Saskatchewan Roughriders @ Winnipeg Blue Bombers - November 9, 2024

Kickoff: 05:30 PM CST / 06:30 PM EST

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Don't end your run on the wrong side of the results

First of all, I never expected the riders to turn around this quickly. I was very happy with this season, and wouldn't have been mad if they lost this game if they had put in more effort. Completely outplayed by Winnipeg, and terrible coaching call to go for it on 3rd and 3 deep in our own half with lots of time left. Happy with how far they got but very disappointed with the performance tonight.

Is it Dustin Peterson? His excitement level is authentic and infectious. Also, It pains me to say this as a Bomber fan but I would not be surprised at all if the riders came back and won

I am loving that they have live mics all over the field. There have been no cuts so it's in real time. It's just fascinating to hear the dialogue that occurs on the field and on the sidelines

Could it be in the Northern states?

I'm sorry but the Grey cup in 2007 was Ryan Dinwiddies first CFL start in his first CFL season as a backup. There is no comparison to Nick Arbuckle who has started 24 CFL games and has been in the league since 2018.

Toronto wins but they don’t have Chad Kelly . So unless Toronto does something akin to 2022. They are probably gonna get beat. But for now , Congratulations Argos for being the beasts of the east.

Toronto Argonauts @ Montreal Alouettes - November 9, 2024

Kickoff: 03:00 PM EST / 03:00 PM EST

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Saskatchewan Roughriders @ Winnipeg Blue Bombers - November 9, 2024

Kickoff: 05:30 PM CST / 06:30 PM EST

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For more information see: https://www.cfl.ca/where-to-watch-2024-cfl-broadcast-information/

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Game Preview:The Saskatchewan Roughriders (9-8-1) @ The Winnipeg Blue Bombers (11-7)

#Overview

Once again, the Prarie rivals sit on top of the West divison with a Grey Cup berth running through IG Field in Winnipeg. Both of these teams have had very similar seasons in terms of struggles with Winnipeg being slow out of the gate versus Saskatchewans hot start. Inversely, Wininpeg dominated the league with a convincing multi-week win streak whereas the Riders team basically flopped and floundered around until the last couple of months. Both of these teams are fielding veteran gunslingers, deep receiving corps, great running and absolutely stellar defensive play. As a neutral fan this would be a very exciting matchup, but I think if I can speak for fans on both team its hard to not come into these matchup days without feeling dread. There's simply nothing better than beating your rival to go onto the Grey Cup, and there is nothing worse than having your rivals snatch your chain and win in the big dance which is the two opposite end of the spectrum that fans of both of these teams have felt. Ultimately doesn't matter how Saskatchewan fans feel about these O'Shea lead Bomber teams, the hard truth is that they won't get over the hump UNTIL they beat Winnipeg at home and Corey Mace and the explosive Saskatchewan defense are going to be looking to do just that tonight in Winnipeg.

Inversely, I see this game as an opportunity for Collaros and company to really cement their legacy as one of the leagues best dynasties. Nobody is ever going to come close to those Edmonton teams of the 80s, but with a win today it would be Winnipeg's 5th straight Grey Cup appearance and a win would give them 3/5 which is something that I personally have never seen in my lifetime. Hell I don't think I've even seen a team make 5 Grey Cups in a row. I have to feel like a win tonight and a win in the cup would really put players like Stanley Bryant and Willie Jefferson in GOAT status.

For the unitiated, I always like to state my biases when I do these writeups just because I value "fairness" or whatever my perception of "fair" is when I talk about these teams and I'm going to be honest here. I love this Saskatchewan team under Corey Mace, and my hate for Winnipeg under Mike O'Shea has only grown every single year they run the league. I'm sick of them, I irrationally believe the league and referees favour them in games and most of all I'm tired of hearing about how GREAT they are when they aren't even playing. The hate I have for this Winnipeg is very similar to the hate I had for the Anthony Calvillo led Montreal Alouettes and the Bo Levi Mitchell led Calgary Stampders. Its a respectful hatred, but it is still hatred and if you're reading these writeups and feel like there's a hint of bias, that would be why lol. Ultimately nobody hates the Roughriders more than Saskatchewan fans so another Western Final loss to Winnipeg would be another shit cherry on top of a shit sundae for me.

