Well after last night's game we have our answer.
Als have become just an average team. Slightly better then bottom feeders but probably half a dozen playmakers from the top teams.
This team needs
A coach:
An OC
Youth to Offensive Line
Middle Linebacker
A QB with an arm and two legs.
I have to admit that Friday's game was a wake up call.
The Als can't play with the big teams (there are few big teams though).
The O line is weak. The fact that they are playing Mudge and Fritz, each one playing a quarter at right tackle, means that they are evaluating which one of them stinks less... They want to cut one of them, but both are bad...
As for the playcalling on offense, well we know Bellefeuille is useless.
I thought we at least had a great defense. I am hoping that Friday night's weakness against the run was because we had Mondoe Davis at middle linebacker. It might be optimistic on my part, but if Mackey or kai Ellis had been playing, maybe the Als could have stopped the run.
Now add to that
Cahoon is one year from retirement
Calvillo and Chiu are on the decline.
If the Als don't look at being proactive about
rebuilding they will find themselves in the same boat
as Winnipeg was a couple years ago. I like the way
Edmonton is doing it. They didn't wait till they add to start from scratch.
With the stadium upgrade plans looking like they might not move forward you also have to wonder if Wettehaul will want to keep owning the team. He may even relocate it if he's pushed against the wall.
Als have to look at everything after this season IMO.
C'mon guys, don't give up already!
Winnipeg has the same record, and their fans are so positive, and proud. We lose a couple of games, and all we can talk about is how our team is "mediocore" and I can't even believe the thought of re-location of the team has came up!
Yes, the Als aren't the 12-4 team that we are used to having. Why? Because our great Montreal media, and the know it all Football fans in this city, drove Don Matthews out of town, because he lost a few games. The reason to our great success, in this new millenium.
There is no winning with the fans in this city. This year, is Calvillo's fault. People say he can't throw and can't run anymore.
Well, I don't know about you all, but I watched the Als' every game this season.
1- Yes, Anthony was sacked a lot. But why doesn't anyone bring up the times when Calvillo eludes the pressure, bouncing out of the pressure, rolling out and getting 3 yards in stead of losing 7. When Calvillo get's sacked, within 1 second of receiving the snap, he's too old and isn't mobile. When Calvillo get's sacked, everyone says "throw it away". But when Calvillo throws it away, people say "He can't throw anymore".
2- Calvillo can't throw. Anthony Calvillo is 2nd in passing yards in the CFL. 1st in pass completion %.
I agree, sometimes Calvillo is real out of it. Nothing happening, and I do agree, Calvillo needs to be pulled sometime. But to say Calvillo is one of the reasons to why we are having a so-so season, is ridiculous.
The game in the trenches is the most important part of football. Whether it's NFL, CFL, AFL, CIS, NCAA... The Defense all starts at the D-Line. The Offense starts at the 0-Line. Put AC on the a team that actually has a 0-Line that can block for 3 seconds, he WILL put up the numbers he use too.
I know I can get on the Defense, but you know what, frankly I am sick of all this Calvillo is done crap. He isn't. People in Montreal, just give up too easy.
As I was expecting, this team has come back down to earth, and our problems still remain:
a terrible O-line
a terrible o.c.
a terrible head coach
Face it, offense starts with the QB's protection and Calvillo has none this year. We get beaten on four-man rushes ROUTINELY. We can't pass-block for crap. I watched Kerry Joseph tonight against Winnipeg and at times he had all frickin day in the pocket to find a receiver. Calvillo flat-out never has that time.
We can blame A.C. for a subpar game, but let me tell you, no QB is going to be effective when the pocket is collapsing every play. Especially not when they're pocket-passers like Calvillo.
Then there's the play-calling. Where was the running game during the second and third quarters? And again more of those retarded 5-yard patterns when we need 8 yards for the first down. Bellefeuille is horrible, has no imagination, and cannot adapt in-game, on the fly. A good O.C. would have made adjustments at halftime. Bellefeuille did nothing and we got spanked for the rest of the game.
Then there's Mr. Ego, Jim Popp, who lets TSN mic him up because he's so damn desperate to prove he belongs. He knows nothing as a head coach. He can't critique his coaches. He can't motivate his players. He can't offer anything except stuff like, "Go, offense, go!" We go from Don Matthews to this? Bah.
