Eskimos Tillman takes the rap

[Fungi]

http://www.edmontonsun.com/2012/07/0...-takes-the-rap
Not the smartest move I've ever seen, except getting rid of Dunnigan right after he wins the Grey Cup comes close.

REGINA — When the final gun sounded, Eric Tillman walked to the centre of the press box where the Edmonton writers were stationed and symbolically took the gun and pointed it at himself.

The general manager who arguably made the worst trade in Edmonton Eskimos history, dealing quarterback Ricky Ray to the Toronto Argos, said "all the pitchforks should be aimed in my direction."
He did everything but bend over for that purpose.
"After a (17-1) loss like that you know you're going to take heat. So put it on me until we right the ship. It's an 18-game season but at this point it lies with me.
"Until we take a significant step forward and prove ourselves, it should be directed at me."
Ya think?
Through two pre-season games and two regular-season games, the Eskimos quarterbacks have yet to throw a single solitary touchdown pass!
None. Nil. Not a one.
This day they didn't get close enough to even sight the end zone.
"We were atrocious of offence. The blame rests 100% on my shoulders," said Tillman, leaning further into the punches he knew were going to be coming after this one.
"You need to look no further than at the guy with the bad hair," said the redhead.
"It's a long season. But clearly we need to be significantly better. We had a championship level defence but struggled on offence and special teams. Special teams is separate. To say this was not a Picasso on offence would be the understatement of a lifetime."
What happened this weekend is exactly what Edmonton Eskimos fans dreaded for the last seven months.
The day the trade was made, your correspondent compared what you were about to experience this season with what Eskimos fans watched in the 1960s.
Great defence. No quarterback.
In the case of this particular game, it would be an insult to the team of the '60s to make that comparison.
I'm not sure that the defence could play much better football. But the Eskimos scored one point! And the punter was trying to put the ball on this side of the goal line not the side where you get a point for a single.
How is Tillman's trade working out so far?
Ricky Ray led the Toronto Argos to a thrilling 39-36 win over the Calgary Stampeders in their home opener with over 400 yards for passing this weekend. He's 59-for-79 for 705 yards and a 74.7% completion rate with a 103.6 quarterback efficiency rating.

Steven Jyles was given the hook at 7:32 of the first quarter and replaced by 38-year-old Kerry Joseph.

Jyles went back in for most of the second half until he was replaced by Joseph for the final three minutes in which the score went from 7-1 to 17-1. Jyles was 10-for-19 for 91 yards. He is now 31-for-55 for 56.4% and 327 yards and a quarterback efficiency rating of 66.2.
The Eskimos defence played dynamic football for 58 minutes, holding the Roughriders offence to seven points.
Tillman says when Ray went to Toronto the Eskimos wished him well and they meant it.

"It would be immature and small to do anything otherwise," he said.
It's only be right for Tillman to take the blame. It's his fault. What was out of place was downstairs in front of the Eskimos dressing room, head coach Kavis Reed decided to put it all on himself.
"It is my fault. It was poor preparation on my behalf," he said saying pulling Jykes twice was on him.
"The opportunity I allowed him to have or didn't allow him to have," he said.
"A lot has to change," he said. "A lot of evaluation has top happen in the next 24 hours."
This is a head coach who, after Jyles did nothing in the home pre-season game, said a decision as to which quarterback would start the season was "to be determined."
Methinks he's back to that.
"Right now there is no question we have to evaluate the situation."
Can you imagine this team with that defence and Ricky Ray at quarterback?

Apparently it's more important to be able to afford to pay to have 17 players on the injured list, most of which are as healthy as Calgary's touchdown horse. No need for such an animal in Edmonton this year.

The only thing that's keeping this team together is Kavis Reed.

[doubleblue]

Lets move on. Tillman took one for the League. He is still one of the better GM's in the CFL IMO.

[ArgoRavi]

Lets move on. Tillman took one for the League. He is still one of the better GM's in the CFL IMO.

