It is clear to the Montreal Alouettes players that the Gray Cup final will not pit the best team in the East against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Sunday.
All the players met on Monday made this observation, some 48 hours after the 30-28 defeat at the hands of the Toronto Argonauts.
“The best team doesn’t make it to the Gray Cup, that’s clear,” said injured wide receiver Tyson Philpot.
“We gave them this match,” added the one who wants to be back for the start of the next training camp. After the game, the guys weren’t sulking, they were like we’re going to be back at this point [l’an prochain] and that we are going to learn. »
“It’s definitely difficult. You never want a match like this, said guard Kristian Matte. When you dominate a match like that and only five or six plays can change the situation, it’s always difficult. At the same time, you have to give them credit, they did what they had to do. It’s certain that after having experienced what we experienced last year, it’s hard. »
Fajardo believes that this setback can be explained by mathematics.
“We played well enough, but we lost the ball four times in their territory. That’s at least 12 points right there, he said. Then there is this interception which deviated on [le demi à l’attaque Walter] Fletcher and that turns into a touchdown for them. We also missed two two-point conversions. Add up all these points and you have a good twenty points. This is why we believe that the better team lost this semi-final. »
At the top too soon?
The bye the Alouettes received in the first playoff round also caused a lot of talk. But none of the players met on Monday believe that it explains the defeat suffered last Saturday.
“The result of the game was not due to the bye week. It’s a question of mistakes. (…) When you say that you are shooting yourself in the foot, that’s really it. That’s what’s hard to swallow. This is the reality of sport. If you don’t execute, it’s going to result in a match like that,” declared safety Marc-Antoine Dequoy.
“We had all the tools to surrender, but we used them poorly. (…) It’s like jumping with a parachute and making holes in it ourselves. »
“I don’t think we reached our peak too soon,” Fajardo argued. You always have to manage the end of the season. When you get first place this early, it’s a blessing and a curse. You want to go in with as much rhythm as possible. Even if we had finished on a five-game winning streak, we still would have gotten a bye. I believe more that injuries to key players undermined our rhythm. »
