CFLHorsemen.ca

[Childress]

Special Evaluation of CFL Special Teams

I have recently updated my blog which takes a comprehensive statistical view at all CFL special teams. I look at punt, punt return, kickoff, kickoff return, and field goal. If you like statistics and charts and that kind of thing, this will be up your alley.

At the end of the article, I give an overall ranking of the team's overall special teams performance. The Argos, in spite of the great play of the league MVP wind up tied for fifth. Click here to see why:

http://www.cflhorsemen.ca/chills-blog.html

[ArgoGabe22]

That's a cool atricle. I'm not surprised in the Argos being so low as the champion, they're cover team wasn't great this year as well as the inconsistency in punting and field goal kicking.

[ArgoRavi]

I am not surprised with the middle of the pack ranking either as the special teams were not as good in 2012. I am hoping for improvement in that area in 2013.

[1argoholic]

I've been the most vocal complainer about the wrongs I see with the Toronto Argonauts however after what happened in Nov.. I don't care about stats. I'm going to leave it up to Jim Barker and Scott Milanovich because I'm a very happy Argo fan. You could send those great charts over to Barker though.

[Midnight Blue]

Cool blog, Dude !

I just checked it out momentarily, and just wanted to say, Thanks for the effort.

Special teams, are a great part of our game.

I'll check out more in the future.

Cheers !

[Childress]

Thanks for the support Argo fans. I'll let you know when I update it again.

[Childress]

For those trying to sort out what moves the Argos should make in free agency, I have compiled a current list of free agent players by position. I also include relevant information such as age, years in the CFL, where Canadians are from, awards, etc..
Check it out here: http://www.cflhorsemen.ca/2013-cfl-free-agent-list.html

For those interested in seeing what their rival from the west is up to, you can find a complete position chart as of all the Stampeder players signed as of today. I will try to keep this updated during the off-season. You can find it here:
http://www.cflhorsemen.ca/depth-chart.html

[294life]

Just beware of the one called geo. No reason, just saying.

[Childress]

I have written an article as to some predictions free agent predictions for all teams in the CFL. Take a look here:

http://www.cflhorsemen.ca/chills-blog.html

Also, I update the free agent list with the signings of Bryant, Hucklack, and Perrett today. It can be found here:

http://www.cflhorsemen.ca/2013-cfl-free-agent-list.html

Let me know how far off base I am with my predictions!

[bluto]

i appreciate the hard work you put into compiling that, Childress. i think it's cute though, how the defending champions have 5 needs listed while teams who were s@*t have a mere 2 or 3.

[Childress]

Well, the Argos just signed free agent Romby Bryant, so that confirms a receiver need.
At linebacker they have the aging and not so good Robert McCune.
Offensive line seemed somewhat patchwork. Washington at tackle is a beast in one on ones, but not as good on the field.
You have lost two starting Canadians from your defensive line.
You have lost your top two running backs that you entered last season with.

Was I off base with any of these?

I look at a team like Hamilton and their offense was excellent last year. It is their defense that has gaping holes that need dire attention.

[bluto]

Well, the Argos just signed free agent Romby Bryant, so that confirms a receiver need.
At linebacker they have the aging and not so good Robert McCune.
Offensive line seemed somewhat patchwork. Washington at tackle is a beast in one on ones, but not as good on the field.
You have lost two starting Canadians from your defensive line.
You have lost your top two running backs that you entered last season with.

Was I off base with any of these?

I look at a team like Hamilton and their offense was excellent last year. It is their defense that has gaping holes that need dire attention.

it was in the win over the lolCats in week 19 where the depth of the Barker/Jones recruiting efforts were seen. the Kittens were playing to go into the playoffs against us the following week and had all the motivation in the world... on the home sideline, the Boatmen had far less to concern themselves since we were hosting the semi-final regardless of who got in against us. so the Boatmen rested as many starters as they could and literally won the game using 2nd, 3rd and even a few 4th string practice roster guys activated just for this game. so it was that a veteran team playing for its life couldn't defeat our inexperienced backups, our backups' backups... and a few of their backups too.

