If I had to choose one word to sum up the Als' 39-25 destruction of the Roughriders this past Saturday, it would have to be systematic.

Facing an angry team in front of a rabid, capacity crowd at Mosaic Stadium, the Alouettes simply broke the Riders down with consistency and execution. Montreal's defence kept Darian Durant and the rest of the Riders' offensive attack in check all day with good pressure and pesky coverage. And Anthony Calvillo scorched Saskatchewan whenever he had the ball in his hands, attacking the seams of the Riders' secondary with precision passes.

Add to the mix some gale force winds that drastically affected strategies on offence and special teams, and you have one heck of a road performance by the Als.

Amazing A.C.

On an afternoon when 65kmh winds would've short-circuited the games of most quarterbacks, Anthony Calvillo absolutely picked apart the Saskatchewan Roughriders' secondary, completing 29 of 43 attempts for 419 yards and five majors. Beyond those numbers, though, Calvillo was as comfortable and controlled as any QB I've seen in recent memory against the Riders.

Calvillo delivered balls on time and with great authority to almost every eligible receiver the Als fielded. Eight receivers grabbed passes on the day. And it simply didn't matter what the wind conditions were, or the field position, or the down and distance. Calvillo delivered, over and over.

As TSN analysts Jock Climie and Matt Dunigan pointed out in their post-game comments, Calvillo displayed a zen-like ability to come off primary receivers when covered and find alternate targets in the pattern all game long. Even under duress, Calvillo's decisions were immediate, and he put balls on his receivers with great accuracy and unbelievable velocity.

In a stretch that probably sealed the game for his team, Calvillo completed 15 consecutive passes at the end of the second half and into the game's third frame. He ended the span of brilliance with a key 55-yard touchdown pass into the wind to Tim Maypray that locked the tilt down for the Als.

That TD to Maypray, by the way, moved Calvillo into a tie with Damon Allen for the most TD passes in CFL history with 394.

Defensing Durant

The Alouettes' front seven may have only managed one sack, but from the first drive on they were able to get good push on the Riders' offensive line. John Bowman and Jermaine McElveen kept good depth on their rushes to hold Durant in the pocket. The push from inside was also effective, closing space in Durant's face and causing him to release the ball quickly and to the outside.

The Als' rush lanes were extremely disciplined. In fact, Durant only escaped pressure two times for 18 yards. He was forced to work from the pocket, and according to script, he was much less effective bottled up without the threat of gashing the Als' defence for cheap yards.

As dynamic a player as Darian Durant is, big credit has to go to all three levels of the Alouettes' defence for limiting him to 22 completions on 40 attempts. Wind or not, the paucity of that completion percentage shows how hard Durant had to work against the Als to move the ball through the air. The defensive line did a fine job of containment, the linebackers, particularly Chip Cox, blitzed effectively to change the pace of Durant's delivery, and the secondary broke up enough passes in key down and distance situations to take control of the game when it counted.

Five Plays that Swung the Game

1) Tristan Jackson's first quarter kick return. Even with the wind, Sean Whyte's kickoff was shallow and too far infield on the hash instead of wide to the numbers. Jackson pushed the return back into the field and burst through a hole in coverage just before Walter Spencer could fill it. With good blocking downfield, Jackson took the ball deep into Alouettes territory before he was pushed out by Chip Cox on the Als' 23-yard line. Jackson's big return provided a shift in field position, tilting the field Saskatchewan's way, and gave the Riders a valuable scoring opportunity into the stiff wind.

2) Craig Butler's interception on the Roughriders' two-yard line. With the Als primed to score another major deep in Riders' territory, Butler snatched the ball right off Jamal Richardson's hip to change possession. Richardson had an inch of position on Riders' halfback Nick Graham in the seam, and if he could've tucked the pass away the Als' offence would have been set up right on the goal line. Seven more points with the wind in the first quarter might have changed the complexion of the game early. The turnover was a lifeline to the Riders' on both sides of the ball, and it certainly kept momentum up for grabs throughout the first half.

3) Anthony Calvillo's third-quarter TD Pass to S.J. Green to take the lead. On a critical second-and-six on the Riders' 23-yard line, Calvillo hit Green on a five-yard hook route underneath Saskatchewan's zone coverage. Green turned infield with the ball and sprinted into the endzone for the major that put the Als ahead for good. Having wasted a trip into the redzone with the wind earlier in the first quarter, it was absolutely paramount for Montreal to post seven on the board in this situation, and Calvillo delivered.

4) TD 394 for Calvillo. On another second-and-six from midfield, A.C. hit Tim Maypray for a 55-yard score to give the Als an insurmountable 21-point lead in the final frame. Calvillo delivered the ball in stride to Maypray running the deeper of two crossing routes on the play, with S.J. Green underneath him drawing coverage. Considering Maypray's speed and the fact that the route put Riders' LB Sean Lucas in trail position, the pass was a TD as soon as it was caught. The remaining YAC yards were merely a formality. Anticipation, accuracy, execution—a perfect way for Calvillo to tie the all-time record for TD passes.

5) Billy Parker's third-down pass defense with 3:45 remaining. Inside the Als' redzone and threatening to tighten the game to a one-score affair, the Riders gambled on a third-down conversion. On the play, Durant targeted Chris Getzlaf on a slant route breaking at eight yards. Parker undercut the route and slapped the ball down with is left hand. Not only did Parker's play turn the ball over on downs, it short-circuited a potential scoring drive by the Riders that would've made the final three minutes of the game a very tense affair for Als fans.

Up Next

Be sure to check back Thursday for my preview of the Alouettes' game against the Toronto Argonauts. I'll be taking a close look at the importance of controlling field position in the match-up, and I'll break down the impact of special teams on the outcome of the tilt.

Until then, enjoy the win, reset, and get ready for Friday night.