Cats Take Seven All-Star Positions

Off-season accolades continue to roll in for the out-of-the-playoff Tiger-Cats with six players taking up seven spots on the East Division all-star team. Avon Cobourne, Peter Dyakowski, Chris Williams (at both receiver and kick returner), Rey Williams, Luca Congi and Josh Bartel were selected for the team on Thursday.

The most unlikeliest of all stars has to be Cobourne. He didn't sign with the team until a week into training camp and was a healthy scratch for pretty much the entire first half of the season. But once he got onto the field, he was like a man possessed. His numbers were excellent, especially his 5.9 yards per carry, and you just saw it when he had the ball that he wasn't going to be stopped. I have been a fan of Cobourne's for a very long time and 2012 was just more proof that the guy is one of the best backs in the CFL. Now, let's just hope he comes back for a second encore performance in 2013.

I was a little surprised to see that Peter Dyakowski was named, but part of being selected as an offensive lineman is reputation. Not that Dyakowski had a bad season, far from it, but he missed the final month of the season with an injury and wasn't a world beater when he did play. Perhaps being named Canada's Smartest Person helped his cause because his was a name that people knew. Still, Dyakowski deserved an all-star nod the past couple of years, so it is nice to see him get one.

Chris Williams, at both receiver and kick returner, might have been the easiest selection for anyone to make. He had no challengers for kick returner and he was one of the best and most dangerous receivers in the entire league this year. Picking Williams was the no-brainer of all no-brainers.

There are a lot of people that aren't fans of Rey Williams. They point out that he is out of position a lot of the time and that his tackle numbers are skewed. Those are fair and valid criticisms, yet he still managed to be named an East Division all-star for the second year in a row. It was surprising that anyone from Hamilton's defense would be selected (though I think one person should have been and wasn't, but more on that later) but it doesn't surprise me that Williams was. His numbers were good, he led the East in tackles, and that goes a long way with voters.

Another more than deserving selection was Luca Congi. There was a lot of understandable concern over signing Congi this year. He was coming off an injury that saw him miss the entire 2011 season – though he was healthy enough to kick later in the season – and he was never a guy with a booming leg. He was also replacing fan favourite Justin Medlock, so Congi had very big shoes to fill. All he did was go out and have one of the best seasons a Tiger-Cat kicker ever had. Congi was perhaps the team's mos consistent player in 2012.

Punters often go unnoticed, and it is hard to figure out just who the best is at the position. Clearly Josh Bartel did enough in his rookie season to earn the recognition as the East Division's top punter. I'm not going to go on about him too much, but if this is just the beginning for Bartel, the future could be bright for him and the Tiger-Cats.

Of course, when all-star selections are announced there are always snubs and this year is no different. One curious snub is Henry Burris. I have been critical of Burris this season, but I recognize that he put up some outstanding numbers and normally that is enough to get a spot on the team. I was somewhat surprised to see that Anthony Calvillo was selected instead of Burris. Calvillo had a decent season, but I still thought Burris would (and maybe even should) have been named an all-star.

I was also surprised to see Dee Webb not make the team. I know it would be hard to select too many players from the worst defense in the league, but Webb put together a solid season despite the team's terrible defense and some of the players selected instead of him, such as Jovon Johnson and Jonathan Hefney, hardly had all-star seasons. A lot of the time, guys get all-star nods because of their reputation (think offensive lineman) and sometimes guys don't get them because of their lack of a reputation. I think the latter is the reason Webb was left off the team. (And before Winnipeg fans get their knickers in a twist, I don't mean any disrespect to Johnson or Hefney, but neither player had what you would call an all-star worthy season in Winnipeg.)

This is just the first all-star step. There are also the league all-star selections. Chris Williams will likely garner two spots once again. He will definitely be the kick returner, but he has a darn good shot of being named at receiver as well. Cobourne, Rey Williams and Dyakowski have little-to-no shot at the league selection. Congi and Bartel are in tough, but I give both a better than 50-50 shot of being named league all stars. I wouldn't be surprised if both were named, one were named or neither were named. The league will announce the CFL all-star selections in December and there will at least be one Tiger-Cat on that list.

