Jul 31 Alouettes Drop 33-19 to Surging Eskimos, Calvillo Reaches Milestone

All good things must come to an end. As far as the Edmonton Eskimos were  concerned, payback was the order of the day and as easy as that, the Montreal Alouettes' four game unbeaten streak came to an end as the Als looked merely mortal against a motivated, momentum driven Eskimos squad. Final score : Montreal 19, Edmonton 33.

Over the last few games, although the Als had been winning, and until last week, by hefty scores, Marc Trestman continued to stress that the team was forgetting about the small details, the fundamentals, that eventually, could lead to missed opportunities , and in the end, a loss instead of a win.

Last night's game was a perfect example of this. 

While the Als did get on board first, it was due to two Damon Duval field goals after the Alouettes made two decent runs downfield but sputtered before being able to score a major in either outing. 

"When you look back at it we could have made a really big dent early in the game, on the road and taken the crowd of it right there," QB Anthony Calvillo said. "But it just wasn't there. It was a couple early mistakes that cost us."

It's not so much mistakes that cost them, but perhaps their opponents are becoming more aggressive both defensively and offensively  when confronting the Alouettes. Calvillo wasn't as easily protected this time out as he was sacked for only the second time this season ans was rushed to the point where throwing the ball away was his only option on more than one occasion.

The Als' offense had to contend with an Eskimo Defensive line that appeared to be constantly anticipating Calvillo's every move. ""You have to give them credit defensively," said Calvillo. "They did a good job staying back, letting us catch the ball underneath and then making the tackle. They pretty much forced us to try and go mistake-free." 

The Eskimos head coach Richie Hall credits his team for building on last week's win over Saskatchewan, where the Eskimos came back from 22-0 to beat the Roughriders 38-33, calling it the turning point in their season. The convincing defeat over the now 4-1 Montreal Alouettes added an exclamation to that point.

Lost in the defeat was the milestone reached by Anthony Calvillo, who he, himself seemed to brush off when he attained it; Calvillo reached the 60,000 yard passing plateau, putting him and Damon Allen as the only QB's in CFL history to pass for that much in their careers. Upon reaching the mark, Calvillo didn't even acknowledge it and quickly gathered his troop in a huddle to discuss the next play. A true team player.

With a core of veterans and a coach who is meticulous in his insistence on detail, the Alouettes will surely look to learn from their last 2 games in particular and one would assume the next few practices will be a return to basics and fundamentals.

The Als will host the 2-2 Toronto Argonauts, who have been dealing with drama of their own, next Friday at Percival Molson Stadium.

For all the stats and the game summary, please visit the Montreal Alouettes recap .  

Tags: 33-19 \ 60000 yards \ Anthony Calvillo \ cfl \ Damon Duval \ Edmonton Eskimos \ football \ game \ july 30 2009 \ Montreal Alouettes \ record \ score \ streak