Languishing Alouettes could use a little more ‘swagger’ against Esks
EDMONTON If home is where the heart is, there’s still a little piece of Edmonton in Adarius Bowman.
And some fire in the Alouettes receiver’s belly as he prepares for Saturday night’s game against the Edmonton Eskimos at Commonwealth Stadium (9 p.m., TSN, RDS, TSN Radio 690).
That could be a good thing, as Montreal attempts to end a fivegame losing skid.
“To be honest, you know it all ends at some point,” said Bowman, who spent seven seasons — including four in which he produced more than 1,100 yards — with the Eskimos before being released last winter and signing with Winnipeg as a free agent.
“I’m past it now, but there was a moment, you know what I mean?” added the 33-year-old veteran, who makes Edmonton his winter home. “I have a new opportunity on my hands and I’m trying to make the best of it.
“It’ll be nice to go back, but I do have some fire in me to go out and be the best I can be,” added Bowman, who was traded to the Als last month for a conditional eighthround draft choice in 2019.
As debuts go with struggling teams, Bowman’s was decent. He caught four passes for 40 yards against Ottawa, although he also fumbled once and was guilty of an unnecessary roughness penalty. Considering he came to Montreal having been held to nine receptions for 95 yards, there might be something there to build on.
“I have to take it. It’s been a rough start this year, so I’ll start right there,” said the 6-foot-3, 223-pounder, who also played for Saskatchewan and the Blue Bombers earlier in his career. “Me being who I am, the loss makes me feel like I should have done more. There was some fight in us. I feel like we could have had a better fourth quarter.”
Bowman, who enjoyed his greatest success as a slotback but is playing plenty of wide-receiver with the Als, was on the receiving end of 25 per cent of the passes completed by Johnny Manziel. But Manziel will miss one game, at least, after being placed under the Canadian Football League’s concussion protocol.
Bowman, and the rest of Montreal’s receivers, must now establish some chemistry with second-year pro Antonio Pipkin, who will make his first pro start. Pipkin was re- leased in June, only to be repatriated almost two weeks ago with another Als quarterback seemingly going down with an injury every game.
“I could see another group of guys complaining, being kind of mopey and b-tching about it,” Bowman said. “The outcome doesn’t look right but ... they have faithinthenextman.
“I love (Pipkin’s) confidence. They call it swagger, these young guys. He sees the mistakes in himself already. I like his arm, too. He’s got a little rocket on him. I think Pipkin’s going to do some of those great things Johnny did. He’s a little different, but they have the same skin and he’ll make it work.”
At 6-foot-3 and 225 pounds, Pipkin, indeed, has the physical attributes to excel. He has a strong arm and can run when necessary. He played briefly at Hamilton last November, in the Als’ final game, but completed only two of nine passes for 14 yards during a 33-0 defeat. There won’t be much tape on him.
“Go out there and throw the ball. It’s what you’ve been doing your whole life. Cut it loose,” said Pipkin, only 23. “You have guys around you who believe in you and have faith in you. At the end of the day it’s football.
“Be a leader. It’s the quarterback position,” added Pipkin, who came to Montreal after trying out for the Arizona Cardinals. “Keep the team motivated. Keep the sideline morale together, no matter what’s going on. And try to put points on the board. Everybody starts somewhere. This is our week to turn it all around.”
There was a belief the Als, perhaps, were starting to come out of their funk last weekend. They played decently for 57 minutes, but wilted badly in the fourth quarter, being outscored 13-0, and lost to the Redblacks, 24-17. Much of that optimism was derived from Manziel’s play. And now he’s gone.
Head coach Mike Sherman’s challenge is to keep the players believing despite the revolving door at quarterback.
“I don’t think it was just because of Johnny. We still lost the game,” Sherman said. “I’m always concerned all the time, whether John’s the quarterback or not, particularly after losing games like we’ve had. The challenge is to play without him, and to play at the level of intensity.”