Burratto plays blame game

Fri Dec 15, 2006 3:38 pm

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/new ... 0f7e92d1ef

Fri Dec 15, 2006 4:08 pm

Well I can see his point on the QB throwing up INT's for two playoff games, and the fumbling going on, as neither should be on his shoulders. After the Lions, it is a tough act to follow with the minimum INT QB team that we have had since Wally took over.

Fri Dec 15, 2006 5:25 pm

well..I blame Steve for the weather we been having

Fri Dec 15, 2006 5:26 pm

Buratto just tells it like it is.

Sat Dec 16, 2006 4:26 am

KnowItAll wrote:well..I blame Steve for the weather we been having

No kidding. What a slanted article by a Calgary writer.

Sat Dec 16, 2006 8:37 am

Actually there could be something to this. One of the reasons Buratto left here was the reported infighting with himself and Chapdelaine. As in Buratto didn't work well with others.

Pattern or coincidence?

Sat Dec 16, 2006 2:00 pm

Actually there could be something to this. One of the reasons Buratto left here was the reported infighting with himself and Chapdelaine. As in Buratto didn't work well with others.

Well, first of all, your offensive assistants are supposed to take direction from the offensive coordinator and if they don't the assistant should be gone. However, in respect to Burratto's days with the Leos Chapdelaine and Dorazio came in with Wally from Calgary and that made it a unique situation and one I'm sure was not easy for Burratto.

It's interesting that there was no complaining about Burratto out of Calgary throughout the season. The article called him a mastermind and that was how he was seen in Calgary, for the most part, for his unique game plans and for leading the CFL's best offence. Most of the criticism in Calgary was about Creehan, the one with the big mouth, forever changing his personel, and his inabilty to stop any good offence.

The Stamps were stuck with Burris, who of course whined and whined, like he usually does towards his players during football games, after playing terrible again in the playoffs. Now, it was Burratto's offence that was the problem. The Stamps were plain stuck with Burris so they decided to can Burratto.

Burratto can be aloof at times but he has usually been a very popular coach with his players. In B.C. the offensive line requested him to come back and coach them after Burratto was dumped as Head Coach following his Grey Cup season with the Leos. If you took a poll of the Calgary offence and asked them which one they liked more...Burratto or Burris...Burratto would win hands down.

Not every player likes their coordinator...many of the Leos players found Chapdelaine aloof and distant and not everyone liked him by a long shot. However, when he was getting the job done in a manner that meant success they all played for him just like they all played for Burratto in Calgary.

I found it hilarious that Burris was dumping all over Burratto in Calgary and all Burratto did was state the obvious in his comments. Burris is very fortunate he will have Cortez next year as offensive coordinator. He was the guy I really wanted after Burratto was let go in B.C. Cortez will have as good a chance as anyone to get Burris over the top but it won't be easy for Cortez having to work with Burris. Cortez doesn't run an offence simple enough for Burris either but then again what offensive coordinator could only run about six plays...which is about the number Burris can handle without his head hurting.

No one complained in Calgary that Burratto didn't go to film sessions with the quarterbacks all the time when Calgary led the league in offence. In fact, no offensive coordinator goes to all the film sessions...quarterbacks watch film on their own as well as with the offensive coordinator on every pro CFL team. Dickenson and company watch film on their own and didn't always have Chap there passing out popcorn with them....that statement was for those Calgary fans who don't have a clue what goes on inside a pro team.

Cortez had the opportunity, coming back to the CFL this year, as an offensive line coach, to see the changes in the CFL from the time that he was here before. That will pay dividends because the league has changed and Cortez's old offence will need changes. However, what made Cortez a very effective coordinator was his ability to adapt and he will have to do that, both in terms of his offensive structure, and also because he is coaching Henry Burris!

Sat Dec 16, 2006 9:59 pm

In BC, the problems were JC seeking to undermine SB as he clearly wanted to call the shots and couldn't resist letting it be known that he had differing views. Wally also was a huge factor as we all know he doesn't like to be proven wrong and he had to show Calgary that that JC was dumped in error. How could he do that with SB as OC? He couldn't.

