Anthony Calvillo, now known as coach Calvillo, in his first full season as the offensive coordinator for the Montreal Alouettes, is passing on his leadership and football knowledge to the team’s starting quarterback, Kevin Glenn. After just a single game, football’s all-time leading passer’s influence is evident within Glenn’s command of the offence.
The Alouettes couldn’t have asked for a better start to the season against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, putting 20 offensive points on the board, but it was the small plays that could change the Alouettes offence for the better in 2016.
Coach Calvillo Shows Glenn Leadership
Glenn played a style of football that was coach Calvillo-esque, with short passes to his third and fourth receivers, and deep passes to his star receivers. He spread the ball around in the opening quarter of the season to give his receivers some confidence, a display of leadership only coach Calvillo would have taught him.
Glenn’s first five completed passes were to five different receivers: S.J. Green, Kenny Stafford, Duron Carter, Sam Giguère and Nik Lewis. He did not intend consecutive passes to the same receiver until his 12th pass, when he completed a pass to Stafford after just missing him the previous play.
After settling in, Glenn started finding his big guns in Green and Carter with deep passes. Carter was covered by Chris Randle, which produced a wonderful match-up, but opened up the field for Green. Both stars made wonderful catches only they could make, and they showed both Glenn and head coach Jim Popp what could come from them this year.
Despite a two-and-out on the opening drive, Glenn set Boris Bede up for a field goal on the following drive. He also led the offence to the red zone three times in the opening half, scoring once and turning the football over twice. Glenn only passed for one touchdown to Green in the third quarter, but discipline and turnovers cost them some points.
Turnovers and Penalties
Glenn threw an interception and Tyrell Sutton fumbled the ball within striking distance of the endzone, and a penalty cost them a sweet 39-yard touchdown from Carter. New left tackle Jacob Ruby was caught holding Euclid Cummings on the play. The Alouettes were nailed with 12 penalties for 110 yards, seven of which cost the offence yards.
Green was charged with two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties, and Popp was charged for a delay of game penalty for challenging the first Green unsportsmanlike penalty, an unreviewable play. Coach Calvillo, who looked timid on the sidelines, needs to speak up to Popp and to Green on avoiding these costly penalties.
Even as a veteran leader, Glenn needs to make sure everybody controls their emotions and stays disciplined. Nothing is more frustrating for an offence than having a big pass or a long run called back for a penalty. Coach Calvillo displayed that leadership during his days in Montreal, and Glenn surely had the control of his teams in his past. Both men need to work together to find a solution to their penalty-happy offence.
Glenn flashed his new skilled receivers and coach Calvillo displayed his ability to run an offence in their win on Friday night. The attack looks to have a lot of potential moving forward, and coach Calvillo needs to continue working with Glenn if they want to keep winning.
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