I believe the end of April is correct. Interesting that Montreal was the first to put on these Florida Spring Camps and now they are all doing it... 
I contacted the Als (thank you idealsheldon) - and here's the response I received today:
[i]"This year, mini-camp will be at Oxbridge Academy in West Palm Beach, FL.
on April 27-29.
Schedule is not 100% confirmed but should look like this:
Wednesday, April 27 4:30 p.m. - Practice
Thursday, April 28 2:15 p.m. - Practice
Friday, April 29 11:00 a.m. - Practice
It is a voluntary camp, so there will be a mix of rookies and veterans."[/i]
It's 50:50 that I will be there. If I do, I will share some observations here.
Thanks.
COOL!!! :rockin: :rockin: :rockin:
André Bolduc posted 2 pictures from today's free agent camp in West Palm Beach. Not a bad facility considering that the Als mini-camp is at some private high school.
[url=https://twitter.com/AndrBolduc1/status/724308046659231744]https://twitter.com/AndrBolduc1/status/ ... 6659231744[/url] [url=https://twitter.com/AndrBolduc1/status/724307678953005056]https://twitter.com/AndrBolduc1/status/ ... 8953005056[/url]I wonder if Herb's new cheapskate Gazette owner sent him down this year. Last year they had Penton cover the team :roll:
Postmedia which owns all the newspapers these days, allowed the Sask., Edmonton and Calgary beat writers to attend their recent Florida mini-camps. So it will be interesting to see where Herb and the Alouettes rank.
The Journal reporter will be there:
Jonathan Guay ?@JGuayJDM 3h3 hours ago
@AndrBolduc1 See you in a couple of days.
I think I'll be there for one of the 3 sessions. Things I'll be looking at:
(1) How the O-Line is being reconfigured, especially at LT. Jacob Ruby, maybe Jeff Perrett, or a newcomer ? Depending on how this is resolved, it might be interesting to see what else is changed to provide blind-side protection without sacrificing the ability to create holes for the running game.
(2) QB competition. It's early, all the QBs will probably throw a ton. The mini-camp is "voluntary", and 75 miles from Cato's home. Will he show-up?
(3) I expect to see the WRs flying all over the field, but it's early to determine the pecking order. I hope to see a business-like Duron Carter - after he was hard-knock schooled by the Indy Colts. There's a reason he only signed a 1 year CFL contract - this time around he really has to prove he has the 'tude to go match his physical gifts.
(4) Body language between D vets and Thorpe. Does he have their respect after the off-season dramatics?
(5) Always fun to look at new players. Als tend to scramble jersey numbers at these camps - so it might be a challenge when there are five #2 players on the field. 
On second thought, there's no way I can absorb all this in a 90 minute session. I just might have to settle for a hot dog and a cold beverage in the hot Florida sunshine - and leave it at that.
Have fun RougeMe.
I and most others will certainly want to know how the QBs look.
If your only going to catch one and hope to accomplish all that, your best bet is day 2.
Lineman supposedly do not show up for Als mini-camp because there is no hitting allowed.
What makes you think that Cato might be a no-show? Do you believe Cato wants out of Montreal?
Thanks for the tip about linemen. If so, my O-line watch is postponed! LOL !! - 1 less thing to focus on.
As for Cato, I eventually accepted that his 2 game absence last season was due to a tragic family event. But when he recently Tweeted about throwing balls for the Broncos - and the timing of this activity was very ambiguous, my suspicions were raised about the depth of his commitment to the Alouettes. As a fan, I want to hear that spent the winter in Florida throwing balls to SJ and Duron (all 3 live there) … and not that he was wasting time throwing balls to Denver Bronco wide receivers. Bad optics IMO.
Let’s put it this way … if Cato puts in the time and hard work to succeed as the #2 QB for now … and is on a trajectory to be the future team leader, I am 100% supportive.
I'm particularly interested to know how Thorpe will interact. Hell I'm interested to know if he will show. :lol:
Im not concerned at all about how Thorpe will interact this season. He d be pretty stupid and cutting his nose off to act in any way non professionally. But I do expect him to leave after the season.
Most veterans will attend the Als mini-camp. I expect that most veterans exclude the offensive linemen,except the Centres, as in previous years.
Richard
J’estime que les bloqueurs à gauche devraient s’y trouver également.
Let him. As long as it’s not Quick replacing Thorpe, I’m fine moving forward with a new DC provided we have the fair warning and advance notice to conduct a thorough search. I think Thorpe has done some things well, but schematically he is incredibly stubborn and unwilling/unable to adjust aspects of his playbook and playcalling that have been lacking for years now (e.g. second-and-long defense). He was the one who had to sign off on the moronic decision to bench John Bowman last year. He’s had elite talent to work with in his back-eight since he got here, which is by no means guaranteed if he goes elsewhere. In short, I can put up with one more year of Thorpe, but I’m perfectly happy moving on from him in 2017.
Bringing in a DB coach kind of gives you a hint of what’s to come. I could see Mark Washington and/or Barron Miles join the team next year to replace Nasty Noel.
And I’d be fine with that. Miles is somebody who has more than paid his dues and who’s ready for the next step IMO.
What I find about Thorpe: he frequently comes up short in big games or crunch situations. Like, when we need him to step up and coach at a higher level, he gets his a$$ handed to him like when Hamilton owned us on the wildcat / run packages (Masoli/LeFevour) in the playoffs a few years ago. And being unable to protect leads was a significant issue last year. I don’t have anything against him, but I am not altogether certain that our defensive success isn’t mostly the product of personnel. This year, he has zero excuses. The linebacking corps is still elite, we’re getting younger in the secondary, and we’re fielding a D-line that should make enemy offenses very uncomfortable (Bowman, Knapton, Cash, Klassen, and Martin, plus whoever else Popp brings to camp). Fixing second-and-long pass protection is a MUST in his fourth season as DC.
I agree with that, he seems for some reason to lose his aggressiveness in these key situations.
I would assume if we know it, he`s got to know it also.
Je ne voudrais pas de Washington pour remplacer Thorpe. Les défensives qu'il a dirigées avec les Lions ne m'ont pas impressionnées outre mesure, surtout considérant les joueurs qu'il avait sous la main. Je crois que préférerais remettre cette unité entre les mains de Reed que d'avoir Washington à sa tête.