TEACHABLE MOMENT
Als look to learn from costly gaffe
That’s the thing about special teams. They’re only talked about when something catastrophic happens — such as when your team allows a touchdown. So it’s not like Kavis Reed didn’t know the interrogation was coming.
“It was a simple block that we didn’t make. Plain and simple. We knew they were coming. It was obvious. They did a similar thing earlier in the game ... the same formation on the opposite side. When we saw the formation, we (thought) we’re OK. No worries. The formation was easily blockable. We made a visual mistake. It’s a learning experience and we move on,” the personable Reed, the Alouettes’ special teams co-ordinator, explained in detail, more than once, in an exclusive interview with the Montreal Gazette on Monday, following the team’s practice in oppressive heat at Stade Hébert.
You’ve probably seen the play, numerous times, by now. And the catastrophic result of it. And the unfortunate timing.
Just before halftime of Montreal’s game last Friday at Winnipeg, the Blue Bombers’ Lin-J Shell blocked a Boris Bede punt. The ball rolled into the end zone, where it was recovered by Teague Sherman with 17 seconds remaining until intermission. The home team, clinging to a 12-10 lead, suddenly took a ninepoint cushion to their dressing room in a game they ultimately held on to win, 25-23.
Sherman would explain later he simply was the guy who won the race to the end zone. In fact, several Winnipeg players could have fallen on it.
The play could have had devastating results and provided a huge momentum swing. As it was, the Als took the second-half kickoff and marched downfield — only to settle for a short Bede field goal three minutes into the quarter. Still, the blocked punt along with a Rakeem Cato interception that was returned for a touchdown denied the Als a victory in a game they controlled and dominated.
Montreal’s special teams were sporadic at best last season, especially in the East Division final, when Hamilton’s Brandon Banks returned two kicks for touchdowns. Actually, a third was brought back for a score, too, but was nullified due to a penalty. Head coach Tom Higgins doubled as the special teams co-ordinator, with assistance from JeanVincent Posy-Audette, who has since been moved to a position as a scout and football operations assistant.
Reed, a former Edmonton head coach, was hired to co-ordinate the special teams.
“The mistake was on a protection count. There’s nothing they did that was exotic, that compromised the protection. We made a mistake. We dropped a guy to the side we were punting the ball,” Reed said. “I take full responsibility for that.
“We’re trying to get familiar with things and familiar with schemes. No coach in this situation’s going to say everything’s going perfectly. We’re not going to abandon what we’re doing. We believe in what we’re doing,” Reed added. “The guys believe in what we’re doing. We’ll keep working guys through and get them up to speed. Mistakes are going to be made.”
The Als were missing Mike Edem, a key contributor on special teams, to injury against Winnipeg. Both Alex Charette and Jean-Samuel Blanc, a pair of rookies, were lined up on the right side of the line, along with Andrew Lue, making his season debut. Blanc failed to make the block, forcing Marc-Olivier Brouillette, one of the deep backs, into attempting to block two players. Bede, another rookie, punted directly into the mass of humanity instead of attempting to avoid the rush. Of course, he only had a split-second to react.
“I tried to get to the guy who I felt was closest to the kick. I got a piece of him. Unfortunately, he got a hand on it,” Brouillette explained. “There was an assignment mistake. I’m sure some teams are going to test us with some looks now that we put that on tape. That’s OK. We understand that.
“The scheme was there. The blocking was set up for success. It was just a physical error. It had nothing to do with the scheme. The right adjustment was made to kick away from the six-man side. We just didn’t execute.”
While Higgins didn’t throw Reed under the bus following the game, he didn’t exactly give the coach — or Bede — ringing endorsements either. The Blue Bombers ran over the Als, Higgins said at the time, Montreal knowing Winnipeg would be attempting a block and still unable to stop it.
On Monday, Higgins was slightly more willing to absolve those he deemed to be culpable.
“We allowed someone to come free that should have been accounted for in protection,” he said. “It’s another valuable lesson learned. We put more emphasis into making sure we can block all different protections. That one wasn’t very difficult. It was just a mistake.” The Als entertain the Tiger-Cats Thursday night at Percival-Molson Memorial Stadium.
And Hamilton’s coming off a bye week in the schedule.
Meanwhile, rookie receiver Cody Hoffman has been placed on the six-game injured list with an ankle injury. He wasn’t at practice on Monday, having gone to the doctor for an MRI. Hoffman, who had an ability to stretch the field, will be sorely missed.