Friday’s win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats was costly for the Montreal Alouettes, who will likely be without defensive end Nick Usher for the rest of the season.
Hit in the knee, the 27-year-old veteran should not play again this season.
“It’s going to be tough,” interim head coach and general manager Danny Maciocia said. I think he’s going to be out for a good while. I don’t know exactly [la durée de son absence], but it’s going to be a while. »
It’s Jamal Davis II, hired last week after he was cut by the Los Angeles Chargers, who should take most of the rehearsals at his position.
Davis came on as a substitute for Usher in the 23-16 victory for the Alouettes, which improved their record to 6-7 and secured the tiebreaker against the Tiger-Cats (4-10) if the latter were to join them in the standings in the East.
Usher was playing his second season with the Alouettes. In 13 games, he had 29 tackles and three sacks, in addition to causing a fumble.
Rookie linebacker Tyrell Richards also sat out the game against the Tiger-Cats with an elbow injury after missing several games with a knee injury. The Montreal squad had its name on the injured list for six games at the end of July.
“He’s been unlucky this year, but I believe in him a lot,” Maciocia said of Richards. Everyone sees its potential. We will invest in him. He is under contract for the next two years anyway. […] It is a matter of time for the situation to recover. »
He is currently guaranteed to miss Saturday’s game, which pits the team against the Edmonton Elks (4-10). Maciocia did not want to comment further on the duration of this new absence from Richards.
Finally, guard Philippe Gagnon was also absent from Wednesday’s training at the Olympic Stadium. He is still bothered by the back pain that caused him to miss last Friday’s game.
As in this match, it was Pier-Olivier Lestage who replaced him in the first unit in attack. Lestage and the rest of the offensive line did a stellar job against the Tiger-Cats, as the Alouettes didn’t give up a sack.
“On the protection side, it went really well, we followed our game plan and limited our mistakes,” said veteran guard Kristian Matte. Receivers and running backs also did well in protection. »
“That said, there are still things to fix. It’s a game, we have to move on to the next one. »
“The offensive line has been playing big football since the start of the season. As a quarterback, our job is to help them by getting rid of the ball quickly, noted Trevor Harris. We see that Pier-Olivier has the knife between his teeth and that it’s easy for him to fit into this group. »
Moreover, the Alouettes have regained the services of Marc-Antoine Dequoy. The Marauder has been away for the past week due to the death of his mother.
The 28-year-old is expected to return to the roster for the game in Edmonton.
Of course, running back William Stanback, injured in the very first game of the season, was on the field for the second day in a row. The game plan is to bring him back into the lineup for the Oct. 10 game against the Ottawa Redblacks.
Playoffs at Percival-Molson
Crossed near the training field, Alouettes president Mario Cecchini confirmed that the Montreal football club would play its playoff game at Percival-Molson Stadium.
Cecchini said the club’s management came to this decision partly because of the atmosphere at his home when the crowds are big, which shouldn’t be a problem for the playoffs.
The Olympic Stadium is also not available on November 6 and 13, the dates of the Eastern semi-final and final.
Should the playoffs start this week, the Alouettes would host the Eastern Semi-Final at home and travel to Toronto, in the event of a victory, for the Eastern Final.
With five games to play, including two against the Argos, the organization can still hope to host the Eastern final in Montreal. The Alouettes would then benefit from a pass for the week of November 6.
The Gray Cup will be played on November 20 in Regina.