Als Offense from Dunk’n’Dink to Slam Dunk?



Nobody remembers the first line of Lord of the Rings or War and Peace, so we can quickly forget the first play from scrimmage of the Marc Trestman Era. All kinds of motion, as secretly foretold by Anthony Calvillo, who was looking like a chocaholic ice-cream addict headed to Wild Willie’s just reviewing his extensive play menu the morning of the Als’ 2008 season kickoff.



But for all the waggling and misdirection from the Als receivers, Play No. 1 boiled down to a quick toss to Laval-native Danny Desriveaux who was quickly blasted to the turf. The flames launching up from Stelco must have looked like the Hellfires of Kuwait from Desriveaux’s view. That is if he could see passed the Tweetie Birds and the stars circling his head after the first serious contact of the Happy Football New Year. Dink’n’dunk they call those little short junk passes that may pad your completion stats, but won’t get you to the endzone in any hurry.



But the Trestman playbook has many chapters, and many twists of plot and formation for an experienced and studious quarterback like Anthony Calvillo. He proved to be a voracious reader of the Trestman “phone-book” and soon was carving up the Ti-Cats defense and in a town where AC was booed mercilessly during his own stint in Hamilton, moved to #2 alltime in CFL passing yards with a near flawless performance.



Calvillo is a man on a mission this season. He told CJAD’s Ed Philion, his former teammate and the true Grey Cup MVP of 2002, that his wife Alexia’s battle against cancer has inspired him with a greater appreciation for the love of the game. AC’s love of family and community has never been in question.



No surprise to me that AC’s re-inspired play also will benefit the city that he has come to love and call home. After spending too much time over the offseason at the 7th floor of the Royal Vic, he’s vowing to refurbish the Family Room there. For every touchdown pass Calvillo throws, he’s donating $100.00 (CJAD’s Kids Fund matches his donations and invites YOU to make a pledge as well) to the job of making that place I hope you never have to visit just a little brighter and more comforting for families in need of a lift.



That Trestman playbook cost Anthony $200 bucks. But a convincing win to get the rookie head coach his first ice-dunking by game end, and polishing your Hall of Fame stats (more irony in that the Hall is a short drive from Ivor Wynne, and Hamilton will again have to swallow the fact it dropped Calvillo for nothing on waivers ten years ago)….priceless.



West Islander Brian Chiu and Vaudreuil resident Paul Lambert happily led the dunking brigade with a direct hit on Trestman to celebrate the win in Steeltown. More delicious irony since O-line has paid the highest physical price of their toughest camp ever at Fort St. Jean and a grueling pre-season. Trestman’s new playbook looks like a CFL besteller, but it doesn’t fly if the Great Wall of Mount Royal doesn’t keep Calvillo looking downfield, rather than down at the turf, or worse, flat on his back looking up at the sky.



Props to K-Wat…Kerry Watkins and the receivers have so many formation variations on each play to learn, that they barely had a chance to plot out any endzone celebrations. After being mobbed by a hustling o-line on his first td, Watkins thankfully had a 2nd chance to show off his creativity, forming a circle with his fellow pass-catchers and playing “hot potato” with the football after his second TD of the game. “Just thought of it right before the anthem,” says Watkins, who was among the Als players forced to rehearse their playbook choreography in the hotel parking lot on the morning of gameday. That had some CFL vets I talked to wondering ‘if they don’t know their plays by gameday, how will a parking lot practise help them?’ But if superstition rules, the offense may have to get used to finding more parking lots on gameday. And saving their endzone celebration planning for gametime.