Thread for the Team that Cannot Be Named

[jerrym]

Tiger-Cat CEO Scott Mitchell Sportnet's Arash Madani comment on the 2020 CFL season below:

“Amazing that the CFL could work exhaustively with world class physicians/advisors, the CFLPA and both the province of Manitoba and a very very strict federal health authority who speaks positively about the plan yet some people think they know better than all those listed above,” Mitchell tweeted. The tweet came on the same day that Canada’s Deputy Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Howard Njoo said that his agency was “very comfortable” with the protocols proposed by the CFL for a hub city in Winnipeg. That plan would require players to self-isolate for 14 days prior to arrival in the Manitoba capital, then for another seven once inside the bubble. Players would be tested on their first day sixth day and 13th day in Winnipeg, with no outside persons allowed in. Violators would be sent home immediately.

Even with a favourable response from public health officials, many people around the CFL have remained skeptical that players can be relied upon to quarantine in the United States.

“The mocking of CFL bubble protocols has been rampant by… people in the league! Expecting Americans to isolate for 14 days on their own before coming to Canada,” reported Sportsnet’s Arash Madani earlier Friday. “Said a source: Guys go MIA Grey Cup week! Who is gonna quarantine knowing they are going into a 100 day lockdown?”

https://3downnation.com/2020/08/14/t...ss-physicians/

[jerrym]

Sad news. Canadian Football Hall of Famer Tommy Joe Coffey has died. He did play his final season in a 14 year career with the Argos, but I always will remember him as a Tiger Cat.

Tommy Joe Coffey's career spanned 14 seasons in the CFL from 1959 to 1973 with Edmonton, Hamilton and Toronto. Coffey's played in the years that the CFL was transitioning from a more run orientated game with players going both ways to the more modern pass orientated game with specialized offensive and defensive players. Coffey's rookie season in Edmonton in 1959 typified the old style as he caught 14 passes offensively while also making 3 interceptions defensively. The premium on versatility due to smaller rosters also showed up in that Coffey also did some of the placekicking and kickoffs for Edmonton that year. Coffey upped his receiving total to 27 catches in 1960 while adding another interception. Coffey didn't play in 1961, but returned to Edmonton in 1962 when his career really started to take off. Coffey caught 65 passes for 951 yards and his 129 points led the CFL as he took over the placekicking on a regular basis. Coffey earned his first All-Canadian honour in 1962 which was the first year they were awarded. It was the first of 7 All-Canadian honours for the outstanding receiver (1962, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968 and 1970). Coffey played four more seasons in Edmonton and those were the prime of his career as he had 61, 81, 81 and 60 receptions in those four years. In three of those years, Coffey passed the magical 1000 yard mark in receiving.

Coffey was traded to Hamilton for 1967 and ended up playing six seasons for the Tiger-Cats from 1967 to 1972. HIs receiving numbers fell a bit in the less pass minded offense of Hamilton in his first two years as he had 42 and 47 receptions (in a 14 game schedule though), but he put up 70 catches and another thousand yard season in 1969. Coffey also took over the placekicking duties with Hamilton and for four season from 1967 to 1970 has over 100 points, including a career high of 148 in 1970. The early 1970s saw the rise of the dedicated placekickers and Coffey turned over the placekicking duties to Ian Sunter.

Coffey playd his final season in 1973 with the Toronto Argos. Tommy Joe Coffey was named to the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1977.

https://www.cflapedia.com/Players/c/..._tommy_joe.htm

[jerrym]

Tiger Cat owner Bob Young says he would have preferred to play in 2020 despite Covid-19.

[jerrym]

I missed the fact that Tiger Cat great RB Dave Fleming who died at 76 in April. He played for the Tiger Cats from 1965-74, who came to the CFL because the Cats were willing to pay him $2,000 more than the NFL. Things have certainly changed. Some of the older fans may remember his games against the Argos or on second thought maybe not. The url below discusses his career.

https://www.thespec.com/sports/hamil...ead-at-76.html

[jerrym]

The Tiger Cats are doing what they can to prepare for an uncertain 2021 season where they will host the Grey Cup if it is played.

It is the only pro league which did not even practice, let alone play, during the calendar year.

And that is scaring a lot of people who care about it: fans, players, league and team employees, thousands of part-time stadium workers, the football media. They need some calming, some assurance, that 2021 won’t be the same. But there is precious little of either that can be honestly provided.

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats have been doing what they can to smooth the waters locally. It’s widely known that they and owner Bob Young were the biggest proponents of playing in 2020 and were likely willing to help with the financing. They’re staunchly in favour of returning to play next season in some form.