Tillman did not take one for the league. His ego simply got the better of him and Barker took advantage. I don't mean to pick on you, doubleblue, but the conspiracy crap surrounding this deal which originated from the west (Cam Cole in particular) really bothers me. Tillman made the same kind of trade that he has made a few times before (i.e., get rid of your high-priced starting QB and hope that you can still do okay which makes you a genius). Tillman did the same thing in Toronto after the '98 season when he got rid of 5000 yard passer Kerwin Bell and tried to get by with Jay Barker and Jimmy Kemp. The Argos went 9-9 in '98 and 9-9 again in '99 so that worked out well enough for Tillman.

[argos1873]

Tillman did not take one for the league. His ego simply got the better of him and Barker took advantage. I don't mean to pick on you, doubleblue, but the conspiracy crap surrounding this deal which originated from the west (Cam Cole in particular) really bothers me. Tillman made the same kind of trade that he has made a few times before (i.e., get rid of your high-priced starting QB and hope that you can still do okay which makes you a genius). Tillman did the same thing in Toronto after the '98 season when he got rid of 5000 yard passer Kerwin Bell and tried to get by with Jay Barker and Jimmy Kemp. The Argos went 9-9 in '98 and 9-9 again in '99 so that worked out well enough for Tillman.

I suppose we'll never know if it was a conspiracy, but I never needed a western writer or eastern writer of any sort, for my own mind to think that just maybe it was a conspiracy. It was a fishy trade to say the least, and your "evidence" that the Argos went a whopping 9-9 in back to back seasons after Tillman's "blockbuster" trades means nothing. This trade was fishy, but I don't care, because the Argos got one of the best QBs the league has to offer.

[ArgoRavi]

I just don't see the "fishiness" in this trade, especially when Tillman was shopping Ray after the 2010 season and almost traded him to Hamilton then.

[Wobbler]

People forget how expensive Ray is. Edmonton was able to sign 7 FAs from other teams this off-season with their newfound payroll flexibility, and are a much more well-rounded team as a result. Are we so sure we even won the trade?

[ArgoRavi]

People forget how expensive Ray is. Edmonton was able to sign 7 FAs from other teams this off-season with their newfound payroll flexibility, and are a much more well-rounded team as a result. Are we so sure we even won the trade?

Maybe it is a trade that ultimately helps both teams. I don't think that the Argos have any regrets whatsoever so far and the Esks have likely improved their depth. The Esks will win with their defence and special teams while hoping that their offence does just enough as was the case in B.C. tonight.

[1argoholic]

Tillman doesn't look so stupid now does he.

[argos1873]

I just don't see the "fishiness" in this trade, especially when Tillman was shopping Ray after the 2010 season and almost traded him to Hamilton then.

Not that I don't believe you, but your source?

[ArgoRavi]

Not that I don't believe you, but your source?

It was in various newspapers at the time of the Ray trade. I can't find that information through Google's archives but I am sure that others on here can back me up on the claim that Tillman did shop Ray the year before and was talking trade with Hamilton. I believe that instead of trading Ray at that point, Tillman was able to get Ray to take a $100k pay cut.

[argolio]

It was in various newspapers at the time of the Ray trade. I can't find that information through Google's archives but I am sure that others on here can back me up on the claim that Tillman did shop Ray the year before and was talking trade with Hamilton. I believe that instead of trading Ray at that point, Tillman was able to get Ray to take a $100k pay cut.

I remember there was some talk in the media back then about the possibility of the Esks trading Ray, and I know at least one person on this forum (me!) was speculating in the early months of 2011 that the Argos might try to get him.

[eiben35]

The Edmonton Eskimos are 3-1. Tillman made a good trade (for both teams) but the media in this country doesn't know football especially in the T-dot. Eric got Canadians Austin Pazstor, Ryan King, Justin Capiciotti and Grant Shaw in this deal. 3 of those 4 Canadians are contributing right away while Pazstor signed with the Minnesota Vikings. They also got a serviceable Steven Jyles. Eric Tillman has won three Grey Cup rings with three different teams. He is a bit of a dick but an extremely good G.M.

[AngeloV]

The Edmonton Eskimos are 3-1. Tillman made a good trade (for both teams) but the media in this country doesn't know football especially in the T-dot. Eric got Canadians Austin Pazstor, Ryan King, Justin Capiciotti and Grant Shaw in this deal. 3 of those 4 Canadians are contributing right away while Pazstor signed with the Minnesota Vikings. They also got a serviceable Steven Jyles. Eric Tillman has won three Grey Cup rings with three different teams. He is a bit of a dick but an extremely good G.M.

