(Montreal) With the departures of Eugene Lewis and Jake Wieneke in addition to the absences of Reggie White Jr. and Tyson Philpot at the start of the season, few experts thought the Montreal Alouettes would represent a threat to the rest of the CFL with his aerial game.
Moreover, the presence of 22 pass catchers at the training camp in Trois-Rivières did nothing to reassure about the state of the forces.
Alouettes general manager Danny Maciocia hired veteran Greg Ellingson, whose reputation is well established. But Ellingson was injured early in camp and only caught one pass upon his return to the game, before his name returned to the injured list for six games. His season – his career? – is finished.
However, the Alouettes (7-7) remain near the top of the CFL in passing yards.
“When we started the season, everyone had doubts about our receivers,” admitted quarterback Cody Fajardo, who also arrived via the free agent market last winter. I think we proved week after week that our receivers are consistent.
“It’s a very young group, which continues to improve, that’s what I find the most exciting. We have not yet reached our full potential, but we know it is within our reach. If we can reach it quickly, it will be great to see in the playoffs. »
We cannot contradict Fajardo on this point. Austin Mack, 26, leads the Ambrosie circuit with 1,057 passing yards. He has five games of 100 yards or more so far. Tyler Snead (23) follows at 540 yards. Kaion Julien-Grant and Philpot, 27 and 23 respectively and both missing a few games due to injuries, follow at 490 and 347 yards, in order. Cole Spieker, the least used of the group, is approaching 200 yards.
“It’s an attack that adapts to what the opponent gives us,” noted Fajardo. So on a given night, this guy is going to have a 100-yard game through the air. The following week, it will be another one. What I like most about this attack is that it involves everyone. Everyone knows that on every play, the ball can be thrown towards him.
“Philpot has just had two big games (105 and 87 yards); Snead has been very consistent for us since the start of the season and Mack leads the league. Everyone saw it (our aerial attack) as a weakness, but it is rather one of the strengths of this team,” added Fajardo.
“I’m very proud of our group of receivers. When their number is called (in the huddle), they execute the plays,” added head coach Jason Maas. This is a hard-working group; they are often the first here. It is also a very united group, who study together. They are also all young, and they are taking advantage of this opportunity to learn from this experience.
“Yes, our receivers compete against each other, but they do it for the good of the team,” he summarized.
Last Saturday, in the 28-11 victory over the Calgary Stampeders, Mack and Julien-Grant were under close surveillance. Snead took the opportunity to have his best career game with 83 yards.
“Mack and Julien-Grant attract a lot of attention from opposing defenses. This has the effect of freeing certain players, explained Maas. On Saturday, these two players could still have made three or four more catches. We call the games. If the quarterback makes the right decisions and goes where the defense isn’t, then that allows us to use all of our weapons. »