VANIER TIME: A LOOK AT THE LAVAL ROUGE ET OR

For Saturday's Vanier Cup (3:30 p.m. ET, The Score/RDS) between the Laval Rouge et Or and Saskatchewan Huskies, some of the diehards from cisfootball.org have been offered to share their insights on the two teams, who are meeting in the championship for the second time in three years. Hey, no one knows a team better than their hardcore fans. Far better to do it this way than to recycle past records and what-not.

Giving us the goods on Laval are Bizz, Marton, Mattrak and WINESKIN.

1. There was talk Laval would be reloading this year. How far has this team come this season, especially on offence behind QB Benoît Groulx (pictured)?

Bizz: "The O-line needs some adjustments, specially for the ground game; as far as the pass is concern, Groulx's ability to read coverage and find the soft spot quickly has helped them a lot. They don’t need to sustain their block very long making them look like a more experienced squad."

Marton: "The type of offence run by Laval is basically a continuation of what was done last year. Slotback Jeff Roméo graduated but was replaced by Nicolas Bisaillon who moved from RB to SB. Otherwise, most of the skill players are back."

Mattrak: "I think that the opposing D-line will be the toughest opposition this young Laval squad has faced all year. If the Sask D gets in Groulx's face early, they could start panicking and this could set the tone for the game. Ed Carleton (Saskatchewan's defensive co-ordinator) will have some early game tough calls to make which could turn the game in their favour early in the game. But is it a gamble he is willing to make?"

2. Offensively, tailback Pierre-Luc Yao hasn't had great games against Saskatchewan. What does Laval need to do to have a good running game?

Marton: "Laval's ground game suffers from predictability and from a young O-line. In last year's Mitchell Bowl against Saskatchewan, Yao stuggled because of both the predictability of the inside run and the dominance of the Huskies’ front seven. What it needs to work is better blocking this time and some variety to keep the opposition guessing."

Bizz: "I would like to see them use a pro-set formation with both Yao (a finesse runner) and fullback Samuel Fournier (a bull-like runner) would be more efficient. Keep the D guessing, will it be the fox (Yao) preceeded with a block from Fournier, or a train (Fournier) coming? I would also like to see a screen to Yao with Fournier lead blocking to open the match."

3. Saskatchewan's been through two tough road playoff games against Manitoba and Ottawa. Laval won all three playoff games with little trouble. So can you say the Huskies are more prepared if this is a tight game all the way to the fourth quarter?

WINESKIN: "I was watching the Ottawa game and I was thinking that must be one tired football team in the U of S, but they dug down and beat Ottawa in the fourth quarter. But that is a lot of travelling to Manitoba and then to Ottawa where Laval has played all home games in the playoffs and are travelling for the first time this playoff season."

Marton: "The excellent physical conditioning of the Laval players is a big asset. If it gets to a fourth-quarter showdown I really like Laval’s chances. "

Mattrak: "The relatively easy road to the championship game is a double-edged sword. Laval has been playing subs, have had no pressure and they could feel the effect of this if they trail late in the game. The last time they trailed in a meaningful game was a very long time ago (Oct. 15 vs. Concordia)."

4. The Huskies come in with the rep for being a physical team with a very solid ground game. How much is that a problem for a Laval team that's somewhat light along the D-line, with two quick but undersized ends, Marc-Antoine Beaudoin-Cloutier (230 lbs.), and Jean Roody (246)? What kind of game will Laval's linebackers need to play?

Marton: "Sask's O-line is indeed huge but Laval's run defence is awesome. The linebackers, led by Eric Maranda and Mathieu Parent, can stuff just about any running game. The one thing that could mess things up for Laval is (Saskatchewan QB Bret) Thompson's scrambling abilities. "

Mattrak: "The West (and Saskatchewan especially) is known for having some very good offensive tackles and I am convinced Jordan Rempel and Chris Sutherland, the two OTs whom Beaudoin-Cloutier and Roody will be facing, will be the best ones they have faced all year.

I saw in the last game that Roody makes very good plays but didn’t look muscular or very well-conditioned. The Laval ends could be in for a long day."

5. Saskatchewan has one tall receiver in Scott McHenry (6-foot-2, 210). Is that a concern seeing as Laval's two best defensive backs, Olivier Turcotte-Létourneau and Alexander Vendette, stand 5-9 and 5-10?

Mattrak: "We see in the pros every weekend that good corners can cover tall receivers. It is all about timing."

Marton: "Turcotte-Létourneau has been matched to the best receivers in just about every game he's played this season. I'm not worried about his ability to do the job. And Vendette is a very experienced fifth-year player who effectively covered Ivan Birungi (the country's best receiver and a Montrea Alouettes draft choice) in the Uteck Bowl. Both had a couple interceptions last week. They’re real good. Of course, height is still an advantage but it's not everything in the defensive back vs. receivers matchups. "

Marton points out that Laval's secondary has been getting superb coaching from Marc Fortier.

6. Laval had their left tackle on offence, Vincent Turgeon, go down during the Uteck Bowl. (Dominic Poulin, the right tackle, moved to the other side for a bit.) How is Laval's depth on the offensive line?

Marton: "Well, many players played this year, if that counts for something… The O-line is the biggest question mark on the Laval team. They had to rebuild, and also had to deal with injuries. More depth on the O-line would be real nice."

Mattrak: "This will be a weakness which should be attacked. See answer on question No. 1. Carleton should have an answer for us early in the game if he wants to get early momentum by taking gambles on blitzes and overwhelming the Laval line."

7. For a fan, how nice is it that Laval finally has a consistent field-goal kicker in Cam Takacs?

Marton: "You bet it's nice! When we are in field goal situations we can breathe normally. A welcome change."

(On Sept. 3, this space wrote of Brantford, Ont.'s Takacs, "His hometown paper should do a story on him." Eleven-and-a-half weeks later, it finally did.)

8. No one's more critical of their team than its fans. So, what does it take to beat Laval?

Marton: "Saskatchewan's got to establish the run, and score early and often in the game to take the spirit out of Laval and keep the crowd in the game. Preventing Laval from putting points on the board in the first couple drives is also crucial because when the scoring machine is started it often doesn't stop."

(The Acadia Axemen can attest.)

Mattrak: "The key will be taking an aggressive approach on defence early in the game to gain momentum and the lead. With a Saskatchewan lead, the crowd will be louder and the Laval players will feel very far away from "Le PEPS" and will start thinking about the result from the last time they were there (a 29-27 loss in Mitchell Bowl '05). Not being used to trailing, to a solid all-around team, could be a killer for Laval. "

Mattrak adds, "If Saskatchewan can make big defensive plays early and gain momentum and a lead, they will win the game. If they match up and mix it up, Laval will win by more than 10 points."

Last word from the Laval supporters goes to WINESKIN: "I think it will be a hell of game, a close one, but I think Laval will be able to pull it off but by less than 7."

That's all for now. Send your thoughts to neatesager@yahoo.ca.