By Jack Bedell,
MontrealAlouettes.com
Hammond, LA – If you hired a writer to script a typical pre-season game, he would most likely include a good bit of sloppy play, some penalties that would drive you crazy if it were a regular season game, and maybe a turnover or two.
And just to keep the juices flowing for a sequel, he might even mix in a few eye-opening performances from new guys, some vets making plays out of position, and a good bit of grit late in the game to hold on for the win. Sound familiar?
Wednesday’s pre-season game against the Argos went almost exactly like I expected.
Considering the Als had been in training camp less than two weeks, and the fact that they left an All-Star team back in Montreal that included Anthony Calvillo, Ben Cahoon, Bryan Chiu, Anwar Stewart, and Kerry Watkins, the team looked prepared and efficient.
Aside from keeping an eye – or an ear, since the game wasn’t on TV – on tempo and precision, though, the real interest for me was in watching how young players performed, particularly in situations in which they were being asked to be lead contributors instead of supporting cast.
Highlights
No doubt, the performance of the quarterbacks was my highlight of the game. Adrian McPherson definitely looked ready for Prime Time, making good use of space and his offensive weapons to lead the team to some early scores. The same could be said of Chris Leak and Ricky Santos. And with Brad Banks still in the wings waiting for his turn, I’d have to say the future of Alouettes quarterbacking looks pretty shiny.
I was also glad to see Montreal’s running game picking up decent yards, especially with Avon Cobourne and Mike Imoh staying back in Montreal. Even taking away the QBs’ yards, it was a phenomenal day for the ground attack. Chris Jennings and Brandon Whitaker both looked dangerous attacking holes in the Argos’ defence. And the young fullbacks performed very well out of the backfield on receptions and in pass protection.
On defence, I was very impressed with the play of youngsters De’Audre Dix and Blue Adams, and well as vets Chip Cox and John Bowman. And there’s not enough space here to praise special teams adequately for the good work they did on coverage. S.J. Green did a wonderful job of harassing Toronto’s punter early in the game, Larry Taylor looked lethal like last season, and all the coverage units seemed solid.
Lingering questions
While I’m certainly not worried, I have to admit I’m still a little eager to see who the Als’ number four and five receivers are going to be once the regular season arrives. Maybe the second pre-season game is going to give us a clue.
Also, I’m really looking forward to seeing Matthieu Proulx get healthy and back out on the field to see how he runs the secondary with all the talent he’ll have in front of him this season.
Check back next week to see if the game against the Bombers provides any answers.
The Alouettes will host the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in pre-season action this Tuesday, June 23 @ 7 p.m.
Click here to purchase tickets!
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