MontrealAlouettes.com
If Montreal’s first game under Coach Dan Hawkins were a Hollywood movie, fans can be forgiven for thinking the second and third quarters were actually lengthy scenes from “Hangover 4”.
Truth is, however, there was plenty of “Silver Linings Playbook” to the game as well.
Quinton Porter showed obvious poise delivering two TD passes in the fourth quarter, one while absorbing a blow-up hit. To put it bluntly, Porter could be the greatest Hamilton- rejected recycling project that Jim Popp has taken on since…Anthony Calvillo.
Back in 1998, Popp had future Hall of Famer Tracy Ham to mentor the shell-shocked former Steeltown scapegoat, who was even booed by a teen in the stands named Dave Stala who would grow up to catch passes from both Calvillo and Porter.
Porter’s quickly proven to be as good a student as Anthony more than a decade ago.
“In my career I’ve been with several veteran quarterbacks and none are as cerebral about the game as him,” Porter explained in the Molson Stadium dressing room after his Alouettes debut.
“It’s not in terms of making it complicated and all these thoughts about different plays. What he does that’s so impressive is he simplifies the game and pairs it down to exactly what he’s going to do on every play and then executes it.”
“That’s something I need to work on is just those clean rhythm throws, that’s the kind of stuff I need to add to my game to make my play-making capability even better.”
Amidst the cloud of concern for injured NFL journeyman David Clowney, unlikely receiver candidate Ezra Millington stepped up, hauling in three catches for 52 yards.
Brandon London, happy to be fully recovered from his 2012 knee injury wants to share in the former Gee Gee’s development and earn some credit along the way.
“My young guy Ezra, I’ve been trying to mentor him, you know…trying to tutor him. He did a pretty good job out there,” he said.
London, meanwhile, appears himself poised to finally hit a milestone mark this season for receiving yardage.
If he and the rest of the Als receiving corps stays healthy, it’s possible that they become the next foursome to each register 1,000 receiving yards in a season.
Calvillo and Porter may hear plenty of politicking from pass-catchers this season, especially with the aforementioned quartet vying in friendly competition to lead in catches and yardage totals individually. Calvillo is already joking “that’s Mike Miller’s job!”
The veteran offensive guru is still working on the mind-meld with Calvillo and no one is ready to make any Spock references yet. Letting AC go deep over the middle to Richardson on the first play from scrimmage clearly indicates that Marc Trestman may be in the Windy City, but the winds of coaching change are not about to ground “Air Calvillo.”
Defensively, Ed Gainey and Mike Lockley generated pressure off the edges in the fourth quarter and Moton Hopkins made an emotional return at defensive tackle, his first action since 2011 because of a blood clot condition that forced him to sit out throughout all of 2012.
“If anything I was too excited…I had to hold back tears,” says Hopkins, praised highly by former Als defensive line coach Mike Sinclair as a bright CFL star of the future.
Running back Chris Jennings scored the first TD of the pre-season in Montreal, a signal he won’t let any opposing defense, nor teammates squeeze him out of the running back spot.
Fittingly, Jennings modelled his own clothing line during pre-game warmup: a t-shirt that failed to conceal his all the more ripped physique for 2013, with four simple letters across the broad chest:
FNAO. Failure’s not an option.
