Trade Nichols for a solid RB?

[Steve Vale]

Re: Trade Nichols for a solid RB?

[cmbuk]

Re: Trade Nichols for a solid RB?

Rbs can be found so easily.. And u just know how they will fit in the cfl

U just have to look at gable.. IMHO the best back in the cfl.. Now he came from the ifl, Nebraska danger.... His replacement. Troy Evans is just as shifty..
These guys are playin for 200 bucks..

I'd bring Evans up here in a second.. And tbh that's just one player I have seen.. There are 100's of rbs with cfl skill set..

[Sticker]

Re: Trade Nichols for a solid RB?

Good thread. Nice to not follow some of the same old off season banter.

[Sectionq]

Re: Trade Nichols for a solid RB?

If I was an opposing teams GM, no way I would trade for Nichols. Even if he lights up preseason, who cares. The first few games of preseason are filled with American guys that don't know the rules, some aren't in CFL shape and more then half of them don't even make it onto CFL practice rosters. Then you sprinkle in some freshly drafted Canadian kids, a lot of whom don't make the team and go back to school, are cut or if they are lucky might make it to the practice roster. SO when a second or 3rd string QB lights up preseason, it's not something to get too excited about. The you factor in:
#1 He has a terrible injury history of not just small 1 or 2 game things but major injuries.
#2 He really hasn't proven anything so he is really not much better than bringing up some guy from College. Other than I suppose Nichols having the advantage of at least practicing on a CFL field and knowing the rules better, I wouldn't want to give up an asset to bring in a unproven guy when I can sign a younger unproven guy that doesn't cost me anything.

[cmbuk]

Re: Trade Nichols for a solid RB?

lets be honest.. there was nothing wrong with this guy..

http://youtu.be/Pu1sXcCZeHA

still irks me

[GreatWhiteNorth]

Re: Trade Nichols for a solid RB?

lets be honest.. there was nothing wrong with this guy..

http://youtu.be/Pu1sXcCZeHA

still irks me

Then why isn't he playing football in the CFL?

I don't pretend to know the answer, but I do believe that guys aren't cut for no reason after proving what he had.

[cmbuk]

Re: Trade Nichols for a solid RB?

Then why isn't he playing football in the CFL?

I don't pretend to know the answer, but I do believe that guys aren't cut for no reason after proving what he had.

that i dont know could be a multitude of reasons.. it seem like he isnt palyng football anywhere.. maybe injured.. just like ebell who had his career cut short, maybe off field problems.. maybe he chose not to lay anymore.. we just dont know..there is a reason he isnt playing.. but its not through lack of talent... and iirc we didnt cut him because of his talent.. we cut him iirc because we were going Ni...???

[turftoe27]

Re: Trade Nichols for a solid RB?

that i dont know could be a multitude of reasons.. it seem like he isnt palyng football anywhere.. maybe injured.. just like ebell who had his career cut short, maybe off field problems.. maybe he chose not to lay anymore.. we just dont know..there is a reason he isnt playing.. but its not through lack of talent... and iirc we didnt cut him because of his talent.. we cut him iirc because we were going Ni...???

That was a really good clip of Porter. Thanks. I noticed our line was mostly- Afif (LT) Koch (LG) Fiaconni (C) Kabongo (RG) Wojt (RT) . Yet, Porter looked darn good running behind them. Just shows if you have a commitment to the running game and a decent RB you can have success. I think Porter made the line look good.

You are right about us going NI at the time. Messam and McCarty. IIRC , Porter got picked up by Hamilton after his Edm. release and I can't remember him doing much there. You really have to wonder why he didn't go further than he did. As GWN said, there has to be a reason because he had lots of ability.

[Diesel]

Re: Trade Nichols for a solid RB?

I think he may have had some concussion issues

[Looner]

Re: Trade Nichols for a solid RB?

I think he may have had some concussion issues

Bingo, that's what I heard anyways

[turftoe27]

Re: Trade Nichols for a solid RB?

I think he may have had some concussion issues

That would explain it. Thanks.

[adb]

Re: Trade Nichols for a solid RB?

