(Montreal) Jason Maas was clean-shaven for Alouettes practice on Tuesday. This is possibly the only change that the Montreal head coach will make to his team’s preparation this week.
“Sometimes you need a little change,” he said when scribes asked him about this change of look, after the session held near the Olympic Stadium. I can be superstitious, but not about my beard! I needed a change, I just shaved it all off. »
Maas, however, is not so superstitious as to let himself be affected by the series of four losses in which his club is plunged. Nor to radically change the way of preparing one’s flock.
“We’ve had streaks all season: two wins, three losses, four wins and now, four losses. We didn’t really change anything during those streaks, winning or not, he noted. We look at everything we can do to try to become better and we do it.
“This week, we are going to work more on match rhythm and on situational football, even if our training was quite built on these situations before. We’re going to try a few different things to get players into a different mindset. I like that we learn every week, whether things go well or not. I hope that will be the case this week. »
What will not change, however, is that the coach will not be distracted by what is happening elsewhere. Like in Hamilton, where a victory against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers allowed the Tiger-Cats to join the Alouettes at 6-7 and in second place in the East division.
“What’s different today than a few weeks ago? We are still in second place and we can’t change anything. The rankings are what they are. Can focusing on the rankings help us win this week? Next week ? Shouldn’t we focus on the work at hand and what we need to improve? This is our philosophy, whether good or bad. »
Some, like receiver Tyson Philpot, admit to looking over their shoulder a little.
“We need to have a sense of urgency,” said the British Columbian. This next match is a match that we cannot let slip away. »
Philpot could well play a key role in the coming weeks. In Friday’s 23-20 loss to the Toronto Argonauts, he had his best game of the season with nine catches for 105 yards and a touchdown.
If the Alouettes want to outrun the Tiger-Cats – and, at the same time, not have to worry about the Calgary Stampeders, their opponent on Saturday, who are approaching a possible crossover at 4-9 –, they will have need the contribution of their rookie par excellence in 2022.
“Starting later and not having the same chemistry with Cody [Fajardo] as the other receivers made me fall behind a little bit,” explained Philpot, who has only played in eight games this season. For three weeks I have been feeling really good and I think I was able to demonstrate that on Friday.
“You could say it was my first 100% match. Teammates also told me that in my body language, they felt something was different. »
We also witnessed a rarity this season on Tuesday: the Alouettes launched their week of preparation for their game on Saturday with the same group that started the game against the Argos.
Under constant rain, Maas’s formation presented the same first units in attack and defense as in Friday’s defeat.
Only venerable center Kristian Matte was missing.
“It’s a ‘veteran’s day’ for Matte,” Maas explained. He clearly needed it and we have the luxury of giving him one this week. But he can take as many days as he needs, to be honest. We are entering the home stretch of the season. He played a lot of football during his career. We know he will be mentally ready, but if he needs more time physically, he can take it. »
The other change was the return of running back William Stanback, who missed the game against the Argos with a right wrist injury.
This stability can only be welcome for the Alouettes, who at one point this season had around fifteen players on the injured list for six games.
It is all the more desired as the Montreal team is no longer alone in second place in the East. Although the Alouettes hold the tiebreaker over the Ti-Cats, if the latter are ahead of them in the standings, it will no longer be of any use.
The duel against the Stamps will kick off the home stretch for the Birds, who will end their season by playing five games in six weeks.
Kickoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on Saturday.
