CFL.ca
Q: What did you see from the team in your home debut as the interim coach, last week against Winnipeg?
Marcel: Offensively we did some good things early. We sputtered a little bit in the second quarter but came back and had a good second half. I thought we threw the ball well. We had a 300-plus yard passing game. We made some plays down the field and made some big plays. Quinton Porter came in and did some good things for us in the second half and really took charge of the offence, which was a real positive to see. Defensively, we created some turnovers again. We created four turnovers and I thought we were real active getting to the quarterback. We flew around and made some plays. Aside from the two deep passes, I felt we played really well on defence.
Q: Alain Kashama joined the defensive line, coming over from Montreal and had a sack in his first game, were you pleased with how he played?
Marcel: Yes. Alain did what we thought he could do and that’s rush the passer, that’s one of the reason we wanted him here, so we had someone else to get to the quarterback and he did a good job of that.
Q: The one facet of the game we haven’t mentioned is special teams, where there were some highs and lows throughout the game. How did you feel about their performance?
Marcel: The fake punt ended up netting us seven points, since we scored right after that. So that was obviously important for us to be aggressive on special teams. The kick at the end obviously was a big play, and we’re going to have to be more consistent there, but we did some really good things prior to that on special teams.
Q: How has the move from offensive coordinator to head coach been for you midway through the season?
Marcel: I was satisfied with the transition, and being able to transition in one week. I was satisfied with the players’ effort and their ability turn around after what was a busy week and still play with passion and stay focused during the game in Edmonton. Those were all positives for us and for me personally. Obviously we wanted to come out with wins in our first two games, but we started a new process and I think that’s important.
Q: How has it been for you on a personal level, you’re certainly dealing with more media requests these days?
Marcel: Well I’ve been a head coach in college, and it’s not the same type of media attention, but it’s part of the process and I actually enjoy it.
Q: Is it difficult to make the trip from Ontario all the way out West to British Columbia?
Marcel: It’s always tough for the Eastern teams going out West, or them coming to the East, but we’re going out two days in advance so that should give us enough time to get our legs under us. I think just us being a better-focused team, especially going down the stretch, creating a bubble that we can play inside where nothing effects us, and the players are working towards that. That’s how you have to look at it, because if you don’t you start changing your approach or your process and you’re not going to get the results that you want. We’re focused on improving this week. The key is can we start the game, where we left off last week and maintain that intensity and the approach that we had.
