Q&A With Marcel Bellefeuille: July 15

Tiger-Cats head coach Marcel Bellefeuille discusses the latest topics in TigerTown…

After watching the film of last week’s game against Calgary, what are your thoughts on the game?

MB: I thought we played much better than in Week 1.  We improved a great deal.  Obviously there were areas that we need to improve in… certainly our score-zone offence needs to be better, defensively we can be better getting stops at important times in the game, but overall I felt we improved considerably.

Marcus Thigpen scored twice again last week, including once on offence. Should fans expect to see him involved in the offence more often in the future?

MB: As he progresses and learns he’ll have the opportunity to get more involved in the offence and do more.  He missed training camp so there’s only so much you can do, and we also have to have balance with the return game.  But it is our plan to use him a little bit more.

What characteristics does Thigpen have that makes you excited as a Coach?

MB: He’s very consistent, that’s the most exciting thing about him.  Every practice, every week he practices the way he plays.  He’s obviously got some physical skills; speed, agility, vision, those types of things that make a good returner or running back.  I’m most impressed by by how he practices and how he plays, there’s no difference between the speed he plays at, from practice to game day.

Shannon James is back in Hamilton and Jykine Bradley has been added to the injured list. What are your expectations of James in his second stint as a Ticat?

MB: He’s a guy that we thought could have made our roster out of training camp but he was a backup SAM and we made a decision to keep some players that have a little more diversity to play different positions.  He’s a key guy for us though, he’s a good special teams player, he’ll be able to contribute there this week and if need be he can come in and cover a couple of positions for us.

How much time do you expect Bradley to miss?

MB: Not long, probably just this week.  We’ll re-evaluate him this week.

Looks like an opportunity for rookie Will Heyward to get on the field in a more pronounced role.  He was impressive during training camp.  Tell us what you expect to see from Will…

MB: We don’t expect any drop off at all at that position, he’s an aggressive player, he’s a good tackler, he plays the ball well, he’s a good cover guy and I feel like he’ll be able to go out there and man that position well.

Kevin Glenn seems to be developing chemistry with Marquay McDaniel. What are your thoughts on that combination on offence?

MB: I expect them to continue to grow and get more on the same page and understand each other. I think it’s extremely important for our offence to have that balance across from Arland and also to be in a position where those two can make plays.

Maurice Mann was eased into the lineup last week and made two catches for 15 yards. Do you see him making more of an impact moving forward?

MB: Being his first game back we wanted to make sure that he got through it healthy and that his conditioning was where we need it to be.  As he continues to get involved, his role will continue to increase.

Looking ahead to Friday… you’ve played the Bombers once. What are you expecting to see from them in round 2?

MB: I expect to see the same thing from them, they’re a good football team. They’ve been fairly consistent over the last two weeks, they’re well coached and they’re going to come out and play well.

Buck Pierce has been a force through two games for Winnipeg. What’s the most effective way of stopping him?

MB: The only way to slow him down is to keep him in the pocket. He does a great job of creating with his legs and running the football when he escapes. You have to make him sit in the pocket and make plays from the pocket.