Each week, Toronto Argonaut linebacker Mike O’Shea answers your questions. To submit a question to Mike please send an e-mail to askoshea@cfl.ca.
Hey Mike,
How do you feel about the new Argo defensive scheme? Do you think it will help shore up some of the problems you guys have had stopping the run?
Thanks,
Bill (Brampton)
A: Running plays gain yards for two reasons: missed tackles and missed assignments and I am guilty of both of these sins. Most teams employ a gap cancellation defence, which means that everyone in the front 6 or 7 is responsible for a specific gap between offensive linemen. When the ball carrier enters your gap of responsibility, you bring him down. When you miss the running back, it is pretty obvious.
What is less obvious, but just as important/damaging occurs when you get blocked out of your assigned gap or end up in someone else’s gap, thus missing your assignment. Having said all of that, I am in favour of any scheme that will help us win. In a particular week, if we have to dedicate more or different players to stop the run in order to win then so be it. Different weeks bring different opponents and therefore different game plans.
Hi Mike,
What do you plan on doing when you hang up the cleats? Do you think you’ll want to stay in football or branch out into another field?
Cheers,
Sandra (Saskatoon)
A: Have you ever heard the term “kept man”? Well that would be a good gig if I could get it. Maybe I should pack up and move to Saskatchewan (the new economic centre of Canada) to mine potash beside my oil wells nestled in between my agri-fuel crops. I guess what I am trying to say is that when they decide to put me out to pasture, I will probably try something new. I am focused on winning Grey Cups ‘til then and will approach the next career with passion and excitement when it comes.
Hello Mr. O’Shea,
As a young football player, what professional did you look up to and try to emulate (if any)?
Troy S. (Calgary, Lifetime Rider fan, but always a CFL fan!!!!)
A: Growing up in North Bay meant that when we picked names it was Bossy, Shutt and O’Reilly except if you were my buddy Rob who was always Rathman no matter what sport we played. This question made me laugh as I remembered some of the names guys picked and why. I didn’t grow up with cable TV so I had the CFL names like Bass and Kepley when they had the ball and Germany, Gabriel, and Dalla Riva when we had it. Rob had cable and was Rathman or Joe Klecko and he always called the ugly kid Talley. Around Grey Cup time, he would give in to peer pressure and he would be Aldag or Pothier and the ugly kid would be Narcisse.
The truth is, as a young football player, I did not emulate anyone because I did not know enough about the game to understand why they were doing what they were doing. I played football because it was great fun. Good football is not about emulation – it is about loving practice, striving to get better and good coaching (a little luck helps too).
Mike O’Shea enters his 16th CFL season in 2008. He is a three-time Grey Cup champion and the captain of the Toronto Argonauts’ defence. He is the CFL’s all-time leader in defensive tackles by a Canadian and is second all-time on the overall list. In 1999 he was named the league’s outstanding Canadian player.
