(Winnipeg) The Montreal Alouettes will begin defending their title on Thursday evening against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, a team that the Sparrows beat in the last Gray Cup. Here are five keys to remember to help you properly follow the start of the season.
Cody Fajardo, Tyson Philpot, Pier-Olivier Lestage, Darnell Sankey, Marc-Antoine Dequoy, David Côté… All of the key players who helped the team win its first Grey Cup in 13 years are back with the Alouettes. Finally, some stability. General manager Danny Maciocia has managed to keep his core of players intact. Same goes for the coaches. Jason Maas, Byron Archambault, Luc Brodeur-Jourdain, Anthony Calvillo and Noel Thorpe will also be back on the sidelines with the Alouettes. Given their success in 2023, there is every reason to believe that Montreal will be able to defend their title firmly.
However, the Alouettes lost two important pieces during the off-season to NFL teams. On offense, receiver Austin Mack left to try his luck in Atlanta, with the Falcons. Mack stood out in his first season in Montreal last year as the team’s number one receiver. Cody Fajardo’s top target had 1,154 yards and four touchdowns. On defense, Lwal Uguak headed to Tampa Bay, signing a deal with the Buccaneers. The 6’5” and 271-pound man had three sacks and 16 tackles.
Danny Maciocia has still been busy since November. Eternally dissatisfied, the general manager brought in reinforcements. Players like running back Shawn Thomas Erlington, defensive lineman Derek Wiggan, cornerback Cre’Von LeBlanc and linebacker Bryce Cosby, all of whom signed with the team, will be in uniform during the first match. Via the draft, the Als repatriated Quebec linebacker Geoffrey Cantin-Arku during the first round of the auction. Coming from the NCAA, Cantin-Arku looked good during training camp.
When the Alouettes signed veteran receiver Tevin Jones in mid-February, everyone in the nest was ecstatic. Expectations were immense and we thought we had found the replacement for Austin Mack in him. However, Jones was one of the last players cut at camp. It was the unexpected Charleston Rambo who was able to fill the position left vacant by Mack. Rambo, a 24-year-old American fresh out of the University of Miami, under contract for less than a month, shone at the Alouettes camp. It was, by far, the most noticed.
The Grey Cup is in Vancouver this year and the way things are shaping up in the Eastern Conference, let’s just say the Als have a pretty good chance of defending their title. Ottawa? The starting lineup looked bad last week against the Als’ C team. Toronto? With Chad Kelly suspended for at least nine games and A.J. Ouellette off to Saskatchewan, they’ll have a tough time competing. Hamilton? Possibly the Als’ main rivals, but Bo Levi Mitchell is getting older at 34 and didn’t play much last year. Their lack of explosiveness up front could catch up to them.