IMO establishing a strong run game...the kind that the Riders and Stamps have enjoyed over the last couple of seasons will be critical for this team's success during the upcoming year. I mean the kind of running game where 5 yards on first down seems to be automatic and often times where you'll be able to churn out 7 yards even when the opposing defenses know you'll probably be lugging the ball and this is something Cornish (as much as it kills me to say it) and Sheets have been able to do a cut above the rest over the last little while taking a lot of pressure off of the rest of the offense and even the defense as far as I'm concerned. I know it takes more than just a stud running back it also takes a great oline (as well as receivers who will block down field) and a commitment to the run both from the coaches and the design of the playbook ( you just can't run it up the gut on every play) but a stud running back is a big part of the equation so the EE scouting staff better be turning over every rock they can find in order to get one because even though RBs are a dime a dozen how many of them have really made a huge impact to their teams success over the last few years. White may be the guy but he'll have to prove it to me first and the Esks better bring in a lot of competition to make sure they have a star at that position and not merely a serviceable player and if it turns out that down the road Sheets doesn't make it in the NFL and we dont have a stud at that spot (assuming we have a decent oline and commitment to the run) then we better be in on the bidding war for his services...trading Nichols to strengthen the running game probably isn't the answer but this team had better find the answer...my two cents.

[GreatWhiteNorth]

Re: Trade Nichols for a solid RB?

that i dont know could be a multitude of reasons.. it seem like he isnt palyng football anywhere.. maybe injured.. just like ebell who had his career cut short, maybe off field problems.. maybe he chose not to lay anymore.. we just dont know..there is a reason he isnt playing.. but its not through lack of talent... and iirc we didnt cut him because of his talent.. we cut him iirc because we were going Ni...???

Recall though, he was up against Arkee Whitlock in training camp that year, and Arkee missed almost all of camp with an injury. Messam was picked up off the scrap heap in BC, and while he eventually impressed and won the role, I truly believe that opportunity came about only after both Porter and Whitlock failed to lock it down.

It may have been concussion/durability concerns, but when a back shows as much as Porter did the year before and then washes out by week six of the following year, I'm questioning work habits,.getting full of himself, the type of teammate he was, etc. I'm not saying these specifically apply to Porter, and I don't know why he's not playing, but you look for something that wouldn't be as readily apparent from the stands and you consider that a guy's reputation gets around in an 8-9 team league. Guys that show that kind of production don't just get cut or worked out of the equation without some flaw or incident imo.

[Opus]

Re: Trade Nichols for a solid RB?

A guy that showed that kind of production likely thought that maybe he would be used going into the next year.

Through those first six games Porter had a grand total of 23 carries, and only played in half the games. That's not given a chance to succeed at all.

I believe they made up their mind in the second game of the year in 2011, when Messam ran for 100 yds.

I really don't care what knocked him out in Hamilton. Both he and Whitlock were punted out of here though by a gross mismanagement of their abilities.

[GreatWhiteNorth]

Re: Trade Nichols for a solid RB?

A guy that showed that kind of production likely thought that maybe he would be used going into the next year.

Through those first six games Porter had a grand total of 23 carries, and only played in half the games. That's not given a chance to succeed at all.

I believe they made up their mind in the second game of the year in 2011, when Messam ran for 100 yds.

I really don't care what knocked him out in Hamilton. Both he and Whitlock were punted out of here though by a gross mismanagement of their abilities.

Again though, we're talking about what is evident from the stands. In a business where winning is job security, I don't think it's common for coaches to move away from productive play makers without some reason to do so. Practice habits, conflicts with teammates, pointing fingers, lack of discipline, not putting in the off-field work - be it training or film study. I'm not saying anything of these specifically applied to Porter, as I am as puzzled as the rest by his decline and demise.

Maybe your assertion is correct, that they didn't give him a chance for no apparent reason and risked cutting their own throat as a result. The way I think though is that people do things for reasons, and just because I don't have the visibility to know what those reasons are, doesn't mean they didn't exist and weren't valid. Most actions are explained by reasons, even if the reasons were flawed, than by lack of reasons, and surely we are not privy to viewing 90% of the dynamics that go on outside of gameday.

When I see a back like Porter go from virtually an every game 1000 yd rusher to an ineffective and sparsely used part, to the scrap heap where virtually no one else wants him, I'm looking for reasons behind it rather than chalking it up to mismanagement. That would be a more credible explanation if there were proof through the guy succeeding elsewhere, but here, we're talking about a good number of qualified and experienced football people that seemed to evaluate he player similarly based on some things we weren't seeing from our outside perspectives.