Hate to say it but this franchise is smelling of the Atlanta Braves and the Buffalo Bills. The law of averages should have helped them win at least two more Grey Cups out of their 6 appearances. Instead, they join the Braves who made the post season 12 times with only 1 championship and the Bills with no Super Bowls in 4 tries. The common denominator in Montreal is Calvillo. They have to let him go but no true replacement is ready so here comes 1 for 7.
Seriously this is harsh you think the MOP award winner is the problem. You can not blame the loss on AC. That is wrong.
Your team was on top of the east division and got a Grey Cup appearance and you want to blame it on AC. Truly sad.
A few things you should consider: First, AC was the MOP but his stats were certainly inflated by the fact that he played against terrible Toronto, Hamilton, and Winnipeg teams. Second, AC had a very average year against the good teams from the Western division (QB rating was off by 55 points, he threw almost as many interceptions as tds). Third, his career playoff numbers have been very pedestrian versus what he posts in the regular season (once again his QB rating dips by 40 points and he has actually thrown more interc. than tds). In all, this is a very good regular season quarterback that does not seem to be able to carry a team on his shoulders in the playoffs (let's not forget that having Hamilton or Ottawa in the East has pretty much guaranteed Montreal a playoff spot since AC has been with the team).
Well you know, partisandelaCF, the other team's players get paid to play the game too.
Maybe instead of trying to pin blame on AC, you should instead give credit where credit is due. The Stampeders, particularly their defence, played really well, especially in the second half.
As I see it, Montreal did not lose the game so much as Calgary won it.
Are we still harping on this…? :roll:
Have you looked at the stats? He completed 170 of his 265 passes (64.2%) for 2,210 yards (315.7 yards/game) for 16 TDs and 7 picks (2.3 TDs and 1 pick).
Burris threw 18 TDs and 8 picks against the West (1.8 TDs and 0.8 picks).
Ray threw 16 TDs and 10 picks against the West (1.6 TDs and 1 pick).
It looks to me like AC played just as well against the West, if not better, than the top two QBs in the West.
The whole year, everyone was saying that the east was weaker, the west was superior, the divisions should be eliminated, etc.
But by that logic, why is it a surprise that the Stampeders won? It sure wasn’t to me, and I’m an Als fan! The best team from the west beat the best team from the east, but the western team was the superior team in all phases of the game. So why are we harping on Calvillo’s inability to win the big game? It’s not like he went out there and tanked against the 4-14 Argonauts or anything. He lost to a great team with no obvious weaknesses, a team with great coaches, great personnel, and great scouting and drafting (as the O-line definitely shows). There is no shame in losing to the 2008 Calgary Stampeders, who were the class of the league all season long and proved it by winning the Grey Cup.
There are people in Toronto, Hamilton, WInnipeg, and Saskatchewan that would take Cavillo in a heartbeat.
Whats wrong with admitting Calgary is a very good team?
Did you bother to look up the stats or did you just make them up?
AC threw 16 TD and 7 ints…That is hardly “almost as many”
And lets not forget(as was constantly) point pointed out!
He played less games against the west! 3 to be exact and had as many TDs as Ray as only 2 less than Burris
AGAIN
In 3 less games!
But he played 4 less games against western teams. But I agree with madjack on this issue.
He played in 3 less games, not 4, and even still, as ro mentioned, he tied Ray for TDs and only had 2 fewer than Burris, and his average was better than both.
I'd say AC himself played better than average against the West.
You can make the compairison to the Braves,but you can't call them the Bills. The ALS have won 1 with Calvillo,it's only 1 but non the less,it's better then 0. Kelly had the big goose egg. The Als also won in the 70's,and the Bills have no super bowls ,what so ever.
Read the comment: my derision for AC was not about losing to the Stamps but about the fact that he has lost 5 out of 6 times in the Grey Cup. Are you telling me that the Alouettes were outmatched every other time? The common denominator in their lack of Grey Cup success is the quarterback who is, rightly or wrongly, held responsible for the performance of the team. Would any qb not be lambasted for being 1 and 5? Was Henry Burris’s ability to win the big game not being questioned before this victory?
What about the double OT loss to Edmonton? You can't just say the Als are 1-5.
AC is mainly responsible for the success of the Als. Without him where would they be? Do you think they would have made 6 Grey Cups? Who knows, but it’s very doubtful. They would probably be a very average team.
[quote="redwhite2005"]Seriously this is harsh you think the MOP award winner is the problem. You can not blame the loss on AC. That is wrong.
Ok, we won't blame AC. We will blame his two 4th quarter interceptions...
Man, there are some serious Calvillo haters on this forum. I don't get it. It can't be Calgary fans because their team just won the Grey Cup. What's up with the rest of you?
"The common denominator in Montreal is Calvillo. They have to let him go but no true replacement is ready so here comes 1 for 7."
What a goofy thing to say.
AC is a Hall of Famer. You should NEVER piss on one of your guys that's been the quality of a Anthony Calvillo. Cut him? As an Argo's fan I'm highly unimpressed by the very thought of that suggestion.
Each athlete competes with other athletes, time, "luck" and a whole host of other factors. What makes a certain player better than another? We have an issue with counting championships as a major factor into a players legacy and with that, Dan Marino comes to mind. Marino is always remembered for being one of - if not the best QB without the ring. Comparing Marino to another QB like Jim Kelly would make people scoff at the very thought as he would be considered a far better QB than Kelly. But then again, Kelly did lead his team four times to the Super Bowl, whereas Marino only got the Dolphins there once. Who did more? Who was better? In the end, it's about championships... I suppose. We could argue this for a real long time but we should be able to agree that more often than not, a player's ability to "get it done" is skewed.
Now, for kicks and argument sakes...
I can't believe I'm about to defend the Bills... but here we go... Those four Bills teams are still considered to be pretty bad-ass and that comes from the mouths of former NFLer's who played them at the time and not from some dudes sitting at a computer watching this stuff... you know, like you and me! They lost to two Cowboys teams that were disgustingly good. Lost to a Redskins team that was on a meteoric rise going into and during the playoffs. And, well, wide right...
I made fun of those teams for "choking" but four in a row is still incredibly good.
The Calgary defense won the Grey Cup. In the second half, Calvillo and company did not get the time to score a TD as Burris completely controled the time of possession. The Als offence mostly sat on the bench as as the Stamps completed long drive after long drive in their win. THe Als have to contemplate evolving defensive systems and, the ability to assess and change patterns that shut down their opponents stragedy when appropriate. In the Cup game I noticed that The Stamps played a press offense in the first half then shifted in the second half. This past year, I cannot ever remember the Als using a press defense against their opponents. They were a poor second half team as they appeared not to apply a different defense to an offense that controlled the game in the first half.
Our defensive coordinator, who is not coincidentally also our secondary coach, has no idea how to run press coverage. He is a scared mediocrity who runs the same predictable schemes over and over. Our DBs play too far off the ball at all times, we gave up second and long to Calgary consistently, and we never jammed the receivers to disrupt the timing of their plays. This is on top of schemes that had us vacating the middle of the field allowing the Stamps to get first downs on QB draws, screens, and dump-offs to the RB. But he'll be back next year, so look for more of the same!