AC Cools Down Bombers

The Montreal Alouettes put to rest any idea that they were in a slump. The Als disposed of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 48-13 during the second leg of their home and home. The Als also improve their record to a perfect 9-0 at Percival Molson Stadium for the 2009 season. Only one more home date remains and that will be the East Final on November 22nd at the Big O.

On to the game at hand, this game was never in doubt. Actually I guess after Larry Taylor fumbled the opening kick-off, there was a smidgen of doubt but it did not last long. Taylor used his flub to propel him to an incredible game which included 7 punt returns for 73 yards, 5 kickoff returns for 147 yards, oh yeah and 1 MISSED FIELD GOAL for 115 yards and a touchdown. All in all 13 touches for 335 yards. He will be your special teams Player of the week in the CFL. Taylor said after the game that he wanted to be a player that made a difference on the team and this week he set up Anthony Calvillo and his offence on numerous short fields.

Calvillo returned to the helm of the offense that was run by Adrian Mcpherson for the past 5 plus quarters. Calvillo did not miss a beat by going 27/38 for 305 yards and a pair of touchdowns. As much as this teams players and coaching staff will say that they have the upmost confidence in McPherson behind centre in the absence of Calvillo, this offense is a different beast with Calvillo running the show. From snap counts , to checkdowns, to pocket presence Calvillo has something that McPherson doesn't have and that's the experience. After the game Avon Cobourne felt that comparing the two is just not fair because Calvillo is a sure fire hall of famer and McPherson has only played two seasons. Not that McPherson couldn't have gotten the job done against Winnipeg on this day, because for one thing Montreal's defense finally woke up which stalemated the Blue Bombers attack.

Only one touchdown against, which came on the first play from scrimmage of the second half, a 65 yard TD pass from Michael Bishop to Titus Ryan. Other than that one play Bishop struggled going 7/20 for 80 yards. Fred Reid was held to only 37 yards. The Montreal defense that Als fans have been seeing all year finally showed up. The Als welcomed back Shea Emry, Diamond Ferri and Davis Sanchez back into the line-up and it showed. Both Ferri and Sanchez felt it was tough to watch from the sidelines and wanted to get back in and make a difference.

Only one more meaningless game left for the Als, next Saturday against the already eliminated Toronto Argonauts. However with Winnipeg's loss the playoff picture just got that more interesting in the CFL, we'll tackle playoff scenerio's tomorrow.

Als Look to Run the Table

Sitting at 8-0 on the Season At Percival Molson Stadium the Montreal Alouettes will attempt to go 9-0 at home this Sunday vs the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (Kickoff is at 1pm). The Als are however coming off their third loss of the season to the same Blue Bombers team last week 41-24.

Alot of talk heading into this rematch game will be about the return of Anthony Calvillo into the line-up. Adrian McPherson will return to his second string duties. However the focus should squarely be on the defense. Who over the last two weeks have given up 79 points and hasn't registered a sack on the QB.

But good news for the Als Defense corps, Davis Sanchez, Shea Emry and Diamond Ferri should all be back in their usual positions. The defensive line will need to get to Michael Bishop for the rest of the defense to be effective. The DL hasn't had a slump like this all year. Look for a big game from their veteran Lineman Anwar Stewart who should apply some pressure. JOhn Bowman and Keron Williams will ahve to step up their game with Eric Wilson out of the Line-up and Jermain McElveen banged up.

Should Be a Nice day for the game forecast says 9'C and partly cloudy.