C’est vrai. Et pour y arriver, la faculté d’initier rapidement des mouvements latéraux aide.
Cela dit, ni Jennings ni Messam ne pourront être des demis qui vont distancer les demis défensifs adverses. Ils n'ont pas assez de vitesse pour ça. C'était là que Cobourne et Whitaker pouvaient constituer un avantage par rapport aux coureurs en puissance. Lorsqu'ils s'échappaient, ils pouvaient réaliser de très longs gains. On ne pourrait s'attendre à la même chose avec Jennings ou Messam.
Three points:
[ol]- Cobourne, in 2013, would never be able to outrun enemy DBs in pursuit. He doesn’t have that breakaway speed anymore, and admitted that himself last season in Hamilton. They went to Chevon Walker for that stuff.
Whitaker hasn’t proven he’s at 100% and capable of breaking those long runs either. An ACL injury is very serious for a running back.
I’m less interested in big flashy runs and more interested in grinding out 5-7 yards consistently, run after run. If the big runs happen, great, but I don’t want to build our offense around it. As I said earlier, I want us to adopt more of a power running game built on grinding the other team down by repeatedly running the ball.[/ol]
Je ne voyais pas Cobourne revenir à Montréal. Je mentionnais simplement que lorsque Cobourne et Whitaker étaient sur le terrain pour les Alouettes, l’attaque au sol pouvait produire des gains de 5-7 verges mais aussi des gains de 45-50 verges.
Je suis d’accord qu’il est souhaitable d’avoir de la constance dans le jeu au sol. Mais avec Cobourne et Whitaker, nous avons eu les deux. Des gains moyens de 5,5-6 verges et une capacité d’exploser.
C’est un arbitrage qui n’est pas évident, j’en conviens. Je constate simplement qu’on ne doit pas sous-estimer l’apport de demis plus mobiles ou explosifs en ce qu’ils ont également leur avantage. Les coureurs en puissance ont les leurs aussi, et on ne peut utiliser la même attaque avec l’un ou avec l’autre. C’est dans ce sens qu’il faut réaliser ce qu’on peut faire ou ne pas faire avec l’un et l’autre.
Le risque d'alterner Jennigs, Messam, Anderson ou Devine, c'est que l'équipe annonce ses couleurs en mettant les petits demis sur le terrain. Lorsque les adversaires les verront arriver, ils joueront automatiquement une défensive contre le jeu au sol, sachant que nos poids plume ne sont pas là d'abord pour bloquer. C'est une question de probabililtés.
I should clarify what I meant. I didn't mean to suggest that Devine would replace Jennings on pass or trick plays. I meant that Devine could rotate with Lavoie to give us option run possibilities and give opposing defenses something to think about (similar to the way we used Hawkins and Cobourne or Haskins and Pringle/Phillips in years past). I agree with you that we can't show our tendencies via formation or personnel pre-snap.
Absolutely, we shouldn't overlook a quality player because he doesn't fit a certain body type. But I believe in Jennings. He did very well last year despite coming in midway through the season. We were dominating the Argos on the ground in the EDF before Trestman inexplicably went away from the run; Toronto had no answer for what we were doing.
I keep thinking back about that game and I know its not the case but it feels like he threw the game, that’s how bad we were outcoached. A lot of people think we are going to take a nose dive this year but I think we will be better.
Ça fait 4 ans que bien des gens prédisent une chute drastique des Alouettes. À force de le prédire, un jour, ils auront raison… dans 20 ans!
Je ne crois pas que cette équipe va s’effondrer cette année. Si les autres équipes le croient, tant mieux! Cela nous fera un avantage psychologique.
La vérité, c’est que nous espérons mais nous ne savons pas vraiment à quoi nous attendre. Ça peut être mieux, ça peut être pire. Mais un chose est certaine : la façon dont Popp a regarni l’équipe d’entraîneurs peut nous donner un espoir légitime. On a beacoup de nouveaux visages, mais on a aussi Berry, Thorpe et Nelson qui ont suffisamment de bagage dans la LCF pour compenser la méconnaissance du football canadien des autres.
Je crois que tout ce sang neuf saura fouetter les troupes et les embarquer dans un nouvelle aventure motivante pour les joueurs.
I know, I still get mad about that game too. I mean, yes, AC had a poor outing, but the coaches absolutely messed the bed.
A lot of people think we are going to take a nose dive this year but I think we will be better.
I hope so and am cautiously optimistic. TBH I think one really legitimate offensive improvement will be Bruce replacing Bratton, who was useless after his injury and never a game-breaker even in his prime. You field a starting four of Richardson, Green, London, and Bruce and you are giving opposing DBs a very tough set of matchups. No place to hide your weak cover DB, no margin for error on the deep ball.
I agree with LeStaf. I think the character of this team is going to change, and that's a good thing. This isn't just a few players leaving or coming in and a new coordinator or two. We have virtually a brand-new coaching staff, with a new head coach who will leave his mark on the team identity. The Trestman era was very different from the Matthews era. I am confident that the Hawkins era will have its own personality.
I certainly agree with Richardsons quote below that Trestmans offense became predictable over time. When anyone is doing the same job for a period of time there is a tendency to get into a comfort zone and develop blind spots.
“Change is good. Our offence got kind of predictable at times,? Richardson said. “Bring someone in with a new mindset, it can be all great. We definitely have the weapons on offence. I’m going to be excited to see them put it together.?
Rhodes kind of an odd signing. Best known for his second round with the Colts as a back up RB who filled in awsome during injuries.
In 2010 was the kind of player the UFL was in place for, after spending the season in the UFL was signed by the colts shortly after the UFL season was over and contributed both seasons for RB depth for the Colts after getting paid and keeping in game shape as a UFL starter late season signing with the colts.
