Bombers at Als

Looking at the statistics-yards gained and allowed- the Als are 7th offensively and defensively. They gained 213 yards whereas Saskatchewan has 511-1st place-; Winnipeg is last with 204. Defensively, we allowed 465 yards and BC has allowed the least or
204; Hamilton has allowed the most or 511. I don't recall,in the past 10 years or so,the Als being 7th,after 1 game, in yards gained and allowed.

I expect/hope for player changes for the next game.

Active roster:
Out: Michael Ola- I, T - In: Michael Montgomery or Mike Lockley- I,DE- Rod Davis-I,LB- could also be out and both Montgomery a Lockley would be in.
Out: Bryn Roy-N,KB- In: Kristian Matte or Anthony Barrette-N,G-

Dressed players:
Last game,we dressed 9 DBs. 6 I and 3 N- Too many.
I would exclude/not dress W. Osaisai-I,DB- and replace him with Montgomery or Lockley. If Davis is out,Lockley and Montgomery would both be in/dress.

When you look at yesterday's depth chart, you realize that the defensive line is the weakest link; has to be corrected and I hope that it will be,

Richard

It might be till John Bowman returns that we have an dline that works well...

I turned off my tube just after 3/4 time as the game was too dreadful to watch. There were a couple of defenders who did look good. I thought K Hebert was the better of the Al defenders. He provided a play that the team had missed since Barron Miles's days- safety blitz. He also lined up as a defensive end also and, I thought he positively added this dimension to our defense. In addition I did like the play of Ingrham ( I'm sure my spelling is incorrect ) who did add some strength to our defense. These two guys should give some zip for to a defense that will hopefully regroup in future games. In fairness, this is indeed a work in progress.

My early thoughts that the team would, as usual, come out strong were diminished when Deslauriers dropped a perfect throw by AC there by initiating a horrible beginning to the 2012 season. Our offense was found wanting to the superior Calgary defense. AC was off his game and his receivers contributed to this debacle by their numerous drops. As noted, our defense is a work in progress but, our offensive guys are a veteran crew who played below expectations. Whitaker's runs were mainly lateral moves which suggest the defenders controlled the line.

The team was totally defeated but, I do believe they will successfully regroup.

Chip Cox was around the ball on just about every play within 20 yards from the LOS.

All our DB's looked good.

While I agree that our line is going to suffer until Bowman returns, there is no excuse for it being completely ineffective when he’s out of the lineup. No unit can be successful if it all depends on one man. Dressing an extra defensive lineman to rotate in should help avoid fatigue as the game wears on.

Problem is we have one practice only this week. I am not expecting any changes. The best we can hope for is for the players to find a way to be more physical, make less mental errors and Reinebold to make some small adjustments in how we line up at the LOS on defense. Should we come out the same way friday. I think you might see more changes. Possibly Stewart or/and Baggs being brought in and some of the receivers that were cut in camp brought back.

I know it is only the second game of the season but we’ve lost five in a row and getting owned at home would cause some pretty serious problems for a lot of people.

@TSNDaveNaylor: CFL reviewing Shea Emry hit on Drew Tate from Sat night. Supplementary discipline decision could come today but probably tomorrow.

I know. It’s a tough spot.

I am not expecting any changes.
Don't see how it could hurt to dress Montgomery and sit one of the reserve DBs.
The best we can hope for is for the players to find a way to be more physical, make less mental errors and Reinebold to make some small adjustments in how we line up at the LOS on defense.
Mental errors can be corrected. Physical play emerges from mental discipline. It's the adjustments and schematic problems that have me worried.
Should we come out the same way friday. I think you might see more changes. Possibly Stewart or/and Baggs being brought in and some of the receivers that were cut in camp brought back.
Regardless of the result on Friday, next week I would bring back Anwar, look into Baggs, cut London and Deslauriers, re-sign Huggins, and activate Bowling from the PR. I would also try to use Devine in five-receiver sets occasionally.
I know it is only the second game of the season but we've lost five in a row and getting owned at home would cause some pretty serious problems for a lot of people.
Yep, although the short week makes a loss more likely.

If it`s Tuesday, it must be a new QB. Chris Forcier added to practice roster.

