Montreal Alouettes quarterback Anthony Calvillo throws against the Toronto Argonauts during the CFL football game in Montreal, July 29, 2010 REUTERS/Christinne MuschiCHRISTINNE MUSCHI/Reuters
As Anthony Calvillo lay on the turf last week and saw that the end of the index finger on his throwing hand was bent backward, he was more surprised than worried.
The injury knocked Montreal quarterback out of the last minutes of their 30-26 victory over the Saskatchewan Roughriders, but he has been throwing all week in practice and feels ready to go when the Alouettes face the Argonauts in Toronto on Saturday night.
"I guess I was more freaked out just looking at it," the two-time defending CFL outstanding player said Thursday. "It didn't hurt.
"It as just 'Man, that doesn't look right.' I was expecting more pain when they popped it back in. The big thing was when we got the results back from the X-rays that there were no bone fragments. It was a clean dislocation and the ligaments were all intact."
On his first day on the practice field, Calvillo wore a glove, but now just has a small bandage on the joint. He said it is sore, but not enough to keep him out when the 5-1 Alouettes face the surprising 4-2 Argonauts.
But it was for more than Calvillo's health that the Alouettes came out of their win over the Roughriders with a sense of relief.
Their offence, which has produced a league-high 208 points, was held to only 31 total yards and one first down in the second half after dominating the opening 30 minutes. Only the defence, which produced some timely turnovers, saved a win against the team that beat them in overtime in the opening week of the season.
"It was quite simple - too many mental errors across the board, from the offensive line to the quarterback to the receivers and the running backs," said Calvillo. "We all took turns making mistakes and it killed us.
"What we put on tape was awful and we cannot do that again if we're going to continue to win games."
This week, they face a Toronto team they manhandled 41-10 two weeks ago in Montreal. Calvillo called it the only game through the first third of the regular season in which the defending Grey Cup champions played well in all three phases of the game.
"To be honest, we're very fortunate to be 5-1," he admitted. "Collectively, we've been doing some great things, but we're not being very consistent. The good thing is we found ways to win and that's a sign of a great team."
Coach Marc Trestman calls it part of the process of coming together as a team over an entire season. But when he looks at the club's league-best record, one reason comes to mind - turnovers.
Calvillo has had only two passes picked off in six games, while throwing for 12 touchdowns, and the team has lost the ball only once on a fumble. On the defensive side, the Alouettes have picked off seven passes and are plus-11 overall on turnovers. The next best team is Toronto at plus-2.
Montreal also leads with 45 points scored off turnovers.
They may well have lost to the Roughriders had linebacker Chip Cox not come up with a timely, if a little lucky, fourth-quarter interception.
"We've hung around in the fourth quarter and we've been in position to win because we've protected the football and we've got the football," said Trestman. "Our turnover ratio is very good and because of that we've been in every game.
"You can play poorly on any side of the ball, you can make mistakes along the way, you can fail to close in certain areas, but if you've protected the football, you've got a chance to be in every game."
The Argonauts have been pulling off fourth-quarter comeback wins this season, but they got little going when they played Montreal. Running back Cory Boyd, who has topped 100 yards in each of Toronto's four wins, was held to fewer than 60 by the Alouettes. Rookie quarterback Cleo Lemon completed only eight passes for 143 yards.
To Toronto's credit, they bounced back from that loss with a 29-28 victory in Edmonton.
"They won and I respect them for that, but against us, they didn't," said defensive tackle Eric Wilson. "Everyone expects them, within one week, to have found everything - that Boyd's found out how to run against us.
"It's football. We line up and someone's going to win. We'll play the same type of defence we did last time and against Saskatchewan."
Slotback Brian Bratton, who missed last week with a mild concussion, is to return for Montreal. Defensive back Mark Estelle, who hurt his left leg against the Roughriders, practised Thursday and may be able to play. Chris Woodruff is to start at guard ahead of the struggling Luc Brodeur-Jourdain.