Als seek return to win column in clash with Bombers

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08/18/2010 - Montreal, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hoping to bounce back from just their second loss of the season, the Montreal Alouettes entertain the Winnipeg Blue Bombers at McGill Stadium on Thursday night.

According to the most recent power rankings in the CFL, this matchup pits the second and third-strongest clubs against each other, despite the Blue Bombers having just two victories on the season thus far.

Last week the Bombers were handed their third straight loss and the fifth in the last six attempts as they bowed to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats by a final of 39-28. In a matter of just seven weeks, the matchup marked the fourth time the two division foes had met and left Hamilton with a 3-1 season series advantage as a result.

Buck Pierce was back in as the starter at quarterback for the Blue Bombers, but he failed to make much of a difference as he completed just 7-of-12 passes for 63 yards, leading to one touchdown and one interception. Head coach Paul LaPolice felt Pierce had trouble moving and his lack of mobility was throwing off his accuracy, so the head coach decided to insert Steven Jyles back into the lineup. While the backup signal-caller didn't lead his team to victory, he did manage to convert 14-of-22 passes for 227 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

The other problem that arose for the Blue Bombers just before the game started was an injury to kicker Louie Sakoda, thus causing the team to change its game plan.

As for the Alouettes, a team that was leading the Eastern Division with a 5-1 mark heading into its contest with Toronto last weekend, they were dealt a surprising blow in their 37-22 loss to the Argonauts on the road.

Quarterback Anthony Calvillo converted 37-of-49 passes for 450 yards and three touchdowns, to go along with one interception, but early in the game there was a question about his ability to hold onto the ball due to an injured finger.

The Als started off the meeting slow, failing to score a single point in a quarter for the first time this season as they were blanked in the opening frame. Calvillo did up his all-time touchdown total to 369 in the decision, leaving him just 25 behind the CFL's all-time leader, Damon Allen, but surely the signal-caller would have preferred the win instead. Heading into the matchup with Toronto the Als had dominated the series, winning seven in a row over the Argos.

Despite the setback, slotback Ben Cahoon continued his assault on the history books as he reeled in a game-high 10 passes for 99 yards. With the effort Cahoon moved into second place all-time on the CFL receptions list, moving past Darren Flutie who had 972 catches in his 12 seasons. Now in his 13th campaign Cahoon, who has advanced his streak of 134 games with at least one reception and is third all-time behind Don Narcisse (216) and Tony Gabriel (137), is up to 981 catches for his career and trails only Terry Vaughn who was responsible for 1,006 receptions during his amazing career.

Even though Calvillo had a huge game in terms of numbers last week, the situation with his hand is still a concern for the Als, not to mention the lack of productivity from running back Avon Cobourne who gained a mere 26 yards on 11 carries. It was the second straight week that Cobourne had posted a weak effort, having logged just 34 yards on seven attempts versus Saskatchewan. The Als were expecting Cobourne to have a game that was much like the effort he put together against Toronto at the end of July when he gained 115 yards on the ground and another 116 yards through the air, but it just wasn't meant to be.

Because of the last two weeks, Cobourne has dropped to seventh in the league in rushing with only 403 yards on 82 attempts, while someone like Winnipeg's Fred Reid is fifth in the CFL after seven games with his 499 yards, averaging better than six yards per attempt.

The big question for this game will be which quarterback will be seeing the most action for the Blue Bombers. But whether it is Pierce or Jyles, the main target down the field will remain the same. Averaging close to 20 yards per catch, Terrence Edwards has been eating up the yards for the Bombers and ranks second in the league with his 687 yards at the moment. His seven touchdown catches, two of which he made last week, have him pacing the entire league. The rest of the pass catchers on the Winnipeg roster have combined for only five TD receptions, so that says a lot about how valuable Edwards is to the success of this group.

Conversely, as big a game as Cahoon had for the Als last weekend, he has still not made it into the end zone in 2010 and is averaging barely half the yards (10.5 per catch) that Edwards is at the moment.