the lulz can be viewed here: http://www.cfl.ca/video/index/id/81167
and the box score is here: http://www.cfl.ca/statistics/statsGame/id/10431

obviously i reference this game for a reason, and as you seem a smart fella, you have no doubt deduced that my point was to illustrate that the talent waiting in the wings and the likelihood that Barker/Jones have already earmarked the replacements for the players that were clearly leaving (Armstead, Kuale et al) and that some of them (if not most) have already practiced for a year under Milanovich and Jones....


but to your (well made) points:

-saying that McCune was "not so good" last season makes me wonder if you watched many Argo games... heck, in the 3 we played against the Horseys, McCune was at least solid... and truthfully, "solid" doesn't really do his play justice. now... if your argument for us to need better linebackers was that Kuale has left for the south, then i get where you're coming from. but EJ may be back at some point if he doesn't stick down there... and last year Jones conjured a stud like Marcus Ball out of seemingly thin air. and speaking of studs, 3rd year KC Chief Cory Greenwood (a non-import) may be a casualty of the new regime in KC or of cap-nomics... whenever he makes his was north, the Argos will have a star level athlete/ ratio breaker to add.

-losing Foley would be harsh, but his value relative to what the Argos can allot to his position under the SMS may be to far out of tune to retain him. and the truth is that at one point in the season, some of the team's watchers felt that rookie NI DE David Lee might be outplaying Foley anyway... and Foley and Jones had a well publicized falling out... and when you cross the boss, you are rarely rewarded with a new contract. it should be said though that Foley adjusted to the new Jones defence and played well in the final third of the season. losing Belli (again) isn't a shock at all as he was only brought back as a fill in. we don't need 2 NIs on the D-Line.

-calling our O-Line "patchwork" is baffling...and unfair to the magic that coach MacAdoo once again pulled off. we lost Picard, Robertson and Murphy and somehow by late season ended up dominating opposing D-Lines (including highly regarded ones like the Stamps). it started off shaky with adding Parenteau, Smith and Jones we still didn't have a stud to watch Ray's blindside... hello Mr. Tony Washington! Washington was a revelation. a stud LT who immediately changed things on offence for us. further: he liked our league so much that he tattoo'd a Grey Cup on his arm and stayed around Toronto (or at least was here in January). put it this way: we're very likely to lose a 31 year old NI, with 6 years experience and he's healthy and 6'4 and 300+... and nobody seems worried about it.
likely it's because our O-Line became a strength of our team... maybe it's because stud NI prospect Joel Reindeers finally gave up on the NFL and joined us mid season... or maybe it's because we also have another stud NI prospect in Tyler Holmes who's likely to have his final kick at his NFL dream this year... but for a change, i'm unconcerned with Coach MacAdoo's line going into a season.

-at RB, i'd really, really like to see Kackert sign a new contract as i think that a healthy Kackert would terrorize the league... he doesn't seem to have another spot open for him in the CFL, so hopefully nobody down south offers him a deal he can't refuse. but... there's another darn near carbon copy of him due to be a free agent in Montreal (Whitaker) so there's one backup plan... and the other backup plan is once again relying on Barker to find us a new guy (RB being one of the most talent rich for pro football wannabes).

if it seems like most of my supposition is that GM Jim will most likely stand pat (and allow current backups to naturally fill the openings), use his scouting to bring in new imports or that he will sign castoffs from other rosters... that's merely because it's his pattern. we're entering year 4 of his regime and his methods are well established and i doubt we'll have another big shakeup like the Ray trade any time soon.
it's also worth noting that with the veteran cuts we've already made, Barker and his player personnel guys should have have some room to manoeuvre under the SMS.

[294life]

it was in the win over the lolCats in week 19 where the depth of the Barker/Jones recruiting efforts were seen. the Kittens were playing to go into the playoffs against us the following week and had all the motivation in the world... on the home sideline, the Boatmen had far less to concern themselves since we were hosting the semi-final regardless of who got in against us. so the Boatmen rested as many starters as they could and literally won the game using 2nd, 3rd and even a few 4th string practice roster guys activated just for this game. so it was that a veteran team playing for its life couldn't defeat our inexperienced backups, our backups' backups... and a few of their backups too.

the lulz can be viewed here: http://www.cfl.ca/video/index/id/81167

They are never going to live this down.

