[OzSome]

Sorry I have to start the Grey Cup thread early this week as I will be away from Calgary starting tomorrow(Tuesday).

We finally have the two best teams in the CFL, #1 in East Montreal Alouettes vs #1 in the West Calgary Stampeders. Even though Montreal might be a tougher team to play compare to the Edmonton Eskimos, i feel much better seeing this two teams duke it out at the end. The Eskimos does not deserve to be in the playoff let alone the Grey Cup. They were the last place team in a tough West Division but that won't matter at all.

Calgary won both games against the Als this season. The first one was July 10(3rd game) 23-19 in Montreal. That was the game when Montreal were dominating in the first half then the Stamps bounced back and made some adjustment and ended up defeating the Als. I believed that was the turning point of the season for the Stamps. Then on September 12 at McMahon, the Stamps smoked the Als 41-30. The score was deceiving as the Als came back when the game was out of reach. The Stamps dominated that game all night.

I can see a lot of Stamps players get pumped up and play their first Grey Cup game. Nik Lewis haven't won a playoff game since he came over and play for the Stamps. DE Miguel Robede, who grew up in Montreal and also played for powerhouse Laval took advantage of the chances he was given by the coaching staff. I thought he was going to be a first rounder bust for the Stamps. Higgins and company did not give him a chance at all. Copeland played for Als and won Grey Cup with them. He is now going back in Montreal as an opponent.

OFFENSE: QB Henry Burris starting to have a reputation of can't win the big one. He had never won a playoff game as a starter until the Western Final. Burris proved everyone wrong and finally won a playoff game. I remembered we have this little goaltender for Calgary Flames back in the 80's. Everyone(fans, media and so on) were giving him a hard time and saying that he can't and never will win a big one. Well, Mike Vernon only won 3 Stanley Cup and one as a Flame. I can see a similarity here and can see Burris winning the Grey Cup and more. Backup for Burris are Barrick Nealy and Will Proctor. Ben Sankey is on the injured list.
I can see RB Joffrey Reynolds having a good game(btw, thanks for Western Final tickets Joffrey). We didn't see much of Summers as an RB but he did have a great game as returner. Reynolds, Summers and Cornish are good combinations. We have a bull in Reynolds, we have a slick running of Summers and Cornish can do both.

OFFENSIVE LINE: The 3 rookies Tsoumpas, Newman and Archibald played well against the top defensive linemen in the CFL (Wake, Hunt, Johnson and Williams). The 3 of them compliment the 2 veterans in Pilon and Lazeo. Other linemen in the lineup are Filice and Tim O'Neill.

RECEIVERS: I got a feeling that Ryan Thelwell will have a great game in Grey Cup and him ending up winning the Outstanding Canadian honour. Copeland been in the Grey Cup and I can see him getting pumped up especially that the game is at his old stomping ground. Ken-Yon Rambo is always there when the Stamps needed him. Not sure who the Als will match against him, though. Nik Lewis, one of my favorite Stamps. I like the guy because he is hard working and doesn't give up or complain if he is not getting the ball. He is also a good blocker even when he is having a rib injury. Whenever Burris needs a first down badly, he always look for Brett Ralph. Ralph usually knows where to stand and catch the ball to get the first down. My other favorite unsung hero Teyo Johnson. He doesn't get a lot of balls thrown at him but he helps the Stamps blocking the opposing DLine and LBs. He can also beat any LB on a one-on-one battle. Being tall and big sure helps as an extra OLine there. Other receiver is Canadian Jabari Arthur.

DEFENSIVE LINEMEN: I cannot count how many people appreciated how Mike Labinjo played in the Western Final against BC Lions. He was huge stopping BC Lions twice close to the goal line and he was also responsible for the forced fumble by Jarious Jackson late in the game which my other favorite DLine Charles Hughes recovered. I cannot wait to see Mike Labinjo have a huge game against the Als on Sunday. Big Eddie Freeman, Justin Phillips, Randy Chevrier, Juwan Simpson and Miguel Robede are the other DLine.

LINEBACKERS: I didn't think Jojuan Armour had a good game against BC Lions. I've seen him missed tackles on Stefan Logan a few times. I thought he plays better as an MLB early this season. Look for him to have a better game against Avon Couburne. Shannon James was quiet last game but we all know how important he is to the team. He is strong to make good tackles in the middle, fast enough to go after the QB and can also play DB one-on-one against any RB. MLB Saleem Rasheed is not as noticeable as any other Middle Linebacker in the league but he does his job. Dwayne Carpenter, Mark Gootegoed, Marc Calixte are the others.

SECONDARY: JR Ruffin played his first game in the season and was matched against Geroy Simon. Even though Simon received over 100 yards, I thought he played well considering that his first game. Brandon Browner made an interception late in the game to pretty much sealed the deal. He got beat by Riece-Muller on one big play but I thought Riece-Muller didn't really have a good possession on that play. I am sure Lenny Walls will be back so it will be good to see the Twin Towers again together. Dwight Anderson always play aggressive game and he usually gets the receiver out of the game by talking trash at him. Brandon Smith might be small but the guy have a big heart and damn, he can hit as well. I am sure everyone noticed his hit on Logan that almost knocked him out of the game. Other Secondaries are Safety Wes Lysack, and Milton Collins, DB Keon Raymond and Marcus Howell. I am glad Calvin Bannister no longer plays for the Stamps.

SPECIAL TEAMS: Kicker Sandro DeAngelis were not called upon a lot in the Western Finals. He made good on field goal and he missed one on 48 yard line I believed. I can't really blame him for it though. I remember seeing Ted Hellard walking around getting upset when Sandro missed it. It was because we needed that field goal. Burke Dales actually had a good game pinning BC Lions closer to the end zone. He also made some good TD saving tackle late in the game. I thought the return plays by Summers made a huge difference for the Stamps. Before his first return, the Stamps are not getting good field position. Howell, which i harped on a lot earlier in the season is starting to get his confidence back and running the ball with authority. The coverage team have been good all season long and I think they are getting better as the season goes. Against the Als on Grey Cup, they have to be a lot better against Taylor who scored 2 return TD against the Eskimos on the Eastern Final.

Overall, I am very confident that the Stamps will win it. If they pressure Calvillo a lot, chances are he will start throwing INT. Calvillo can throw the ball and he can run. If they pressure him a lot and our DB doesn't give him any open receiver, he'll end up running a lot. Not sure if Montreal will have an advantage because they've seen Chris Jones aggressive defense before or not. This is going to be a good game and I cannot wait.

GO STAMPS GO!!!