Playing the same team two weeks in a row requires completely different preparation. That’s what the Montreal Alouettes and the Saskatchewan Roughriders will experience on Saturday.
The Alouettes (1-2) absolutely cannot trust what the Riders (2-1) showed them as play patterns in the Montreal team’s 37-13 victory last Thursday at Percival-Molson Stadium .
“The past should not be taken for granted; we have to reset the counter, analyzed the offensive line coach, Luc Brodeur-Jourdain. Winning teams do this: they turn the page on the past and only care about the future. We expect more pressure from them: since the beginning of the season, they showed more blitz, more pressure. Against us, they played more reservedly. »
“You have to look at it as two completely different games,” said guard Kristian Matte. There are always going to be changes in formations due to injury or otherwise. But even if it’s the same team, it’s different. On the other hand, we’re starting to see trends: we’re going to know a little about how they do things, but it’s the same for them. »
Head coach Khari Jones had a slightly more nuanced view.
“Teams are what they are: there are certain games that you schedule and certain things that you do automatically,” he noted. They know a little about what we will do and we know what they will do, but it is clear that there will be differences. It is the team that will play the best, that will execute the best that will win.
“On both sides, I’m sure he has games that weren’t used in the first game. And there are also things that we discovered in this game. We’re going to do our best, hoping that’s enough. »
Home field advantage
Facing the Riders at home, at Mosaic Stadium, on Canada Day weekend, promises to be another challenge for the Alouettes.
“It’s going to be supercharged; it’s going to be a party, said André Bolduc, the assistant head coach. It’s their job there: they take care of their team. It is expected to be full and noisy.
“We will have to manage the first five minutes with the noise, the cheering crowd. Then they will sit down. It would be fun for us to have a good sustained first streak or to force them to kick quickly. »
“Playing there is always difficult with their new stadium and the noise,” admitted Jones. But I love playing in this atmosphere, I think our players appreciate it too. In the end, it’s about two teams playing football and everything around it doesn’t matter that much. We have to do what we have to do. »
The Alouettes have also taken the necessary steps to prepare for all this noise, training under crowd noise all week.
“We worked on quiet cadences, as we always do before a game in Regina, Winnipeg or Ottawa: places where the crowd can become an issue,” said quarterback Trevor Harris. It can become an issue when the center and the offensive line don’t get along, but football is football. »
“It’s expected to be loud, especially after the week they had last week,” Matte added. It’s always tough to play in Saskatchewan and it’s always tough to win back-to-back games against the same team. On the communication side, we practiced all week with a lot of noise. »
The Alouettes will take advantage of their first week off of the season after this game, before returning to play for their matchup against the Edmonton Elks at home on July 14.