Inside the CFL: Alouettes are mishmash of good and bad at one-third mark

Ottawa Citizen

4 days ago

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The CFL season is a marathon, not a sprint.
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While the Alouettes (4-2) sit atop the East Division at the one-third mark of the season, it might prove to be meaningless once the weather turns cold in October and November — especially if starting quarterback Davis Alexander, sidelined yet again with a hamstring injury, is out for another prolonged period.
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Montreal was 5-1 at this point last season and finished with the league's best record (12-5-1). Yet its players were sitting at home when Toronto defeated Winnipeg in the Grey Cup.
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Nonetheless, six games into an 18-game season is a good time to sit back and reflect on what we've seen and what we'd like to see moving forward — not that Als management necessarily will listen.
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Positive: We should no longer wonder whether Alexander is the real deal. He might have been third on the depth chart last season, but seized his opportunity when Cody Fajardo suffered — coincidentally — a hamstring injury. Alexander has won all eight games he has started, dating to last season, tying a CFL record held by Danny McManus.
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But it's more than that. Montreal's offence has a different feel to it when Alexander — unpredictable, mobile and explosive — is on the field. He rallied the Als from an 18-point third-quarter deficit against the Argonauts on Thursday night, passing for 196 yards during the second half.
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However, Alexander only lasted one game before reinjuring his left hamstring — something that forced him to miss two full games over a month. We can't imagine his recovery will be any shorter this time.
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Negative: While it's unfair to put all the blame on McLeod Bethel-Thompson, the Als lost two games when he replaced Alexander. Bethel-Thompson is accurate in practice, but not so much in games. And while he can still move at age 37, he lacks Alexander's mobility and moxie.
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Bethel-Thompson passed for 3,748 yards with Edmonton last season, but the Elks' record was 3-10 when he played. While third-string QB Caleb Evans is mobile, we don't believe he's the solution, either. With coming games at Calgary, against Saskatchewan and Edmonton, and at B.C. during the next month, the Als' 4-2 record could quickly change for the worse.
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Positive: Much like the Canadiens under head coach Martin St. Louis, there's no quit in the Als under Jason Maas.
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We had the Als written off in the third quarter against Toronto while trailing 25-7. But Montreal scored 19 unanswered points, a total that would have been higher except for two unsuccessful two-point conversion attempts. It was the largest comeback by the Als since Sept. 21, 2019, when the team overcame a 24-point deficit against Winnipeg.