I don't blame the D. They got schooled by B.C. but they were also missing their starting nose-tackle, starting MLB and backup MLB, starting OLB / defensive captain, and starting corner. They'll bounce back. I have faith in Chris Jones.
The reason I created this post was to debate: Are the Als underperforming or are they coached and playing to their potential?
On defense I think they are playing to their potential. On offense I think the guys are a mess. With all 12 starters on offense they still can't play get close to the top 3 teams.
Als fired Strasser for this !
Anyone who saw The Bombers/Riders game yesterday has to see the difference. Those teams stretched the field time and time again. Whenever they use rush ends to pressure Joseph would make them pay or on the Bombers side Glenn would throw it deep and let his receivers go for it. Their running game was disguised and used when appropriate. The Als offense can't compete with the 3 top teams. The Als are 0-4 against them.
So the Als defense is able to compete the offense is not. Popp said it was a new offense and it was going to get better. Well at the halfway point of the season it isn't and I don't see where it is going to come from.
After getting bitch slapped the way they were against the Lions It will be interesting to see what they do next week. All we can hope for now is pride.
Every time I hear about AC’s stats I want to be sick. He really cannot throw the ball downfield. He was never very accurate and this year he has been even worse. And I don’t want to hear about his completion average. The fact that he completes anything is really depressing. The fact that he is actually one of the league leaders is even more depressing. It just points out what is happening to the talent level in the CFL. If AC is one of the best, then its time to give up on Canadian football-- and I’ve been going to games since I was a little kid in 1955.
This team is headed right down. It has no head coach, no general manager and no plan for the future. Our offensive line sucks which means that we need a mobile QB to survive. What we have is a guy who is pretty immobile and who can’t throw on the run. And since Popp has not been able to find a reliable second string QB since Tracy Ham retired, what are the odds he can find someone actually capable of starting.
But all of this was obvious. All I heard all winter was the great start we had last year-- beating up Hamilton about 12 times to start the season. And this year is no different. We can beat Hamilton (so can the Cote St Luc PeeWees), we can beat Toronto when they start their 4th string QB. Against them our defence looks great and sometimes our offence looks passable. But its an illusion. We can’t come close to any team that actually has talent and coaching.
I repeat, our D is a good one this year and will only get better as our youngsters gain more CFL experience. The game against B.C. was an aberration and largely due to two things:
B.C. chop-blocked the crap out of us without penalty.
On that night, they won the battle in the trenches.
We had many key injuries on defense.
With Ellis, Mackey, Sanchez, Strickland, and Romero out of the lineup, what were we supposed to do? I'd like to see B.C. play without one of their starting import nose tackles, their starting AND backup MLBs, starting SAM linebacker and defensive captain, and starting cornerback / secondary leader, and see if they turn in a good performance.
D&P: Sicard did not knock the Defense. All of his points are valid IMO.
Calvillo suc ked in Vegas,he suc ked in Hamilton and he still su cks. He is very fortunate he got to play behind one of the Best Oline ever put together for 5 years not to mention having Ben Cahoon for 150 some games in a row.
Did you see some of the play action fakes today by Burris, Ray. or the rockets thrown by Bishop on the run. The downhill running TD by Joseph? This league has always been about big plays. Calvillo can't throw a decent pass over 15 yards, he can't run, he can't throw on the run, can't even sell a fake. With an ordinary Oline, a wacked OC and a pseudo coach you are left with one very ordinary looking QB.
Calvillo will throw himself on the ground instead of getting ride of the ball and hurting his stats. They took the play calling away from Mr. Statistico because after 6 years and humpteen running backs the Als still don't have a running game because he refuses to give carries to a rb. His completion ratio above 15 yards is laughable.
This year the Als have scored 69 points in 9 games after half time. This gives a new meaning to chocking.
The Head Coach was an unspectacular and short term position coach in College and the Als have regressed since he took over the team.
The OC has never had a winning season in the CFL !
I predict that Toronto will finish ahead of Montreal and pound them into the ground in the semi. You watch.
So how do you account for the other 40,000 yards of passing?
