Ticats Ted Laurent Named East's Nominee For Most Outstanding Canadian 2014

Just saw that the CFL announced that defensive tackle Ted Laurent was nominated as the East's candidate for most outstanding Canadian.

That's somewhat unusual for a defensive player to be nominated and more unusual for a defensive tackle (if it is a defender I think it is more likely to be a linebacker). Laurent finished 2014 with nine sacks, which is impressive for an interior lineman. Laurent, a Mississippi product playing in his fourth year also had 24 sacks. I seem to recall Laurent also having a few pass knockdowns during the year.

Usually receivers end up winning outstanding Canadian (Fantuz likely would have had a chance of being the nominee if he had played all the games and had 1000 yards receiving), but the East didn't have much in terms of receivers this year.

I think Butler would have been a reasonable selection as well as he had a good season this year as a safety, but Laurent is legitimately one of the best defensive tackles in the CFL and is an excellent choice.

Ticats Eric Norwood Tied For Second in 2014 CFL Sacks, Laurent and Reed Second and Third on the Team

One story of this Ticats regular season that hasn't received a lot of mention was how many sacks the Ticats Eric Norwood got in 2014. After Saturday's game, Norwood ended up with 13 sacks, tied for second with the Stampeders' Shawn Lemon (hopefully not related to Cleo) and Edmonton's Odell Willis. The Riders' John Chick has the most at fifteen.

Norwood didn't even play every game (and not due to injury). Norwood is a second year player out of South Carolina. He had four sacks in 2013. One has to think he has an East all-star shot, since he led the East in sacks.

Non-import Ted Laurent tied for 12th in the CFL with nine sacks, which is quite good for an interior lineman. Rookie linebacker Taylor Reed had 8 sacks, which is also good for a linebacker in the CFL.I don't think Reed played every game either.

It was also a season of two halves in terms of sacks for the Cats. The first half of the season, the Cats were bottom dwellers in total sacks in the league, but ended up respectable by the end.

Non-Import Linden Gaydosh Defensive Tackle Signs with Ticats

Just saw that the CFL.ca's Justin Dunk @jdunk12 that the Cats first overall pick in the 2013 draft Linden Gaydosh just signed with the Ticats. Gaydosh is a defensive tackle and spent time with the Carolina Panthers (mostly injured).

The Cats already (quite unusually in the CFL) play two Canadian in the defensive tackle position with Brian Bulcke and Ted Laurent. So obviously the Cats can spell them off, but it is a bit of a logjam, but probably won't matter much this year. It does give good depth if either of Bulcke or Laurent get injured though.

Ticats Sign Non-Import DT Ted Laurent

This is interesting. The Ticats have signed Edmonton Eskimo free agent Ted Laurent, a non-import defensive tackle. Laurent started all 18 games last year for Edmonton, with 36 tackles and four sacks.

A little surprising considering the Cats already have a capable non-import defensive tackle in Brian Bulcke. Possibly the Cats could start two non-imports on the defensive line, which certainly would be rare for a CFL team.