MontrealAlouettes.com
MONTREAL – There are two points in the CFL season when teams have a clean slate. Once when the regular season kicks off and again when the playoffs get underway. For the six teams still in the hunt for the 2011 Grey Cup, the regular season is already a distant memory and it all comes down to their next game.
The Alouettes’ quest for a third consecutive Grey Cup begins Sunday at Olympic Stadium when they battle the third-place Tiger-Cats in the Eastern Semi-Final for the right to move on to Winnipeg next Sunday.
“That would be perfect,” said S.J. Green, who fresh off his first East Division All-Star selection, would love to pack his bags for Manitoba next weekend. “We can’t look too far ahead, though. We have Hamilton this weekend and that’s where our focus needs to be. We’ve still got to beat the Tiger-Cats before we can start planning for the Eastern Final.”
And while some have already counted the Als out as contenders to the crown following their three-game skid to close out the season, sack-master John Bowman is singing a different tune heading into Sunday’s action.
“We’re all professionals here and it’s our job to turn this thing around and that’s what we’ll do,” confirmed Bowman, who led the team with 12 sacks this season.
If the 2011 season, with all of its ups and downs, has been a rollercoaster ride for Alouettes fans, then the Montreal-Hamilton series this year has been just as unpredictable. In four games this season, the two teams have run the proverbial gamut, twice blowing each other out, and twice going down to the wire. The Als and Ticats each won both of their home games this season, and Anthony Calvillo has been near-perfect his two home victories, throwing for a combined 762 yards, six touchdowns and no interceptions while his team outscored Hamilton 70-38.
League-leading receiver Jamel Richardson hopes he can continue padding his quarterback’s stats well into the off-season.
“They’re a team that likes to play a lot of man coverage,” noted Richardson, who has piled up an incredible 512 yards and two majors this season against Hamilton. “We need to be ready for that and be prepared to battle for every ball thrown our way.”
But a trip to Winnipeg isn’t the only incentive the Alouettes have to fire themselves up with on Sunday.
“They’re a team that likes to trash talk. When we’re on the field; we hear it and that’s fine, it’s part of the game,” shrugged Richardson. “But that stuff really just fires me up to go out there and make big plays.”
The Als most-active tweeter, Richardson had backed up his own hype this season just as his former teammate and Twitter equal, Avon Cobourne of the Ti-Cats. Cobourne is the only tailback to have rushed for over 100 yards in a game against the Alouettes defence this season, while Richardson also left a dent after hauling in 199 receiving yards against Hamilton’s secondary in that very same game back in Week 9.
To say these two teams know each other well is an understatement. The East Division rivals have locked horns four times – five if you include the pre-season – with neither side pulling ahead on the judges’ scorecard. The season series was so tight, only one point separated the clubs, with Marc Trestman’s squad holding a slim 117-116 edge.
Eager to shake out of their late-season funk, the Alouettes are understandably welcoming the prospect of hosting the Eastern Semi-Final. The Als are afterall 5-0 in their last five Eastern Semis played on home turf.
If that wasn’t bad news enough for the Ti-Cats faithful, their beloved clawed felines haven’t won a game in Montreal during the regular season or playoffs since 2002.
The 2011 Eastern Semi-Final kicks-off Sunday at 1:00 p.m. at Olympic Stadium (RDS HD, TSN HD, 98,5 fm, CJAD, Sirius 157). Tickets for the game can be purchased by visiting TicketMaster.ca or by calling 514-790-1245.
