The People vs. Samuel Giguère: The Case for the Defense

There are very few names in Ti-Cat land that spark as much deliberation and are a bigger lightning rod for debate than that of Sam Giguère. This contentious conversation its highest volume levels with the recent announcement that the third-year national receiver rejected general manager Kent Austin’s initial contract-extension offer.

Just perusing the various online for a, blogs and social media sites, you will encounter words and phrases such as “bust,” “a wasted roster spot,” “never lived up to the hype” and so on and so forth. The negative assessments, conclusions and labels far outnumber the positive comments when it comes to numéro onze.

As self-appointed defense counsel for Mssr. Giguère, I shall now present you with the case for his defense and why the Tiger-Cats should increase their offer and secure his services for the near future.

Exhibit A: Overall Team Performance

Since Sammy G’s arrival in Steeltown, the Tiger-Cats’ passing offense has been one of the most potent in the league, ranking first or second in most all of the important passing related categories each and every year. Sam has been a consistent starter and contributor within a receiving unit that has put up the most yards and yards per pass attempt combined over the last three seasons.

Now, I realize that not every team starts two nationals at the receiver position, but if you look at all the Canadians at the skill positions per team, you will see that Hamilton has produced more out of their homegrown players than any other team in the league.

It is clear when looking at these two charts that it can be concluded that Sam Giguère has been an important part of one of the most prolific passing attacks in the league, as well as making Hamilton the new home for the CFL’s Canadian Air Force.

Exhibit B: Overall Personal Performance

Over the last three seasons, Giguère has accumulated the sixth-most receiving yards amongst all national receivers. In fact, he has a better yards per catch average than every other player except for Saskatchewan’s duo of Chris Getzlaf and Rob Bagg.

These production numbers are impressive when you consider that he is the No. 2 national receiver on his team and played a significant amount of his early career in the Z-Spot, where the amount of targets are considerably less than the other positions.

Exhibit C: Career Start

There are few players across the CFL that have had as an impressive start to their career as Giguère. In the first three seasons of their careers, only fellow teammate Andy Fantuz, the aforementioned Robb Bagg and Shawn Gore of British Columbia have accumulated more yards or receptions than Sam has in the first three years of their careers.

Some will say that others suffered injuries or were backups to begin their careers and while this is true, it just further makes the case for Mr. Giguère. The fact that the others did not start immediately or missed more games due to injury does not detract from Giguère’s impressive career start, it enhances it. The focus should be upon the fact that he did start almost immediately and despite a significant hand injury that required surgery, missed only a minimal amount of games.

Exhibit D: Value Within the Ratio

When I first started to explore and write upon this issue, it quickly evolved into a double-digit paragraph composition worthy of its very own posting. So with that in mind, I will be brief in this discussion and explore the matter further at another time.

Many people say that the Tiger-Cats would be better off by starting a national player somewhere else in the lineup thus opening up Sam’s position for an International player. My simple response to this proposition is this: There is only one football to go around and how much more production will you realistically get with such a move?

As we have already seen, Hamilton has had the top-ranked passing offense over the last three years in the CFL.

In 2014, Sam was the Ti-Cats’ fifth-leading receiver just slightly behind Brandon Banks by one reception and nine yards. Many say that Sam needs to be the third- or fourth-leading receiver behind Andy Fantuz and whomever their leading international receiver will be. So with that in mind let us look at other teams’ third and fourth receiver and the kind of production that can be expected.

As you can see, the third- or fourth-leading receivers on other teams, regardless of nationality, have not contributed a significant amount of increased production over what Sam achieved as the Tiger-Cats’ fifth passing target. In fact, the average is a six per cent increase for the third receivers versus a 20 per cent decrease for the fourth receivers as compared to Giguère.

I would conclude that the expected production increase by making a ratio change and substituting an international for a national position at receiver is very little and not worth the trad off. When you also consider Giguère’s value as a player who can step in should Andy Fantuz miss any time due to injury, you must conclude that he represents excellent ratio value.

