Watch Out For Montreal Alouettes in CFL Playoffs

When the Montreal Alouettes started the Canadian Football League season by losing seven of their first eight games, football pundits (ahem, including yours truly) couldn’t write them off fast enough. For me, it only took five games before I gave them the ax, just after they brought Jeff Garcia in to help out the offence.

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Well, sometimes you just have to own it. I was completely and utterly wrong about the Montreal Alouettes’ heart. They still may not be the most talented team in the CFL, but the fact remains that they have won eight of their last 10 (covering the pointspread seven times), even after they blew a chance at a first-round bye in last week’s loss to Hamilton.

The fact remains that they’re hosting a playoff game against the B.C. Lions and that they’re pegged as 3-point favorites.

So, if I’ve learned nothing else from this CFL season, it’s not to dismiss this Alouettes team. After last week’s setback the club seems more capable of dealing with adversity than it did this summer.

“That 1-7 team no longer exists. The 8-2 team showed resilience, it showed promise,” head coach Tom Higgs told reporters. “A lot of our players have played in playoffs, Grey Cups and understand the importance of executing at this time of year. I don’t believe there will be any panic.”

Considering all Montreal has been through already this year, it’s hard not to believe him. Offensive coordinator Ryan Dinwiddie didn’t take over the job until training camp and rookie quarterback Jonathan Compton didn’t get his chance to start until midway through the season. Granted, offence still isn’t the Als’ strong suit, but at least now they’re moving the chains.

And outside of the obvious advantage of playing at home, you have to think the Als feel as though they’re playing with house money to even be in the playoffs considering their awful start.

“Just for us to be here is a blessing. We were 1-7,” slotback S.J. Green told reporters. “To fight back and have a chance to play for first place, regardless of how it ended, is a tribute to how we fought back.”

It’s still early in the week, but bettors are siding with Montreal early. About 83 percent of bets are currently coming in on the Als.