Popp semble avoir gardé ce sentiment à l’égard des joueurs qu’il a sous la main pour prendre le relais de Bourke.
"Afin que Glenn ait le temps de repérer ses talentueux receveurs, les Alouettes devront combler la perte de Josh Bourke qui a quitté pour les Argonauts de Toronto via le marché des joueurs autonomes. Le bloqueur à gauche a été sélectionné au sein de l’équipe d’étoiles de la division Est à sept reprises au cours des huit dernières saisons.
« Nous sommes confiants avec les joueurs en place. Nous avons déjà fait cette transition quand Bourke et Perrett ont remplacé Fort et Okeke. Avec le plafond salarial, nous avons dû faire des choix. Bourke a obtenu une augmentation de salaire, ce que nous ne pouvions lui offrir », a affirmé Popp."
Josh made the same mistake Shea Emry made from a football perspective but he does want to get into the media industry, Toronto might offer more opportunities but then again competition is much greater.
At 33, Jim was not willing to give him a raise while Toronto was willing to pay a premium based on passed production. Same as Shea...
L’avenir nous dira qui a fait une erreur et il faudra probablement plus d’une saison pour l’établir. Pour ma part, je pense que les Alouettes devraient être en mesure de faire la transition.
Bourke's case is one of those situations where I have 100% sympathy for all parties involved. Josh wanted more money and perhaps a chance to develop professional connections in a bigger city (Toronto) playing for coaches he knows and trusts (Milanovich and Brady). Toronto wanted an ratio-busting, all-star national DT to stabilize their O-line and was prepared to pay for past success. We wanted Bourke back but not at any price tag, since we have good depth at O-line and a projected starter (Ruby) whom our GM thinks can take over. You can't fault any party here and it's a bit different from the Emry case IMO. Emry was still in his physical prime (late '20s) when he jumped ship for absolute top dollar; he also played a position that isn't as coveted as Bourke (like, a national MLB is great if you have it, but a national LT is an absolute ratio-buster that every GM would kill to have; also, it's much easier to find quality middle linebackers than it is to find quality left tackles). He tried to hitch his wagon to an aging coach (Burke) who retired before Emry had a chance to establish himself, he got flipped to SSK, and his career ended. I seriously doubt the same thing happens to Bourke.
There are perks to playing your entire career in one organization... I think it is a mistake when a player walks away from a long term investment in his team. When you add the moving costs and increased housing costs in TO. I don't understand Josh's decision. Maybe he thinks he can make up the money with playoff bonus ???
Josh was always invited to Mr. Wetenhal's events. In Toronto he will be a nobody to Bell...
I wish him the best, class act but I think this is a poor business decision on his part.
We'll see. You could be right. OTOH, if you had a chance to play for our current group of coaches in front of our current stable of QBs, or Toronto's, which would you choose? Milanovich-Brady-Ray is a difficult proposition to pass up, especially with Stubler as the DC.
I guess the other side of the coin is if he wants to develop a media career then moving to a team that is owned by a media giant and to a city that is HQ for TSN could be a good business decision.
And moving now is beneficial as well as TO will be the story all year with their new stadium. And his job as a LT is made exponentially easier with a HOF QB who gets to a known spot, gets rid of the ball in short order. And will play for a offensive system run well by professional entities whom he knows very well. Seems like a great fit to me actually.
I think TO is probably headed for a very good year.
I think Ray will be healthy. He missed so much of the 2015 season that he should be well-rested, in good shape, and ready to play at a high level in 2016.
J’ai des doutes à ce sujet. La dernière saison des 5 dernières où Ray a été en santé presque toute la saison a été en 2012. Je trouve que son niveau de résistance est maintenant comparable à celui de Calvillo à 41 ans et il me semble plus vulnérable que jamais. Ray a encaissé beaucoup plus de coups que Calvillo, Burris ou Glenn, pour faire des comparaisons vraisemblables. Il a été beaucoup plus blessé que ces derniers et je crains que son corps ne puisse plus résister suffisamment pour qu’on puisse compter sur lui toute une saison.
Barker a fait un gros pari en gardant Ray au détriment de Harris et ce n’est pas avec McPherson que son équipe va s’illustrer. Il va falloir vivre ou mourir avec Ray.
Those are good points. He has become more fragile over the past few years. OTOH, one could argue that with Bourke protecting his blind side, he'll take fewer hits and sustain fewer injuries as a result.
Quand Bowman a blessé Ray à Montréal, il venait du côté gauche. Quand Calvillo a subi sa dernière blessure, la pression venait de la droite, côté de Bourke (bien que Josh bloquait adéquatement un autre joueur, j’en conviens). Ceci pour dire que la pression peut venir de n’importe où. Je ne crois pas qu’on doive regarder le cas de Ray comme un enjeu de protection comme davantage le fait qu’il est inévitable qu’il va encaisser des coups, mais que son corps n’a plus la résistance qu’il avait à 31 ans.
La protection parfaite n’existe pas. Les Alouettes sont l’équipe qui a accordé le moins de sacs du quart l’an dernier. C’est aussi l’équipe qui a eu le plus de quarts-arrières blessés. Amener Bourke peut améliorer la protection du côté le plus vulnérable de Ray, mais elle n’améliorera pas sa résistance et elle ne rendra pas cette protection complètement étanche.
Calvillo said 80 per cent of the playbook will be completed by the end of this week, when the coaching staff finishes its set of meetings. The goal is to have the playbook done by the conclusion of mini-camp, at the end of April in West Palm Beach, Fla.
Calvillo said he kept every Als’ playbook dating back to 1998, when he signed with Montreal, and will pick and choose the aspects that were most successful. He continues to maintain the addition of the experienced Jacques Chapdelaine as an adviser — and receivers coach — will be instrumental in his, and the team’s, success.
I guess Popp just can't help himself. In the article he credits the work he did in 2007 and an 8-10 record as HC with Trestman's 2008 team getting to the GC game.
On offense we have a decent QB, who will likely get excellent help from the receivers. Carter will likely have the most receiving yards followed by Green.Giguere who posted 368 yards receiving averaging 9.4 yards per catch. He has the strength to push for extra yards after being tackled. Gigure posted 4 tds ( only three Als reached this TD total). The rookie Cunningham also had 4 TDS and, 9.4 ypc ( playing only 8 games ). Nic Lewis had 743 yards ypc with a 10.6 ypc, like Giguere, Lewis can push for extra yards while being tackled. Cunningham, last season played in only 8 games. He showed well catching the long pass with 9.4 ypc. With a back field of Sutton,Rutely,Logan and Gugere the team appears solid.
I believe Cato, if he can last without injury, should get some game action this year. Last season in the early Cato looked good showing a great passing game. He hopefully can be shown how best to take a hit and, to have game action. The team, and the fans and Cato need some action from Cato which is the only to evaluate his size, strength and his ability to take a hit.
