Snead helps Montreal Alouettes to 2-0 start
Tyler Snead is making the most of his opportunities early this season with the Montreal Alouettes.
The third-year receiver has seven catches for 151 yards in two games. His 21.6-yard average is even more impressive considering Snead has been targeted just eight times compared to 16 for Canadian Tyson Philpot (nine catches, 90 yards and a touchdown) and 14 for Austin Mack (10 receptions, 154 yards).
Snead was targeted five times in Montreal's 39-18 win over the Ottawa Redblacks last week, recording four catches for 117 yards. Mack had nine targets (five catches, 103 yards), one more than Philpot (five receptions, 42 yards).
'The coolest thing about playing in this offence, it can be anyone's week on any given gameday,' Snead said. 'We've got many plays we gameplan for based on what the coaches see and like, we have coverages we prepare for early that end up working out in our favour with some big plays.
'Later we get different looks that get people open. It just happened to be a big first half for me (versus Ottawa) but next week it could be a big first half for anybody.'
Snead's start is a positive sign given he was slowed by a foot injury last season. After posting 56 catches for 788 yards and five TDs in 15 games as a rookie in 2023, the five-foot-seven, 172-pound Raleigh, N.C., native had 24 receptions for 253 yards in seven contests last year.
'That was like my first major injury, the first time I had to miss games and it was definitely tough,' Snead said. 'But they (Als medical staff) did a great job with rehab and treatment so coming back for the last six games (in '24) and this year, I haven't even noticed it.'
Montreal (2-0) visits the Edmonton Elks (0-1) on Thursday night. Its start comes with the remaining three East Division teams all 0-2.
'Tyler has shown tremendous resiliency coming back from an unfortunate injury in his 2024 campaign,' said Kenny Kim of Summit Athletes, Snead's Florida-based representative. 'I fully expected him to tackle his rehab head-on and as a result he's off to a fast start this season.
'Tyler is a humble, hard-working and determined individual and it's my expectation he'll continue to be a dominant force in this league.'
Montreal hasn't skipped a beat with Davis Alexander in his first full season as the starting quarterback. Alexander won all four of last year's starts and is 6-0 overall.
'He's just a winner,' Snead said. 'Every time he steps on to the field he gets into that different mindset and plays to win.
'If you see your quarterback is confident, making plays, getting fired up and showing everyone he can do it, it's like that snowball effect where everybody wants to play good ball and then feels like everybody is.'
But a stout Montreal defence — anchored by veteran linebackers Tyrice Beverette and Darnell Sankey — has more than done its part, allowing just 27 offensive points while forcing seven turnovers.
'We've got the league's best defence and that makes us better going against the best every day and competing,' Snead said. 'They're going to get turnovers, they're going to rally to the ball and hit you.
'I feel like we see a lot of two-and-outs and so it's the offence right back up, which gives us more confidence.'
Snead's first CFL campaign was a memorable one, capping it with a '23 Grey Cup victory. Last year, Montreal posted a CFL-best 12-5-1 record before losing a 30-28 East Division final decision to the Toronto Argonauts, who ultimately won the Grey Cup.
Snead said that memory fuelled his and many of his teammates' off-season workouts.
'The goal is the same every year, win a Grey Cup,' he said. 'But it (loss) definitely left a bitter taste in our mouth.
'I know that was on the mind of many guys. We put in a lot of hard work in during the off-season and now we're just trying to show it all during the regular season.'
Snead, 25, admits sometimes having difficulty believing he's playing football professionally.
'It feels weird calling it a job because I have so much fun doing it,' he said. 'This is what I've loved doing since I was five years old.
