Rick Moffat
CFL.ca
Timing is everything aboard Air Calvillo. Just ask Tim Maypray.
On a play called “Bingo” in the fourth quarter at Regina, Anthony Calvillo set loose yet another weapon of the Alouette arsenal.
The most vertically-challenged receiver in the bunch burst like Prairie lightning to history.
Under the B-394. Bingo.
Anthony Calvillo, cancer survivor, spent a good part of the winter spinning in circles on the spot, running to stand still, throwing from a silly stupor. After battling fear, doubt and the big C, AC would easily be the victor in a battle to regain balance and precision.
In the Grey Cup grudge match rematch, AC had the Roughrider secondary running around in circles, picking their pockets like a sober thief among passed out drunks.
In the barren wasteland of his career, the humble man from East LA had spurned Saskatchewan to enter a recovery phase in Montreal. Flash forward to his Regina visit in his 18th season, Calvillo tore up the atmosphere leaving only scorched earth at Mosaic Stadium.
Of course the three-time MOP was afforded his usual outstanding protection. But King Anthony beat Mother Nature as much as he beat the Roughriders. After a simple throw to the left flat sailed away during an opening drive two-and-out, the inauspicious early moments before momentum led to the momentous milestone, Calvillo re-cocked.
“I knew I had to drill my throws harder, whether into the wind or with the wind…that’s why if you look at some of the drops by the receivers—it’s on me,” the gracious three-time Grey Cup champ says.
“I had to throw it that hard.”
Let the historical record show it was The Don who had the wisdom to let Calvillo call his own plays, even when some around the CFL whispered that Calvillo still didn’t have the cajones. The first Cup resulted, along with an embarrassing Grey Cup MVP honour (the only one awarded to a QB with a completion rate under 40 per cent!)
But under Marc Trestman, artistic freedom doesn’t matter. Football isn’t art. But it may as well be sci-fi movie. A Vulcan mind-meld has taken place.
Trestman and Milanovich may call the plays. But it’s what Calvillo is thinking anyway.
Pre-snap reads are vital now. The 38-year old (39 in August) is a voracious reader of defences after all.
He sees all with X-ray vision powers.
But even he couldn’t have imagined the Riders would rule out trying to double up on “J-Rich” or his understudy SJ Green. To do that only allows Calvillo to pick your poison.
Bratton, London, Baker, Maypray. The list of receivers may as well include Arsenic, Strychnine, and Cyanide. Poisonous snakes and jellyfish lurk in his backfield. They’ll sting ya if not kill ya.
Richardson brags this is the best Alouette receiver corps ever.
Sixteen more weeks and a night under Vancouver’s next dome will decide that. But the debate will only heat up because Calvillo is throwing the ball with uncanny vision and unparalleled accuracy.
The timing is once again fortuitous. The Als are hyping the Montreal-Toronto rivalry and Ben Cahoon is being welcomed back to Montreal for a retirement party.
If only Jim Popp could sign Velcro Hands to a 1-day contract for 395.
With a deserved Monday off, Calvillo again opts to put business before pleasure, as he’s back in the dungeon of Olympic Stadium, studying his Argo opponents. The ultimate milestone moment will only be the by-product of his routine.
Then off to a charity golf tournament for the Cedars Cancer Institute. Nice guys no longer finish last.
They soar to the top.
Calvillo already holds the most significant Grey Cup passing records (almost double Flutie’s yardage total) including the most TD passes (nine, one more than Russ Jackson and Danny McManus).
What can “Calzone” possibly serve up as an encore? Just wait until Friday night.
