Preview: Can Cato continue magic against Bombers?

CFL.ca staff

Winnipeg – A lot can change in two weeks. Both the Montreal Alouettes and Winnipeg Blue Bombers know this.

The Alouettes enter Week 3 with their fourth quarterback in two games, though all signs so far are pointing to Rakeem Cato not making that number any higher.

For the Bombers, they opened up the season with a big win over the rival Roughriders only to get blown out in their home opener the next week by the Ticats.

Montreal’s victory over the Grey Cup champion Stampeders last week featured the debut of Rakeem Cato, one that compares greatly to some of the other dazzling unveilings in the CFL. Cato threw for 245 yards on 20-of-25 passing attempts, including three touchdowns. After uncertainty at pivot before the opening whistle, all questions were put to rest.

“Rakeem Cato handled himself extremely well. He got rid of the ball very quickly. That makes it tough to bring pressure. When you’re releasing the ball as quickly as he does, I think when we look at it and factor in a few of the things that we saw, there was probably four of 28 times where you had a good opportunity,” said Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea of his team’s ability to plan for Cato. “Their game plan was to obviously run the ball, give him the quick reads to allow for him to get rid of the ball quickly. Besides that, he’s the one who has to pull the trigger and he did that quite well.”

Winnipeg is thankful that their quarterback situation cleared itself up over the week. Drew Willy was forced to leave the loss to Hamilton midway through the first half after a hit but has been cleared to play against the Als. He said that he has been going through practice and his routines the exact same as before and nothing has changed in his status for the game.

The Bombers will look to find more of a balance between their running and passing attacks. In the win against Saskatchewan, the offensive sets between rush and air were nearly split down the middle. However, when Brian Brohm replaced Willy, the team opted for more of an aerial approach. Granted, they were down by a large number of points by that time, but the team knows they can’t tip their hand when it comes to playcalling.

Montreal will be without linebacker Bear Woods after he was placed on the six-game list following shoulder surgery. That doesn’t mean the Bombers will be taking the Alouette defence any lighter. Like what happened with Montreal’s four men under centre, the Bombers carry the same philosophy when it comes to the ‘next man up’.

“They obviously have confidence in whoever plays for an injured player. We do too. We don’t talk about changing game plans because we have somebody who’s not played previously,” said O’Shea. “You give the guy the confidence, you put him in there, you coach him up and you know he’s going to do well. These are great opportunities for players to get in.”

Investors Group Field opened as the stadium for the Blue Bombers to start the 2013 season. However, Winnipeg is only 4-15 at home since moving into its new digs. It hasn’t been for a lack of fan support, as the Bombers crowd remains one of the top in the league. Willy know the team needs to start taking advantage of their home games.

“Since I’ve been here, we’ve had great crowds and great support. We need to take advantage of that,” said Willy. “I know me personally and the rest of my teammates, we try and do everything we can every single week mentally and physically to get wins. We know how important the fans are. They mean so much to us and we want to go out there and get wins for them.”

Alouettes head coach Tom Higgins is aware of the challenges that await Cato on the road. Making your first career start at home can ease some of the pressure off of a player.

“It was nice that he had a week at home because now we’re going to a hostile environment that creates another challenge for a quarterbacks and offences in general. I think he’ll do extremely well, just like he did his first outing.”

Montreal’s defence has allowed the fewest average points per game thus far. Willy and the Bombers will be in tough against a team that is riding the wave of momentum created by Cato.

Game Notes:

-Bombers have won the last four meetings against the Als and six out of the last seven. The four-game winning run is the second-longest for Winnipeg against Montreal behind only a six-game streak from 1980- 1983.
-Winnipeg leads the CFL through two weeks with a Red Zone TD% of 87.5 having cashed in 7 of 8 chances inside the 20. Last year, Winnipeg’s RZ TD% was #7 at 46%.
-With Willy in the game thus far in 2015, the Bombers have only 2 two-and-outs in 14 possessions (14%). Without him on the field, they have gone two-and-out 7 times in 11 drives (64%).
-The Blue Bombers have played at Investors Group Field 19 times and are 4-15 in those games.
-The penalty count for Winnipeg is up to 32 for 312 yards, both totals are the most in the CFL thus far. 
-Since Anthony Calvillo’s last start (August 17, 2013), the Alouettes’ record is 16-15 overall and they have now used six different starting QBs including Cato last week (plus: Neiswander, Marsh, Smith, Brink and Crompton). 
-Als 1-1 start this season has now made it four consecutive seasons with a split in their first two games. In the previous two follow-up games (2013-2014), Montreal has dropped to 1-2.
-The Alouettes have allowed only 31 points in two games in 2015 – their fewest points allowed in the first two games of a season since 2004 (23 points allowed). 
-Tyrell Sutton has accounted for 146 of Montreal’s 393 net yards last week (37%) and had 26 touches overall. He is #1 in the CFL in rushing with 204 yards.
-Als’ veteran LB Chip Cox leads the CFL through two weeks with 16 tackles.
-John Bowman enters Week 2 with two sacks to top the league and has the only blocked kick to date. His 85 career sacks make him the CFL’s active leader. All-time, he has moved up to #15 and with one more will pass James Curry (85.5) and tie Greg Battle at #14 with 86. 
-No Montreal player has fumbled yet in 2015 on 129 offensive plays, 12 punts, 4 FG attempts and another 19 kick returns. 
-Montreal has led after every quarter so far in 2015 (Q1-Q3). They have trailed only for the final 10:10 of Game #1 vs Ottawa.