The team hasn’t formally laid off any employees, their local players have access to the stadium gym and the football operations department is in full October mode, reviewing game films for both the Canadian draft and next year’s training camp. Players who are actually on the field this fall, all in the U.S., will have a big leg up on that.

And CEO Scott Mitchell expects the Grey Cup Game to be held as planned at Tim Hortons Field 13 months from now. In a text to The Spectator, he said the organization, “is singularly focused on ensuring that the return of the Grey Cup in 2021 is an event Canadians won’t ever forget.”

https://www.thespec.com/sports/ticat...ons-field.html

[jerrym]

QB Dane Evans is using the off-season to get into coaching at the University of North Texas and has helped the team offence become #2 in the NCAA in yardage.

Dane Evans, the quarterback who redirected the course of the 2019 Hamilton Tiger-Cats, is getting a massive head start on his post-football career. When he signed on for a single-season job helping coach the offence at the University of North Texas, he was being true to his nature, his nurture and the family business.

His father Damon is a career, and legendary, high school coach. He tutored his son for five years when Dane was growing up in Sanger, Texas. That’s only a 20-minute drive from Denton, where the North Texas Mean Green might have only a 2-3 record but rank second in the entire NCAA in offensive yards, at a whopping 593.6 per game.

“Obviously, I’m not done playing,” says the 26-year-old who went 9-2 as a starter after Jeremiah Masoli went down with a late-July knee injury, temporarily taking the emotional well-being of every Ticat fan with him. “But I’ve always said that as soon as my playing days are finished I’d go right into coaching. This year is so weird and this is one of the only good things to come out of it. It’s a way to get my foot in the door and build my coaching network. And it kinda just fell into my lap.”

In September, he got a call from Mike Bloesch, who’d been the offensive line coach at the University of Tulsa when Evans was the star quarterback. Bloesch, the offensive co-ordinator at North Texas, had kept in touch, knew the CFL season had been cancelled and had a GA (graduate assistant) coaching vacancy for 2020. So, Evans is taking two online courses toward his Masters in interdisciplinary studies and, with fellow GA, Quinn Shanbour, is in charge of the eight quarterbacks.

https://www.thespec.com/sports/ticat...ed-season.html

[jerrym]

The combination of fan demand to play divisional teams more often and Covid-19 has resulted in a schedule with two fewer against western opponents and two more against eastern teams with short commutes in between games.

[jerrym]

Below is a list of Hamilton Tiger Cat 2021 free agents. Sean Thomas Erlington has shown some promise as a Canadian RB that I wouldn't mind the Argos picking up.

PLAYER	A/N/G	POS	COLLEGE	STATUS
ACKLIN, Jaelon	A	WR	Western Illinois
BANKS, Brandon	A	WR	Kansas State
BENNETT , Jackson	N	RB	Ottawa
BEVERETTE, Tyrice	A	LB	Stony Brook
BROOKS, Cariel	A	DB	Adams State
CIRACO, Darius	N	OL	Calgary
CRAWFORD, Aaron	N	LS	Saint Mary’s
DALY, Michael	N	DB	McMaster
DEAN, Larry	A	LB	Valdosta State
FILER, Mike	N	OL	Mount Allison
FREY, Chris	A	LB	Michigan State
GIRARD , Mathieu	N	OL	Montreal	Retired
GNAHOUA , Valentin	G	DL	McGill
GOLDING , Brett	N	OL	Wilfrid Laurier
HERDMAN-REED, Justin	N	LB	Simon Fraser
JACKSON, Don	A	RB	Nevada
JONES, Brian	N	WR	Acadia
LAWRENCE, Simoni	A	LB	Minnesota
LEVELS, Patrick	A	DB	Baylor
MARSHALL, Jalin	A	WR	Ohio State
MASOLI, Jeremiah	A	QB	Mississippi
MAULDIN, Lorenzo	A	DL	Louisville
MOORE, Hayden	A	QB	Cincinnati
MURRAY, Derico	A	LB	Kent State
NEWTON, Curtis	N	LB	Guelph
POSEY, DeVier	A	WR	Ohio State
REVENBERG, Brandon	N	OL	Grand Valley State
STEPHEN, Courtney	N	DB	Northern Illinois
THOMAS ERLINGTON, Sean	N	RB	Montreal
TUCKER, Marcus	A	WR	Northern Michigan
VAN ZEYL, Chris	N	OL	McMaster
WADE, Brett	N	DL	Calgary
WILLIAMS, Frankie	A	DB	Purdue

https://www.cfl.ca/fa21/

[jerrym]

Here's the background for one of Hamilton's ten players whose names were released from their negotiation list: DL Cavon Walker.

