RDS reporting the Als have released Challenger and Scott Burley from practice roster, have added ex-Florida LB Earl Everett, and of most interest have placed Marcus Smith on the practice roster.
There`s an interesting interview with Everett below, Als might be looking at him as a rush end:
Now with Smith out of the lineup, there is an opening for an import to dress against Ham. I guess the possibilities are:
Samuels or Tanard Davis at DB
Taylor Scott at DL
Diamond Ferri ( but then wouldn`t need Banks or Guzman). Banks made an amazing play in B.C. in covering Geroy Simon in the end zone in what was obviously a mismatch.
Andrew Hawkins if healthy.
Skip Seagraves to strengthen the OL.
Also, according to RDS, Diamond Ferri is ready to go.
I presume that the 4 import linebackers-Banks,Cox,Ferri and Guzman- will dress. We are better off with any one of these 4 players than a Marcus Smith or a Stanford Samuels
Marcus Smith is definitely not the answer for improvements at DT position. I would not be surprised if he is soon released.
Banks also registered our only sack of the game on Printers by powering his way through a block. Something our rush ends have been unable to do for the most part. He looks like a keeper and I think we're better off with him in the lineup.
Guzman always rotates even when Ferri plays. They use Guzman for pass-only situations instead of Emry; he also subs for Ferri on occasion. He's a versatile player.
Lastly, I'm very happy to have Ferri back. Even though he's prone to the occasional bone-headed penalty, I like his aggression and willingness to play on the edge.
I also like Ferri`s aggressive play, and like Watkins dropping an easy catch each game, we have to put up with a Ferri roughing penalty.
If they go that route the 4 import LBs will certainly help on special teams against Thigpen. Coould we possibly see Guzman as a DE?
I’d love to see us switch to a 3-4. With our talent at linebacker, and problems in the interior of the D-line, it would seem to be the optimal use of our personnel. Plus, we’d be able to rotate McElveen in for Stewart and Bowman to keep all three players fresh on the end.
All that being said, if Burke didn’t scheme up 3-4 packages for the D, I can’t see him suddenly switching to a 3-4 three games into the season, particularly when the defense is finally starting to get some traction (held BC to less than 300 yards total offense, 1 passing TD, barely any rushing yards).
Le problème de nos plaqueurs défensifs est que nous n'avons pas de plaqueur rapide. Nous avons les gros gars pour faire reculer la ligne et arrêter les demis, mais pas le gars rapide pour poursuivre le quart. On l'avait avec Williams et je croyais que McElveen pourrait faire un bon boulot de ce côté, mais il n'est pas aussi rapide que Williams. Campbell ne l'était pas non plus et Smith ne l'est pas non plus. C'est une des difficultés de ces gars qui nous viennent de la NFL : ils sont taillés pour le jeu de la NFL et sont souvent dépassés par le style de notre jeu dans leurs premières années. Les Alouettes ont besoin de ce chasseur de quart à l'intérieur. Donc, si Evrett s'en allait sur le côté, ça permettrait de mettre Stewart ou Bowman à l'intérieur et avoir le gars rapide pour se rendre au quart. Mais je ne suis pas certain que Bowman ou Stewart auraient autant de succès à l'intérieur.
En ce qui concerne la défensive 3-4, les Alouettes ont de la difficulté à se rendre au quart en 4-3, pourquoi est-ce que ça serait plus efficace en 3-4? Ça prend les gars pour le faire. OK. On a Cox, Ferri et Guzman qui ont certaines dispositions de ce côté, mais ils ont été plutôt tranquilles jusqu'à maintenant.
C'est vrai que la défensive a réussi à contenir les Lions, mais Printers était blessé. Les Tiger Cats sont moins amochés et ils viennent d'écraser les Blue Bombers. Ça va être le premier test.
Je ne vois pas Hawkins dans l'alignement présentement. S'il peut y être inséré bientôt, ça serait une bonne nouvelle. Il ajoute une dimension de vitesse à l'attaque et peut donner un coup de main sur les retours de bottés.
As per today's CFL transactions, Stanford Samuels has been released from the active roster and "placed" on the practice roster; Tanard Davis -I DB- has been released from the practice roster.
The active roster is now at 44; the addition of Ferri will bring it to 45. Would will be the 46th player? Eric Deslauriers?
Personally, as a scheme, I've never been particularly fond of the 3/4 defence. But if you have the personnel to make it work then do it. . . like Calgary several seasons back, they had John Grace, George White, Scott Coe, and Brian Clark, all in their prime. Running a 4/3 meant leaving a star LB on the bench, which made no sense. . . so using a 3/4 was a good move.
So are we similar? With a relative weakness at DT and four strong LBs in Ferri, Cox, Guzman, Emry, and Banks, it might make some sense. . .
Don’t forget Stubler’s Toronto defense. At their peak, they played a very good 3/4 system.
To answer another member’s question, the advantage of a 3/4 is the unpredictability of the pass rush. That fourth rusher can come from either side or up the middle, depending on the defensive playcall, and has more speed to get to the quarterback than a typical defensive end or defensive tackle. It allows defenses more misdirection options and better ability to defend against screens and sweeps.
So are we similar? With a relative weakness at DT and four strong LBs in Ferri, Cox, Guzman, Emry, and Banks, it might make some sense. . .
Five strong LBs, actually. I really think we could make it work.
We might even increase it by one, if they thought of doing with Boulay what they did with Cox last season, and move him up to an OLB spot. With Guzman and Emry, say, holding things tight in the middle, I could see Cox and Boulay coming in on the blitz, and it might be just as effective as Strickland and Butler were back in the day. . .
Strickland, Butler, and Kevin “Mr. A-Gap” Johnson. Those were the days. :rockin:
Boulay is too small to be an effective linebacker unless he replaces Cox at SAM linebacker, which won’t happen. In a 3-4, you need the other three backers to have some beef or else they’ll be crushed in the running game and too easily picked up on the blitz in today’s CFL. I loves me the Don Matthews glory days but those days are over. Offenses are far more sophisticated today than they were even 10 years ago.
Je suis d’accord avec cette constatation, et pourtant, Boulay m’a surpris dans la partie contre BC à aller chercher le demi derrière la ligne de mêlée. Mais de là à combler le poste jeu après jeu, il ne serait pas à sa place.
Wally Buono did not "like" the roughing penalty taken by Jeremy Gibbs,during last game against the Als, and,for this reason,released him. He is a good and young-25- DL who can play DE or DT. I surely hope that we sign him,at least to the practice roster,for now. Definitely better than Marcus Smith.
I say he will "end up" with either the Als or the Eskimos.
He might be worth a look. . . and if memory serves me right we've a precedent for it. Isn't that how we got Anwar Stewart? Seems to me he wore his welcome out someplace else in the CFL (Calgary comes to mind) for disciplinary reasons and we profited handsomely by picking him up.
Stewart was indeed in Calgary, but I don’t remember any disciplinary issues that resulted in his release. If I recall correctly, he was simply a victim of the numbers game (as Keron Williams was in Calgary) and perhaps ill-suited to whatever defense Buono was running at the time. Coming to Montreal, he was a perfect fit in Chris Jones’s pressure defense built more on speed, intelligence, and pursuit than on raw strength.
You might be right. . . but I do seem to recall there was some other "issue" involved. It might have been another player, and Stewart took his side of whatever it was, which made him along with that other player persona non grata. My memory fails me (not for the first time).