1st game

Well, Adrian looked quite sharp in the 1st quarter and Santos was impressive in the 2nd despite the INT. Deslauriers looks like he's making a serious bid, as is Rodriguez. Bowling looked good, too. I think we'll be more than OK with the corps of receivers.

BUT! absolutely no innovation on the few running plays we saw - a few off-tackle attempts. So, no conclusions to draw about the running game so far. I hope they run a few more in the 2nd half, and have a bit of variety - sweep, reverse, even a draw. This, of course, means great coordination with the OTs and OGs. The RB, also, has to be able to read the hole and run downhill. Hope they can get that going.

So far, an interesting game. Looking forward to the 2nd half.

Go als go!

Despite the picks, Santos looks good.

Cmon JKM, you know better…

it’s pre-season = Vanilla playbook…

I dont expect to see anything out of the ordinary…

Bo Bowling reminds me so much of Cahoon! I hope he makes the squad, he looked very good. He made one catch, I thought it was Ben who caught it. Brandon London also looked awesome, but we have SJ and Jamel who are the same size. Can Watkins or Bratton be on the hot seat? And geez I forgot about Deslauriers. I dont even want to get started on defence. All I know is thank god im not the one making these cutting decisions.

I think the French call it "l'embarras du choix"

Brandon London and Bo Bowling coming up with great games
Throw in "Big Play" Rodriguez and the coaching staff's heads must be spinning
Gotta find a way to keep these guys on the team

I guess Trestman wasn't kidding about decisions being made on what guys do in practice
Because this didn't look like a team in search of a running back
Still...Bernard impressed me with catches out of the backfield
And Marc had a solid game
Anyone else think Whitaker was a bust?

Speaking of which
Maypray was pretty lukewarm
And despite the heartwarming kidney thing...Jarvis doesn't seem to be the answer
The correct answer is: Rashaud Slaughter
Well...he made some interesting returns, and seemed shifty as a running back
Look forward to seeing what he brings next time

Whyte is a big punter...accurate too from the looks of it
I would have liked to see him hit the 2 FG's instead of DeAngelis
Hopefully he'll have a few more chances next time

McPherson had some nice throws...Santos too
400+YDS passing by backups...to backups
Not bad!!!

The defence seems pretty set
After the starters were out the revolving door had my head spinning
And frankly....it's hard to concentrate after that Bruins Stanley Cup thingy

:wink: :D :wink:

Agreed
A young Ben Cahoon with speed
I was impressed with his sure hands

Some receivers just give you the impression they won’t drop the ball
A good possession receiver in the same mould as “Velcro-Hands”
I was very impressed

As much as I liked London’s game
(he needs a catchier name)
We already have 2 just like him
And with Rodriguez…one on stilts

Given a choice…I’d go with Bowling

[quote="mike2579"]Bo Bowling reminds me so much of Cahoon!

I think he looks like a young Cahoon with speed as well. On RDS, Pierre Vercheval and Mathieu Proulx said Bowling looked like Weston Dressler!

Brandon London was equally awesome tonight. I was disappointed with the lack of production on kick returns. The returners got mauled tonight, much like last season.

There are 3 areas that need a lot of work. Running Game, Punting, Kick return teams. I guess the coaching staff will be spending tons of time watching film tomorrow and looking at the blocking performance of the running backs cause the idea wasn't to run the ball ... I think London and Bowling made the team, how could you cut those guys ? and you can't even really put either of those guys on the practice roster, they will get snatched up or activated in the first week ! Preachea doesn't have a chance with the way those guys played. Deslauriers also played really well. I think Prod, Bratton and Desrivaux and Lambros are in big trouble.

On defense Boulay missed an open field tackle... Dix looked good. The defensive line played very well. Coach Sinclair is doing a hell of a job with his guys...

AMac looked great, reads, move pocket, read, he his really improving. Santos had a bit of control problem on some balls but he makes plays...tough SOB.

I think we need Sandro place kicking this season...One thing is for sure we can't cut him right now...

Very entertained, these guys worked hard and smart :thup:

I agree with Hfx on the following:

[ol]- We can't cut Sandro.

  • London and Baker should be here to stay. And P-Rod, Bratton, and Desriveaux are in trouble.
  • Boulay whiffed on a makeable open-field tackle that led to a Bomber first down. He's got to do better than that with Brouillette pushing him at safety.[/ol]

McPherson looked good but sometimes his delivery is a bit off. Looks like he's trying to feather passes when a bit of mustard is needed.

For the rest, we didn't run because Winnipeg was, according to Trestman, loading up the box the whole night. So we passed, and we won. I'm not worried. The running game will make its presence felt eventually.

We saw virtually no blitz from the defense, which makes me think Tibesar is saving some juicy stuff for when it really counts. McElveen looked really good.

Considering this was the 1st pre-season game when most of the bench played, it was still a very entertaining game. I agree that Bo Bowling (BB) looked at times like BC. London was very impressive indeed. And P-Rod, if he can get his head straight, might have a future here as well. I really liked BB's moxy - Cahoonesque! I also liked London's ability to bring it down in traffic. Senior, you are quite right - the coaching staff will be having nightmares deciding who stays and who goes. Not only that, ALL CFL coaching staffs are salivating, knowing full well the Als can't keep all of them!

There was effectively no running game, but I would say that Bernard hit the hole better than Whitaker, for what it's worth. The aerial show last night was in evidence. Methinks that both AD and Santos are keepers; they both threw the ball with authority. Lord knows what may happen with injuries.

That said, next week will be a better test, as the Als will be using more of their first-stringers, and they will be facing more of the Ticats' first-stringers. If BB and London perform as well, they are keepers. I agree that we still need work on punt returns and, my favourite peeve, the running game.

I agree with pretty much everything that's been said above.

In particular the receivers were really good. .. Bowling, London, Deslauriers, and Rodriguez. Take it with a grain of salt however, that was Winnipeg's "B" squad out there on defence. .. no Doug Brown, Hefney, Suber. . .

Bowling, yes, reminds of Cahoon, and I like the kid's attitude. What I don't like? Well part of me hopes he doesn't make the team because for some reason Rod Black fell heads over heels in love with his name, and he'll drive us nuts all year about it if he makes the team.

I agree pretty much with Senior; Whitaker, while I might not call him a bust, sure didn't impress, and showed me nothing to warrant anoninting him the starting RB. Marc and Bernard looked okay, but we need to see more.

Otherwise, a good start gang, and isn't it nice now to be actually talking football?

I don’t think you can even call it the “B” squad, MadJack. It was the rookie squad. There were only 3 or 4 guys on the depth chart (whole team) for that game who have started for more than 8 games in their career (Beasley, Butler, LaBatte and possibly Browne - can’t remember exactly how many starts he’s had when Logan was injured) and about 5 guys with more than 2 years CFL experience playing.

No Doug Brown, Dorian Smith, Odell Willis, Kent, Bowman, Lobendahn, Jovon Johnson, Suber, Hefney and Logan who were all starters last season. On offence, no Pierce, Edwards, Reid, Jeffers-Harris, Carr, Douglas, Khan and Morley who were all starters. Labatte played but that was his first game at centre. I think Duane Forde was right when he said of the new guys on the field maybe only 3 or 4 will survive TC.

LOL, I know Blue Blood. .. I was being kind. More accurate to describe it as a C or D squad probably.

Was the same for both teams. on the third quarter touchdown I saw Barrette and Pino run to the end zone. No Emry, Anderson, Parker, Stewart, Bowman, Estell, Wilson on defense.

Hold on

  1. Whyte was by far the more impressive punter
    One missed field goal is hardly a test
    Still…keep DeAngelis around for a while is prudent
  2. Baker…really?
    Bowling was by far the better receiver
    Definitely a keeper
    I like the comparison to Dressler
    But then people have been comparing him to Cahoon…for years
  3. Boulay missed a tackle
    After all the guy’s done over the years…
    I doubt MOB is keeping him awake at night

There are definitely good rookies throughout the League; I am positive that some pf these rookies would not be in the CFL,without the NFL lockout. I could be wrong,but I will be most surprised if the lockout last more than another month or so; from what we read,the NFL teams may increase their rosters from 53 to 56 players; if so,some players on CFL teams practice rosters could be signed/invited to training camps of NFL teams.

