LIVESTREAM: CFL – Montreal Alouettes @Saskatchewan Roughriders, June 30, 7p (9p EST, 3a CEST July 1)
REGINA — The Montreal Alouettes and Saskatchewan Roughriders are looking to get back on track after a pair of disappointing performances in Week 2.
The Als would like to forget last week’s game against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Montreal was dominated in all three phases, falling 56-10 in their home opener at Percival Molson Stadium last week.
First-year head coach Mike Sherman made it clear that his team needs to be better going forward.
“There’s accountability, which starts with me,” Sherman told the Montreal Gazette after the game. “If we’re all looking for excuses, we probably won’t get it fixed. If we’re searching for answers and solutions, we can get it fixed. It starts with how the head coach handles it. He passes that on to players and coaches. It starts with me.”
The Bombers racked up 24 points in the second quarter alone, running away with the game before halftime.
The Als’ offence struggled to find any momentum as quarterback Drew Willy completed 16 of 25 attempts, throwing for only 111 yards and a touchdown. Willy was pressured by the Bombers defence all night, and was sacked three times in the first half.
It was the same story on the other side of the ball. Montreal’s defence couldn’t solve Bombers rookie quarterback Chris Streveler, who racked up three touchdown passes and a rushing major in just his second CFL game.
“He just made plays on second down,” cornerback Tommie Campbell told the Montreal Gazette. “If you look at it, he just ran around with the ball. We prevent that from happening, that whole game and outcome’s a lot different. We had them in second-and-medium, second-and-long and he was able to extend drives with checkdowns and quarterback scrambles. We have to do a better job of tackling.”
Montreal’s defence is expected to get a boost on Saturday with veteran defensive end John Bowman making his 2018 debut. The seemingly ageless two-time CFL all-star is back after recovering from an ankle injury.
After opening their season against the reigning Grey Cup champion Toronto Argonauts, the Riders took a step back last week after falling 40-17 at the hands of the Ottawa REDBLACKS.
Turnovers proved costly for the Riders, who gave up the ball four times.
But perhaps even more devastating than the lopsided loss was the injury to starting quarterback Zach Collaros. The 29-year-old left last week’s game in the second quarter and has been placed on the six-game injured list with a head injury.
Collaros was one of Saskatchewan’s prized acquisitions during the off-season. The Riders quarterback was looking to reignite his career after a disappointing 2017 season with the Ticats that saw him drop eight straight games before being replaced by Hamilton’s current starter Jeremiah Masoli.
Head coach Chris Jones says he is unsure if Collaros will be back on the field before six games.
“We’ll see,” Jones told Ridervill.com. “You can be optimistic all you want but I’ve seen some guys that didn’t respond well. We will just go with whatever cards we are dealt with.”
Canadian pivot Brandon Bridge has been handed the reigns to the offence for the foreseeable future in Collaros’ absence.
The 26-year-old will make his second start for the Riders on Saturday night, which will be against his former team. Bridge played with the Als in 2015.
Bridge says he uses every game to try and show his potential.
“You just have to make the best of your opportunities so you can start the next game,” said Bridge. “Every game day is like building a resume. The more starts you have, hopefully the more comfortable I will become.”
Dual threat receiver and defensive back Duron Carter will start in the secondary once again this week. Jones says that he plans to keep Carter at defensive back until Nick Marshall returns from injury. This will be the second straight game that Carter has started at corner back.
The Riders say that they do not plan to take the Als lightly despite their 0-2 start.
“We just want to line up and play good football,” said Jones. “It’s pro football. They’ve got good players over there just like we’ve got good players over here. We’ve got to worry about what we do.”
Crunchin’ Numbers:
0 – Number of interceptions thrown by Brandon Bridge as a starter. His last start was on Sept. 5, 2017. He threw three touchdown passes to lead the Riders to a 27-19 win over Hamilton. He is 1-1 in his career as a starter and 1-0 as a starter for Saskatchewan.
2 – Number of touchdown scoring drives produced by the Riders this season during 28 possessions.
13 – Consecutive losses for the Als heading into Week 3; a club record. A loss against the Riders would tie for the third longest losing streak in CFL history.
15 – League high tackles by Henoc Muamba after two weeks of play.
History shows that the Riders have an edge while playing against the Als at home.
Saskatchewan is 4-1-0 in its past five home games versus Montreal. However, the two teams have been evenly matched while going head-to-head in recent years.
The Als and Riders have split their last 10 matchups evenly with five wins apiece.
– With files from Riderville.com/Montreal Gazette
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