Zontar

Underappreciated ? TSN has been tickling his berries since last years GC.

Weird that he didn't play for HAM.

Pray For Bombers.

Should have canned him with Mack. Hanging onto him another week was silly.

Getting rid or alienating QBs that could play and bringing in kickers who can't ?

Me and Andy are unstoppable.

Howls.

Meh, a division rival, you're not going to get a dozen roses, right ?

Must be some mistake.
Listening to Rider fans I thought they might go undefeated and Cornish was over-rated. Could it be they were so giddy and drunk on "flagship franchise" Kool-aid they were exaggerating and forgot there are other good teams too ?

Lots of fans and media will take the easy target and blame Hawkins for destroying a dynasty of awesomeness under Trestman. But last year , quite often, they looked very ordinary and beatable. The rot has set in before this year - Hawkins might just accelerating it.

Who goes under the bus this week, AC, same bunch ?

Cue SSK hype/praise machine turned to "11".
Quite possibly all year long.
Its not going be pretty. It's not going to be fun.

PacMan, The Database, Murphy, Kelly ....good times

Knew it. Go Cats Go.

Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
Offense: QB Burris.
OL: Simmons, Hennesy, Hage, O'Neil, Husband, Dile and the addition of RT Greg Wojt. HAM is very deep at NI OL with both youth and experience. Has some tough choices to make especially with vets like Hage.
Rec: Grant, Fantuz, Charbonneau-Campeau are locks. Like the OL they are deep and young here and have decisions to make. Williams' depature makes room for a rookie import - HAM has signed several in recent weeks. But how players like Stala, Giguerre and Jones fit in is a challenge.
RB: Walker. Rookies Gable and Lamar have also looked good at camp. Three other rookies being looked at presently.
Defense
DL: Boudreaux, Davis, Moore, Peach. Like the OL a lot of people are being looked at. Need an NI to step up for a tackle spot. Hazim or Gascon-Nadon. A newcomer could very well steal a DE job.Look for lots of rotation with NIs like Shomari Williams.
LBs : Lawrence, Johnson, Knowlton, Bowman. Question mark here is when and if Bowman becomes healthy and how he is plugged in and if Lawrence can handle a starter's work load.
DBs : Hinds (NI) , Webb, Bucknor (NI), Patrick, McCullough, Colclough should form the core but unit is a major state of flux with lots of talent being looked at.
Special Teams : Lamar, Gable, Giguerre and and recently acquired rec. Leong are in the mix in the post Williams era. Trick for imports is finding a roster spot. Lost some experience on coverage but a raft of young NI talent via the draft should negate.
New Additions : LB Lawrence, DB McCullough, LB/DL Williams, OL Wojt. QB Brohm.
Draft :Number one selection DL Linden Gaydosh (currently in other league). DL Urban (injured, expected later in season).Rec. Marquand.
Previous draftees signed : DB Stephen, DL Gascon-Nadon, DL Atkinson.
On the Bubble : New regime and a 6 win season doesn't add up to job security for some. Would not be shocked if vets like Peach, Knowlton are let go, Rec. Jones may have trouble fending off influx of new recs. Same goes for some OLs like Dile.
2012 Summary.
Cats proved beyond doubt the addage that defense wins. Despite often spectacular offense a highly porous and , frankly, unprofessionally prepared defense was the number one reason for last year's failure. Cats were elite or near elite it almost every other department. Its no mystery as to why there's so much change there this offseason.
2013 Outlook
Defense, defense, defense. Has to be better. New DC Steinauer should lend some credibility and respect back to that job. Addition of MCullough will go a long way to shoring up that unit. Despite underperforming there's talent on the D-line worth building around. Challenge for offense is Burris maintaining last year's high level. No Williams means the ball could be spread out even more and less focussed on one player - Cats still have lots of weapns here.
New coach Kent Austin has already putting his philosophical stamp on the team a mix of postivity and perfectionism in contrast to Cortez's grumpiness that the team never really could get past.
How playing in Guelph affects things is unpredictable but there is no reason to say the offense wont be effective again and even a modest improvement on defense means Cats are in the mix for a playoff spot as anyone. 10 wins.