Jul
Time is now for Cats D-line
Courtesy Hamilton Spectator:
The “veteran” of the Ticats’ Front Four wants to see the future … right now.
“We don’t have the time to fall back in the hole,” interior lineman Darrell Adams was musing yesterday. “We don’t have the time to say we’re young and we’ll come together. We have to do it today, not two weeks from now, not two months from now. It’s the here and now.”
That here and now, Adams would admit, must include the first 15 minutes of every game, a period when the Ticats’ defensive line has been not only vulnerable but — we’re trying to be gentle here — well, awful.
Those 20 points the Argonauts rang up in the first quarter with almost no pressure on Kerry Joseph, plus another seven to open the second half, were a nasty indictment of the defence, and particularly the Front Four.
But one of the many differences between those who get paid to coach or play and those who pay to watch them is that the pros don’t stop analyzing after the result is no longer in doubt. The films, the lifeblood of this technical game, showed that the defensive line was very solid over the final 45 minutes, as indicated by their four sacks and minimized yardage surrendered. And, the coaching staff will argue, it wasn’t because the Argos went mentally soft or reduced their play selection after just a quarter of football.
“For the last three quarters they settled down, did the things they needed to do, tackled better,” said defensive co-ordinator Greg Marshall of his Front Four. “We made a couple of minor adjustments up front but it’s not like we threw the whole playbook out.”
The Ticats have been susceptible to the ground attack, partly because they’ve opted to go with two defensive ends whose primary strengths involve the pass rush. And yes, we know they didn’t even show that in the opening quarter.
But despite the recent rebirth of the run, this is still a passing league and defence is mainly about inhibiting aerials. Good rushers can be “coached up” to defend the run.
Hamilton’s ends, Justin Hickman and Khari Long, a pair of 265-pounders, both have good speed and earned their credentials at major schools (UCLA and Baylor). At 24 and 26, respectively, they’re young enough to have promising futures which, as Adams suggests, need to begin this weekend in B.C.
Hickman, who had two sacks against the Argos, plays the strong side while Long (one sack), a little faster, is the rush end on the wide side. (Perhaps it’s too confusing to have a Long on the short side.) Their learning curve is steep and crammed with nimble quarterbacks.
Toss in Demonte’ Bolden, the Tennessee Vol who moves from the injured list to Adams’ sidekick in the middle (replacing homebrew Matt Kirk on the starting grid), and Adams is surrounded by exactly two games of league experience. And he’s in only his second full Canadian Football League season himself.
“It’s different,” says Adams of the green group. “I’m just doing my part to be a leader: Don’t look at last year, we’re starting fresh with this year.”
Not fresh enough, answer the disgruntled fans, but the coaching staff has high hopes for the Front Four, partly because they’re young, and well-dimensioned, particularly vertically.
Bolden is 23, Hickman turns 24 in two weeks, Adams is only 25 and Long just turned 26. They are, respectively, 6-foot-5, 6-2, 6-4, and 6-5.
“We have some good size,” Marshall says. “If we can get our hands in the throwing lane, if we don’t get to the quarterback at least we can obstruct his vision, maybe tip a few balls. It’s not always about sacks, it’s about disrupting the passing game too. Height helps.”
There’s no doubt the Cats would like time to nurture this group, but time is not their friend these days, in the standings or at the turnstiles. The Front Four have to exert more, and more consistent, pressure and as Adams notes, they have to do it now.
A strong indicator of how the clock is ticking was that despite the encouragement the coaching staff drew from the final three quarters, 28 per cent (Bolden and linebacker Jamal Johnson) of the front seven will be changed for tomorrow night.
Marshall says Kirk and fellow Canadian Jermaine Reid will make important contributions to the defensive line, but for now, the defence is borrowing from the ratio bank. Roster ratio decisions are usually handled by head coach Marcel Bellefeuille and GM Bob O’Billovich, so the off-loading of a Canadian spot to the offence indicates that the improvement of the pass rush is still the No. 1 organizational priority.
And it would be a good idea for it to start on the first play from scrimmage, rather than the 40th.
