More of a growl than a roar, but still just as effective

The 94th Grey Cup Championship won’t go down as one of those “where were you when moments”, providing as it did a rather routine workday kind of game, as opposed to the back and forth classics of days gone by.

But that perhaps should not have been unexpected. The B. C. Lions claimed the title to Lord Grey’s Bowl for 2006, based on a well put together game plan that moved the ball for the entire first half and a portion of the second. For the Lions the game went off like a well run practice, the receivers ran their routes, the runners ran the ball, the defensive players marked their assignments and the kicker kicked the ball, and the kicked the ball and kicked the ball.

The Lions Paul McCallum accounted for eighteen of the Lions points (and provided the Als with four of theirs) on the way to a 25-14 victory in front of a sold out Canad Inn stadium in Winnipeg. McCallum’s efforts on the day tied a CFL record for most field goals in a championship game and purged the manure toting ghosts of Saskatchewan once and for all.

The scoring spree of McCallum probably is a testimony to the dedication of the Alouette defence, which while obviously giving up yardage and field goals, held the Lions out of the endzone for most of the game, allowing only one major during the game, keeping the Als within striking distance right through until the bitter end of the national championship.

Dave Dickenson amassed some respectable statistics during the course of the game, did a fairly solid job of ball control and took a few hits on the noggin for the team, leading them on to Grey Cup victory, his understudies Buck Pierce and Jarious Jackson both saw a bit of action in different situations, Pierce setting up Ian Smart with a handoff that resulted in the only Lion major of the day.

While the high octane heroics of the Dickenson to Simon combination were limited, the Lion QB made good use of the other receivers on the squad as Paris Jackson, Jason Clermont and Ryan Thelwell were frequent recipients of Dickenson tosses, gaining the six and seven yards at a time that ate up the clock and the Alouettes chances.

Defensively the Lions were as solid as ever, the front four provided frequent pressure on Anthony Calvillo to make him rush his throws, the linebackers and secondary were equal to the task of breaking up any threat that seemed to come their way.

The puzzling aspect of the game was the Alouettes first half, Calvillo had difficulties in the first thirty minutes with passes that were too low, came up too short or were just plain dropped by normally reliable receivers. Only Ben Cahoon seemed to be in tune with the Als plan of attack and once the Lions keyed on him that option would become limited. The first thirty minutes saw limited use of Robert Edwards the Als running back who had a break out year, the lack of touches of the ball by Edwards took away an important aspect of the game for Montreal and made things a lot easier on the Lions who could concentrate on the pass rush and pass defence.

The third quarter was a bit of a turning point for the Als, they dominated the bulk of the play in the third fifteen minute frame, rattling off first downs and taking charge offensively having partially solving the Lions defence, when the Als forced a Dave Dickenson fumble in the third, the stirrings of a comeback were in the wind. A quick whistle denied the Als a defensive touchdown on that play and had that play been allowed, who knows how the game might have developed, as it turned out the Als would capitalize on field position shortly after that and pulled to within seven points of the Lions by three quarter time 19-12.

In the fourth the Lions had the chance to put the game away for good with two separate opportunities in the Als end, both ending with Paul McCallum trotting onto the field to kick a field goal. The Als were still alive, all be it barely, but all hope would be extinguished when Edwards would fumble the ball on the Lions one yard line, Otis Floyd recovered the ball turning the game over to the Lions for good.

With the balance of the game at stake it’s puzzling that Als coach Jim Popp did not challenge the officials call, replays on CBC seemed to show that Edwards knee had hit the ground before the ball had popped out. The challenge would have possibly over turned the decision on the field and left the Als still in the game, the word from high in the Als booth was that it was a fumble so the flag didn’t fly. An official review might have had a different outcome with more than just that play, an Alouette TD at that point might have rocked the Lions a bit, it was an opportunity missed, one of many for both teams that seemed to dominate the game.

In the end, the team that deserved to win based on the play of the season won the championship; the Lions were the dominant team all season long. They show that form on defence for most of the game and showed flashes of it on the offence during portions as well.

Dave Dickenson was given the nod as the Most Valuable Player while Paul McCallum was selected as the Canadian Player of the game for his finishing touches on those Lion drives. I’m not sure exactly how the media selectors picked Dickenson as the Outstanding player, he had a decent game but wasn’t the dominant player on the field, the fact that McCallum factored into so much of the play, from field goals, to outstanding punts and safeties, suggests that perhaps he should have been a double winner on this Grey Cup Sunday. Perhaps the theory that it was the guy that gained the field position for McCallum was the deserving candidate and McCallum merely benefited from Dickensons work.But that’s what makes these games so worthwhile, the endless debates that can rage on long after the Cup is handed out and the teams head for home.

When the history books of the CFL are looked over some twenty years from now though, the only statistic and bit of information that matters will be BC Lions 25, Montreal Alouettes 14.

It’s what the players and fans will remember the most. The game itself won’t be remembered as a clash of the titans, but instead as a hard nosed workmanlike contest, much like the way the Lions played through the season.

Not every Grey Cup can be a barnburner, sometimes you just have to get on with the chores, the Lions did just that and for their troubles they are bringing the Grey Cup West. A much deserved reward for a well prepared and hard working team.

The above post first appeared on my Twelve Men on the Field blog, for more information on Canadian Football check it out!