La venue prochaine d'Olafyoye, l'embauche de Simmons et d'autres bloqueurs, la présence de Ruby et Piotrowski, la rémission de Luc Brodeur-Jourdain, autant d'éléments qui indiquent les bouleversements à venir à la ligne offensive en 2017.
La question demeure donc de savoir qui seront les partants. Si les Alouettes décident de faire jouer deux joueurs internationaux sur la ligne offensive, il y aura forcément quelqu'un qui va écoper. Le nombre de places serait alors insuffisant pour faire jouer à la fois Matte, Brodeur-Jourdain, Blake et Gagnon. Pour ma part, j'estime que les Alouettes ne peuvent se passer de Blake et devraient monter Gagnon comme futur joueur de centre. Ça laisse une lutte entre Matte et Brodeur-Jourdain pour le poste de centre. Or, si (c'est un gros si, voire un si grossi ou un si gros si, peut-être un si si gros, mais tout de même un si) Brodeur-Jourdain est en pleine possession de ses moyens, je vois mal Matte le précéder dans l'alignement. Si les Alouettes pensent à monter Gagnon comme joueur de centre, je crois que Luc aurait plus à lui apporter que Kristian, malgré tout le respect que j'ai pour ce dernier. Luc est un centre plus naturel que Matte et comme il est un excellent communicateur, je pense que Gagnon profiterait davantage de sa présence à ses côtés dans cette perspective.
Chose certaine, il y aura beaucoup de compétition au sein de cette unité. C'est une bonne affaire car la protection de Durant sera cruciale pour la saison. Si celle-ci est le moindrement défaillante, bien des efforts auront été vains.
I know what's going on here. Reed is using foucault as cover to move Vernon Adams.... Watch, both these guys will be traded for an import... Effectively trading two first round picks for a veteran import !
Assuming Olafyoye is coming to us, we now have a pretty solid line. Kick Blake out to RT, start O at LT, with Gagnon, Matte, and LBJ as the Canadians inside, Simmons backing up at tackle, and one of Piotrowski or Ruby backing up at guard.
Olafioye for Foucault. It sounds great but, I am wondering- What's the catch? Do we send BC a player on our neg list? Do we send one of our regular confirmed Alouettes? Do we sent a Canadian receiver? Why does Shawn Gore's name come into the picture? Why is Westerman's name listed in this discussion. Its 12:59 Monday AM, and perhaps I am to tired to figure what exactly are we going to give to Wally? There's got to be a missing link in this discussion.Will we be giving our second draft spot to Wally?
Deleted for inappropriate remark. My apologies for making them in the first place.
SUMMARY
Two weeks ago, Rick Dhaliwal posted that Jovan Olafioye was being shopped around because Wally Buono had overspent during the free agent signing period. He along with Farhan Lalji added more details like Buono was talking to at least one Eastern team. Later, the target was narrowed down to Montreal but there was “work to be done” before the deal happened.
Posters here then debated who from Als would be involved in the exchange.
After a period of no action, Gary Lawless mentioned this past Thursday that David Foucault was on the block. One and one were put together and now the potential trade was Jovan Olafioye for David Foucault. Rick Dhaliwal said the Lions would get a “starter + neg lister”. Didier Orméjuste instead said: 2 for 2.
Late Friday night, Herb Zurkowsky mentioned the trade was imminent. Late Saturday night, Farhan Lalji posted that the deal was done.
Deal according to Lalji is: Jovan Olafioye + Someone to be determined from the Neg List in exchange for the rights to David Foucault.
Didier Orméjuste added that the official announcement will be made on Monday.
The reason Shawn Gore and Jabar Westerman is mentioned is that some people are skeptical that the trade was made by Wally only for salary cap reasons. Instead, maybe Wally’s intention all along was to adjust his ratio. From last year’s team, Westerman left and Gore is considering retirement. So perhaps Wally did not feel comfortable enough with the Canadians he had left on the roster.
La ligne offensive des Alouettes demeure à confirmer, mais on peut d'ores et déjà s'attendre à ce qu'elle comprenne Olafyoye et Blake. Reste à voir qui elle comprendra parmi les joueurs nationaux, ce qui ne pourra être raisonnablement anticipé avant que le camp d'entraînement ne soit passablement avancé.
Une chose est certaine, c'est qu'en ce qui concerne le personnel de joueurs, il y a là le talent nécessaire pour constituer une ligne offensive efficace. Il faudra voir si les schémas de protection seront efficaces, et si Charbonneau sera capable de rendre son unité solide et constante.
Making major alterations to your ratio in a single off-season isn't easy but Reed and Raiche appear to have pulled it off. The starting national ratio of 2016 (5 O-line, 1 receiver, 1 safety) has been replaced by a more balanced ratio on both sides of the ball (3 O-line, 1 receiver, 2 DT, 1 WLB). That's impressive. :thup:
Kudos to Reed for the acquisition of a really good OLT which was a priority need for this season. There are at least 5 DTs up for grabs in the upcoming Draft.
Will be interesting to see what becomes of Wayne Moore. The young man had a serious injury last year and our wonderful reporters have never provided with an update on his rehab.