Als hit new low in home finale
Lopsided loss to Ticats makes it nine straight defeats for beleaguered Montreal
On a day the organization honoured the 1977 Grey Cup champions, and even trotted out legendary 92-year-old Marv Levy, the Alouettes predictably decided to play more like the 1967 version. Or 1981. Take your pick.
There’s no sense ridiculing this team anymore. The 2017 Als will go down in history as one of the worst the franchise has assembled. Instead, it will be more interesting to see what the organization does, moving forward.
The latest debacle ended up 43-16 to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, a team that, for argument’s sake, is the second-worst in the Canadian Football League; a team that started the season losing its first eight games and now is only 5-11.
But the Ticats also are 5-3 since June Jones replaced head coach Kent Austin and had little difficulty overcoming a 7-3 Montreal lead in the opening quarter. The visitors scored 40 consecutive points before the Als finally found the end zone with a meaningless score late in the fourth quarter.
If the Als were bad under former head coach Jacques Chapdelaine, they’ve been absolutely putrid since general manager Kavis Reed replaced him on an interim basis. Montreal’s 0-5 under Reed and 3-13 overall. They haven’t won a game since Aug. 11 and are now on a nine-game losing skid, something they haven’t done since 1981, when they went 3-13 under Joe Scannella.
Should the Als fail to win another game this season — a distinct possibility, considering they finish at Saskatchewan and Hamilton, and haven’t won on the road in 2017 — this will mark their worst record over an 18-game schedule. In 1986, the last season before the franchise folded, Montreal was 4-14.
The Als have been outscored 20681 since the coaching change. Their offence is non-existent and their defence has relinquished more than 40 points in a regular-season game for the fifth time, something that hasn’t occurred since 1960, tying a team record.
As the seagulls — vultures might have been more appropriate — circled the Molson Stadium stands throughout most of the fourth quarter, looking for any scraps of food, those who remained called for Reed’s head, something that’s not likely to happen. Not only has president Patrick Boivin said he’s returning, co-owner Andrew Wetenhall stated the same during a pre-game RDS interview.
Reed claimed he was oblivious to the intonations but couldn’t mask his disappointment.
“It’s been a very difficult season,” he said, stating the obvious. “We need to be apologetic for not providing them with a better game.”
Veteran quarterback Darian Durant returned after missing two games with a hamstring injury. His first pass was incomplete. His second pass was intercepted. Many of his other passes were low. He was replaced — not for the first time this season — to begin the second half by rookie Matthew Shiltz.
While he did connect with Ernest Jackson — another one of many who have underachieved this season — for a 15-yard touchdown pass nine minutes into the game, Durant completed a modest eight of 14 attempts for 92 yards. The Als had six first downs and 93 yards’ net offence through 30 minutes.
“It’s always tough to be taken out. I felt like we were moving the ball. I felt like we did some good things offensively,” Durant claimed. “We just killed ourselves with a couple of penalties. I felt like we were moving the ball but the game just got out of hand.”
The braying, Durant said, is part of the game. “They pay their money to come out and see us play well. You put money into this team and we put on a show like that. I can feel their disappointment for sure.”
Durant and the Als launched their season with a victory at home against Saskatchewan, his former team. But with Montreal headed to the new Mosaic Stadium on Friday, Reed wouldn’t commit to starting Durant in his homecoming. Truthfully, is there anything to be gained by playing him at this juncture?
Shiltz, who might be the Als’ quarterback of the future — along with everyone else who has attempted to replace Anthony Calvillo — completed 15 of 22 passes for 167 yards. He was intercepted once in the Hamilton end zone. He led the team to a late touchdown, but earlier in the fourth quarter, with the ball on the Ticats’ two-yard line, the team self-destructed, as only they can do.
Following an illegal formation penalty and incomplete pass, Shiltz was sacked. On third down, rather than gamble, the Als attempted a 21-yard field goal — but the ball sailed over Drew Willy’s head, one of the team’s four turnovers. Montreal quarterbacks were sacked five times. Even the usually reliable Boris Bede was penalized twice for illegal kicks.
Look, this wasn’t the Als’ strongest lineup — provided one actually exists. They were missing guards Phil Blake and Kristian Matte. Slotback Nik Lewis also sat this one out and told the Montreal Gazette he’s unlikely to play again this season. His choice. But he said he now could be swayed to return in 2018, depending on who is the new head coach.
Others, like centre Luc Brodeur-Jourdain and rush-end John Bowman, likely played the final home game of their careers.
“It would be a terrible way to go out from this game,” Brodeur-Jourdain said. “Hopefully, it’s not the end for me. I’ll forever cherish every single game — the good times and the bad times.
“We have a storyline that has been on repeat.”