'I'm grateful I get to play a game for a living but I love going out and competing with my teammates and sharing a win or learning lessons from a loss. I know one day it's going to end and it won't be here forever so I just try to enjoy everything about it while I can.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
National Post
28 minutes ago
- National Post
Edmonton Oilers can't 'drag 'em back to Alberta' for Game 7 showdown
Article content The best the Edmonton Oilers could have hoped for facing elimination in Tuesday's Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final was to be able to face another elimination game Friday. Article content That was the consequence of a 5-2 loss in Game 5 on Saturday to the very same Florida Panthers the Oilers needed four straight wins against in last year's Cup final, after falling behind 3-0 in their previous championship go-round. Article content Article content So, the prospect of having to win two in a row this time couldn't have felt like mission impossible. Article content The thing is, nothing comes guaranteed when Lord Stanley's mug is on the line, and what Edmonton ended up with Tuesday was anything but the best. Article content Here are some takeaways from Florida's 5-1 win over the Oilers in Game 6 at Amerant Bank Arena: Article content • It might have a year's worth of dust covering it, but the quote by Connor McDavid from last year's final still had fans in Edmonton hoping the Oilers could 'drag 'em back to Alberta.' This time, for what would have been Game 7 on Friday. Article content It wasn't McDavid's most infamous quote from that Cup run, however. Thanks to a Prime Video camera giving us an intimate look inside the Oilers dressing room following a loss to the Panthers in Game 2 that year for, Faceoff: Inside the NHL, we saw the Oilers captain go on a memorable rant in effort to refocus his teammates. 'Dig the f–k in, right f–king now,' was the main takeaway. Article content And you can bet that while those words didn't need to be spoken again, they were still echoing off the walls of the Oilers dressing room as they faced elimination for the first and only time in these playoffs Tuesday. Article content In the end, the Oilers ended up digging their own graves with a dud of a performance in the one game that mattered most. Article content • The Oilers decided to make another change in net and go back to Stuart Skinner for Game 6. And for good reason. Article content When the pressure cranks up, so too do Skinner's stats. The 26-year-old came in with a record of 5-2 with a .910 save percentage and 2.11 goals-against average when facing elimination, including a 3-1 mark with a .935 save percentage and 1.76 goals-against average in Stanley Cup Final elimination games. Article content In two of his three previous starts in the series, Skinner ended up getting pulled for Calvin Pickard, including Game 4, after the Oilers fell behind 3-0 in the first 20 minutes on the way to a 5-4 comeback win in overtime. Article content • Had the Oilers not gone back to Skinner, it would have spoken volumes about not only what they think of the young hometown product, but also to his future with the club. Article content A change in general manager since Skinner reached the all-star game as a rookie in 2022-23 means there are no loyalty ties from Oilers brass, and those questions still loom large. Skinner's current three-year contract, worth an annual $2.6 million, has him lined up to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of next season. But the possibility of a trade as early as this off-season exists. Article content • And the Oilers were not very solid in front of Skinner early on, once again. In five straight games, the Panthers drew first blood. This time, it was the result of a turnover on the doorstep of Edmonton's zone by Evan Bouchard, the Oilers defenceman with a nose for the net, who has been accurately described as being dangerous at both blue lines. At this point, you have to ask when does his offensive upside no longer outweigh the defensive blunders that end up in the back of his own net? Article content • The Oilers were looking to become the ninth team in NHL history to force a Game 7 in the Stanley Cup Final en route to winning the Cup: The 2011 Bruins, 2009 Penguins, 2004 Lightning, 2001 Avalanche, 1971 Canadiens, 1964 Maple Leafs, 1950 Red Wings and 1942 Maple Leafs. Article content • Florida came in with an all-time record of 14-11 in potential series-clinching contests, with a 6-6 record at home, a 1-3 overall mark in the Stanley Cup Final and a 3-2 record in 2025. Edmonton came in 23-21 all-time when facing elimination, while holding a 6-3 record in the Stanley Cup Final, a 12-10 mark on the road and a 5-1 record in its last six games overall in that scenario. Article content While last year's Cup final felt like the Oilers simply ran out of time, after bouncing back from a 3-0 series deficit to force Game 7, this year's rematch didn't feel nearly as close — despite three of the opening five games going to overtime. The Panthers were calmer, showed more bounceback, their stars outshone those of the Oilers and they were just the overall tougher team. Article content • It was the second year in a row the Stanley Cup was presented to the Panthers after a game where McDavid was held off the stats sheet. Article content • It was the fifth appearance in and fifth elimination from a Cup finals over the past six seasons by Corey Perry, 40, who was with the Dallas Stars in 2019-20, the Montreal Canadiens in 2020-21 and the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2021-22, prior to joining the Oilers last season. Article content Article content
National Post
28 minutes ago
- National Post
