July 3, 2019

3 things to look out for at the Home Opener

Finally! Our Alouettes will be battling it out for the first time at home this season on Thursday, July 4!



After a setback in Hamilton last week, the team will get the opportunity to seek revenge versus the Ticats to give Montrealers their first win of the year. As a matter of fact, two consecutive gains against the same team are quite rare in football. Often, the winning team takes their opponents a little too lightly the second time around and the under dogs dive deep into film to rapidly find the keys to success. If the right adjustments are made, our guys could technically be in a good spot tomorrow. Here are three elements that should grab your attention in addition to the performances given by the cheers and Quebec rapper Zach Zoya at half-time.

 

1-Stability up front

Repeat of last week: Tony Washington, Trey Rutherford, Kristian Matte, Sean Jamieson and Tyler Johnstone will be lining up to protect quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. Now, you’ll probably tell us that the o-line was far from perfect in Hamilton. True. Six sacks allowed isn’t exactly a dream stat. However, any good fan knows that stability is the most important thing for the big guys up front. With stability comes improved communication and with improved communication comes better and smarter movements by the o-line and the running backs to protect the QB.

“We have a good group of healthy guys. The vibe is good. We just have to learn how to work together,” says centre Kristian Matte.

As a bonus, we’ll get to see our beloved Luc Brodeur-Jourdain for the last time on the field. Our legendary number 58 will be hanging up his cleats after his final performance in the nest he has called home for 12 seasons.

2-Better field positioning

We saw how crucial the special teams’ performance was for the team as a whole last week. Missed punts, lack of pressure on the opposing returner and weak protection for Stef Logan certainly didn’t help our squad. But with added pressure on Boris Bede’s shoulders (the team just signed kicker Tyler Crapigna) and Ryder Stone’s great practice week as the lead blocker for Logan, the teams should pick it up a notch. Add everybody’s desire to provide a good show to the fans and we should be in Ticats territory more often this week.

3-An explosive addition on offence

Let’s face it, possession time hasn’t been in our favour a lot in the past couple of seasons. But in Hamilton, it was; our offence had the ball for over 36 minutes. The Vernon Adams Jr / BJ Cunningham duo moved the chains and rookie Jake Wieneke proved he could be reliable, scoring the team’s single touchdown of the game. We were missing that spark though. You know what spark we’re talking about, the turn-a-screen-pass-into-a-big-play type of spark. Brandon Banks did it more than once, but our Alouettes mostly took what they were given. Thursday, newcomer Quan Bray could be the difference maker in terms of explosiveness. The young receiver stood out at camp thanks to his great speed and fine execution. Like his teammate DeVier Posey, Bray could become a serious threat on deep plays.

The defence will also be under scrutiny. After allowing 500+ yards to our opponents in the first two games, Bob Slowik’s group will have to find a way to accentuate pressure on quarterback Jeremiah Masoli. Keep your eyes open for all that good stuff this Thursday, July 4 as of 7:30 pm at McGill Stadium. We can’t wait to see you there!

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