of the CFL’s true gamers and a guy who never hides when things go horribly wrong. Because Chang needs to be protected from playing too much, Maas is going to have to be Hamilton’s human shield. He’s making good money, and he is not your long-term guy. You need to play him to protect the future.
That said, if I was Calgary, I’d be interested, especially since both Henry Burris and Akili Smith looked awful – again – on Thursday in Toronto. If I was Winnipeg, I’d be interested in him as a backup for Kevin Glenn. If I was Edmonton, I’d be interested, since it worked once before.
But, for the reasons I mentioned earlier, I’d at least need a guy who can fill Maas’ role, a shield for Chang and Williams, in the deal.
“We are going to get the ball to Corey Holmes and Jesse Lumsden.”
In two games, Lumsden has 22 offensive touches. Holmes has 11. Not enough. These are your best offensive weapons.
Lumsden, in particular, needs to learn to get comfortable going left. Defences are starting to load the right when they think he’s coming. They also noticed he holds the ball with this right arm when running left, which is the reverse of what should happen – although he did do it the correct way against Toronto.
For whatever reason, it’s never worked with Holmes and Hamilton. He’s got trade value, but while he’s here, use him.
“We are going to be more aggressive on third downs.”
The biggest complaint we heard after the Toronto game (and there were many), was that Hamilton did not go for it on third-and goal from the Argonaut five when down 22-2 in the third quarter. Sometimes fans are insane about third-down gambles, but they were right about that one. In that situation, what is there to lose, really?
“We are going to start a Canadian linebacker.”
I heard this one a lot during the week. Hamilton started three import linebackers in Week 1: JoJuan Armour, Zeke Moreno and Renard Cox. When Cox missed Week 2 with an injury, in came another import, Ryan Glasper. Now, this is not anti-Americanism, especially since I really like Moreno as a run-stopper and Armour’s enthusiasm. It’s practicality. You have two Canadian backups who can play here: Ray Mariuz and Auggie Barrenechea. You have Canadian starters getting eaten alive in the secondary (Richard Karikari and Wayne Shaw, who was cut this week). That’s a better place to deploy an import right now.
“We are not going to tolerate stupid penalties.”
The Tiger-Cats are giving up 65 more yards a game in penalties than their opponents. Against Calgary, an offside ruined a successful third-down gamble. An illegal block killed a 47-yard punt return and moved Hamilton back to its own 3. Two plays later, Brock Ralph fumbled a pass in his end zone which the Stampeders recovered for a touchdown.
Against Toronto, they held on the opening kickoff. A roughing the passer call revived a stalled Argonaut drive. During the second quarter, there was one stretch of three no-yards calls on four punts. Don’t know if Taaffe would institute a system of fines or openly bench someone, but this lack of discipline should be unacceptable.
Hamilton fans aren’t stupid. They know this won’t be a successful year. But you can at least play smart and give them something to believe in. That should be the goal now.
Elliotte Friedman is the host of the CFL on CBC.
(The opinions expressed are those of the author and not necessarily of the Canadian Football League)
