Missed Field Goal moving to TSN 690

Hi All,

We are not abandoning the Alouettes blog MFG for the 2013 season.
It is just being moved to tsn690.ca as the "Als Report". We'll still have post-game Alservations and posts on all the hottest topics for The Montreal Alouettes

Plus tune into the Als This Week each Wednesday night on TSN690 with myself and Mitch Gallo. If you missed it it is always podcasted on tsn690.ca and iTunes.

look forward to seeing you there!

Sean

Alservations: Getting Burrised

After a couple of weeks of vacation MFG is back up with some Alservations from Week 4.
It was a tough week for the Als on the road with their 39-24 loss. Now things are tight up top the East standings.

-To get things started, Henry Burris was on fire. only 3 incompletions all game. I know I get on his case a lot but full kudos will go his way.

-I will still stress that the Alouettes defense have talent but they are not glued together, they got John Bowman back but give him another week to get their gears in order.

-Kyries Hebert was one of the bright spots individually on defense.

-Jamel Richardson looks injured. and if he's not bothered by an injury he needs to find a way to fight through the double teams. and cannot afford anymore drops.

-There isn't much that people dont like about Marc Trestman's offense but I still thin he abandons the run too early when the team gets off to a bad start.

-If I were coach I would find more playing time for Bo Bowling and less for Eric Deslauriers. He's had his chance, he's just not grabbing it. That would mean finding another Canadian starter somewhere.

-Brandon London was great this week, please note he was The Als This Week guest.

-AC is playing through pain, that is obvious but he is still performing. There is no need to start any talk about Adrian McPherson taking over.

-Penalties are killing the Alouettes DBs, Once they figure out what they can do and cant do, they will be fine.

-Chris Williams is a cocky talent and almost cost his team a TD (props to Ridgeway) but he's lucky he's got that talent. And I would have him on my team any day of the week.

That's it for this week, at 2-2 the Als still can grab control of the East division as they have games against Toronto and Winnipeg coming up.

Alservations: Is it Week 2 Yet?

It was a rough start to the season for the Alouettes in Calgary losing 38-10 in their opener. The offense struggled, the defense struggled and Special Teams did not get off the ground floor. Here are week one's Alservations:

-With the way the offense is set up 3 receptions for 2 yards is waaay too little for Brandon Whitaker, he needs to be an essential part of the passing game as well as the running game.

-Anthony Calvillo will be better in game 2, A couple of poor thrown balls could possibly be attributed to only playing 4 series in the pre-season.

-Jamel Richardson fumble in the first quarter changed the flow of the football game, to have the turnover so early on the road of a home opener was a killer. If the fumble changed the flow, Shea Emry's unnecessary roughness penalty on Drew Tate killed it.

-On Defense, the Alouettes have top end talent, I'm still not convinced they understand the new scheme under DC Jeff Reinbold. Reinbold has to figure out how to use his talents properly. Maybe he was adjusting too much with John Bowman out of the line-up.

-No wonder Jon Cornish had a strong day, the Als Defensive line only had 3 tackles combined all game long.

-Chip Cox made a game high 13 tackles, but his pass coverage was not where it was last season, (at least through one game).

-I am reserving the right to wait on Noel Devine and Trent Guy as returners, when you are new to the CFL field it does take time to adjust.

-Now that Eric Deslauriers is part of the 5 receiver set, he needs to be able to catch the contested balls as well as the easy ones.

-I think everyone can agree it was just good to see DB Jerald Brown on the field.

All in all, I think the Als were happy they were on the road for game one as that type of performance at home would have been a tough sell. They have the Bombers next on Friday, one can only expect Marc Trestman to have his crew ready to go.

5 Reasons to Follow the CFL in 2012

The 2012 CFL season approaches and there are plenty of reasons to watch. You may already be a fan of the Canadian game or you may not, but there are 5 compelling reasons why you should pay attention.

5.Quality of play

Over the last decade the CFL has had to compete against other secondary leagues to the NFL. From arena ball to NFL Europe to The XFL and to the UFL the CFL has stood tall and doesn't have to worry about teams folding mid-season, players cracking their skulls open on "coin-tosses" or 6 game seasons that are shortened. The CFL has proven the after the NFL it is the primary destination for Professional football players in North America.

4.Parody and competition

The phrase "only in the CFL" comes to mind when thinking of the 2012 season. The exodus of star QBs from the West to the East could mean a power shift in the league or it means that the next generation of QBs are ready to go. But before Kick-off on Friday all eight teams feel like they have a shot at the championship in Toronto come November. I know in a league of eight teams that is easy to say but even our friends at Bodog have the longest shot at the Grey Cup at 9 to 1 with Edmonton and Saskatchewan.

3.Canadian rivalries

Taking pride in your city means alot in Canada, most Montrealers hate anything Toronto does. Ask a Calgarian what they think of Edmonton. Winnipeg and Saskatchewan may be stuck in the middle of Canada together but it doesn't mean they like each other. Rivalries are great and within the CFL they are easily created as you play each team up to possibly 4 times a season, Before playoffs. You may not like your local CFL team, but you can easily hate the others.


2.Players that you can relate to

The CFL is full of hard working blue-collar guys. Players that need to have other interests other than football, not other interests as in hobbies, other interests as in jobs. Fans appreciate players they can relate to, but understand that these CFL players also relate to the fans and appreciate the support more so then any other professional sport. Most of these players are on second chances in their football careers and love the game so much that they will work 6 months of the year to support their families so that the other 6 months they can earn $45000 getting their bodies beat up for the pleasure of their fan base.