Depth Charts and Statistics:

The Saskatchewan Roughriders | The Winnipeg Blue Bombers

CFL Divisional Final Injury Reports

CFL Week 21 Offensive Line Rankings: A last-second switch at the top

CFL Week 22 PFF Team of the Week

PFF's 2024 All-CFL Team and Season Awards

Best of the Best: Oliveira, Mitchell lead 2024 All-CFL Selections

CFL Divisional All-Star Team and Player Awards: Harris and Mitchell Headline 2024 Divisional All-CFL Squads

Mitchell, Oliveira Headline 2024 CFL Award Nominees

^Italicized ^Name ^Denotes ^All-CFL ^nomination

^Bolded ^Name ^Denotes ^PFF ^All-CFL ^Nomination

Previous Matchup

July 19th: Saskatchewans defense eats Winnipeg alive en route to a 19-9 win

September 1st: Winnipeg's Defense Holds On to steal a game in Regina, winning 35-33

September 7th: Winnipeg's Defense secures the divisional lead and the season series with a 26-21 victory

Team Statistics: Regular Season

#The Saskatchewan Roughriders Overview

It was anything but a normal season for Saskatchewan under their first year with new head coach Corey Mace but his impact on the teams defense was noticeable almost immediately. I wasn't that the defense was bad under Jason Shivers, but the unit couldn't make the most of the opportunities provided by the strong pass rush on top of glaring discipline issues. Saskatchewan's defense is still one of the most penalized units in the league, but under Corey Mace this defense has become the best playmaking unit in the league leading the league in turnovers forced by a significant margin as Saskatchewan finished the season with a +26 turnover ratio, 16 whole points higher than the next ranked team which is Montreal's talented defense. Being able to get the ball back for the offense has been crucial in winning ball games down the stretch and an emerging run game almost makes up for the season of offensive failures and injuries. It would be ignorant for me to blame injuries and refeering for Saskatchewan's losses when simply the team hadn't executed well enough to win ball games throughout the middle of the season. With the exception of maybe the first BC game, every single loss this team suffered this season was winnable with penalties and broken assignments usually being the main culprit. If you want to beat Winnipeg you have to be able to execute and rarely make mistakes.

The Saskatchewan Roughriders Offense

I wasn't faithless when thinking about the Roughriders offense coming into the 2024 season, but I was disappointed at the lack of a contingency plan for player injuries and ultimately felt like that reared its ugly head for Jeremy O'Day and the Roughriders offensive line this season. Trevor Harris is an elite quarterback for his age, but he's 38 years old and virtually immobile. Most fans recognize that its no longer a question of "If", but "When" when it comes to quarterback injuries and surely enough, this Saskatchewan offense was without Trevor Harris for a good quarter of the season. This is devastating offensively for a lot of reasons, but it actively hampered any sort of cohesion that was being built up front with the offensive line as the team couldn't rely on rushing to gain yards and were basically forced to air it out every single game with Shea Patterson. Sometimes it worked out for the offense thanks to the elite receiving talent that Saskatchewan has developed, but more often than not it failed and the biggest blessing for the Riders season was Harris coming back into the starting lineup with many weeks left on the calender, to help better build that cohesion with the offensive line. I'll even go against the grain when I say this Riders offensive line has the potential to be the best in the league and a big reason for that is thanks to Harris's quick release but also his influence as a veteran QB which isn't a benefit Saskatchewan has had this decade for long.

When Trevor Harris is in the groove and in a rhythm, its really hard for opposing defenses to stop those long drives which kill the clock and tire out a defensive secondary which is what happened last week against BC's defense. Defensively the BC Lions did not play poorly, but Trevor Harris and the Riders run game were able to control the clock for 34 minutes versus BC's 25. What makes this offensive approach so successful for Saskatchewan is because the defense is excellent playing against offenses that need to score and its when you start to see the turnovers beging to stack up. This is a luxury against most opposing defenses because of their inexperience playing veteran quarterbacks, but Saskatchewan isn't going to have this luxury against this Winnipeg defense which is virtually designed to suffocate offenses to get the ball back for their explosive offense. Even if you beat this Bombers defense for a score, they'll usually come out the next drive playing even better and for as much as Saskatchewan is going to want to control the ground and keep Zach Collaros off the field, I also think you need to attack Winnipeg with deep shots and stretch out this defensive secondary deeper than what they're usually tested with (not a knock, its scheme).

