Bedell's Blitz: Als shot down in a shootout

Alouettes Game Wrap Week 9: Calgary Stampeders

It's not often that CFL games live up to their 60-minute shootout hype, but there's no doubt the Alouettes and Stampeders fit that bill Saturday afternoon.

With six seconds left on the clock, Anthony Calvillo had the ball in his hands inside the Stamps' 30-yard line with a chance to level the score at 38-38. What more could you ask for in a toe-to-toe clash of two of the league's most-balanced teams?

For four full quarters, the game delivered shot after shot. At points the offences had the upper hand with Calvillo's trigger a hair quicker than Calgary's pressure, and Henry Burris threading improbable second-and-long completions into the Alouettes' depleted secondary. Other times, the defences stole the show with swarming tackles forcing key turnovers and tight coverage thwarting drives.

And considering all the story lines in play prior to kickoff—Dwight Anderson coming back to play his old team, Chris Jones coaching against his old employer, the CFL's last two MOPs going head to head, the odds-on Grey Cup favourites meeting in a Cup preview, etc.—the true measure of the game might just be that the action on the field outshined all the preamble drama.

Air Show at McMahon

Heading into Saturday's game, the Als and Stamps were the CFL's top two passing attacks in terms of yards per game average. By game's end, Calvillo and Burris had pushed that bar even higher.

Combined, the two pivots completed 54 of 91 passes for 791 yards and six TDs. And they did it in the face of two of the league's top defences.

For his part, Calvillo completed almost every variety of pass in his repertoire. He threw with velocity into tight windows. He also dropped touch passes over coverage. He even connected on the move avoiding Calgary's rush.

Henry Burris was every bit as effective, particularly on second-and-long situations, continually burning the Alouettes' secondary for long gains when his team needed them.

The most impressive aspect of Burris' game, though, had to be his ability to find outlet receivers with Als defenders draped all over him. Down the stretch, Burris connected with both Nik Lewis and Jon Cornish when he should've been dropped for drive-crippling losses. Burris' turning negative plays into positive yardage was the slim difference for the Stamps in this one, make no mistake about it.

From Cheese Grater to Swiss Cheese

Admittedly, it's impossible to adequately assign blame on any given football play without the benefit coaches' tape showing all angles of the play.

That said, no one needed the end zone view or tight line shots to see that the Als' secondary was suspect at best for most of the second half Saturday.

Coming into the game against the Stamps, the Alouettes were ranked third in the CFL (just behind Calgary) in average yards given up per game (336.2) and in first downs surrendered (140). A good bit of that success limiting damage and getting teams off the field before they moved the chains was directly due to the secondary's ability to make plays when it had to.

Saturday, however, Calgary gutted Montreal for 484 yards of offence at a gaudy nine yards per play average. 422 of those yards came via Henry Burris' arm.

Burris repeatedly found receivers in space afforded by the Als' coverage deep down the field, connecting on passes of 40, 37, 34, and 29 yards to four different receivers. Most damaging was the fact that Burris made those completions in second-and-long situations to shift drives from losses in his own territory to scoring forays into Als' territory.

Sure, the loss of Mark Estelle early in the game contributed to some of Montreal's faulty coverage, but too often the space given to Nik Lewis, Ken-Yon Rambo, Johnny Forzani, and Jabari Arthur was simply due to poor angles and insticts, faulty timing, and blown assignments in Montreal's back end.

It's tough to blame the Als' front four for much of Burris' success. Even though they only got him on the ground once, they repeatedly forced him off his spot with pressure, and they knocked him around a good bit as he released the ball.

The plays that had to be made Saturday were in the Alouettes' secondary. And, unfortunately, Stamps receivers made them instead of Als' defenders.

