Not good news for our D. I sincerely hope the others they have brought in can get the job done. Never good, though, when a veteran goes down. We'll see what happens.
I want to give Jim Popp every benefit of the doubt
And I haven't seen ANY of the new D linemen brought into camp this year
So who knows...right?
But last year's disaster rested squarely on Popp's shoulders
Anwar was clearly on his last legs
And the Alouettes languished at the bottom of the league in QB sacks
For a good portion of the season
And were arguably one of the worst teams in QB pressure
While it makes sense to point to the injury woes in the secondary
As the primary cause of our defensive woes
It's easily as reasonable to state that with all the rookies and backups in the secondary
The Alouettes could ill afford to have such under-achievement on the line.
And our fate would have been much different had Popp found or traded for
Some rush-end stud during the course of the last couple seasons
Again...who knows what kind of talent is in camp?
But if the Alouettes are going to do anything in 2012
They're going to need to get to the quarterback
And I doubt that 7-man alignment will make it half way to Bowman's return
Jim Popp told Herb that they expect John to miss no more than four regular-season games and perhaps fewer. He added that he expects Bowman to be placed on regular one-game injury list. No reason,for now,to put him on the nine-game list.
To be sure, the coaches get some idea of the new players they have brought in during the off-season during pre-season games. However, with the "shuffleboard" of pre-season with players going in for a few plays and then being replaced by others, you can't get a true picture of a player's true value. IMO, the real test comes with the first few games of the season. By and large, you know what kind of team you have by about the 4th season game.
I sure hope the coaches made the right choices with the changes that have been made on D. I don't have a good feeling concerning the loss of Bowman; he was probably the only true veteran on the D-line. There are still a quorum of vets in other positions, but they will definitely have to step up their game. How much playing time will they get in pre-season? So, the new guys may set the world on fire or be a bust. I'm cautiously optimistic.
If the coaching staff was concerned they could have requested Jim bring in Anwar or Baggs or some other guys. As for experience. Bekasiak and Hunt have plenty. I still think they should consider bringing Anwar as a rotation guy. Its a long season, they could have offered him 60k and even put him on the practice roster when they don’t plan to dress him ( its not like he would go play elsewhere). There has to be room on that team for Anwar… Sinclair better be sure of the decisions he’s made…
Winnipeg is coming to town without their 2 starting OTs - Douglas & January. And they are rebuilding LG and C with the loss of LaBatte and retirement of Kahn. RG Morley appears to be the only holdover starting.
So we wont get a true indication of our d-line, but if they dont put up a pretty decent showing against Winnipeg`s B-team o-line there might be some cause for concern.
That’s the GREAT thing about the new season
It’s an opportunity for new talent to make their mark
It’s not that Popp hasn’t found great D-Line talent in the past
Simply that the need has been growing the last couple seasons
And simply hasn’t been addressed
Looking forward to someone surprising
(as you say)
While I agree Anwar might fill some kind of role as you suggest
Listening to Anwar talk you have to wonder if he’d be content as a part-time player
He’s been pretty vocal over the last couple years
And part of his strength has always been his aggressive desire to play
His kind of personality is always trouble when it comes to reduced playing time and being a “role player”
Jim Popp needs to get off his Duff and replace Stewart
Hell…he needs to get off and replace Keron Williams…finally
It’s like when we lost Brian Chiu
“Let’s just plunk someone in there and hope it’s a fit…heck…he’s played center before”
I ask you
What kind of attitude is that when faced with having to replace an All Star?
It’s as if all the glamour positions get all the attention
GREAT new running back (this year)
GREAT new receivers (last year)
But heck…who’s gonna notice if we ignore the line?
Not replacing Chiu hurt us for half a season 2 years ago
Not finding a replacement for Keron Williams has been hurting ever since we lost him
And not finding Anwar Stewart’s successor hurt us all last season
And may just hurt us this year too
Eventually these things get noticed
And I say again
It’s about time Jim Popp started doing something about them
Don’t give a flying carp who the GM is
As long as they do their job and get me players
BTW
Thx for getting deep into the issue
And dealing with the specifics of the thing
Always nice to see people avoided petty personal attacks
And sticking to a healthy debate
Here…let me give an example:
Oh…so you think Popp never replaced Keron Williams?
Not really…Williams was a GREAT inside lineman who was as good against the rush as he was at providing pressure on the quarterback.
I really don’t think the Als front four has been the same since they lost Williams
Etc etc
Come to think of it
Since some “doochies” here would rather sit back and take adolescent snipes
Than actually talk about football
I figure I’ll make this my regular approach
It’ll let me articulate my points in detail
And maybe even shame some people into being less ridiculously confrontational
I'm just counting my blessings that the injury isn't more serious. While it sucks to lose Bowman right at the start of a season in which we're rebuilding our defense, I'm trying to be philosophical about it. When one door closes, another opens. This is someone's chance to step up and grab a spot on the team. Whether it's Murrell, Ihekwoabe, Akra, Clemens, or someone else entirely, I'm hoping that when John returns, we're having a discussion about hard it is for someone to come out of the lineup so he can play. :rockin:
This is someone's chance to step up and grab a spot on the team. Whether it's Murrell, Ihekwoabe, Akra, Clemens, or someone else entirely, I'm hoping that when John returns, we're having a discussion about hard it is for someone to come out of the lineup so he can play. :rockin: