Als regroup after injury to QB Cavillo
By HERB ZURKOWSKY, The Gazette August 20, 2010
There are two choices a team can make when the quarterback -its star player - succumbs to injury. Inexperienced teams panic and choke. Veteran teams, especially those who are the defending Grey Cup champions, take a deep breath, regain their focus and forge ahead.
"I mean, we had no choice. Really," Alouettes wide-receiver Brian Bratton said. "It hurts. You don't want to see someone go down. Ever. We were all concerned and wanted to know what happened.
"It is a blow but, if we don't regroup, we'll lose the game."
Panic fell over the city of Montreal last night -certainly over the small pocket on which Molson Stadium sits- when veteran quarterback Anthony Calvillo left the game against Winnipeg with almost five minutes remaining in the second quarter. He was sacked by Blue Bombers' defensive end Odell Willis, and Calvillo lay on the turf, not moving, for what seemed like an eternity. Even head coach Marc Trestman ran onto the field, signifying the seriousness of the injury, as his franchise player was being examined by team physician Scott Delaney.
Eventually, Calvillo arose and began walking off the field gingerly. But he quickly took a knee and fell back. Finally, he was removed on a cart, taken to the dressing room.
Later, he was removed from the stadium and taken on a stretcher to an ambulance, which whisked him to the Montreal General Hospital.
After the game, an optimistic Trestman said Calvillo, who turns 38 on Monday, had suffered a dislocated rib falling onto the ball. Although sore, he appeared to suffer no structural damage and was being kept in hospital overnight for observation. Trestman refused to speculate on Calvillo's status for Montreal's next game, following a bye week in the schedule, Sept. 3, against British Columbia.
Calvillo helped stake the Als to a 24-0 lead against the Bombers, passing for 164 yards and two touchdowns, before being replaced by Chris Leak. The visitors chipped away at the lead, eventually creeping to withing seven points, 24-17, before a pair of fourth-quarter touchdown runs by Brandon Whitaker, replacing the injured Avon Cobourne, salted away this 39-17 victory.
But things didn't look good there for a while, the most pessimistic fan would likely concede.
"If Anthony's not on the field and we go to him the next day and tell him we were up 24-0 and lost, he wouldn't be happy," Bratton said, an obvious understatement if ever there was one. "We pulled it out for him."
Leak, in his second season with the Als, won a national championship with the Florida Gators. That's nice and impressive, but means little in the world of professional football. And he attempted all of 11 passes in 2009.
But Leak held up admirably under the circumstances. He completed 10 of 15 passes for 99 yards, and might have led the Als to another touchdown except his pass for Bratton in the end zone was intercepted by Jovon Johnson on the Als' opening series of the third quarter.
But Leak also provides the Als with the natural mobility Calvillo never has enjoyed, and scampered twice, gaining 15 yards. He's the Als' potential starting quarterback, for now; Adrian McPherson, on the nine-game injured list with a torn ligament sustained in an exhibition game, is still potentially one game from being activated, although management could decide to have him return early.
Asked to assess Leak's performance, Bratton gave him an A-plus. "He got in, controlled the game, used his legs and threw some good balls. He managed the game. He's a born leader. We all know that from Florida."
Any backup quarterback, Leak included, knows he's potentially one play away from entering a game at any time.
He said he could have played better -every quarterback says that after most games -but was happy with the win. In his development at the position, this was definitely something to build on.
"The guys did a great job of refocusing and picking it up," Leak said. "I went in, managed the game and kept the offence on schedule. And most importantly, we won the game.
"The coaches have done a great job, week in and out, of preparing us ... keeping our edge up and making sure we're ready to play and perform. We know we're only one play away."
It certainly didn't hurt Leak's cause to have such a big cushion with which to work. Or to know he didn't have to face the Als' vaunted defence -one that held the Bombers to 266 yards' net offence and eventually knocked quarterback Steven Jyles out of the game.
"We knew we had to step up and play well," said linebacker Chip Cox, who recovered a Jyles fumble, returning it 14 yards for a touchdown, and was all over the field, as usual.
"When we saw Anthony leave, we collectively as a defence said, 'here we go. Let's take the pressure off Leak.' "
hzurkowsky@thegazette.canwest.com
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