Tyrice Beverette had two of the Alouettes’ six sacks against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the East Division semifinals on Sunday. We heard the impact of his second even on the press gallery in the heights of the Percival-Molson stadium.
Posted at 5:31 p.m.
I don’t know about you, but it was precisely when Beverette tackled poor Matt Shiltz the second time that I realized the Alouettes wouldn’t lose on Sunday. It is also to wonder how the quarterback of the Ticats could cash such a tackle without flinching.
Beverette is one of the Alouettes’ two outside linebackers, the other being Adarius Pickett. Not particularly imposing for linebackers, these two players hit like trains and were unquestionably the club’s two best defensive players in 2022… even if they were inexplicably not named to the All-Star team. the East Division.
However, neither Beverette nor Pickett played in this position last season. Pickett was mainly used as a safety and as a defensive back in 2021, his first season in Montreal. Beverette was a special teams player with the Tiger-Cats.
“We watched him play on Hamilton’s special teams and he was a dominant player. And when I saw him play NFL preseason games with the Bengals [de Cincinnati]I saw that he was a player who could play in the CFL in defense,” said Danny Maciocia, interim head coach and general manager of the Alouettes, on Wednesday.
Like most American players who play in the CFL, Beverette and Pickett had NFL tryouts. The first with the Bengals and the second with the Los Angeles Chargers and the New England Patriots.
Adarius Pickett’s first season with the Alouettes was uneven, but since being moved to linebacker on the wide side, his game has been very impressive.
“There was never a doubt in our minds that we wanted to keep Pickett after last season, even though we had to let go of Patrick Levels. We were sure he could perform at a high level, whether it was passing coverage, pressing the quarterback or in the box against the ground game,” said Maciocia.
“Bev [Beverette] and I actually set the tone by playing in a very physical way. I’ve been told all my life that I’m not big, but I don’t have to be. I’m 5’11” and 210lbs, that’s enough to make tackles and plays,” Pickett said.
PHOTO PAUL CHIASSON, CANADIAN PRESS ARCHIVES
Tyrice Beverette (26) in action against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats last Sunday
“Since I have been playing football, I have always done it at full speed, I am unable to play otherwise. And Adarius is like me, maybe even tougher than me. Robustness cannot be taught. A player is robust or he is not”, thinks Beverette.
“Toughness-wise, our opponents know these two are going to come, and every game,” Maciocia said.
“That’s how our team is built. The most important thing for us in the off-season was to become a much more physical team,” he added.
“We know that opposing teams don’t like to face tough teams and that’s an important factor in our success,” added Beverette.
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The arrival of Noel Thorpe as defensive coordinator also had a considerable impact. His unit is sturdier than that of his predecessor, Barron Miles. In particular, the quality of the tackles has been greatly improved.
That said, Thorpe acknowledges that the play of his two outside linebackers was critical to the success of his group, which was very good in Sunday’s win over the Tiger-Cats.
They are very dynamic players, who are as capable of going to tackle the quarterback as of being solid in pass coverage. Their presence greatly complicates the work of attacks at the level of password protection.
Noel Thorpe, Alouettes defensive coordinator
Thanks to Pickett and Beverette, Thorpe can also use formations with five defensive linemen, making it even more difficult for offenses to work for protection. Note that we are talking about five “real” defensive linemen, which is rather rare.
Light workout
The Alouettes resumed training on Wednesday for the East final they will play against the Argonauts on Sunday (1 p.m.) in Toronto. The players trained lightly and without their helmets.
“We want to keep our players’ legs fresh and mentally and physically ready for Sunday’s game. We don’t want to leave Montreal with a tired team,” explained Maciocia.
EAST FINAL:
Larks c. Toronto Argonauts,
Sunday at 1 p.m. at BMO Field