Alouettes’ much-maligned pass defence comes up big against Drew Willy and the Riders

Sunday afternoon's game between the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Montreal Alouettes always looked like a difficult challenge for Riders' quarterback Drew Willy, making his first CFL start against a tough team on the road thanks to a hip injury to regular starter Darian Durant, but one thing to provide Saskatchewan fans with hope was the struggles of the Montreal defence. That defence entered this week with league-worst numbers in passing first downs allowed (146) and opposing quarterbacks' completion percentage (68.6 per cent), so there was a chance even an inexperienced rookie like Willy could pull off the win. However, the Alouettes' defence stepped up in a huge way Sunday afternoon, forestalling Willy's efforts and giving Montreal a 28-17 victory.

Willy's day wasn't horrible, especially when you consider he was a first-year quarterback making his first CFL start. He threw for 225 yards and completed 22 of 34 passing attempts, a completion rate of 64.7 per cent. The Alouettes handled him very well, though, forcing incompletions and too-short passes at crucial times and even picking him off twice along the way. Saskatchewan once again had a solid ground game, with Kory Sheets collecting 81 yards on just 12 carries (6.8 yards per carry) on the day, but Montreal jumped in front on their first drive and never looked back. That 84-yard drive was orchestrated by veteran quarterback Anthony Calvillo and capped off with a three-yard touchdown run by Brandon Whitaker, and it gave the Alouettes a lead they'd never relinquish. Much of that was thanks to the stellar effort of their defence; while the Montreal offence put up rather pedestrian overall numbers (Whitaker had just 45 yards on 14 carries, an average of 3.2 yards per carry, while Calvillo threw for 266 yards and a touchdown but only completed 51.9 per cent of his passes), the Alouettes' defence hung in there all game long, forcing the Riders to settle for field-goal attempts and preventing them from getting back in the game.

That's a very good sign for Montreal's prospects this season. Yes, their offence has been effective, and that's a good part of the reason why they're now atop the East Division with a 7-4 mark. However, the defence has struggled for much of the year, and that's held them back. It looks like perhaps the Alouettes' defence is starting to gel into defensive coordinator Jeff Reinebold's system, and that's an extremely positive omen for this team going forward. After all, while they may have some of the best offensive players in the league (including Calvillo, Whitaker, Jamel Richardson, S.J. Green and more), there still are going to be days when the offence can't quite hit its stride. Sunday was such a day, but Montreal still came out with a win thanks to a tremendous defensive effort. Players like Shea Emry (seven tackles, one sack), Kyries Hebert (two tackles and an interception), Kenny Ingram (three tackles and a sack) and Seth Williams (an interception) particularly stood out, but this was an impressive showing across the board. If they can build on that going forward, watch out for the Alouettes.