Jack B. Bedell
MontrealAlouettes.com
Week 19: Toronto Argonauts
Despite all of its strategies, tendencies, and statistics, there’s just no denying football is a game of momentum. No matter what the scoreboard reads, or what statistics have to say about the flow of a game, individual plays have the ability to cause wild swings in momentum, turning big leads into tight games in no time.
Last weekend in Toronto, the Alouettes were cruising with a 17-3 lead in the first half when a series of excellent punt returns and a long return off a missed field goal by the Argonauts’ Chad Owens led directly to the field position Toronto needed to put a bevy of points on the board in a hurry, tightening the game to 17-16 by halftime.
Two more solid returns from Owens in the third quarter set the Argos up for two more majors and necessitated a massive 17-point comeback by the Als in the final frame to collect a razor-thin 37-30 win at the buzzer in what started off as a blowout tilt before Owens worked his magic.
All totaled, Owens racked up 294 return yards against the Als last weekend on his way to another Special Teams Player of the Week award, including 123 yards in kickoff returns, 111 yards in punt returns, and 60 yards off a missed field goal return. Even more than field position, those yards provided tremendous momentum and confidence for an Argos offence that was struggling to move the ball with any consistency against the Alouettes’ defence.
With five weekly special teams award to his credit this season, Owens has been Mr. Mo for the Argos all season. In addition to establishing himself as a serious threat to take returns to the house with every touch of the ball, Owens earned a spot in the CFL record book with his stellar performances by being only the fifth player in league history to exceed 1,000 yards in both kick and punt returns in a single season.
Owens has posted 1,060 yards in punt returns and 1,216 yards in kick returns though 17 games, largely via his ability to threaten coverage lanes with his speed and aggression. More often than not, Owens exploits lapses in his opposition’s lane integrity with decisive moves, and he finishes returns by outrunning pursuit angles with his top-end speed.
To control the flow of the game by limiting Owens’ production this weekend at home in McGIll Stadium, the Alouettes are going to have to be much more disciplined in their kick coverages.
Controlling a top-shelf returner like Owens takes much more than solid scheme, however, Damon Duval’s punts and kickoffs will have to be perfectly placed to corner Owens between the numbers and the sidelines, thus allowing the Als’ coverage teams to use the boundary as an additional defender.
Montreal’s special teams tackling machine Michael Giffin, who’s third in the CFL with 20 special teams tackles, will also need to be on top of his game to get to Owens before he can get up a head of steam. And all members of the Als’ coverage teams have to be prepared to make contact in numbers so that broken tackles don’t turn into long returns.
To close out the 2010 season with some great momentum of their own, and to ensure that the field stays tilted in their direction in terms of field position, it’ll be absolutely imperative for the Alouettes to bottle-up Chad Owens and the Argos’ return game this weekend.
Without the shift in momentum those return yards provide for Toronto’s offence, the combination of the Als’ fierce defensive pressure and the home-field advantage provided by a raucous, capacity crowd at McGill should carry the day.
The Alouettes will face the Argonauts at Percival Molson Stadium this Sunday, Nov. 7 at 4 p.m. (RDSHD, TSNHD, NRJ, CJAD 800).
