When Anthony Calvillo broke into the CFL in 1994
with the defunct Las Vegas Posse, he did not look like a quarterback
who would play in five Grey Cup games.
Neither did he look like all-star material while throwing 45
interceptions over the next three seasons with the Hamilton
Tiger-Cats.
But there was enough there for general manager Jim Popp to decide
that Calvillo may have what it takes to succeed Tracy Ham as
quarterback of the Montreal Alouettes.
``I always though Anthony had outstanding talent when we played
against him with Las Vegas and Hamilton,'' Popp, now coach and GM of
the Alouettes, said Friday.
``I didn't think he had a great surrounding cast. He was getting
beat up a lot. We knew Tracy only had a couple of years left in him
and I was looking around to see who would give us the best chance,
if we surrounded him with a great offensive line and a running game,
which we had.
``And I thought Anthony Calvillo was the guy and that's why I
went after him hard.''
In fact, Popp was so glad to land Calvillo that, after signing
him as a free agent, he sent three players to Hamilton that he had
offered earlier in a trade, just because he thought it was fair.
Popp's evaluation was solid.
After two years as Ham's understudy, Calvillo took over as the
starter in 2000 and led Montreal to the Grey Cup game in 2000 _ the
first of five trips to the CFL championship match in a seven-year
span including the game on Sunday (CBC, 6 p.m. ET) against the B.C.
Lions.
The Los Angeles native has piled up numbers that place him among
the league's all-time best. He is already third in career
completions, fourth in passing yards and sixth in touchdown passes.
His four straight years with 5,000 or more passing yards, which
ended this season when offensive numbers around the league were
down, tied CFL great Doug Flutie's record.
``The biggest challenge for every quarterback is to be
consistent,'' Calvillo said. ``Over 18 (regular season) games,
you're going to have ups and downs, but it's about how you bounce
back when things don't go well.
``I've been able to do that over the last, say, five years.''
Despite his numbers, the statistic that sticks to Calvillo is the
Alouettes' record in Grey Cup games under his leadership _ 1-3.
Montreal was beaten by B.C. in 2000, but bounced back to beat
Edmonton in 2002, only to lose to the Eskimos in 2003 and 2005.
The 2002 win came largely from a huge game by the Alouettes
defence, while Calvillo struggled through much of the game. With
each loss came questions about his ability to win the big ones.
And if the heavily favoured Lions win on Sunday, it may define
the Alouettes' place in CFL history, and by extension Calvillo's, as
a great regular season team that might have been a dynasty, but fell
short in the championship games. Like baseball's Atlanta Braves, or
the NFL's Buffalo Bills.
That's why Calvillo said it is vital that Montreal win.
``There are a lot of quarterbacks out there who have won one
(Grey Cup) and only a handful that have won more than one and I want
to put myself and this team, this era, into that (latter)
category,'' Calvillo said. ``We've been to these games so many times
and we were so close.
``I want to leave an impression on the things I've accomplished,
not only the regular season, but in the playoffs, so yes, it is
important.''
Of his four Grey Cup games, last year's was probably his best.
Calvillo was sharp and confident going against Edmonton's Ricky Ray,
but the Alouettes were finally beaten in overtime.
This year, few are giving Montreal any hope of beating a dominant
B.C. team, no matter how well Calvillo plays.
Popp said the reputation of his team or its quarterback should
not be judged by this one game.
``Who knows if he won't take us to three more (Grey Cup) wins
after this?'' he said. ``The bottom line is that he's already
accomplished things that most quarterbacks, even Hall of Fame
quarterbacks in this league, have never accomplished.''
Despite playing 13 CFL seasons, Calvillo is only 34. He has one
year left on his contract, which may not be his last, so there is a
chance he will be back for more Grey Cups in future.
``I take pride in the fact that I've been consistent,'' he said.
``It took so long to get to the top and the hardest thing is to stay
there, because there are young quarterbacks out there waiting to
take your job.
``I'm not ready to give it up yet.''
Calvillo signed with Montreal because he wanted to get better by
working with the veteran Ham, the beginning of a teacher-student
relationship that endures.
Ham called Calvillo when the Alouettes were mired in a six-game
losing streak in mid-season after starting the year 7-0. At that
point, reaching the Grey Cup game looked like an impossible dream.
He and Ham spoke again this week.
``We won it in 2002 and it was an awesome experience, on and off
the field. but the last two times we lost it, it's been a pain,'' he
said. ``I'm tired of losing it.
``Everyone on the team is tired of it. But you have to go out and
play your best because you never know what's going to happen on game
day.''
