This is a must win game for the Als, unless they want to consolidate last place in the East.
Few expected a win in Calgary. This game is different as the Als will get payback.
Hopefully this will be the case. Mind you the RedBlacks managed to beat the Stamp two week ago 
I think that pretty much the next few games will be must Ws.
There was much ballyhoo when Cato took the reins, but the entire O must be in sync to build any semblance of momentum. That's both on the OC and the players to execute plays. That dropped pass likely cost us the game on Saturday.
I think Cato has all the right tools - he knows when to pull the ball down and take off, slide safely before he gets creamed; he can throw - accurately! - on the run, and he is quite accurate with his throws. One man, however, cannot be the difference. The coaching staff will still have to devise schemes and game plans that will allow the O to do its stuff. We still have to have an effective running game, and I hope that our RBs stay in good health.
The TSN commentators have talked about a certain balance in the CFL; from what I have seen so far, there may be something to that. So, there will be no "gimmees" this season; the Als will have to fight and scrape every inch of the way. I think we have the elements to be competitive and to at least make the playoffs. Not achieving that goal this season would mean heads rolling in the off-season IMO. However, I hope we start getting things together this season.
Supposedly:
- Brandon Rutley was taking 1st team reps in place of the injured Tyrell Sutton.
- Tanner Marsh took a few reps today.
- Fred Stamps is back.
- Dominique Ellis was taking Jerald Brown's spot for whatever reason.
As per today's CFL transactions,the Als have:
Added to active roster Nat. WR Mikhail Davidson.-from practice roster-
Added to active roster Int. WR Fred Stamps-from disabled-
Deleted from active roster Int. WR Dobson Collins.-to practice roster-
Deleted from active roster Nat. WR Andrew Smith.-to practice roster-
Deleted/removed/released from practice roster Int WR Jonathan Bryant.
Richard
Bryant goes back on the ticket sales payroll :lol:
“We can’t give up the deep ball, plain and simple. That’s what hurt us,? Thorpe admitted. “They found the seams in the zone. They did a good job. We didn’t do a great job as far as getting to where we needed to be in our coverage. We’ve gone in and made the corrections. We’ve seen it on film. They know how important this game is coming up.?
That's why I give Thorpe leeway. He doesn't pi$$ in the reporter's ear and then tell him it's raining, like Higgins. He knows the D has to do better and he has proven in the past that he is good at going in and making "the corrections," as he puts it. I expect the unit to be a lot tighter against Ottawa. The question is: what are we going to get from our offense? There is little if any drop-off going from Sutton to Rutley IMO, so we should be able to run the ball. Stamps is back, so mercifully there will be no Collins on the field.
Here's what I'd like to see:
- Commitment to the run
- Spread the ball around and try to get guys like Stamps, Lewis, and Giguere involved early so the field opens up for S.J.
- Some investment in the WR / RB screen game. In other words, attack the effing flats on clearout routes and curls so Ottawa pays a heavy price for taking away the inside of the field or run-blitzing. Make that D have to play sideline to sideline and wear them out.
- Crossing routes stacked at different depths and keyed off picks and rubs out of bunch formations. Let our receivers get a step on DBs so they can turn the corner and head upfield for yards after catch.
I concur with all that, but do have one suggestion for Thorpe's defence.
Let's not see anymore of Chip Cox being dropped back to safety.
Agreed! It made me ill to see Reinebold do that in 2012 and I don't want to see it again this year, except once in a blue moon as a tendency-breaker for the other team's offense.
. . . And we've already had a blue moon this year. Bad enough back in 2012, but it's worse now as Cox has three more years under his belt so he's lost a step or two making it even less effective than it already was.
The success of Jones defense in Edmonton and Steinhauers ( he has to be considered a Head Coach in waiting) in Hamilton is the constant pressure they create from different angles. If it doesn`t get into the ribs of the opposition QB it has to get into their heads.
Don`t seem to see so much of that from Thorpe lately. Not sure if it has to do with missing Woods and Hebert.
Before the season began, I expected that Kyries Hebert would be released or asked to take a salary cut; after the first 5 games of the season, I have changed my mind; now I wish that he comes back after game 6. The Als miss him/his aggressive play. He is also an excellent special team player. I expect that he will replace Darrin Kitchen.
Yes,game 6 has not been played,yet, but I contemplate what the changes will be after game 6,since many good players will come off the 6 game injured list. The players that should be added to active roster,provided they are ready to go, are:
QB Tanner Marsh,replacing Anthony Boone.
WR Eric Deslauriers,replacing Mikhail Davidson.
LB Kyries Hebert,replacing Darrin Kitchens.
DE Aaron Lavarias,replacing Terry Johnson.
DL Jeffrey Finly, replacing Jesse Joseph.
LS/FB Jerod Zaleski, replacing Jean-Samuel Blanc.
Let's hope for a win tomorrow.
Richard
No Chris Williams for the RedBlacks - lower body injury. Actually with his size an upper body injury is a lower body one.
A good note Richard. I have been wondering why Mike Edem is not added to the defensive mix?
Here's what the offense has to produce for me to consider it a successful game for Schonert & co:
Score at least two majors and at least 23 points in total
One or fewer turnovers
At least 350 yards of net offense
Win the time of possession battle
Further to this I will go one step further and add that of the two majors I would like to see two different players score the majors.
Do not rely solely on Green.
Well, I agree that would be nice to distrbute, but TBH with our offense I dont' care who scores the TDs as long as we're scoring them. 
If we have balance on the scoring drives, that's more than enough for me. And there should be no excuses. Cato has already shown that he is very good at spreading the ball aroun as needed. Stamps is back and I'm sure both Giguere and Lewis want to be more involved than they were against Calgary.
I think it says something that the two weakest offenses in the league currently are run by first-year CFL OCs (Maas and Schonert). Every other team has a veteran at the helm (Condell, Bellefeuille, McAdoo in his second year as OC, Chapdelaine, Cortez, Brady, Dickenson).
Were Giguere and Lewis on the field against the Stamps?!
I know Lewis was busy at tailgates prior to the game and signing autographs before the game was over.
Schonert has to work with the weapons he has, not the weapons he wishes he had. Giguere is a guy who catches comebacks in space and go routes down the sideline. He is a straight-ahead receiver, not a guy who wins contested catches in traffic or a YAC guy. Lewis, at this stage, is a second-down conversion receiver with a short range; use him in traffic, as a blocking tight end, and on ins and quick slants where he can use his size to grind out extra yards.
We talk about Cato having to grow as a QB and the same is true of Schonert. He has to grow as an offensive coordinator in this league. He's going to have to self-scout and study what other OCs are doing if he wants to last. For every Trestman, who was a brilliant football mind and a very quick study of three-down football, there are 10 guys like Schonert who should be working their tails off to understand the Canadian game so they can run consistently effective offences. Schonert needs to sit down with a ton of game film from Dickenson, Milanovich, Cortez, etc. and see how they go about attacking a defence.
Agreed. Which is why I believe having Garcia here last year helped Shonert.
However, having AC on the sidelines one would think would be able to assist Shonert in the aspect of the CFL game.