THE CANADIAN PRESS

CALGARY - Rating the two teams in the Montreal Alouettes 28-27 over the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the 97th Grey Cup:

MONTREAL ALOUETTES

OFFENCE: C. Quarterback Anthony Calvillo, the CFL's outstanding player the last two seasons, started very slowly and although he did come on later in the game, he faced constant pressure from the Riders' defence. The second-half decision to get the ball to tailback Avon Cobourne -who had run for 247 combined yards in Montreal's two regular-season wins over Saskatchewan - provided a second-half spark. But with the chips down, Calvillo and Co. came through.

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DEFENCE: B. The unit that finished the season leading in 21 of the CFL's 25 defensive categories wasn't anywhere near its usually dominant self. But the defence kept the Alouettes in the game by forcing two turnovers, including Jerald Brown's huge interception in the fourth quarter.

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SPECIAL TEAMS: D. CFL scoring leader Damon Duval booted the game-winning field goal but also shanked two punts, costing Montreal field position. Larry Taylor, the league's top special-teams player this year, started off well but wasn't much of a factor. Punt coverage was average, at best. The top play was Brian Bratton's 56-yard kickoff return in the second half but his fumbled punt return with 40 seconds left put Montreal in a huge bind.

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COACHING: C. Head coach Marc Trestman made a nice adjustment in bringing the run game back into Montreal's offensive arsenal in the second half and the decision to go to for a two-point convert to pull to within 27-19 with less than seven minutes remaining was terrific. But an argument can be made that the decision to involve Cobourne came too late. Defensively, despite a courageous effort, the Alouettes couldn't find the right adjustment to slow the Roughriders offence down.

SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS

OFFENCE: B. Quarterback Darian Durant was solid in delivering the ball quickly and emphatically for much of the game but gave up a terrible interception to Brown late in the contest. The loss tarnished a solid effort by the offensive line in keeping Durant upright and allowing him to attack the middle of Montreal's defence with the pass. The hogs also established running lanes against a Montreal defence that allowed a league-low 75 yards rushing per game and was especially dominant during a five-play, 75-yard drive that Durant capped with a 16-yard TD.

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DEFENCE: A. Saskatchewan's front four was dominant, pressuring Calvillo to either throw before he was ready or flush him out of the pocket and forcing him to throw on the run. What was most impressive is the Riders established their pressure with their front, often opting to drop their linebackers in coverage. And when the linebackers came on blitzes, they often wreaked havoc in the Alouettes backfield. This unit deserved a better fate.

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SPECIAL TEAMS: B. Punter Louie Sakoda was effective and his high kicks gave the Riders' coverage teams time to get downfield and hold Taylor in check. Kicker Luca Congi booted four field goals. Jason Armstead was workmanlike in the return game while for the most part the kick coverage was solid.

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COACHING: B. Riders head coach Ken Miller's gameplan was solid. Offensively, the establishment of the run game from Larry Cates, taking the pressure off Durant to try and do it all himself. Defensively, allowing the linebackers to drop back into coverage often forced Calvillo to hang on to the ball longer than he wanted, allowing the pressure to reach him or forcing Calvillo to try and outrun the pressure. And Miller's decision to challenge a called incompletion late in the first half resulted in the Riders getting credit for an Andy Fantuz completion that led to an important field goal that gave Saskatchewan a 17-3 half-time lead. But to have too many men on for Duval's first game-winning field goal try was inexcusable.