Cats Cut Nine

As a fan, cutdown day is the day I like least. For a handful of players, their dreams of playing professional football come to an end and it makes me feel for the guys that get cut. It was especially difficult this year because I went to six or so training camp sessions and watched how hard these guys worked. It is one thing to watch them perform on gameday, but if you really want to see these guys work, head to a practice.

Anyway, that is a long-winded way of saying the Cats cut nine players earlier this afternoon. I won't sit here and tell you that all deserved to be kept, because that's simply not true. While all of these players are talented – they wouldn't be at a professional team's training camp if they weren't talented – some of them just weren't talented enough to crack this roster. That said, there were a number of surprising cuts, with three standing out from the rest.

Probably the most surprising was the release of Belton Johnson. Johnson started all of last season, a majority of the 2010 season and spent the entire training camp working with the first-team offense. It was pretty surprising to see him let go, especially because Brian Simmons is still on the team. I thought Johnson outplayed Simmons during the preseason and if the team was going to let go of any veteran offensive lineman, it was going to be Simmons.

Just slightly less surprising was seeing the team get rid of Milt Collins. Collins was acquired less than a year ago in a trade with Calgary and I thought he'd be the team's opening-day starter at safety. It looks like they are very high on rookie safety Craig Ray and that is why Collins was let go.

Finally, we all knew that the team was going to have to part ways with a receiver or two and the first one let go was rookie Chris Duvalt. Duvalt looked good in both mini-camp and training camp, but he didn't show a great deal in either preseason game (to be fair, he got hurt against the Argos). With all the talent that the team has at receiver, a good player was going to be released and Duvalt just happened to be that player.

Training Camp Preview: Secondary

With training camp about to start (rookies report on May 30th, veterans on June 3rd) it's time to look at each position group as we head into the 2012 season. Today, it's the secondary.

I promised that I would do two today, so after the earlier post about the linebackers, it's time to turn our attention to the final defensive group.

Probably no group of players was more scrutinized last year that the Tiger-Cat secondary. No matter what mix of players the team put out there, it seemed like they just couldn't bring it all together. The unit got better as the season went on, but they never fully gelled. But coming back this year are a group of players that could form the nucleus of a good secondary.

The only sure thing in the secondary is uncertainty. Ryan Hinds is the only player likely to be guaranteed a starter's role, with everything else being up in the air. Milt Collins is the presumed starter at safety, but I remember Carlos Thomas excelling in that role late in the season. I mean, the guy hits like a truck – just as Geroy Simon – which is a great skill to have when playing safety.

Dee Webb, who was brought over in the trade that sent Maurice Mann to the Argos, is a guy to keep an eye on. He was given a contract extension in the off-season, so the team sees something in him. Getting to be with the team in training camp will give Webb a chance to start off on the right foot. He could end up being the player that makes the biggest impact in the secondary in 2012.

Two other youngsters to keep tabs on are Woodney Turenne and Marcell Young. Both looked good in spots last season, and another year of growth could see them produce some big things.

Another player returning to the fold is the often-vilified Bo Smith. I will admit that I did not like Smith when I first saw him play, but upon his return to from the New York Jets, he looked a lot better. Last year, despite leading the team with three interceptions, he seemed to regress back to the old Bo Smith. He was trying to return from an achilles injury suffered late in the 2010 season, so perhaps he can go back to the guy we saw in 2010 now that he has had over a year to recover.

The secondary was easily the target of the most vitriol last season. But the unit improved near the end of the season and with a full off-season and training camp for the players, the secondary could be the one area that we see vast improvement come from little movement.

Webb, Collins Sign Extensions

The Ti-Cats have given contract extension to Defensive Backs Dee Webb and Milt Collins that will keep them in Black & Gold through the 2014 season.

Both players came to Hamilton via separate trades last fall; Collins was acquired in a deal with Calgary in late September, while Webb was brought in last October in a deal with Toronto.

Hamilton's Secondary was the focus of much attention last season, and the team never seemed to get it right. But near the end of the year, there looked to be some potential. While Collins did not get much of a chance to show what he could do (he appeared in only one regular-season contest), Webb did impress in spots. Hamilton now has seven guys – Bo Smith, Woodny Turenne, Loyce Means, Carlos Thomas, Marcell Young, and the re-upped Webb and Collins – to battle it out for the four remaining spots in the starting Secondary.

Hamilton's Secondary was thought to be a primary concern going into free agency, and the team did nothing to address it. That means they are happy with the group they have. Hopefully a full off-season together, and what looks to be a fierce Training Camp battle, will allow for the unit to gel early in the season.