CALGARY - The Montreal Alouettes are ready to shake their reputation as the team that can't win the big one.
After a team-record 15-3 season in which they had both the best
offence and best defence in the CFL, the Alouettes will be looking to
end a four-game losing run in Grey Cup games when they face the
Saskatchewan Roughriders at McMahon Stadium on Sunday.
It will be Montreal's seventh Grey Cup appearance since 2000, but
they have won only one of them, which was 2002 in Edmonton. Losses followed in
2003, 2005, 2006 and, most cutting of all, last November at home to the
Calgary Stampeders.
The
recent string of failures have been consciously ignored by this year's
Alouettes, whose second-year coach Marc Trestman has them focused
on the game at hand.
"It goes with coach Trestman's motto, Win The Day," veteran slotback
Ben Cahoon said Saturday. "We're not concerned about the past.
"The present is all we can control and if we do that, all the other stuff will take care of itself."
It is perhaps the deepest team Montreal has fielded since 2002 and they're close to being fully healthy.
Back-up receiver and running back Andrew Hawkins was injured in last
week's 56-18 romp over British Columbia in the East Division final and
won't play. Middle linebacker Shea Emry, who was also banged up in that
game, is ready to take the field, though Trestman said back-up Ramon
Guzman would probably start.
"I expect Shea to play and be in the rotation," said Trestman,
adding that the Richmond, B.C. native's special teams play may also be
limited.
Only four Alouettes have been with the club since it lost the 2000
Grey Cup game in Calgary to the Lions: Cahoon, quarterback Anthony
Calvillo, centre Bryan Chiu and guard Scott Flory. Defensive back
Davis Sanchez was there in 2000, then left the club and came back in 2004
and played in 2006.
It may be the last game in the careers of some of them, although
none is on record as ready to retire. The 37-year-old Calvillo said this
week that he hopes to play another two years or more.
"Not all these guys have been part of five defeats. There's only a
handful of us who have been through all those Grey Cups, so you can
call it ignorance or whatever, but they don't know any better and that's
the way we like it," said Chiu. "We have a mix of older and younger
guys and we expect to go out at speed and play hard."
They have the advantage in having a core of players who know exactly what to
expect from the hoopla of Grey Cup week and how to deal with it. The Roughriders do as well, with 24 players remaining from
their championship team of 2007.
"The biggest thing I've learned is how to manage the whole week," said Calvillo. "It's not a normal week.
"You have so many obligations. In years past, I missed meals because
you had to go to meetings and then practices and so forth. There's a
lot of preparation involved, so I know what to expect with that. And
there's the whole atmosphere on the field. The more Grey Cup games you
play, the more comfortable you get with it."
Two things the Alouettes will have to watch out for are the Saskatchewan pass rush and their own special teams troubles.
The Roughriders are constantly changing their defensive formation
before plays to avoid giving anything away until the ball is snapped.
"It's unconventional and it's helped them get to this point, but our
offensive line has to protect and open holes for (running back) Avon
Cobourne, so it'll be a challenge, but we'll be up for it," said
Calvillo.
The special teams did a pretty good job last week against B.C., but
they gave up a punt return touchdown, and returner Larry
Taylor dropped a punt that B.C. recovered on the 22-yard line.
Another factor is the crowd, which is expected to be heavily coated in Roughrider green from neighbouring Saskatchewan.
Dozens of Montreal fans have been spotted downtown this week, but
they were greatly outnumbered by those dressed or painted in green and
white.
"Every Grey Cup I've been to there's been a lot of green in the
stands," said Calvillo. "But we expect it to be noisy for both teams."
