Darren Cameron's Blog

[sweep the leg]

Delete post: I don't really care anymore. Certainly not enough to invent scouting reports from our asst. GM for drafts held several years ago.

[GCn20]

 

He may have put the names forth BUT he didn't say on to WHEN to pick them. Ettienne and Pencer would have been fine had they been 4-5 round picks, sent back to school, yada yada. But Mack picked them first overall making it impossible not to have them on the team right away otherwise you look like a fool. 

 

You really think Walters had no say in ranking the players. SMH

 

 

 

Or that he wasn't a big part of the scouting of them and overall evaluation. Mack may have overruled Walters on a few picks, in fact there is likely little doubt that he did, but the guys he over ruled them for were people that Walters felt strongly enough about their potential to rank them as possibilities for their respective draft picks.

That shows equally bad talent recognition imo.

I am positive that picks like Pencer, and Etienne were taken highly based partly on glowing scouting reports. Those glowing scouting reports would have come from Walters. He did most of the NI talent evaluation.

I am certain that if Walters initial scouting of Penser, Etienne, etc. had stated that they weren't top prospects that Mack would not likely have even considered them. Walters floated these names as potential 1st round picks along with probably a few other names and Mack did not do a good job of narrowing the list down.

These are not names that should have been on that list. That's on Walters. Picking them is on Mack. Both wear the stink.

[Goalie]

I guess, all i'll say here is.... if you look at some of the guys mentioned here, Peach, Walter, etc.. Those guys were taken pretty late in the draft, which actually means many teams, actually all of them passed on them multiple times too. Wasn't there a rumor with Walter only wanting to go to Calgary? Not sure but... things like that probably played a role there, it's not like Matt Walter would be starting here either, he'd just be a special team player. I mean, i get some of them, Etienne etc, Pencer, but... the guys taken later in the draft, can't really  fault mack or walters for that when every other team passed them over multiple times also. 

 

And when you actually think about Peach and Walter, both Calgary Picks.. so that means every GM in the league is an idiot other than Hufnagel i guess? 

[Floyd]

 

 

 

Walters could have very easily been overruled by Mack.. He seemed the type to disregard his underlings opinions..

I really can't fault the picks of pencer or Etienne.. He was a gambler.. If they panned out, they woulda been home runs.. Go big or go home was clearly his mantra. Bad idea when our canucks depth was so weak for sure tho..

He believed in taking players with physical tools and then turning them over to the coaches to turn them into players. It's not the worst strategy... unless you can't hire a good coach. 

 

 

Enough with the ridiculous 'worst coach' thing... physical tools pfft.

 

Pencer was an OT with bum shoulders, Etienne was a receiver coming off a broken back, Robertson was a 5'6 DB and Fitzgerald was the slowest guy in the draft

 

Stephan and Swiston were recovering from a major injuries and seem like they never really did

 

You saying that either Lapo or Burke were good coaches? 

 

Pencer was a big strong OL who could move pretty well, Etienne was a tall player with decent speed and had a decent year with little time spent as a WR, Robertson was short but I believe his testing numbers were quite good, Fitzgerald might have been slow but he was a big strong player. Lot of raw abilities there that were expected to be developed. It didn't happen for a variety of reasons. I just find that people are really too hard on Joe Mack for a lot of things. It's almost like it's personal and they will intentionally make things sound worse than they really were. 

 

 

We'll never know - both were under-staffed.  We have something like three more asst coaches now...?

 

I think Lapo still has potential, Burke just gave up... shortly after the Cauchy Muamba signing.

[Goalie]

Lapo has potential as an OC, as a head coach, i think he leaves lots to be desired. I remember them showing LAPO trying to rah rah the team at the start of some games, and i just can't see how a guy who... let's go out there OK boys Ok and Ok and play ok with all ok our heart ok and ok ok ok can be a good leader. Lapo as an OC? good. Lapo as a head coach? Probably not so good. 

[wookie]

if u ever talk to Mr Walters, he will tell u that Mr Mack did his own drafting, in 2013 draft walters said to pick Edem, not a guy who has all ready signed with a nfl team that was short linebackers,and in the 2nd rd he wanted to pick Haridara

if we did that we would have been away ahead, but we did not

[Adrenaline_x]

You saying that either Lapo or Burke were good coaches? 

 

 

 

 

I think LAPO was a good coach with a horrible cast of players to play with.. Even with that, he managed to take the team to the greycup with a broken down Qb, a weak oline, and a good defence.

 

The team cratered after lapo was removed, and Burke didn't do anything with the same cast of players...    We finally looked like perhaps we are on an uptrend, AFTER changing the GM, The whole Coaching staff and a bunch of players including the QB.

 

So.. I think Lapo is a good Coach and did well considering what and who he had to work with.

[gbill2004]

Lapo has potential as an OC, as a head coach, i think he leaves lots to be desired. I remember them showing LAPO trying to rah rah the team at the start of some games, and i just can't see how a guy who... let's go out there OK boys Ok and Ok and play ok with all ok our heart ok and ok ok ok can be a good leader. Lapo as an OC? good. Lapo as a head coach? Probably not so good.

Heard Lapo was constipated during that pre-game speech.

[17to85]

 

You saying that either Lapo or Burke were good coaches? 

