Last December, on his podcast Let’s go!, Tom Brady asked Christian McCaffrey what element of his game made him the best running back in the NFL. His answer ? “My blocks.”
No one here is going to compare Walter Fletcher, the running back of the Montreal Alouettes, to the offensive player par excellence in the NFL. However, what they have in common is their ability to shine without having the magnetic ball to their chest.
When asked how to explain Fletcher’s progression, Cody Fajardo credited his teammate with the same qualities put forward by McCaffrey.
“The most important thing he does, I think, is all the work when he doesn’t have the ball in his hands. It’s pass protection, it’s blocking high up the field for receivers. […] These are details that fans probably don’t see, but it helps us become a better team,” he listed on the eve of the Als’ first game at Percival-Molson Stadium since their conquest of the Gray cut.
When training camp opened in May, there was talk of a three-way battle between Jeshrun Antwi, Sean Thomas-Erlington and Fletcher to replace William Stanback in the backfield. Talking to general manager Danny Maciocia, it was clear between the lines that Fletcher had a leg up. But there was one element of his game that was lacking that was worrisome enough to leave him in a battle with the other two candidates, Maciocia revealed in the hallways of Olympic Stadium on Wednesday.
The main person concerned was not unduly destabilized by this order. “I struggled in college with pass protection,” Fletcher admits. He has therefore made it his duty, since his arrival in the CFL in 2021, to refine this phase of the game. “At my first practice in the league, veterans told me: if you don’t block, you don’t play. not. You can score a 90-yard touchdown, but if you don’t protect your quarterback, it won’t work. »
On June 14, 2022, Maciocia traded a sixth-round pick to acquire Fletcher from the Edmonton Elks. A necessary transaction, because Stanback had just been injured for the umpteenth time.
“He’s able to run the ball, run out of the backfield and catch the ball,” the general manager says.
In hindsight, “being traded here changed my career,” says the American.
For two seasons, the 27-year-old was champing at the bit waiting for Stanback to leave. However, it was used in very specific situations last season. “Will is a very powerful guy, he wanted to get through players. And there, Fletcher is running around players and is able to explode,” says offensive lineman Kristian Matte.
This is why by now acting as the starting ball carrier, Fletcher has changed a little, in his own way, the dynamic of the Alouettes’ attack. Even if offensive coordinator Anthony Calvillo confirms that nothing has changed in the playbook and in the offensive system since Fletcher’s promotion, he still offers different options to Fajardo.
Aware of the role that was going to be entrusted to him in this season motivated by the defense of a championship, the running back took great measures to accentuate his preparation. He returned to his home state to train at Under Armor’s headquarters in Baltimore. “I wanted to add weight to my frame to be able to take all the hits of an 18-game season and the playoffs. I worked on my mobility, my stability, my flexibility to reduce the risk of injury. »
The season is only two games old, but this investment is already paying dividends.
After the first two weeks of activity, Fletcher ranks third among CFL players in rushing yards with 118.
During the first match, he was a little shy. On the other hand, he was the Alouettes’ spearhead in attack the following week.
Hence the sudden interest of the media and fans in the player registered at 5′ 7″ and 206 pounds. “I don’t want to put too much pressure on myself. It’s still football,” he replies when asked how he negotiates with this new notoriety and this new role.
Even though he blossomed and showed the full extent of his abilities last week in Edmonton, Maciocia still expects “a little bit more from him.” But if Fletcher plays up to his boss’s expectations, watch out for opposing defenses, warns the general manager: “When he feels that he is in his place, that he will have a say on the offensive plan, we will really see the Fletcher effect on the Alouettes. »
