CFL: Missing ingredient confounds Alouettes

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It's an unfamiliar sight around these parts, the all-world receiver sitting mutely in his locker, staring into space after blowing a simple catch that would have nudged his team to victory.

A few feet away, the Hall of Fame quarterback stands with an angry and bewildered expression, an eerie quiet reigns.

But these are unusual times for the Montreal Alouettes – there is plainly something missing from a team that has so dominated the CFL over the past decade.

What that something might be, however, is a more complicated question to answer.

Is it the champion's killer instinct? Is it confidence? Belief?

Whatever the explanation, consecutive last-minute capitulations to the Winnipeg Blue Bomber and Calgary Stampeders in must-win games – including a 32-27 defeat Sunday to the Stampeders – carry ominous portents for a team whose stated ambition is a Grey Cup three-peat.

To get there, they'll have to better manage occasions like the last 57.2 seconds on Sunday, where they took the ball back at their own 35-yard line needing to score a touchdown.

Quarterback Anthony Calvillo threw passes to Brian Bratton and Jamel Richardson – who made a circus catch on the right sideline – and steered his team to the Calgary 11-yard line with 29.2 seconds to play.

Then he zipped a pass into Richardson, who, standing on the goal line, dropped the ball. The football gods can't have been impressed because on the ensuing third-down gamble Calgary's Johnnie Dixon knocked down a pass in the end zone destined for S.J. Green.

Game over.

"I felt like I let my teammates down, I feel like we just lost the championship, it hurts that bad for me," Richardson said later. "I expect to make that play. … Ain't no excuse, I've got to catch that."

The strapping receiver managed to boost his league-leading pass-catching total by 111 yards, but nevertheless found himself at the heart of the Als' latest crunch-time failure.

Add the fourth-quarter collapse in Winnipeg last week – the Als led by 15 – and a near-miss against Hamilton the previous week, and Montreal has cause to worry.

"We're still looking for ways to close these [close]games out but we haven't found it yet. … We've got one more game to do it," Calvillo said, alluding to next week's finale away to the B.C. Lions.

Head coach Marc Trestman batted aside suggestions that his squad's not as hungry as in past years, but the absence of emotional leaders like Avon Cobourne, now playing in Hamilton, and Mathieu Proulx, now retired, might be telling.

Full credit must be given to the Stampeders – particularly their quarterback, the cool and efficient Drew Tate, who impressed in his second CFL start – but this is a game that was the Als' for the taking, and they couldn't grab it.

In the build-up to this game, veteran Stamps quarterback Henry Burris alluded to the way the Als are now perceived by other teams.

"I think the rest of the league has caught up to the. … Usually, it's a cakewalk through the season and they're rested for The Show," Burris said last week. "Not this year, and it's refreshing to see."

Another problem that can't be ignored is Calvillo's uneven play.

Though Calvillo still managed to pass for 380 yards on Sunday, it's apparent from the last two games he isn't quite himself, particularly in key moments like a failed third-and-goal gamble in first half and two-point conversion attempt late in the game.

Inopportune turnovers (like a third-quarter fumble with his team driving) and iffy completion percentage hint that he is struggling to find his best form.

Montreal (10-7) gets one more shot at reclaiming top spot in the East next week, but will need help from Calgary, which plays the Blue Bombers.

And is the team's confidence shaken by the last two weeks?

"Hell, no. For what?" Richardson said defiantly. "That was a good team and a good game; it isn't like we got blown out, we just fell short."

With a report from Allan Maki in Calgary