Rumeur - Deux nouveaux : Tad Crawford et Yvenson Bernard

Tad Crawford et Yvenson Bernard seraient maintenant des Alouettes.

Je serais très heureux de la venue de Crawford, quoique cela annoncerait hélas sans doute le départ du très estimé Mathieu Proulx. Crawford fera du bon travail derrière Boulay. J'ai toujours estimé qu'il était mal utilisé par Wally et nous aurions avec lui toujours autant de profondeur au poste de maraudeur.

Quant à Yvenson Bernard, c'est un porteur de ballon rapide et qui peut faire son chemin, mais j'ai toujours trouvé que ses mains étaient un peu huilées. Par contre, c'est un gars qui a été bien apprécié de ses coéquipiers et qui s'implique dans sa communauté. Il aurait une chance de se faire valoir, mais il va y avoir toute une compétition à la succession de Cobourne.

Good to see the Alouettes filling some holes sensibly

Crawford is a good find....and a must have with the sad departure of Proulx.

I too am a bit more reluctant about Bernard. "ses mains étaient un peu huilées" is pretty much the impression I've had. Still...he was underused by the Bombers last year behind Reid...and correct me if I'm wrong...but he's a fair kick returner as well.

He's also a pretty good baseball player (drafted by the Twins), so if the Expos ever come back to town....
Damn...winter must be getting to me.

My only problem is: is Bernard hard-nosed enough to be an Alouettes running back. Will he be effective protecting the quarterback and does he have the hands to serve as Calvillo's "check-down" back of last resort? Running back for the Alouettes is a tough job. On the plus side...he might be more of an outside threat than Cobourne...that could spread the defenses a bit more...and take some steam out of the pass-rush.

It's certainly an interesting fit...perhaps a successful one.

Même à ce poste, ses mains étaient un peu huilées. C’est sans doute pourquoi le poste officiel est revenu à Jovon Johnson.

My only problem is: is Bernard hard-nosed enough to be an Alouettes running back. Will he be effective protecting the quarterback and does he have the hands to serve as Calvillo's "check-down" back of last resort? Running back for the Alouettes is a tough job. On the plus side...he might be more of an outside threat than Cobourne...that could spread the defenses a bit more...and take some steam out of the pass-rush.
Mon impression est que Bernard n'est pas un très bon bloqueur. Il a beaucoup de vitesse et n'hésite pas à attaquer une ligne défensive (ce qu'il partage avec Cobourne, on en conviendra), mais son petit gabarit fait de lui un bloqueur plutôt ordinaire.

AC will be missed but I think you’ll love Bernard.
Crawford not so much…great football intellect but a tad soft for a safety.

Yes, I heard good things about Bernard too. As for Crawford, it’s a whatevs signing for me. He’s only be Boulay’s backup.

Bernard is a real energy guy, very good blocker and powerful runner, always keeps his legs churning, a bit careless with the football however. Could go either way on this one.

C’est précisément ce que je crains. Il a perdu le rôle de retourneur de bottés à cause de ses échappés, et l’an dernier, il a laissé tomber 4 ballons en 70 courses. C’est beaucoup trop.

Il devra corriger cette lacune avant la prochaine saison.

At this time, I say that either Brandon Whitaker or Yvenson Bernard will be the number 1 RB/TB, once the regular season starts.

Could DeAndra Cobb be invited/signed by the Als,once released by the Cats? After all,he is from Jim Popp Alma Mater,Michigan State.

Richard

Richard, I too was wondering if Cobb would surface in Montreal. Obillovitch openly said that he's no longer needed now that they have Cobourne.

Not sure Cobb has the physical makeup to play in Trestman's offence, but there's only one way to truly find out.

Regardless of who all we have in camp at the RB spot, they'd better come prepared to learn our blocking schemes quickly. In Trestman's offence, you can make a real good argument that a running back's blocking ability is at least as important and perhaps even more important than his abilities as a runner.

Glad to hear Winnipeg fans, who know him better than do we, are saying Bernard's a good blocker. For Whitaker I just can't get that missed block of his last season out of my mind. . . probably not fair to him, it was only one play after all and no one's perfect.

