Kudos to Doug Berry and Mike Miller & other observations

Alouettes de Montréal
#1

Doug Miller and Mike Berry :lol: Kept Jones off balanced all night. It was great to see him lose his mind and seeing Fat Bazker looking like he was about to take a dump in his 48" trouser :rockin:

When Marsh made threw his pick he came back to the sideline and tried to hide and run from Doug. He went over to him and said "Don't walk away from ME ! SIT DOWN here! That's how you manage a 23 year old QB. Doug is doing great work and if that kid ends up having a career he will owe Doug big...

  • Great pass catching by Jerome, He's obviously been working hard on his pass catching. Again coaching has a hand in that.

  • Pippin had his best game as an Alouette.

-Great flying to the ball by the defense : All of them...

-Tanner progressed again tonight. He's cool as a cucumber, he extends plays and tough as nails.

-Whitaker hope his hamstring isn't too damaged... He must be pretty discouraged.

Great job by the oline run blocking, they went after it.

Kudos to Jim Popp for running the ball down Jones throat :thup:

Those callin "fans" calling on CKAC are f... numbnuts. Habs can keep them :cowboy:

#2

I liked seeing Berry get in Marsh's face after that pick too. Was also surprised to see Messam functioning effectively as a pass-catcher, although I was frustrated by our not using Whitaker in the receiving game earlier. We used the empty set again a few times and it really seemed to give us good matchups, given Marsh's escapability. He messed up the zone read play a number of times but he'll improve. What I liked the most about him was his ability to keep his eyes downfield while scrambling.

#3

What did I tell you?
Typical...

#4

Good observations. I'll add a few more.

Tanner Marsh had a good game, Chip Cox was his usual superman self, Duron Carter was targeted early which told me he had a good week of practice, and it was good to see Josh Bourke back in the lineup. However, my unsung hero was Moton Hopkins. He met Curtis Steele three times in the backfield and showed flashes of his pre-injury form. If he can solidify a glaring weakness (DT), it will quietly take pressure off Noel Thorpe as he will not constantly have to bring heat up the A gap via a blitzing Shea Emry. That would result in have him drop more often in coverage and leaving the defense less exposed to underneath crossing routes.

I'm a fan of Pierre Vercheval as an announcer but he kept repeating the same soliloquies about Jerome Messam's upright running style throughout the game. We know it's there, it's glaring to everyone, has been mentioned on this very forum, and yes it makes him susceptible to leg injuries but he is still a non-import load of beef that is difficult to bring down. As soon as Messam started imposing his will on the last drive, Vercheval changed his tune and started praising him.

There was a thread about the FLY offence last week. It was used once this game with 2:39 left and it worked. Arland Bruce III lined up as the z-back and gained four yards out of the FLY formation. More importantly it was a first down and kept the last drive alive. If we can sprinkle the concept once or twice a game and add a little bit of spread formations (which Marsh ran at AK Tech), it will make our offense that much more dangerous.

Anyone remember Marcus Ball looking down at AC after demolishing him the last time we played Toronto? It was sad to see. They smacked us in the mouth. With reason, they have some hard hitters in Robert McCune,Tristan Black, Marcus Ball and some big boys in Chris Van Zeyl, Khalif Mitchell and Tony Washington. Well tonight, we took their punches and hit back. We had a little more swagger and that starts with the QB.

Marsh took hits and bounced back up. He stood up to Ball a few times, not afraid to jaw back. I also remember Lavoie and Whitaker went toe to toe after the whistle with Ball on a particular play after he had hit Marsh a little late. In the trenches, Brodeur-Jourdain manhandled Mitchell a few times. Not sure who it was but Hopkins swatted an o-lineman like a fly on the Collaros fumble and Emry return for the TD. Edem was much more disciplined yet remained the explosive tackler we have gotten to know. Both Parkers are above average tacklers and strong against the run.

All in all, this was probably our most complete game of the season as all three phases (O, D, ST) came together. :rockin:

#5

Brodeur-Jourdain is really an unsung hero. I liked the play wherein one of our backs struggled for 4=5 yards and, was held by Toronto but did not go down. Mr B-J then pushed the pile another 5-6 yards gaining the first down. He is heavy with massive strength.I believe Messam should have been used much earlier in the game. Finally in the third Q he demonstrated his great strength both running and receiving. Whitaker has shown well a couple of years back, that he is a great back but, I am beginning to wonder about his propensity to injury. One of my favorite backs, a few years back was Erik Lapointe, a Canadian back second to none who when given the first string by Coach Matthews, excelled only to be stricken with injury. I was concerned to see Whitaker go down without being hit- injury healed?

