CFL Pick'em Win'em

We're going to have some fun here at MFG with our CFL Pick'em Win'em.

Myself along with some friends at The TEAM 990 will be posting their CFL Picks up for scrutiny on MFG.

We'll keep a running total through-out the year and the winner can claim MFG notoriety.

Here's Week 1
Sean Campbell- Sask, Cal, Win, BC
Mitch Gallo- Mtl, Cal, Ham, Edm
Nick Murdocco- Mtl, Cal, Win, BC
Shaun Starr- Mtl Cal, Ham, Edm
Moe Khan- Mtl, Cal, Win, BC
Crazy Pierre- Mtl, Cal, Ham, Edm
Conor McKenna- Mtl, Cal, Win, Edm
Jack Bedell- Mtl, Cal, Ham, Edm
Gary Whitaker-Mtl, Cal, Win, Edm

Calgary is the only Unanimous pick. Good Luck to all!

Canada Kick-Off 2010

The Montreal Alouettes defence of the 2009 Grey Cup Championship begins today with their grudge match against the Saskatchewan Roughriders. What can one expect from the 2010 version of Alouettes?

-Expect a healthy Anthony Calvillo to dominant the Passing Stats again this year.
-Expect a Healthy Avon Cobourne to gain over 1000 yards, Mostly in the 3rd and 4th Quarter when the Als have their big leads.
-Expect less sacks from the D-Line with an older Anwar Stewart & no more Keron Williams
-Expect more sacks from the Linebackers
-Expect more INTS, with Jerald Brown and Billy Parker add another year of experience.
-Expect to be impressed with CB Stanford Samuels
-Expect to see S.J. Green to play a big role in 5 receiver sets.

-Don't expect Anthony Calvillo not to get sacked. The O-Line will need a couple of games to smooth out communication
-Don't expect big returns every kick, Bratton and Maypray are quick, just not Taylor Quick
-Don't expect a .500 record for the home Opener in week 4. The Als will have tough times in Sask and B.C.
-Don't expect a 14 plus win season, the east is better. Toronto's bad, but they are better.

It's going to be a similar but interesting season for the Als, but how will they motivate themselves. They are still clearly the class of the East, but Hamilton is better and Winnipeg is still a huge question mark, but a with direction unlike under Mike Kelly. The Argos have a first step but are still a ways off.

In the West, much like last year it is a crap shoot. The Riders are poised to represent the West once again in the Grey Cup after their disappointing loss. The Eskimos want to make the jump to Cup in their hometown. The Lions picked up some potent free-agents in Williams, Davis Sanchez and Jamal Robertson and the Stamps are hard to put down because they have a guy like Henry Burris at the helm.

Nonetheless here are some fearless predictions:
East
Montreal 12-6
*Hamilton 10-8
Winnipeg 10-8
Toronto 4-14

West
Saskatchewan 10-8
*B.C. 9-9
Edmonton 9-9
Calgary 8-10

*win on tie-break

Back on the Air: Als This Week

It's a new CFL Season July 1st and The Als This Week begins Tonight at 8pm on The TEAM 990 Radio Station in Montreal (to listen online www.team990.com). It looks like that time slot will be our home for the summer and fall.

On our first Show of the year, We'll get things kicked-off with CFL Commissioner Mark Cohon. There is plenty to discuss as big news came out today with the CFL and CFLPA ratifying their new CBA.

Secondly, Mitch Gallo was out at Alouettes Practice today and we'll here from some of the players and hopefully if we can catch him in between flights from alsinsideout.com The Montreal Gazette's own Herb Zurkowsky.

Then we'll finish it off with Dan O'Connor of CJNB Radio in Saskatchewan to tee up the Als first game of the 2010 regular season in Riderville

All that and more on the Als this Week on The TEAM 990 Tuesday at 8pm(eastern) www.team990.com

Hired Help

Here at Missed Field Goal we proudly introduce the hired help. By being hired I'm not implying that I will be paying him.

Hello to Mitch Gallo!

Not only does Gallo work with me at The TEAM 990 as an Alouettes reporter and Producer/Co-Host on the Als this Week, he also writes for the Suburban sports section, which means you may see some complete sentences on MFG.

Gallo will be contributing to MFG throughout the CFL season. Here's his first piece.

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Key Departures

By Mitch Gallo

It’s the last week of June and it’s an exciting time for Alouette fans. Training camp has concluded, the final roster has been released and opening day is just around the corner as the Als prep to take on the Saskatchewan Roughriders on July 1^st.

So how do the Als compare to last years team?

The roster is almost identical. Anthony Calvillo will be the quarterback and he’ll be throwing to a core of receivers that’s he’s familiar with.

On the defensive side of the ball, there’s a ton a familiar faces with Mark Estelle, Shea Emry, Diamond Ferri, Chip Cox and Anwar Stewart.

But still there’s some key elements from last year’s team that won’t be back in the quest to repeat as Grey Cup Champions, something that hasn’t been done since the Toronto Argonauts accomplished it back in the mid 90’s.

Larry Taylor: Probably the most popular of the departed Alouettes is Larry Taylor because of his flashy play and his ability to return the ball 120 yards for touchdowns. He leaves the Als to pursue his lifelong dream of playing in the National Football League. And it’s the New York Jets again plucking players of the Alouettes roster; most remember Etienne Boulay two years ago.

It will be tough to replace what Taylor brought to the field.

Taylor, 24, had a league high 788 yards on 89 punt returns, which averaged to 8.9 yards a carry. Two of his returns were for touchdowns. He was also an East Division and CFL all-star.

