Argos sign CFL Veteran Jerald Brown

[R.J]

Argonauts have signed Jerald Brown
http://www.argonauts.ca/2016/02/26/argos-sign-cfl-veteran-jerald-brown/

Surprised by this move. TBH, I don't think Brown is someone we needed.

[Wobbler]

DB is now our top area of need, IMO, and bringing in a vet to compete seems like a good idea. Brown is obviously near the end of his career, but I like the idea of giving him a shot.

[R.J]

DB is now our top area of need, IMO, and bringing in a vet to compete seems like a good idea. Brown is obviously near the end of his career, but I like the idea of giving him a shot.
I agree that the defensive backfield is unquestionably our biggest area of need, but Brown doesn't really do much to improve that IMO.

[AngeloV]

I agree that the defensive backfield is unquestionably our biggest area of need, but Brown doesn't really do much to improve that IMO.

I disagree. He's a very good HB, which IMO (next to DC) was our biggest area of weakness last year. He is also a vet, and Stubler plays lots of different zone coverages, so experience is huge there.

A great pick up IMO.

[doubleblue]

Brown is an upgrade at one of the defensive half positions, if he hasn't lost a step. I always thought he looked bigger than 5'11 185.

This free agency has been like no other. I think we will see a lot of parity in the League this year.

[Argo57]

Another solid move my Barker who has taken the slow steady approach in filling some areas of need.

[Qman]

just filling the TC depth chart so there is competition and a measuring stick at camp.

[OV Argo]

I think it was worth the look - a vet to compete in an area of need.

Brown seemed to be up & down in his career with the Als - awhile back one of the TSN talking heads (maybe that dofus Suitor) referred to Brown & Billy Parker as the best set of D-halfs in the league (or something along those lines) - I disagreed then; but D-half is one of the toughest jobs in the CFL IMO - guys are going to get beat or look bad plenty. Maybe Brown thrives with Stubler directing traffic; if he is no good, he gets cut.

[ArgoRavi]

The issues with Brown are his age and some recent injury problems but he is a solid defensive halfback when healthy.

[KCargosfan]

Just wonder how much he has left in the tank? Dude is 35 and been playing pro ball since '04.


Btw, anyone care to guess what he signed for? $75K would be my guess.

[AngeloV]

Just wonder how much he has left in the tank? Dude is 35 and been playing pro ball since '04.


Btw, anyone care to guess what he signed for? $75K would be my guess.

Like I mentioned earlier, Stubler plays a lot of zone. His experience can be huge.

[1argoholic]

You have needed some vets in the secondary and I like the moves Barker has made. You can't just keep tossing rookies back there to learn the game on the fly. Nothing better then watching a solid vet do what he does best and look so natural at it unlike watching very young guys stumble an bumble and get burned often.

[KCargosfan]

Like I mentioned earlier, Stubler plays a lot of zone. His experience can be huge.

I have no doubt on that, and I realize you don't have to be Deion to play zone, but Byron Parker had all the experience in the world as well, and his last two years in the league were bad because he lost a few steps. I'll be honest and say I can't remember if he was playing zone, but he looked bad.

Brown may be great, you just don't find a lot of guys age 35 in the secondary.

[AngeloV]

I have no doubt on that, and I realize you don't have to be Deion to play zone, but Byron Parker had all the experience in the world as well, and his last two years in the league were bad because he lost a few steps. I'll be honest and say I can't remember if he was playing zone, but he looked bad.

Brown may be great, you just don't find a lot of guys age 35 in the secondary.

Parker's best season's were played under Stubler. Parker always got into trouble playing man. He was a cheater, due to his great athletic abilities, and that works much better in zone. It was also the reason he played the field side rather than the boundary side.

[R.J]

I have no doubt on that, and I realize you don't have to be Deion to play zone, but Byron Parker had all the experience in the world as well, and his last two years in the league were bad because he lost a few steps. I'll be honest and say I can't remember if he was playing zone, but he looked bad.

Brown may be great, you just don't find a lot of guys age 35 in the secondary.
Yeah, Parker and Younger played a little too long IMO. Both loved playing zone because it all they could play and IMO they both played 2-3 years longer than they should have. I'm not a fan of any defensive player that can't play man to man. Brown being 35 and having some injury issues as of late and less than stellar play two years in a row, which is a concern for me. Stubler seems to love his old guys for some reason - I'm half expecting Lin-j Shell to show up lol.

[Reggiemac]

I like it ,part of a totally tebuilt D. How about a nickname for our new D " the doubke blue blockade" nautical theme too.

[1argoholic]

Doubke? Is that German. haha, just kidding!

[knox]

A couple of other pretty good FA DBs are still sitting out there namely Weldon Brown and Terrel Maze from the Riders

[AngeloV]

A couple of other pretty good FA DBs are still sitting out there namely Weldon Brown and Terrel Maze from the Riders

Riders had the worst defense in the league last year. They may have a tough time catching on before teams see their new recruits first.

[OV Argo]

A couple of other pretty good FA DBs are still sitting out there namely Weldon Brown and Terrel Maze from the Riders


I always thought Weldon Brown was pretty good; played in the D-backfield (D-half i think) when he was first in the league with the Esks, and IMO he was very good there at times; I think the Riders converted him to a cover OLB, and not sure he was as effective there. I think I'd prefer Weldon over Jerald, but why not sign both and let the best Brown win in TC competition? - either way, they'd be adding a vet presence to the secondary.

[argofancirca2006]

I'm a new poster to this site but have been following the conversation on here for years. I do find it quite interesting that so many people seem to think that Stubler's match defence is a "zone defence". It is actually a man to man defence where the defensive players may switch who they are covering based on what the offense does when they come to the line. I agree it is not your bump and run man to man defence but to call it a "zone defence" is not correct.

[KCargosfan]

I'm a new poster to this site but have been following the conversation on here for years. I do find it quite interesting that so many people seem to think that Stubler's match defence is a "zone defence". It is actually a man to man defence where the defensive players may switch who they are covering based on what the offense does when they come to the line. I agree it is not your bump and run man to man defence but to call it a "zone defence" is not correct.

When did you play in the CFL? I'm guessing you are a former player.

[argofancirca2006]

When did you play in the CFL? I'm guessing you are a former player.

I'm not a formal player. If only they could let women play. I'm just an avid football fan. There has been so much discussion on here about this zone defence that Stubler runs and just thought I'd share an observation.

[AngeloV]

I'm not a formal player. If only they could let women play. I'm just an avid football fan. There has been so much discussion on here about this zone defence that Stubler runs and just thought I'd share an observation.

Welcome to the site. I have often referred to Stubler's defence as heavy on zone, and you are right, he does play a lot of matching. But the reason I refer to it as a lot of zone, is because his DB's play deeper than the traditional press man coverages, with LB's dropping off. He sure does not blitz a lot, as his defence is designed to not give up the big play and easy score.

[argofancirca2006]

Welcome to the site. I have often referred to Stubler's defence as heavy on zone, and you are right, he does play a lot of matching. But the reason I refer to it as a lot of zone, is because his DB's play deeper than the traditional press man coverages, with LB's dropping off. He sure does not blitz a lot, as his defence is designed to not give up the big play and easy score.

You are right about his bend don't break style of defence. I find generally it is a little bit more difficult to play press man in the cfl with the use of the waggle. Also, with the introduction of 5 yard contact rule last year, most teams backed off from press man coverage because of penalties. Chris Jones played way much less press coverage last year than he has previously. It will be interesting to see how it plays out this year.