Exhibit E: Expectations and Biases

Unfortunately, I do not have any more charts or graphs as evidential support for this issue, but it is my belief that much of the negative perceptions of Samuel Giguère are due to unrealistic expectations and biases that were put and continue to be laden upon him.

Firstly, I do not intend to paint all Tiger-Cat fans with the stroke of a broad paintbrush. Yet, there are some peculiar things when it comes to Hamilton as a fan base.

Many believe and have even said that Giguère has not lived up to expectations. That is an interesting issue since it involves two distinct variables: his actual performance and your expectations. As has been laid out above, GIguère’s performance, while not extraordinary, has been well above average. He has been one of the better national receivers in the league since his arrival. An impressive start to his career is only surpassed by a few names that are recognized as the absolute best in the game.

So then it comes down to expectations. And it is my contention that many of the expectations of Samuel Giguère have been clouded by biases.

The fact that Giggy “spurned” Hamilton by plying his craft south of the border prior to signing with the Cats seems to have irked and irritated many, and I believe continues to characterize him. I find this peculiar since it contradicts similar situations we are currently witnessing. NFL aspirations of players like Delvin Breaux, Brandon Banks, Linden Gaydosh and even Chris Williams are and were not met with such negativity.

I believe there are other biases at play when it comes to the views and opinions of Samuel Giguère. I realize this may be thought of as incendiary or inflammatory, but in my opinion the major one is that Sam hails from Quebec and is French-Canadian. There is no easy way of saying this, but the “French” issue is one that still exists in Canada. Not everyone and not everywhere, but it would be absurd to suggest that it does not exist nor taint some peoples’ views and opinions upon things.

Just because Sam is from Quebec, many naturally assume that he does not want to be here.

Just because Sam tried his hand at bobsledding, we conclude that he does not like football and does not want to be here.

Just because Sam is heavily muscled and a naturally gifted athletically, we say that he does not work or tries hard and appears uninterested and unengaged.

To me, these are all absurd statements and hypocritical in many ways since the same can be said about other players yet are not concluded in the same fashion. The only reason for the difference in conclusions as I see it is due to his French-Canadian heritage.

Closing Statement

My client, Samuel Giguère, has been an invaluable member of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in his three years with the team. His production value has exceeded most all of his peers and trails only a select few of the elite national receivers in the game today, of which Sam has all the potential in becoming.

Kent Austin would be advised to do his best to secure the services of Mssr. Giguère for the coming years as he enters the prime of his career and is poised to become an even more significant contributor.

Austin Not a Coach of the Year Finalist

When the CFL announced the finalists for the 2014 Coach of the Year award, one name was conspicuous by its absence: Kent Austin.

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats head coach failed to make the final cut, as Calgary John Hufnagel (who won the award the night the Stamps won the Grey Cup), Edmonton’s Chris Jones and Montreal’s Tom Higgins are the three men who will vie for the award.

Hufnagel’s and Jones’ nominations are understandable and deserved. Hufnagel led the Stamps to a 15-3 regular season record and a Grey Cup championship, while Jones took Eskimos team that was 4-14 in 2013 and got them to the West Final in 2014. There are zero reasons to question their respective cases.

But that leaves Higgins.

Higgins’ résumé isn’t all that much different than Austin’s. Both teams started slow – the Als started 1-7, the Ti-Cats started 1-6 – before turning their seasons around and making the playoffs. Both teams dealt with quarterback issues, with Montreal not really finding their footing until Jonathan Crompton was inserted into the starting lineup and Hamilton just barely treading water while Zach Collaros recovered from an early season concussion; and both teams finished 9-9, before meeting in the East Division Final. Both their seasons were remarkably similar, with one, somewhat-large caveat: Austin’s Ti-Cats went to the Grey Cup. Putting it all together, it seems like it should have been Austin, not Higgins, who was the third nominee for Coach of the Year.

