East prediction: Montreal to win division in 2006
By Arash Madani,
CFL.ca
The Montreal Alouettes opened 2006 with a dozen injuries out of camp, no short of 10 being starters, and still won last Friday on opening night.
That alone leaves little doubt of why the Als, the most successful East team of the past decade, will be representing the division in the Grey Cup come November.
It is an organization with stability, continuity and familiarity with winning.
One that has played in nine division championships over the last ten years, played in four of the last five Grey Cup’s and hosted the title-winning parade in 2002 that brought a quarter-million people downtown to party.
Which brings us to 2006. There is a re-hauled secondary that can turn a game around by making plays and the pre-season emergence of a middle linebacker with promise.
Then there is the nucleus returning – the one that has made the Alouettes a power year in and year out.
So even with a group resembling a CFL all-star team in dress clothes on opening night, you had to figure the Als could, somehow, get it done.
They did.
And when healthy, they’ll figure in to be the class of the East. Again.
“We study way ahead of time what may happen with injuries and the ratio,” said Jim Popp, Montreal’s general manager since the re-birth of the franchise in 1996. “You may lose (guys) defensively so you may have to replace them on the offensive side of the ball. We’re always maneuvering and tinkering and trying to make it all fit well. It’s like a chess match. You try to map out a few moves ahead of where you are.”
The Als are skilled. Robert Edwards is one of the top tailbacks in the CFL; their receiving corps has a mix of non-imports and Americans, including Thyron Anderson ready for a breakout season. No offensive line has had Montreal’s continuity in the middle and their linebackers can fly, Tim Strickland’s four sacks Friday evidence enough.
And with all that ability comes depth. The inactive and reserve list from Week 1 makes it evident why Popp’s chess board can afford to lose pawns. Two linebackers (D’Wayne Taylor and Kai Ellis) can be unleashed at any moment; there is a possibility of having three Canadian running backs; a pass rush with experience and size can get bolstered once R-Kal Truluck and Clinton Wayne are ready; diminutive return-man Ezra Landry is just waiting to get his knee straight.
Six veteran Canadians who are impact players could very well be starting the moment they’re given medical clearance.
“We feel great about the team we are fielding tonight,” Popp said a few hours before kicking off against Winnipeg. “It is going to get interesting what we do once we get healthy and how we make things work.”
When you talk about the Alouettes, though, it begins and ends with Anthony Calvillo. Montreal’s quarterback is the engine that, once again, will lift this team because of everything he does off the field.
“A.C. is like a coach for us,” said Popp. “He spends a lot of time – more than any other player – in the film room and working to get better. He and (assistant) coach (Kevin) Strasser) game plan together, they talk between series’ and when it’s time to make the call in the huddle, (Calvillo) does it.”
Involving one of the game’s most prolific passers into the development of the offence each week has paid dividends. Calvillo has the opportunity to become the first quarterback in league history to throw for 5,000 yards in five straight seasons this year.
With Calvillo at the helm and the Als’ health issues solved by the end of their bye week – following Saturday’s game in Hamilton – the road to the Grey Cup will go through Montreal in the East.
“I know our guys. I’ve heard them talk about how important it is to take care of business early,” said Popp.
Arash Madani is a sports anchor/reporter with A-Channel television in Ottawa
(The opinions expressed are those of the author and not necessarily of the Canadian Football League)