Wally has done some pretty good things but let's be clear. Anything that smacked of earlier regimes was not going to last under Wally's tenure.

That story also had Burris dumping on Burratto. If there was one OC that tried to find plays for his QB during good times and when he was struggling, it was Burratto!!! What on earth is Burris on about?

I went to the BC game in Calgary and I can tell you if the fans thought there was a weak link for them it was their QB, not their OC. By season's end they should have been calling for the DC's head, not the OC.

Quite frankly, it matters not a whit that Cortez is their OC as long as Henry Burris keeps playing hot and cold like he did this past season. If were as consistent as the BC QB's have been, the Stamps would be challenging for a Grey Cup with that offense.

Where Wally Buono may be loyal to his guy to a fault (JC), Higgins has learned that he can buy time by dumping his guy when the heat gets turned up. It's a good tactic for the gutless, or in this case, a guy who sees his QB not liking the OC and he has no other likelihood of finding a new or better QB, so dump the OC.

The Burratto stuff in BC had more to do with JC wanting his job than anything else. It also had some to do with Printers also and the differing views of who to use and when to use them.

Burratto is a popular coach. Burris hasn't yet consistently backed up his big talk.

Sat Dec 16, 2006 10:56 pm

In BC, the problems were JC seeking to undermine SB as he clearly wanted to call the shots and couldn't resist letting it be known that he had differing views

Very true

That story also had Burris dumping on Burratto. If there was one OC that tried to find plays for his QB during good times and when he was struggling, it was Burratto!!! What on earth is Burris on about?

Fans were calling for Burris' head in Calgary...not Burratto's! However, Burris has never screwed up on a play in his mind...it's always the recievers fault or the offensive lineman's fault or someone else's fault. However, he sucks up to the press big time!! The fans wanted some blood...they just got someone different than they were expecting!! However, Edmonton and Toronto were quick with job offers for Burratto!

The Burratto stuff in BC had more to do with JC wanting his job than anything else. It also had some to do with Printers also and the differing views of who to use and when to use them.

It was a difference in philosophy. Burratto likes to game plan differently each game and Chap was trained in the Calgary system. It wouldn't have been a problem in most situations because Chap would just have coached the recievers but Wally also brought him in to integrate the Calgary offence. However, he should have just hired Chap as offensive coordinator if he wanted to do that. In the end he did. However, there were differences between Burratto and Chapdelaine also regarding Printers. Not that Burratto prefered Printers over Dickenson,...just that he felt the Leos were better to continue going with the guy who had played most of the season in 2004.

Burris hasn't yet consistently backed up his big talk.

Burris is a Tier 2 quarterback who will now have a second Tier 1 offensive coordinator working with him. Burratto made Burris look better than he really is and so will Cortez!

Mon Dec 18, 2006 8:32 am

I feel for Buratto in that he was clearly a scapegoat in Calgary, and the victim of some internal politics going on in that organization now. Having said that, he missed an opportunity here to take the high road. Throwing your players under the bus is never cool, regardless of the circumstances.

Mon Dec 18, 2006 7:18 pm

Lionut... I don't really think that Buratto tossed Burris "under the bus". He just stated the facts - that he, Steve, didn't toss the INTs...lol.

It is always best to leave taking the high road rather than burn bridges but in this case you got to think there was more to it than meets the eye. At least when the old Calgary owner wanted Buono to toss JC over the side, Wally stood up to them. Tom Higgins was a disgrace handling this. I lost a lot of the respect I had for him over this.

Burris is pretty dumb to think that this is his answer - a new OC.

Mon Dec 18, 2006 7:36 pm

Now Burris has no excuse to perform. Time will judge.

Tue Dec 19, 2006 5:31 pm

It's amazing the similarilities between Steve Burratto's last year with the Lions, and last season with the Stamps except for one difference...

His relationship with Casey Printers.

Burratto plays blame game

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