Als believe improved technique will drop number of penalties

Discipline is a topic that has come up quite a bit with the Alouettes over the last few seasons. Penalties have been an issue at times, and that was the case during Thursday’s heartbreaking loss to the Edmonton Elks at Percival Molson Stadium. But the penalties taken last week were different, and the coaching staff feels they will be correctible.

The Als took 13 penalties for 193 yards, including six on defense that made up 133 of yards. The finger will be pointed at second-year defensive back Wes Sutton because he had three pass interferences called on him throughout the game.

It’s easy to blame one player for the loss, but the reality is that Sutton has been a valuable piece of the secondary. He played very well in a pair of games in 2021 before suffering a season-ending injury and he’s had a good year in 2022. One off night won’t change the way the organization feels about a player of his quality.

“I think Sutton is a good football player,” defensive coordinator Noel Thorpe said after Sunday’s practice. “He’s learning how to play within the framework of the defence.

“There’s been many boundary half-backs that have faced an outstanding receiver. That’s generally the number one receiver to the boundary. He had a tough test and I know he’s up for the challenge. It shows me a lot about his character when he stands up and says ‘hey, I have to be better’. Those are the kind of guys you want in your locker room.”

Thorpe replaced Barron Miles as the team’s defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach less than two weeks ago. There hasn’t been much time for the veteran coach to work on the details of his scheme with his new players.

“You can easily point out the penalties, but how did the penalties happen? I think you have to analyze why that is. It all starts fundamentally. Let’s make sure we’re aligned correctly. Getting aligned correctly will take care of 70 percent of the downs. Effort level and proper technique will take care of the rest. We’re going to shore those things up. There’s no question these guys are going to work hard. We’re going to take care of the technique. It’s not about discipline and going up and attacking the football. When you get yourself in a situation where you’re turned around, you can’t locate the ball and your back is turned, it’s going to be tough. We’re going to make sure we get ourselves in good positions to make plays.”

As frustrating as flags can be during the game, it’s important to note that the roughing and unnecessary roughness penalties that popped up earlier this season didn’t occur on Thursday night. Of course, it’s only been one game since the shake up to the coaching staff took place, but that’s an encouraging sign. It’ll be interesting to see if they can keep that trend going in Ottawa this week.

“That’s what we talked about this week,” head coach and GM Danny Maciocia said. “The penalties we took in the past were roughing penalties. In our most recent game, the penalties we took were more about being aligned incorrectly. Our defensive backs didn’t use the correct technique. We had a lot of changes on the defensive side of the ball last week, especially when it comes to coverages. That forces players to change their technique and alignment. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out against Edmonton, but we’ll continue to work on that with the hope that we improve in that regard.”

BOOOOOOM 😤 pic.twitter.com/qfE8UR0Qcv

— Alouettes de Montréal (@MTLAlouettes) July 18, 2022

Thursday’s game against the Redblacks is an important one, as the Als could put a bit of distance between themselves and the bottom team in the East Division. Ottawa has an 0-5 record after dropping a close game to the Tiger-Cats in Hamilton on Saturday evening.

The Als, who have a record of 1-4 in 2022, are tied with the Ticats for second in the East. So far, Montreal has played just one opponent from within their division (Week 2 against Toronto), but they’re next two games will come against Eastern teams (they travel to Hamilton next week).

Roster Notes:

There’s some good news on the injury front. Starting SAM linebacker Adarius Pickett practiced in full this week. The 25-year-old missed the previous two games with an ankle injury, but he should be available to start against Ottawa. Canadian defensive end Brock Gowanlock has been added to the active roster from the six-game injured list. Running back Tavien Feaster, who was away from the team for personal reasons last week, was back at work.