 

 

 

 

I think LAPO was a good coach with a horrible cast of players to play with.. Even with that, he managed to take the team to the greycup with a broken down Qb, a weak oline, and a good defence.

 

The team cratered after lapo was removed, and Burke didn't do anything with the same cast of players...    We finally looked like perhaps we are on an uptrend, AFTER changing the GM, The whole Coaching staff and a bunch of players including the QB.

 

So.. I think Lapo is a good Coach and did well considering what and who he had to work with.

 

Lapo only looked good in comparison to the absolute **** show that was Tim Burke. Lapo coached not to lose. He could have got some more wins out of that team if he showed some balls and took some risks. 

[B-F-F-C]

Can we take the Lapo conversation to a new thread?  It really has no relevance to this thread.  

[iso_55]

Give Etienne a friggin break he was a kicker who had played one year of CIS as a WR. The biggest mistake was not sending him back to play another year of CIS so he could actually get playtime. The notion was how can you send a first rounder back? Well it seems to work for the NHL.

Give Etienne a break? He wasn't worth a first round pick. Whether Jade was lazy in the weight room, didn't have the physical stature or didn't have the mental toughness needed when he was drafted, he was a lousy pick. We could  have had a quality Canadian but instead Mack went "off the board" & chose a fourth rounder who was never ready for prime time. Like I said before picking him in the first round ultimately cost him his career as he was rushed into the lineup before he was ready instead of being allowed to develop on the PR because he was a first round pick.

[iso_55]

 

 

You saying that either Lapo or Burke were good coaches? 

 

 

 

 

I think LAPO was a good coach with a horrible cast of players to play with.. Even with that, he managed to take the team to the greycup with a broken down Qb, a weak oline, and a good defence.

 

The team cratered after lapo was removed, and Burke didn't do anything with the same cast of players...    We finally looked like perhaps we are on an uptrend, AFTER changing the GM, The whole Coaching staff and a bunch of players including the QB.

 

So.. I think Lapo is a good Coach and did well considering what and who he had to work with.

 

Lapo only looked good in comparison to the absolute **** show that was Tim Burke. Lapo coached not to lose. He could have got some more wins out of that team if he showed some balls and took some risks. 

 

LaPo made some bad decisions using the clock or strategy wise. You had to wonder what he was thinking at times. Cost us some games. I think pretty evident he panicked on the sidelines at times.

[17to85]

Can we take the Lapo conversation to a new thread?  It really has no relevance to this thread.  

This thread had very little relevance to it to begin with, it's turned into a more spirited discussion. 

[B-F-F-C]

 

Can we take the Lapo conversation to a new thread?  It really has no relevance to this thread.  

This thread had very little relevance to it to begin with, it's turned into a more spirited discussion. 

 

Spirited discussion?  This discussion has been beaten to death over the last two years and you're usually the first to call posters out on that.  

 

If Lapo and Mack's names were never mentioned again.  It would be too soon.    Let's discuss the present not the past.     

[17to85]

 

 

Can we take the Lapo conversation to a new thread?  It really has no relevance to this thread.  

This thread had very little relevance to it to begin with, it's turned into a more spirited discussion. 

 

Spirited discussion?  This discussion has been beaten to death over the last two years and you're usually the first to call posters out on that.  

 

If Lapo and Mack's names were never mentioned again.  It would be too soon.    Let's discuss the present not the past.     

 

The past shapes the present. Those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it etc etc. 

[SPuDS]

Can we take the Lapo conversation to a new thread?  It really has no relevance to this thread.

This thread had very little relevance to it to begin with, it's turned into a more spirited discussion.

 

Spirited discussion?  This discussion has been beaten to death over the last two years and you're usually the first to call posters out on that.  

 

If Lapo and Mack's names were never mentioned again.  It would be too soon.    Let's discuss the present not the past.

The past shapes the present. Those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it etc etc.

Yea but the only thing we can truly hope that management learns is what not to do going forward..

[mbrg]

 

 

 

 

Can we take the Lapo conversation to a new thread?  It really has no relevance to this thread.

This thread had very little relevance to it to begin with, it's turned into a more spirited discussion.

 

Spirited discussion?  This discussion has been beaten to death over the last two years and you're usually the first to call posters out on that.  

 

If Lapo and Mack's names were never mentioned again.  It would be too soon.    Let's discuss the present not the past.

The past shapes the present. Those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it etc etc.

Yea but the only thing we can truly hope that management learns is what not to do going forward..

 

 

The one thing we can all agree on is Darren Cameron FAILED to live up to the high journalistic standards set by fellow bloggers and is unworthy of winning a Bloolitzer.

[kelownabomberfan]

The one thing we can all agree on is Darren Cameron FAILED to live up to the high journalistic standards set by fellow bloggers and is unworthy of winning a Bloolitzer.

I agree. If he keeps this up he may wake up one day and find himself writing a sports column at the Sun.

[Tracker]

 

The one thing we can all agree on is Darren Cameron FAILED to live up to the high journalistic standards set by fellow bloggers and is unworthy of winning a Bloolitzer.

I agree. If he keeps this up he may wake up one day and find himself writing a sports column at the Sun.

 

Hey, now. That's hitting way below the belt. Have pity.