Now, some could argue that Higgins did more with less. The Ti-Cats were coming off a Grey Cup appearance and more was expected on them. The Ti-Cats were good last season, but the expectation was that they be great, while the same success was not expected in Montreal. Despite the Als coming off a playoff appearance in 2013 and many commentators believing they had found Anthony Calvillo’s successor in former Heisman winner Troy Smith, the Als turnaround was deemed more impressive than what Austin did with the Ti-Cats. Obviously things didn’t work out as planned for Montreal – Tory Smith flamed out rather spectacularly – but it’s not like the cupboard was bare for Higgins when he arrived in Montreal.

And none of this takes into account the stadium issues that Austin’s team dealt with again in the first half of 2014.

All things considered, Kent Austin probably should have been a nominee again this year.

Podskee Wee Wee, Episode 1

Back when I announced the return of the blog, I mentioned that I would be starting a podcast with my friend Mike Graham. Well after getting all our ducks in a row, Episode No. 1 is ready for your aural consumption (I am working on getting it uploaded to iTunes and will have more information on that when available). Hope you enjoy it.

Popp Locks Up Four For Defensive Core

Just like at the beginning of the offseason, when the Alouettes used excess available 2014 cap space to extend veterans Chip Cox, Tyrell Sutton, Eric Deslauriers and Nicolas Boulay, they were also the first club to kick off the New Year by re-signing four pending free agents.

On only the second day of the New Year, and first business day of 2015, general manager Jim Popp announced contract extensions to four pending free agents that will greatly strengthen the formidable Larks’ defensive front: middle linebacker Bear Woods, the versatile Winston Veneble, defensive end Aaron Lavarias and defensive tackle Scott Paxson.

I have given high praise to Jim Popp previously, and these moves only solidify the belief I have in his ability to identify, assess and retain top-notch talent. Woods is a tackling machine and entering the prime of his career at only 27 years of age. Venable, who is also 27 years old, is an extraordinarily versatile player who can play two linebacker positions as well as safety and defensive halfback. The 26-year old Lavarias has also proven to be impactful and versatile in Montreal’s changing defensive scheme. Finally, the 31-year old Paxson is a proven veteran leader who has delivered a high level of professionalism to the team.

In my mind, these are all truly excellent moves by Popp, yet I doubt any of these four would have come cheap. Woods had a monstrous season and would have commanded top dollar as the East finalist for the Most Outstanding Defensive Player. Venable, Lavarias and Paxson have all had the pleasure of earning NFL pay cheques previously in their careers, and I would think that they arrived in Canada well above the league-minimum contract. In order to extend these veteran internationals, Popp would have had to open up his wallet.

So that leaves the prospects of re-signing veteran defensive standouts Geoff Tisdale and Jerald Brown very much in question. There is only so much money available to be spread around to all those wanting. Further complicating the process is the fact Duron Carter is as good as gone and All-Star slotback S.J. Green remains unsigned. Money will have to be earmarked for either Green or someone of his quality at the interior receiver position.

Both Tisdale and Brown have had outstanding seasons in Montreal. Tisdale, who will turn 29 in February, and a little bit of the journeyman, can most likely be replaced at wide-side corner by someone younger and cheaper. Yet, the older Brown, at 34 years of age, is right on the cusp of that difficult decision that many GM’s face: “Does he have another year in him?”

Many personnel people would say that they would rather release a player a year too early than keep them a year too late. Yet, Jim Popp is not most personnel people and the past has shown Jim to be a very veteran friendly administrator.

If Montreal can keep one of these two, my bet is that it will be wily defensive back Jerald Brown leaving Tisdale looking for a fifth home in his eighth season. I have always liked Geoff and even though he does not fit the Ti-Cats’ needs or ratio alignment at field-side cornerback, I for one would not be averse to seeing him, for a third time, in black and gold.

