It's Grey Cup Sunday up here in the Great White North and I'm ready for the kick off the 93rd classic between the Edmonton Eskimos and the Montreal Alouettes coming live from B.C Place in Vancouver.
The Eskimos will attempt to become just the fifth third-place team to win the CFL championship since 1936. Edmonton had a chance to finish first in the West Division, but lost its regular-season finale to Calgary that not only dropped the Esks to third, but forced them to be the road team in the playoffs.
But that didn't seem to bother the Eskimos, who dispatched the Stampeders in the West Division semifinal before downing the first-place B.C. Lions 28-23 in the final. In both games, backup quarterback Jason Maas came off the bench to rally Edmonton to its victories, but starter Ricky Ray gets the nod Sunday despite not having thrown a touchdown pass in his last seven games.
The Eskimos' defense will get a good test from a Montreal offense that was the CFL's best in yards gained (426 per game), passing (324 yards) and scoring (30 points per game).
Quarterback Anthony Calvillo led the CFL in passing with 5,556 yards and 34 touchdowns, and the Alouettes did have four 1,000-yard receivers for the second straight year, a league first.
But there will likely be a change in the backfield, where Robert Edwards, who ran for a team-high 1,199 yards, is nursing a rib injury. Eric Lapointe replaced Edwards in the East final and rushed for 112 yards and three touchdowns in the second half to rally the Alouettes to a 33-17 upset win over Toronto.
However, the real key to Montreal's Grey Cup run has been a defense that struggled to stop anyone during the regular season. After finishing the season eighth in yards allowed (400 per game), the Alouettes tightened up the running lanes in containing Saskatchewan, the CFL's leading rushing team, in a 30-14 East Division semifinal win, then forced six turnovers in eliminating Toronto.
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My predictions: AC will lead Montreal in a tight battle 32-28
On that note it's a sure lock that the Grey Cup on Sunday will be quarterback Jason Maas' final game with the Edmonton Eskimos.
A league source requesting anonymity said Friday night that Maas will indeed be dealt to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats following the CFL's title game for veteran quarterback Danny McManus and offensive lineman Tim Bakker, both former Eskimos.
Maas's arrival in Hamilton won't come as a surprise. Speculation had Maas headed to Steeltown when the Ticats dealt running back Troy Davis and offensive lineman Dan Comiskey to Edmonton on Oct. 5 for receiver Brock Ralph, defensive back Tad Cody and a 2006 first-round draft pick.
There's no doubt Maas, 30, would fill a need in Hamilton. The Ticats (5-13) had four different starters this year - veterans McManus, Khari Jones, Marcus Brady along with rookie Kevin Eakin - and offensively were ranked last in total yards (315 per game) and scoring (17.9 points).
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Later after the game,
Kenaz
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