Crompton

Alouettes de Montréal
#1

I said it from the beginning of last year when Crompton got a little action post Matt Nichols going down...I thought he had some potential. Something about him seems to just fit the Als. The Als have a solid OL and at 6-4 he could be a great pocket passer. He seemed to make darned good decisions for a guy who basically has 1 week of splitting reps...this could change things for the Als season.

Higgins...I've tried giving him the benefit of the doubt...he doesn't belong in a HC role. He is like a deer in headlights, and his inability to challenge that late PI call with the game on the line...and a HUGE play...done. May not have been a PI (IMO was) but you NEED to challenge that every time! brutal!

I know they have staff on the books they are still paying for, but I would pull the plug and bring in Paul Lapolice.

#2

Command center makes a huge blunder by calling Parker on the PI. You'd think they might be amenable to even things out. But no...Higgins doesn't even throw the flag. Wow.

#3

That should have been a couple years ago. If Crompton is the guy you should dump Brink. You know he's going to pout and that won't be good for the players to be part of.

#4

Yup...if it was that alone, it slides. He has done nothing to retain his position. Popp must be looking at his bosses just waiting for them to nod...smiling....not saying a word because it was their guy.

I am seriously questioning if there is a conspiracy on Higgins as well...as the previous boss...he has not had a single replay go his way this season I don't think. A stretch...yes...most likely.

The Als have huge money tied up in salaries of guys no longer there, but I think they need to pull the trigger on this one. The best move made by the coaching staff this year on O was putting a new QB in there, and I 100% believe that was Garcia.

#5

Only the coaches can answer how he will react. Brink seemed to be really good on the sideline all while knowing full-well he was watching the starter job go away.

#6

There always seemed to be some tension between him & Elliott, and other members on the team. I can remember a few times him being sacked, and no Lineman coming to help him up. Seemed odd....
I was watching him on the sidelines - I don't think "really good" would describe it, but he was interacting with Marsh. Didn't say a word to Crompton though.
Don't think it's a good idea to hold on to him.

#7

yeah...could very well be right. I've never been a big Brink fan...so whatever. They still have Smith as a backup...perhaps bench time would do him well. I will say that the O seemed to spark up immediately when Crompton got in. Having a Qb that can bass accurately 30 yards away will do that...having a QB that you can talk to and say hey...can you adjust this on passes to me and having him immediately do it...even more so. He made really good decisions for his experience.

#8

Maybe Higgins was brought in as revenge on Popp for Hawkins

#9

Higgins was brought in because Bob Wetenhall has always liked him. He is very likable. The game is just flying by way too fast for him. Even TV viewers can see it.

#10

Revenge sounds funner though :cowboy:

#11

Crompton looked good in the last game. Some of Garcia's influence showed in a positive way. He has to known each of his receiver's timing and not telegraph plays.

#12

C'est précisément ce qui lui a permis de mériter son prochain départ. Maintenant, s'il s'avère que Crompton est un autre Marsh (une bonne prestation suivie d'un amas de difficultés), il faudra jeter un regard différent sur la situation des quarts.

Je dois avouer cependant que je n'ai pas apprécié outre mesure que Brink se plaigne publiquement du sort qu'il a subi.

Je me souviens qu'il y a quelques années, Kevin Glenn avait été remplacé au cours d'un match par Marcel Bellefeuille. Il a donc été questionné à ce sujet et sa réponse avait été à mon sens plus appropriée. Il avait dit que c'était une décision de l'entraîneur sur laquelle il n'avait pas d'emprise. Il pouvait être d'accord ou ne pas être d'accord, mais essentiellement, c'était la décision de l'entraîneur et c'était à lui d'en discuter avec ce dernier pour faire le point. Il avait conclu en disant que tout ce qu'il pouvait faire, c'était de travailler fort avec ses coéquipiers pour être prêt lorsque l'équipe aurait besoin de lui et que c'est ce qu'il ferait. C'était une réponse pleine de bon sens, sans amertume et susceptible de lui permettre de garder la confiance et l'appui de ses coéquipiers. Je ne crois pas que l'attitude de Brink aura cet effet, et ça m'a déçu de sa part.

#13

I don't want to get over-optimistic. Although he played a good game, Crompton looked like he could have used a bit more speed on one or two plays, in the opposition side of the field. In terms of speed and quickness I don't think he's near a Burris type or a Rielly type for that matter. As long as he could move the offence most importantly.

When I saw Crompton play year with the Esks, they'd put him in usually late in the game, team ahead or close score. The defenses he played against were playing in a prevent defense for the most part. He played good also in those situations.

#14

I think running speed is not as important as knowing when to run. If he can recognize the opportunities he will be fine on that front. I just want him to ease off the hot sauce a little and let his receivers adapt.

#15

Ce n'était que trois quarts dans une partie où l'adversaire s'était préparé pour Brink, mais il y a plusieurs choses que j'ai aimées de Crompton.

