Quebecer Mathieu Betts, of the BC Lions, had two more quarterback sacks on Monday night. He should face the Montreal Alouettes on Sunday as the leader of the Canadian Football League with an impressive total of seven sacks in four games.
“I really don’t think you can think too much about those stats,” Betts already said last week in an interview posted on the CFL’s website. The bags are coming right now, but it’s still early in the season.”
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To illustrate how dominant the former Université Laval Rouge et Or is on the Lions defensive line, the record for the most sacks in a season in the CFL is 26.5 and has was established in 1984 by a former Lions color bearer, James Parker. The latter had averaged 1.66 sacks per game during this 16-game campaign.
Betts’ current average is 1.75 and, bad news for the Alouettes, Cody Fajardo is one of the most often tackled quarterbacks behind the line of scrimmage. It’s happened 15 times in three games for the “Sparrows” offensive pivot who, in 2022, was also the quarterback with the most sacks in the CFL while wearing the CFL uniform. Saskatchewan Roughriders.
Photo DAVE CHIDLEY / Supplied by CFL
“I’m not going to freak out if I don’t get sacks for a few games,” Betts said. The other guys can get it too, that’s not a concern for me.”
A future in the NFL?
One thing is certain, the Quebecer will be one to watch closely against the Alouettes (2-1), the team of his childhood, on Sunday. He could give a lot of headaches to the offensive line of the Montreal club, then literally to Fajardo. At the same time, Betts will undoubtedly continue, despite his 28 years, to attract the attention of certain clubs in the NFL.
As reported by colleague Stéphane Cadorette, a few months ago, the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Los Angeles Chargers have particularly eyed the Quebecer in the recent year.
“I would not say that I had really given up on the NFL, but I did not get up thinking about it every morning either, was then expressed, in January, the one having been released in 2019 by the Chicago Bears. The focus for me has always been to work on being the best player possible to help my team.
This is what Betts is currently doing in British Columbia.
Vernon Adams son and the interceptions
In addition to the Quebecer, Alouettes fans are obviously likely to pay particular attention to Lions quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. on Sunday.
Vernon Adams Jr.
Photo Kevin Sousa/provided by CFL
This former Alouettes player has done quite well since the start of the season with 1,249 passing yards in four games, leading his team to a 3-1 record. In Monday’s 45-24 loss to the Toronto Argonauts, however, Adams Jr. threw six interceptions. Yes, six! This is precisely what we blamed the quarterback when he played with the Alouettes, his annoying habit of getting rid of the ball dangerously.
If Fajardo is piling up the sacks against him, he has had at least one interception in three games with Montreal.