The Saskatchewan Roughriders Defense

The Saskatchewan defense has been nothing short of incredible this season lead by the venerable Micah Johnson and the sensational Rolan Milligan Jr. Turnovers have been whats made this defense so good this season, but whats been a little underappreciated this season among the Riders fans has been the stellar play of Micah Johnson and the defensive interior which to my mind was this teams greatest weakness in the Fajardo era. Micah Johnson was monstrous stopping both the run and in pass rush and he strung together a defensive performance all year that was on par with his performance in 2018, when I thought he should have won the defensive player of the year award in Calgary. Being so effective against the run is essential for CFL defensive football because it allows your linebackers, defensive halfbacks and corner backs to play off line a little bit more and pick up some tendencies when stopping the pass, which is how this defense exploded into one of the leagues best this season. When your defenders aren't having to get off blocks to come down and make a play, it opens up possibilities for how you want to attack the opposing passing game and its made for really exciting football this season including a decisive, dominate win last week over BC with this secondary nabbing 3 picks from Vernon Adams last week.

In 3 games this season against Winnipeg, the Saskatchewan defense was able to keep Brady Oliveira under 50 yards in every game as well as keeping Collaros under 300 each game. 2 of these games were losses and in both losses, the defense committed bad penalties which kept Zach Collaros and the Bombers offense on the field which ultimately let them to grind out those games for wins to control the division. For as good as this defense has been against the run this season, a lot of attention defensively is going to be given to Oliveira both in the run game and checking down in the passing game and Saskatchewan can ill-afford to give Winnipeg free penalty yards when the offense is on the field. The threat of Olievira out of the backfield takes a lot of attention away from centre field, which Winnipeg loves to attack with Demski and Lawler and Winnipeg is going to gameplan around getting these guys their 1-on-1 matchups against the linebackers for Saskatchewan. If you take away the middle of the field for Collaros and you manage well enough against Brady Oliveira in the passing game, then it opens up opportunities for this defense to loosen up in deep coverage and potentially nab an interception or two. I honestly can't see Saskatchewan winning this game tonight without defensive turnovers and historically, Corey Mace defense have struggled to contain the check down options, especially when their as talented as Brady Oliveira.

The Saskatchewan Roughriders Special Teams

Saskatchewan's special teams this season have been a definite weak point of the team. Brett Lauther can still be a high volume, efficient kicker but his best days are behind him and you're less likely now to win a game off of his leg than you were in previous seasons. Mario Alford is a solid returner and Saskatchewan has benefitted from great returns all year, but this team will lose the field position more often than not in the punt game and if they want to beat Winnipeg at home, Korsak and the cover teams need to be lights out tonight.

#The Winnipeg Blue Bombers Overview

Despite how most CFL fans felt during the first quarter of the season when this team was sucking, I knew that it wasn't going to last long. There was a lot of reasons behind the losing streak obviously, but you aren't going to be able to rest starters for the season during preseason, and expect those players to produce because the actual cadence and rhythm of a game during game day is a hell of a lot different than facing pumped in noise playing against guys you see every day. Whether or not you agree on the decision is irrelevant at this point, but it took this offense a few weeks to wake up where this defense turned into the best unit I've seen out of Winnipeg since 2011. Some people suspect that Zach Collaros's best days are behind him and that may be true from a maneouverability standpoint, but he's still such a lethal gunslinger that can perfectly dissect a defense and place absolute beautiful footballs that only his receivers can catch and Brady Oliveira has been the biggest reason for this teams sucess offensively this season with both his prowess running and in passing situations. Complete, all around back at the top of his game.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers Offense

I don't think it would be unfair to say this was an underwhelming season for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers offense with the level of talent on the roster and its also not unfair to say that Zach Collaros had an unusually down season by his standards throwing nearly as many interceptions as he did touchdowns. I've mentioned this somewhere earlier, but I truly believe the reason you're seeing a lack of a dominant offense throughout the whole season is because of the level of the defensive talent in the league is greater now than ever before and a lot of the "down play" we're seeing from offensive lines is in part due to that. Winnipegs offensive line was miserable to start the season and as a result, this offense basically floundered through the first part of the season until I really think Buck Pierce bit the bullet and started adjusting his offense around short, quick release passing with a healthy diet of running the ball. Nobody in the league runs harder than Brady Oliveira, and the only RB that contributes more in the passing game (because the offense is desgined around it) is William Fletcher in Montreal. This offense also still has a plethora of elite receiving talent with players like Ontaria Wilson emerging as a top target for Zach and this offense. Nic Demski and Kenny Lawler are still very much elite receiving options, Lawler is more than likely the best route running receiver in the league and I also think you could argue that he has better body control than any receiver in this league, and Nic Demski is still your quintessential CFL gadget player.

