The drills have been run, the mistakes have been fixed and the fans are awaiting the start of the regular season. The 2015 CFL season will kick-off Thursday night in Montreal as the Alouettes host the Ottawa Redblacks. After a headline-filling training camp, it’s time for Montreal to move forward and start a brand new season without the distractions; but battles between rookies and veterans remain. Last Word On Sports takes a look at all these factors in the 2015 Alouettes season preview.
Montreal Alouettes 2015 Season Preview: Battle Between Rookies and Veterans
Offence
The Alouettes offence is completely revamped from last season with new receivers and even new quarterbacks battling to become the number one pivot. CFL veteran wide-outs Sam Giguere, Nik Lewis, and Fred Stamps all joined the team this season after they lost their biggest weapon, Duron Carter, to the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts last season. Luckily, GM Jim Popp was able to ink their next best slotback, S.J. Green to a multi-year contract.
Not to have an overload of veterans catching the ball, 2015 draftees Mikhail Davidson and Alex Charette and CFL rookie Cody Hoffman also made the team, rounding out the slotbacks and receivers with a mix of rookie and veterans. A leader and another veteran at the position, Eric Deslauriers, was placed on the six-game injured list. Some may wonder how the balance between the old guys and young guns will affect the locker room chemistry. Leaders will need to step up to minimize the gap in age difference so the players can play to their best.
The next question is; who will be tossing these balls to the receivers? Jon Crompton will likely get the start Thursday night but he has been anything but what he was at the end of last season when he lead the team to a 8-2 finish in the regular season. He threw 7/16 for 87 yards and 2 interceptions in his two pre-season starts while his current back-up, Dan LeFevour, played slightly better in one game (7/14, 60 yards and one INT).
However, it was the rookie Canadian Brandon Bridge who stole the show behind center, completing five passes on 12 attempts, good enough for 63 yards and the only touchdown that the Alouettes threw in the pre-season. He will be the third string QB and will likely be their third down guy while Tanner Marsh is on the six-game injured list with a knee injury. Crompton will be on a short leash Thursday night, and should he fail, either an experienced CFL QB can step in, or a young Canadian can show the American pivots how it’s done.
The surprise of the training camp was the release of the team’s number one running back, Brandon Whitaker. The oft-injured back will be replaced by a committee of players, mostly newcomers in Stefan Logan, Carl Volny, and Tyrell Sutton, who will get the majority of the touches after he ran for 500 yards last season in Whitaker’s absence. Despite the fact that the offensive line is one of the best in the league with All-Stars in Luc Brodeur-Jourdain, Jeff Perrett and Josh Bourke along with former Denver Bronco Philip Blake, the running game will be one of the weaker ones in the league this season. Sutton is no where near the same level as Jon Cornish, Andrew Harris or Nic Grigsby.
Defence
The Alouettes defence kept them alive through the latter stretch of last season and were the forgotten heroes when Crompton led the team to 8 wins in the final 10 weeks after starting the season 1-7. The Alouettes have traditionally had a strong defence, even in the years when Anthony Calvillo led the offence. Every great team starts with defence, but depending on how the offence plays this season, the Alouettes might have to rely on their defence for wins. In the East, they will have to go up against the high-scoring attack of the Tiger-Cats and will only meet Ricky Ray and the Argonauts later in the season when Ray could potentially return from his shoulder injury. The Alouettes’ physical defence may be able to contain Toronto but will be put to the test against Hamilton, their season-finishers in the past two seasons.
The linebackers are intimidating for any opponent, though, with the veracious Bear Woods carrying the load, followed by Winston Venable and Chip Cox. Kyries Hebert unfortunately will miss the first six weeks with an injury, leaving Nicolas Boulay and Nic Shortill in the shadow of the big three.
Like last season, John Bowman will line up on the edge of the defensive line with Alan-Michael Cash on the inside and Gabriel Knapton on the opposite end. Aaron Lavarias will also be in the doctor’s office long-term, leaving a job opening for Michael Klassen, who saw some time last season.
The secondary, like the receivers, have a mix between the young and old, with the release of veteran Geoff Tisdale and the retention of players like Chris Ackie and Mike Edem. Billy Parker and Jerald Brown are the veterans of the group and are joined by Marc-Olivier Brouillette and former Blue Bomber Jonathan Hefney, looking to support the linebackers and linemen in a strong defence. It might not be as good as last season with Dominique Ellis and Mitchell White holding a lot more responsibilities, but the two have played in the CFL long enough that they can be starters in case of injury.
Special Teams
Former Laval Rouge et Or kicker Boris Bede had a strong enough camp to stick around with the big club, but he hasn’t monopolized the kicking duties in Montreal just yet. Sean Whyte will be kicking in his ninth CFL season and will split the duties with Bede. It is still unclear who will get the starting job on Thursday; will one sit or will they both dress? Will they use an import spot for Bede, who is from France, or will they stick with the incumbent Whyte?
The value of kickers has soared this season with the extra point attempt being pushed back to the 32-yard line. The two men will have to battle for their job and coach Tom Higgins won’t hand it to Whyte so easily if Bede is making a push for it. Competition will make any player better and both Bede and Whyte will have to kick at their best during the regular season games, which is a bonus for the special teams unit as a whole.
On the other side of special teams, Logan will be returning the kicks and punts, at least for the first six weeks, with both James Rodgers and Mardy Gilyard out with long-term injuries. Giguere, who was a returner for the Indianapolis Colts, can also step into that role should Logan hit an injury or slump. The Alouettes had a weak kick returning unit last season and with the injuries, they don’t look much improved.
Summary
The central dilemma for the Montreal Alouettes at the beginning of their 2015 campaign is the disparity of age at some positions. Veterans and rookies are battling for the same job and that may cause some heat in the dressing room, or it can make the whole team better as a whole.
Alouettes fans will have to wait out and see which situation unfolds in the early stages of the season. The CFL season is long and gruelling, but the 46 men who made the Alouettes roster will have to perform their best in order for the team to reach their ultimate goal of winning the Grey Cup.