Suspended from the NFL in 2011 returned to the UFL but unable to sign with an NFL team after the 2012 ending of the UFL looked like Rhodes was done.
I guess he still wants to play football for money and is pretty fresh but can't see him beating out veteran Jennings and the 2nd year Anderson and Messam being a Canadian still in the mix and hisCanadian status gets him on the roster as a bak up at least.
The lack of having a successful return guy Rhodes does have good expereince as a returner and can't see them enabling to pay him much but could be affective as a returner perhaps a short return man fix for a year or two window to help Calivillo's last sam l window to win a GC.
One thing about Rhodes is that he has been very productive for the most part in whatever role or league NFL or UFL all the way through the 2011 season. His last real season was the 2011 UFL shortend season where he had 200 plus yard rushing game and was the Offensive player of the year.
Obviously the Als cannot pay him much put he just appears to be a guy who likes to play and will continue to play as long as he is able and able to collect any kind of paycheck for playing pro football.
Even thought the 2011 UFL season was cut short he still had training camp and some games as a starter and in 2012 had some practice time and game time before the UFL collapsed for good. He has played about 10 NFL seasons so he will get a full NFL pension so he is sitting pretty good and should be a fairly fresh 34 year old
Rhodes might be the wealthiest player in the league if he makes the team. This is for fun. You got to like that kind of attitude. Nobody out here will wreck his career if he feels like having a J.
At 34 Rhodes could most likely just call it a career after about 10 years in the NFL so he is here because he wants to play probably at any role needed. Not sure how he may still fair as a punt returner but most likely be a really good Kick off returner while also being part of the running back Unit. Also with Messam as a Canadian RB even if he is a back up or splits time gives the ALs more of an option to have Rhodes fill one of the DI spots.
Should be interesting as Rhodes is the second plus 30 year old NFL vet of 10 plus years to sign with a CFL team in two years. Last season QB JT O’Sullivan held the 3rd QB spot in his first CFL year at age 33, another ex NFLer who played in another alternative NFL league during his career and getting a full NFL pension
While optimistic I still have reservations based on what I see.
I see a team without the best RB in the league imo.
I see a fired college head coach with no pro experience with bravado
I see his mentor as a guy fired from his last two jobs
I see a DC with very little pro experience at that level
I see an NFL offensive guy running the offense who got several QBS killed in Arizona.
I see a 40 +year old QB
I see an unproven (failed?) backup QB.
I see a head case in Messam
I see a brand new staff overall that popp did a creative job putting together on paper. Generally that is the HC job. a bit of a red flag to me.
I do hope Bruce can help and expect him to if he gets along with with Richardson who seems to have a lot to say.
Every coach gets fired from a job eventually. Winnipeg fired Doug Berry to hire Mike Kelly. Not saying most of your concerns aren't legitimate but with the way Bru..er..Trestman left, there were always going to be concerns about whoever we hired. Basically we're starting from scratch with a brand-new staff and that will be exciting but also frustrating at times, as the coaches figure out how to make things work. Ultimately, I believe the balance will work out in our favor.
To play the role of optimist:
I see a star-laden offense with a killer receiving corps and many different options at running back.
I see the best offensive line in the league returning, intact.
I see a veteran LB coach who can help the DC make the transition to the pro ranks.
I see a DB coach who did great work with our secondary from 2002-2007.
I see a special teams coach whose name is not Andy Bischoff.
I see a CFL-tested advisor who helped guide Anthony Calvillo to some of his most prolific seasons.
I see many players re-upping instead of bolting, which speaks to their confidence in the new coaches.
I see a promising young backup QB (Neiswander) who will push Porter in training camp.
I see a healthy D-line and an upgraded secondary.
I see two first-round picks in the upcoming draft.
Lastly, I see a healthy Anthony Calvillo. :cowboy:
I am with the optimistic disciplineandpunish rather than the pessimistic slant.
There are definitely much more optimistic issues with the Als than pessimistic ones.
There will be strong competition in 2013 but, at this time, I am much more optimistic than at this time last season. The Als are strong in players and coaches. Better than any other CFL team.
While I look forward with great anticipation to the start of a new season, I tend to be an optimist also. That said, my optimism is also somewhat guarded and Slant has made some good points. The coaching staff, to all intents and purposes, is not a proven one with a stellar track record. We all saw what happened last season with a Reinbold-led defence.
On paper at least it appears as if the Als have all the necessary components to make their way to a GC performance. They also appear to have good depth for most positions. That is always important as we never know what kind of injury situaion we will face in any given season.
So, I look forward the the 2013 season and will be cheering on the Als.
We should also remember that the Trestman era wasn't an unmitigated success from the get-go. We started out hot, but then dropped three in a row, and made some bad coaching decisions along the way (particularly in the area of clock management). Our D didn't really come together until the following year. In hindsight, it's easy to think everything was great from the outset but it wasn't. So let's give Hawkins and co. a grace period before we start doing our Chicken Little impressions.
I don't see any Chicken Little impressions. Just stating some things that cause my stated optimism some pause. But you gave a balanced counter view to my thoughts. But for fans to outline their thoughts on a public fan board does not translate into stating the sky is falling.
at least we are interested enough to state an opinion just like the small handful of other guys on here. Wish there were more.
Not saying most of your concerns aren't legitimate but with the way Bru..er..Trestman left, there were always going to be concerns about whoever we hired. Basically we're starting from scratch with a brand-new staff and that will be exciting but also frustrating at times, as the coaches figure out how to make things work. Ultimately, I believe the balance will work out in our favor.