DE Lockley goes from practice roster to roster to probably replace DE Murrell now on one-game injured.

Good thing, if only because Lockley didn’t play on Sunday and should have more energy at defensive end.

Buck Pierce will be starting but they won't confirm January but I think he will play.

Interesting comments by Paul Lapolice on his show right now. Says Reinebold's defense is what was used in the CFL in the 90's something to the effect that Reinebold is going back to what he's known in the CFL. Five man rush with zone coverage. Says we have the Athletes to play man... Basicaly we are going completely against the trend :?

He’s expecting zone blitz and some twists. Working on his slide protection and recognizing zone blitz. Looks like our stuff wasn’t too tough to figure out. At least Etcheverry could disguise his stuff.

I’m perplexed at some of the alignments on defence
On one particularly effective running play up the middle
The TSN commentators said something about how the Alouettes were effectively blocked
And yet…as we watched the play…it was obvious that he defensive line LINED UP with a HUGE gap up the middle
Which Cornish simply ran through…untouched until he was tackled by the safety…20 yards downfield

I seem to remember The Riders having similar problems a few years beack
When the DC was getting VERY creative
So much so that ENORMOUS vulnerabilities were cropping up all over the defence

I think someone was commenting about Chris Jones at some point
How he recruited great and athletic players
And simply let them play…man on man.

I’m no expert on defensive strategy
But my take on the Alouettes teams of the past is exactly that
Jim Popp provided the best players in the league
And they went out and kicked butt
Simple…aggressive…effective

(I hadn’t read the comments about/by LaPolice before posting. Interesting that he sees it the same way)

While I’ve had nothing but respect for Anwar over the years
What we need is his replacement
Not his swan-song

Bagss was completely mis-used by the Cats
They dropped a pure pass-rusher into coverage
We should sign Baggs as soon as possible IMO

As to Bowling
I doubt what we need is yet another inside receiver
What we need is a deep threat
If I’m defending the Alouettes I’m questioning Anthony’s ability to go long in the 1st place
But I’m convinced that my cover guys are not worried about being burnt deep
This draws them in and activates the safety against Jamel and SJ
NOT a great situation

I appreciate Bowling as an alternative body type
And he could well develop into a Ben Cahoon style receiver
But I would love to see the Alouettes pick up some speed burner
(IS Devine divine?)
A deep threat to get the coverage off our all important slotbacks’ backs

Your correct. Etcheverry ran the same kinds of stunts and "hidden" LOS formations with the Riders with varied degrees of success.

Thank God for Google:

it was around that time that head coach Ken Miller politely suggested to Etcheverry that maybe, just maybe, a more conventional scheme would suffice. Down the stretch, Etcheverry did temper his eccentricities, with impressive results.
I guess with John Chick and Stevie Baggs you can only mess things up so much...
Yes, there were times when the alignments made you scratch your head. Why, oh why, were defensive tackles Marcus Adams and Keith Shologan lining up three yards apart? The Riders’ defence was essentially creating holes for the opposition. And why did it take so long for Etcheverry to realize that Jerrell Freeman was a much better pass rusher than Luc Mullinder?

Its Voodoo... and it will take a while for the players to really wrap their heads around the stuff. As your googling shows because it is so "unconventional" Miller felt estranged... Trestman and the rest of the staff won't be able to help Reinebold out much either. They nicknamed Etch "Mad Scientist".

I just hope they have the right athletes to make it work. You really need a bull in the middle of your dline and some very athletic/smart players to make it work.

I hope Jeff isn’t stuck in the '90s here. I don’t mind going against trends but you have to see what the league has been doing recently.

We have guys like Parker, Brown, and Anderson on defense, guys who excel at playing man press. So why are we playing so much zone? During the Calgary game, the broadcasters said that when someone asked Josh Bourke if there was an Al left off the Top 50 CFl who should have been there, he said Billy Parker. And I'm with him. Parker gets no credit for being a top DB. If he were in Winnipeg or BC they'd be singing his praises, but he's been a shutdown guy since he broke into the league in 2009 and nobody talks about him. Jerald Brown is a great cover guy. Anderson seems to have really stepped up his game this year. Williams is also improved. We actually have a pretty good secondary right now. It's our front seven that need to win more battles in the trenches.