It could be the end

This has been a year in which Montreal Alouettes star quarterback Anthony Calvillo has set records in pro football and the Canadian Football League, but could this also be the year that he retires?

This is something I pondered a month ago and it's becoming even more prevalent now heading into this Sunday's Eastern Semi-Final. The Als play host to the visiting Hamilton Tiger-Cats and are considered a six-point favourite. In previous years, the spread might have been more. Then again, the Als are in unfamiliar territory, having to win the semi-final to qualify for the final.

Normally the Als have dominated their division so much, they have locked up first place heading into the final regular-season game and don't play many of their starters. Calvillo would be given the luxury of a rest so that the time in between the final regular-season game and the East Division Final would have him physically and mentally in great shape. The fact he could play at home indoors at the Big Owe would mean he wouldn't have to play in chilly conditions.

If the Als beat the Ticats - and it says here they will - they have to travel to Winnipeg to play the idle Blue Bombers in what more than likely won't be balmy conditions. If it isn't bone-chilling cold, the wind could play a factor, as it often does at Canad Inns Stadium, which will no longer be the Bombers' home after this year.

The end is coming for Canad Inns? But is the end coming for Calvillo, too?

The Als are heading into this Sunday's game off one of their most-embarrassing defeats in recent franchise history, a 43-1 loss to the B.C. Lions. The game served notice of the difference between the two teams at this point and their quarterbacks: The Lions won their division on the strength of many things, notably the play of young pivot Travis Lulay. The Als lost their last three regular-season games and Calvillo did not play his best. He completed only nine of 17 passes for 63 years in the loss to the Lions in a performance that you'd swear Cleo Lemon had invaded Calvillo's body. Calvillo was mercifully pulled midway in the second half to reduce the physical beating he was taking.

Calvillo is missing his left tackle, Josh Bourke, who is the East Division Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman nominee. Bourke is done for the season with an injury and didn't play in the loss to Lions. He was replaced by the team's right tackle, Jeff Perrett, and it was clear there was an issue of comfort in his foot work. Bourke covers Calvillo's blindside, and there has been some recent discussion in the sports world about the importance - or lack thereof - of that position. Some claim the blindside tackle position is overrated. Don't believe it. Quarterbacks rely on timing, and a split second compromised by a missed block from his blind side more often than not results in a hit and/or a sack, and often a turnover. There is little to see or prepare for the oncoming attack, and having to hold on to the ball in the midst of this is difficult. Protecting the ball sometimes becomes more important than protecting the body. This is what leads to injuries.

The strength of the Als has always been their pass-protection, but it's an issue going into the playoffs. A big issue.

Calvillo is 39 and in great shape, but the recovery process at his age is longer. He has taken some incredibly wicked shots this year, including one that knocked him silly. He lay motionless on the turf before regaining his feet, after which it was declared he had suffered a minor rib injury. There was a hit earlier in the season in which he took awhile to regain his feet, and that time it was announced he had suffered blurred vision, which kept him out of the next game.

Could Calvillo be hurt more than we know now? Those were the kind of hits that could surely rattle the body of any player, let alone a 39-year-old one, who for the most part has had a healthy career. Take into consideration playing in a physically-punishing game in Vancouver and then having to travel home to Montreal. That takes a toll that minimally would require at least two days of recovery time if not more. Calvillo won't be going into Sunday's final nearly as physically fit as he was going into the playoffs in previous years.

You know Calvillo is a warrior and will want to put the physical and mental effects of that game behind him. For the most part he has been able to recover from a poor outing this year with a good one. The stakes are so much different now. Calvillo can't afford to have a bad game because if it results in a loss the season is over.

Any chance the Ticats have to win - and they might be the only ones who believe that is a possibility - is predicated on pressuring Calvillo. They may see a sign of vulnerability in the Als without a key component to the offence. The Ticats really can't afford to lay back and play zone defence. They have to attack and hope to disrupt Calvillo and take him out of his comfort zone and rhythm. They did that with skilled precision on Labour Day, frustrating Calvillo, who completed only 17 of 30 passes for 215 yards. This was another game in which he was pulled.

So it's not as if the Ticats don't have a chance. It's really what they can do to Calvillo and what he can do them. Calvillo simply has to bounce back because if he can't, the talk of his future - and in particular his retirement - will surface. His favourite receiver Ben Cahoon retired after last season. He left on his own terms.

Calvillo will leave on his own terms, too. He will decide when the time is right to retire. But the end is near, that is to be sure. This isn't Paul McCallum, the league's eldest player at age 41, playing at the peak of his career and with no end in sight. He is a punter/place kicker who has taken a minimum of hits. Calvillo has probably taken more in one game than McCallum has taken in a career.

Calvillo is the East Division's nominee for Most Outstanding Player. His opposition is Lulay, who clearly outplayed him in the Lions' win over the Als and who may have received some votes for MOP if there was anyone waffling whether to pick him or Calvillo.

Calvillo has never been about individual accomplishments. It's all about the team. He has won the last two Grey Cups and is looking to be part of something special by winning three in a row, something which hasn't been done since the Edmonton Eskimos' marvelous run of five consecutive championships from 1978-82. But first the Als have to get by Hamilton. If they are fortunate to do that, then they have to beat the Bombers, and then the West Division finalist.

This is what makes the playoffs interesting this year, in particular for a player like Calvillo. This season has been about celebrating some milestones in his career, which will surely be on display when he is inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame, but that's a way off in the distance. Calvillo's future is all about his next game. How he plays on Sunday and going forward - if there is indeed another day to fight this season - will speak of whether we are witnessing the last of one of the greatest quarterbacks in CFL history.

Perry Lefko keeps you connected to all the news in the CFL on Sportsnet.ca.