Defending champion Alouettes struggling heading into CFL playoffs

Suddenly, the road back to the Grey Cup is a more perilous one for the Montreal Alouettes.

The Alouettes begin defence of their CFL title Sunday when they host the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the East Division semifinal. While Montreal has a number of battle-tested veterans, the club heads into the playoffs having lost three straight games.

The latest defeat was a lopsided 43-1 decision to the B.C. Lions in a game the two-time defending champions needed to win in order to clinch top spot in the division.

Instead, that honour went to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, who finished the season tied with Montreal with a 10-8 record but took top spot after winning the season series.

B.C. cemented first in the West Division with its win over Montreal despite ending the season tied at 11-7 with Edmonton and Calgary. The Lions won the season series with both of the conference rivals.

Edmonton will host Calgary in the West Division semifinal Sunday. The Lions and Bombers both earned the right to host their respective conference finals.

The key to success for Montreal is quarterback Anthony Calvillo, who led the CFL in passing (5,251 yards) and touchdowns (32) while surrendering just eight interceptions. But Calvillo was just 47-of-97 passing for 642 yards with a touchdown and three interceptions in the Alouettes’ final three regular-season games.

However, Montreal’s late-season troubles weren’t relegated to just Calvillo. Opponents outscored the Alouettes 101-53 in those three games.

Montreal split its season series against Hamilton 2-2, with the home team winning each time. That should bode well for the Alouettes, who finished tied with Hamilton, B.C., and Edmonton for the top home mark at 6-3.

Another factor working in Montreal’s favour is Hamilton’s woeful 2-7 road record this season.

Calvillo was a central figure in all four games against Hamilton, passing for a combined 1,343 yards and seven TDs with no interceptions. But he was much more effective in the Alouettes’ two home games with 762 passing yards and six touchdown passes.

On Saturday night, B.C. showed how important it was to get to Calvillo before he has a chance to get set and look downfield. The Lions had four sacks and got consistent pressure from their front four, allowing their linebackers to drop back and put more players into pass coverage.

Hamilton was able to get to Calvillo in the two games at Ivor Wynne Stadium, with Justin Hickman registering four of the club’s six sacks. But the Alouettes have kept Hickman off their quarterback at Molson Stadium, where they’ve also managed to outscored the Ticats 70-38.

Ticats tailback Avon Cobourne, a former Alouette, has also been a different player depending on the venue. Cobourne ran for 169 yards and two TDs on 34 carries in Hamilton’s two home victories but has managed just 38 yards rushing on 14 carries in the two contests in Montreal.

Montreal’s Jamel Richardson, the CFL’s top receiver this season, has flourished against the Ticats with three 100-yard efforts. Overall, he had 33 catches for 512 yards and two TDs.

Hamilton has its own issues, especially at quarterback. Head coach Marcel Bellefeuille opted to go with a rotation down the stretch, however neither veteran Kevin Glenn nor Quinton Porter firmly grasped the starter’s job.

What’s more, the Ticats ended the regular season with two consecutive losses to finish third in the East Division with a mediocre 8-10 record.

There should be no questioning of Calgary’s confidence heading into the playoffs. Although the Stampeders lost the season series with Edmonton 2-1, they won their final three regular-season contests with newcomer Drew Tate at quarterback.

Tate completed 63-of-96 passes for 791 yards and four touchdowns over that span. He also had five interceptions but the Stampeders’ defence was effectively able to limit potential damage.

Tate will present something somewhat different for Edmonton, who faced veteran Stampeders’ starter Henry Burris in their three head-to-head matchups this season.

Another different wrinkle for Calgary will be Canadian-born tailback John Cornish, who has rushed for 201 yards on 36 carries (5.6 yards per attempt) with four TDs in the Stampeders’ last three games.

Cornish has blossomed since replacing Joffrey Reynolds in Calgary’s backfield, finishing tied with Richardson for most TDs (11, including nine rushing). Cornish also was fifth among CFL rushers with 863 yards, averaging a sparkling 7.3 yards per carry.

Calgary’s lone win against the Eskimos this season came at Commonwealth Stadium on Sept. 9, not a surprise considering the Stampeders were a stellar 6-3 away from McMahon Stadium in 2011.

Edmonton counters with a solid offensive attack of its own, spearheaded by veteran quarterback Ricky Ray, who finished third in CFL passing with 4,594 yards and 24 TDs against 11 interceptions.

But a big key to Edmonton’s success has been its ability not to beat itself offensively. The Eskimos have a league-low 29 giveaways (12 interceptions, nine fumbles, eight on downs) while the defence has recorded 45 takeaways, second only to Winnipeg’s 54.

Edmonton’s plus-16 in giveaways/takeaways was tops in the CFL.

Tailback Jerome Messam became the first Canadian-born 1,000-yard rusher in the CFL since 2000. The former B.C. Lion ran for 1,057 yards, behind only Montreal’s Brandon Whitaker (1,378) and Toronto’s Cory Boyd (1,141).

However, Messam wasn’t used much against Calgary, running for 78 yards on 21 carries.

Receivers Fred Stamps and Adarius Bowman were the top offensive performers against Calgary. Stamps had five catches for 161 yards and two TDs in a 24-19 win July 23 while Bowman had a combined nine catches for 214 yards and a touchdown in the final two head-to-head matchups.

The division finals will be played Nov. 20. The Grey Cup is set for Nov. 27 at Vancouver.