Post game thoughts on the Montreal Alouettes victory over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers

In their first regular season home game, the Montreal Alouettes were able to upend the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 41-30 to even their record to 1-1.

Why did the Alouettes win?

Fast starts in the first and third quarters respectively set the tone for the home side, as quarterback Anthony Calvillo was able to dissect Winnipeg's defense as he passed for 443 yards and three touchdowns. In-total he found nine different receivers who had at least one reception.

Secondly, the involvement of running back Brandon Whitaker was the difference on why the Alouettes were able to come away with the victory.

Last year's three games against the Blue Bombers, Whitaker was able to churn out 306 total yards. On Friday night he continued on with the beat as he had accumulated 235 total yards.

Furthermore, in 2011, the Alouettes had a record of 8-2 when Whitaker had 20 or more touches on the football. Head coach Marc Trestman kept with that script as he allowed Whitaker to take over the football game.

What do the Alouettes need to improve on?

As it has been stressed by many people even including former Alouette Anwar Stewart it will be a process for the defense to understand the schemes and angles in the 3-4 formation.

Already we're seeing the second level of defense being more aggressive, as Shea Emry was in the Blue Bombers backfield throughout the football game.

But it is their secondary that will need some tinkering. With the absence of Dwight Anderson who suffered a finger injury during the practice week did not help the cause.

The secondary was torched by the Blue Bombers offense, as they gave up seven plays of 20 yards or more. Moreover, in the second half, they had four pass interference calls against them. Furthermore, first year player Wopamo Osaisai who replaced Anderson in the lineup was beaten on several plays by the opposition.

Fortunately for the Alouettes, the Blue Bombers were playing from behind, and never were able to keep up with their attack.

Proceed with caution

If I am the coaching staff,  they will need to emphasize to Calvillo to pick his spots on when to bail out from the pocket.

Towards the end of the first half, Calvillo attempted to run for a first down, but landed awkwardly with a Blue Bomber defender on top of him. As a result, it required him to briefly go to the locker room to get it checked out. But shortly thereafter he was back on the field.

The Alouettes know that Calvillo can ill-afford to take any unnecessary hits to his body, considering what he endured the last few seasons. Otherwise, if he does, it could be mean serious problems if he is out for a long duration of time.

Moving on

This was the first of four East division games for the Alouettes before their mid-August bye week. It was imperative for them to get an early win over a Blue Bombers team that still has two more road games to play before their home opener.

Now the Alouettes will face the Calgary Stampeders at home in a rematch of their week one loss on the road. In-fact, this will be their third game in 13 days, and one must wonder how could Trestman approach the upcoming week?

But for now, the nerves of the entire fan base can be relaxed knowing that the Alouettes have one win under their belt.

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Photo credit: www.windsorstar.com