The Alouettes in five observations | The Press

The Montreal Alouettes have won just one of their last four games. Nonetheless, they are guaranteed to finish at the top of their division. One month before the start of the playoffs, The Press offers you an inventory in five stages.

Impatience and confidence

Cody Fajardo can blunder. He is an imperfect quarterback. But he remains one of the best quarterbacks in the Canadian Football League. However, his impatience in the clutch has cost the Alouettes points recently. If his plan A doesn’t work, he panics. This is probably why he throws the ball less and less. In the last three games, he has attempted fewer than 30 passes each time. Yet he gives his team the best chance of winning when he distributes the ball often. Fajardo has attempted over 30 passes six times this season. And the Alouettes have won on five occasions. The quarterback must trust himself. He leads his league counterparts with a 73.1% pass completion rate.

Offensive largesse

Cody Fajardo’s performance has everything to do with that of his offensive line. Name a good quarterback and we’ll name you a good offensive line. In the last few games, the Alouettes’ performance has been permeable. However, she had excelled at the start of the season. In their first four games, the Alouettes had allowed only five sacks. In their last four meetings, opposing teams have knocked down Fajardo 11 times. The team ranks sixth in the league for the number of sacks allowed with 33. Bad news for Jason Maas’ squad, the Argonauts, the Lions, the Roughriders and the Rouge et Noir, potential opponents in the playoffs, are the teams having recorded the most sacks this season.

The receivers

The loss of Tyson Philpot after nine games, and for the rest of the season, hurt the Alouettes more than expected. Before his injury, his average receptions and throws his way surpassed that of Austin Mack in 2023. In the second half of the season, however, Cody Fajardo didn’t seem to make as meaningful a connection with another receiver. Yet every time he is called upon, Charleston Rambo responds. But its use is irregular. Moreover, the more he is targeted, the more the Alouettes’ chances of winning increase. Rambo was targeted at least five times in nine games, and the Alouettes won six of those duels (plus a draw). Last week, during the defeat in Toronto, the rookie was called upon on only four occasions. Like in the draw in Calgary two weeks earlier.

Habits

The Alouettes excel at maintaining a lead. The team leads in the number of games won when it scores the first points (eight victories) and in the number of games won when it has the lead after three quarters (nine victories and no defeats). The Alouettes almost never play catch-up football. The credit goes to Jason Maas, who is able to prepare his players well before the clashes, in addition to ensuring that they are able to follow the initial game plan. Its rigidity during training has something to do with it. The team is never short of solutions. No Canadian team wins more close duels than the Alouettes. The Montrealers have won five of their six games which ended with a gap of four points or less.

Defense

Will Noel Thorpe finally find a head coaching job in the CFL? The team’s defensive coordinator has excelled since he took office. He’ll get his chance one day or another. In the meantime, his unity is still at the heart of the team’s success. With the recent generosity of the offense, the defense has had to save the furniture on several occasions, such as in 2023. Darnell Sankey and Tyrice Beverette offer stability and efficiency. The Alouettes rank first in the league in the number of touchdowns allowed this season. With the progression of Geoffrey Cantin-Arku and the return of Lwal Uguak, the performance of the defense is almost the only certainty in the Montreal camp.