TORONTO – The Montreal Alouettes and Toronto Argonauts will both feel they have a statement to make on Monday night in Toronto at BMO Field. Both teams enter the Week 5 matchup with a sour taste in their mouths; the Als trying to fix a sputtering offence quickly off the back of a 31-7 home defeat against Hamilton last week, and the Argos licking their wounds after a fourth-quarter collapse doomed them to a 30-20 loss against Ottawa at home in Week 4.
With Ottawa having fallen in Saskatchewan earlier in Week 5 and Hamilton facing a tricky contest in Edmonton, both teams know that Monday night’s victor will be thrust right back into the picture in the CFL’s competitive East Division.
Home teams have been woeful, specifically in the East, thus far in 2016 and the Argos are no different: 2-0 away from BMO Field and 0-2 at their new stadium. In keeping with the trend, Montreal is 1-0 on the road and 0-2 at home.
The Alouettes (1-2) need a big play from somebody, anybody.
Montreal’s offence sputtered last week against the Ticats. Rakeem Cato was 18-of-25 for just over 200 unremarkable yards, Vernon Adams Jr. wasn’t much better in relief and the Als’ running game was ineffective.
With the likes of receiver S.J. Green and running back Tyrell Sutton out long-term — the former’s season is over — Montreal needs to find a way to move the chains consistently.
That responsibility will this week fall on the shoulders of veteran Kevin Glenn, who moves back under centre after sitting out last week’s loss to Hamilton with an eye injury.
History has not been kind to the Als when Green is out of the lineup: Montreal is 0-4 since 2014 in games that its star slotback has missed, averaging just 14.8 points per game and one offensive touchdown.
“Our young players have to rise up,” Als receivers coach Jacques Chapdelaine told MontrealAlouettes.com. “Don’t underestimate them. Our practices have given these players a chance to really improve.”
As for the defensive looks his team might see, Chapdelaine was transparent.
“The (Argos) defence is coached by Rich Stubler, who has several years of experience in the league,” said Chapdelaine. “It relies a lot on the speed of the players; their complexity is in their simplicity. Often, it looks as though they are executing the same play, but they add a variation to it.”
Through four weeks of play and three games, the Als offence had put up a league-worst 42 points, thrown for a league-worst 848 passing yards and, once again league-low, two pass touchdowns.
There will be a number of familiar faces for Montreal on the opposite side; Argos running back Brandon Whitaker previously played in 51 games (2009-14) as a member of the Als, while Toronto offensive coordinator Marcus Brady served as Montreal offensive coordinator Anthony Calvillo’s backup for three years (2006-08).
“(It’s) just going to be a dogfight,” said Als linebacker Winston Venable. “They’ll be real hungry to get that W, so we’ve got to be prepared for them to do anything they can to get that.”
On the Toronto side of the equation, the Argos (2-2) are looking to right the ship after a pair of disappointing home losses to open up BMO Field. Off the back of a 30-20 home loss against Ottawa in Week 4, Head Coach Scott Milanovich told Argonauts.ca that his team is ready to hit the field and set the record straight.
“It’s been a long week; we had to stew and brew, and the players are anxious to get back on the field,” said Milanovich. “Our offence needs to play better — we need to stay on the field and put more points on the board than we have been.”
Argos quarterback Ricky Ray, off to a relatively quiet start in 2016, believes now is the time for Toronto to shake off its home jitters.
“It’s come down to a handful of plays where we just haven’t executed,” said the 36 year-old pivot. “That’s what we’re trying to clean up — we just haven’t played well enough at home in our first two games, shooting ourselves in the foot a little bit.”
Canadian special-teamer and 2016 CFL Draft pick Llevi Noel has been a bright spot thus far in 2016 for the Argos, having recorded a league-high eight special-teams tackles through four games.
The importance of making a statement in a home game against the limping Als isn’t lost on Coach Milanovich.
“They’ll be desperate, I’m sure, (but) I don’t know if they’ll be any more desperate than we are,” said the fifth-year head coach. “It’s not like we’re 6-0; we’re 2-2 and we let one get away last week.”
Milanovich has his offence ready to expect the unexpected against the unorthodox Als defence on Monday.
“They’ve mixed it up almost every game this year, changing coverages depending on which team they’re playing,” said Milanovich. “We’ll have to figure it out early what their plan is against us — (sometimes) they’ll drop a bunch of guys (or) they’ll zone blitz you — it’ll be interesting how they’ll play us.”
By the Numbers
-30 – Montreal’s point differential in the fourth quarter thus far in 2016
3 – Touchdown receptions for Toronto wideout Vidal Hazelton
14 – Sacks allowed by the Argos, second-most in the CFL
96:49 – League-low time of possession enjoyed by the Als this season
The Skinny
Both sides will feel they have a chance to gain some momentum on Monday night in Toronto; the Argos are facing the league’s most injury-ravaged team, while the Als are facing a team that’s yet to win at home. Both defences have come up with big plays at points this season: Expect a low-scoring trench battle.
If Kevin Glenn can turn Montreal’s sputtering offence around at BMO Field, the Als will have every shot of walking away with the road win.
Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. ET and can be seen live on TSN and on TSN 690.
