Pick'em Win'em Results Week 1

Here's Week 1 RESULTS

Sean Campbell- Sask, Cal, Win, BC (4-0)
Nick Murdocco- Mtl, Cal, Win, BC (3-1)
Moe Khan- Mtl, Cal, Win, BC (3-1)
Conor McKenna- Mtl, Cal, Win, Edm (2-2)
Gary Whitaker-Mtl, Cal, Win, Edm (2-2)
Mitch Gallo- Mtl, Cal, Ham, Edm (1-3)
Shaun Starr- Mtl Cal, Ham, Edm (1-3)
Crazy Pierre- Mtl, Cal, Ham, Edm (1-3)
Jack Bedell- Mtl, Cal, Ham, Edm (1-3)

Week 2-Due Friday at 8pm
Tor @ Win
Cal @ Ham
Sask @ BC
Mtl @ Edm

Great Grab, Great Pic

Props to Photographer Liam Richards of the CFL, 2 points to you too.

Post Game Alservations: Bombs Away!

Well, what can one say after that thriller of a game.

The CFL is designed to create entertaining football.

So the Als drop a 54-51 2OT decision in the Grey Cup Grudge match to the Riders. A game filled with great offensive plays is a game that has defensive mistakes. Let's take a quick look at game 1 of the Als season.

-Love the way #13 AC bounced back from an interception and sack to start his season. Big numbers 28/42 368 yards and 4TDs. He's still got it.

-#18 Jamel Richardson 5 rec for 79 yards, could have been better. A couple of drops in the hands tonight

-#3 Tim Maypray with the 2nd longest MFG Return in Als history 122 yards for the TD. that's great news for a team that might have started to miss Larry Taylor.

-#19 S.J. Green with the catch of the Season already in OT on the 2-point conversion, you can see what the Jets liked in him. Just keep him out of the backfield on blocking assignments, he miss reads the blitzes.

-The Als Secondary gave up 478 yards and 5 TDs to Darian Durant. 1- They were missing Mark Estelle 2- The Riders probably have the best receiving core the Als will see this year 3-Darian Durant is in the Top 3 QBs in the CFL (see Calvillo and Ray)

-#17 Billy Parker took alot of chances. hit or miss. It was a miss tonight.

-#11 Chip Cox, looked good in coverage and added a sack and a forced fumble

-Not a good sign when your safety leads the team in Tackles (#20 Proulx with 6).

-The Als defensive line, looked gassed in the 3rd and 4th quarter, Trestman may want to work in a bigger rotation for some of his big names on the line.

-I think #85 Brian Bratton will have huge numbers this year.

-Dressler and Durant could have more completions together than Calvillo and Cahoon, this year.

-The Als O-Line will need at least 3 games to gel properly.

-Don't be shocked about Avon Cobourne's 10 carries, He'll get his touches, just not in a Wild West OT Shootout.

-Circle august 6th on your calendar, Riders in Montreal. I know Coach Trestman already has.

-The CFL is fun

-The CFL is smiling ear to ear with this being the game to debut on the NFL Network.

The Alouettes have 10 days to think about this loss, you know coach Trestman will have geared to pick up their 1st win of the season in Edmonton on Sunday july 11th

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.