QB Manziel misses practice, unlikely to face Argonauts
Pipkin to lead squad as Als get tough on mistakes, show receiver Graham the door
Things will become clearer in the coming days, but it certainly appears the Alouettes will have to make due without Johnny Manziel for a second consecutive week.
And perhaps the play of Antonio Pipkin last Saturday, at Edmonton, doesn’t make that scenario seem as daunting as it was a week ago.
Manziel, who has been under the Canadian Football League’s concussion protocol since Wednesday, continues attending meetings, but he wasn’t on the field Tuesday when the Als returned outdoors for the first time in seven weeks after spending most of the summer practising in Olympic Stadium.
With only one full practice, and a Thursday walk-through, remaining before the Als host the Toronto Argonauts Friday, it seems the offence will continue being led by Pipkin, who completed 14 of 25 passes for 217 yards against the Eskimos during a 40-24 loss.
“Staying out here in the sun … I think he’s going to be released to come outside, I think, (Wednesday) or maybe Thursday,” head coach Mike Sherman said. “As far as I know he feels good, he’s testing good. They wanted to keep him inside today. I expect him back on the field this week, but we’ll have to wait and see.
“It’s the doctor’s call.” Pipkin’s production would have been significantly higher had his receivers done a better job. B.J. Cunningham dropped a pass, but the biggest culprit was T.J. Graham, who saw a potentially long, over-the-shoulder reception go through his hands.
This isn’t the first time Graham has been guilty of a miscue and, on Tuesday, he paid the ultimate price when the Als released him, along with Joe Rankin, their starting field cornerback the last two games.
“Every drop’s not always on the receiver,” Pipkin said. “You hear the saying if they get their hands on it they should catch it. But every ball’s not in the spot where they can get to it.
“We had some drops, but they weren’t all on the receivers. There’s drops across the league. Even in the NFL. Nobody’s perfect.”
Nonetheless, management has been patient with this group while they continue losing games and have remained largely uncompetitive. Perhaps the message is being delivered that mediocrity won’t be tolerated with so many things going wrong while the Als have lost eight of nine games, many in ugly fashion.
Sherman said players must be held accountable.
“I’m sure the players in that room understand what happens and the accountability factor,” he said.
While Pipkin is expected to start Friday in what must be considered a must-win game, Matt Shiltz, who dressed last week, is progressing well from his shoulder injury and should be the backup against Toronto.
“I thought (Pipkin) did a very nice job in the game,” Sherman said. “He did some things in the game that could have helped us win. A couple of plays we missed on. A couple could have been big plays if something else happened.
“He was here in the pre-season, which helped us. It was good to see that. He’s a good kid who works hard and takes his job very seriously.”
Pipkin was with the Als throughout last season, but didn’t get into a game until the regular-season finale at Hamilton, replacing Shiltz, who started. Pipkin was released in late June, following the opening-game loss at Vancouver, but returned this month.
Sherman recently said Pipkin was an improved player upon his return. Pipkin concurred, stating he’s more mentally resilient.
“It’s a business. You never understand that side as an athlete,” he said. “You never understand why you went home or got traded.
“Mentally, I was stronger when I returned and my mindset was different. When I came to camp it was more competing to start. When you’re not competing to start, it’s like you’re trying to do everything the best you can to make zero mistakes.”
While Graham and Rankin were released, Sherman is sticking with veteran wide-receiver Adarius Bowman, who was ejected just before halftime following a brief altercation with Edmonton cornerback Mercy Maston.
Bowman admitted his culpability and said he apologized to Sherman, but Bowman also expressed shock over his disqualification.
“We were shoving. It was regular blocking. I’m not making excuses. I wasn’t aiming for his head. If you check the film, we were both pushing each other. My push hit his helmet,” Bowman said. “My hand accidentally hit his helmet. If it would have been in the proper place, it would have hit his chest. That’s the way I block. It was an accident.
“I’m disappointed in myself … and embarrassed a little bit. I really felt like I did something wrong. I let some people down, including myself.”
Notes: The Als are exploring a bid to re-sign defensive-end Gabriel Knapton, who was released by B.C. on Tuesday. Knapton spent four seasons with Montreal before being traded to the Lions for receiver Chris Williams. … Rush-end John Bowman, who missed two games with a partially torn biceps muscle, has returned to practice and should be activated against the Argos. … Tailback Tyrell Sutton has a deep thigh or quad bruise that will probably sideline him for two games.