Cavon Walker, DL, Maryland, FA
Walker, a six-foot-two, 278-pound d-lineman, has the resume of a CFL-bound player. Now 26, he’s come close to the NFL a few times, being a final cut in the camps of the Chicago Bears in 2018 and the Kansas City Chiefs in 2019. He took his passion for chasing quarterbacks to the XFL and led the league in sacks playing for the New York Guardians, before the league terminated its season in April because of the pandemic. His 4.5 sacks in five games caught the attention of the Pittsburgh Steelers, but he unfortunately didn’t make it through the cutdown day. A big, aggressive d-lineman, Walker sounds like he has the makings of being a perfect addition to the Ticats’ vaunted d-line.

https://www.cfl.ca/2020/12/16/oleary...g-list-reveal/

[jerrym]

The Tiger Cats have resigned former Stampeder RB Don Jackson who had signed with Hamilton for the cancelled 2020 season.

[jerrym]

Hamilton has re-signed former Argo OC Tommy Condell who helped the team lead the 2019 Ticat offence in many CFL categories, as well as DC and former BC Lion DB Mark Washington. Earlier the team re-signed former Argo and current HC Orlando Steinauer, co-managers Sean Burke and Drew Allemang, while extending WR Bralon Addison and RB Sean Thomas Erlington.

[jerrym]

Backup QB Hayden Moore, who went 20/30 for 222 yards in his 2019 rookie season, has resigned with Hamilton through 2021.

[jerrym]

The Tiger Cats have re-signed quite a few players including: WR Brandon Banks, who led the CFL in receiving with 1,550 yards in 2019; Canadian RB Sean Thomas Erlington, who was having a breakout year with 224 rushing yards in only 4 games until a season ending injury; WR Bralon Addison who was fifth in receiving yardage with 1,236 yards in 2019; ST/DE valentin gnahoua who got into 11 games as a rookie in 2019; ST/LB Curtis Newton,who had 7 ST tackles in 18 games; DB Mike Daly a Canadian who had 34 tackles and an INT; WR Jalin Marshall, who had 8 receptions in 9 games for 139 yards; WR Marcus Tucker, who had 475 receiving yards in his 2019 rookie year ; WR Jaelon Acklin, who had 708 receiving yards in his 2019 rookie year; DE Lorenzo Mauldin who had 14 DTs and 3 sacks in 2019; DE Julian Howsare who had 26 tackles and 6 sacks in 2019; LB ChrisFrey, a rookie who had 7 tackles and a sack in 5 games in 2019; and LB Tyrice Beverette who had 9 DT and 19 ST tackles in his rookie season.

[jerrym]

Former Argo and 2019 Most Oustanding OL Chris Van Zeyl has resigned with the Ticats (as I shed a tear for the Argos loss to its #1 opponent), as has Canadian CFL All-Star Brandon Revenberg, who has yet to miss a game in four seasons in the league. They will help anchor a strong OL.

Van Zeyl anchored an offensive line that helped Hamilton post league-leading rankings in offensive points (508), offensive points per game (28.2), offensive touchdowns (50), net offence (7,125 yards), net offence per game (395.8 yards), average yards per play (6.84), first downs (398), passing yards (5,639), passing yards per game (313.3), average gain per pass (9.0 yards) and 30-plus yard pass gains (31).

The six-foot-six, 312-pound native of Fonthill, Ontario has appeared in 173 games with 164 starts over his 12 seasons in the CFL with the Tiger-Cats and Toronto Argonauts (2009-2018), winning Grey Cups in 2012 and 2017 with the Argos.

https://3downnation.com/2021/01/12/t...hris-van-zeyl/

[jerrym]

Hamilton has further strengthened its OL by re-signing Brandon Revenberg, who has missed only one game in four years with the Ticats. The team also strengthened its DL by extending 2019 East All-Star DE Ja'Gared Davis, who was second in sacks in 2019.

[jerrym]

The Ticats have signed eight of their nine 2020 draft picks, missing out so far only on kicker JJ Molson who is currently with the Green Bay Packers.

