Anyone have a scoop on how early ticket sales are going? Are we heading for 50,000+????
Already 40000 tickets sold for the eastern final!!!!!!!
This looks good. However, in the year that Popp was coach, the semi final game was such a stinker for the Als that many fans stayed away from the final.
40,000 sold already is a great number. Should be able to sell nearly all 55,000 with 18 days until the game. Very impressive indeed. I wish the Als still played 1 regular season game at the Big O, perhaps not the last game because it's too close to the playoffs and it can be difficult to draw that many people in too small of a time frame but a mid season game would draw great and not affect any potential playoff sales IMO. There seems to be enough fans willing to come out for 1 regular season game at the Big O, especially with limited seating at Percival Molson Stadium.
Je suis non seulement d'accord, mais je crois même que les Alouettes devraient jouer 3 parties de saison régulière au Stade Olympique. Ça leur donnerait peut-être un coussin pour leurs autres opérations, notamment la mise en marché du club. S'ils remplissent le Stade pour 3 parties, quelque chose va en sortir, c'est certain.
47500 tickets sold so far!!!!! And I havent bought mine yet!
Looks like it will be 50,000+. I'd like to see it close to 60,000 this year. And, considering the roller-coaster ride we've had this season, we may need a crowd that size!
47,500! Alright, keep those updates coming!
Well, I had no "favourite" for Semi-Final, but I was hoping for an Argo W. One reason - Cleo Lemon! He has not produced big numbers this season and the Argos had to scratch and claw their way, but Cleo, on an off-day, is eminently beatable and can do that by himself.
For the Als, the key will be to keep him running for his life all game long. AC and the O will have to come out firing on all pistons and hopefully rack up a 21+ point lead in the 1st half. The D will have to be aggresive but not stupid - capischi, Shea Emry???? The ST will have to have their biggest day of the season in a season where they have been the most inconsistent. Of course, they must contain Boyd and the flyin' Hawaiin.
So, let's hope this will be a good practise week, and the coaching staff can come up with new wrinkles on all 3 facets. As for the rest - execute, execute, execute!!! Hopefully, we'll have 55,000+ at the Big Owe making Lemon's job that much harder.
Go Als go!!!
RZ efficiency. To me, that is arguably the biggest key to defeating Toronto. Leaving aside the backup-a-thon final game, we have moved the ball on Toronto at will this season. But our red-zone production has been sorely lacking. Trestman and Milanovich have to put their thinking caps on and game-plan effectively so that we can put up majors most of the time, not field goals. If we can do that in the first half of the game, we effectively take Cory Boyd out of the game.
Agreed d&p. We also have to keep Lemon running for his life. Hurried (inaccurate) throws, picks, sacks...will make them ineffective. I sincerely hope the downfield coverage will also be vastly improved. Owens can hurt a team on returns. Duval may also be called on to make FGs - he has to be on his game also.
So, let's hope the Als come out mean with all their torpedos firing to sink the Scullers!
Go Als go!
Presser Lemon 
ne sera pas facile. Les Timinous n'y sont pas vraiment parvenus, et pourtant, ils jouaient chez eux où ils était durs à battre. Même Baggs a été plutôt discret dans cette partie. Ça veut dire que la ligne offensive des Argonauts était prête et qu'elle peut faire le boulot.
Maintenant, notre ligne défensive est loin d'être mauvaise, et elle sera plus reposée que celle des Timinous. Il faudra cependant que les gars soient disciplinés et évitent les punitions stupides. Même Lemon peut gagner une partie contre nous si on lui donne 150 verges de punitions. S'il faut en avoir, autant que ce soient des "no yards" contre Owens.
Notre ligne devra protéger Calvillo, mais particulièrement contre le blitz. Les Argonauts ont mis beaucoup de pression contre Glenn, et ça les a bien servi. Il va falloir que les Alouettes aient leurs stratégies bien aiguisées pour contrer le blitz et faire hésiter les secondeurs des Argonauts. Les Timinous en ont eu beaucoup besoin, et Glenn s'est souvent sorti d'un mauvais pas en faisant de courtes passes derrière le blitz (à McDaniel, Stala et Bauman, particulièrement). Calvillo aura donc bien besoin de Cobourne, Carter, Cahoon, Hawkins et Bratton pour ce genre de jeux.
En longue couverture et contre la passe, les Argonauts ont fait un excellent travail. Stala, Bauman, Mann et le Turd ont été très discrets sur la longue balle, et Cobb n'a rien cassé. C'est pourquoi les jeux courts et moyens prendront toute leur importance. Il suffit de 8 jeux de 12 verges pour traverser le terrain.
C'est maintenant qu'on devra voir si Trestman et Milanovitch ont vraiment le génie qu'on leur prête. Le temps est venu pour que l'attaque se réveille dans la zone payante. On sait que Duval est présentement aussi fiable qu'un Lada, alors si les gars veulent voir des points au tableau, il va falloir qu'ils les mettent eux-mêmes, plutôt que de voir Duval les rater et engueuler Cahoon après (non, mais quel touitte!). Il va falloir voir de l'imagination dans les jeux, des tracés soigneusement mélangés et qui offrent plusieurs options à Calvillo.
Don't usually "cross-post"
But this belongs "here" I think:
[i]What I expect to see...what I hope to see...is the Alouettes defence come up with a HUGE game.
