Calvillo to sit against Tabbies

Hamilton Tiger-Cats
1
http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=333005

Anthony Calvillo is expected to sit out a second game with a bruised sternum, but Adrian McPherson is coming off the injured list in time to take over as the starting quarterback for the Montreal Alouettes.

McPherson did most of the preparatory work in practice on Tuesday while Calvillo took only a few snaps.

Calvillo said he felt good and should be ready to play, but coach Marc Trestman said it is unlikely he will dress in anything but a third-string role when the Alouettes play at Hamilton on Saturday.

"The chances of him playing are not very good from my standpoint," said Trestman. "I'd be very cautious and err on the side of making sure he's fully recovered.

"Just because he feels great doesn't mean he's fully recovered. It would be very difficult to say he would be playing on Saturday. He could be there as the third and if he has to finish a game, do that, but never to put him in a position to take any kind of a hit this week. It would take a lot of convincing to pull me in another direction."

Calvillo was injured just before half time in a win against Winnipeg three weeks ago. Chris Leak finished that victory and started the Alouettes next game against B.C. on Friday night, but left in the third quarter with a hip injury.

Trestman said Leak, who had an MRI exam on Tuesday, was still sore and would not dress in Hamilton.

Ricky Santos is likely to back up McPherson against the Tiger-Cats.

"I felt good," said Calvillo. "I tried to throw on the run and make all the throws I need, torking my body around, and I really did not feel it whatsoever

"My (chest) and shoulder are still a little tight and sore, but I'm hoping that goes away in the next couple of days."

McPherson tore the MCL in a knee during training camp and spent the first nine games of the season on the injured list. He will wear a brace for the rest of the season.

"Maybe three or four weeks ago I felt pretty good, but it was great to get the extra couple of weeks to rehab," he said. "I'm excited about possibly getting the opportunity. I felt great."

2

I'd be careful with this one. Trestman usually goes out of his way to keep these decision private, smells of a setup...

3

I would rather see Calvillo play. If we beat the Als without Calvillo and move into a tie for first there is always that
"yes but can you beat them with Calvillo" So bring on the Als with all their weapons!!

4

Thats unfortunate, I want A.C. to play just so our defense can bury him, we will see saturday who ends up starting.

5

No doubt our offence has to play better than it has the past two games. McPherson is better than Lemon and you can't expect the special teams to force a turnover every game.

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:thup: Agreed, plus no one gets stronger by playing a weaker team, if we're going to meet them in the playoffs then we have to play the same Montreal next week as we do at the end of the year.
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AM is a one read fail and run QB....

I will be happy with a W no matter WHO the QB is

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I agree that a win is a win, and one to get first place is fine for me. I really don’t care for this, “you have to beat them when they are healthy” to prove you are capable. Guess what, we have some injuries, and if we catch a break because AC can’t play, then I’m all for it. I would have preferred to play against Leak.

I had a pretty good feeling that we would be seeing MacPherson this week because he was on the 9 game IR, and he is Montreal’s true backup, and I didn’t think AC would be back too soon. MacPherson should not be taken lightly as unlike AC he is a big threat to run, and has a pretty good arm, and our defense sometimes has trouble containing quarterbacks. He should be a little rusty after not having much play time this year. The defense will need to contain him, and not let him beat us with his legs.

Should be a good match up, as Montreal’s defense has been suspect at times, and we know their offense is not as good without AC, and their O-Line appears to have dropped off (thanks Chui for retiring).

I hope the Ti-Cats stay focused, play strong, do all the small things, don’t give up the big plays, and keep mistakes to a minimum. The last couple of times we had a statement game against Montreal at home we have not had good results. AC or not, this will once again be a statement game for this team. If they win, this will show that this team is the real thing.

PJ

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We play them again in October so if we don't see AC now unless he's really hurt we'll see him then. I think it was AKT that pointed out in another thread we've only won against 2 teams, Winnipeg and Toronto, and they are both below us right now. So a win against a team above us is very important. BTW I don't think Montreal will mail this one in, I think the team will pick up their game after losing last week.

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So maybe Porter and Tafralis should switch responsibilities at practice this week? Let Porter take the role of the opposing QB? Sounds like he’s perfect for the role.

I wonder if he might learn to make that second read by not being allowed to. Sounds weird, but you never know.

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Even the most optimistic among us would only have thought we’d have beaten three teams by this point (Winnipeg, Toronto and Calgary). There was no way we were going to beat Montreal in their home opener, and winning in Regina is always tough. All the teams above us (Saskatchewan, Montreal and Calgary) have all played the Lions and Eskies, which are the two teams (who we all know have a combined 4-14 record) we have yet to play. The Argos, who we share a record with, have played both the Lions and Esks.

I wouldn’t read much into us “only” beating two teams. The wonky schedule has had us play those two teams six out of our first nine games. Can’t really help it if they keep putting the same opponents in front of us. We can only beat who we play.

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Good points, Blogskee.

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Just want to point out to those who say we have only beat teams that are below us,(Wpg & ToO) that the reason they are below us is because we did beat them!

14

The point about us winning against only 2 teams is that we really cant read too much into our record. I think we are in tough against Montreal with or without AC because its our offense that really has me worried. We lost the battles and won the war yesterday. If we cant control the ball better than yesterday we`ll be in trouble

15

Don't forget that there are two teams we haven't played yet, BC and the Smos, with what are disappointing records to them and their fans. We coulda/shoulda beat Calgary. Granted we weren't in the game really against Sask and Mtl on their home fields. So for the team to have won the series against WPG and TO is a big thing and, yes, they are below us. :slight_smile:

I think this team has come together and has a few surprises for opponents down the line. I wish AC was healthy and starting, so that as others have said we could beat them at their best.

16

I agree.

The schedule is a little wonky and has created this oddity. There are plenty of other ways to spin our record, but I don’t think we should be too pessimistic.

We have played more road games and have only lost one game at home, and that one was to the team with the best record, and could have arguably gone either way. Two of our other losses were on the road to the previous Grey Cup finalists. Difficult wins to come by. The other was on the road, on the first game of the year, to a team with new coaches that was looking for revenge. Although the final scores may not have always reflected it, I believe we were in every game we lost at some point in the second half. Good teams never go down easy.

I don’t think we are the best team in the league just yet, but I do believe we have a good team that could be dangerous in the playoffs. If we show we can play with the likes of Calgary, Saskatchewan, and Montreal, anything is possible.

PJ

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The games we've won were great, well fought games and we only barely lost to Calgary in Week 2. With the way our D played against Toronto, coupled with the season that Glenn is having, we've got a better than good chance at hosting the East Final.

I'll agree with what a lot have said, I rather Calvillo plays this week, so we can say we beat them at their best, but a win is a win, no matter what! If he doesn't play, we'll just have to beat them with him later in the season.

Oskee wee wee!

18

Calvillo is way more hurt than just a "bruised" sternum.

He still can't even pick up his kids. Wouldn't surprise me if that baby was cracked. Might be out of the line-up a bit longer than they are letting on.

As for our record...just beat whoever is on your schedule. The fact that we lost to Montreal (in their yard) and Sask (in their yard) wasn't surprising or unexpected. I just hope we beat them when both come here.

I like our chances across the board after those games.

19

Only problem is, that one read fail knows how to beat us.

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Don’t worry, we play them again in October…and November. :wink: