Emergency QB

By Mitch Gallo

Like many young athletes in Montreal, Marc-Olivier Brouillette grew up playing hockey. When he was six years old he started playing football too. And in 1995, Brouillette had to make a decision: football or hockey.

He was faced with the decision when his father got ill and it was became a lot for his mother to drive him and his brother to two sports. The result, Marc-Olivier chose football and his brother chose hockey.

The rest is history. After being drafted by the Montreal Alouettes in the third round of this year’s draft, Brouillette has cracked the roster. Not as a quarterback, the position he’s played exclusively since he was six years, but at linebacker.

“The transition is going well, it’s different as I’m still trying to pick up the technical aspect, getting my body into position to make plays,” said Brouillette. “But in terms of the schemes and playbook it’s going well.”

In terms of his build, the move appears to be a match made in heaven. He’s six-feet, 230 pound and his number one responsibility, when he plays, will be to stop the run.

His path to get to the CFL is a story on its own. Brouillette had the choice; try out for the Alouettes or practice law. Torn between the two, it was actually a lawyer who helped sway him to pursue his dream of playing professional football.

“He told me his biggest regret was declining an invitation to the Junior National Ski team,” said Brouillette. “He said, work isn’t going anywhere, the big law firms aren’t going anywhere, chase your dream and give it all you got. If it doesn’t work out then you can enter the business world later.”

This happened during his second year at the University of Montreal, a time where Brouillette developed relationships that he knows will last a lifetime.

“That class of 2006, the guys grew to become very good friends,” said Brouillette. “We developed a bond at U of M and we were always pushing each other to get better, stronger and faster. That’s something I will always remember and 15 or 20 years down the road, if we run into each other it will be as if we never skipped a beat.”

It was the second game of the pre season against the Toronto Argonauts where Brouillette was able to prove to the coaching staff that he belonged. Now, Brouillette can’t wait to suit up for his hometown team, at Percival Molson Stadium, as a member of the Montreal Alouettes.

“It will be special. Since the Alouettes came back to Montreal, as a young French Canadian it was always about the Als and the Canadiens. Getting a chance to put on the jersey in a regular season situation will be something special and a great accomplishment.”

Bouncing Back and Radio Notes

The long wait between games continues for the Montreal Alouettes after their season opening loss to The Riders. It'll be a third straight day of being off the field for the Als on Tuesday.

Don't think the Als haven't been watching the film of the loss, they have. What will they see?
-Poor Tackling
-loose coverage
-tired bodies
-and some nice tosses by Darian Durant

The Als defense will bounce back. This is pretty much the same group that stymied the CFL last year. The Als were up by 21 points in the 3rd quarter, then they got tired. They still have the skill. However they will have another big test as the Als secondary will have to deal with Ricky Ray. Ray has one of the best arms in the CFL. However the Esks Receiving core is nowhere close to the talent that the Als and Riders have.

The Als Defense will have to move forward for a couple weeks without Diamond Ferri for a couple weeks with a shoulder injury, plus Mark Estelle may not be ready to go with a Hamstring. Look for Ramon Guzman and De'Audra Dix to replace.

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Als this Week- July 6th 8pm on The TEAM 990 www.team990.com

Guests include
#22 Etienne Boulay of The Montreal Alouettes
and Colour Analyst on 630 CHED Radio for Edmonton Eskimos Broadcast Dave Campbell

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