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Grey Cup/Coupe Grey
Montréal Alouettes (13-7) vs Winnipeg Blue Bombers (15-4)
The Alouettes de Montréal pulled off a huge upset last weekend in Toronto against the Argonauts, the best overall team in the regular season as well as the defending champions, in order to qualify for this year's Grey Cup. Meanwhile, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers did exactly as most expected them to do, and what they have in fact done consistently in each of the past four CFL seasons, by finishing first in the West, and then holding off the BC Lions to qualify for their fourth straight Grey Cup, which will be played at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton, Ontario next Sunday.
So this is not the Grey Cup that most people expected. Again, Winnipeg is no shocker. But Montréal reaching this far, and having a chance to win the Grey Cup, kind of is.
The Alouettes got to this point mostly by playing very stingy, tough defence. They have won seven straight games, which is to say that the last time that they played a game which they did not win was back in mid-September. That is a mighty impressive winning streak, but the defence was undeniably the backbone of that success. In five of those seven games, they kept their opponents to 17 points of fewer. That was particularly obvious in the East Final against Toronto, when they produced a shocking nine turnovers, including two pick sixes, to get the better of the Argos. As dominant as Toronto had been all season, and as effective as their offence had been, they appeared listless and lifeless in the Final last weekend.
However, they cannot count on Winnipeg being so accommodating in this coming game. Indeed, the Argos will likely not take the Blue Bombers by surprise in this one.
It should be noted that four times, the Argos turned the ball over on downs, going for the first down and not getting it. So it was not like Montréal forced nine INT's or fumbles. Still, the defence proved very tough, and did put pressure on the Argo offence, which certainly played a part in producing those turnovers, which included a pick six late in the game by Kabion Ento, and one early in the first quarter, with Toronto threatening deep in Montréal territory, before Marc-Antoine Dequoy intercepted it and than ran it all the way back untouched for a touchdown. It was potentially a 14 point swing in momentum, as the Argos seemed to be in good position to score a touchdown.
"If we have to win or lose a game, we understand we want it on us [defence]," Ento said. "Every time we step on the field we understand it's another opportunity to take the ball away.
"All we want to do is get the ball back for our offence."
What an opportunistic defence!
However, Winnipeg had the highest scoring offence in the league this season. Also, their defence was pretty tough as well, as they allowed the fewest points of any team in the league. And again, it seems assured that the Alouettes will not take the Blue Bombers by surprise in this one.
Also, Winnipeg has an impressive win streak of their own. Last weekend saw their fifth straight win. Like Montréal, they have not lost since way back in mid-September. So this meeting will indeed be between the two best teams in the CFL, at least for the second half of the season. The Blue Bombers also should have the advantage that they hold over every team in terms of experience, as well as overall balance between offence and defence. Indeed, they will prove to be tough to beat.
Now, I will admit to having a rooting interest here. For a long time, I have loved Québec, and it all began with the city of Montréal. My grandparents first took my brother and me there in the summer of 1983, but I barely remember that. It was when my parents arranged a family trip to visit Montréal on the holiday week between Christmas and New Year's Day back in 1988-1989 that we, as a family, seemed to all fall in love with Montréal, and Québec more generally. Being Franco-Americans, there was a natural attraction to Québécois culture. So I certainly am hoping for the Alouettes to once again shock people and win this one. That said, what we want to happen obviously does not always happen, and we should try to avoid the mistake of assuming things will happen simply because we want them to. The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have been the best team in the CFL for many years now. They appear to be in fine form, and while I am impressed with the Alouettes and their current winning streak of six games, it still feels like the Blue Bombers are the better team, and should win this game.
My Grey Cup/Coupe GreyPick: Winnipeg
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