#6

Als D is a pleasure to watch and especially Chip Cox, what a beast :rockin: . How he took down Collaros! I don't remember witnessing a 'head tackle' call before (turf looks hard at Rogers Centre, that musn't help)- Anyhow, Collaros wasn't the same after that.

What a difference a year makes. Coach Thorpe, you are doing an awesome job!

#7

In fairness last night was the first time we led late into a game but that's how you use a big back like Jerome. You tire them out running sideline to sideline and then you let him pound it. The fact he could make a couple catch in open field also helped open up his game. I don't think the Argos are too excited to come and Partay in Montreal in a few days...

#8

Indeed. Not an Als receiver within 3 yards of that pass.

#9

He definitely tried to force that ball and got burned. Berry did exactly what you're supposed to do with a young QB: get in his face and hold him accountable for a lapse in judgment. You'd better believe Marsh will think twice about attempting that kind of pass going forward.

The pre-snap motion was again good last night. Comparing what we're doing now pre-snap to what we were doing in the Hawkins era is night and day.

#10

The Hawkins era? You mean the Hawkins Half hour.

#11
:lol:

What a fraud that guy was. Running his mouth about the science of football and excellence with class when he embodied neither of those attributes.

I hope that Miller is getting a CFL education now that he's in the spotter's booth and no longer calling the plays. Will he stick around next year?

#12

Depuis que Berry a pris les commandes de l'attaque, celle-ci progresse et on commence à croire que cette unité va pouvoir éventuellement donner la contribution qu'elle devrait apporter à l'équipe. Les plans de match sont sensés, les jeux s'améliorent, le choix de jeux est plus cohérent. Effectivement, Berry et Miller semblent s'entendre sur la façon d'améliorer cette unité et il y a une progression visible.

L'attaque gagne en cohésion, mais il demeure qu'elle n'est toujours pas une force redoutable.

Ce que les autres équipes craignent plus, c'est la défensive des Alouettes. Tout le monde parle de Thorpe en encensant le jeu de Hebert, Emry, Brouillette et Cox, mais le jeu de ces gars-là est le résultat du travail de Mark Nelson avec Thorpe.

Je dois également souligner que la ligne défensive s'est améliorée depuis que Hopkins est de retour dans cette unité et surtout, depuis que Lavarias occupe l'autre bout de la ligne. Sans faire de bruit, Klassen fait aussi du bon travail. Il n'est pas encore percutant, mais il ne fait pas vraiment d'erreurs et contribue au succès de se coéquipiers. Ceci pour dire que Keith Willis ne doit pas être étranger à tout ça. La ligne défensive a fermé la porte à Steele hier comme elle l'avait passablement fermée à Harris. Brady n'a pas osé trop envoyer Collaros caballer vers le champ des Alouettes.

La prochaine partie devrait nous montrer à quel point nous en sommes. Les Argonauts viennent de revenir sur Terre et Jones ne se laissera pas déranger si longtemps. Ce sera un bon test, surtout compte tenu de l'enjeu.

#13

Willis deserves credit, for sure, and I've been a Mark Nelson fan for a long time, but we still need to upgrade on defense. One more solid cover DB, and a good DT and we're poised to be a dominant defense, not just a good one...

#14

I have a feeling that Miller may stick. The Bruce the III plays from the line of scrimmage looks like something that miller would call.

I think he can pick up the Canadian game and is humble enough to learn from mistakes. Each game he is involved with from here to the end of the season will be a lesson in adjustments.

I was some what disappointed in our kick return blocking scheme. Too much time setting up or trying to set up. Carrier had very little for lanes , and he has a habit to keep looking for something that isn't going to develop and starts moving east west.

#15

Oui, Miller pourrait facilement aimer demander des jeux qui font des gains de 3-4 verges.

#16

I have to mention that I was impressed with Messam's blocking, I don't know what coach is helping him, but he has improved 300% from when he was with the Eskimos. I guess I have to eat a little crow here, because I thought that was the biggest knock against him. Glad I was wrong about him this time round as he is proofing to be an asset .

#17

Je crois que Messam, travaillant aux côtés de Whitaker, a réalisé qu'il a encore beaucoup à prouver et qu'il devra constamment prouver qu'il peut livrer la marchandise. Messam est arrivé chez les Alouettes avec une bonne attitude, beaucoup de bonne volonté et a travaillé fort pour être là où il est présentement. Il bloque mieux qu'en début de saison et il attrape mieux aussi. Mais il a encore du chemin à faire de ce côté pour avoir la polyvalence de celui qu'il remplace. Je demeure content de sa contribution au sein de l'équipe et de voir qu'il a à coeur de progresser.