You may wonder where I am "going". My hope-"dreaming in colors"- would be for the League to increase the CFL rosters from 46 to 48 and the dressed players from 42 to 44; if so,the SMS would have to be increased by no less than $150,000.00 and,preferably, by $200,000.00. The CFL is more popular than ever and an increase in players would be beneficial. Some "penny pinching" owners/teams won't/don't see it this way,unfortunately.

With regards to last night game, there were positive and negative aspects. On the positive side: Receivers and QB; I know,this is a broken record,but I am not convinced that Watkins will be with the Als for the whole 2011 season; imagine, a Bowling and a London do cost less than a Watkins and are much younger; presently, I say that the Als will start the season with Bowling,London and Rodriguez on the team; not 3 on active list; 1 or 2 of them on 1 game injury list. Watkins could be on unjured list for 1st game of season. As most of you,I was not that impressed by our RB and KR,although Slaughter was not too bad. With regards to K/P, Whyte should start the season,but we will keep DeAngelis,who did good on punting; Whyte is the better for punts,but only a small difference.We seem to have good depth in DB.

I know that both teams did not dress many regular players and,for this reason, some players -on both teams- may not look/play as good against better talent. Next game will be critical for many rookies.

Richard

Trestman has said that players make the team in practice, so we probably have to keep things in a bit of perspective, although London and Bowling were certainly impressive.

I don`t think Bratton or Desriveaux are in trouble, but Baker and Rodriguez will have a hard time making the team.

The QBs looked good, even Neiswander didn`t look out of place for a first outing.

Miguel Bujold in La Presse this morning said he has it on good authority both kickers will stick around on the roster, with only one likely dressing. They both punted and kicked off decently which was a concern of mine.

There are some potentially explosive newcomers - Slaughter, Jarvis, Marc - we have to find a way of utilizing them.

Ivan Brown had 2 sacks although I expected more from Chima.

There was good tight coverage by some of the new DBs - Lerner, Hecht, Willliams - but not certain there is room for them.

There are also definitely some things to work on: Run blocking, punt coverage, and above all punt returns.

Johnny Rodgers used to say the 2 most important blocks on a successful return are the first and the last ones. Last year and yesterday we are just not getting that first block on the first man downfield.

Also wanted to say it was great to see Walter Spencer back contributing on special teams as if he hadn`t missed a beat. He also tipped the Dix interception.

He did suffer an elbow injury, hopefully nothing serious.

It occurred to me while watching the game:

How is it that Jim Popp comes up with this great talent at the receiver position
And yet we get stuck with last year's rejects at running back?

Perhaps Richard can speak to this
But I imagine that the Alouettes must be a hard-sell to any potential
Star running back

Sure...
"Come to Montreal and get ignored...get pummelled protecting your quarterback
And maybe he'll throw you a bone now and again"

I'll be relieved when this "all time record" carp is over
And we can get back to a more balanced game

I like the passing game just fine
But if the first pre-season game is anything to go by
This loopy lopsided attack is only going to get worse.
Count on the league going head-hunting

I know I can get "gloom and doomy"
But this really worries me

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again:
Kick blocking is a matter of committment
If you don’t have any reason to believe that your returner is going to hit that hole
You sacrificed your body to open up for him
You’re going to offer him up as the next sacrifice

Maypray is at best an OK returner
Personally I don’t think he’s even that
I wasn’t overly impressed by Jarvis
But somehow Slaughter showed that combination of instinct and toughness
That might just spell “great returner”

Trust me
A few decent returns/game
Or at least a KR showing (like Owens for instance) that he’s willing to do anything
To get that few extra yards
And our blocking issues will suddenly dissappear.
Woooooosh!