In front of 15,000 freezing fans last week at Molson Stadium, the Montreal Alouettes declawed the visiting BC Lions from the West, 50-17. From start to finish, the Alouettes soared high, dominating over the helpless Lions from start to finish.
After an incredible turn around from their 1-7 start to their 8-2 finish, the Alouettes are just one win away from representing the East in the Grey Cup in Vancouver on November 30. With one fearless jungle cat already slaughtered, the birds will look to feast on their next pray, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
The two teams had a 1-1 record this season, with the home team coming away with the win in both games. The Alouettes failed to capture the division when they played Hamilton in the final week of the season. Because of that, this week’s match-up will be held at Tim Hortons Field, where the Tiger-Cats are 6-0 since was opened this season.
Below we’ll break down Montreal’s team, and look at how they’ll match up against the division-winning Tiger-Cats.
Offence
Since the retirement of Anthony Calvillo – who seems to be mentioned in every discussion about the teams offence – the Alouettes’ attack has been weak, but effective. Jonathan Crompton is a clutch player and knows how to win games. He threw 2 TDs with only 155 yards of passing last week to two of the hottest receivers in the league, Duron Carter and SJ Green. Carter was effective, catching only 2 balls for 18 yards, but still found his way into the end zone against the Lions. Green had a monster of a day with 95 yards on 7 catches.
It will be hard for the Ti-Cats defence to contain possibly the best dual threat in the league. At running back, Brandon Rutley made his first start of the season and surprised many with 98 yards on 15 carries plus his first CFL touchdown. He won’t be as great against a stellar run defence.
Defence
The Alouettes wouldn’t be winning games if it weren’t for their fantastic defence. Bear Woods and Chip Cox are intimidating as linebackers while John Bowman and Alan-Michael Cash are hitting the QB hard. Kyries Hebert, Geoff Tisdale, and Jerald Brown will have to contain Andy Fantuz (if he’s healthy), Sam Giguere, and Luke Tasker deep down field on Sunday, which should be an interesting set of matchups.
The Alouettes’ rush defence might just be too much for the Ticats’ offensive line to handle, one of the weaker lines in the league as Collaros and Dan Lefevour have both gotten hurt this season. After a weak performance in Hamilton in week 20, the powerful Alouettes defence will look go bounce back with a statement on Sunday.
Special Teams
The difference between the Alouettes special teams in the semi-final compared to the last game of the season was almost night and day. With butter-fingers James Rodgers out with a concussion, Mardy Gilyard was returning the kicks and punts. He did a decent job out there with 6 total returns for 71 yards, an average of just over 11 yards per return. The special teams on the other side of the ball was weak, allowing Tim Brown to scamper for 169 yards on 15 returns, resulting in two returns in the fourth that went to the red zone. The league’s most penalized special teams unit will also have to worry about speedy Brandon Banks this week, who terrorized them two weeks ago.
Coaching
Two veteran head coaches battle it out in this one, as Tom Higgins will try to outduel Kent Austin. Higgins and the rest of his coaching staff were a big part in the Alouettes’ turnaround at season’s end. Keeping a positive attitude right through, Higgins has brought his 46 men out of despair and into the East’s biggest game of the season. Jeff Garcia has done a fabulous job at quarterbacks coach and his 18-year pro football career is showing in Crompton, who is cool, calm, and collected. The Alouettes, like the Tiger-Cats, are where they are because of their coaching staff.
An intriguing match-up with this one, a rare Hamilton vs Montreal East Final. The first playoff game at Tim Hortons Field will be loud but the momentum-carrying Alouettes should be ready to handle it. My colleagues at LWOS will disagree, but I say the Alouettes will win 23-22.
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