Jack B. Bedell
MontrealAlouettes.com
Week 11: Hamilton Ticats
All players have benchmarks by which they are judged every game. Some are obvious, like quarterback sacks for defensive ends, interceptions for defensive backs, or 100-yard games for receivers.
Many of the most important performance benchmarks go beyond simple statistics, though. And it is often those subtle aspects of a player’s performance that have the most impact on the outcomes of games.
For a running back like Avon Cobourne, stacking 100-yard games is definitely a great indicator of his success on the field. But against a defence as aggressive and athletic as the Hamilton Ticats, many more elements of Cobourne’s game will affect the Alouettes’ ability to succeed than just his yardage total.
Stop the rush
After their Labour Day loss to the Ticats, the Toronto Argonauts were soundly criticized for failing to feature CFL-leading rusher Cory Boyd in their offensive game plan. Boyd finished the day with 11 carries for 54 yards and a TD, and he caught seven balls for 51 yards. Not bad in terms of per-touch productivity, especially against a defence stacking the box to stop him.
Add to Boyd’s numbers the fact that QB Cleo Lemon threw for 350 yards at a 75% completion rate, and it’s pretty clear that yard production wasn’t the issue in the loss. It was the inability of the Argos to protect Lemon sufficiently in the redzone to avoid bad throws and turnovers when it really counted. And much of that responsibility DOES fall on the running back’s shoulders.
This week, Cobourne’s ability to maintain his five-yards per carry average and his 9.4-yards per reception average will go a long way toward establishing the Als’ offensive production. But his ability to provide air-tight protection as the last line of defence against Ticats’ pass rushers like Garrett McIntyre, Justin Hickman, and Otis Floyd will be absolutely key to the team’s chances of scoring points in Hamilton.
McIntyre and Hickman each had sacks against the Argos on Labour Day, and Floyd was a constant presence in Toronto’s backfield. All three players were successful in moving Lemon off his spot repeatedly and forcing him out of the pocket and into throwing interceptions in the redzone that took way too many points off the board for the Argonauts.
Avon’s turn
Regardless of who’s under centre for the Als this week, it will be up to Cobourne to stonewall those rushers in the Als’ backfield to gain the extra moments Montreal’s pivots need to make sound decisions and accurate throws, especially in scoring opportunities against the Ticats’ ballhawking defence.
Cobourne also has the ability to threaten Hamilton’s defence on the edge with receptions off swing passes and with outside runs. No doubt, this will slow down the Ticats’ edge rushers by forcing them into containment roles, and it gets Cobourne into space where he can do the most damage.
No win is ever on the shoulders of a single player, but I have great confidence that Cobourne, and his talent for doing much more in the Alouettes’ offence than gaining yards on the ground, will have a tremendous impact on this weekend’s tilt.
The Alouettes next play the Hamilton Tiger-Cats at Ivor Wynne Stadium on Sep. 11 at 1 pm EST on RDSHD, TSNHD, NRJ, CJAD
