3 things to watch in Week 1 matchup against Argos
After a very long and cold winter, the CFL season is finally about to kick off. The Alouettes will open their season on Friday night at Percival Molson Stadium against the Toronto Argonauts.
The Argos, of course, ended the Als’ season last year by beating them in the East Final in Montreal. Unfortunately for the Alouettes, turnovers sank them that day. Throughout camp, Jason Maas and his coaching staff have put even more emphasis on protecting the ball.
Friday’s game starts at 7:30 pm ET. If you’re not at the stadium, you can watch the game on TSN, RDS, CFL+ (outside Canada), or you can listen to it on TSN 690 and 98.5FM.
Here are three things you need to know about this game:
1 – Davis Alexander era officially begins
Alexander went 4-0 as a starter for the Alouettes last year, but this is officially his team. The 26-year-old started last season as the third quarterback on the depth chart and was so good that the team gave him the starting job this winter.
Alexander is a first-year starter, but this will be his fourth year in the CFL. Most quarterbacks are developed slowly in this league. Guys who are rushed into the starter’s role typically don’t have much success.
The Als pivot has a strong arm and he’s capable of bouncing outside the pocket if things break down around him. His arm strength should allow the team to take more deep shots down the field, which is a plus in a league with a long and wide playing area.
The Portland State alum threw for 1347 yards, six touchdowns and just two interceptions last season.
“We feel good out here,” Alexander said after Wednesday’s practice. “We feel like we have a good game plan. All our guys are back, and we’re excited. We trust each other.”
2 – More work for Sean Thomas Erlington
General manager Danny Maciocia has always placed a special emphasis on local talent. At equal talent, Maciocia always says that he’ll take the Quebecer. That’s exactly what the Als did two off-seasons ago, when they signed Thomas-Erlington as a free agent from Hamilton.
The former University of Montreal Carabins had a terrific training camp in 2025. So much so that the team decided to hand him the starting running back job to start the year.
Thomas Erlington is a well-rounded back. He can run between the tackles, he can catch the ball out of the backfield, and, most importantly, he can protect the quarterback.
The 32-year-old has a golden opportunity to literally take this job and run with it in 2025.
“Last year in training camp, I was adapting to my new surroundings,” said Thomas Erlington. “I had to learn a new playbook that was totally different than the one I had in Hamilton. The camp went well this year. I thought I performed well, and I really understand the playbook better.”
Stevie Scott III and Travis Theis also had strong camp and should factor into the offence at some point this year.
3 – New-look defensive line
The Alouettes were able to keep most of their core together this winter, especially on defence. But with camp now in the books, the positional group that underwent the most change is the defensive line.
Lwal Uguak, Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund and Dylan Wynn are all back. Newcomer Josh Archibald is sidelined for this game, which means Jalen Harris and Byron Vaughns will both be active for this one.
Harris and Vaughns both spent some time in and around the NFL and they managed to make this club because of the way they performed in training camp. They’ll be expected to shoulder some of the load when it comes to bringing heat on the opposing quarterback.
MORE ARTICLES:
