9/13/2007 9:52:49 PM

East Coast Swing

Tomorrow begins a four game swing of games that will test us as a team at every turn. Beginning with a wounded Montreal team in Commonwealth that was injected a dose of confidence by beating B.C. convincingly last week. I’ve played with two of their active quarterbacks that will be dressed tomorrow, Marcus Brady and Jason Maas and each is seeking new life in Montreal in different ways, which to me makes them dangerous. I sense that they aren’t the same team that they were recently however, and I feel that they may be searching for themselves much like we are, trying to find their own team identity amidst the shadow of success that they have had in recent years.
When facing a team like this that is depleted in key positions with Calvillo and Cahoon out for this game, we must be careful to weather any spurts and runs made by the Alouettes. Adversity tends to band good teams together in most times. Then again…no team has been as injury ravaged as we have as of late in key positions, and frankly I’m sick of having to worry about weathering the storm of what another team may do against us. We need to think about nothing else but imposing our will on this team. We need to be thinking about making them adjust to us, and making them have to battle back from the adversity that we’ve caused while wreaking havoc on our home turf. I grow weary of tip-toeing around the teams in this league. Being careful not to rush a quarterback because he’s a run threat, or careful not to press these receivers because they’re elusive, or careful not to air the ball out against this zone because they have playmakers in the secondary.
For us to have success now and in the future, it’s imperative that we establish a tone. By establishing a tone, I mean that we need to march to our own beat in these games. While it’s fine to make adjustments as we see what these teams are going to do to us, I feel the most important thing is that we take the offensive, establish a style that we can be known for. Let teams that must play us in the future see an aggressive, in your face, risk taking team when they watch film on us. It has been said that we’ll need to win 4 games out of our remaining 5 vs Eastern opponents to make the playoffs. Whether that is true or not, only time will tell. I truly believe that we have what it takes to get into the post-season on our own accord and make some noise when we get there. But whether we do make it in or not, I want to go into the last third of the regular season without question marks, without trying to brace ourselves for another’s onslaught, and without the passivity that we’ve shown in the first 10 games. If we lose every game from here on out, then so be it…but I want us to play with fire, aggression, and bite.
I want to come off of the field tomorrow and feeling like I was in a street fight – and not alone either. I want to feel like I’m spent when I leave the field tomorrow, because I’ve given all of myself for my teammates. If we get knocked down, that’s fine with me as long as we struck first. Tomorrow, and from here on out I want us to throw the first punch – and dare somebody to do something about it. We must play like a team that has nothing to lose, a team that nobody expects anything out of. I want to teeter on the brink of wreck less in the eyes of others at times. A team like this, nobody will want to play in November.
I am a fighter. Nothing has ever been given to me, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I believe that the men that I line up with are fighters as well, and it’s time that we showed some fight. This won’t be an easy run, as we’ve made the road for ourselves quite rocky. However, it sure would make a good story.
Everybody loves a good story right? ©

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