ROUND	OVERALL	NAME, POSITION, SCHOOL
1	5	Coulter Woodmansey, OL, University of Guelph
1	8	Mason Bennett, LB, University of North Dakota
2	17	Bailey Feltmate, LB, Acadia University
3	27	Tyler Ternowski, WR, University of Waterloo
4	36	Stavros Katsantonis, DB, University of British Columbia
5	45	Joseph Bencze, OL, McMaster University
6	54	Jean Ventose, DB, University of British Columbia
8	72	Tom Schnitzler, LS, University of British Columbia

Woodmansey, 23, played in 32 games, including 28 starts at guard over four seasons at the University of Guelph (2016-19). The 6-5, 325-pound native of Toronto, Ontario was named an OUA first-team all-star and a second-team all-Canadian in 2019, and also suited up for the West Team in the U SPORTS East-West Bowl.

Bennett, 23, played 43 games over four seasons at the University of North Dakota (2016-19), posting 128 total tackles, 20 quarterback sacks, three pass breakups, one forced fumble and two fumble recoveries. The 6-4, 235-pound native of Winnipeg, Manitoba holds the UND Division I-era record for sacks in a season with 9 (2018) and was selected to the Associated Press All-American Third Team in 2019.

Feltmate, 22, played in 31 games over four seasons at Acadia University (2016-19), recording 203 total tackles, 14 tackles for loss, three quarterback sacks, three forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries and five pass breakups, helping lead Acadia to two Loney Bowl Championships (2017, 19) during his time with the Axemen. The 6-2, 220-pound native of Moncton, New Brunswick’s numerous accolades at Acadia include being named an AUS All-Star three times (2017, 18, 19), a U SPORTS Second Team All-Canadian twice (2017, 19), the AUS Outstanding Defensive Player of the Year twice (2017, 19), and was the recipient of the AUS Student-Athlete Community Service Award in 2019.

Ternowski, 22, played in 29 games over four seasons at the University of Waterloo (2016-19), recording 164 receptions for 2,949 yards and 26 receiving touchdowns, while also adding 23 kick returns for 413 yards and 16 punt returns for 129 yards. The 6-0, 185-pound native of Hamilton, Ontario was named an OUA First Team All-star each of his last three years as a Warrior (2017-19), and was also named a U SPORT First Team All-Canadian in 2018 and 2019. Ternowski led the OUA and U SPORTS in receiving yards (1,159) and receiving touchdowns (14) in 2018, earning the OUA record for most receiving TD’s in a single season.

Katsantonis, 24, appeared in 43 games over four seasons at the University of British Columbia (2015-18), registering 205 total tackles, 18 interceptions, 16 pass breakups, three forced fumbles and five fumble recoveries as a Thunderbird. The 5-11, 185-pound native of Bakersfield, California was named to the First Team All-Canadian defensive squad three of his four years at UBC (2016, 17, 18).

Bencze, 24, made 24 appearances over four seasons at McMaster University (2016-19), suiting up at both offensive tackle and defensive tackle. The 6-5, 255-pound native of Peterborough, Ontario posted 26.5 total tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss and two quarterback sacks during his time on defense for the Marauders. He projects to play offensive line in the CFL.

Ventose, 25, appeared in 15 games over two seasons at the University of British Columbia (2017-18), recording 31 total tackles, one interception, four pass breakups, one fumble recovery and one forced fumble. The 6-0, 200-pound native of Calgary, Alberta spent the 2016 season as a redshirt with the University of Calgary.

Schnitzler, 25, made 16 appearances at defensive line over two seasons at the University of British Columbia (2018-19). The 6-5, 245-pound native of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan registered 45 total tackles, three quarterback sacks, one forced fumble and three pass breakups as a Thunderbird.

https://www.cfl.ca/2021/01/21/ticats...0-draft-class/

[jerrym]

LB Simoni Lawrence, 2019 East Most Outstanding Defensive Player, has re-signed with Hamilton while Canadian DL Ted Laurent, a five time East All-Star, has restructured his contract as contract resturcturing becomes the norm for those with big contracts.

[jerrym]

The Ticats have re-signed Canadian DL Brett Wade who two tackles and a sack 15 games in 2019 and three year veteran American DB Cariel Brooks, who had 58 tackles, one sack and 2 interceptions in 2019.

[AngeloV]

The Ticats have re-signed Canadian DL Brett Wade who two tackles and a sack 15 games in 2019 and three year veteran American DB Cariel Brooks, who had 58 tackles, one sack and 2 interceptions in 2019.

You can now add Masoli to that list (sorry for the double post, but I think it applied in both rooms).

https://www.tsn.ca/hamilton-tiger-ca...soli-1.1583616

[jerrym]

I was typing out a post on Masoli when Angelo beat me to it by a minute, so I erased mine. Once again Hamilton has the best QB depth in the league.