GAME 3: STAMPEDERS at Montreal

[Erick Estrada]

On the bright side if Tate stays healthy there's a very good chance the Stamps are 3-0. On the negative side the team still lacks discipline that's dogged this franchise going back to the Higgins years. As much as I want to blame Glenn I have to blame DD for calling a passing play when a run probably leaves the Als a long field and a minute to score a TD vs a pass play where a turnover is always possible. Kevin Glenn was who we thought he was. He can be awful at times and excellent at times but if you put the ball in his hand in a critical moment you are playing with fire and Dickenson got burned.

Stamps will make the playoffs and really it's going to be all about how they are playing in September/October and the health of key players. Stamps first three games have been against two of the top teams in the east so we will get a better idea of where this team is at after playing some of the weak sisters of the league like the Eskimos, Bombers, and Ti-Cats.

[Cowboy89]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

On the bright side if Tate stays healthy there's a very good chance the Stamps are 3-0. On the negative side the team still lacks discipline that's dogged this franchise going back to the Higgins years. As much as I want to blame Glenn I have to blame DD for calling a passing play when a run probably leaves the Als a long field and a minute to score a TD vs a pass play where a turnover is always possible. Kevin Glenn was who we thought he was. He can be awful at times and excellent at times but if you put the ball in his hand in a critical moment you are playing with fire and Dickenson got burned.

Stamps will make the playoffs and really it's going to be all about how they are playing in September/October and the health of key players. Stamps first three games have been against two of the top teams in the east so we will get a better idea of where this team is at after playing some of the weak sisters of the league like the Eskimos, Bombers, and Ti-Cats.

Even if he insisted on a pass play why wasn't it one of those high percentage screen passes to Lewis or something of that ilk. Most of the blame should still be put on Glenn, you never throw an out pass in that situation. Should have taken the sack or thrown it away deep.

[worth]

Was the play a called play by Dickinson to throw or was the hand-off there and Glenn elected to throw on his own? I would like to see the replay on that one.

[octothorp]

Special-teams also deserves some blame for the loss here. Als had absolutely nothing going on offense, the Stamps had just taken a 12 point lead, and the Als could have been pinned back at the 7, and instead, offside, rekick, late hit, and the Als are suddenly starting a drive from midfield. There's no way the Als could have driven 103 yards for a major, the way they were playing.

But yeah, horrible decision to throw an out on that last play. You have to know that the defenders are going to be going for the int on every play at that point. Keep it way downfield or over the middle, or just hand it off.

[worth]

I watched the replay on TSN and it looks like it was a called offensive play all the way to throw the ball and not run it. There is no intention from Cornish to run with the ball, he is blocking all the way through the play.

I guess Dickinson thought to himself that Glenn has thrown the ball well in the second half, and being second and long you may as well go for the first down to kill game. Didn't work out that way though. Glenn did make the decision to throw there, so i'm not letting him off the hook.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by worth

Was the play a called play by Dickinson to throw or was the hand-off there and Glenn elected to throw on his own? I would like to see the replay on that one.

All I know is that when your team is trailing late and the other team has the ball that the best thing they can do to help the trailing team's cause is to pass the ball. The pass has the variables of sacks, turnovers off interceptions, tipped balls, incomplete pass stopping the clock, etc. You run the ball and you either make the 1st down and win the game or run down the clock and punt with time on your side. The odds favour running the ball. DD on first and 2nd down should have been calling runs to the flat as Montreal was bringing everyone up the middle yet DD calls a run straight up the middle that gets stuffed and a bonehead pass into the flat. You know this stuff isn't rocket science and I don't understand sometimes why coaches overthink the game so much.

Yes it was a playcall by DD and yes that route was the first option. Als were run blitzing and the counter is to get the ball out fast. The route was jumped because in that situation it's pretty obvious if he is going to pass where the ball's going to be thrown. Bad playcall and execution but the Stampeders and good execution by the Als defense.

[OzSome]

At the end of the day, Stamps lost because of mistakes made and the stupid penalties.

OFFENSE: Brutal in the the first 3 quarters. Glenn didn't really do anything until Bo Levi Mitchell ran for the first TD. OLine couldn't block but part of it was also because it is taking Glenn a long time to decide on the play. I thought the offensive play calling was kind of strange in the first half. Glenn was struggling and I don't even think he looked at passing to Nik Lewis, our most consistent receiver. Then the running play was non-existent so when they were called upon, Cornish or Coker couldn't deliver. I thought Huf kind of lost confidence on Glenn whenever they are getting close to the goal line so he put in Mitchell a couple of times, which resulted in 2 TD ran. That INT was the vintage Kevin Glenn. I have seen made that stupid plays over and over again in Winnipeg and Hamilton. I am not sure what makes him throw the ball on McDaniel's side.... maybe he didn't see Brown just lurking and waiting or just plain terrible play. Glenn stat might look good at the end but he was unbearable to watch all night. I still think our offense failed on this game.

DEFENSE: They were good all game but they were some plays that cost them. #1 I think was the brain fart by Eric Fraser. I can see a mistake like that with a rookie but the guy been playing on and off in the league for over 2 years now. I have no idea why he was trying to avoid hitting the receiver and the worst part was he never even touch the guy while the receiver was down. That play cost us 7 points. Safety position most of the time was the last defense. Was he scared of getting a penalty or was he scared of getting hurt? It is still a boneheaded play. Other than that, defense were solid even when they lost Keon Raymond to injury.

SPECIAL TEAM: I thought the special team especially the coverage team was doing a great job in the first 3 quarters and even on the early part of the 4th quarter. Then a boneheaded back to back penalty late in the game.. first it was an offside that gave the Alouettes another try to return the kick. Als would have started in a bad field possession. Then on the kick after the penalty, another boneheaded late hit penalty gave Als a good field possession. In McCarthy's defense though, i thought that was a borderline penalty but he did not give the referee a chance to ignore it. Als scored a few plays after that.

Stampeder lost an opportunity to go 2-1 because offense stunk the joint and did not capitalized the defense good play all game. They made dumb mistakes over and over again Fraser and Glenn to be exact.. and to top it off the undiscipline penalties again haunted them. When are they going to learn?