Ray has 2 throws that he loves to make, the post route from the 30 to 20 yard line in the opponents half and the fade out to his left from his 30 to the red zone. You got to occupy those at all time during these conditions. You take that away and your golden.
Agreed, Hfx. The DHs are going to be in a hell of a game against the Esks who are not, after all, 5-1 for nothing. They have been playing solid football and RR looks like the RR of old.
However, as Wpg showed (and admittedly they have a solid D), rushing RR can be successful. Last year, the Als had a number of blitz packages with essentially the same personnel. As memory serves, we weren’t always getting a good rush from the front 4 then either. Some players have lost a step or two. So, I still think that putting RR off his game often enough will help secure the W. As we have seen this season, if AC or the O is off (and certainly were in the two consecutive losses!), our D can’t necessarily be counted on to keep us in the game. So, I think it will have to be a two-pronged approach for this one.
Unfortunately for the Esks, they have lost Stamps for 4-6 weeks, and that is one less potent weapon we will have to worry about, but Messam and others are getting the job done. I maintain, however, that the key to Esks offensive success is RR. So, I hope we work on some great D this week in preparation and hope AC and the boys bring their AAAA game.
It shouldn’t be impossible for us to take those routes away this week. With Stamps out, Ray will be throwing to Jason Barnes and a bunch of lesser receivers. Parker will definitely have to step up his game, though. He can’t be getting burned for PI or TDs like he was against Toronto.
Nous avons des chances de battre les Eskimos jeudi, mais je demeure sceptique sur l'amplitude de cette chance.
Principalement trois choses seront nécessaires pour y parvenir. Premièrement, l'attaque devra contrôler le ballon longtemps pour fatiguer leur défensive. Pour y parvenir, il faudra utiliser plus de jeu au sol que lors de la partie contre Hamilton. Deuxièmement, la couverture de passe devra être impeccable et disciplinée, surtout sur le long jeu, sinon Ray va nous tailler en pièces. Troisièmement, il faudra limiter les gains au sol car McCarthy et Porter peuvent se détacher.
L'absence de Stamps fera mal aux Eskimos, mais Ray demeure un excellent passeur. Il peut battre l'adversaire même sans son meilleur receveur.
Les points d'interrogations demeurent notre ligne défensive et nos nullités spéciales. Notre ligne doit élever son niveau de jeu et réussir à presser Ray. Ce n'est pas exactement ce qu'elle nous a montré jusqu'à maintenant. Par ailleurs, il faudra que l'équipe soit plus créative sur les schémas de blocage en retour de bottés. Maypray réchappe toujours ses statistiques par un ou deux retours décents par partie, mais c'est insuffisant pour affirmer que notre brigade fait du bon boulot. Nous devons faire des gains de ce côté.
You make a good point about Maypray
And it’s a valid point about statistics in general
Maypray has of late had one or at most two “decent” returns
He even showed a glimmer of the “lateral quickness” that’s been almost completely absent from his return game
But one or two returns hardy compensates for the 2-3 yard returns that regularly leave the Alouettes in poor field position
I’ll take the occasional good return…since we have no choice apparently
But dang…you’d think we could work on some kind of alternative
After suffering through 1 1/3 seasons of mediocrity at the position
Luc Mullinder fills (hopefully) a huge hole in our defensive squad
If his presence will double up Bowman’s efforts, allowing McElveen to work as last year inside
Our secondary will start getting some picks…and out D will start having some “swagger” of their own
The offence is at or near the top of the league
AC is back on his game and Whitaker is more than a pleasant surprise
All that’s left is to get some special teams help
And this team is in remarkably good shape
To take on the Esks or anyone else out there
There
How’s that for pessimism?
Mullinder has played tackle as well as end, so we (gasp!) actually have options now on the defensive line. We could slide Mullinder into Bekasiak's spot and keep McElveen where he is, in the hopes that Luc will provide a good interior push allowing the ends to get more pressure (and hopefully sacks). Or we can put Jermaine back inside, where as Senior noted, he seems to thrive, and use Mullinder at rush end, where he'd be occasionally spelled by Anwar and/or Kitwana.
