It's come down to this: the Alouettes have a great QB in Anthony Calvillo, but for how much longer?
Backup Adrian McPherson will be 27 come pre-season 2010. His compelling story
here: [url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adrian_McPherson[/url]
and here: [url]Canucks fire Bruce Boudreau, hire Rick Tocchet as replacement
makes me think AD deserves a legitimate shot.
Who can blame him for stating his desire to be traded to a team where he can finally be a starting quarterback?
[i]So the question is this[/i]
[b]Should the Als:[/b] focus on Calvillo, and the 1-2 years more he's got in him?
(This will almost certainly result in AD leaving the Alouettes for greener pastures)
[b]Or should they: [/b]make every effort to keep McPherson on the team?
(Definitely means more starts, or some kind of platoon system,
probably two offensive packages-for 2 very different QB's)
Adrian showed good things, but he is not a sure thing he still has a lot to prove, he started, what 2 games so far. I think AC still has at least 2 seasons left as the CFL dominant QB, he sure has not shown any sign of fatigue this year. I think he will know when it's time to hang it up, so I would definetely go with AC. QB's of this quality only come once in a while in this league so we should profit as long as possible.
That's cheating. The premise is that there IS a choice to be made.
Either we make the situation conducive to McPherson staying....or he splits.
Might I remind everyone that McPherson himself has indicated that while he likes being in Montreal,
He will ask to be traded to a team where he can get some starting time.
Jim Popp says it's not an issue if he leaves, i put more wait in his judgement than mine, i go with Jim, stick with AC for the coming year wehave a great option for backup QB, maybe in hte next game he starts he will force me to change my mind. But so far AC is eons above what AM has brought.
That's the thing, he can't leave. He has two years left to his contract and is not starting. So if he was to be unprofessional and stay home (Something I doubt). He won't get paid, he won't learn, he won't improve. Its one thing to demand a trade if he is your starting QB or tying up substantial payroll money but this is not the case here. Personaly I think his progression has been great. Came in as a rookie, dressed his entire rookie season and did short yardage stuff. 2nd season promoted to #2 QB and started a few games. That's the way it should be. He's doing well and the team is treating him well. Adrian will be a Lark in 2010.
Senior. I even have to wonder if your not trying to stir the pot on behalf of a rival team
Adrian and/or his agent has to realize that remaining here allows him to be groomed by Trestman who is probably the top QB guru in all of North America.
I see him as A.C.`s backup in 2010 & 2011, the Als starter in 2012 & 2013, and in the NFL by 2014.
Now who do we get to QB the team in 2014???
Adrian and/or his agent has to realize that remaining here allows him to be groomed by Trestman who is probably the top QB guru in all of North America.
I see him as A.C.`s backup in 2010 & 2011, the Als starter in 2012 & 2013, and in the NFL by 2014
While I agree that Trestman is a great QB coach, 2 things need to be considered. 1) McPherson came to the Alouettes with years of Arena league pro experience (experience I might add that allowed that other Jim Popp experiment ((Cox to linebacker and Parker and Brown to defensive halfback)) to be such a rousing success). He's not exactly a rookie. 2) By your timetable Adrian's first starting assignment will be in 2012...he'll be 29 years old. Does that sound reasonable?
That's the thing, he can't leave. He has two years left to his contract and is not starting. So if he was to be unprofessional and stay home (Something I doubt). He won't get paid, he won't learn, he won't improve. Its one thing to demand a trade if he is your starting QB or tying up substantial payroll money but this is not the case here. Personally I think his progression has been great. Came in as a rookie, dressed his entire rookie season and did short yardage stuff. 2nd season promoted to #2 QB and started a few games. That's the way it should be. He's doing well and the team is treating him well. Adrian will be a Lark in 2010.
I guess I wouldn't be so adamant had I not met Matthieu Proulx that time in Dollarama. The minute I mentioned McPherson he got sort of sombre and told me he'd be going to another team if they couldn't get him some playing time. A personal, subjective experience, I'll admit, but with RDS confirming AD's desire to be traded...well there you are. Contracts can be broken. The Als know AD's situation....know they can't sit on his aspirations forever. And a QB starved league might have something to say too.
What confuses me most is this: Calvillo was like 11 minutes from being tarred and feathered in Montreal. He pulled off a miracle, good...great. But he's not exactly the model of championship consistency. Still people seem willing to latch their wagons to him and go west. What we have here is a failure of the imagination.