In 3 games against Saskatchewan this season, the Winnipeg offense has struggled to get going offensively but have been able to perform and produce enough to let their defense take over the ball game and suffocate a win out of their prarie rivals. The offensive line may have allowed only 4 sacks in 3 games, they also allowed Zach Collaros to take some of his worst hits in his career in Winnipeg with immense pressure from the defensive interior and in particular, overloading the right side of the offensive line and splitting the gap between Kolankowski, Neufeld and Lofton. The best way to beat a defense that does this, is to attack them in the run game on the other side and I'm going to be looking for Liam Dobson and Stanley Bryant to get downfield in the run game early and set the tone of the rest of these big boys up front. Another element of this game is the Bombers receiving corps versus Saskatchewans defensive secondary and while you expect Demski and Lawler to win more than they lose, you're going to want to have your secondary options like Wilson, Whitehead, Wheatfall and Clericus to step it up in a big way and become reliable options for Zach today at the first down marker. Saskatchewan's defensive secondary is really good at committing turnovers, but this is ultimately a bend-but-don't-break defense and if you can keep them on the field for long, run heavy drives then I really like Winnipegs odds of making another cup.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers Defense

Straight up, this defense was able to take the next step from an already successful unit and all it took was firing Richie Hall. Jokes aside its the defensive approach which has made this defense so elite this season. Its easy to get fooled by the stat sheet with this teams lack of sacks this season but the reality is they're still getting pressure, playing CONTAIN, while also completely locking up any receiving options and I've been admittedly a little surprised at the lack of all-star nominations in the Winnipeg linebacking corps. Willie Jefferson is still this teams most impactful defensive player, but I think Kramdi and Jones were absolutely lights out and big driver for this teams defensive success this season. These are linebackers that are as fast as safeties, but they hit hard which easily disrupts concentration and suddenly you're looking at a 2nd and 10, which this defense makes feel like a 2nd and 40. There is arguably no worse feeling in football as fan than knowing your team needs to score a passing touchdown against a great pass defense like this one and as a result, Winnipeg defensively needs to prepare for a rushing attack from Saskatchewan tonight.

Before the season started, I think Mueller and Mace had every time to make this offense into a ground and pounder that burns clock, wears defenses down with Ouellette and controls the game all year long. While that has been happening of late, Saskatchewan's rushing offense hasn't been super successful this season thanks to injuries to different running backs and offensive lineman, but AJ Ouellette being able to take over the ball game offensively last week and will his way to a first down was the whole reason this team picked up Ouellette and when AJ played these guys in the first matchup this season, he averaged 5.2 runs a carry on 17 carries. This defense is built to stop the passing attack and often are not put into run stopping situations that require extra defenders, so its going to be interesting to me to see how Younger plays his linebackers tonight with the runningbacks for Saskatchewan drawing more attention than they had in prior matchups. Trevor Harris is going to come into this game trying to nickle and dime the Winnipeg defense and loosen up the soft zones between the numbers while also digging the boundaries to death. The Winnipeg defense is perfectly equipped to stop this type of small ball offensive play, but only if they're able to win on the 1st down run.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers Special Teams

Complaining about Sergio Castillo would be kind of like the pot calling the kettle black for me, but I don't think either of these teams want to be in a situation tonight where they need a field goal to win. Yes, both kickers have walked off teams this year but they've also actively cost their teams games. In general Winnipeg has a very strong special teams unit, specifically when it comes to covering kicks. Inversely, Winnipeg has been one of the worst returning teams in football this season and if they want to win this football game, an easy way to do it would be to return the ball well and win the field position battle.

Keys to the game

The Saskatchewan Roughriders - Get the RBs going:

Saskatchewan's offensive identity this season has been mostly based around the short and intermediate passing game. Trevor Harris loves his 10 yard digs and hooks, but I think AJ Ouellette returning to the lineup last week was a boon for this offense and as I always say, the best way to beat a great defense is to run it down their throats.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers - Collapse the Pocket:

With each passing year, Trevor Harris becomes more and more immobile in the pocket and its no secret that when you're able to successfully close the pocket on him, he's essentially uselss. I know Younger is going to playing a lot of contain from his defensive ends tonight but honestly, on passing situations I'd like to see these edge rushers crash the tackles and box Trevor Harris, making it harder to get the ball out.

