The Toronto Argonauts are coming off a historic season with a 16-2 record and are heavily favored to win the Eastern Final against the Montreal Alouettes. They don’t care at all.
“I don’t think we should worry about who is the favorite or the underdog,” said star running back AJ Ouellette during the press conference held at BMO Field on Friday. We approach every meeting with the same blue-collar mentality. It’s more of a media thing. We want to win every game and beat the other team. »
“It’s more the media that talks about this,” said head coach Ryan Dinwiddie. All we know is that it’s the Eastern final and we want to play in the Gray Cup. Maybe it adds extra motivation to our opponents, but I think every time you play in the playoffs, there’s a target on your opponents’ backs.
“We want to win the game, but I told our guys not to worry about the stakes, rather to concentrate on each play. The Alouettes, like us, want to obtain the right to compete for the Gray Cup. »
The ex-Alouette Adarius Pickett used a formula heard many times in those around the Birds.
“Every week we want to finish 1-0,” the linebacker said.
But linebacker Wynton McManis is perhaps the one who best summed up the Argos’ state of mind.
“No one remembers the runners-up. »
False humility?
Does this well-crafted message so as not to arouse the ire of the adversary hide a false humility? We are right to ask ourselves this, since when we discuss with the Argos the challenges that the Alouettes will present on Toronto’s pitch on Saturday, we seem to be searching for a long time to find them.
“They do several different things. Their coordinator is known throughout football and they have good athletes, first noted quarterback Chad Kelly, finalist for MVP in the Ambrosie circuit this season. We will have to use it to our advantage, move the ball. We know we had the upper hand against them in our three games, but it was very close. »
“They will offer us their fancy defensive fronts, but we will do what we have to do to thwart all that,” Ouellette added.
And on attack?
“ [Le quart Cody] Fajardo brings another dimension with his ground game. But for us, it’s about playing our style of game and we’re going to make sure we impose it,” McManis said.
“You know there’s going to be some cheating and all that,” Pickett added. At this point in the season, it’s the team that wants the game more that will win. »
The answer Saturday, around 6 p.m. Kickoff is scheduled for 3 p.m.