It has been interesting to watch the
Canadian Football League’s Montreal Alouettes this season. Here in the States,
CFL football has not always been available on television, but this year there a
CFL package is available.
Consistent readers know that your
loyal blogger has been interested in recent years in the career of Montreal’s
history-making quarterback, Anthony Calvillo. Calvillo is professional
football’s all-time leader in passing yardage and has some other records within
reach. He is second only to Brett Farve in both scoring passes and completions.
Well, those marks were within reach. Maybe not so much now.
For some reason, the Als (that’s what
their fans call them) hired a head coach from here in the United States with no
CFL experience. That guy hired a non-CFL guy to be the offensive coordinator.
Montreal is 1-3 this season and the
offense has been a problem. The team isn’t scoring many points. That makes
things hard for the Montreal defense, which has played well.
Last year’s team, which was coached by
a CFL veteran, scored 478 points in 18 games, one of only two teams in the
league to score 450 or more. Only the BC Lions scored more points than the Als
and BC scored 479. This year, the Als are averaging 24.3 points a game.
Last year, Calvillo completed 60
percent of his passes and finished second in the league with 5,082 yards
(averaging 282.33 per game). He tossed 31 scoring passes and was intercepted 14
times.
This year, Calvillo has averaged
208.25 yards and has as many scoring passes as he does interceptions, four each,
in four games.
It says here the problem is not
Calvillo. The problem is the coaching staff, which has not adapted well to the
Canadian game. We read recently that the team has brought in an offensive coach
with CFL experience, which might help. It might also help to scrap this new
offense, print up copies of last year’s playbook, and get back to playing
Montreal Alouette football.
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