The Saskatchewan Roughriders - Stop Brady Oliveira at the point of attack:

Brady Oliveira's a talented running back in many different ways, but his best attribute to me is his ability to ignore the first contact. He's incredibly proficient at bouncing off of tackles and when these defenders are going to have to come down field and get up to body Oliveira, they need to go low and make sure they're wrapping up so he doesn't bounce off for an easy extra yards of gain. In the Eastern Final last week there was a moment where 4 defenders were trying to tackle Ka'Deem Carey and instead, allowed him to churn for an extra couple of yards. Saskatchewan can ill afford to let Brady O get going.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers - Don't be afraid to check down

Winnipeg's offense certainly isn't one to abuse the deep seams and always look deep, but I think even the biggest Winnipegs fans have to admit that Zach Collaros could do a better job of checking down to receivers instead of always trying to push it downfield. Its not necessarily through lack of trying, but if Pierce and Collaros can peel checkdown targets off of blocks then I think it could actually be pretty easy for this offense to move the ball against Saskatchewan.

Conclusion & Prediction

Saskatchewan winning in IG Field to go on to the Grey Cup would be amazing and make up for a lot of heartache over the last few seasons, but unfortunately I have a tough time seeing that happen and I think Winnipeg is going to be lights out defensively tonight.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers defense clutches up at home against The Saskatchewan Roughriders 21-13

How can anyone watch this TOR/MTL game when there's constant (like literally every second of the game) air horns/bells?

Watching muted now. I thought they banned air horns and such last year?

Game Preview: The Montreal Alouettes (12-5-1) @ The Toronto Argonauts (10-8)

#Overview

Once again the Eastern Final will be played between the Montreal Alouettes and the Toronto Argonauts, but this season Montreal took the divisional crown and will be hosting the game in a hostile, air-horn laden environment. As a neutral observer, this matchup has been my favourite in football over the past two seasons and it honestly reminds me of the great Laval vs Montreal rivalry in the RSEQ. Two, dominate orginaztions that are deep and run very well going to battle for the division and another Grey Cup birth and whats more is that both of these teams have been on sort of opposite trajectories from the East Final last year. During the season of play, Montreal became the hottest team in football with the defense coming together at the right time to dominate opponents, and an offense that is always able to move the ball down the field. To me, Toronto is the hottest team in the league coming into the playoffs whereas Montreal has sort of limped into the playoffs and divsional lead thanks to injuries to key players but even in saying that, this is a Montreal team that knows how to win and and its going to be interesting for me to see the energy Montreal plays with tonight through the first 3 quarters of the game.

This is shaping up to be an all-timer between two great offensive teams with exciting defenses. May the more physical team win!

Depth Charts and Statistics:

The Toronto Argonauts | The Montreal Alouettes

CFL Divisional Final Injury Reports

CFL Week 21 Offensive Line Rankings: A last-second switch at the top

CFL Week 22 PFF Team of the Week

PFF's 2024 All-CFL Team and Season Awards

Best of the Best: Oliveira, Mitchell lead 2024 All-CFL Selections

CFL Divisional All-Star Team and Player Awards: Harris and Mitchell Headline 2024 Divisional All-CFL Squads

Mitchell, Oliveira Headline 2024 CFL Award Nominees

^Italicized ^Name ^Denotes ^All-CFL ^nomination

^Bolded ^Name ^Denotes ^PFF ^All-CFL ^Nomination

Previous Matchup

June 28th: Defense dominates as Montreal wins the first battle 30-20

July 11th: Toronto returns the favour and dominates Montreal 37-18

September 28th: Makai Polk pops off to secure the season series over Montreal as Toronto wins 37-31

Team Statistics: Regular Season

#The Toronto Argonauts Overview

While I certainly expected the Toronto's Argonauts to win the game, I certainly did not expect the near 60 burger that this offense and defense dropped on a very good and very competitive Ottawa team. Chad Kelly had a damn near perfect performance at the helm of this offense and there were so many situations last week where his balls were right on the money in absolutely PERFECT coverage. As the game went on the run game became more involved but ultimately it was the arm of Kelly down the field which dominated the game and put Ottawa in a really difficult position to come back and win the ball game. Defensively the Argos were far from lights out, but when the lights were shining the brightest this defense stepped up and even scored twice themselves with a pick six from Benji Franklin and an amazing lateral play that opened up a touchdown for Wnyton McManis and Tyshon Blackburn. What I found strange about the game watching as a neutral observer, was really that Toronto felt like they were in complete control of the ball game after the second quarter, even though it had been a close ball game up until the defensive pick sixes. This team has been executing so well on the offensive side of the ball and the vaunted Montreal defense will have to bring a lot of speed and heat to stop this Toronto offense from protecting the ball, controlling the clock and running it down the throats of the defense.

