Great game by the Als last night. Although they faced another tough defense, the offense was able to put up some very nice numbers on the board. I was particularly happy seeing Cavillo going deep on a few of occasions in order to keep the Winnipeg defenders honest. As far as the D goes, what can you say? These guys are BEASTS! They stopped yet another quality running back (what do you think of our defense now Mr. Reid?) and had Bishop confused all night.
Speaking of Bishop, is he done (not that he ever got started)? I have seen him play for many years now and he has never impressed me. His read of the defense is atrocious! If it wasn’t for the drops, the Als could have had 5 picks or more.
In any case, congrats to the Als on another well planned and executed game.
Trestman~Milanovich for coming up with a much more creative red-zone package;
Calvillo for being, well, Calvillo;
The receivers who, other than the odd drop here and there (Watkins and Richardson) did a yeoman's job of getting open against a pretty darn good LB corps (although when it comes to pass coverage, Lobendahn is no Shabazz) and secondary;
The Offensive line for controlling the Bombers' pass rush;
The Defensive line for, while not getting a lot of sacks, controlled the line of scrimmage and disrupted play after play;
The linebacking corps, Ferri, Emry, Cox, and Guzman, for making Fred Reid eat his words;
The secondary for blanketing the Bomber receivers who were rarely open.
So we won 39-12. . . hate to quibble, but, things to work on going forward:
No attempt to establish the run in the first quarter (again);
Poor coverage on return team. . . Taylor was getting stuffed all night;
At the start of the 4th quarter, we're leading 33-9. . . what the heck is AC doing coming in at QB again? Give Macpherson or Leak the whole 4th quarter when we're leading 33-9. . .
Once again, I can't disagree with anything MJ has written, except that I support Trestman's decision to leave Calvillo in until the final five minutes. I know we had a big lead at the start of the fourth quarter, but the BC-Toronto game this week was probably fresh in Trestman's mind and proves that no lead is safe when there's a full 15 minutes of football left to play.
I too wish we'd established the run last night. It seems like we go away from the run far too easily at times. But it's hard to argue with four passing TDs.
I loved the fight Watkins showed on his TD. The morons on TSN were calling it a case of weak tackling by the Bombers, but Watkins had to fight off at least one good tackle and keep himself in-bounds while still running upfield and eluding further tacklers. I also give credit to Richardson for quickly realizing that the play could stretch down the field and throwing a few key blocks to spring Watkins on the play.
I also agree with CF's comments about the run D. We are just ferocious against running backs. In fact, take away that stupid 25-yard Renaud run on third down (thank you, Scott Squires, for finding yet ANOTHER way for special teams to mess up this week) and Winnipeg's total run yardage wasn't close to 100 between Reid, Bishop, and Bernard. Reid had a decent average (10 carries, 49 yards) but that was largely the result of that big running play towards the end of the game when he leap-frogged Ferri's leg-tackle. Mostly, I saw Reid getting stuffed at the line of scrimmage, or managing maybe 2 yards.
To me, the run D isn't stellar just because the linebackers are fast. It's stellar because everyone is disciplined about staying in their gaps. Nobody is trying to be a hero on his own and make individual plays. Guys play assignment-sharp football, force the play to stretch out, and then swarm to the football.
I think its the Defensive line. The Lines are the 2 most important position of football. If the Defensive Line is playing well, the entire Defense is. Anwar and Bowman are QBs worst nightmare so far this season. Identical stats between them. Like you said, effective gap assignment is also the main reason why this Run Defense is unbreakable.
One thing I was impressed with, is Chip Cox’s speed. I knew he was fast, but I didn’t know he was that quick. I really like the transition to Linebacker. I couldn’t stand him as a DB, but this year, I’ve been cheering Cox on, instead of cussing him out.
Mathieu Proulx, being at the right place at the right time a couple of times. His pick was a perfect play by him. I always thought Boulay was way better, but this season, I am wondering how I ever thought that. Also, they both can lay the smackdown on a receiver when they get a chance to lay him out.
