Hot, hot, hot.

That’s the way to describe what the Montreal Alouettes expect from the Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ defence when the two meet in the 110th Grey Cup, in Hamilton, this Sunday.

It’s also the way to describe the passing game that the Als will, in large measure, deploy in order to try to counter that aggression when it comes.

Getting the ball out of quarterback Cody Fajardo’s hands quickly will be a must for Montreal when the two teams clash at Tim Hortons Field.

“That’s the biggest thing we’ve talked about in meetings this week,” said Alouette receiver Tyson Philpot, speaking at his team’s media availability session on Wednesday. “Knowing they’re gonna have pressure just like Toronto brought to us.”

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The Alouettes’ offence was under almost constant hectoring by the Toronto Argonauts’ defence last Saturday, and that pressure meant that rarely – if at all – did Montreal’s passing game look to connect on anything deep. And hardly ever over moderate distances as well. Yet the Als came away with a 38-17 win and a berth in this week’s grand finale, stunning the heavily-favoured Argos at home.

Against Toronto in the Eastern Final, Fajardo was sacked seven times and had a devil of a time either making hot reads or having enough of them available to him, as the Montreal passing game struggled, accruing just 175 yards, altogether. Or so it would seem.

Talk to Austin Mack, Montreal’s star first-year receiver who finished fifth in the CFL with 1,154 yards during the regular season, and he’ll
push back a little, pointing to Montreal’s thirty-two minutes of possession time in the Eastern Final, an indication that the offence did as much as necessary, especially when you consider that the Alouette defence and special teams were powering things, with two interception returns for touchdowns and one kick return touchdown as well.

“There wasn’t a lot that we needed to do,” said Mack. “We just needed to make sure we didn’t give the ball back to them.”

“You gotta understand who the opponent is,” he continued, noting that Toronto loaded up the pass rush and played a lot of deep zone against the Alouettes. “So, for us, it’s a lot of underneath routes and YAC-ing.”

Yards-after-catching could play a vital role for the Alouettes in this year’s Grey Cup.

The Blue Bombers employed all kinds of pressure in their Western Final win over the BC Lions, chalking up nine sacks on the way to a 24 – 13 victory. To think they won’t throw the house at Fajardo would be foolhardy, and the Als claim they will be ready for it.

“Similar opponent,” said Mack comparing Winnipeg’s defence to Toronto’s. “They play a lot of zone, and then their front is really good. So, for us, it’s gonna be the same thing. Each time we get the ball in our hands we need to be as consistent as we can. Catch, knife, and make sure that when we have an opportunity for one-on-one match-ups, see if we can win those.”

If it’s short routes that rely on the receiver’s ability to create some open space after the catch, the Alouettes have just the guy for the job in second-year man Philpot, whose blazing speed, shifty moves and ability to make himself difficult to bring down all suggest he could be quite a valuable key for the Als come Sunday from his wide-side receiving position.

“I’m all in for the contact,” said Philpot, asked about having to deal with rallying tacklers who come up to blast him after a short pass completion.

“I feel like if I can get you close and I can run you over or give you a little shift, if you don’t know it’s coming, then you’re probably gonna be left behind.”

“He’s very explosive,” said teammate William Stanback of Philpot. “And he’s one of those guys where you would think that he’s not that big. But he’s got some power behind him too. So you gotta be prepared for Tyson, man.”

Against Toronto last week, Philpot caught five passes for 42 yards but, incredibly, he averaged less than a yard per reception in the actual air. His 38 yards after the catch will tell you what your eyes probably already know; that Tyson Philpot can be a real difference-maker for Montreal in a hot-read passing game.

“We’ve gotta get our hot routes out fast and be confident with them,” said Philpot, looking ahead to Sunday’s game. “And make those yards after catch. If we can turn those into a touchdown, that’s gonna be the difference between winning and losing.”

The good ol’ screen pass might be the Alouette offence’s best friend against Winnipeg, too. It’s been conventional football knowledge for many years that a well-timed and well-placed screen pass can be a dagger to a blitzing defence on any given drive.

“It’s like a ‘get out of jail card’ for the quarterback,” said Stanback, who turned a short screen pass into 25 yards against Toronto, the Alouettes’ biggest passing play of the Eastern Final.

“Looking at me, what type of running back I am, people would think I’m just a bruiser,” said Stanback, proud of his pass-catching abilities. “People don’t realize that I have hands too.”

If the expected onslaught of pocket-collapsing rushers come after the Montreal offensive line, the Alouette offence will need to create a lot
from a little on Grey Cup Sunday.

They can’t really rely on three non-offensive touchdowns to push them to victory again. Can they?