The Eskimos were 4-0 at this time last year. It remains to be seen whether or not it was a good trade. I do agree that Tillman is a good GM, though. His record speaks for itself.

[ArgoRavi]

The Esks right now remind me a lot of the '07 Argos. They have excellent defence and special teams and they just want their QBs to "manage" the game. I don't think that they can win a Grey Cup with that offence, especially considering how many points are being put up around the league this year but Tillman was also thinking long-term with this deal and he is hoping that Matt Nichols or Jeremiah Masoli will be ready in a year or two to lead a far more productive offence.

[KCargosfan]

The Edmonton Eskimos are 3-1. Tillman made a good trade (for both teams) but the media in this country doesn't know football especially in the T-dot. Eric got Canadians Austin Pazstor, Ryan King, Justin Capiciotti and Grant Shaw in this deal. 3 of those 4 Canadians are contributing right away while Pazstor signed with the Minnesota Vikings. They also got a serviceable Steven Jyles. Eric Tillman has won three Grey Cup rings with three different teams. He is a bit of a dick but an extremely good G.M.

The Esks are 3-1 because their defense is awesome, not because of this trade. IMO calling Jyles serviceable is a bit of a stretch, but we'll see how he does given a full 18 starts. Edmonton's offense is very painful to watch unless Hugh Charles is rushing the ball against an uninspired BC defense. I do agree that Tillman is a good GM, but I think he was crazy to make that trade.

[jerrym]

The Edmonton Eskimos are 3-1. Tillman made a good trade (for both teams) but the media in this country doesn't know football especially in the T-dot. Eric got Canadians Austin Pazstor, Ryan King, Justin Capiciotti and Grant Shaw in this deal. 3 of those 4 Canadians are contributing right away while Pazstor signed with the Minnesota Vikings. They also got a serviceable Steven Jyles. Eric Tillman has won three Grey Cup rings with three different teams. He is a bit of a dick but an extremely good G.M.

I agree the trade could work out well for both teams. The Argos got a Hall-of Fame quarterback in Ray. Since they now also have 2 young quarterbacks in Harris and Collaros who appear to have the talent to develop into first rate qbs, especially with the tutelage of Maas and Ray, giving them the potential to get long-range value out of this trade. The Eskimos have Shaw who is showing signs of becoming a top notch kicker with an 83% average for field goals. The Canadians mentioned above give them considerable depth while Jyles provides an experienced quarterback with a high floor but a low ceiling.

[OV Argo]

The Edmonton Eskimos are 3-1. Tillman made a good trade (for both teams) but the media in this country doesn't know football especially in the T-dot. Eric got Canadians Austin Pazstor, Ryan King, Justin Capiciotti and Grant Shaw in this deal. 3 of those 4 Canadians are contributing right away while Pazstor signed with the Minnesota Vikings. They also got a serviceable Steven Jyles. Eric Tillman has won three Grey Cup rings with three different teams. He is a bit of a dick but an extremely good G.M.

Tillspin is a legend in his own mind; and i guess in some others' too. He is a slick/greasy snake-oil salesman type - bent on self-promotion and playing the media and fans - he's good at convincing some he is some sort of brilliant football mind - totally laughable stuff IMO.

He was GM of the expansion Ottawa Renegades - in a shot to truely build a football team from a clean slate - he failed miserably IMO - total idiot football moves there, one after another - he $ucked big-time as a GM there.

I'm sure he has learned some though and maybe improved quite a bit; kudos to him for helping the Riders win a GC; and then he gets run out of town there; pretty successful with the Esks last year too - nice surprise for a team that was expected by some to be weak; and they look pretty good thus far this year too (thanks to a strong D and special teams mostly) - we shall see by season end how good Tillspin's Esks are this year; and IMO - the trade away of Ray was a move made by an ego-head who was gambling this would make him look like a genius - we shall see if it pays off.

Great GM ? - maybe / more like my @$$; I know he keeps getting repeat shots in the good ole CFL though.