IT’S ONE YEAR LATER, BUT SAME OLD STORY
Als have been in decline since departure of coach Trestman, Calvillo in QB role
It has been roughly a year since the Alouettes won a game at BC Place Stadium — a rare occurrence indeed — that improved their record to 3-5, marking the second consecutive season the team started slowly under head coach Tom Higgins.
Higgins’ reward the next day, upon the team’s arrival in Montreal, was getting fired over the phone — the conversation lasting perhaps 15 seconds — by owner Robert Wetenhall. Hey, he signs the cheques and it’s his team — but Higgins, a decent human being, deserved better.
The Als then went out the following week, at Hamilton, and won their first game under Higgins’ replacement, general manager Jim Popp. Montreal became the first team to win a game at Tim Hortons Field and reached the halfway mark of the regular schedule with a 4-5 record.
The victory might have been the highlight of Popp’s season. The Als would win only two more games, finishing with a 6-12 record and missing the Canadian Football League playoffs for the first time since the franchise returned in 1996. It also marked the team’s worst record in two decades.
A year later, what has changed? There might be more stability and harmony — president Mark Weightman’s catchphrases last November, when it was announced Popp would return as head coach — but the Als appear to be no better. Heading into Friday night’s home game against Winnipeg, Montreal was 3-5, again, meaning it could be no better than 4-5, again, with 50 per cent of the season remaining.
This franchise has been in a free fall since 2013, the first season after head coach Marc Trestman departed for the Chicago Bears, and after quarterback Anthony Calvillo was concussed at Mosaic Stadium on Aug. 17, eventually signifying the end of his brilliant career.
In 2012, the Als were 7-2 following nine games en route to an 11-7 record. A year later, they were 4-5 and would finish 8-10. In 2014, Montreal rebounded from a 2-7 start to finish 9-9. This franchise has been spinning its wheels going on four seasons.
As we reach the midpoint of the schedule in this, our 20th season on the beat, here are some other random thoughts that have jumped out this season.
Rakeem Cato had engineered an impressive drive near the end of the first quarter against Ottawa on June 30. It was one of the few offensive forays to that point while starting quarterback Kevin Glenn was injured. Nonetheless, when the teams changed ends to begin the second quarter — and with the Als in the middle of a drive — Glenn returned. The drive eventually fizzled, thanks to an offensive pass interference penalty against S.J. Green. And then Boris Bede missed a 36-year field goal attempt.
The Als lost 22-14. How might things have changed had Cato completed the drive?
Redblacks quarterback Trevor Harris and receiver Chris Williams were named two of the league’s top performers of the week — after playing Montreal. In early August, British Columbia nickel back Loucheiz Purifoy received a similar honour for recovering Corbin Louks’ fumble and returning it 47 yards for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter.
This is the kind of stat no team can be proud of.
The halftime score against the Redblacks on June 30 was 14-5 for Ottawa. It would eventually be 14-13 in the third quarter.
A week later it would be 5-4 for Hamilton following 30 minutes — indicating the Als can hang with teams for a while, but aren’t, or weren’t, good enough. The Als have been outscored 66-30 in the fourth quarter through eight games. Three times, Montreal has failed to score a point in the final period.
For all the times Popp has stated injuries aren’t an excuse, it’s amazing how often the names of Green, Tyrell Sutton, Kenny Stafford and, for one game, Glenn, entered the conversation. Now that everyone but Green has returned, the Als should be vastly improved. No?
In what might have been the most bizarre moment this season, the Als decided to insert Canadian quarterback Brandon Bridge into a July 25 game at Toronto, late in the fourth quarter for a third-down gamble from the one-yard line. Bridge had spent the entire game on the bench and the visitors were trailing by 13 — so it really didn’t matter. Bridge, who struggled all season with short-yardage scenarios before being released, looked hopelessly lost on the play and got sacked.
We’re not denying Bede struggled this season and received plenty of rope to hang himself — which he eventually did. But when they decided to finally make a change at the position, why did it come following a 20-point loss to the Lions? Bede wasn’t the reason the Als lost, although he contributed.
From the first scrimmage of training camp at Bishop’s University — 150 kilometres from Montreal — which started close to one hour after the advertised time, the Als have appeared to be one of the league’s most disorganized teams, unable to keep to a schedule.
How is it that Duron Carter was fined and suspended for an incident almost two months ago, appealed the suspension and, as the Als prepare to embark on the second half of the schedule, we’re still awaiting an arbitrator’s decision?
The Als waited five years for draft choice Vaughn Martin while he pursued his NFL dream, cut his salary once — and wanted to slash it a second time, according to RDS — and then ultimately released him. We get it. Some players don’t work out. But why release Martin after fellow defensive tackle Michael Klassen suffered a fractured leg, possibly ending his season?
For all their inconsistencies, where would the Als be without their defence? This unit has been the one redeeming factor that has held this team together on an annual basis. It makes us wonder whether defensive co-ordinator Noel Thorpe shouldn’t be next-in-line to eventually replace Popp as head coach. Does Thorpe at least not deserve an opportunity?
Perhaps the most disheartening aspect of all this is that, while the Als continue to struggle, few seem to care. Attendance for the first home game was 21,522 but has continued to dwindle — from 20,098 to 20,018 to 19,125.
And we can assure you that Wetenhall, who has lost millions over 20 years, has noticed. This organization no longer has become a sexy destination for players. Just ask Sean Whyte. And Mitchell White. And others.
.It makes us wonder whether defensive co-ordinator Noel Thorpe shouldn’t be next-in-line to eventually replace Popp as head coach.