No panic among ‘resilient’ Alouettes but free fall continues for struggling offence
Alouettes tailback Tyrell Sutton rushed for four yards last Thursday against Ottawa. Four. The same number of points the offence produced.
Indeed, the Als allowed more quarterback sacks, five, than the number of points the team scored in a 32-4 defeat.
“So what? Ottawa won (the Grey Cup) last year at 8-9 or (something) like that, and they didn’t win consecutive games until the playoffs,” Sutton said on Monday, after practice. “We just have to get to the dance and we’ll be fine. After that, nothing really matters.”
The Redblacks did indeed capture the Grey Cup last season despite an 8-9-1 record.
After winning their opening two regular season games, they didn’t string together successive victories until the East Division final and championship game.
While a similar mark might be enough to again place first in the division, is there any reason to believe the Als, now 3-7 heading into Friday night’s game at British Columbia, are capable of winning five of their final eight? Or of becoming the first Als team since 1969 to miss the Canadian Football League playoffs in three straight seasons?
“We’re a resilient team that doesn’t like losing. You have to do something,” Sutton said. “We already set a record (since the team’s return to the CFL in 1996) going two years without it. I’m not trying to delve deeper into the negative record books. We can’t do that.”
Nonetheless, it’s already been a season in which the Als appear to have fallen almost as low as possible. In two of the team’s 10 games, Montreal’s offence has been held without a touchdown. The Als owned a similar 3-7 record after 10 games last season, then lost two more before Jacques Chapdelaine replaced Jim Popp as head coach.
We’re not suggesting Chapdelaine’s demise is even on the radar, but his promotion last September infused the team with some positive energy, with Montreal winning four of its final six games.
A year later, this team appears to be in free fall.
And Chapdelaine faces the added ignominy of serving as the team’s offensive coordinator.
When Chapdelaine replaced Popp, he relieved offensive coordinator Anthony Calvillo of playcalling responsibilities. Calvillo was a legendary quarterback, but is still relatively new to the coaching fraternity and clearly had too much on his plate. A year later, the argument could be made that so, too, does Chapdelaine.
“There’s no doubt there’s a lot on my plate,” he said.
“There’s no doubt there’s a learning curve to that. I’m the first one to critically look at my performance, just like I look at everyone else’s. If I look at the film and see I’m not putting the guys into a positive situation ... that concepts are over-defended, I’ll be the first to say I’m not doing my job.
“I’m not seeing this right now. I’m not pointing the finger at anyone else. Collectively, we need to execute better.”
This dearth of offence isn’t a problem exclusive to Montreal.
Toronto was held to seven points at Calgary last month, while the Lions went to Saskatchewan and produced only eight. There have been no shutouts this season, although Hamilton scored only a single during a humiliating 60-1 loss to the Stampeders in late July.
It’s just that it seems to happen more frequently to the Als, a team that seemingly hasn’t recovered since a Stefan Logan fumbled kickoff was returned for a touchdown at Toronto on Aug. 19.
The Als have now lost three consecutive games and are heading to a city where they have won just twice since 2001.
Chapdelaine maintains he hasn’t witnessed any quit in the team.
“We’re disappointed. It’s (last week’s game) a missed opportunity. We’re not going to paint it any other way,” he said.
“At the same time, I still believe we can achieve so much more on the field. The guys themselves are demanding we have more focus onto everything we’re doing. Obviously, it’s becoming more and more critical as we move forward. I still feel the players are very much in a positive mindset.
“You can feel a sense of positive energy coming back this week. It’s important for us not to change. I don’t want to cultivate a feeling of anxiety and stress,” Chapdelaine added. “It’s not going to be easy, there’s no doubt. At the same time, I think everyone is working in the right direction.”
Nonetheless, some things offensively are obvious problems. Samuel Giguère continues dropping too many passes since his return from injury, while Ernest Jackson, one of last winter’s prized free agent signings, appears to be an afterthought. Jackson thought he would be a bigger part of the offence, but said it’s out of his hands.
“It has nothing to do with me. It comes with the game,” said the division’s most outstanding player in 2016. “I’m just waiting for my call. Until then, I’ve got nothing to do with it. The coach calls the plays. It’s all up to him.”
Notes: Middle linebacker Anthony Sarao suffered a shoulder injury against Ottawa and won’t play this week. He’ll be replaced by Branden Dozier . ... Canadian Chris Greaves will replace import Jeremy Lewis at left guard . ... Offensive tackle Xavier Fulton, who has played for both Saskatchewan and Hamilton, was signed on Monday.