Game over: Edmonton Oilers Stanley Cup dreams die again in Florida
In any other era, in almost any other year, this Edmonton Oilers team is good enough to win a Stanley Cup. Good enough, even, to be a two-time champion solidifying its place in NHL history. Article content But not in this era. Not during the Florida Panthers' reign. Article content Article content For the second year in a row, with the dreams of a city and its seasoned No.1 contender hanging in the balance, it all came crashing down at Amerant Bank Arena, where the Oilers were once again left to accept their place as the second best team in hockey. Article content Florida's convincing 5-1 victory in Game 6 closed out the series 4-2 and forced the Oilers to spend another night in a tear-stained dressing room listening to the Panthers and their fans celebrate another Stanley Cup title. Article content That the Oilers lost twice to one of the best teams in the last 30 years, a potential dynasty in the making, does nothing to ease a collective heartbreak they promised themselves would never happen again. Article content Year-old wounds stat still haven't healed since last June are torn open again. Article content It hurts when your Stanley Cup window is being used by somebody better. But the Panthers are better and they've proven it twice now. Article content Florida's last three wins in this series were by scores of 6-1, 5-2 and 5-1, and they were up 3-0 before Edmonton made a once-in-a-century comeback in Game 4. They scored 28 goals on Edmonton in six games. Article content So there's not a lot of grey area here. Florida's top guys were better than Edmonton's top guys, Florida's depth destroyed Edmonton's depth and Florida's goaltending was better than Edmonton's goaltending. Article content It was a clean kill. Article content The Oilers came out with a sense of urgency that delivered some big hits and generated some good scoring chances, but two too many defensive zone mistakes put them in another terrible spot. Article content Gaffes from Mattias Ekholm and Evan Bouchard allowed Sam Reinhart to score on the ensuing breakaway at 4:36. Then Bouchard and Connor McDavid combined on Matthew Tkachuk's goal at 19:13. Article content Just like that, the Oilers were down 2-0 again at the first intermission again. This makes deficits of 2-0, 3-0, 2-0 and 2-0 in the first periods of the last four games and six-straight games allowing two or more goals against in the opening 20 minutes — the first time that's ever happened in Stanley Cup Final history. Article content Head coach Kris Knoblauch waited about three shifts before putting McDavid and Leon Draisaitl together on the top line and they were minus two by the first intermission. He took the whip to his top line in the second period, playing them almost every second shift (McDavid played 16 of the first 40 minutes) but Florida's ability to shut opponents down left Edmonton's superstars frustrated and without answers.
National Post
an hour ago
- National Post
Barger's walk-off blast powers Blue Jays to their comeback win
A team known for its comeback wins versus a team renowned for blowing leads. Article content The Blue Jays were trailing the Arizona Diamondbacks 4-2 in Tuesday night's series opener of a three-game set at Rogers Centre. Article content Article content Toronto cut into the advantage by one and had a chance to either force extra innings or win the game in the home half of the ninth inning. Article content Bo Bichette went deep on a one-out blast into left field to tie the game. Addison Barger followed Bichette by going deep, a walk-off belt that left the yard in the blink of an eye. Article content The Blue Jays hit three home runs on a night when many hitters would be hit by pitches. Article content It was quite the way to end a three-game losing streak as the Blue Jays survived Arizona's scare by emerging with a 5-4 win. Article content Chris Bassitt gave his team six complete innings, marking the third start in a row the veteran right-hander has pitched at least six innings. Article content Aircraft carrier returns Article content Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has shown to be quite proficient at the plate when hitting from the No. 3 hole. Article content The decision to bat him second behind Bichette hasn't been a total failure, but it also hasn't translated into memorable plate appearances. Article content The Jays reshuffled their order and immediately saw the results. Article content Keep in mind Bichette does not see many pitches because he's aggressive as they come by chasing pitches he should be taking. Article content A more relaxed Vlad Jr. spent his time pre-game catching up with friends, including former teammate Lourdes Gurriel Jr. He sent a line drive into the back of the 200 level deep in left field. Article content Article content It was vintage Vlad Jr., a pitch he simply destroyed by showcasing his slugging skill, which has generally been missing this season. Article content The ball went an estimated 448 feet. The sound off the bat was jarring, registering an exit velocity of 112.1 m.p.h. In his first two at-bats, Vlad Jr. had recorded six total bases. Article content He would add an RBI single in the seventh inning, leaving Vlad Jr. a triple shy of hitting for the cycle. Article content The Jays moved Barger up in the order to the No. 2 slot. Article content He wasted no time in reaching base when he stroked a double in the first inning and came around to score the game's first run when Vlad Jr. drove in Barger on a double. Article content Corbin Carroll, who just happens to be among the quickest players in baseball, knew he had to be at his very best when rounding first base on a liner he stroked into right field.