…Bernard is a solid blocker… His weakness is holding on to the ball, coughing it up on his return attempts and the odd pass out of the back-field…He definitely has a lot of promise however …We didn’t use him a great deal in 2010 and towards the end of last year we brought a guy in by the name of Garrett (watch-out for this kid) so we found Yvenson expendable …Not a bad signing though… :expressionless:

A very strong argument, indeed, considering that Trestman has explicitly stated on at least one occasion that he looks at the running back as a blocker first and a runner or pass-catcher second.

Glad to hear Winnipeg fans, who know him better than do we, are saying Bernard's a good blocker. For Whitaker I just can't get that missed block of his last season out of my mind. . . probably not fair to him, it was only one play after all and no one's perfect.
I feel the same way. I know it's not fair to Whitaker, so I'm trying to forget about the past and refrain from judging until I see how he grades out this season, but I have a very hard time getting that missed block out of my head.

....again....
Try to remember that Calvillo was at least as responsible as anyone for completely ignoring the pressure..that did not even come from his blind side. It was one time I'm sure he wished he'd gotten rid of that ball....instead of pump-faking his way into the General.
Besides...the guy who actually landed on Calvillo wasn't Whitaker's block at all...

As you can see in this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXNIstUJXbM

It was Scott Flory who got fooled by a deek to the inside...and that was the man ostensibly that Whitaker should have been there to cover. Still...since there was no blitz it's clear that Whitaker was about to vacate and get into position for a checkdown pass when he saw Flory miss his block...exactly as he should.

The player who actually landed on Calvillo and injured him was #40 Odel Willis, and who was it that casually let Willis by?

Yup...you guessed it...our old friend #65...Paul Lambert...who jogs over to AC and offers him a hand up.
This one play did more than anything to seal his fate with the team...I'm betting.
Ironically...as it turns out...because of this lax play, Paul Lambert may actually have saved Calvillo's life.
Way to go Pauley!

So if you want to obsess over something...at least get your facts straight.

PS I'm not that hot on Whitaker either...but facts are facts.

We're talking about different plays, Senior

I wasn't (and I don't think d&p was either) talking about the play against Winnipeg, the one you posted the link to.

I was referring to a block Whitaker missed in a game against Hamilton.

Different play, different game.

So, if YOU want to obsess about something, get YOUR facts straight!! :smiley: :smiley:

Yup. MJ, if we're thinking of the same play, it was a Hamilton blitz off the edge when we were in the Hamilton red zone. Whitaker missed his pickup, the Hamilton player (Baggs?) torpedoed Calvillo, who fumbled, and the Cats recovered.

That's the one. . . at least we're on the same page. . .

But I am not sure if it was Baggs who hit AC. . . I do seem to recall that it was Baggs who recovered the fumble, just not sure it was him who hit AC. My memory is not what it used to be. . .

Positive spin- Calvillo's throat's condition was discovered and, treated. Early detection is one big issue in the treatment of cancer. FRom what I've read AC is in great condition for a threepeat!

For D&P and MJ, I believe it was Justin Hickman who made the initial contact.

I suppose it was my bad for assuming
But then when people vaguely refer to “that missed block”
One can be excused for assuming it refers to the “missed block of the season”
The one that sent AC to the hospital

I do remember people complaining about Whitaker on the Calvillo “downing”
So glad to have cleared that up in any case

As for the rest…
Whitaker will never hold a candle to Cobourne in that crucial area.
I doubt if anyone can
For an aging quarterback…who’s mobility (despite his protestations) has been ebbing for years…
The loss of an Avon Cobourne may well add up to and extra dozen or more hits.
For the life of me I can’t imagine what the Alouettes management is thinking
Adding to AC’s vulnerability in this way

I agree it's a bit of a puzzler. . . were I to be Jim Popp, I'd have made re-signing Cobourne a priority over signing Anderson. I simply believe that Cobourne, particularly because of his blocking ability, was more important to our team's overall success, than was upgrading at corner. But it's all water under the bridge now.