The Toronto Argonauts Offense

Chad Kelly is one of the more interesting quarterbacks in this league for me for a multitude of reasons, because when he's on fire like he was last week this team is bordeline unstoppable. Against Ottawa he had great presence of mind and calm under pressure, and Kelly was getting SMOKED by the Ottawa defensive line and still produced a near 400 yard and 5 touchdown performance. My biggest problem with Kelly aside from stating the obvious, is when he's off his game. You hear talk about rhythm quarterbacks like Trevor Harris and how important it is to knock them out of sync, but when Chad Kelly is off and in his head he is one of the worst quarterbacks and decision makers I've ever seen and this Montreal defense had their magnum opus against Chad Kelly last year in the Eastern Final. In that game, Chad Kelly threw for 4 interceptions and nearly had a lot more, but you could see it in his head with every bad decision and when he's an interception or two deep, its almost like his brain completely shuts off and he starts airing it out to anybody and everybody despite the coverage or whatever looks the defense is doing. This isn't the same Montreal defense as last years thanks to the dumbassery of Shawn Lemon, but this is still a very good defense and an elite defensive secondary that has basically been the main reason for Montreal holding on to the divisional lead. Against these Als, Chad Kelly is going to have to be on top of his game and utilize his athleticism running the ball to spread out these linebackers in coverage and open up more opportunities to get your guys open in space.

Toronto offensively has been very pass heavy with the season winding down, but truthfully I still think this offenses strength is in the run game, specifically the offensive line. Toronto's offensive line had an up and down season this year thanks in part to league defenses improving steadily, but the interior of this offensive line has really struggled in pass blocking situations and Montreal has a great, physical three man rotation at DT in Uguak, Wiggan and Wynn. Kelly and the Argonaut offense are likely going to want to get revenge for last years Eastern Final with a stellar throwing performance to sort of get Marc Antonie-Dequoy and their monkey off of his back, but I think Toronto would be foolish to ignore the rushing attack like they did last week and I think this offense needs to be careful and gameplan some sort release routes and getting Ka'Deem Carey open in space. To me, Anthony Vandal is the most important player for Toronto tonight at right guard. When these teams played this season, no Toronto quarterback was able to throw for over 300 yards and in both wins against Montreal this season, Ka'Deem Carey was heavily involved in the run game and the passing attack. Going to be looking for that versatility from him tonight as Toronto looks to secure a 2nd Grey Cup berth in 3 years.

The Toronto Argonauts Defense

One of the more frustrating teams to write about this season defensively for me have been the Argos, because you'll have moments throughout the season where this defensive front seven look like demigods that'll force any offense in football to go 2-and-out drive after drive, but this is a defensive secondary that can also simeltaneously be the worst in football giving up deep balls time and time again. Ultimately, defensive secondary play is what won the Eastern Semi-Final last week and in 3 games of play against Montreal, this defensive secondary intercepted Montreal quarterbacks 4 times and only really allowed Cole Spieker to get going across 3 games. Some of this downplay from the defensive secodnary can be placed on the shoulders of youth and injury, but in recent weeks this defense and in particular Benji Franklin have almost started to piece it together and are stringing along really nice performences along the way. Montreal offensively has also been hampered by injury, but this is a unit that prizes speed and athleticism after the catch to move the sticks and this Montreal offense in the passing attack is being a little bit slept on. KJB and Austin Mack are obviously the big names that will draw targets, but Cole Spieker at SB has been an Argonaut killer this season with 17 catches across 3 games, for 283 yards and 2 touchdowns.