Big shoes to fill, but a viable option on special teams is Andrew Hawkins.

Yes, he was injured last year; however he plays a style similar to the one of Taylor.

Davis Sanchez: He goes to his hometown BC Lions after requesting a release, a clause that was put into his contract. Sanchez had three stints with the Alouettes and played in 16 games with the Als last season. Sanchez is climbing up in years at 36 years old and his role with the Lions is still to be determined.

Keron Williams: Personally, I’m disappointed to see this guy leave because he’s still a young player. He strikes me as a leader and possesses a ton of speed off the line.

Maybe the fact that he met his future wife (restaurant manager) on an Als road trip to BC factored into his decision to leave.

Bryan Chiu: Lastly, Bryan Chiu’s departure is one that was unexpected. It almost feels like Chiu has always lined up directly in front of Anthony Cavillo. We’ll have to wait and see how AC reacts to getting away from his comfort zone and taking snaps from Paul Lambert.

Als Roster Revealed

Als 2010 full roster is listed here, curtosy of www.montrealalouettes.com

http://en.montrealalouettes.com/roster/index/team/9/sort/last

The Alouettes always do their best to protect their players, within the rules of 1-game, 9-game injury lists and the practice roster has yet to be released.

The Als roster looks eerily similar to the 2009 version. The key players gone off the starting postitons are of course Davis Sanchez(FA-Lions), Keron Williams(FA-Lions), Larry Taylor(NFL) and Bryan Chiu(retirement).

The players replacing them are all going to be in house. Except if you see Tim Maypray returning the opening kick-off on July 1st.

Players of note to look at on the Als Roster, or not on the roster, Adrian McPherson on the 9-game injury list. This could affect the Als short yardage play. Chris Leak will be taking those 1-yard dives but he gives at least 4 inches to McPherson. It was automatic last year, this year it will be something to keep an eye on. As for if AC gets hurt, Leak is more than capable to run the show.

O.J. Santiago on the 1-game list. I'm just really curious on how he'll fit in on the Als roster and who will be sitting out in his place. He's a big body that has hands, but he'd be a new target for AC and I'm curious how that relationship will develop.

Kick-Off is only a week away. Don't forget the 1st Als this Week Show for 2010 on The TEAM 990 www.team990.com is on Tuesday June 29th at 8pm.

Als Release Ten

Alouettes Press Release:

Montréal, le 21 juin 2010 - Les Alouettes de Montréal ont libéré les joueurs suivants aujourd'hui / The Montreal Alouettes have released the folllowing players:

G/G, David Bouchard, PL/DT, Darrell Campbell*, DC/CB, Alex Chandler*, RÉ/WR, Patrick Cobourne*, BL/T, Kristoffer Doura*, RÉ/WR, Marcus Freeman*, RÉ/WR, C.J. Hawthorne*, DI/SB, Taylor Krislock, PL/DT, Justin Lawrence, DC/CB, Sir Snowden
**Non-canadien/Import

L'alignement final sera dévoilé le jeudi 24 juin à 15h / The final roster will be announced this Thursday, June 24 at 3 p.m.

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No big shockers, Darrell Campbell's performance was underwhelming in the pre-seaosn and he did have the inside track on the DT position left open by Keron Williams. Campbell knew the defensive scheme as he was on the 2009 edition of the Als. Campbell lost over 35 pounds in the off-season to become more useful to the team. However the weight loss, could have lost him some strength when it came to run-defense.

It would have been a nice story if Patrick Cobourne made the squad, however Patrick was in tough to try and crack the Als at the receiver position. Most of the Back-up receivers will be Canadians. This may not be the last we see of the younger Cobourne.

And you got to think the Als had what DB's they wanted on the squad prior to the game against The Argos. Both Chandler and Snowden had INTs in that game and looked solid.

It does seem like the returners position is still up for grabs as Maypray, Owens and Whitaker and still around, for now.

Post Game Alservations: Pre-Season Predictable

Sure it was a pre-season game but there was plenty of eye-catching performances and moments for the good or the bad.

-It's going to be a long season to the Argos

-AC looked good in his two series, in for 11 plays, 8 completions, 1 hand-off. One of his two incompletions was a dropped ball.

-Each of the starting WR got a touch from AC, #81 Watkins, #85 Bratton, #19 Green with 1 catch and #86 Cahoon and #18 Richardson with 2.

-The Battle for Kick/Punt returner was a good one. #4 Owens, #3 Maypray and #2 Whitaker all had some quality returns.

-#3 Maypray may have won the battle because his play at WR, lead the way with 4 receptions and 54 yards and 1 TD.

-#2 Whitaker is in a tough spot because he's a RB and # 6 Cobourne has a lock on that position.

-DB #25 Tanard Davis made a couple of great plays on defense, Two weeks in a row he's impressed. The decision at CB will be tough. I still think it'll go to #35 Dix or #16 Samuels.

-QB #12 Chris Leak could start/star for at least 3 other CFL teams, cool and collected.

-The Als back -up defense had 4 sacks, 3 pics and 2 forced fumbles. They played 60 minutes.

-RB #30 Deidrick had a slight pull of the hamstring in the game.

-The Als O-Line cycled positions throughout the game which made it tough on #5 McPherson and #12 Leak. Expect Brodeur-Jourdain to be at Left guard come July 1st.

- #57 Scott Flory did no play, Congrats to the Flory's and their new baby Girl.

Als are off for a couple of days, and will practice next week for a couple of days at Concordia. Coach Trestman has tough decisions to make for the final roster spots, just don't expect any shock and awe cuts to be made.