Premièrement, il a un bon bras. Il peut lancer des bombes comme il peut lancer des flèches. Deuxièmement, pour un quart aussi peu expérimenté, sa prise de décision est assez rapide. Troisièmement, il a déjà un assez bon jugement, en ce qu'il va préférer protéger le ballon s'il n'a aucun jeu plutôt que de le forcer. En quelques occasions, on pouvait croire qu'il avait fait erreur en tentant de courir alors qu'il n'avait pas d'issue, mais c'était parce qu,il n'y avait aucun autre jeu de disponible et que la pression était serrée. Quatrièmement, il a un bon leadership. Il aborde le caucus en confiance et on sent que ses coéquipiers suivent. Même s'il a été déçu des interceptions qu'il a subies, il n'a pas semblé ébranlé sur la séquence suivante, ce qui montre une bonne capacité d'oubli. Cinquièmement, son recul est plus efficace que celui de Smith car il lui donne une fraction de seconde supplémentaire pour faire sa décision, même si à plusieurs occasions, sa décision semblait prise dès la remise.

Il doit améliorer la précision de ses passes (même s'il a une assez bonne précision, à mon sens), sa lecture des défensives et apprendre à laisser un peu plus ses joueurs faire avancer le ballon à sa place.

J'ai aimé ce que j'ai vu de lui, mais il faudra qu'il poursuive dans cette veine et réussisse à amener l'équipe à faire des touchés avant que je commence à m'enthousiasmer.

#16

Yes, by all means, Crompton displayed enough in our last game. However, I'm not ready to give him the Keys to the Kingdom, he threw 3 interceptions in this game and, if you will examine his stats last year with the ESKS, he was prone to interceptions there also. I would not completely neglect Troy Smith at this point. He was very good on our only win and, he did display enough last year to be rated number 1 on our QB list this season. Our playbook has to be improved with the acquisition of Garcia and the other QB guy, whose name I can't recall a the moment. Why Dinwiddie was made OC in the recent past was a decision of futility. I'm sure with the recent coaching changes we made likely have an improved playbook.Troy, it appears, was playing with an injury and was possibly was told not to run by the OC at that time. If Crompton struggles, we might give Smith another shot after his 6 week injury list is complete. We are however, looking to next season and, the team should be open should another good looking candidate shows up.

#17

Keep in mind that those 3 interceptions were tipped balls and badly tipped at that. Part Crompton for throwing too hard and part on the receivers for trying to catch difficult balls. If those balls come in just a little softer they are either caught or not tipped nearly that high.

I think the only way we see Troy as a starter again is if Popp becomes HC.

#18

Je crois que le sort de tous ces joueurs est entre leurs mains. Smith n'a pas été l'ombre du joueur qu'il a été l'an dernier, sauf dans la victoire des Alouettes sur les Lions et dans la partie suivante contre les Bou! Bombers, où il a assez bien fait.

S'il se trouve qu'il était blessé, cela explique peut-être certaines contre-performances, mais il faut avouer que le système de jeu offensif demeure passablement pourri. Ces deux dernières semaines, les Alouettes ont commencé à montrer des signes d'allumage, mais le moteur n'est pas encore parti, il faut bien l'admettre.

Le sort de Smith dépend présentement surtout des prestations qu'offriront ses substituts. Si Crompton s'améliore et que l'attaque commence à ressembler à une attaque, Higgins sera plus hésitant à ramener Smith sur le terrain lorsqu'il sera remis de sa blessure. Si Crompton commence à ressembler à Brink ou à Marsh, Higgins reviendra vite avec un autre quart. Tout ceci n'est pas idéal, ni même bon pour les Alouettes cette saison car on n'installe pas de complicité sans stabilité. Un moment donné, il va falloir miser sur un candidat et aller au fond de cette décision. Je crois cependant que Brink n'est plus dans la course.

J'espère qu'on ne verra pas une décision stupide comme celle de Mike Kelly lorsqu'il s'est départi de Ritchie Williams. C'était le meilleur poulain qu'il avait dans son écurie, et il l'a écarté au profit de Lefors, qui a aussi été mis sur le banc pour finir avec le jovial Michael Bishop. Si on doit finir par miser sur Smith, il faudrait trouver une façon de garder Crompton.

#19

I'm beginning to think that with the right coaches (i.e. not Higgins and Dinwiddie), we could actually have a serviceable offense next year with Crompton, Smith, and Marsh as our QBs. We've been so unbelievably poor this year, past the point of all reason, and that's largely been with the same QB (Smith) as last season. But Troy looked much better last year working under Doug Berry and Jim Popp. The brutal regression this year tells me that our playbook is garbage and that our coaches don't have the trust of the players.

#20

I am not convinced of that. He looked better last year, I'll grant you that, but it would be darn difficult not to given the atrocious play we've seen from him this year.

But "much" better? I am not so sure. I'd say (and have said in other threads I do believe) that his performance last season ranked somewhere around mediocre to adequate. Nothing more. If Crompton can play reasonably well, then I say we cut bait with both Smith and Brink, and bring in new NCAA QBs for next season, and hang on to Crompton (and maybe Marsh); I wouldn't suggest pulling a Jim Barker and jettisoning all our QBs in one fell swoop.

Mind you, if Crompton craps the bed a few times before this season is mercifully over, then I reserve the right to change my tune on that last point. . .