McPherson will NOT stick with the Als if he doesn't catch a break....mark my words. I'm not agitating for any other team....I'm hoping my team, and it's fans, realize that we may be selling our future for short term gain (grey cups excluded)
I'm not happy with that, even if some of you are.
Proux is employed/contracted by RDS so to me that blurb is not two distincts sources but one reprising the other.
Adrian could walk in to Jim's office and ask and Jim might say ok I don't know. But he is our short yardage QB, which means he is involved in EVERY game and is at most two seasons from starting and a change in AC's situation could accelerate that.
Basicaly Adrian is ONE play from starting with the best team in the league vs carrying a bottom feeder on his shoulders something I don't think he is ready for. It is one thing to play good ball in a well oiled machine, it is quite another to take a team with two or three wins and make them competitive. Ask Printers, Maas, Joseph or hundred of others before them.
29 is not "old" to be given the reigns to a successful football team. Adrian's situation is a lot like Steve Young's who was stuck behind Montana for four years and than went on to start for another nine. He was 26 when he arrived in San Franicsco, 30 When he became a starter and played till he was 39 years old with much success. As a side story, Mark Trestman was Young's coach in 95-96.
Proux is employed/contracted by RDS so to me that blurb is not two distincts sources but one reprising the other.
The Alouettes free-safety is under contract to RDS? To do what? Spread rumours to random fans at supermarkets?
Basicaly Adrian is ONE play from starting with the best team in the league vs carrying a bottom feeder on his shoulders something I don't think he is ready for. It is one thing to play good ball in a well oiled machine, it is quite another to take a team with two or three wins and make them competitive. Ask Printers, Maas, Joseph or hundred of others before them.
Have you read the wiki and especially the espn articles on McPherson? The young man is HIGHLY motivated to redeem himself. He simply will not wait two more years to get that chance. I'm surprised there's anyone who can't see that. He was touted as having more talent than any of those aforementioned QB's. I'd bet on him...."bottom feeder" or no.
Well...no point arguing about it. We'll see this resolved soon enough.
I agree with Hfx that it will be far more difficult for Adrian to take a struggling team into contention than it will be for him to inherit the fantastic club that Jim Popp has built in Montreal. Maybe he thinks he can do it. He's young and cocky, most likely, and I don't blame him for thinking he can do it. But history is littered with the corpses of talented QBs who were unable to be difference-makers on mediocre teams with questionable coaching. And when I think of a mediocre team with questionable coaching, I think of the Toronto Argonauts.
Apart from Montreal, the teams that have an established system for Adrian to step into and be successful are also the teams with established starting quarterbacks (Saskatchewan and Calgary).
Ill play devils advocate for the sake of Senior`s argument. (By the way, Junior Ah You was one of my favorite Als).
There are only 2 CFL teams that require a QB - Winnipeg & Toronto. Now you are going to tell me you would logically want to go to those teams and their 2 genius coaches?? It would take at least 2 yrs. to fit into their systems, assuming they even have a system.
Is McPherson 100% happy in his present situation? - probably not, but hey who is 100% happy in their work environment these days? He has to suck it up and bide his time for a couple of more years. And who even knows if A.C. will continue to be lucky and avoid the injury bug.
There are only 2 CFL teams that require a QB - Winnipeg & Toronto. Now you are going to tell me you would logically want to go to those teams and their 2 genius coaches??
Personally no. I wouldn't want to go to either team. Frankly I think it would be a big mistake for McPherson to make either move. That's one of the reasons I bring it up. Having read about AD's career, I'm really pulling for him to be a big success, and of course wouldn't be if he didn't show such enormous potential. A potential, I might add, that has people buzzing around the league. I hope Adrian has his head on straight, and realizes the possibilities of remaining an Alouette. Still, I think you people are under-evaluating his desire to succeed and prove himself, once and for all. So be it. Time will tell.
I expect a BIG apology if AD ends up on another team next spring
I still don't think this is really an issue. According to the RDS, McPherson said he'd thought about playing elsewhere, but also reiterated that he's happy in Montreal. And he's still under contract for a few more years. He has no leverage, and no reason to demand a trade. Like Hfx said, his progression in Montreal has been exactly what it should be. Year one: short-yardage specialist as he learns the Canadian game. Year two: short-yardage specialist + significant game action. Year three: I expect that we'll see even more of Adrian in non-short-yardage situations. And taking over a starting job at age 29 is not a big deal at all. Calvillo was almost the same age when he took over from Tracy Ham. Burris didn't establish himself in Calgary until his early '30s.
