Quotes about Timmy Chang being the new starter in Hamilton

About losing his starting job to Timmy, Maas said:
"It's obviously disappointing. But it is what it is and I'm going to support it. I'm a team guy, I've been one all of my career. So it's no different now. I've started 24 games here and my record isn't very good as a starter. They've tried numerous things since we've been here, and none of it has worked, so I guess this is the next logical step. I can't argue it.

I prepare every week, I work very hard, I haven't changed anything here that I used to do in Edmonton. It just hasn't worked out on the field, as far as Ws are concerned. We're not in the business of entertaining, we're in the business of winning. And when you're not winning, these are the consequences that come with it. I understand that, and changes need to be made." (Hamilton Spectator)

HS Note: "Maas said that general manager Marcel Desjardins and head coach Charlie Taaffe asked him whether he felt he could remain here in a diminished role. If not, the Cats were likely willing to seek a place for him on another team."


About how his GM and coach asked him whether or not he could accept being the backup, Maas said:
"They told me they wanted me to be here if I wanted to be here, so I said, 'Yeah, I'd like to be here.' So that's where it left off. I'm a competitor. I have pride and all those other things that anyone who gets demoted has. I have mixed emotions about it for sure. The reason it's easier to deal with, I guess, is I don't have the ego to say I should be the starter ... and only me." (HS)


About how he's been demoted before, Maas said:
"In this league I've been starter, backup and third-string all in the same season. I understand how to deal with demotion. I understand how to deal with it when you get called upon again, after being demoted. I've chosen to deal with the situation every time I've been dealt it, by working harder, trying to improve my game, staying with it mentally and being supportive of the guy in there, and of the team.

People want to label you as a starter or a backup, but ultimately I'm just another player on this team. I want to win as badly as anybody. If making this change is going to help propel us to win ball games, I'm all for it." (HS)


About how being in the starting QB spot will result in his leading more, Timmy said:
"In the No. 2 position you don't open your mouth. You're watching. You observe the team. And that's what I was doing. Obviously, when you step into the starting quarterback position, it's a different mind set." (HS)


About being suddenly elevated from backup to starting QB, Taaffe said:
"You've gotta be yourself. But you've also got to understand that you've just taken a big move forward. And with it comes expectations and accountability. Tim's always been prepared, but now he's got to prepare even more. He has to make sure that's visible, that he's out front as the leader." (HS)


About taking on a leadership role, Timmy said:
"Leadership is something I'm going to have to take on. It doesn't just come right away. I'm not going to ask these guys to just jump aboard. It's something that you earn between the lines. I feel like I need to earn these guys' respect. That's extended to everywhere. The locker room, practice, the film room, everywhere. It doesn't stop." (HS)


About how people have always said that his mobile game was suited for the CFL, Timmy said:
"Even coaches mentioned it to me, that my game was real suitable for the CFL. Coming out of college, I didn't think of the CFL at first. I was trying to make an NFL team. But continuing to progress in my career, or in some cases regress - because I wasn't' getting assigned to a team - I looked to the CFL and thought that I could do something special there. It was in the back of my mind, and now I'm here. I really believe God has a plan for everybody, and I guess my plan is to be in on Monday." (HS)


About how he's got to restrain Timmy's urge to go deep too much, Taaffe said:
"The thing I've gotta get (Chang) to do is not want to chuck it 80 yards downfield every time." (HS)


About his appreciation for the patience that the team will show in him as the starter, Timmy said:
"I appreciate that they're going to be patient with me, and I thank them for that. But I want to put it in the end zone every time we get the ball." (HS)