Thoughts on the Tiger-Cat Award Nominees

The CFL announced the team nominees for the Player Awards that will be handed out during Grey Cup week in Toronto. Hamilton has five players nominated in the six categories and there are really few surprises among those selected.

Chris Williams is the nominee for top player and top special teams player. Williams as the top special teams player is a no-brainer. He is almost guaranteed to take home the division nomination and league award. Williams was a unanimous selection.

But he wasn't for MOP and that is probably because some voted for Henry Burris. Burris is deserving of some recognition for his stellar statistical season, but Williams has been the superior player all season. Williams has been the definition of outstanding this season and is deserving of being the team's MOP nominee. He has an outside shot to take the division nomination and league award, but is up against some stiff competition in that category.

Rey Williams was named the team nominee for top defensive player. This one is sure to invite plenty of debate and derision. Williams has excellent numbers, but has been singled out as being a weak link in the defense, especially being the man that mans the middle of the field. There has been constant criticism that his numbers are inflated and that he is usually out of position and therefore in chase mode. Some of those criticisms are warranted, but on a defense that has been the object of ridicule since Day 1, who else could have been selected? Dee Webb may have been one possibility, but with no real outstanding player on the defensive side of the ball, the selection of Williams was pretty much a fait accompli by about mid-season.

Luca Congi was selected as Hamilton's Most Oustanding Canadian nominee. Congi would have been a double nominee if not for Williams' outstanding season, but he will have to settle for being the team's top Canadian. Congi had the unenviable task of replacing fan favourite Justin Medlock and he has exceeded expectations. He has missed just five field goals all season and may just be Hamilton's most consistent and reliable player this year. I don't think Congi will get the division nomination, but being named the team's best non-import is no small feat.

Tim O'Neill earned the nomination as Hamilton's top offensive lineman. O'Neill has played all over the Tiger-Cat line, starting the season at guard and then moving to centre when Marwan Hage was lost for the second straight year to injury. O'Neill was signed because of his versatility and that has come in handy this season. O'Neill is a long shot to take the division nomination, so I think he, like Congi, will have to be happy with being the top o-lineman on his team.

Josh Bartel secured the team's nomination for Most Outstanding Rookie. Bartel never played football prior to this season and he has done an excellent job punting the football. He hasn't been out of this world, but for a first timer, he has done an excellent job. There is almost no chance that Bartel will go any further in the nomination process. But a good first season will hopefully lead to a better second season for the Punter from Down Under.

So from my vantage point, it looks like the Ti-Cats have a chance to have one representative at the Player Awards in Toronto on November 22nd. Chris Williams will be there for sure, but he could be there for two awards; the other four players are facing long odds to nab division nominations. We'll find out who will be going to Toronto for the award ceremony when the finalists are announced next Wednesday.

What I Learned From the Preseason and Training Camp

I don't like drawing too many conclusions (some conclusions, but not too many) based on what I saw during the preseason – I have lost count of how many times guys looked like all stars in the preseason and then flamed out in the regular season – but there is a reason for the preseason and there is no fun in saying, "Wait until the regular season starts." This was also the first training camp that I was able to attend. While I didn't make it out to every practice, I made it to more than my fair share. So with that said, here are a few things that I learned over the past three weeks.

Henry Burris still has plenty of game left

I will wait until after Labour Day to pen my mea culpa article on Henry Burris, but from the looks of it I was way off when I said that Burris was done. He has looked magnificent during the preseason and seems ready to take back his spot atop the quarterbacking mountain. I don't care what resident Winnipeg loud mouth Jovon Johnson has to say, Burris has looked mighty impressive in his three quarters at the helm of the Tiger-Cat offense.

Chevon Walker could start

As happy as I am to have Avon Cobourne back, and as bummed as I was that Martell Mallett got injured, the most impressive running back I've seen has been Chevon Walker. He has speed to spare and hits the hole with amazing burst. If Cobourne goes down at some point this season, the team's running game will be in good hands with Walker.

