MontrealAlouettes.com
REGINA – Coming off a tight defensive battle against the Riders in Week 8, the Alouettes are in Winnipeg tonight looking to cap off their 2-game road trip with a split against the Blue Bombers at Investors Group Field
They say revenge is a dish best served cold, but for the Alouettes, on the road will have to do with Week 3’s 1-point heartbreaker loss to Winnipeg at McGill Stadium fresh in the minds of many.
QUICK LINKS: VIEWING PARTY » DEPTH CHART » NEXT HOME GAME »
| DATE: |
Friday, August 22, 2014 | TV: | TSN, RDS |
| VS: |
Winnipeg Blue Bombers |
RADIO: | TSN 690 » 98.5 FM » |
| KICK-OFF: |
8:30 PM | ONLINE: | ESPN3 » |
Whitaker vs Grigsby: inch for inch
Friday night’s tilt in Winnipeg will match up up two of the best in the backfield in the CFL inch for inch. For the Bombers, Nic Grisgby currently sits atop the CFL’s rushing yards tally with a total of 416 yards through 8 games. Montreal will counter with Brandon Whitaker, whose 4.7 yards/per attempt eclipses Grigsby’s 4.3. The 28-year old Edmond native has been a pain for opposing teams to contain this season, picking up 406 yards through 7 contests. With that in mind, it’s no surprise the Alouettes’ running back is one of three players currently on pace to break the 1,000 rushing yards plateau this season.
It’s too early to tell who’s going to win, except for the fans who always win when this type of matchup plays itself out on the field.
Milestones
– Whitaker’s second run of the game will mark his 550th in an Alouettes uniform.
– Sean Whyte needs 6 points to tie the 30th best scorer in CFL history.
– John Bowman is only 2 sacks away from his career’s 80th.
– S.J. Green needs 170 receiving yards to get to 5000 in his career with the Alouettes.
– Alan-Michael Cash’s next sack will be his career’s 10th.
– Mike Edem’s next defensive tackle will be the 50th of his 2 year career.
– Aaron Lavarias needs one sack to get to 10 in his CFL career.
– Tanner Marsh will have his best rushing season in the CFL if he gets 32 more rushing yards this season.
You can’t fly in the Red Zone if the Alouettes’ defense is on the field
The Alouettes’ defensive unit put on a good show during Week 8’s tilt versus the Saskatchewan Roughriders, preventing the Riders from snapping a play inside the 23 yard line, and so the Red Zone, throughout the evening.
Jerald Brown: A new kind of ball hawk
If opposite quarterbacks were already afraid of throwing to the area of the field occupied by the free roaming Jerald Brown, the Alouettes defender has done little more to persuade them to throw in his direction this season. Brown’s excellent work in coverage has persisted in 2014 and it’s safe to say he’s become a new kind of ball hawk: since the start of the season, nobody in the CFL has recovered more fumbles than Brown. The only other player to equal that stat is the Edmonton Eskimos’ Marcus Howard Howard, but Brown holds the edge by gaining almost 10 more yards than Howard every time he scoops the football off the turf.
Sean Whyte’s powerful foot
Since the start of the 2014 CFL campaign, Sean Whyte ranks 2nd in the league for net punting yards. His 38.7 net punting yards average is just 0.08 yards shy off the league leading mark held by Brett Maher of the Ottawa REDBLACKS. Whyte’s success this season is due as much to his individual play as it is to the special teams unit lining up in front him on the field, who have done an excellent job giving him the time and space to operate.
Duron Carter, a volatile bird
Last week, Duron Carter pulled another rabbit out of his skillful hat by returning a missed Chris Milo field goal return to the house for an Alouettes major. Those 122 yards of pure elation aren’t just some of the skill Carter has shown with the offence on the field in the last 2 weeks, reeling in 17 catches for 181 yards.
For the second week in a row against Saskatchewan, Carter recorded more receptions than any other receiver in the CFL. The receiver is also adept at tacking on yards after the catch: 94 of those 181 receiving yards were picked up on the run.
Coming back to Winnipeg
Alex Brink will make his 9th career CFL start on Friday aganst Winnipeg, and this is one is bound to be extra special for the Alouettes signal caller. Call it a mini-comeback for Brink, whose latched onto his CFL career in Winnipeg. Though Brink will face off against his old team in the town he used to call home, Friday’s start will be his first at the shiny new Investors Group Field.
The quarterback has 5 career starts in Winnipeg during which he averaged a bit more than 227 passing yards per game. He also drove in an average of one touchdown per start. Brink particularly excelled in the Montreal-Winnipeg games he started in Manitoba, throwing for more than 300 yards in two of those contests.
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 team cheerleaders!
Plus, Alouettes season ticket holders always save 15% off any order up to $60 at La Station des Sports on game days.
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.
