MONTREAL - Alouettes Game Wrap Week 7: Edmonton Eskimos

Sometimes the best way to bring down a dangerous opponent is to land a big shot to his jaw as soon as the bell rings. That's exactly what the Alouettes' defence did to Edmonton Thursday night from the first series on.

In all the years I've followed the Alouettes, I've rarely seen the defence as relentless as they were against the Esks. In the first half alone, the Als' front seven posted five sacks and caused a turnover. They also held the Eskimos' running game to negative yards heading into the locker room.

Chip Cox, Moton Hopkins, and the rest of the Als' D swarmed Ricky Ray all night long, making it impossible for Edmonton to have any rhythm in their passing game at all. The Alouettes' pressure took away Ray's passing lanes and erased the time he usually has to let plays develop.

The pass rush was so comprehensive there simply weren't any avenues for Ray to escape. And the flood of Als' defenders into Edmonton's backfield completely nullified the Esks' rushing attack as well.

Add to that furious display of defence the cold efficiency of Anthony Calvillo, Brandon Whitaker, Jamel Richardson, and the rest of the Als' offence and you have the makings of the 27-4 beat down we all witnessed.

Defensive Display of Power

With all the gaudy defensive stats the Alouettes' posted Thursday night, it would be almost impossible to pick one that stood out. Six sacks on Ricky Ray, only 283 offensive yards given up, no TDs surrendered, negative rushing yards allowed. It all combined to turn the game into a 27-4 smackdown.

Even ranking the big plays would be difficult. Moton Hopkins' back-to-back sacks would be high on the list. Chip Cox's strip sack would be, too. But it would be ludicrous not to count the times Anwar Stewart, Diamond Ferri, and Eric Wilson stepped up to stuff Jerome Messam in the Eskimos' backfield. Or the number of passes defensed by Mark Estelle and company on the back end.

The Alouettes' defence played as comprehensively brutal a game as I've seen in years. And it was a thing of beauty to witness.

Heading into the tilt, all the weight for cutting the Eskimos down to size fell on the shoulders of the Als' D. Just like Winnipeg had done in week 6, Montreal had to punish Ricky Ray repeatedly to get him off his game for the team to win. Historically, saying that has been much less difficult than doing it.

Thursday night, the Als' defence made some history instead of following it.

Optimus Prime Time

The word "unstoppable" might be used a little too often as a descriptor for football players. Thursday night against the Esks' defence, however, Jamel Richardson was just that.

On the night, Richardson (aka Optimus Prime) pulled in seven passes for 131 yards and two majors. Over and again, Richardson found space behind Edmonton's coverage to haul in balls for long gains.

More than any other facet of Richardson's game, his ability to fight for inside position on DBs makes him the perfect threat in red zone situations. And he really exploited this talent for boxing out defenders against the Eskimos. Those two post routes for majors were prime time plays that put the game out of reach for the Als. As much as the Eskimos had to know the plays were coming, Richardson managed to make them look like catches against air at practice.

Five Plays that Swung the Game

1) 70,000 Yards A.C. (1st Quarter, :36)

Okay, I know this play didn't swing much of the game. But A.C.'s accomplishment was just too significant to ignore. Truth be told, the real reason I made the trip up to Montreal for this game was to see Anthony Calvillo burst through the 70,000-yard mark. Watching A.C. complete his first pass to Jamel Richardson for nine yards to push his career yardage total to 70,004 made the whole trip worthwhile. The rest of the game was just lagniappe for me. On the play, Richardson ran a quick out route from the right slot after some high motion. Calvillo put the ball right on him coming out of his break, easy as could be. Efficient, successful, Calvillo. I can't say enough how much of a privilege it is to watch A.C. operating at such a high standard, and with the 70K mark in the books, I'd love to see him make a run at 80,000 now.

2) Jamel Richardson's 14-Yard TD Grab. (1st Quarter, 07:13)

On second and 10 from the Eskimos' 14-yard line, Richardson ran a post pattern to the back of the end zone out of high motion. Eskimos' safety Donovan Alexander cheated up to cover Brandon Whitaker out of the backfield on the play, leaving Richardson all kinds of space in the deep middle of Edmonton's secondary. HB Jykine Bradley had no chance of defending the play from his trailing position, and judging by his reaction after the play, it was pretty clear Bradley was expecting some help from Alexander. The result of Alexander's mistake was a quick seven points for the Als. As it turned out, that was all the scoring Montreal would need Thursday night considering how lights-out the defence played.

3) Shea Emry's Fumble Recovery. (1st Quarter, 10:23)

On first and ten from their own 24-yard line, the Eskimos ran an off-tackle draw to Jerome Messam out of the shotgun. LB Chip Cox looped around the left side of the Esks' offensive line untouched to meet Messam two yards behind the line of scrimmage. On the tackle, Cox did an excellent job of putting his helmet on the ball to cause the fumble. When the ball bounced into open space, Emry was right there to scoop it up at 17-yard line. If he'd kept his balance, Emry would've scored for sure. As it was, the turnover led to a quick three points, tilting the field all the way towards Montreal's side of things with a two-score lead.

4) TD 400 for Calvillo. (2nd Quarter, 11:53)

With the Als facing a second and 10 from Edmonton's 28-yard line, the Esks chose to rush five defenders out of a 30 front, dropping seven men into coverage. Montreal's offensive line did a superb job of picking up the rush, particularly Josh Bourke who rode Esks' DE Markus Howard behind the play to give Calvillo plenty of time to deliver the pass. Jamel Richardson ran a skinny post from the left of the Als' formation cutting in front of DB Rod WIlliams, and Calvillo hit him easily right before he ran behind the left upright. The TD gave Calvillo 400 for his career, making him only the fourth quarterback in pro football history to surpass the mark (along with Brett Favre, Dan Marino, Warren Moon). Beyond the historical terms, the TD pass to Richardson gave the Alouettes a 20-3 halftime lead that simply wasn't going away.

5) Tim Maypray 72-yard Missed Field Goal Return. (4th Quarter, :22)

Much more than just preserving the single point a rouge would've cost the Als, Maypray's return provided a rapid return of field position that allowed Montreal to keep a firm control of the remainder of the game. Down 23-4 with the possibility of playing the rest of the game in Als territory, the Esks' offence might've woken up down the stretch of the game. Maypray's return eliminated any risk of field position spurring an Eskimo comeback, and it set up a punt single for the Als to push the lead to 24-4. In a game long over by competitive standards, Maypray's play served as a nice kill shot.

Up Next

The Alouettes might be on bye next week, but Bedell's Blitz won't be. Check back Friday for my Als' Report Card at the Break.

Until then, take care. And be sure to get your rest over the bye. There won't be time for any of that once the team's back in business.