Just One Number

On this first day of the first month of the New Year, I thought we would take a look at one change in one statistical number that each team should want to make for the upcoming season.

Much like many of our very own New Years’ resolutions, it involves a reduction in one aspect or an increase in another. (Except mine, of course, since I am at peak levels to be the first 45-year-old rookie long snapper in CFL history!)

I took the opportunity to look at 25 of the major factors/statistics that are tracked by the CFL. I will not bore everyone by listing each and every statistical category, but I can assure you that they are all covered. I left the “Captain Obvious” ones aside. So to those that are wont to say: “More Wins and Less Losses” or “Score More Points Than Your Opponent”, need not leave those sentiments in the comments section. I also did my best to stay away from those statistical measurements that encompass more than two other factors.

So, what is that one number? That one statistical measurement that stands out amongst the 200 statistics and comparisons for each team that is an eyesore compared to all the others?

As Duncan MacLeod of the Clan MacLeod would say: “There Can Be Only One!”

Ottawa RedBlacks

In their inaugural season, unsurprisingly, the RedBlacks were ranked last in many statistical categories. You could point to most any individual number and say that they need to improve that particular fragment of the game. Yet, one number does stand out versus all the others: Points Off Turnovers.

No matter which way you slice and dice it, points off turnovers were a significant factor for the CFL’s newest franchise. The RedBlacks scored the fewest in the league, with 38, while they also gave up a league-leading 117 points after a turnover. The 79 points in the negative is a differential of 55 more than the next-worst team. They gave up 154 per cent more than the average CFL franchise while scoring almost 30 per cent less.

Closing the gap, or even better, reversing the differential in Points Off Turnovers would definitely improve Ottawa’s fortunes in 2015.

Winnipeg Blue Bombers

Not only did it seem like the Bombers took one step forward while then taking two steps back in 2014, the numbers prove it. Winnipeg led the league in the area of Team Losses by a very large margin, as they incurred a whopping 637 yards against which was almost 55 per cent more than the average CFL team.

These Team Losses can mostly be attributed to quarterback-sacks-given-up – which the Bombers also led the league in – but they are also a result of fumbles behind the line of scrimmage, as well as bobbled snaps and safeties surrendered. Yet they are losses all the same and in order for Winnipeg to take continuous steps forward they must keep from taking losses and moving backwards.

Toronto Argonauts

It was not hard to get a grasp on the one area that Toronto needs to improve in from last season. In one word, or rather one phrase: “It’s A Fumble!” (Read in your own Chris Berman Voice!)

Holding onto the ball is definitely one area where the Argos demonstrated difficulty during the 2014 season. The Double Blue lost a league leading 25 fumbles which were five more than the next-worst team and 70 per cent more than average team.

But it is in the area of differentials that things get even worse for the Boatmen. While only recovering 12 fumbles from their opponents, the resultant -13 was the worst league-wide by eight more than the next team.

Toronto must get a handle on this number, and more importantly get a better handle on the actual pigskin, in order for their prospects to improve in the upcoming season.

BC Lions

For an average team overall, it would not come to anyone’s surprise that most of their statistics would hover around the mean, to the exception of one in particular. That would be the differential between Average Yards Per Rushing Attempt, both for and against.

While the Lions were not the worst team as far as running the ball – sixth in a nine-team league – the fact that they were the seventh team against the rush definitely compounds the ground game differential and magnifies the problematic issue, which resulted in the Leos finishing in second-last place as far as variance between offensive and defensive rush differential.

Not being able to rush the ball effectively, nor stop the other team from running rampant, affected so much of BC’s overall game in 2014. This factor must be addressed next season if the Lions hope to be in a position of dictating and controlling the game, and not being dictated and controlled by their opponents.

Saskatchewan Roughriders

It is fairly surprising with receivers like Weston Dressler and Rob Bagg that the Roughriders ranked last in the league as far as Yards After Catch or YAC.

