Niagara. . . do you remember Danny Houston ?
I am a little vague on Danny Houston. I'll make a guess that he was a NI with status in the backfield but he didn't work out too well. I looked him up on the Als notes which put him in place in 1969. I was a 22 year old at the time and, I spent 69 living in Los Angeles. That fall I attended the LA Rams football team - they stunk. The year before they had a good team but made a trade with Chicago for backfielder Ollie Matson and, gave up several good players for him- terrible trade. The Rams were horrible that year. My father used to send me Als material from the Gazette [ maybe the Montreal Star too}. So in 69 I had much less exposure to the team than normal and my knowledge is sparse.
Yes you are right. . . he was a running back. . . O.K. Dalton signed him in 1969 as a 19 year old rookie. . . tons and tons of hype for the kid. Started his first game (against Ottawa), carried 4 times for 4 yards, blew his knee out, and never returned to football.
back in the early melenium, the stampeders released anderson and signed phillips. it backfired horribly, and the stamps never had a good running back agian until reynolds. that was three years later. i hope the als didnt make the same mistake with cobourne. Anderson had another 1000 yard season... phillips went to jail.
Comes back to the fact that Avon walked... He wasn't cut. The bigger question is will Avon be as successful in a new system, with a new OC a new Oline and a new QB ? Als are replacing one cog, Avon replaced the whole bike...
I wish someone would tell this to the TSN idiots who keep running these BS ‘stories’ pretending we cut Avon. We did not cut him. He walked because he wanted more money. Yet there’s a video clip on their site called “A Better Deal” that says his tenure with the Als came to an “abrupt end” after the 2010 season. As if we cut him the day after the Grey Cup win. As if we said we’re going in a different direction. As if Trestman hadn’t guaranteed Avon the starter’s job months before training camp!
Journalism really is dead. None of these nitwits posing as reporters would know good journalism if it came up to them and smacked them in the face. Nobody is interested in digging a bit and reporting the facts; they all just recycle the same press releases and quotes and don’t bother to verify what an organization or player says against what’s actually transpiring.
Cobourne acts like we cut him loose = reporters acting like it’s gospel. :roll: There’s more than one side to every story, folks.
[url=http://www.ruefrontenac.com/sports/alouettes/38250-sports-football-lcf-alouettes-anthony-calvillo-retour-attaque-erratique]http://www.ruefrontenac.com/sports/alou ... -erratique[/url]
Ces lancers n’ont pas été les seuls problèmes de l’attaque en ce mercredi matin. Plusieurs balles ont été échappées par les receveurs, des assignations de bloc ont été ratées. On a aussi vu le porteur Dahrran Diedrick oublier de regarder pour voir si son quart lui lançait le ballon. La passe a finalement abouti au sol, derrière lui, avant qu’il ne s’aperçoive que le ballon lui était destiné, au grand déplaisir des entraîneurs.
And this is why Diedrick will never be a starter. Also proof that the coaches do indeed care very much about the running back's ability to catch passes out of the backfield.
And there is little doubt in all of this that Coboune himself may be responsible for some of these "stories" circulating. In case things don't work out in Hamilton, and likely especially if they do, little AC wouldn't want the public to know that he couldn't come to terms for - let's face it - more money! So, who gets painted as the "guilty party" in all of this? Why the Als' organization of course!
The CFL, unlike its counterpart to the south, operates on a "budget plan". Football in Canada doesn't command the attention of fans, the media, or corporate sponsors that hockey does. Owners are taking big risks when they purchase CFL franchises, and then, of course, there is the salary cap. So, the CFL is not exactly rolling in dough. This in no way diminishes the quality of the product on the field, but it makes it extremely difficult to keep rosters intact from season to season. In professional sports, a "long" career is a relative term; a player has to make hay while the sun shines, so to speak. After winning seasons, it is not unexpected that the better players will seek better contracts the following season. We cannot know all of the details of little AC's departure (unless that comes out at some point in the future) but the likely cause was money, pure and simple.
Given the cap issues, little wiggle room for pay increaes...it was almost inevtiable that some of our stars would not be with us at the beginning of TC. I think it is to Popp's and the organization's credit that we have, essentially, the same starting lineup as last year. Little AC's dparture has put a kink in the offensive scheme, but I hope that the coaching staff can find (a) good replacement(s) to help the Als in season 2011.
Go Als go!
[url=http://www.cyberpresse.ca/sports/football/201106/09/01-4407514-y-aura-t-il-un-demi-capable-de-proteger-anthony-calvillo.php?utm_categorieinterne=trafficdrivers&utm_contenuinterne=cyberpresse_B9_football_424_section_POS1]http://www.cyberpresse.ca/sports/footba ... ction_POS1[/url]
Not all that encouraging on the RB blocking front so far, hopefully with more training camp work there will be improvements.
