| |
Montreal
Alouettes |
Edmonton
Eskimos |
| Offence |
Montreal's
offensive line has been tremendous. They have three CFL
All-Stars on their line (centre Bryan Chiu, tackle Uzooma
Okeke and guard Scott Flory). It's a big line and their
pass blocking has been tremendous. They're third in the
league in sacks against. They've got all these weapons.
What's really important about Montreal is that Calvillo
spreads the ball around. If you look at their games, everybody
touches the ball, so it's not one-dimensional, it's not
one guy. |
Edmonton's
rotating quarterback system is an incredible luxury to
have. I think that Jason Maas is the kind of guy that
has been better coming off the bench. They can go to the
bench and still be in the game. They have some big-play
threats. Hervey and Tucker deep, John Avery has had so
many big plays this year. So they do have that ability.
They have a veteran offensive line, they have a good front
seven. |
| Impact
Player |
(Anthony
Calvillo) is having one of his best years ever. He's almost
three to one in touchdowns to interceptions, which is
a phenomenal ratio. He's calling his own plays for the
first time in his career, so he's come of age more as
a leader. He's become a real field-general. Calvillo has
been like a conductor back there in that he makes his
read and then he goes to where the play should go, and
that's what makes them so dangerous on offence. |
The
big question will be whether or not John Avery, who was
the best running back in the league this year, can continue
to perform. He's had a fantastic year and if the Eskimos
are to get any kind of running game going, he'll have
to lead the way. They also have a great receiving core.
To have the wide outs they have like Jason Tucker and
Ed Hervey is a great advantage. They're dangerous weapons
to have and Edmonton will have to exploit them. |
| Defence |
(Montreal
has) a high-pressure defence. It's a defence that always
has one more player than the offence has blocking, so
it's a constant blitz. It's built on the Don Matthews
philosophy of speed and a defence that pins its ears back
and lives on the edge. It's a defence that's very aggressive.
|
Edmonton's
got some talented guys. Singor Mobley and Terry Ray are
two premier linebackers in the league. Albert Reese has
had a great season at defensive tackle and Elfrid Payton
is the top defensive player nominee out of the West. They've
struggled as of late, though. In their last five games
of the season they won three of them, but they were not
very convincing wins.
|
| Impact
Player |
(Kevin Johnson) a pretty amazing linebacker. He likes
to shoot the gap and come up straight and get right at
the quarterbacks. He's their leading tackler, he's got
five sacks, and he leads that pressure defence. He goes
left and right with tremendous lateral speed, and he comes
straight at you just as fast. He's also had a couple of
interceptions this season. |
Obviously
Elfrid Payton is a big key for the Edmonton defence. He's
the Western nominee for the Most Outstanding Defensive
Player award. He led the CFL in sacks with 16 this year
and moved into the No. 2 spot on the all-time list. So
he's a dangerous pass rusher and a CFL veteran who always
comes to play in big games. He is a solid tackler and
forced a few fumbles this year, so he's strong in all
areas. |
Special
Teams |
Don
Matthews has always prided himself as a special teams
guru. He's always had tricks up his sleeve. In the last
few games of the regular season, they had a few of their
punts and field goals blocked. That could be a problem
for them. I'm sure they've done a lot of work on their
blocking schemes in practice, but it's been a bit of a
weakness. |
Nothing
really stands out for me. (Wide receiver) Winston October
has had some success returning punts. Other than that,
they're about average on special teams. |
| Impact
Player |
I
think Montreal has the best kick-returner in the league
in Keith Stokes. He's run three punts back for touchdowns
this year, and he's the Eastern nominee for rookie and
special teams player of the year. He's a real threat. |
Sean
Fleming has kicked pretty well this year. He's a veteran
and is used to kicking in the cold. He could be the difference
if it's a close game. |
