MontrealAlouettes.com
Heading out west after playing four of their last five at home, the Alouettes will kick off a mini two-game road swing this Saturday against the Saskatchewan Roughriders at Mosaic Stadium.
Here’s a look at how Montreal and the defending Grey Cup champs will line up against each other as the week draws to a close.
QUICK LINKS: VIEWING PARTY » DEPTH CHART » FACTS & FIGURES » NEXT HOME GAME »
| DATE: |
Saturday, August 16, 2014 | TV: | TSN, RDS |
| VS: |
Saskatchewan Roughriders |
RADIO: | TSN 690 » 98.5 FM » |
| KICK-OFF: |
7:00 PM | ONLINE: | ESPN3 » |
Running through the entire 2014 season, the Alouettes will be hosting viewing parties for every away game at La Station des Sports on Ste-Catherine Street West, in the heart of downtown Montreal.
Come hang out and catch the game with fellow Alouettes fans as well as former receiver Danny Desriveaux and team cheerleaders Ashley and Claudia.
Plus, Alouettes season ticket holders always save 15% off any order up to $60 at La Station des Sports on game days.
The Alouettes will invade Rider Nation this Saturday looking to quiet down a sea of green riding high on the coattails of a 3-game win streak. A look in the rearview mirror reveals back-to-back Alouettes Grey Cup triumphs over the Roughriders in 2010 and 2011 and three consecutive games dating back to 2012 having gone down to the final 3-minute wire. Suffice to say, the Alouettes and Roughriders have a long, tenuous history of tightly-contested football and this one’s shaping up to be no different given Montreal has come out on top twice against Saskatchewan in their last three visits to Mosaic Stadium and the Riders are showing no signs of a Grey Cup hangover.
Veteran QB Alex Brink will make his first start of the campaign under center for the Alouettes as incumbent QB Troy Smith battles a handful of lingering injuries. Despite some early-season jitters, the Alouettes are still within striking distance of first place in the CFL’s Eastern divison, and a win would go a long way towards narrowing a gap that has proven to be anything but insurmountable to this point.
Alex Brink’s first appearance of the season in mop-up duty two weeks ago against the Argonauts (9/23, 60 yards, 1 INT) shouldn’t be used as a measuring stick for the Oregon native’s ability to take charge of the offence this Saturday in Saskatchewan. Given a week’s worth of first-team reps in practice and some quality time breaking down film with newly-named QBs coach Jeff Garcia, the 29-year old has been given the tools he needs to succeed as he takes over from the ailing Troy Smith. Brink’s last CFL start came against his current employer on November 3rd, 2012 while a member of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. The Alouettes will hope Brink can do to the Roughriders what he did to them on that day en route to a 19-11 victory. Head coach Tom Higgins has hinted that his club may utilize a two- or even three-quarterback rotation this Saturday night, and newcoming QB Jonathan Crompton may get some looks for the first time since he signed a 3-year contract with the Alouettes a month ago. Crompton, a San Diego Chargers draft product, is a 6’4″, 225 lbs. physical specimen with some as-of-yet untapped potential. The 27-year old figures to get in on the action along with QB Tanner Marsh at some point, who has been repurposed as the third-string QB on the lineup this week.
On the heels of Duron Carter’s 112-yard peformance last time out against the Eskimos last week, newcoming WRs coach Turk Schonert will look for his receiving corps to put up another triple-digit effort in the yards column this time out. Carter was the first Alouettes wideout to break the 100-yard receiving barrier this season, and the Alouettes are hoping there are more 100-yard performances in store from the offence starting this Saturday.
With all the talk about the offence so far this season, little attention has been paid to assistant HC and DC Noel Thorpe’s defence this year. Thorpe will be looking for more consistency out of a squad that allowed 30 points to the Eskimos in the first half of Week 7’s matchup, but that limited the opposition to just one FG score in the second half.
“You have to adapt, and you have to look at yourself in the mirror.” -Alouettes WR Éric Deslauriers didn’t pull any punches when talking about the need for himself and his teammates to raise their individual games.
“We started with shoulder pads and halfway we took the shoulder pads off because I could not and would not allow the physicality to continue.” -HC Tom Higgins upped the intensity level in practice on defence this week and got a lot more from them than he planned for.
“All you ask for is an opportunity, I’m going to have fun with it and I know I have the confidence of my teammates and my coaches” –QB Alex Brink on making his first start under center in two years.
“I love playing against these kind of players, and I definitely love playing in this kind of game.” -LBJ is looking forward to matching up against Riders DE John Chick and DT Tearrius George.
• CARRYING THE LOAD: RB Brandon Whitaker’s durability hasn’t ever come into question in 2014. Need any proof? He’s been the key cog on the Alouettes offence, earning 30% of his team’s total offence (rushing + passing) with 378 yards on the ground and 117 in the air.
• ANOTHER THREE: K/P Sean Whyte’s sturdy and reliable season has him pushing towards the 600-career point milestone, a feat he will realize the next time he kicks one through the uprights.
• DON’T ‘MESS’AM WITH HIM: Former Alouettes RB Jerome Messam is hot off the tails of a 126-yard rushing effort on 19 carriers against the Blue Bombers in Week 7, helping the Roughriders maintain their cushion atop the league’s rushing ranks.
• TOP 10 CRACKING: LB Chip Cox needs 7 tackles to take sole possession of the #9 spot from Kelly Wiltshire in all-time defensive tackles recorded.
On August 29th, 2014 at 7:30 PM, what is old will be new again as the Ottawa REDBLACKS make their first ever regular-season visit to McGill Stadium to play the Alouettes. Though Montreal has not taken part in a regular-season game against an Ottawa franchise since the now-defunct Renegades were suspended back in 2006, this one will surely mark a new era of rivalry between two clubs whose home bases are separated by a shade under 200 km.
Tickets are available now online at ticketmaster.ca or by calling 514-787-2525.