Whitaker and Bernard appear to be the better of the 4, with the team being very open with Cobb that he has to work on his blocking.
I wouldn’t say it’s not encouraging. The word Bujold used was (loosely translated) ‘uneven.’ Whitaker and Bernard did fairy well; Cobb didn’t, but knows he has to get better. I also like that Whitaker takes responsibility for his missed block last season. I don’t think anyone needs to tell him that his blocking has to be better this year if he’s going to be the full-time starter.
Ultimately, replacing a quality veteran like Cobourne isn’t going to be a seamless process. There will be bumps along the way.
And here's more BS revisionist history from Chris Schultz: http://www.tsn.ca/columnists/chris_schultz/?id=368367
But changes were made, with the biggest being the signing of former Montreal Alouette Avon Cobourne at running back. Perhaps the best overall running back in the CFL, his hidden talent as a pass blocker, and confrontational attitude about effort makes the Ticats better.
Funny how I never once heard last season, when Avon was an Alouette, that he was 'perhaps the best overall running back in the CFL.' Not once. It was all about Corey Boyd, Joffrey Renolds, and Fred Reid. Yet the moment Avon puts pen to paper on a Ti-Cat contract, he becomes the second coming of Jesus in the CFL media. :roll:
A tad harsh, d&p.
Schultz did say "perhaps" the best, and his use of the word "overall" speaks volumes. You can certainly make the argument that Boyd, Reynolds, and Reid are better pure runners than Cobourne. . . but if you factor in his pass-catching ability and his blocking skills, then you can make the argument that "Perhaps" he's the best "overall".
I totally agree with d..andp.. Whether a player or an assistant coach,when with the Als,you hardly hear of him from TSN. Another example is Chris Jones. When in Montreal,you rarely heard a positive comment or even a comment about him; since in Calgary,he is the best. Will it be the same with Burke now in Winnipeg? Probably.
Cobourne is gone and I am positive that he will be replace adequately; least of my worries. DT is and I don't expect a 3-4 defense; we don't have an "adequate nose tackle" to contemplate a 3-4 defense; also,we presently have only 3 import linebackers.
Richard
The reality is that because of that damn SMS you can't manage your payroll the way you would like. So a team loaded like the Als can't pay everyone what they lkely can get, unfortunate that we have to get artificial parity this way. In spite of that Jim has done an incredible job retaining most of our talent and if a guy wants to be in Montreal Jim will find a way to get close.
I did the math a year ago what the difference in bonus money was between the Als and Ticats and it was something like 110 000 vs 7500 for the Ticats over the last 8 years or so. That works out to something appr 13 000 more a year in Montreal and you add the 3 Grey Cup Rings worth somewhere between 5000 and 15 000 a piece, that's a lot of money. In Avon's case would he have gotten the money for Grey Cup MVP in Hamilton ? that's another nice little cheque.
We won't replace Avon or Ben or Mat for that matter, but that's pro sports today, guys retire they change teams and you move on. New guys will get an opportunity and there is no sense in beating yourself or the organization up. We had Pringle here and we went on to win a GC without him and at the time some of our "very knowledgeable reporters" including the TSN laughing stock had predicted the Als would have a hard time making the playoff and that Winnipeg would go to the GC that year 
A lot of guys around the CFL are jealous of the Als and Jim in particular. We don’t go around hiring from the old boys club. We don’t rely on trades with them and we consistantly win… without any of the “standard CFL fare”. Jim is also the highest paid guy in the league and has a ton of pride so that rubbs some of them the wrong way… I am glad we do things the way we do and I wish Jim was a little more accessible but I can see this year he’s trying hard to work with the press and keep us fans more informed and in the end he’s got a full plate building a football team and managing staff and if he doesn’t do that the rest won’t matter anyway…
Correct me if I am wrong, but I believe the Als had Robert Edwards as their back between the Philips and Cobourne days, who did alright for the short time he was with the team.
I won't correct you tony because you are correct.
In addition to having Robert Edwards in between Philips and Cobourne, we also had another big back, his name escapes me at the moment, but I do seem to recall being reminded that he was related to some NFL star. . .
:lol: [wish they had a smiley for 'tongue in cheek']Would you be refering to Payton ?!
MJ, I’m not disputing his assessment. In fact, I agree with him. My question: where were all these superlatives last year when we were busy winning a Grey Cup with ‘perhaps the best overall back in the league’? All we got was Boyd, Reid, and Reynolds shoved down our throat. Now, all of a sudden, it’s Avon shoved down our throat … now that he no longer plays for us. Coincidence? I’ve seen too much of TSN’s BS sports ‘reporting’ to think it’s coincidence.
Avon has a couple videos he calls "Douche TV"... This one is kinda fun with him poking at Renaud Williams.
http://www.ticats.ca/video/index/id/17751