Week 6 gets underway when the Montreal Alouettes host the Edmonton Elks on Thursday night at Percival Molson Memorial Stadium.
Montreal is coming off bye and last took the field against the Saskatchewan Roughriders in a game they dropped 41-20.
Edmonton lost to the rival Calgary Stampeders 49-6 in a rain-soaked Week 5 matchup.
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A lot has changed for the Alouettes since that Week 5 loss. They relieved head coach Khari Jones and defensive coordinator Barron Miles of their coaching duties. General manager Danny Maciocia will lead the team into their contest with the Elks.
Quarterback Trevor Harris threw for 198 yards and was picked off twice against the Roughriders, but he’ll get another shot against a pass defence that has allowed a 270.4 yards through five weeks.
Top receiving target Eugene Lewis has caught 18 passes for 359 yards in four games and will surely be a factor, but two others have emerged in the receiving game and should see more action on Thursday night.
Jake Wieneke caught four passes for 67 yards to lead the way in Week 4 and running back Walter Fletcher caught four passes for 40 yards. If the pair can give Harris more options in the air it will help diversify the offensive game plan.
While the Elks pass defence is fourth best, their run defence is last in the CFL, having surrendered an average of 151.4 yards per game.
That’s something Als running backs Fletcher and Jeshrun Antwi will look to exploit. Fletcher ran five times for 23 yards in Week 4 and Antwi is coming off a seven carry, 35-yard performance. Since taking over from the injured William Stanback in Week 1, Antwi has rushed for 207 yards on 32 carries.
Maciocia points to the Als struggles in the red zone as one of their biggest offensive issues. It’s something he’ll look to correct starting Thursday.
“It seems like we lock up, we get nervous, we struggle when we get to the red zone and we’re not capitalizing one bit,” Maciocia told montrealalouettes.com. “I think that’s an area that’s been of concern here over the last couple of years. We’ve got to do a better job of trying to fix that and take advantage of the CFL rules as far as being a little more creative, more movement and being static.”
The Als’ defence will look to rebound after giving up 41 points in Saskatchewan. Linebackers Tre Watson and Brian Harelimana both had a sack in the game.
Watson is out but defensive lineman Almondo Sewell checks back in, giving the Als a big boost on the defensive side of the ball. Sewell recorded two sacks in the Week 3 win over Saskatchewan.
Yards through the air have been hard to come by against the Als as they limited opponents to 1,023 so far, which is the second lowest number in the league.
Defensive back Darius Williams leads the team with two interceptions. Defensive backs Mike Jones and Marc-Antoine Dequoy have one each.
Those three will look to slow down Elks’ quarterback Taylor Cornelius, who has been listed as the starter ahead of the matchup in Montreal according to the team’s depth chart.
EDMONTON QUARTERBACK TAYLOR CORNELIUS HAD THE NINTH MOST PASSING YARDS LEAGUE-WIDE IN 2021 WITH 1,795 (THE CANADIAN PRESS).
With Ford expected to miss significant time, and Nick Arbuckle having been traded to Ottawa earlier this week, it’s Cornelius’ time to step under centre.
Cornelius played in 14 games in 2021 and threw for 1,785 yards and nine touchdowns. He was picked off 13 times.
Luckily for him, he’ll have veteran receivers in Emmanuel Arceneaux, Kenny Lawlar and Derel Walker lining up alongside him. The trio have combined for 764 of their team’s 1,161 receiving yards.
Protecting Cornelius will prove critical as they need to find a way to stop an Als defence that has sacked opposing quarterbacks 13 times.
The offensive line, which includes David Beard, David Foucault, Martez Ivey, Mark Korte and Tony Washington, will need to hold strong after allowing Calgary to get through for three sacks last week.
Beard knows no matter what the score is, they need to keep their focus and compete to be successful.
“We have to keep our competitive edge up,” Beard told goelks.com. “We talked about that, especially some of the veterans on the team, the thing we need to protect most is our competitive edge. We can’t lose sight of the fact this is a long season.”
Cornelius and the Elks will be without top rusher James Wilder Jr. for the second week in a row due to injury. That leaves rushing responsibilities up to Sherman Badie who carried the ball 10 for 38 yards against the Stampeders. Backup quarterback Kai Locksley has also been used in a rushing role.
Last week was the most points the Elks had surrendered since their 59-15 Week 1 loss to the BC Lions. However, on a positive note, they were able to sack Bo Levi Mitchell twice and forced a pair of fumbles. Defensive lineman Thomas Costigan and linebacker Matthew Thomas top the Elks with two sacks each on the campaign.
Being able to control the running game is a focus for Jones and his staff heading into this week’s game.
“We need to stop the run and do a better job of eliminating the big plays,” Jones told goelks.com. “Those have been two achilles heels for us all season.”
Turnovers in the air have been hard to come by as Thomas fellow linebacker Brady Sheldon have the only two this season. It won’t get any easier as Sheldon is listed as out for Thursday’s game.
Both teams are looking for their second win of the season. The Elks risk falling further behind in a tough West Division, while the Als are right in the thick of the race in the East.
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