The last time an East team won a Grey Cup in Winnipeg, Rocket Ismail was avoiding tacklers and a beer can launched from the old Winnipeg Stadium stands during a famous kickoff-return touchdown for his Toronto Argonauts in 1991.
Since then, three West teams have emerged victorious in title tilts in Winnipeg — Jeff Garcia and the Calgary Stampeders in 1998, Dave Dickenson and the B.C. Lions in 2006 and a Mike Reilly-led Edmonton team in 2015.
The Montreal Alouettes hope to break the Winnipeg Western stranglehold Sunday when they battle the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the 112th Grey Cup.
They may be underdogs, but the Alouettes have won their past seven games of consequence and appear to be peaking at the right time.
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Here are some keys to victory for the East champs:
Get Davis Alexander outside the pocket if his hamstring is OK
The Alouettes star quarterback has been getting treatment all week after aggravating a hamstring injury late in last Sunday’s tight East final in Hamilton.
To his credit, Alexander stayed in that game and led the Als down the field for a walk-off field goal — but he clearly was limited.
While he did manage to complete some passes from the pocket during that final drive against the Ticats, Alexander is at his best when he’s on the move.
His ability to run the ball must be respected, often opening up opportunities for his receivers.
Alexander is a CFL-record 13-0 as a starter to start his career. This is his biggest test yet, playing against a defensive-minded head coach in Corey Mace, along with the league’s top team.
Engage the backup plan if Alexander struggles to run
Alexander has proven he’s one of the best in the league when healthy and the Als are a far better team with him (9-0) than with any other quarterback (3-8) this season.
However, one of those three wins happened to come against the Roughriders with veteran pivot McLeod Bethel-Thompson at the helm.
Bethel-Thompson threw for 379 yards and three touchdowns in a 48-31 win in Regina on Sept. 13.
A 2022 Grey Cup winner with the Toronto Argos, Bethel-Thompson is a completely different QB than Alexander, relying on a big arm to achieve most of his success. With the Roughriders conceivably developing plans to face Alexander, Bethel-Thompson could present a different challenge for Saskatchewan.
Contain Roughriders running back A.J. Ouellette
The Als had the top-ranked defence in the CFL this season, but were only sixth against the rush.
The Roughriders love to play a ball-possession game — they were first in time of possession — with bruising running back A.J. Ouellette leading the charge.
The good news for the Als is they’ve performed better against the run in the playoffs, despite not having a pair of interior defensive linemen in Mustafa Johnson (shoulder, questionable for the Grey Cup) and Shawn Oakman (released after violating the league’s gender-based violence policy).
Blue Bombers star running back Brady Oliveira rushed for just 38 yards against the Als in the East semifinal, while Tiger-Cats featured back Greg Bell got to 66 yards. Both Als opponents finished well below 100 yards on the ground, a big improvement from Montreal’s average this season (103.1).
Pressure Roughriders QB Trevor Harris
Harris gets the ball out as fast as anyone in the CFL, so it may be tough for Montreal to maintain its impressive sack rate from this season (the Als were tied for the league lead in the category).
But that doesn’t mean the Als can’t affect a QB who prefers to work out of the pocket.
The Als have to clog up passing lanes and force Harris to make uncomfortable throws.
The Alouettes have two outstanding linebackers in Darnell Sankey and Tyrice Beverette. They both could take charge in the middle of the field, making life much more difficult for Harris.
Exploit the kicking-game advantage
Alouettes kicker Jose Maltos Diaz was money last week, nailing all four of his field goals, including the walk-off winner from 45 yards.
Roughriders veteran kicker Brett Lauther endured a very challenging year, finishing last in the league with a 72.2-per-cent success rate.
The Canadian has rebounded recently, making his last nine field goals. However, one miss could raise some doubts from the Roughriders.
Maltos Diaz booted a league-best 58 field goals this season, and the Mexican has the confidence of his teammates.
