From the Pressbox

Personally I think Don has hit it right on the head. Yes the Cats need help at receiver, but the Offensive Co-ordinator and Head Coach had better game plan better. Some of the play calling decisions just don't make any sense at all. When you are down 22-3 late in the third quater on the opponents 6 you son't go for three points on a field goal. The worst that cvan happen if you don't score the TD is that you pin your opponent deep in his own end. Not rocket science guys and what happened to the idea of building confidence in you team.
Okie-wee-wee

As a long-time Ti-Cats fan, I'm discouraged to see yet another season slipping away. That being said, I still watch the games, looking for reason for optimism. (Hey, I'm a Leafs fan too, what can I say?)

What I've seen this year is that there is no single reason for their struggles. There are a large number of small reasons. Maas is not quite healthy, Chiang is not quite ready, the salary cap has forced them to release veterans on their way down from their glory years and retain rookies still learning the CFL game, offensive plays are not quite clicking and small defensive breakdowns are heartbreakers. On and on...

All the Ti-Cats can do is start doing the little things right, one at a time. (They can start by cutting out the bone-headed penalties, especially the ones after the whistle.) A little success will equal some badly needed momentum.

And momentum would help this team more than a trade or change at QB.

I was gonna say that it concerns me that another CFL team is struggling on, and in the near future, off the field. However, as crazy as it may sound, when a team like the Ti-cats go under or the Ottawa franchise remains in purgatory, the league should take the leap and put one of those teams in Halifax, the other in Quebec City and expand with a team in Saskatchewan (Saskatoon). The heartland of the CFL. The west continues to prosper both in the CFL and in the economy, and Saskatchewan is on the verge of a Boom. There is no question that Saskatchewan could support two teams better then Ottawa or Hamilton supports one. Think of the natural Rivalry between Regina and Saskatoon that would be created. The south would embrace a team that has always been embraced and the North would embrace their team, instead of having to Travel 2.5 hours to see a game, in some cases considerably more. The rivalry created between Montreal and Quebec City. Once the league becomes as healthy as its potential indicates then the Ti-Cats and the Renegades could enter back into the league. Lets try something a lil different, hell we tried US expansion and failed miserably, but yet survived. Taking a chance on Canadian Expansion would only benefit the league and turn it into a 10 potentially 12 team league, and something all Canadians could be proud of! Here's the look after a few years establishing the full look.

WEST
BC Lions
Calgary Stampeders
Edmonton Eskimos
Regina Roughriders
Saskatoon ???
Winnipeg Blue Bonbers

EAST
Hamilton Ti-Cats
Toronto Argonauts
Ottawa Renegades
Montreal Allouettes
Quebec City ???
Halifax ???

A balanced East/west league. Truely Canadian from coast to coast. 12 teams as it should be. And solid through and through. Sorry off on a tangent and not really on topic , just seeing the big picture and the great potential this league has.

It doesn't matter who you start at QB. Desjardins and Taffe should be blamed for this terrible start because they simply haven't put the talent together well enought to give them a chance to be competitive.

Where is the go to WR, the solid OL, or the great pass rusher?

I think the ticats really suck. I can't believe that they are getting more and more fans though. They are embarrasing their loyal fans and I think they will lose their fans if they continue to suck

I too agree with Elliotte's proposal. All of Hamilton's woes do not rest solely on Maas' shoulders. It is very important to the CFL that Hamilton stays competitive in the East. I have been to Ivor Wynne and Hamilton fans are fantastic - but there is a limit to their patience.

As an Argo fan, I have watched Michael Bishop develop, over time, into a decent QB under the exact same system Elliotte is proposing. Damon Allen, whether injured or ineffective, would help Bishop from the sidelines. Maas can do the same for Chang. Who knows, maybe Maas could blossom if the roles are reversed, with Maas coming in for Chang...

Those who can-PLAY, those who can't commentate. The Cats will turn it around, its to early in the season to be so negative.

Elliotte, I agree with you 100%. Personally I

believe this team needs to be rebuilt on both

sides of the ball, and that takes time.

I wont offer input on the Ticats' current depth of talent, or the tactics or strategies that might make the best use of the talent they have. I can only comment as a fan whose expectations were dashed before the season even started because of off-season decisions that effectively eliminated any hope of their developing an offensive threat. My advice to management: the rest of the CFL is full of ex-Ticats doing very well in their new settings. This pattern of trading away premium players and then in short order releasing those we got in exchange - it has got to stop. Elliotte Friedman alludes to this being a building year. Well, you cant build on anything when you keep removing the foundations! Personally, Elliotte, I think 3 and 15 is a little optimistic.

I hope Hamilton can pull it together. I am worried that the fans will disappear if this mess continues. In my opinion, this teams largest problem is a lack of veterans to show the young guys how to play the Canadian game. I think they should have been active on free agency, even picking up some older guys with only a year or two left in them to help turn it around. Good luck tiger cats. You're still tied for third!

Elliotte, while I agree with your thoughts about not playing Chang. I disagree about the level of talent on the Tiger-Cat roster.
I believe that the foundation is solid, the deployment of that talent is poor.
New offensive coordinator, Mark Working is calling the plays and those calls have been very questionable. Kent Austin showed yesterday how to protect your QB from the pass rush, move him around, create throwing lanes and keep him out of harms way.
I would also point out the inherant folly of throwing the ball to the field in the CFL. More often than not that results in a defensive score.

In a second and six situation you have to find a receiver who is at least six yards DOWN field, if you intend to continue the drive. The west coast offense theory will only work if you have superior receivers,which as you pointed out Hamilton does not. However, one needs to play the cards that one is dealt and use them to their greatest effect.
Julien Radelien did not start Saturday because the other kid was "bigger". Radelien is likely one of the top two FB's in the CFL.
Let's look higher up the food chain than the talent pool.