This is what Nicolas Boulay saying about the offence so far:
«C'est mon troisième camp d'entraînement avec l'équipe et c'est l'offensive la plus dominante que j'ai vue jusqu'à maintenant. S'entraîner contre notre offensive en ce moment, c'est vraiment difficile et compliqué, ça demande beaucoup de concentration. Pas de doute, les gars seront prêts pour le premier snap de la saison régulière. L'attaque est complètement différente de celle de l'an dernier, ça c'est sûr».
On se rappelle, en 2014, les Alouettes avaient montré la porte au coordonnateur offensif Rick Worman après la première semaine du camp d'entraînement de l'équipe à Sherbrooke.
En transition après la retraite d'Anthony Calvillo, et sans véritable quart numéro un, les Alouettes ont traîné les affres de ce départ sur une mauvaise note jusque pendant la saison, présentant un dossier de 1-7 en lever de rideau.
«L'attaque est constamment en mouvement, les receveurs bougent d'un côté à l'autre du quart-arrière; il y a des formations avec deux porteurs de ballon et d'autres à six receveurs. Et comme on a un groupe dominant de receveurs, avec des gars comme (SJ) Green, Nick (Lewis) ou Fred (Stamps), c'est pas évident. Les gars font des jeux à gauche et à droite malgré une bonne couverture.»
«Le nouveau coordonnateur offensif (Truk Schonert, NDLR) est arrivé avec un livre de jeux précis et clair et juste ça, ça a semblé faire la différence. C'est le jour et la nuit avec la situation de l'an dernier. Schonert est exigeant, mais on est des professionnels, on est payés pour jouer au foot, alors il faut s'attendre à ce que tout soit fait au millimètre près. C'est comme ça qu'on fonctionne en défensive depuis deux ans et la recette est bonne», a analysé Boulay.
During TC, almost every team sees themselves as GC contenders. Good on them and so it should be. No team ever plays to limit the number of L's or merely to look good - they play to win!
Now, a little reality. I sincerely hope that Crompton, Marsh...et al learn the playbook well and improve on the things we all noted last season. The D appears to be solid and hopefully they'll have a good campaign in 2015.
There are also plenty of offensive weapons in the arsenal. Do we have a field general that can get the job done, game in and game out? That's what I and likely most others on this forum will be looking for.
L'attaque pourra difficilement être pire que l'an dernier. Malheureusement, la défensive pourra difficilement être meilleure que l'an dernier.
Dans la compensation des deux, je m'attends à ce que l'équipe soit globalement améliorée. Mais on peut en dire autant des Timinous, qui demeureront l'équipe à battre dans l'Est si Collaros reste en santé.
Je crois que les Alouettes vont gagner environ 11 parties cette saison.
Of course it will come down to the QB performance, but what I got out of Boulay`s analysis is that there will be lots of motion and and that Schonert is asking for precision.
You have to take Boulay's comments with a grain of salt. First of all, he's not an offensive player, so his evaluation of where they are isn't going to carry that much weight. Second, as others have noted, if we're only comparing to the O of 2013 and 2014, it won't be hard to be better.
Having said that, I do think the offense will be better, if only because Schonert has evidently devised a playbook in advance, communicated it clearly to the players, and is in the process of installing it methodically at the right time of year. Last year, we were kneecapped as soon as Worman got fired, after which various people had to overhaul the playbook and replace it with a coloring book simple enough for Crompton to run. This year, we're doing things right from an installation standpoint. That alone should make a significant difference.
The larger question is whether Crompton can run a complex pro offense. We'll find out soon enough.
I am less cautious because of his being a defensive player, given they get a0 live-ish action view of what is coming at them, than I am by the “my team coloured” glasses.
Je le crois sincère dans ses propos, mais le fait qu'il ne se soit jamais entraîné dans un bon système offensif avant cette année limite un peu son appréciation de la vraie qualité de cette offensive.
Maintenant, il s'est entraîné au sein d'une des meilleures défensives de la LCF, aussi s'il indique que cette attaque est beaucoup plus coriace que les autres qu'il a affrontées, on devrait se réjouir de cette seule déclaration. Boulay a quand même vu de bonnes attaques jouer devant lui dans cette ligue, il a certainement visionné beaucoup de vidéo pour s'y préparer, aussi je donne tout de même passablement de crédit à ses propos.
Definitely NOT saying I don’t believe him, hope it didn’t sound that way, and I agree that his comments are likely as genuine as they can be when discussing his own team; just recognizing that the comments are not truly independent or objective as he and his defensive colleagues must hope the offence is better more than we even do.
Yeah, it’s not a huge caveat, him being on the other side of the ball, but it does mean that he’s not directly familiar with the playbook and its installation, the coaching at specific positions, etc.
One tidbit that came out of a TSN video piece is that Andre Bolduc is apparently the unofficial assistant receivers coach: he’s the guy who is schooling the receivers on footwork and technique, while Calvillo is concentrating on making sure they know their assignments, reviewing the plays just installed, etc. London said that you can see AC’s intensity in how he’s making them stay a bit later each day to get things right. From all this, it seems likely that AC will be QB coach within a year or two, after he’s gotten his feet wet at receivers coach.
I think they can still play. Stamps is only 33 and is still productive. If Lewis is in game shape, he’ll be a nice slot addition. Heck, Ben Cahoon was productive into his late '30s.
We may not get 18 games from them but that's why you have depth and young guys on your roster. Lewis was the key guy in the playoffs last year for Calgary... He was a difference maker. Stamps led the league just two years ago. I'm thrilled that these guys are on the roster.
I don't see that weight has much to do with it. Lewis was always a big player, even in his prime. He runs over DBs, not around them. As for Hufnagel letting him go, the Stamps are waist-deep in receiver talent, a stable organization with elite coaches coming off a Grey Cup win. They can afford to cut Lewis because they have the "infrastructure" in place to replace him effectively. We, on the other hand, go into the season with a rookie CFL OC, an unproven starter, and all kinds of questions about our offense. For us, it's better to surround Crompton with veterans who can adjust and make plays, not just to win games, but to properly evaluate what we have at QB. If Crompton can't put up decent numbers with the talent he has at every position (receiver, O-line, running back), he shouldn't be our starter, and it's in everyone's best interests if we find that out now.
People are acting like we signed 40-year-old receivers but really, Stamps and Lewis are both 33. Sure, it's great to bring in young talent but the reality is that those rookies will cost you wins as they learn the CFL game. After the last two years, we can't afford to be slow out the gate. If we can have some success and stability this year, we'll be able to think about phasing in younger guys at receiver. For now, IMO, the plan should just be to win with a competent offense.