For the gamers on this subreddit, the Montreal offense plays very similar to a madden style offense. Its a team that loves moving defenders around with motion, pre play misdirection to move defenders off the line and give space for an easy check down or short completion that can easily turn up for 10-15 yards a play. This offense utilizes a lot of short and intermediate passing routes before attacking deep to one of these great route runners and William Fletcher is as much a wide receiver for this offense as he is a running back. Screens, reverses and drags are all plays that Maas and Fajardo LOVE to attack, making use of the soft zones to tighten up coverage which in terms opens up 1-vs-1 opportunities where these receivers win more often than not. This is going to put a lot of emphasis on getting after the quarterback quickly from interior pass rush, but its also going to require Wynton McManis to play off of the line and direct traffic for his defense to match the activity of Montreals receiving corps. Montreal isn't a rushing team this season straight up and instead, has been more focused on efficient offensive football with points on the board and time off the clock. Maas and company love setting up short downs and for me, a big component of tonights game for Toronto's defense is going to be to win on 1st down and put this Montreal offense in long conversion situations. Outside of the first game between these teams, Toronto's offense has done a good job of keeping Montreals offense quiet thanks to constant and heavy pass rush looking to box Fajardo in and close those escape routes. To me, this is a game where the linebacking corps can take over and really dictate how this defense is attacking Montreal before snaps. As a result, I'm putting a lot of pressure tonight on Darkangelo and Adeleke, both players will be attacked tonight and made to run and getting those 2-and-outs for recovery is going to be essential if Toronto wants to rob Montreal at home.

The Toronto Argonauts Special Teams

The biggest thing to seperate Toronto from the rest of their rivals in the east for me has always been the special teams, but especially now with Janarion Grant returning kicks for the double blue. Toronto dominated Ottawa last week in the field position battle and its thanks in part to Haggerty being a godlike punter and Janarion Grant being a future hall of famer returning the football. If Toronto wants to win the game, they need something on returns from Grant and they need to win the field position battle against a good Montreal ST unit.

#The Montreal Alouettes Overview

Montreal had an interesting season as far as it goes. They had moments this season where they felt like easy reigning champions and clear and away the best team in the league, but really ever since Shawn Lemon left the lineup this team hasn't really played with that same level of intensity and while you lead by example, there were a lot of times this season where it felt like Montreal was coasting to get healthy. Which is valid from a coaching perspective, but frustrating from a fans perspective. Now in saying this, I don't mean to intimate that Montreal has been bad this season but the offense has been made fairly one dimensional around Walter Fletcher and quick check downs, and defensively the front seven hasn't been as productive as you expect to see from this franchise. It is in these matchups where you really begin to feel the veteran leadership and with the seasons Darnell Sankey and Tyrice Beverette had, this team will have a great opportunity to set the tone early and make a red hot Toronto offense to fight for every yard.

The Montreal Alouettes Offense

This Alouettes offense this season certainly underproduced on expectations thanks to a lot of contributing factors such as injuries, and quite frankly crappy playcall. Montreal's offense is almost always able to produce when it counts, but in general this is a very boring 2-and-out machine of an offense that, in the 2nd half of the season almost began spamming small ball to keep defenders from putting Cody Fajardo in the ground. I don't mean any disrespect to the talent on Montreals offense, but in 2024 this offensive line was getting people killed and when this offense started to get quiet at the halfway point, I wondered if Cody Fajardo had been dealing with a lack of mobility because of injury and that was why this offense has been subdued. Remember, to start this season this was an explosive offense with a receiving corps that could hardly be stopped, they attacked you deep, they attacked you short and whats worse is they kept you on the field and made you run. I don't know if Cody Fajardo is healthy or not, but this Alouettes offense is a lot more capable when he's able to roll out of the pocket and throw on the run because of the attention his running draws on defenders. When Fajardo is able to move around and keep fresh, it becomes impossible to tell where the ball is going and this offense eat defenses alive.

The biggest thing Montreal needs tonight from the offense is really a convincing performance from this offensive line unit as a whole. The offensive tackles, in particular McGloster are going to have to be agile tonight against Toronto's athletic defensive line but what I'm mostly going to be looking for is how this interior handles Jake Ceresna and the middle blitz from Toronto's defense. Everybody and their mothers know how Montreal likes to beat the blitz, quick an easy dumpoff to Walter Fletcher who dances for big yards. The problems with plays like this is that you almost become overreliant on that receiving option whenever you feel even an inkling of pressure and tonight against a very strong Toronto defense, Cody needs the time to go through multiple reads and ultimately settle on the right one. Not the one that goes for 3 yards after killing 10 seconds trying to not take a sack. I've also said this a million times, but if Montreal is able to establish some sort of a running presence then this offense becomes really difficult to stop.

