(Winnipeg) The Montreal Alouettes will begin defending their title on Thursday evening against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, the team that the Sparrows beat in the last Gray Cup. Here are five keys to remember to help you properly follow the start of the season.
Cody Fajardo, Tyson Philpot, Pier-Olivier Lestage, Darnell Sankey, Marc-Antoine Dequoy, David Côté… All the key players who helped the team win its first Grey Cup in 13 years are back with the Alouettes. Finally, some stability. General manager Danny Maciocia has managed to keep his core of players intact. The same goes for the coaches. Jason Maas, Byron Archambault, Luc Brodeur-Jourdain, Anthony Calvillo and Noel Thorpe will also be back on the sidelines with the Alouettes. Given their success in 2023, there is every reason to believe that Montreal will be able to defend their title firmly.
However, the Alouettes lost two important pieces during the off-season to NFL teams. On offense, receiver Austin Mack left to try his luck in Atlanta with the Falcons. Mack stood out in his first season in Montreal last year as the team’s number one receiver. Cody Fajardo’s favorite target had 1,154 yards and 4 touchdowns. On defense, Lwal Uguak took charge of Tampa Bay by signing an agreement with the Buccaneers. The 6-foot-5, 271-pound man had 3 sacks and 16 tackles.
Danny Maciocia has still been busy since November. Eternally dissatisfied, the general manager brought in reinforcements. Players like running back Sean Thomas Erlington, defensive lineman Derek Wiggan, cornerback Cre’Von LeBlanc and linebacker Bryce Cosby, all of whom signed with the team, will be in uniform during the first match. In the draft, the Als repatriated Quebec linebacker Geoffrey Cantin-Arku during the first round of the auction. Coming from the NCAA, Cantin-Arku looked good during training camp.
When the Alouettes signed veteran receiver Tevin Jones in mid-February, everyone in the nest was ecstatic. Expectations were immense and we thought we had found the replacement for Austin Mack in him. However, Jones was one of the last players cut at camp. It was the unexpected Charleston Rambo who was able to fill the position left vacant by Mack. Rambo, a 24-year-old American fresh out of the University of Miami, under contract for less than a month, shone at the Alouettes camp. It was, by far, the most noticed.
The Gray Cup will take place in Vancouver this year and looking at how things are shaping up in the Eastern Conference, let’s say that the Alouettes’ chances of defending their title are quite good. Ottawa? The starting lineup looked bad last week against the Alouettes’ C team. Toronto? With Chad Kelly suspended for at least nine games and A. J. Ouellette gone to Saskatchewan, the team will have a hard time competing. Hamilton? Possibly the Alouettes’ main rivals, but Bo Levi Mitchell is getting older, at 34, and he played little last year. The lack of explosiveness in the Tiger-Cats attack could catch up with them.