Okay we're giving up too many yards through the air this season. . . including YAC yards. So what's the problem in the secondary?
Estelle I've always liked on the boundary corner. Dix on the field corner worried me a bit based on what we saw of him last season, and yes he's made some mistakes but he's made some really good plays too, so on balance he hasn't been bad. At safety if we could somehow merge Boulay and Proulx into one body we'd probably have an allstar safety. . . but we can't and each has his strengths and his weaknesses.
But it's the HB spots that have me concerned today. Two seasons ago we had two really good HBs in Drew and Cox. Last season we were a bit nervous going with 2 raw rookies, but Parker and Brown really shone last year, such that we didn't miss Drew at all and were able to move Cox up to the SAM spot and man has that ever worked out well (kudos to Burke on that decision, assuming that it was in fact his decision).
But this year? Both Brown and Parker are getting torched, Parker more than Brown it seems.
So why is that guys? Is it them or is it too much zone, not enough zone, too much man-to-man, not enough man-to-man, not enough pressure from up front?
It is both. You have to put the players in a position to make plays and the players have to execute the game plan.
When the game plan stinks (When the fish smells , the head smells too...) the players stop buying into it and everyone looks bad. Also this season Special teams are brutal and the offense is not going to put up 600 points, that puts more pressure on thedefense...
Le paradoxe, c'est que la défensive a gagné plusieurs parties à elle seule en début de saison.
Je crois que ce qui a aussi fait la différence pour Parker, Brown et Dix, c'est que les arbitres ont été très vite sur la gachette pour donner des punitions pour obstruction. Ils les ont collectionnées. Cela a fait qu'ils ont dû devenir plus prudents dans leur couverture, parce que sitôt qu'ils étaient en couverture serrée et que le receveur adverse se foutait volontairement sur leurs bras, les mouchoirs volaient et c'est eux qui étaient punis.
L'an dernier, Parker, Brown et Dix se sont surtout illustrés vers la fin de la saison (il faut dire que les adversaires hésitaient à lancer dans le coin de Sanchez). Espérons que ce sera encore le cas, parce qu'ils sont présentement le maillon faible de la défensive.
I’m convinced that the Alouettes have been unfairly targeted for pass interference and illegal contact penalties.
Whether it’s in response to other teams’ whining about the Alouettes aggressive play (losers are bound to complain…right?) or the league is artificially creating parity in the league, the stats are clear: the Alouettes are getting “done” for PI at an alarming rate.
In a predictably brown-nosing fashion, the TSN crew have suggested video replays as a solution. Well…I played football as a receiver. If a defensive back can get his hands on you he probably will. Whether he gets called is a combination of whether the officials are paying attention and whether he feels the interference has a bearing on the play. Replays would therefore be less than useless…unless you plan to replay every play and every receiver to compare…no it’s simply ridiculous…if you’re looking for PI…you’re going to find it. Officials…for whatever reason…have been looking for it against the Alouettes.
The disadvantage it puts our team at is enormous. Not only does our secondary have to be second-guessing itself…playing timidly, especially on those long balls that are almost certainly going to draw official “attention”. The offense is also disadvantaged, as it seems that our receivers can be mugged, run over and assaulted with impunity…because we ask for it with our aggressive play on defense.
If I had any say whatsoever I’d be asking for third party arbitration to resolve the obvious inequities in the officiating over the last half decade…at least!
But as I’ve said before…and as “real” parity does start to make it’s way into this Eastern Division, it might be time to think about giving the Alouettes some fair treatment. We’re simply not going to be able to keep winning…beating two teams every game. Officiating teams need to take a long look at themselves and start working on a little unbiased neutrality.
Also, I’d say our zone coverage is really bad. A combination of Burke’s inability to disguise zone drops and the players’ inability to play effective zone.
Safety help has been really lacking this season as well. Proulx has been poor, but Boulay frankly hasn’t been better. Both have been caught out of position a ton, failed to make tackles, and generally not been the ‘last line of defense’ you expect from your free safety.
As the Argo win against SASK did indicate, defense and special games can win games. It takes more that an offensive powerhouse team like SASK to win them all!!!!
It sure makes one wonder about our attitude towards special teams. The Alouettes seem to play as if the “fair catch” is a viable option in the CFL. But in the absence of any serious threat at the quarterback position, the Argonauts have shown just how much the special teams can pick up the whole team…even on a day when Chad Owens is effectively neutralized.
Listen to Crawford on the “trick plays” that helped defeat the mighty Riders,
"“We’re not just hoping they work,” Crawford said of Toronto’s trick plays. “We’re running them against looks that we’re practising against, that we’re waiting to see. And when we see them we have to trust in the guys on the field that we’re going to execute them properly.”
Practice and execution…and above all…coaching. When the Montreal Alouettes are being schooled by the Toronto Argonauts on any aspect of the game…it’s time to take a serious look in the mirror.
If Mike O’Shea is starting to look like a special teams guru…it may come down to one thing - years of experience in this unique and exciting game. Exciting that is until it’s obvious you’ve spent your football career calling for fair catches.
Two completely different philosophy in regards to special teams and yes it shows Trestman is not perfect.
Obviously having a quality Special Team's coach is a necessity. Also the Argos don't have a two tier football team where the Canucks do all the dirty work on ST and the Americans have all the peach jobs on offense and defense, they have much better balance. Third is obviously the time the Als are spending on the bus while the Argos are practicing specical teams.
The Als performance on special teams this year is unacceptable and IMO it is on Trestman and Smith.