I figured that with the way that people started jumping off the side of the escarpment because of the loss to Winnipeg, I would play to that audience by asking whether or not the panic button should be pushed after the loss last night to Edmonton.
I still stand by my criticisms from last night; however, as with everything, a little time has given me a chance to reflect and put things in proper perspective.
Right now, the team stinks. I don't think anyone would argue with that. The Defense has played as well as could be hoped for, and the kicking game has been a bright spot; however, the Offense and return game have been abysmal.
What does that mean?
Well, to some, it means firing the entire coaching staff or benching a slew of players. I've even read the opinion that Bob Young should be fired as owner (don't ask, I know it makes no sense). Anyone who has dared say, "It's only two games," is shouted down by a mob of people who are clearly thinking with emotions and not logic.
I understand that after the last decade of putrid football, fans of the Tiger-Cats are sick of hearing excuses. I'm right with them; I don't want to hear them either. This team is talented, and there is not a single person who can deny that. There are some weakness, but every team has its weakness. No team is perfect, and no team in the history of the CFL has ever been perfect. But to want to make wholesale changes at this juncture would be a knee-jerk reaction of the worst kind. Many fans eviscerated Head Coach Marcel Bellefeuille for pulling Kevin Glenn in the first game. I was one of those fans. Yet some of them want to pull the plug after a rough start?
Right now, the Tiger-Cats are 0-2 and have lost both those games to last season's two worst teams, Winnipeg and Edmonton. These games were marked off by many, myself included, as wins. But they weren't wins, so there is no need to dwell on the past. The team played horrendously in both contests, but that doesn't mean this is a bad team. It is way too early to be talking about how this season is like every other.
Looking forward, the Tiger-Cats see two teams that have also underachieved in the 0-2 Saskatchewan Roughriders and the 0-2 BC Lions. The Cats get the Riders at home and the Lions on the road. If Hamilton wins both these two very winnable games, 0-2 becomes 2-2 and the howling should subside (it will never go away fully, because it is the nature of Tiger-Cat fans to complain about something).
The season is not over or in shambles just yet. It hasn't been good, but overreacting is not the answer. I'm with the sensible ones who see this as a bump in the road. Should the bump get bigger over the next few weeks, I might be inclined to switch sides. But until then, the team should stay the course.
In the end, all I'm asking for is a little patience and a little perspective.
Exactly. I made the same point earlier on the Scratching Post.
ReplyDeleteI'd do it on Ticats.ca but I'd be drowned out by lemmings.
It's painstakingly obvious that Bruce needs to be used more often in the offensive schemes. The main problem is that Glenn cannot accurately throw deep passes. Because of this, he tends to throw shorter passes to Mann or Stala. It makes me wonder how Glenn actually managed to achieve more than 5000 yards last season. Glenn also needs to work on his rushing skills when he decides to make those plays. He's simply not a rushing QB like Porter is. I also don't believe that Khari Jones is the right person to be Offensive Coordinator. I was a bit skeptical of his promotion to OC right from the start. He may have been a decent QB in his heyday, but being an OC just doesn't seem to be his calling.
ReplyDeleteChamblin and his defense should have been prepared for Ricky Ray and the fact that Ray loves to throw the deep corner routes. Ray certainly exposed the weaknesses of our CB's here! Our defense is useless if we don't have effective CB's.
I felt bad for Avon Cobourne since it seemed that the Offensive Line couldn't open up lanes through the Line of Scrimmage for him. It made me think back to last season with Cobb. I know that Cobourne is way better than this, so the Offensive Line needs to step up.
I can only imagine that Obie is keeping a close eye on Coach MB right now. I don't believe that Obie would be crazy enough to wait another entire season before making a decision about MB. Obie is simply too Old School for that. If we don't start winning games soon, then MB's fate may be sealed.
Don't you think you're writing Khari Jones off a little too soon? He's been an OC for two games.
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