The Pony Express

The Red and White faced their biggest challenge of the year last Saturday, and to say they came away as giant slayers would cover not only how they managed to beat the visiting Alouettes but also how they stifled a growing rank and file concern over a .500 record.

First a tip of the Stetson to the Alouettes for bringing a great football team to town for an amazing game.  Anthony Calvillo moved his team well and showed why he is the consummate pivot in the league.  Ben Cahoon is simply amazing.  He made one catch behind him and was absolutely rocked for making the sacrifice.  In typical Cahoon style, he got up right away and nonchalantly walked to the huddle.  Robert Edwards continued to show he is a force to be reckoned with.  And the Montreal D was a very tough customer to play against.

So what gave Calgary a chance then against the odds-on favourite to win?

Firstly we played relatively mistake free ball.  Henry Burris appeared to be very cognitive of what was going on downfield and made sure his passes were on the money.  There were some dropped passes, some appeared to be very catchable, but I can’t critize too deeply because I can’t vouch for how much zip was on them.  In the end the Calgary receivers made the important catches and found what little the Montreal D was willing to give up and make the most of it.  We also held onto the ball.  Mistake free football from the Red and White was key to the successful ending.

Secondly we have the most amazing field goal kicker in the league, perhaps in the entire sport of professional football right now.  Sandro DeAngelis is so important to the success of this team this season it is downright scary.  He is utterly confident that he will get the job done from anywhere in the other team’s end.  On a night where legendary kicker J.T. Hay received his place on McMahon Stadium’s Wall of Fame DeAngelis showed why his position on the team is vital to the club.  And when asked about his success the ever humble Mr. Automatic is quick to note that the only reason he is in the spotlight is because the Calgary Offense and Defense made it possible.  Guys like that don’t come along every day.

Thirdly, the Calgary D is coming back into form to that machine we knew last season that was feared and revered.  Cornelius Anthony made an immediate impression subbing in for an injured John Grace by recording his first sack of the season.  The bend but don’t break D style Denny Creehan has adopted is giving up yards but not necessarily points.  The unit is tightening with every game.

In the CFL.ca forum I posed a question that I watched the answer unfold as the game progressed.  The immovable object versus the irresistible force quandary.  Joffrey Reynolds played the part of the irresistible force and the stingy Montreal rush D played the immovable object role.  The immoveable object side won this battle and Joffrey saw his yards per carry drop.  It may have been play calling that created this imbalance as the draw seemed to be Buratto’s play du jour.  The Montreal linebackers seemed ready for it each and every time.  Oh well, JR still holds the league rushing title by a healthy margin and there’s always next week.

No there isn’t, next week is the bye week.

So we head into the well earned rest time a game above .500, comfortably in second place in the Western Division regardless of what Saskatchewan and Edmonton do this week and close enough to BC that they can’t let up yet.  It’s a nice place to be.