Milanovich saying today Chad Owens likely to be out Sunday because of bruised ribs. He took quite a pounding last game.
I have alot of respect for Owens, he is a real warrior. But Milanovich was seriously overworking him, and it was just a matter of time when the hits would take a toll on him. So in that sense I say good for them.
You didn't notice how worked up him and Jones were one the sidelines ? Even Barker was right there on the white line. Games between those two orgs are nothing but just any other games...
This is what happens when your top receiver is also your star kick returner. Too many hits over the course of a season and they all add up. I don't think Milanovich was overworking Owens but there's a reason it's rare to have your no. 1 receiver doubling as your KR...
Par deux fois il a mangé solidement un casque dans le flanc gauche. Ça ne serait pas surprenant qu'il prenne congé.
Cela dit, on l'a vu, les Argonauts sans Ray et Owens ne sont plus l'ombre d'eux-mêmes. À mon sens, c'est qu'ils perdent beaucoup de diversité en ne pouvant aligner à la fois Durie et Owens, deux joueurs très polyvalents, et ils perdent leur force de frappe sur les retours de bottés.
Il faut s'attendre à ce que les Argonauts jouent une meilleure partie, et on est en droit de s'attendre à la même chose de la part de l'attaque des Alouettes.
The Argos run their team exactly the way every Toronto franchise does: by grabbing other teams' talent and coaches. Milanovich and Brady, former Als coaches. Chris Jones, coming over from Calgary and also a former Als coach. Barker got his start with us. Ray came from Edmonton. Owens from Montreal. How often do they develop an impact player or standout coach from within? Not very often... 
Here's what I want from our team this Sunday, regardless of whether we win or lose:
no more than 1 turnover
better blocking on punt returns
fewer penalties
fewer sacks allowed
I actually expect Marsh to struggle this Sunday, though I'm obviously not hoping for it. He's still very young and green, and a veteran like Chris Jones is going to bring some new tricks and looks to keep him off-balance. I don't think he'll pass for 300+ yards again, but that's OK, as long as I see him protecting himself more in the pocket and continuing to improve in the short and intermediate passing game.
Some more news from Toronto:
"In other news from Friday's practice, Jerious Norwood took most of the snaps at running back for Curtis Steele. Norwood also did some returning, although Milanovich said returns would likely be done by committee.
The Argonauts also said they were leaning toward dressing Trent Guy as a returner/depth receiver."
So we might be seeing Trent Guy as the Argos returner. Kind of makes me feel nostalgic for Andy Bischoff.
If I am not mistaken, Owens was helped off (or very slow to get off) once and came back into the game. Sometimes you have to coach for the long-term, not the short-term.
I think it happened twice, actually. Or at least, he was helped off the field after hits at least twice. Magnified too when you play a punishing D like ours; all 12 guys are looking for the big stick and receivers have to pay a heavy physical price to make catches.
Almost at a loss for words in this nutty Als' season plagued with injuries.
I still am lowballing any expectations this year. In many ways, it has all the earmarks of a transition season, but that's not entirely the case as the man who would normally be out recruiting new talent is the HC of the team!
With the possible exception of the D-team, which has been playing ferociously, it's a patchwork quilt on O; from week to week we never quite know who will start.
My only hope for Sunday is that our OC has come up with a few wrinkles of his own, now that Jones has had an opportunity to see what we're doing offensively.
The key to a W this Sunday? I say that the D has to stand on their heads again, force turnovers, and never let Collaros get comfortable. For Marsh, I only hope he will continue to improve and I hope that Messam, AB III, SJ, Carter, and whoever else on O can some up with enough big plays to get us another W.
No reason why we can’t win this game. The short week affects both teams, we’re playing at home (crowd noise will be a factor for Collaros in the huddle), Toronto is just as banged up as we are and missing Owens to boot. We have a ground game; Toronto does not. I’m not guaranteeing a win, just noting that we have a bit of an edge and winning shouldn’t be out of the question.
Back in 2006, Jerious Norwood ran a blazing 4.32 at the combine in '06 and was the first player in NFL history to have his first two career touchdown runs each go 70+ yards.
Between the advancing age, hip flexor and torn knee ligament he sustained while playing in the NFL, he has surely slowed down. However, Milanovich was quoted as saying a month ago that he still runs a sub 4.5.
I will add though that given his small frame, he has always been quite brittle. He was also never very good at catching nor blocking out of the backfield. However, I doubt he can be much worse than Curtis Steele. It will be interesting to watch and see if he can revive his career.
Toronto media make me laugh. Zicarelli the Argo homer talking about how we took every opportunity to hit Owens "both legally and illegally." Hey Frank, point out to me the illegal hits? And I suppose the Argos play as clean and pure as the driven snow? :lol:
Our D plays a physical game from whistle to whistle. You don't like it, maybe get on those Argo receivers and tell them to grow some balls, instead of pirouetting to the sidelines because they're scared of taking a hit. :lol:
Someone should send him the film on VanZeyl hit on Bekasiak so he understands what an illegal hit and attempt to injure is.
No kidding. That hit still riles me. Guy basically ended Bekasiak's career, he was never the same after that.
He thinks any hard hit against a Toronto player must be dirty, LOL.
Both hits that hurt Chad were clean. One was a helmet to the side (Ribs) the first one was a helmet to the hip bone. I also notice he does not wear any kidney protectors. So that is really on him. I noticed that some players do not wear certain protectors to give them certain "advantages" that something the league should crack down on. Chad Owens is the first guy to lower his helmet and attack defenders anyway...
And they haven't changed. I recall a play, not certain if it was last week or the first Argos=Als game, where an Argo O-Lineman was engaged with a Als D-Line on a sweep. The Al started to get loose so the Argo just dove at his knees. Pure punk cheap shot.
Argo O-linemen have been cheap-shot artists for years. They're Rob Murphys at heart, all of 'em... :thdn:
Another point: Whitaker's injuries are proving to me that he came back from his knee injury too early. You come back early, try to force the pace, you overcompensate physically and make yourself more vulnerable to other injuries...
Hamstring possibly due to knee; not so sure about the shoulder injury.