Special Teams was the only letdown for me last night. We started drives deep in our own territory. Taylor had nowhere to run. At least he didn’t fumble 2 kickoffs, though
Kerry Watkins made a great play for that TD. But, still, sometimes he has me yanking the hair out of my skull, because he’ll drop 2 EASY balls. But at least he makes up with great plays like that.
Good point. The lines are the key to a good team on either side of the ball. Popp has done an outstanding job of making sure our core is solid.
One thing I was impressed with, is Chip Cox's speed. I knew he was fast, but I didn't know he was that quick. I really like the transition to Linebacker. I couldn't stand him as a DB, but this year, I've been cheering Cox on, instead of cussing him out.
I hated him at DB too. He's more tolerable at LB, mainly because of his speed, like you said, but I still hold my breath when he has to cover the 5th receiver in a five-receiver set. He is easily the weakest cover man on the team.
Mathieu Proulx, being at the right place at the right time a couple of times. His pick was a perfect play by him. I always thought Boulay was way better, but this season, I am wondering how I ever thought that. Also, they both can lay the smackdown on a receiver when they get a chance to lay him out.
Proulx is an intelligent player who reads the field well, which is a good attribute for a safety to have, but he isn't nearly as fast as Boulay, who can really make up ground in a hurry if he has to. Both hit well but Boulay has a slight edge in that department IMO. That being said, Proulx is playing good football right now, so there is no need to swap him out.
Special Teams was the only letdown for me last night. We started drives deep in our own territory. Taylor had nowhere to run. At least he didn't fumble 2 kickoffs, though :)
Special teams was terrible last night. Apart from Proulx's fumble recovery, we had no return yards and Squires's asinine coverage decision led to the frickin Winnipeg punter running for 25 yards on third and 10. Every week, something goes wrong. Every week, there is one issue or another. I have yet to see the special teams unit turn in a consistently solid performance for 60 minutes this season: decent return yardage, solid cover, and no glaring horrific mistakes (blocked punts, etc.).
Kerry Watkins made a great play for that TD. But, still, sometimes he has me yanking the hair out of my skull, because he'll drop 2 EASY balls. But at least he makes up with great plays like that.
I agree. He'll make a brilliant catch or an outstanding TD run, then drop a perfectly catchable ball thrown into the numbers in a second and 10 situation. I'm coming to accept Watkins's shortcomings, but it is definitely frustrating. No wonder Calvillo tends to go to Cahoon on second down. Watkins simply can't be relied on to move the chains.
On the other hand, Richardson has also been guilty of dropping catchable balls thrown his way. I wonder if this has anything to do with our previous receivers’ coach leaving and Brady taking over in that capacity?
It's interesting to hear the post game interview with calvillo. Listening to just his interview you would think that we lost the game and that he played terribly. He was very focused on the two interceptions he gave up (which is very uncharacteristic of him) and gave credit for any success to the offensive line and the defence.
The special teams are so tough to nail down it just seems that there is always something wrong with them but never the same thing two weeks in a row something has got to give here and my guess is that Trestman will be having a talk with Squires sometime this week.
As for the dropped passes well that is something I have come to accept from Watkins, though they are happening less and less as the years go by, and Im willing to forgive him of that because he does everything else so well that it is hard to begrudge him the occasional dropped pass. This was the first drops I saw from Richardson but at the same time given how he reacted to it I dont see him making many more
As said above- great game by offensive and defensive lines, two good rookies playing well at defensive half, linebacking good and, the corners are playing tight on opposing recievers. Matt Proulx has earned the first string safey position by his interception and fumble recovery and his strong support of the defensive backs. This is his best year since he joined the Als from Laval. On offense, I was not at all suprised that Trestman twice played three down ball in the red zone- a long pass resulted in a TD and, the Als demonstrated they were playing aggressively to win. If we include Cahoon as an American, we now have all American receivers. Without injuries I don't expect much from Deslauriers or Desriveaux this season!! We are focused on the pass now with even Colbourne playing as a receiver. I noticed some intermediate receptions by Kerry Carter and Diedrick- were these guys operating from the tight end position? I believe playing K Carter at tight end would not permit the defenders to fully concentrate or our usual receivers and, Kerry has the strength to push and shove his presence in the short passing zone and, he has the size appropriate as a blocker. Calvillo is playing better than ever. One thing I noticed about Calvillo is that he does not force the ball and, knows when to throw the ball out of the playing zone- he had sound judgment in this area last night.