[Childress]

I spent last weekend watching Youtube videos of the line one-on-ones from the CFL Combine and doing an analysis of the offensive and defensive lines.

I think it is a good read. Check it out here:

http://www.cflhorsemen.ca/chills-blog.html

[Childress]

After spending dozens of hours working over the past few weeks, we are ready to unveil the CFLHorsemen 2013 Draft Page. We will be updating it regularly, so check back.

http://www.cflhorsemen.ca/2013-cfl-draft.html

[OV Argo]

Nice job !

Seems like a pretty good CFL draft crop - maybe not a lot of real blue-chipper types, but some good talent & depth at a number of positions.

I'd like to see the Argos address an area of real need in the draft; D-Line is a glaring spot IMO - the 2 big DT prospects(Gaydosh & Charles) may well be gone by the time the Argos pick first at #8 or else could be NFL flight risks so iffy; but DE - several good prospects - D'Aguilar, Mulumba, Joseph - one of them should still be available at #8 and could maybe compete for playing time right away (in a platoon with David Lee say); or else one of the top interior O-Linemen - Jones or Watman - could push for a starting spot? #17 overall could yield a very good prospect too IMO - a receiver or maybe a future safety to learn behind Younger?

[KCargosfan]

Nice job !

Seems like a pretty good CFL draft crop - maybe not a lot of real blue-chipper types, but some good talent & depth at a number of positions.

I'd like to see the Argos address an area of real need in the draft; D-Line is a glaring spot IMO - the 2 big DT prospects(Gaydosh & Charles) may well be gone by the time the Argos pick first at #8 or else could be NFL flight risks so iffy; but DE - several good prospects - D'Aguilar, Mulumba, Joseph - one of them should still be available at #8 and could maybe compete for playing time right away (in a platoon with David Lee say); or else one of the top interior O-Linemen - Jones or Watman - could push for a starting spot? #17 overall could yield a very good prospect too IMO - a receiver or maybe a future safety to learn behind Younger?

OVA you should do a mock draft for the first 2 rounds, or rate the top 20 prospects.

[OV Argo]

OVA you should do a mock draft for the first 2 rounds, or rate the top 20 prospects.

The CFL site has it's list of top propsects, and Duane Forde usually provides some articles on the topic; I like this CFLHosemen addition to the mix; also - check out Ridley Scouting Services (sorry - don't know how to provide the link thingy - somebody if they can please ?).

Interest in the CFL Draft has come along way compared to a number of years ago; and the internet/info age has a lot to do with it. Mind you, the CFL draft was televised back around late 80s or early 90s (?) (and Homer Simpson was known to watch it ;o)).

Mock drafts can be fun I guess, but I've long ago given up even attempting to predict what CFL teams are thinking on this; always good for some surpirse, interesting or iffy to downright bizzarre & baffling picks IMO.

[ArgoGabe22]

Mock drafts can be fun I guess, but I've long ago given up even attempting to predict what CFL teams are thinking on this; always good for some surpirse, interesting or iffy to downright bizzarre & baffling picks IMO.

I was going to make a mock draft (I think Wobbler mentioned something earlier) just for fun and it'll be cool to look back and see how close we allare. Chances are we'll be wrong but it doesn't hurt to see who's the closest for fun.

[Midnight Blue]

The CFL site has it's list of top prospects, and Duane Forde usually provides some articles on the topic; I like this CFLHorsemen addition to the mix; also - check out Ridley Scouting Services (sorry - don't know how to provide the link thingy - somebody if they can please ?).

Interest in the CFL Draft has come along way compared to a number of years ago; and the internet/info age has a lot to do with it. Mind you, the CFL draft was televised back around late 80s or early 90s (?) (and Homer Simpson was known to watch it ;o)).

Mock drafts can be fun I guess, but I've long ago given up even attempting to predict what CFL teams are thinking on this; always good for some surprise, interesting or iffy to downright bizarre & baffling picks IMO.

Here is a link to Ridley Scouting Services (CFL Draft) :

http://ridleyscouting.com/CFLDraft.html