TAMAN ON THE CUTS

Saskatchewan Roughriders GM Brendan Taman met with the media on Sunday, one day after the release of 26 players to get down to the CFL roster limit.  Here are the quotes:

ON CUTDOWN DAY

BT:  It’s never a fun thing to go through.  We had some tough decisions.  After the game we had to play out a few scenarios and it’s still a work in process to be honest with you.  It wasn’t fun or easy.

WHAT WAS THE TOUGHEST CUT

BT:  Probably Brandon Isaac.  That was probably the biggest back and forth but in the end we kept Legree.

WHAT’S UP WITH THE RUNNING BACKS?

BT:  Jermaine Thomas struggled.  He wasn’t what we thought we had from Florida or his Florida State days.  The other two guys, Toston and Allen, are still here and they’ll still battle it out.  We haven’t made the decision yet who will start but we’ll figure that out this week.

ON THE INJURY TO LB CHAD KILGORE

BT:  That was the most disappointing thing of Friday’s game.  He broke his thumb.  People get so excited for exhibition games and we just try to get through it healthy.  He was hurt at halftime and I just wanted to get the game over.  That will set him back for six games so we’ll have to shuffle our linebackers.  We still have Brian Peters and Sam Hurl there so we’ll make some of those guys go back and forth a little bit.  Tristan Black played well as well but I don’t necessarily think he’ll start.

ON OTHER TEAMS’ CUTS

BT:  We are out at Luther College till midnight so we really haven’t time to go through it.  We wanted to get our own house in order first.  We’ll get into that stuff now.  We’re really happy with our receivers because the young guys stood up and performed well in camp.  Jamel Richardson won’t come here for $50,000 so that’s probably remote.  I wouldn’t rule out Hugh Charles either but we haven’t gotten into that yet.

ON THE ROSTER NOW

BT:  For the most part we’re happy but there are still some problems.  We’re not content by any means.  We’ll still be looking to upgrade and we’ll continue to do that.  But we’re not sitting here with a perfect 46.  ‘Question marks’ may be a better way to put it.  We’re not settled at running back nor our interior defensive line spots.  I think there’s some good guys there but it’s a matter of figuring out the answers to those questions.

COMPARE THIS YEAR TO LAST YEAR AT THIS TIME

BT:  This year’s questions are more noticeable.  Last year it was depth spots and this year it’s starting spots.  It’s a little different but not totally different from other years.

ON THE RELEASE OF JORDAN SISCO

BT:  That one’s a tough one.  I really like him.  He’s a good kid.  But that’s the business, right?  He had four years and when he’s had chances, he couldn’t stay healthy.  This year he couldn’t find his way back into the lineup and that’s not his fault.  Jordan is the type of kid who needs a chance with another team and a fresh start and if he gets that, he’ll be fine.

ON THE RELEASE OF JADE ETIENNE

BT:  That’s a credit to Alex Pierzchalski and Kris Bastien and the guys we kept.  Jade’s, again, in another situation in the right environment he could get a chance to play but with us he was in tough.  I’m disappointed for him because he’s another good kid.