The Montreal Alouettes Defense

This Montreal defense hadn't performed the way you expected this defense to just by looking at numbers, but I would argue that no other defense in the CFL has won more ball games for their team than this one. The only defense with a worse opposing time of possession is Ottawa's, but whats more is that the Montreal offense is also not staying on the field and are currently 7th in time of possession. This is a defense that is basically on the field for more than half of their teams snaps this season and there isn't a defense in the history of the league that can hold up when they're on the all the time. I've mentioned before, but the difference between the Montreal defense this year and last year is simply pass rush. With Shawn Lemon at edge this defense was reliably getting pressure with 3 and 4 on any given snap. Now it takes a little bit longer to get home, and as a result the opposing passing offenses have a little bit longer on their routes, which makes it hard for any defender to stop after a while. You are not going to be able to beat Chad Kelly and this Toronto Argonauts offense if you aren't able to get after the quarterback and tonight, I think this defense needs to have a big game from Darnell Sankey at mike and MOC nominee Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund to be disruptive forces and get these guys off the field.

The aspect of the defense that I am not worried about for Montreal is the defensive secondary lead by the speedy Marc-Antonie Dequoy. Whats impressed me this season, is how physical this secondary can get. These guys love getting off of blocks to come downihll and make a big tackle on the ball carrier and with Marc-Antonie Dequoy usually playing zone, if Toronto is able to get a run game going with play action then I don't actually like this DB corps chances tonight against an underrated Toronto receiving corps. Montreal is expecting Toronto to run tonight and they've done so in three games against each other so far. There will be a lot of activity around the line of scrimmage for both of these teams and the edge rushers for Montreal are going to need to collapse the edge and really make it hard for Kelly to throw in those lanes. Stopping Toronto's rushing attack is going to be paramount for victory tonight for Montreal's defense, if they can force Chad Kelly into long bomb situations where the strength of this defense really stands out, then I like Montreals chances of making their 2nd Grey Cup in a row. Najee Murray is going to have a busy night.

The Montreal Alouettes Special Teams

Similar to the defense, this Montreal special teams unit doesn't really put up the gaudy, flashy numbers that you'd like to see but this is a special teams unit that is great at getting downfield and the big play gains, while also reliably returning on their own teams. James Letcher Jr has been one of my favourite returners to watch this season and I think this unit can have a big day if guys like Frederic Gagnon are able to get underneath the pads of his attackers early. This is the most important game of the season for these Montreal cover teams and its going to be interesting to watch how they attack and stop Janarion Grant from breaking one open.

Keys to the game

The Toronto Argonauts - Poise and precision:

As mentioned above, the Toronto Argonauts offense last week was sensational despite struggling against Ottawa's defensive line and a big reason for that was Chad Kelly's calm and poise in the pocket. When he's in control, there's arguably nobody better and if Toronto wants to make the cup again, he needs to be cool under pressure and not get into his own head.

The Montreal Alouettes - Keep Fajardo clean in the pocket:

Sometimes when watching games I will geniunely feel sorry for players for how often they get hit. The players this season who've been smacked around the most in my book has been Jaelon Acklin, Janarion Grant and Cody Fajardo and while he's usually able to get back up and not really let it bother him, a leg injury or mobility issues would actively hamper this offense and the offensive line is going to need to a better job of protecting their veteran signal caller.

The Toronto Argonauts - Stick to your man and don't bite on routes:

The biggest question mark I have for Toronto's defense this season is still the lacklustre performance of this defensive secondary, who by the way are almost as bad as Ottawa's defensive playcalling with a lead. Between the sticks I'm not concerned, but these guys can't get beaten by a step or two on intermediate passing routes because Montreals offense is talented enough to take everything home.

The Montreal Alouettes - Stop the rushing attack

Very aware that this really simplistic, but I ultimately have a hard time seeing Montreal being able to stop Toronto tonight without shutting down the run game. Going to be looking for a monster performance from Dylan Wynn, and Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund.

Conclusion & Prediction

Rare is it for me to debate the winner, but I give Toronto a slight edge coming into this game after a dominant late game performance against Ottawa and right now this is an offense that is a lot hotter than Montreal's right now. I have Toronto pulling away late in the game with another deep ball to Polk or Coxie to take the lead.

The Toronto Argonauts wins close battle against The Montreal Alouettes 35-29

Toronto Argonauts @ Montreal Alouettes - November 9, 2024

Kickoff: 03:00 PM EST / 03:00 PM EST

How to Watch

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For more information see: https://www.cfl.ca/where-to-watch-2024-cfl-broadcast-information/

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