Game Day: 3 KEYS TO VICTORY

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 16/10/2010 (5823 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

1. LET’S GET PHYSICAL

When Winnipeg locked horns with Montreal three weeks ago, the team employed an aggressive style that kept the Alouettes offence off balance for most of the game. Despite the varying success of that plan, one might look at the score (a 44-40 Als win) and think the strategy should be thrown out the window. The players feel otherwise: “They’re kind of like a well-oiled machine. You need to keep them dry,” safety Ian Logan said. “When you get them off track, they can struggle at times.” Winnipeg is at its best when it’s in an upfront, hostile mood. The Montreal receiving corps, specifically Ben Cahoon and Jamel Richardson, are tough nuts to bust open, but Logan feels if you make them think about how hard they’re going to get hit — even for just a split second — it could be the difference between the Als moving the chains and the Bombers fielding a punt. “We played them physical, we brought some pressure and we kept them on their toes,” he added. “When they get comfortable they, no question, they can be the best offence in the league.”

2. TIME AFTER TIME

In the first meeting between the clubs this season, Montreal jumped out to a 24-0 lead and the Bombers never recovered. Three weeks ago, the Bombers matched the Alouettes blow for blow in the early stages and held a nine-point advantage at the half. Getting off to a strong start Sunday is the only way the Bombers stand a chance, the players say. “You have to — they’re going to get off fast and you have to match their intensity early,” SB Terrence Edwards said. “We have to be able to respond when they score. If we can move the ball and keep the best player in the league on the sideline for stretches of the game, then we should be in pretty good shape.” As Edwards suggests, limiting Montreal QB Anthony Calvillo’s face time (specifically when congratulating one of his receivers after a touchdown) will fall to the Winnipeg offence — not the defence. Clock-consuming drives that end in touchdown scores — forget field goals — is the best way to handle the Montreal attack.

3. TAKE ONE (OR THREE) AWAY

Winnipeg has just 27 takeaways against 31 giveaways. That minus-four turnover ratio ranks near the bottom of the league. Montreal has forced 40 turnovers (second in the CFL) and has turned the ball over by way of fumble, interception or on downs just 22 times — good for tops in the league. They don’t make a habit of turning the ball over — period. Case in point: In two the games against the Bombers this season, Montreal has just one turnover. “We scored a defensive touchdown the last game against Montreal, which hardly ever happens,” Bombers head coach Paul LaPolice offered, recalling the play where DE Odell Willis sacked Calvillo, forced him to fumble, and LB Joe Lobendahn picked up the ball and went in for the major. Winnipeg, on the other hand, has had three fumbles and two interceptions against the Als — a stat that needs to be cleaned up during Sunday’s game. Montreal coach Marc Trestman has built a program long on execution and short on mistakes, so turnovers are in limited supply. The plan for the Bombers: Make a play on the ball, whether it’s in the air or tucked under the arm of an Alouettes player.