MontrealAlouettes.com
MONTREAL – The Montreal Alouettes (10-6) return home following two important road wins in as many weeks to face the Edmonton Eskimos (7-9) at Percival Molson Stadium on Sunday (TICKETS | PRINTABLE LINE-UP CARD).
Both teams will be playing for two very different things. The Eskimos are jockeying for playoff positioning while Marc Trestman’s men have already secured first place in the East Division. The Als’ next meaningful game may only be in the East Final at Olympic Stadium on November 18 (TICKETS), but complacency is no where to be found in the Alouettes locker room.
“My contract says that I have to play 18 games,” affirmed defensive end John Bowman. “I’ve already missed three, so I have some catching up to do.”
After stumbling out of the blocks at 2-3 this season, the Als have gone 8-3 with two games remaining before the playoffs and to a man, the team intends to keep on rolling.
“We have no intention of letting up,” revealed linebacker Marc-Olivier Brouillette. “We certainly don’t want to head into the postseason losing two straight games. We are not the same team as last year. We worked hard all season to become better with each game. We made that a point of emphasis: finish everything we do. That goes for practice, meetings and the season.”
Here’s a primer for what promises to heated clash between the Alouettes and Eskimos.
Spoiler Alert: The Alouettes may now be sitting pretty after locking down home-field advantage in the East Final and the accompanying first-round bye last weekend, but they can throw a monkey wrench into the hopes of the Eskimos who remain on the playoff bubble. Edmonton needs either a victory in one of its final two regular season games or a Hamilton loss to clinch a postseason berth. That could prove to be a tall order for the Eskimos who must face the second-place Stampeders next week after doing battle with the toast of the East in Montreal.
Mr. Reliable: While the injury bug has been stinging the Alouettes all season it seems, at least their star quarterback has been spared its impact. Anthony has started all 16 games for the Als this season so far, making him one of only two CFL pivots to accomplish that feat in 2012. The other? Henry Burris of the Tiger-Cats who has started every game for Hamilton in his first season in Steeltown.
In Trestman We Trust: Having watched his players set numerous records over the past several seasons, head coach Marc Trestman is about to get in on the action. With a victory over the Eskimos on Sunday, Trestman will slip past Don Matthews and tie Douglas Walker for the all-time lead in wins by an Alouettes head coach with 59. Like Matthews, Trestman needed five seasons to reach the mark. Meanwhile it took Walker eight seasons from 1952 through 1959.
He’s our Guy: Alouettes return specialist Trent Guy returns to the lineup Sunday, after being sidelined with a concussion for two games and change.
