LIVESTREAM CFL: Calgary Stampeders @ Montreal Alouettes, July 31, 01:00 CET (1 am, 7 pm July 30 EDT)
MONTREAL — The Calgary Stampeders and Montreal Alouettes will both try to get back in the win column when they meet to close out Week 8 on Sunday night at Percival Molson Memorial Stadium.
If there was a positive to the Stamps most recent loss to Ottawa it was the play of their offence as they put up 41 points.
Jake Maier is coming off a 450-yard four-touchdown performance and will be faced with a defence that’s allowing the third fewest points per game.
The Alouettes secondary will need to keep close tabs on Marken Michel and Tre Odoms-Dukes who had 134 and 101 of those receiving yards, respectively.
Maier is excited to get back on the field and for the chance to rebound from their most recent loss.
“You always go for it and you always be aggressive,” Maier told Stampeders.com “I like the opportunity that we get to right our wrongs early in the season here. We’ve made a lot of winning plays and we’ve had a lot of production but we’ve also had situations in games where you make plays and your like oh, that’s a losing football team, that’s what a losing team does. We have to right those wrongs and if we do that, you can’t say that we’re not going to have a chance to win.”
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As promising as the pass game has looked, head coach Dave Dickenson needs to see more production out of Dedrick Mills in the run game after he managed just 21 yards a week ago.
Star running back Ka’Deem Carey is making his way back from injury but was ruled out of the game this week, so the responsibility of finding holes on the ground will once again fall on Mills. The Als sit in the bottom half of the league against the run, allowing 97.8 yards per game.
Micah Awe continues to play well in Dickenson’s defence. He ranks first in total defensive plays with 57 and defensive tackles with 50.
It’s a unit that’s been much better against the pass game than the run.
Watch live. Calgary Stampeders @ Montreal Alouettes, July 31, 01:00 CET (1 am, 7 pm July 30 EDT)
Up front they’ll need strong games from Awe and defensive lineman Mike Rose to shut down running back William Stanback. Rose has been efficient in getting to opposing quarterbacks and has five sacks.
With the Als struggling to keep quarterback Cody Fajardo protected – having given up a league worst 26 sacks – the play of Rose and the rest of the line could turn the momentum of the game.
When it comes to defending the run, if there was a game to improve it very well might be this one as the Als rank last in the CFL with 80.6 rushing yards per game.
The secondary for the Stamps has been a different story in terms of shutting down big plays.
The corps led by Jonathan Moxey and Kobe Williams may only have four interceptions, but they’ve held quarterbacks to 256.3 yards per game. That mark is fourth best among all defences.
Despite getting hit more times than he’d like, Fajardo carries a 101.2 quarterback rating into the game and the week off should’ve only helped heal those bumps and bruises from the hits he’s taken.
The Stamps defensive backs will need to lock in on rookie receiver Austin Mack who trails only Winnipeg’s Dalton Schoen with 458 receiving yards. Mack has been Fajardo’s favourite receiver as he’s targeted him 44 times for 30 receptions.
Receiver Kaion Julien-Grant has also been explosive this season with four catches for 30 yards or more and 209 yards after the catch.
Going up against a talented secondary like the Stamps, Fajardo needs as many options as possible.
In the run game, Stanback has certainly struggled to find his game-breaking form but the potential still remains. Just like the Stamps hope to stifle the run game and get back to limiting yardage on the ground, Stanback will be eyeing a breakout game against a team that has failed to contain opposing rushers all season.
Defensively, keeping Maier in check will allow the offence to get back on the field quickly.
Marc-Antoine Dequoy, Wes Sutton and linebacker Najee Murray all have shown the ability to keep receivers from making plays. Dequoy had an interception in their last game against the Argos.
As unsuccessful as the Als have been at keeping teams from getting to Fajardo, they haven’t been much better at applying pressure on opposing quarterbacks as they have a league low seven sacks.
Disrupting Maier’s time and space in the pocket will go a long way in limiting the pass game. It’s a task that’s easier said than done against a Stamps offensive line that has surrendered 11 sacks on the season.
Defensive lineman Mustafa Johnson has been the most successful Alouette in that category with three sacks and head coach Jason Maas will lean on him when it comes to putting pressure on Maier.
Johnson will have support this week after general manager Danny Maciocia signed Shawn Lemon.
Maas is in search of continual improvement each game and believes the addition of Lemon, along with the work done coming out of the bye week will lead to success.
“Overall, you want to see improvement everywhere,” Maas told reporters. “The message this week is just to get better. Obviously we’ve looked at everything, run game, protections on offence, trying to get to the quarterback a little bit more. Going out and getting a guy who’s proven and done it will help us.”
Calgary and Montreal are right in the thick of their respective division races and need victories to keep pace.
Watch live. Calgary Stampeders @ Montreal Alouettes, July 31, 01:00 CET (1 am, 7 pm July 30 EDT)