Some thoughts: Ricky Ray demonstrated on thursday the strength he has to win games with his running ability and, his long passes were right on the mark. I believe we may be looking to An Esk-Alouette Greyy Cup?With BC, I thought Oneil Wilson is earning his keep as a receiver with BC. For a couple of games now he has come through with timely receptions. I liked his play with the Als- he was not the most polished receiver nor was he particularly fast but he was always stubborn in running his routes well right through to conclusion of play. This weeked illustrated that a team cannot win without major scores. The Toronto kicker made 7 FG's but a couple of major scores in the final minutes of the game by BC wiped out these points. And, last evening the four FG's by Serna had no effect on the outcome. Finally, I am extremely pleased with Bellefeuille's coaching in Hamilton. He is wise with the use of his 2 QB's and, I am always rooting for a Canadian coach.
In regards to the special teams, I was curious why Taylor kept insisting on trying to cut back and find a gap, when I feel he should have just headed outside and try and outrun the coverage around the corner. I’m certain he would have had better returns.
What did you guys think about the refereeing? Particularly on the no-call on the pass interference when that linebacker took down our guy before the ball was anywhere near him. And on that fumble where they gifted the ball back to Winnipeg.
Those calls occurred when the game was still in doubt, not like those "even-up" calls against the Bombers when the game was already decided.
I remember watching the replay, and Lobendahn’s hit on Richardson was a blatant foul, you wonder how such a thing could possibly be missed.
But, we won 39-12 so I’m glad that neither team can blame the officiating for the result; the better team won, even if calls were missed along the way, and they were.
I was happy to see them pursue low percentage deep stuff. That's the only way they will get over that hump and they kept at it and it paid off. There is still some work to do on corner routes but it will come. To me that is always where Ray had a big edge on Calvillo was on the deep routes.
Congrats to the Linebackers... Ferri got an undeserved horse collar penalty. These guys were sharp last night.
Watkins. Bounced back after some ugly drops last game...
Agreed. Nobody throws a deep ball like Ray, and particularly those corner routes to Tucker that were daggers in the heart of every Als fan. Calvillo used to throw the deep ball pretty well, but at this stage in his career, it’s definitely not his forte. He does better with post than corners because posts require less touch and more heat.
Im not so sure I agree.....While Ray does throw the deep ball, I feel the vast majority of he passes are high percentage 5 yarders where he relies on the reciever to gain the extra yards.
That being said, I would love to see a stat that shows passing yards before the YAC
Hey HfxTC. Only noticed once you pointed it out........LMAO. One point differential. But defences win championships as we all know and I need not say no more. :cowboy:
Tried to edit the last post but got timed out I guess.......... :roll: anyway........here goes!!!
Hey HfxTC. Only noticed once you pointed it out........LMAO. One point differential. But defenses win championships as we all know and I need not say no more. :cowboy:
One other point I would like to throw out. Have you noticed that once we have a "commanding" lead we tend to get unimaginative? Maybe we want to keep our secrets just that. We're still barely into over one third of the season and the word is that our offensive playbook is comparable in scope to the NFL........meaning that there are many surprises in the mix. Why show our deck this early especially when it is not necessary to do so. We have the luxury of a first class defense and so far this element is allowing us to hold on to the surprises until the end when we will or may need to use them. I will be playing close attention to this. I would appreciate feedback on this once you dudes have had a chance to reflect on our performance moving forward. Next test.......Green Riders a la retro style. Looking forward to this one. :rockin:
