The Montreal Alouettes were very happy to have finally been able to enjoy a full week of training before meeting the British Columbia Lions on Saturday at Percival-Molson Stadium.
It hasn’t happened often over the past few weeks: in their last four meetings, two had to be played after shortened weeks, including last Thursday’s 47-17 correction at the hands of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
The Alouettes (6-4), who had played the previous Saturday, had held only one practice session before their duel against the best team on the Ambrosie circuit in the last three seasons.
“It’s so good to have enjoyed this full week and to be able to enjoy the fruits of our labor,” head coach Jason Maas said after Thursday’s practice outside Olympic Stadium.
“You’re also able to give some guys time off, who in turn give more when they’re back on the pitch. »
This “long” week has allowed the Alouettes to find some key players, including defensive back Ciante Evans and receiver Greg Ellingson, whose return to the roster Maas confirmed on Thursday.
Evans will come to lend a hand to an Alouettes secondary that has been seriously injured since the start of the season. If Evans hadn’t been able to play on Saturday, only one starter in the season opener on the Birds’ last line of defense would have been in uniform on Saturday: safety Marc-Antoine Dequoy.
“He’s looked great in all three practices this week,” Maas said of Evans. I am very excited to see him back in training. »
There is reason to be: the 31-year-old American has done very well in the three meetings he has played, making four tackles, but above all three interceptions.
As for Ellingson, the nine-year veteran no longer needs introductions, but Alouettes fans haven’t yet had the opportunity to see him in action in a Montreal uniform.
But Ellingson was injured in the first days of training camp, in Trois-Rivières, and his rehabilitation took much longer than expected. On the injured list for six games, the 34-year-old American ultimately missed ten games.
“We saw an improvement in every training session this week: that’s what we wanted to see in his case,” Maas said.
Ellingson was plagued by injuries last season, but when he played he was a big help for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, catching 38 balls for 598 yards and three touchdowns in just eight games. He returned in time for the playoffs and helped the Bombers reach the Grand Finals. In his career, he caught 587 passes for 8,550 yards and 45 touchdowns.
It’s safe to say that the No. 1 receiver position is now occupied by Austin Mack for the Alouettes. The one who blew 26 candles on Thursday also leads the CFL in its first season with 828 passing yards so far.
Mack, however, again trained in a limited way, even wearing a red jersey, indicating that contact with him was prohibited.
“Our defense is playing very aggressively. We wanted to make sure they knew I couldn’t receive contact,” Mack explained.
However, it appears that it was not an ankle injury that bothered Mack this week, but rather a concussion suffered in last Thursday’s game against the Bombers.
Mack assured that he had successfully passed all the necessary steps to regain his place in the Montreal team against the Lions (7-4).
Guard Philippe Gagnon, troubled by a broken arm in recent weeks, has also been training all week with his teammates and could be in the game, whose kickoff should take place at 7 p.m. Percival Molson Stadium.