The Montreal Alouettes are in a good position for the Canadian Football League playoffs, but the job is not done. After taking the lead over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats last week, they will try to knock the Edmonton Elks out of contention on Saturday at Commonwealth Stadium.
The Alouettes’ victory (6-7) last Friday allowed them to claim the tiebreaker against the Tiger-Cats (4-10) if the latter were to catch up with them in the standings in the East.
Danny Maciocia’s squad will try to break the back of the Elks (4-10), who can no longer afford to lose if they hope to take advantage of the crossover rule to become the No. 3 seed in the East.
“We are in the playoffs right now. We win or we are eliminated. We have to win this game. We approach it the same way as against Saskatchewan,” admitted Adam Konar, Elks linebacker in training this week.
“It’s huge for them,” Maciocia said. That’s what I was telling the players (this week): they have a lot at stake. We have to keep the same concentration that we had in the last games. Not only do we want to qualify for the playoffs, but we want to play our best football in the second half of the season and especially in the next (five) games. If we do that, I can’t wait to see where we end the season. »
The Elks have no room for manoeuvre. That’s not the case for the Saskatchewan Roughriders, who also have six wins (8 losses) for fourth in the West. It’s also the Riders that the Alouettes are looking to outrun this week.
“Four wins in our last five games is positive, but we have to keep moving forward. The crossing rule scares us. If you finish third in the East, you can have them in your legs, noted André Bolduc, running backs coach and assistant head coach. If we have the same number of victories, we pass, then each victory is important.
“In the CFL it’s getting to the playoffs that’s important, no matter how you get there. The game in Edmonton is almost a playoff game for us. We want to rule out these opponents to go to Toronto, who don’t have an easy schedule: they are going to Regina, Calgary and two games against us. It’s a big game for us and the guys take it seriously. »
This good streak for the Alouettes now allows them to have their eyes on the Argonauts (8-5) and first place in the East. The two teams will also end the season by playing a home and away series against each other: everything could be decided during these two games. But Maciocia assures that his troop has only the Elks in mind.
“Every game, we have to have the same attitude, the same concentration and the same preparation,” he said. Before thinking about Toronto, we have to go through the games of the next few weeks. If we can keep this same attitude, we will be in all these matches. »
In their previous meeting, the Elks had taken advantage of a relaxation by the Alouettes to score 14 points – against none – in the fourth quarter and save themselves with a 32-31 victory. According to guard Kristian Matte, this aspect of the Alouettes’ game has since been “cleaned up”.
“We showed that we were capable of finishing our matches in the last matches. To play the last five six minutes of the fourth quarter with aplomb. We don’t take anything for granted, because anyone can win every week. »
“After Labor Day, that’s when the real stuff starts,” said quarterback Trevor Harris, who is coming off a very good outing against the Tiger-Cats. You become the team you are at this point in the season. Our record of the last games does not give us victories in the coming weeks, so we must not slow down. »
“As a team, you want to finish the seasons well. When you arrive at the end of the season and you don’t finish on the rise, it’s not the best scenario to present yourself in the playoffs, pointed out the offensive line coach, Luc Brodeur-Jourdain. We also want to keep our eyes on the top and that’s what allows you to decide your own path. […] We can’t leave this opportunity to Edmonton. »
The Alouettes are also playing better football than last July. For proof: they did not grant any bags to the Tiger-Cats last week.
“Trevor kept very clean in the last game, he was rarely rushed,” added ‘LBJ’. All this stems from the fact that we still played football with good progress. We moved the ball well, a few plays with deep passing, but mostly fast-deployment football. Trevor was able to distribute the ball well, passing the ball to eight different receivers. »
Now all that remains is to repeat it against the Elks, starting at 4 p.m. Saturday.