When Saskatchewan had the ball their YAC was 48 per cent less than the average CFL franchise. When their opponents had possessed the pigskin, they gave up almost 13 per cent more Yards After Catch. The result was a league leading -67 per cent as far as differential between the yards they gained and the yards they gave up after a reception.

This simply cannot be explained by the absence of Dressler for the first part of the season. It had to be something more in the manner of play calling and design. Someone better write YAC with a big Sharpie and post it on new offensive coordinator Jacques Chapdelaine’s office door!

Montreal Alouettes

Although many of the Alouettes’ worst statistics revolved around their passing game, this was due in large part to the revolving door behind centre during the first half of the season. But the one number that remained consistently poor was in the area of special teams and Average Total Returns.

Montreal ranked last in the league as far as both punt and kick returns and the total return game. The Als’ punt returners produced 30 per cent less yards on average than their league counterparts. Those tasked with returning kickoffs and missed field goals were 20 per cent less productive on average. This resulted in the overall return game for the Larks being 21 per cent below the league average.

Head coach Tom Higgins relinquishing control and hiring a dedicated coach for special teams will undoubtedly help improve what was a surprisingly poor return game for a team that has usually been quite good in this area.

Edmonton Eskimos

With a 12-6 regular season record, it is not surprising that the Eskimos were amongst the top in many statistical categories. In fact, other than an inability to beat their provincial rivals, it was hard to find a major flaw in Edmonton’s on-field product. Then all of a sudden out of the corner of my eye, I saw a little orange flag and I instantly knew where the Eskimos needed to improve from this past season to the next.

Edmonton was the most penalized team in the league with a 20 per cent differential in Penalty Yards Against them versus penalty yards assessed to their opponents.

Some would say that this is a by-product of the type of on-the-edge team and game that head coach Chris Jones encourages, but it is clear that the Eskimos need to be more disciplined in their aggressive play if they are to take the next step and challenge their fellow Albertan brethren.

Hamilton Tiger-Cats

Oskee-Wee-Wee. Oskee-Waa-Waa. Holy Mackinaw. The Tiger-Cats’ Red-Zone Offense was really flawed!

For a team that won the East Division and appeared in the Grey Cup for the second year in a row, it is somewhat surprising how dreadful the Ti-Cats were in scoring touchdowns once getting into their opponents’ scoring zone. Hamilton’s 40 per cent touchdown-conversion rate in red zone was a league low and an incredible 33 per cent lower variance than the league average.

The fact that Hamilton was successful overall in 2014 despite scoring too many 3’s when they needed to get 7’s speaks to the fact that they were so good in the area of special teams and big plays. But there is no question that the Ti-Cats must be better next season in converting red-zone opportunities and not rely upon the fast footsteps of a certain speedy return man.

Calgary Stampeders

When I decided to delve into this exercise, I thought that analyzing Calgary’s statistical profile would prove to be the most difficult. In The Year of The Horse, the Grey Cup champs were outstanding in most each and every way on the field and in the numbers. Yet, it didn’t take long for me to find that one number. It practically jumps right out of the spreadsheets screaming; “Look At Me, Rene Paredes!”

The Stampeders ranked seventh in the league in Field Goal Percentage at 73.3 per cent. That is more than 11 per cent lower than the average CFL club.

Perhaps it was an aberration since Rene Parades has been very reliable in his previous years. Nor is it a significant concern when your team is winning by more than 12 points per game. But, it is a situation that can easily prove to be problematic in a very short time. And one that is difficult to remedy since top-notch placekickers are not readily available, especially when you are already set as far as ratio in the kicking game.

I realize that statistics are not the be-all or end-all of measuring a team’s value or success. But when you do a little digging you will be surprised at what you find. In the case of this exercise, I do believe that we have found that one individual number that each of the corresponding teams needs to address and improve upon in the 2015 CFL season.