Als coach says key mistakes, not bad plays, holding team back
Jacques Chapdelaine’s mind hasn’t changed since Wednesday night. He still believes backup quarterback Vernon Adams picked up the necessary yard on a third-down play from the Ottawa eight-yard line in the game’s final moments.
And the Alouettes head coach told his players he would run the identical play again under similar circumstances.
“I think it was well executed. I thought the push was good. Obviously, it’s subjective. The people on the field didn’t see it as a gain that was sufficient for a first down. We obviously beg to differ. At the end, they have the (final) decision. We abide by it,” Chapdelaine said Sunday when the Als returned to practice at Olympic Stadium.
Trailing by five points with 5:49 remaining in the fourth quarter, the Als took possession from their 19, quarterback Darian Durant producing an 11-play, 84-yard drive that consumed 4:16. The visitors were already forced to run one third-down play, with B.J. Cunningham sweeping to the left and gaining seven yards.
This time, following a one-yard gain by J.C. Beaulieu, the Als were faced with third and one. Although Adams was officially credited with a one-yard gain, when the officials spotted the ball and measured to see whether it was a first down, Adams was deemed to have been stopped inches short.
Montreal lost 24-19, its third defeat in five games.
The Als are 0-2 on the road this season heading into Thursday night’s match in Winnipeg.
Chapdelaine had run out of challenges by that juncture, but the point is moot.
Because of the turnover on downs, the play was reviewed by the Canadian Football League’s Toronto-based command centre. In a text message to the Montreal Gazette, Glen Johnson, the senior vice-president of football, confirmed a review had occurred, but the command centre saw no reason to alter the on-field decision.
“For our angle, we still feel good. Let me put it this way,” Chapdelaine said. “I don’t want to contradict what the CFL officials are saying. We still feel good about what we did on that play. As I told the players ... same play, same situation, we’re calling the same play and I expect a positive outcome in a different world.”
Any coach or player will argue a game’s outcome isn’t decided by one play alone. On the short gain by Beaulieu that preceded the Adams sneak, there was a breakdown in the blocking scheme, according to Chapdelaine, which would have made the third-down scenario irrelevant.
But the bottom line, once again, proved insufficient. Teams in the CFL can’t win games when they’re held below 20 points and find the end zone only twice. It marked the fourth time this season the Als have failed to score at least 20.