Dave CampbellCFL.ca
It’s a moment Canadian Football League fans and Canadian sports fans in general won’t soon forget. 13 men on the field at the end of the fourth quarter which cost the Saskatchewan Roughriders the 97th Grey Cup Championship as they fell 28-27 to the Montreal Alouettes.
It was one of those “where were you moments” when perhaps the most unbelievable play in Grey Cup history happened. I can remember hearing Rick Moffat, Carm Carteri, and Ed Philion describe the event as I was in my car heading over to a local Boston Pizza establishment following a ball hockey game with friends.
“That didn’t just happen, right?”
It did and it left a nation talking for weeks. In Regina and the province of Saskatchewan the talk lasted for months on end.Fast forward one year later and how fitting it is that the same two combatants from a year ago will meet again on Sunday at Commonwealth Stadium in the 98th Grey Cup Game.
The Riders punched their ticket with an emotional 20-16 come from behind win over the Calgary Stampeders in the Western Final. The Alouettes cruised to a 48-17 win in the Eastern Final over the Toronto Argonauts.
This year marks the eighth Grey Cup appearance for the Alouettes since the 2000 season. Remarkably, the Alouettes are chasing just their third title in that span.
The Riders, on the other hand, are making their third Cup appearance in the last four years; they’re looking for the fourth championship in franchise history.
This story is also fitting because these two teams met on Canada Day in Regina and played perhaps the best game of the 2010 Canadian Football League season. The Riders were down 24-7 in the third quarter before showing their now patented resiliency and rallied to beat the Alouettes 54-51 in overtime.
The Alouettes returned the favour in Week #6 winning 30-26 on home field to gain a split in the season series with the Riders.
If the Grey Cup had turned out be a matchup between the Alouettes and the Calgary Stampeders, the game would have still been very enticing.
However, since the infamous 13th man incident last year at McMahon Stadium, the Alouettes and Riders have become a great rivalry. And let’s face it, isn’t this after all the matchup you craved?
Didn’t you want to see if the Riders can really put the past behind them? Last year’s game set an all-time Grey Cup record for television ratings with just over five million viewers. You have to think this year’s game should surpass that with all the storylines and drama building up.
Question is: Who wins?Anthony Calvillo is arguably the best the quarterback in the Canadian Football League. He missed two games this season with a bruised sternum and the Alouettes went 1-1 in that stretch. Montreal was blown out at home versus the B.C. Lions and then dominated the Hamilton Tiger-Cats a week later.
As well as Calvillo’s numbers have been in the regular season and playoffs, the Grey Cup has traditionally been his worst game.
The flip side is Darian Durant who led the CFL in passing yards this season with over 5,500 but also led the league in interceptions with 24.
He’s at his best when he is using his legs. He led quarterbacks in yards rushing and like his team, he employs a scrappy mentality.
Both teams have running backs that can hurt you in the Als’ Avon Cobourne and the Riders’ Wes Cates. Cates finished with over a 1,000 yards on the ground this season while Cobourne finished 35 yards short of the 1,000-yard plateau.
These two offenses are defined though by their passing attacks. Jamel Richardson is the only 1,000 yard receiver on the Alouettes, but Ben Cahoon is as clutch as they come. Add in Kerry Watkins and perhaps the best fifth receiver in the game in S.J. Green and that is a lot of firepower.
The Riders have 2010 CFL receiving champion Andy Fantuz, a healthy Weston Dressler (he did not play in last year’s Grey Cup), Chris Getzlaf and now Cary Koch who made another spectacular TD grab on the weekend.
Defensively, the Riders were the worst team in the league against the run, but they slowed the Stampeders ground attack by giving up just 62 yards in the Western Final.
The Alouettes were the best defense against the run and held Argonaut running back Cory Boyd to just 43 yards and physically knocked him out of the Eastern Final. The Alouettes were the second worst team against the pass, the Riders the third best.
Special teams haven’t been the Riders’ strong suit this season and they don’t have consistency in their return game with Ryan Grice-Mullin or with placekicker Warren Kean. The Alouettes have the veteran kicker Damon Duval and Tim Maypray’s play contributed to the Alouettes decision to say “no thanks” to Larry Taylor.
Of course two outstanding head coaches will battle on Sunday with the Riders Ken Miller and the Alouettes Marc Trestman.An even matchup except for one thing, the Riders have been carrying the 13th man around their necks for a whole year. That alone should be motivation to come out and win.
On Sunday, this so-called pundit says redemption wins out. The Riders win by 10 points, 25-15 over the favoured Alouettes in front of 60,000 plus at Commonwealth Stadium and most of them will be wearing green and white, too.Enjoy the week everyone!
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