I would like to see Calvillo sits on the bench for the rest of the regular season. Give McPherson, Leak or even Santos chances to play. That goes also to other 2nd or 3rd string players. Perhaps even those in the practice rosters. Treat the next 3 games as glorified training camp where they can do experiments. Junior players can get on-field experience while senior players can hone their skills, in preparation of the Division Final. Basically the players are not to play those three games solely to win, but more as live-fire exercises.
As for me, now that home for Division Final is clinched, I went down University and got the playoff tickets. Platina are sold out, Golds, Silvers and Bronzes are still available.
Ça serait une sage décision que de donner du temps aux suppléants, histoire qu'ils dérouillent leurs réflexes avant les éliminatoires. En même temps, même si l'extrême majorité des joueurs des Alouettes pensent à l'équipe avant tout, il va sans dire qu'ils veulent eux aussi dorer leurs statistiques à la mesure de leur talent (et il n'en manque pas dans cette équipe). Alors il faudra leur donner la part du lion dans le temps de jeu. Après tout, c'est grâce à eux que cet autre championnat a été gagné, alors on leur doit au moins ça.
Les Alouettes devront rester en santé parce que les Tiger Cats se sont pas mal améliorés avec la venue de Baggs. Puisqu'ils ont pratiquement toutes les chances de les retrouver en finale de l'Est, les Alouettes devront travailler plus en fonction de ceux-ci, qu'en fonction de Toronto, contre qui ils terminent la saison.
La partie contre les Blue Bombers était une sorte de prélude aux Tiger Cats. Attendons-nous à une autre partie difficile vendredi, parce que notre jeu en zone payante est à améliorer. L'absence de Watkins n'a toujours pas été complètement comblée.
Good point. Stevie Baggs tore through the Argonauts last week. Giving Anthony some time off and Adrian some much-needed playing time would be the prudent thing to do…therefore they won’t. Maybe for the last game against the Argos…when everyone’s asleep and nobody cares.
One day a mighty cry will rise, “The King is dead…where the hell are we going to find a King?”
Every move the Alouettes have made the last few years points to that very scenario.
We all know who the heir apparent should be…
I am biting back the bile thinking what will happen if things “stay the course”
L'absence de Watkins n'a toujours pas été complètement comblée.
Vraiment? D'apres vous les problemes de zone payante demeure avec la manque de Watkins?
Il est vraie qu'il y's eu des passes echappes...
Mais encore plus de passes errantes d'Anthony Calvillo.
You can't just sit a bunch of starters for three straight games and expect them to be sharp in a one-and-done division final. That's not sound football strategy. I agree with the idea of dramatically reducing the playing time of certain veterans. I'm not on board with the idea of sitting them for the remainder of the regular season.
I agree with d&p that sitting all the vets for the next 3 games is not only unwise, but foolhardy. To be sure, all of the backups need reps and this is the time to do it.
All of the remaining games will be meaningful for the opposition. Unlike other years, the Argos were out of it by mid-season; such is not the case this year. And, as has been stated, the addition of Baggs to the Ticats makes the already-much-improved Ticats an even greater foe. There are no “gimmees” for the Als in the next 3 games, but it would be an excellent time to play the roster.
I think I would give AC more playing time, d&p. Barring injury (God forbid!), he is the starter for the East Final, and, should I say it? - the GC!!! He has to have some reps and stay sharp. I think he should play close to one half in each of the next 2 games, to be spelled off by McPherson and Leak. MacPherson could start in either or both of the next two games, however. In the last game, I would start McPherson, and have both Leak and Santos have reps as well. Santos could also come in for some reps in the next 2 games also. As to your other suggestions, I agree.
I am a little surprised the Als are going to play the final in the dilapidated Big O when they have a brand new stadium. Hopefully they sell a lot of tickets...
LOL, man, what did you expect? Even mediocre ticket sales will get us upwards of 40k at the Big O compared to 25k max at Molson Stadium. I don’t mind, actually, because the large crowd actually lets us have real home-field advantage. Crowd noise definitely caused problems for the Lions last year in the final. I’ll take that over the moronic 25k at Molson Stadium who can’t make enough noise fast enough to disrupt opposing teams’ offenses and who’ll boo a college QB making his first pro start because he isn’t Anthony Calvillo. All they’re good for is shouting “Ca-hoooon!” at appropriate moments.
Sans compter qu'au Stade olympique, on peut aussi faire du bruit en battant les pieds sur le plancher. La vibration prend alors dans le toit et résonne partout dans la place. Mêlez ça à 50 000 personnes qui gueulent à pleins poumons pis l'adversaire est sourd avant la demie.
Don't get me wrong, I will be moved back in Montreal by then so I'm looking forward to being able to purchase some tickets :thup: I was just thinking this would really piss off season ticket holders but I may be wrong. I mean if you have a brand new box at McGill and they stick you in an old musty box at the Big O...
Having the final gives a lot of people the chance to see an Als game, they sell lots of cheap seats for minor league football, the price of the cheap seats is affordable for most, it’s not the case at Molson. i prefer Molson but what the hey, it’s for a good cause, at least they stopped doing a regular season game at the Big Owe.
With the likelihood the Als will be facing the Tiger-Cats in the Eastern final, I think Friday`s game is important. You do not want to lose and give the Tiger-Cats any added confidence and emotion going into crunch time.
You want to continue to plant doubts in them and maintain the swagger of being the "beasts of the east."
And frankly the team has not played consistent dominating football to be allowed to wind down a little. I see the team playing first stringers up until the last regular season game, where you will see the second-teamers.
Good point, ideal. I already posted that none of the 3 remaining games is a gimmee; The Ticats and Argos are scrambling for positions, and the games mean something to each team. The Als could face either team in the East Final, although I would tend to agree the Ticats appear to be the greater threat.
Nonetheless, I think Trestman has to play his back-ups and reservists. This nice thing about this is that these games are not meaningless. So, we will get to see how they do in game situations. This is particularly true for AD and Leak. We have already seen AC go down for a couple of games this year - how disastrous would that be?
Home-field advantage, while it should be just that, is not a gimmee either. The Als lost the GC to the Stamps two years ago, before a crowd of 66,000 - mostly Als' fans. We've seen that number before, haven't we?
So, your point about keeping the A-team sharp is right on, but I would also like to see the reservists in action. If any of them are called upon to come in for injured players, it would be nice to know they are ready to go.
Que tout ceux qui sont d’accord avec toi se la ferment si un joueur clé est blessé. Comme toi, je crois que Trestman va continuer à faire jouer l’équipe A jusqu’à la dernière partie. Cette saison a démontré que les joueurs qui manquent quelques semaines de jeu ont besoin de plus d’une partie pour revenir à leur meilleur niveau. C’est toujours le dilemme et le risque qu’on court à laisser l’équipe A sur le terrain alors que le championnat est gagné. Mais en même temps, il ne faut pas endormir les réflexes. Par ailleurs, les Tiger Cats ont réussi à hausser leur niveau de jeu d’un autre cran depuis l’acquisition de Baggs. C’est donc une bonne chose que les Alouettes mettent leur meilleure équipe sur le terrain afin qu’ils puissent s’ajuster au niveau actuel de ceux qu’ils risquent d’affronter en finale de l’Est.
As far as playing McPherson these last 3 games…and whether or not Calvillo needs to play to “stay sharp”…well the argument is a bit “off” for 2 reasons. The first is that Calvillo can do what he does blindfolded and with one hand tied behind his back. The second is that Calvillo can do what he “doesn’t” with or without similar restrictions.
In other words…an experienced QB like AC needs a minimum of reps to stay in playing form. If he’s on his game…and I’ve seen no indication that “his game” is in any way related to how often he’s playing…he’ll be brilliant.
However…if history has any say…he may well shank another Grey Cup. No doubt coaches will want to wait and see if he can pull off another miracle. But history is a cruel mistress. If Calvillo is truly horrid in the Grey Cup once again…woudn’t it be wonderful to have Adrian McPherson ride in to save the day…er…the season?
Keeping Adrian sharp might well be a priority. Start AC by all means this week and beyond…but let’s set a precedent of giving AD the second half…say…and see how that works for everyone. It might bruise an ego or two…but definitely could be good for the team. That’s the most important thing…after all.
I like D and P’s schedule re the rest of the season before the playoffs. Personally I would like to see some of the backups in real action. We would start with McPherson, of course, but give time to the two other QBs. They need exposure to demonstrate whether they are OK or not OK as backups .I would also like to see Waldo be given time at corner- he has been second string for years and he should be put in a position of make it or break it! This could be a time to test the second/third stringers to see if they deserve their status.