You can say that AC always had good recievers but I say the recievers had a good QB.
How are the other recievers that AC had in in his 5 X 1000 yard year?
Whats Copeland done since he left?
Anderson?
Can you name a reciever who had a better year after leaving Montreal?
Terence Edwards... 
But you do have a point, Calvillo has been a very good quarterback for most of his years in Montreal, some people forget that very quickly.
He was a cog on a very strong gear... You make a good point RO.
Calvillo is great at reading defenses, is a hard worker and very durable. He also happens to be a fine individual. I just don't see him as one of the greats or in the same group as Flutie, Moon, Ray, Dickenson, He's won a grey cup but is also the QB who's lost the most Grey Cup Games. well at leas since plastic helmets replaced Leather helmets.
No QB can succeed in a system like this. Calvillo has no coach, no offensive coordinator, and no offensive line. Him throwing for as much as he has this season is a testament to how much patience, durability, character and skill he has. It wouldve been very easy for him to go to king popp and demand a trade because hes sick of getting no protection and being pigeonholed into calling bad plays.
Given the current coaching staff the team is performing as well as can be expected popp and bellefieulle are not hte guys that will take this team to the next level at least not hte next level upwards
Ouch! Well he this is the last year of his contract. It will be interesting to see what he does at the end of the season. I know he loves Montreal, his wife is established there. It will be interesting to see what he does. I think he still has 3 good years providing he can make it through the season in one piece.
You guys make some very good points. Maybe I'm just frustrated.
The thing with older, less mobile QBs is that O-line protection becomes twice as important because they don't have the wheels to scramble.
But the abject stupidity of Popp and Bellefeuille revealed itself during training camp when they forced Okeke, Calvillo's blindside tackle, to retire, simply because they wanted an all-Canadian O-line. BAD way to make decisions. If someone had beaten Okeke for the job, I wouldn't have minded it at all. But they put ratio issues ahead of performance and the result is what we have today -- an O-line that leads the league in sacks against and that gets routinely beat with four-man pressure.
And every time a Montreal sport team has worse seasons than previous, makes me sick. The fans point the fingers at specific players, and blame them, and claim to have never liked them, and say he can't throw a ball or run, etc, when just before that season started, everyone praised him, and his jersey was the number 1 seller...
Even though pointing out fingers, and blaming specific players, which Montreal does ever so often, this case, everyone is wrong to blame Calvillo. The Als' Offense has had a pretty ugly season, but when the Als move the ball, Calvillo only connected on 33 of 38 passes for 360 yards. Of course, the receivers get the praise right? I mean, you can grab anyone off the street and they can complete the pass right?... It doesn't take any accuracy, or actual talent to do that.
Look at the best Quarterbacks, it all starts with the 0-Line. Peyton Manning and Tom Brady, have at least 3 seconds to look downfield, Calvillo is lucky to even be able to finish his read steps.
Unless Calvillo get's some protection, he won't be able to play too well. For a guy who has been following the CFL since 1955, you should know that by now.
Uh um, BC was without their starting middle line backer Javy Glatt and their starting cornerback Dante Marsh and without their starting QB Dickenson and their back-up QB Buck Pierce . And had their all-star left tackle Rob Murphy playing with a hip-pointer and star receiver Geroy Simon playing with a back injury and their wide recieiver Tony Simmons playing with an injured foot. And just only got back their injured starting OLB Otis Floyd and starting half back Kory Banks. So just what are you talking about ??
Oh and nice of you to whine about chop blocking only because Jim Popp did on TV.
I don't feed trolls. You go play in your sandbox now.
Hey this is the Als forum and I generally stay out of other teams forums . So just how is calling you out on your BS that you posted trolling? I was not taunting any Als fans , just taking issue with your comments. Very good come back you had though.
BTW , (just for you and not any other Als fan) , how would your team have fared with your third string QB as a starter ?
Sorry to the rest of you Als fans , I would not even have posted in your forum had I not seen this guy's comments. And I'll be out of here to leave you alone .
well we tried to send you a QB with an arm... wait.. he doesn't have an arm.. .ok 2 le...... wait... his legs don't work very well either... guess it's a good thing he won't report huh?