Josh Bartel is good, but still a work in progress

I have been impressed a lot by what I saw out of Josh Bartel, especially when it came to the distance he got on his punts. The guy has a big leg. That said, part of me wonders if his leg is too strong. I know that sounds silly (borderline stupid even) but in the game against Winnipeg he kicked his punts so far that the Winnipeg kick returners were able to field them with almost no one within 10 yards on them. I have seen him kick in practice and he gets good hang time, but he needs to do that consistently if his powerful league is to be an asset. I'd rather the team get 40 yard punts and two yard returns as opposed to 55 yard punts with 25 yard returns. Bartel is new to football, so hopefully he can master this as time goes on.

The lines still need work

Injuries have made it difficult to judge the offensive and defensive lines, but they still don't look like dominant units. Now, I don't believe they have to dominate in order for the team to be successful, but they need to be solid. I thought the offensive line did a good job against the Argos, but not against the Bombers. The running lanes and pass protection that were present in the Argo game were not there in the Bomber game. With the defensive line, I found the opposite. They were nearly invisible against the Argos, but played very well against Bombers. I think if both units are 100 per cent healthy, the lines should be fine. But both still need to be better.

George Cortez is the right guy for this team

I was a fan of Marcel Bellefeuille's and thought that he could lead the Tiger-Cats to a championship. I don't subscribe to the theory that he was too soften spoken or too passive to be successful. If you don't think an even-keeled coach can win a championship, see Tony Dungy. But I also was not unhappy to see George Cortez hired as his replacement. It could just be a case of the team needing a new voice to get them over the hump – the Tom Higgins-to-John Hufnagel change in Calgary back in 2008 parallels nicely with this one – and I can't think of a better man than Cortez to be that voice. I've have been very impressed with how he's handled himself and the team during practices. He lets his coaches coach and only intervenes when he has to intervene. I never saw Bellefeuille run a practice, so I can't comment on the differences, but I like what I have seen from Cortez on the practice field. He is the right man at the right time for this team.

Training Camp Preview: Special Teams

With training camp about to start (rookies report today, veterans on June 3rd) it's time to look at each position group as we head into the 2012 season. Today, we end the series by looking at special teams.

Whether it was Justin Medlock last season or Marcus Thigpen the season before, the Ti-Cats have been blessed with some amazing special teams play the last couple of seasons. But both of those players are gone; Medlock signed with the Carolina Panthers and Thigpen used the option-year window in his contract to sign with the Miami Dolphins. Replacing the two of them won't be easy, but it must be done.

On the kicking front, the Cats will have a two-man battle between Luca Congi and Josh Maveety. Australian Josh Bartel was brought in as a punter, but I don't think his job is secure by any means. It's always nice to have one player do both jobs to free up another roster space, so if Congi or Maveety impresses enough on both ends, the Cats will go with one kicker. But if Bartel is head and shoulders above the rest, the fact that he counts as a non-import is a huge plus.

At returner, there are no clubhouse leaders, but the team has more than a few options. A couple of guys who are in the mix are rookies Chevon Walker and Chris Duvalt. Both possess tremendous speed, which is an obvious asset in the return game. Terry Grant is another guy who could contribute at returner, but the gruesome leg injury he suffered in Montreal last season is not fully healed, so he will not be ready for the start of the season. The team signed Deon Murphy to compete for a spot at kick returner as well. And watch out for Sam Giguère. He has experience returning kicks and punts, and should the team wish to ease him back into the Canadian game after four years away, they could do so by using him as their returnman at the start of the season.

The final area, and often the most underreported area of any football team, is the kick coverage unit. The Tiger-Cats coverage unit has been superb the past couple of seasons, and with the return of ace special teamer Ike Brown, expect that unit to continue to excel.

There are a lot of question marks surrounding Hamilton's special teams this year, and training camp is going to decide a lot of battles. There will be a lot of new faces on special teams in 2012.