EXTREME MAKEOVER: CFL EDITION
EXTREME MAKEOVER: CFL EDITION
Monday, May 1, 2006 - 10:00AM
KIM STALLKNECHT
Quarterback Jason Maas leads new look Hamilton Tiger-Cats
By Josh Bell-Webster,
CFL.ca
What a difference five months makes.
When they last played, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats were finishing out the string of what had been a disappointing 2005 campaign. Losing eight straight games to begin the season, the Tabbies finished with a 5-13 record, dead last in the CFL.
After making the playoffs the previous season following a 1-17 campaign in 2003, last year was considered a set back. It was evident that a major shake-up was in the offing.
Even the most die hard Ticats fan, however, could not imagine what was to unfold over the next few months. Hamilton was able to obtain a new starting quarterback in Jason Maas; a new running back in Josh Ranek; a new kick returner in Corey Holmes; and a new go-to receiver in Terry Vaughn. All have been CFL or Divisional All-Stars at one time or another.
All this, and there are still three weeks to go until training camp.
Maas, who was the first piece of general manager Rob Katz’s reclamation project when he was dealt from the Edmonton Eskimos following the Grey Cup, isn’t surprised how fortunes have turned around so quickly in Hamilton.
“Talking to Rob Katz, he had a vision of what he wanted the off-season to be like,” explained Maas. “He shared that with me back in December when I was signed. Everything he said has pretty much happened.”
“We talked about it back in December and all I told him was during my six years in Edmonton, they always made sure that going into camp that they had the most competitive team that they could possibly find so every position you are competing. Every player was competing for a job. That’s what you want going into any season. You want competitiveness at every position and I think Hamilton has done that in their off-season.”
The end result of this will be higher expectations in Steeltown when the Ticats hit the gridiron again come June. Maas readily accepts the challenge.
“Coming from Edmonton, there’s no higher expectations in this league, and I say that only because no other team in this league has gone 34 years straight in the playoffs,” said Maas. “That pressure alone is immense. As a quarterback in that organization, you feel that little bit of pressure right off the get-go. Everybody knows it, but there’s also that expectation that you’re going to get to the playoffs, and you’re going to compete for the Grey Cup every single year.”
“Doing what we done in the off-season here, I hope everyone on our team expects to compete for the Grey Cup this year and nothing else.”
With so many new parts on the team, many expect that it will take time for the Ticats to gel as the new players get used to each other’s tendencies. Maas believes it won’t take that long, as a number of the players have begun working out with each other, with more to come.
“You need to go into training camp knowing everybody and getting a good feel for everyone,” said Maas. “I think everyone’s going to come up a couple of weeks early just to get to know each other and start going. When we hit training camp, you get 10 days before we play Toronto. There are no excuses after two pre-season games. You expect to play well and you expect to do your best.”
No doubt Tiger-Cat fans love to hear that.
Monday, May 1, 2006 - 10:00AM
KIM STALLKNECHT
Quarterback Jason Maas leads new look Hamilton Tiger-Cats
By Josh Bell-Webster,
CFL.ca
What a difference five months makes.
When they last played, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats were finishing out the string of what had been a disappointing 2005 campaign. Losing eight straight games to begin the season, the Tabbies finished with a 5-13 record, dead last in the CFL.
After making the playoffs the previous season following a 1-17 campaign in 2003, last year was considered a set back. It was evident that a major shake-up was in the offing.
Even the most die hard Ticats fan, however, could not imagine what was to unfold over the next few months. Hamilton was able to obtain a new starting quarterback in Jason Maas; a new running back in Josh Ranek; a new kick returner in Corey Holmes; and a new go-to receiver in Terry Vaughn. All have been CFL or Divisional All-Stars at one time or another.
All this, and there are still three weeks to go until training camp.
Maas, who was the first piece of general manager Rob Katz’s reclamation project when he was dealt from the Edmonton Eskimos following the Grey Cup, isn’t surprised how fortunes have turned around so quickly in Hamilton.
“Talking to Rob Katz, he had a vision of what he wanted the off-season to be like,” explained Maas. “He shared that with me back in December when I was signed. Everything he said has pretty much happened.”
“We talked about it back in December and all I told him was during my six years in Edmonton, they always made sure that going into camp that they had the most competitive team that they could possibly find so every position you are competing. Every player was competing for a job. That’s what you want going into any season. You want competitiveness at every position and I think Hamilton has done that in their off-season.”
The end result of this will be higher expectations in Steeltown when the Ticats hit the gridiron again come June. Maas readily accepts the challenge.
“Coming from Edmonton, there’s no higher expectations in this league, and I say that only because no other team in this league has gone 34 years straight in the playoffs,” said Maas. “That pressure alone is immense. As a quarterback in that organization, you feel that little bit of pressure right off the get-go. Everybody knows it, but there’s also that expectation that you’re going to get to the playoffs, and you’re going to compete for the Grey Cup every single year.”
“Doing what we done in the off-season here, I hope everyone on our team expects to compete for the Grey Cup this year and nothing else.”
With so many new parts on the team, many expect that it will take time for the Ticats to gel as the new players get used to each other’s tendencies. Maas believes it won’t take that long, as a number of the players have begun working out with each other, with more to come.
“You need to go into training camp knowing everybody and getting a good feel for everyone,” said Maas. “I think everyone’s going to come up a couple of weeks early just to get to know each other and start going. When we hit training camp, you get 10 days before we play Toronto. There are no excuses after two pre-season games. You expect to play well and you expect to do your best.”
No doubt Tiger-Cat fans love to hear that.
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