So The Montreal Alouettes fall to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers for their third loss of the season. Not a big deal. This loss will help the Als in the long run, it keeps a team level when your stuck in the rut of always coming out on the winning end. It'll help the coaching staff look at issues that need to be addressed. Thoses issues:
-Adrian McPherson still needs fine tuning into the CFL Game
-The Secondary is capable of letting up big yards
-The defensive line looks tired
Let's Start with the big story of the game; Anthony Calvillo doesn't play, is relagated to the third string quarterback and Adrian McPherson gets his first CFL start. Let's say that again, first CFL start. Sure McPherson has been with the Als for the last two seasons but his playing time has been very minimal, his snaps in practice have been next to none with the first team, so yes there are going to be growing pains. However there is no doubt what kind of raw football talent the Florida native has.
Getting into the game, McPherson lacked pocket presence, holding his ground in the pocket a little too long on some occasions. Where you'd see Calvillo take a step forward to the left or right to give himself an extra half second to let the play develop, you did not see that with McPherson. Chalk that one up to experience. The offensive line didn't help, however it is a different style of quarterback behind center than they are used to and that means that pushing a defender to the outside or inside makes all the difference. In addition to all that, The Blue Bombers defense caused problems all day by playing it smart, by not allowing a young QB any time to read the defense, something Anthony Calvillo can do blindfolded and his shoelaces untied. So yes the Als probably should be concerned if something happens to Calvillo this season, but him tweaking his calf a month prior to the next game of substance is a blessing in disguise, Adrian McPherson can learn and move forward from the loss, which will teach him more than a 35-0 drubbing would have.
On the defensive side, over the last two games there is a little cause for panic. The last two starting QBs, Kevin Glenn and Michael Bishop, have thrown for a combined 917 yards. That is one ugly number. However it is the CFL and the Als defense were putting up record numbers for points allowed prior to the last two games. I suppose percentages state that the Als were due for a couple of poor performances. No Davis Sanchez in the line up and after watching D'Audra Dix get burned on the very first play for Winnipeg yesterday, it seems that Sanchez is as much as a priority for the Als to get healthy as Calvillo. Billy Parker who has been a stud defensively all season long along with Jerald Brown, probably the two biggest surprises all year, has had a tough couple of games, even though he's been paired up against the oppositions top receivers. It's a trend I don't see continuing next week. Parker has tons off one on one expertise and in the CFL if you give the QB time to throw he'll get you no matter how good you are. That's where the defensive line comes in.
Thirty-eight sacks through 14 games, impressive for the Alouettes, 38 sacks through 16 games, a tad worrisome. It indicates that the Defensive line is tired and it did not help yesterday that Eric Wilson went down in the first half with a knee injury. It gives the DL one less guy to work through the rotation. However the Als have just given a ton of confidence to two QBs that they may face in the East Final. Michael Bishop hasn't looked as good as he did yesterday in a long, long time. Sure the Bombers kept their backs in to help block on most plays, but it seems that with the early success of the Als defensive line that they have given up on blitzing. They will rely on the individual skill of Keron Williams, Anwar Stewart and John Bowman. I felt that the moment Wilson goes down you gotta bring the linebackers. However the Als could have been hesitant because of the injuries to Diamond Ferri and Shea Emry, who did not play.
These are a few issues that should concern the Alouettes however it is not all bad. They remain at 13-3, Anthony Calvillo expects to play in the rematch against Winnipeg and it's back at Percival Molson Stadium where the Als are 8-0 on the season. Oh and they get to scrimmage against the Argos on Nov 7th in a meaningless game prior to the East Final. All the loss proves is that the Als are indeed a regular football team, coming back to earth for a quick wake up call prior to the playoffs absolutely hurt no one.
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