Red and Black 26, Alouettes 27 | The post of Adams son or not?

Miguel Bujold
The Press

It was the Alouettes’ second and final preseason game, Friday night, at Percival-Molson Stadium. They rallied from a 9-point deficit in the final three minutes to defeat the Ottawa Redblacks, 27-26.

However, that was not what caught the eye, although the 11,273 fans were happy with their team’s victory. The final mark was secondary. What we wanted to see was how Vernon Adams Jr. would play. It was the first time he had been in uniform since breaking his arm on October 11. And it didn’t go very well.

After a great first series that ended with his one-yard touchdown, Adams Jr. ended the next three by throwing an interception. Three interceptions in four assists…

Note that Adams Jr. was not helped by Reggie White Jr. on his third, when the receiver was unable to catch the ball he had received close to him. In total, Adams Jr. completed 6 of 12 passes for 69 yards before being replaced by Trevor Harris.

” I felt good. I was both nervous and excited. There was a lot of emotion because we were playing against the same team as when I broke my arm. »

The match did not count in the standings, but the fact remains that Adams Jr. seemed rather calm despite his poor performance. Last season, he had accustomed us to self-flagellation sessions after such matches.

Has he worked on this aspect during the off-season?

” Absolutely. In 2021, I was somewhere else mentally, and I don’t want to go back to this place anymore. I want to stay as neutral as possible and avoid ups and downs as much as possible. I don’t even want to be too positive, because positivism doesn’t always work. But negativity works every time,” Adams Jr. said.

Coming into the game, Harris imitated Adams Jr. by throwing an interception of his own. He completed 3 of his 7 passes for 61 yards. Dominique Davis took over and completed 5 of 9 passes for 39 yards. In short, all ordinary.

Young Davis Alexander was the team’s best quarterback on Friday. It was he who orchestrated the comeback in the fourth quarter and he completed 9 of 13 passes for 127 yards.

“This youngster continues to pull rabbits out of his hat! He is very phlegmatic and it is pleasant to see him at work. He made some important plays tonight,” commented Khari Jones.

But neither Alexander nor Davis are in the fight for the starting job. This battle currently only involves Adams Jr. and Harris. And Jones wouldn’t announce who his starter would be in the season opener Thursday night in Calgary.

“I know who will be our starter, but I will refrain from announcing it. »

However, it would be quite surprising if Adams Jr. did not get the first start. That was the plan before the start of camp in Trois-Rivières and Jones felt that Adams Jr. had done well during the team’s three weeks in Mauricie.

Jones said his quarterbacks and offensive play were nothing to worry about, even though all starters were playing except for William Stanback and Jake Wieneke.

Adams Jr. expects to start against the Stampeders, but hasn’t received any guarantees. “That’s the impression I have, but no one has confirmed anything to me yet. »

“It will be the decision of the coaches and Khari. I will accept it and I will do my job to the best of my abilities, regardless of the decision. »

In defence, a few young Alouettes players stood out, including the club’s first choice in the last draft, Tyrell Richards. The linebacker caused a fumble following a sack.

It was Brock Gowanlock who recovered the ball following this fumble before bringing it back from a distance of 44 yards. A University of Manitoba product, Gowanlock also had 3 sacks… A 2020 eighth-round pick, the defensive end likely just earned his spot in Montreal.