CFL | Alouettes want to secure first place in the East

New week, new objective to achieve for the Montreal Alouettes, who could, with a victory, secure first place in the Eastern Division.

For Jason Maas’s squad, the goal could even be reached before the kickoff of their game against the Toronto Argonauts on Saturday, since a defeat by the Ottawa Redblacks a little earlier against the Saskatchewan Roughriders would also guarantee them first place.

The Alouettes (11-2-1) do not, however, wish to rely on the Rouge et Noir (8-5-1) to obtain satisfaction and intend to come out of their duel against the Argos (7-7) with victory.

After securing their playoff spot and securing at least one playoff game in Montreal, securing first place in the East – and the first-round berth that comes with it – is the next box on the Alouettes’ to-do list for the 2024 season.

“We’re fully aware of that,” Maas said after Tuesday’s practice at Stade Hébert in Saint-Léonard. “But that won’t be the focus of our attention this week. We’ll focus on getting better in the areas where we need to be. We’ll make sure we’re ready to go get a win in Toronto at all costs.”

Is the offense one of those areas that needs improvement? After a more than respectable start, the Birds’ offense has been struggling in recent games. It hasn’t reached the 300-yard mark in the last three games and it ranks eighth in the Ambrosie league for total yards with 4,845, an average of 346.1 per game.

“For the first nine or 10 weeks, nobody had anything to say about our offense, even though we were in the top three in every offensive category,” Maas said. “Now, when our game is below expectations, everybody is pointing it out to us. Do you think we don’t realize that? Of course we do.”

“We focus on the aspects we can control and try to be better every day. We don’t panic at all about our attack. We will find our cohesion at a certain point and we will be a very dangerous team when our three phases of play are in symbiosis.”

“Have we played up to our ability in the last three games? Absolutely not,” the coach continued. “But we found a way to win, a way to get a draw and a way to continue to do what we’re capable of doing. And one of those things is not giving the ball away.”

On this point, we can only agree with him. The Alouettes are the team that has been the victim of the fewest turnovers with 19, against 31 in their favor. The team also comes first in the rate of successful passes (71.5%), the efficiency rate of its passers (106.4) and plays of 30 yards or more (29). The team is also third with 23 touchdown passes.

“I’ve said it since I got here: Turnover differential is very important,” Maas added. “When your three phases are going well and playing complementary football, your offense is not giving the ball away and your defense and special teams are going well, you can win games. And at the end of the day, winning is all that matters. We know what we’re capable of and we know what we need to improve.”

What’s back?

The Alouettes could well count on the return of safety Marc-Antoine Dequoy. Finally removed from the lineup before the game against Ottawa last week, the Alouettes’ number 24 was back at practice.

Dequoy, used with the starters on Tuesday, confirmed to journalists on site that his withdrawal from training on Saturday was not intended as a precaution.

“Having two more days off felt good,” he admitted. “It’s a gradual return. Now I’m with the starters. I still have a long way to go, but I feel confident about getting back to the game.”

Another player was back in training with the Alouettes, precision kicker David Côté.

Côté was injured during warmups for the July 6 game, a 30-26 win over the Calgary Stampeders. Côté was subsequently placed on the six-game injured list. He has missed 10 games so far and will likely not be in Saturday’s game at BMO Field.

In his absence, Jose Maltos has been perfect, making all 21 field goals he has attempted so far. The team record is 24 consecutive field goals. It has been held by Sean Whyte since the 2011 season.