ESKIMOS SEND ALOUETTES TO FIRST LOSS OF SEASON

An undefeated professional football season is a monumental task, be it in the CFL or NFL.  The Montreal Alouettes found that out last Friday, dropping their first game of the year on the road to the Edmonton Eskimos by a 33-19 margin.  The Eskimos improved to 3-2 SU, while Montreal dropped to 4-1.

This was a classic case of what sports handicappers call a ‘revenge spot’.  Montreal waxed Edmonton 50-16 at home in week 2 and clearly the Eskimos’ players had a chip on their shoulder from that earlier defeat.  Sports bettors who backed the home team as +6 dogs had an easy payday as the Als’ fell to 3-2 ATS while Edmonton improved to 2-3 against the number.  The 52 combined points just went UNDER the posted total of 54’ for only the second UNDER of the year for Edmonton.  Montreal has now gone UNDER in three straight after starting the season with two straight OVER performances.

The Eskimos’ Fred Stamps caught a pair of touchdown passes in the victory, and suggested in his postgame comments that his team’s improved play isn’t a mirage:

"It was a big win for us, no question. We had a lot of new guys but it feels like our team is starting to come together now, starting to jell.”

Eskimos’ coach Richie Hall pointed to last week’s come from behind win over Saskatchewan as a potential turning point for his squad as he echoed Stamps’ sentiments:

"We'd like to think last week was a big stepping stone forward for our team. We wanted to prove that wasn't a fluke. It was important that we came back and played well two games in a row."

Edmonton QB Ricky Ray contributed his team’s improvement to better execution and a greater emphasis on fundamentals—like ball control:

"When we got out and take care of what we are supposed to take care of individually where everybody is doing what they are supposed to do, we're a solid football team. If we go out and make mistakes like we did in the first three games, we are an average football team. The last couple weeks have been more like it."

Als’ QB Anthony Calvillo refused to point figures in the loss, instead giving Edmonton credit for dictating tempo:

"You have to give them credit defensively. 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. "It's never fun losing. We are going to try and learn from this and bounce back in our next game."

Montreal will host the Toronto Argonauts next Friday night, while Edmonton will travel to Ontario to play another one of the league’s improving teams--the Hamilton Tiger Cats—on Saturday.