According to league records, Montreal maintains a 39-32-7 advantage over the Blue Bombers in regular-season meetings dating back to 1946, the most recent of those encounters taking place last November with Montreal posting a 48-13 win. A week earlier it was Winnipeg that thumped the Als in a 41-24 decision on its home field.

The teams are scheduled to collide two more times during the regular season, on September 24 in Winnipeg, and back here again in the middle of October.

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Colts give the ‘D’ its due

The Indianapolis Colts know that winning the Super Bowl last season put a huge target on their backs, and they expect opponents to go all-out to knock them from the top of the mountain.

They’ll get their first test from the New Orleans Saints this Thursday night. The defending champs had nothing but good things to say about the New Orleans defense this past week, praising their opponents’ pass rush and run-stopping abilities.

"They play very aggressively," head coach Tony Dungy told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "They play a lot of man-to-man coverage, and they come after you. They have good pass rushers, and they're going to try to pressure us, I'm sure."

Both center Jeff Saturday and quarterback Peyton Manning gave New Orleans’ front four props, admitting keeping guys like Will Smithand Charles Grant contained would be a tall task for the offensive line.

New Orleans ranked second in total defense during the preseason at a sportsbook, allowing just under 233 yards per game. Last season, the defense finished 11th in the league after giving up 307.3 yards and 20.1 points per contest.

Not so sound on the ground

If Indianapolis' efficient offense has a weakness it has to be its running attack. The Colts one-two-punch of Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai is no longer, leaving the bulk of the carries to Addai, the second-year back out of LSU.

Former Saskatchewan Roughrider Kenton Keith was named Addai’s backup this week after beating out DeDe Dorsey for the second-string position. Indy has only three backs on the roster right now, including fullback Luke Lawton, and coach Dungy is aware of the thinness of his ground game. Sports Betting lines on the game can be found at BettingExpress.com

“We’ll continue to look. Luke Lawton’s done a good job for us too. So probably getting a third true tailback is something that we’d like to do,” Dungy told the Indiana Tribune-Star.

Last season, Addai rushed for over 1,000 yards in his rookie campaign and scored seven touchdowns on the ground.

Brees says bring it on

Opening the season on the road against the defending Super Bowl champions is not the way most teams would like to kick off their year – unless you’re the New Orleans Saints or their quarterback Drew Brees. This internet Sportsbooks had the Saints as the favorites.

Brees told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that he is excited to get the regular season started and the Colts are a great challenge for him and his teammates. The 28-year-old QB, entering his second season with the Saints, is expecting a wild environment in the RCA Dome this Thursday when the franchise celebrates its 2007-2007 championship.

Brees said he sees the opening game scheduling as an honor and a testament to how well New Orleans did last season. The Saints missed facing the Colts in the Super Bowl by one game, losing to the Chicago Bearsin the NFC Championship game.

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SportsBooks ready for a shootout

Oddsmakers are preparing for some fireworks this Thursday when the NFL season kicks off. online Sportsbooks have Thursday’s total set at a whopping 52 points, accounting for two of the league’s most explosive offenses.

“This is like must-see TV,” Saints cornerback and former Colt Jason David told the Baton Rouge Advocate. “It’s two exciting offenses with great players. You’ve got a lot of star power on offense. At any given time a big play can happen. If I was a fan, I wouldn’t miss a snap.”

New Orleans, who ranked No.1 in total offense last season, can go blow-for-blow with the Colts’ attack. Head coach Sean Payton’s offensive schemes will get even better production out of Drew Brees, Reggie Bush and receiver Marques Colston now that they’ve each had a season of playing together under their belts.

The Saints and Colts were the top two passing teams in the NFL last year, but while Indianapolis managed to put up almost 27 points per game, New Orleans struggled to capitalize on their efforts. The Saints ranked fifth in points per game.

“Yards are great,” running backDeuce McAllister told reporters, “but to be able to score more touchdowns would be important for us.”

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