For my money, Anwar Stewart just doesn't have the juice to get it done on a weekly basis.
But a veteran like Stewart has proven inspirational in key games over the years. We're going to need that kind of leadership to get through the next 2(?) games.
My main points of concern...after the possibility of a Calvillo "stall-out" are 3-fold:
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We have to find an answer on special teams. Chad Owens cannot be allowed to burn us like he has.
Maybe some work in the film room and we'll get some clues as to how Hamilton contained this "mini-nemesis".
Even if Anthony is on his game...we can't afford to lose the field position battle. -
As I said before...Toronto passed to Boyd out of the backfield more than they ran the ball. The Alouettes have had a few weeks to come up with an answer for this...hopefully they'll be able to execute. I'd say that a vulnerability of our defensive lineup is using small linebackers and backs. While this might give us some more speed...helping in coverage and containment...it does occasionally prove a vulnerability in trying to deal with the "beefier" backs and receivers in the league. I just don't see the Als having any kind of answer to Boyd out of the backfield...unless they can spy Guzman on him or something. The important thing is getting pressure on Lemon while rushing four...leaving our linebackers to deal with Boyd. Lemon may not be a passing genius...but he's no fool. And a screen pass to Boyd is the last thing we need.
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As previously stated...it all comes down to coaching. The Alouettes' worst quarter (by far) this year has been the 3rd. Traditionally...this speaks to a lack of half-time adjustments. In the past you might blame it on let-downs after whopping first-half leads. I'm not so sure you can say that this year. The Argos are ripe for the taking. We'll need a few defensive strategies against basically a one-horse offence. If we don't make those adjustments, there's only one place to look for blame...
The Alouettes have all the tools offensively that they need. I look for Cobourne to have a "smash-mouth" game on the ground...hopefully justifying all the rest he got at the end of the season.
But ultimately it all rests with AC. If he's on, the Argos will fall.
Yep...it's as simple as 1,2,3 
!!!Go Als Go!!![/i]
Speaking of creative coaching...and dealing with the Boyd threat
I wonder if a 4-4-4 defence has ever been employed in the CFL?
I can imagine a man-man defence...minus a safety perhaps...with the sam linebacker spying any extra receiver/back.
Maybe one of you guys has any knowledge in this area? Or knows how it might be accomplished?
The basic criterion for employing such a defence would seem to be:
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An opponent that leans heavily on the run
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A quarterback who is a less than fearsome deep-ball threat
At least these are the two factors that might justify using it against the Argos.
Just an idea.
Als roster moves today show the team deleting safety Steve Holness (hopefully this means Proulx is ready to return), and the addition of Canadian LB Kyle Jones to the roster from the practice roster.
The interesting thing with Jones is that he spent last year and the early part of this year on the Argos special teams.
If dressed perhaps he can help read certain situations.
57,000 seats sold! Let's shoot for 60,000!
57,000 - sounds great; I hope they get 60,000 too!
I don't know how I feel about this one. To be sure, if the Als come out like we know they can, buy your GC tickets at the end of the 1st half. BUT this has been a season where we have seen a lot of weird stuff in spite of the 12-6 record. At times, it fell to different facets of the team to come up lousy - STs, too many PIs, stupid penalties, flat O, and poor deep coverage. Will the Als be able to fix those problems (at least most of them!) for Sunday, or will AC torch the Argos?
Whatever the case, I'm hoping they come out mean and hungry. I'm not a fan of nail-biters; I like blowouts! I realize the last 3 games meant nothing in the standings, but I'm not happy with the execution (or rather lack thereof!) we saw. I want the Als to show up with only one thing on their mind - another GC following a convincing W on Sunday!
Go Als go!!!
It’s sometimes interesting to get other teams’ fan reaction to the Alouettes.
While we as As fans might lament the 40-3 shellacking at the hands of the Ticats (and later by the Argonauts)…Hamilton fans are clear in assessing their teams performance: the Tiger Cats beat an unmotivated team with little to play for after once again clinching the East. I suppose the sobering fact of being beat up by an Alouettes backup quarterback earlier in the season puts things in perspective…but it’s often after the season’s over…and the intensity and anxiety is over that cooler heads prevail, and accurate appraisals can be made.
I’d like to believe that the Alouettes defence for instance has the capacity to be the best in the league. From what I’ve observed, it’s success rests on intense quarterback pressure and great overall speed. Unless everyone is giving 100% therefore…it can appear to be among the worst…compared for instance to defences that rely on positioning and zone efficiency. That’s just not our game. We might just find that a defence that relies on raw talent…and the motivating influence of important games is just what the Alouettes need to make it all the way this post-season.
This is just a theory mind you…informed by situations like the second Calgary game (for instance) and the otherwise inexplicable “off the edge of the world” drop in performance since…but I’m just willing to have faith given the magnitude of this post season…and it’s importance to the franchise and in the career of an ageing quarterback.
It would be great to be right about this…but it might just be wishful thinking.
:?Proulx va jouer. Il est remis de sa blessure. Mais je suis certain que Boulay va jouer également. Chacun apporte sa dimension à la défensive et de les faire jouer tous les deux génère habituellement de bons résultats.
I cant find anything about that number. I know the capacity is 57 000 now but not sold