Quarterback Trevor Harris was named Canadian Football League Player of the Month for October on Wednesday; wide receiver Eugene Lewis and defensive back Najee Murray were named East Division All-Stars; 24 hours earlier, Lewis, Tyson Philpot and Chandler Worthy had been selected as finalists for the various Ambrosie Circuit awards. But all these Montreal Alouettes color bearers preferred to talk, Wednesday afternoon, about a possible victory against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the Eastern semi-finals than about individual honors.
“I’m happy to be a finalist, but I’d rather see the team be successful on the field,” Philpot, the East’s top rookie, noted after the team’s practice.
And success goes through victories in November. Lewis, whose contract will expire once the season is over, would like to win a first playoff game with the Alouettes.
“I don’t know why we haven’t been able to get through a knockout round since I’ve been here. Execution and lack of finish, maybe,” he said to the edge of the Percival-Molson stadium pitch, while adding that he had agreed with general manager Danny Maciocia to wait until the end of the season before negotiating a possible contract extension.
The Alouettes lost in the first round in 2019 (against the Edmonton Eskimos), and last year, against the Tiger-Cats, but in Hamilton. Harris believes playing at home has a real impact in a playoff game.
“There’s a reason teams struggle to get home field advantage and even in the last game of the season, starters are on the field the entire game,” Harris said. It’s to sleep in his bed and train in the stadium where the game will be played. I know that the “Nest” will be supercharged on Sunday. »
Harris was rewarded for his spectacular month of October: 88 completions on 115 attempts (76.5%), 1,172 yards and five touchdown passes. He passed the milestone of 4,000 passing yards this season, becoming only the third quarterback in Alouettes history to reach this mark, after Sam Etcheverry and Anthony Calvillo.
His brilliance helped the Alouettes win two games late in the campaign and consolidate their second place in the East Division. The noh 7 believes the Montreal offense is maturing at the right time.
“We seem to have reached our cruising speed. We want to play our best football at the end of the season: we finished the year 7-3. We would have preferred 10-0, so it wasn’t good enough for our taste. But as I often say: this is professional football, and our opponents are also paid to beat us. »
In Maciocia’s mind, Harris is in good shape, mentally and physically.
“We also look at his leadership on the pitch and everything he offers us off the pitch. […], he’s quite a leader for us. Players like to play with him. Where he is in his career, with the season he has just experienced […] I am convinced that he will “deliver the goods” in the next games. »
Only two?
If we take individual honors with a grain of salt, the Alouettes still wondered why only two players from their squad were elected to the all-star team in the East. A total that seems absurd given that the team finished second in the East and that three of its players are finalists for an MVP award.
Yet it is the same people — members of the Football Writers Association of Canada as well as head coaches of CFL teams — who vote for these individual honours.
” This is completely crazy. Sometimes you have to take it and leave it with these rewards, Lewis said. There are several deserving guys who are snubbed. […] I think it’s special that we only have two players on this all-star team. Yet the people who vote for these teams are the same people who vote for the MVPs. »
Maciocia meanwhile was careful to weigh his words.
“I have an opinion on that… Here’s what I’m going to tell you: we would like to win the trophy that nobody votes for. »