Jim Lang
CFL.ca
As the bitter 2009 season ended for the 3-15 Argonauts, nobody was talking about a trip to the Grey Cup in 2010. But here the Argos are, just one win away from a trip to Edmonton and the 98th Grey Cup.
Prior to this season, there was a perception that Jim Barker was a better offensive coordinator or General Manager than he was a Head Coach. Well after what he has done with the Argos this year, I don’t think there can be any more debate; Jim Barker is a Head Coach in the CFL. There is no question that the Argos are Barker’s team and he’s done a wonderful job of overcoming any adversity and leading this team to the East Final.
Standing in Toronto’s way are the defending Grey Cup champions, the Montreal Alouettes. On paper, the Als will be prohibitive favourites. The Als will also have the distinct advantage of playing before nearly 60,000 fans at Olympic Stadium. A loss in the East Final won’t be the end of the world to the Argos. A loss in the East Final for the Alouettes would be viewed as a disaster.
Key Matchup 1 – Josh Bourke and Jeff Perrett against Ricky Foley and Ronald Flemons. If the Argos defence cannot get to Anthony Calvillo, they will have little chance of winning East Final. The 315 pound Bourke is a three time all-star and one of the top offensive tackles in the CFL. The 320 pound Perrett is no slouch either. There’s no question that the Als’ meal ticket is Calvillo and Bourke and Perrett have to keep Foley and Flemons from pounding him into the turf at the Big O. The Als have an amazing offence and it all starts with Calvillo. If the Als’ offensive line can protect him, they will be tough to beat. I thought Foley played one his best games since signing with Toronto in the East Semi-Final though. If he and Flemons can get their shots in on Calvillo and really put a physical beating on him, the Argos will stand a much better chance of winning the game.
Key Matchup 2 – Cory Boyd versus Chip Cox. Like he has been all year, Boyd was an invaluable member of the Argos offence in the East Semi-Final. Boyd ran for 93 yards and had another eight catches for 39 yards. Like most defences in the CFL, the Als are built to stop the pass. If the Argos can establish a productive running game with Boyd, not only will it eat up the clock, it will keep the ball out of Calvillo’s hands.
Shutting down Argonauts dynamic return man Chad Owens will be crucial to the Als success says Jim Lang.
The glue that holds the Als defence together is Chip Cox. The veteran linebacker and the rest of the Als defence will sell out to stop Boyd and force Cleo Lemon to beat them with his arm. There’s a good reason Boyd was voted the toughest player in the CFL, the dude loves to dish out punishment to any would be tackler. Cox and the rest of the Als defence must go into the game knowing that arm tackles are useless with a power running back like Boyd.
Key Matchup 3 – Chad Owens versus the Als cover teams. In August, the Argos beat the Als 37-22 and Owens was a one man wrecking crew. In that game, Owens had 128 returns yards and another 163 yards receiving. At the end of October, the Als beat the Argos 37-30. In that game, Owens shredded the Als special teams unit with 294 combined return. The bottom line is that Alouettes special teams coverage units have to be on the top of their game or Owens will burn them. A big day for Owens means that Cleo Lemon will have better field position to work with and a better chance at winning the game.
Intangibiles – To me, Kevin Eiben is a big X factor in this game. Eiben was a big part of the 2004 Argos team that walked into the Big O and beat Calvillo and the Als in the East Final. While this Argos team is much different than that 2004 team, Eiben is still a respected player within the Argos locker room that leads both on and off the field. In Montreal, the big intangible is Coach Marc Trestman. Because of his deep roots in the NFL and the NCAA, you never know if this is Trestman’s last dance in Montreal. An intense and driven man, there’s no way Trestman wants this season to end in failure. The Als haven’t played their best football in some time. So you can bet that Trestman will have pushed his players hard this week to realize the gravity of this game and what will happen if they don’t take the Argos seriously.
Who wins – There’s a good reason why Marc Trestman will be driving his team hard this week, he realizes that the Argos are more than capable of beating his team. The two teams split their four games in the regular season and the Argos will coming into the Big O riding the momentum of their win over the Ti-Cats. Logic would tell you that the Als should win this game without much trouble. Well you can forget about logic in this game. The combination of the Argos defence, their running game and especially their special teams will give the Als fits all day long. The Als have one big advantage over the Argos, Anthony Calvillo. Despite his shortcomings, Cleo Lemon deserves credit for getting the Argos to the East Final. But Calvillo is one of the finest quarterbacks in the modern history of the CFL. In the end, the experience of Calvillo and the superior talent on the Alouettes offence will prove to be the difference as Montreal will earn the right to defend their Grey Cup title.
