The Montreal Alouettes will be without a big chunk, possibly two, for their game against the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Friday at Percival-Molson Stadium.
After playing hide and seek with the media all week talking only about treatment days, it looks like running back William Stanback and quarterback Cody Fajardo are finally nursing injuries.
Stanback, who has been stretching all week on the sidelines, will make way for Walter Fletcher. As for Fajardo, he may be nursing a serious enough left shoulder injury that we can’t say whether or not he will play this game some 30 hours before the scheduled kick-off time. .
A decision will be made just before the game against the Riders (4-4) in his case.
The Alouettes, contrary to what the majority of clubs in the Ambrosie circuit do, do not disclose their list of injured on a daily basis. Sending this list would have avoided 72 hours of speculation about the state of health of its two pillars.
The loss of Fajardo, who was the quarterback victim of the most sacks this season with 29, would be huge for the Alouettes. The veteran is the third-highest passer in the CFL with 1,877 passing yards so far (136 in 202), behind Zach Collaros (2,292) and Jake Maier (2,077), both of whom have played one more game.
Caleb Evans, acquired on the free agent market this winter, had a very ordinary camp after a difficult season in Ottawa in 2022, going 1-5 as a replacement for Jeremiah Masoli.
In two seasons with the Rouge et Noir, he completed 222 of 367 passes for (60.5%) for 2,580 yards and nine touchdowns, against 16 interceptions. He also carried the ball 130 times for 699 yards and 19 touchdowns. It is also only for ground games that he has been used by Maas this season, for 21 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries.
Otherwise, the Alouettes would have to rely on Davis Alexander, who only played one game with the Alouettes last season, completing eight of 13 passes for 89 yards. An attempt was intercepted by the opposing defense. He had added 22 yards rushing and a touchdown on five carries.
The Alouettes (4-3) want to consolidate their hold on second place in the East by signing a third consecutive victory. More than ever, the defense will have to deliver a top performance if Fajardo were to add his name to the club’s voluminous injured list.
That’s no problem for Noel Thorpe’s proteges, who are having a great season.
Last week against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, the Alouettes’ defense, despite the presence of five rookies among the starters, kept the team in the game, allowing them to score 24 unanswered points in the second half, en route to a 27-14 victory.
“These rookie players have taken their game up a notch. They really demonstrated everything they learned and applied in practice, Thorpe said. It proves that our way of doing things works.
“Our guys put on a solid performance,” Thorpe added earlier this week. There’s no doubt that the way they chase quarterbacks, apply pressure and are on the ball quickly, our guys make life difficult for the opposing team, no matter how good it is. »
The arrival of a veteran like Shawn Lemon is certainly appreciated by Thorpe and the defensive unit. In two meetings, he greatly made his presence felt. Against the Ti-Cats alone, he had three tackles, two sacks and an interception. However, only two weeks ago, the 35-year-old footballer was watching the matches from his home.
“Shawn has this ability to stay in great shape,” Thorpe said. he didn’t know when the phone was going to ring, but he knew that when it did, he wasn’t going to sound rusty. »
“I train very hard in the off-season, training that is similar to what we do during the season, said the main interested party. But all credit goes to Coach Thorpe and his deputies: he has such an efficient system and they took me under their wing as soon as I arrived to make sure I didn’t miss a thing. »
“The way he sees the game, he’s seen it all,” Thorpe added. He works very hard off the field to know the tendencies of opposing quarterbacks. Then on the field, he brings a lot of intelligence and his level of effort when he chases a quarterback is unmatched. »
Lemon took his career sack total to 93 with both on Saturday.
The match will also mark the return of André Bolduc to Montreal. Assistant head coach and running backs coach under Khari Jones, Bolduc was dropped when general manager Danny Maciocia wanted to fill the position last winter and decided to offer his services to other clubs. of the CFL. The Riders offered him the positions of running game coordinator and running backs coach.