Five Plays that Swung the Game

1) Mark Estelle's Scoop and Run of Joffrey Reynolds' Fumble (1st Quarter, 5:16)

On second and two from his own 54-yard line, Joffrey Reynolds ran an interior blast play out of the "I" formation behind a two-tight-end set. Right after Reynolds received the handoff from Henry Burris, DT Moton Hopkins slammed into his right side to strip the ball. Mark Estelle scooped the ball up in stride and shot off down the right sideline. Nik Lewis caught Estelle at the Stamps' 16-yard line and brought him down with an obvious horse-collar tackle that collapsed Estelle over his own left knee, causing what looked to be a severe injury. Talk about a Yin-Yang double-whammy on one play. This one had a high-low whiplash unlike any play I've seen. In a cruel duality, Estelle's play both set the Alouettes up for an easy one-play scoring drive on Anthony Calvillo's toss to Jamel Richardson that gave them a 10-0 lead, and it simultaneously crippled the Als' secondary by knocking him out of the game.

2) Burris' Second-and-18 Conversion. (2nd Quarter, 12:42)

Facing second and a country mile from his own 17-yard line with just over two minutes remaining in the first half, Burris launched a 40-yard bomb to Ken-Yon Rambo for a first down and instant field position inside Alouettes' territory. Rambo ran a shallow fade route from his number-two receiver spot to the field side, giving Burris plenty of space to drop the ball in before Chip Cox, in deep coverage, could make it over to defend the pass. On the play, Stamps' WR Johnny Forzani ran a short route that drew in all three of the Als' defenders, leaving Rambo all alone deep with room to roam. Great play design by Calgary, poor instincts by Montreal's secondary. Burris' completion led to a 17-yard field goal to pull the Stamps within seven to close the half. A defensive stop on the play would've given Calvillo the ball in decent field position with plenty of time to put Montreal up by double digits.

3) Burris' Second-and-15 Conversion. (3rd Quarter, 8:05)

Notice a trend here? In another second-and-long situation where an Als' stop would've meant more possession for Anthony Calvillo, Burris found a way to push the ball deep into Als' coverage for the first down well inside Montreal territory. On the play, Jabari Arthur split the Als' zone up the boundary-side numbers, getting behind Billy Parker and cutting out toward the sideline in front of safety Jeff Becht. Facing no pressure at all from Montreal's front four, Burris had all the time in the world to put the ball right on Arthur inches from the paint for a 24-yard gain. Two passes later, the Stamps had their first lead of the game, and the Als were playing catch up to the gun.

4) A.C. Converts One of His Own. (4th Quarter, 11:40)

Down 31-24 with just over three minutes remaining, Anthony Calvillo escaped immediate pressure from Stamps' DB Keon Raymond blitzing from the secondary. On the play, Bratton chipped on Raymond, then released as an outlet target for Calvillo. A.C. managed to sidestep the blitz and flushed to his right to deliver the ball to Bratton who took it up the right sideline for the first down at Calgary's 35-yard line. After two solid Brandon Whitaker carries, Calvillo hit Whitaker on a perfectly-thrown wheel route in the end zone for the score to tie the game at 31-31 with 2:08 remaining. The drive was vintage Calvillo scrapping to give his team a chance to win the game inside the three-minute warning.

5) A.C. Taketh, Then Giveth Away. (4th Quarter, 13:51)

Passing on first and 10 from his six-yard line with 1:09 left in the game, Calvillo threw the one pass he couldn't afford to throw: a 24-yard pick straight up the right hash to Keon Raymond. With pressure in his face almost immediately from edge rusher Charleston Hughes and DT J'Michael Dean coming on an outside stunt, Calvillo released the ball early intended for S.J. Green. When Green inexplicably altered his route from an inside move to an out, the pass fell right into Raymond's arms, and he returned it to the Als' 11. After an objectionable conduct call on the play moved the ball even closer to the goal, Burris ran in from the six-yard line on a quarterback draw for the 38-31 win.

Up Next

The Alouettes have a long nine days to chew on this loss and to heal up before heading to Steeltown for their Labour Day showdown with the Ticats.

Be sure to check back next Sunday for my breakdown of what it's going to take to stop Kevin Glenn and Hamilton's quick-release passing attack.

Until then, take care. And try not to be too distracted by the East Division standings in late August. Let that pot boil for another month or so before checking it.