Will keep this one for sure 
And I agree with you on Maypray. One or two " decent" returns after 6 games does not make up for all the other “non decent” returns.
Well, having addressed the D line problem with the acquisition of Mullinder, now it remains to be seen what Popp & co. come up with in terms of remedying the poor performance of our return game. ..
Honestly, if they don’t replace Maypray within the next week or two, I’m not sure what it would take to change their minds.
One could easily turn that statistic around
Because of the infrequency of the run against us
Or defence is more frequently expecting the pass
The run becomes a “surprise attack”
Which could very easily explain the occasional “big run”
This also validates the overall run yards against statistic
Teams that rely on the run (like Toronto)
Abandon the run not simply because they are behind
But because they know they can’t run against us…
If they weren’t convinced of that…they’d run more often…obviously
Half time scores so far this year:
Week1: Mtl 27 BC 10
Week2: Mtl 17 Sask 17
Week3: Mtl 20 Tor 10
Week4: Sask 17 Mtl 10
Week5: Ham 17 Mtl 13
Week6: Mtl 20 Tor 13
Except for Week1 against the BC Lions…the Alouettes supposed early leads has been nothing more than a myth. Certainly a one touchdown or so lead at halftime is hardly enough to discourage a running team like the Argonauts from pursuing their main line of attack.
The Alouettes are still tough against the run…this is their reputation…and by the end of the season I’ve no doubt the stats will more than validate that reputation. The occasional big run notwithstanding…the Als are solid…and the addition of Mullinder can only improve the situation.
Edmonton`s return game is actually worse than ours and Arash Madani is tweeting he has been told they are bringing back Jason Armstead.
In that case we should bring back Ezra Landry. 
Itty Bitty !
According to The Gazette-Herb is in a lock-out- McElveen will not play this week. Moton Hopkins will be activated,from the practice roster. Anwar will be back at DE. Mullinder will/should not play this week. Boulay still out.
The only change,so far, is Hopkins,at DT, for McElveen.
Richard
What?
Hey, you’re getting your wish, Richard! I’m curious to see how Hopkins fares against Edmonton. He’s listed at 6’2’’ and 277 lbs. – a bit undersized for a tackle. Hopefully he’ll provide some push up the middle on Ray.
100 or so employees-including Herb- of The Gazette are lock-out.
Let's hope it won't be for long.
Richard
Note: I am positive that Hopkins will do better than Anwar,as DT.
The lock out affects mail room and production employees, not journalists (Herb is still writing as of today):
[url=http://montreal.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20110808/mtl_gazette_110808/20110808?hub=MontrealHome]http://montreal.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local ... ntrealHome[/url]Agreed.
Richard
Well, with a couple of days to go, it appears as if the Als are aware of the lack of a significant rush from the front 4 and are trying to fill this void. Methinks there are others on the Als' roster who may be good trade bait for other D/ST positions. Will Mullinder be activated for the Esks' game?
Nonetheless, we will have to meet Edmonton with essentially the same squad that started the season. So, it's down to clever D-schemes, getting off to a fast start on O, and scoring often. There will be two great QBs in this game, one a HOFer who is still playing and the other who will likely be there some day also. RR is having a great season, but as we saw he is capable of being sacked. I hope to see him "kissing the carpet" early and often!
Go Als go!!!!
Certes, il y a des griefs à adresser à Maypray, mais on ne peut pas dire non plus que les schémas de blocage se sont améliorés. Le seul fait de changer Maypray (pour Slaughter, par exemple) ne fera pas une grosse différence sans un meilleur travail du côté du blocage.
Pour cette partie, le fait que Stamps soit hors-combat change passablement la donne pour les Eskimos. Le receveur-clé devient Jason Barnes, qui n’a pas la vitesse de Stamps. On verra donc plus Bauman et Henry, mais je crois aussi qu’on verra beaucoup de passes sur les côtés à Messam, Porter ou McCarthy. C’est un endroit où les Alouettes sont vulnérables et les Eskimos ont le personnel pour l’exploiter.