1. Accessible and affordable

As professional sports go, is there a more affordable product? Is there a more accessible game? Each game is televised on TSN, Each stadium has it's own flavor and ticket, concession and parking prices are more than reasonable in any of the 8 Canadian cities. If you want to see a game, you can, anyone can. You just have to take the time.

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Since it's my first post of 2012 and the season starts tomorrow, I guess I'll put it all on the line with some predictions. I'll blame the vertigo medication I'm on when I'm wrong.


WEST:
BC 13-5
Cal 11-7
Sask 10-8
Edm 4-14


East:
Ham 11-7
Mtl 10-8
Tor 8-10
Win 8-10

Grey Cup BC over Mtl

The Watch List: Keeping Pace

The Montreal Alouettes look to stay within reach of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers atop the East Division as The Blue and Gold beat the Ti-Cats last night. The Als are in Calgary today for a big battle after the bye week. Here's what to watch.

-Perry Floyd will be making his Montreal debut at the KR postition as Tim Maypray is still recovering from his ankle injury. I'm sure Coach Trestman will have ashort lease when it comes to fumbles. If it becomes an issue look for Brian Bratton and brandon Whitaker to start receiving kicks.

-Diamond Ferri's agressiveness will be missed, but Greg Laybourn enthusiam should be able to fill the void as he'll make his Als debut at Linebacker.

-Jermaine McElveen is still not ready to go with his knee but JP Bekasiak is healthy and another canadian returns to the line-up. The pass attack will be lead by Moton Hopkins and John Bowman as they are thriving to get to Henry Burris.

-Ont the road it'll be vital to get Whitaker his touches early so that the Stampeders blitzes will have to watch #2 throughout the game.

-That Blitz will want to occupy Whitaker in blocking and not allow him to get into the flats for a pass reception. Whitaker has become Calvillo's safety.

-Calvillo had 10 TD passes in the first 3 weeks, he only has 4 in his last 4 weeks.

-The Als DB's will be tested on their tackling ability today, especially with Nik Lewis. He's tough and strong and hard to bring down.

-it'll be warm and pretty much no wind in calgary look for points to be put up on the board.

As for predictions, I'll go with the hometown cowboys in the Stamps as they have already lost 2 at McMahon Stadium. But I expect close and fun ballgame with the over 42-38 Calgary.

Post game Alservations: Deeing it Up

The Montreal Alouettes relied on the defensive side of the ball in their 27-4 victory past the Edmonton Eskimoes. Here are this week's Alservations...

- Chip Cox may still be behind some other contenders but is making his claim as one of the top defensive players in the game. He had 4 tackles, 2 sack and a pair of forced fumbles.

- Moton Hopkins making his Als debut sacked Ricky Ray a pair of times himself, The Als in all had 6 sacks... None by John Bowman.

- The Als Dominance in run defence continued as the Esks had 7 carries for minus 1 yard. Jerome Messum was a non-factor on the ground.

- Speaking of the ground, not only did the Als Sack Ray 6 times, they hit him 10 more times.

- Another Milestone or two for AC. Calvillo now has 400 career touchdown passes and over 70 000 passing.

- The pass protection on AC wasn't as strong as Coach Trestman would like. he was sacked 3 times and was rushed out of the pocket more than he normally is.

- Calvillo still has never thrown for 3 TDs in 18 head to head match-ups with Ricky Ray. He had two tosses both to Jamel Richardson.

- Ramon Guzman's hit on Jerome Messum will make the plays of the year.

-Kicking wise Sean Whyte has hit 19 straight FGs on the season with 4 in the game, But he punted and kicked off better than he has all season long. Maybe he was trying to prove something to Damon Duval making his return to Montreal.

-Tim Maypray tweeted this morning that he only has an ankle sprain and nothing will keep him down. he was finally able to break a big run on Duval's MFG.

- Scott Flory said he may wrestle a Bear or "A Coyot" on his Bye Week

The Als don't play until August 27th in Calgary as they will get a coming days off. We'll break down the first unofficial half of the season this coming Tuesday on The Als This Week on The TEAM 990 www.team990.com at 7pm eastern.

The Watch List: Marquee Match-Up

The Alouettes return home to face top team in the west the Edmonton Eskimoes. Here is what to watch in tonights game.

-RB Jerome Messum should see a lot carries early on, Kavis Reed will want the Als to concentrate on the run game to give Ricky Ray more time in the pocket later in the game.

-To counter the Als injuries on the Defensive Line (McElveen and Bekasiak), look for Ferri and Emry to get more blitzes than normal.

-John Bowman had 4 sacks in his first 3 games, none in the last 3 weeks. He is too good not to hit Ray at least once tonight.

-Look for shorter and quicker passes form Ray throughout the game as Fred Stamps and Adarius Bowman will not play. Marcus Henry will see more balls. Take the over of 6 balls to Jason Barnes at slotback.

-For the Als, success goes through Brandon Whitaker, he’ll need to catch 3-5 balls to go with over ten carries for an Alouette win.

-Anthony Calvillo only has 2 TD passes in his last 3 games. He’ll have at least 2 tonight.

-If Damon Duval misses just 1 FG, he will hear it from the Alouette faithful.

Here are some interesting numbers heading into tonights game, The Eskimoes have lost their last 3 games at Percival Molson Stadium. The average margin of victory for Montreal has been 29 points. Montreal also holds a 10 point playoff win over Edmonton at the Olympic Stadium in 2008.

The spread is 6 and a half, so it is tempting to take the Alouettes by a TD. But I like the way that Kavis Reed has his team thinking let alone playing. In an exciting tight game I’ll take the Alouettes by a late Sean Whyte FG 38-36.