CFL.ca
CFL.ca Staff
TORONTO — With the 2014 calendar year coming to a close and the focus shifting to the off-season, CFL.ca takes a league-wide look at what went down in 2014 — one team at a time. Next up are the Montreal Alouettes.
When we look back on some of the greatest in-season turnarounds in CFL history, some of them were within the last five years. The Alouettes’ mid-season comeback in 2014 may be the greatest of all time.
It ended in heartbreak with a tough loss to the Ticats in the Eastern Final, but the story of 2014 for the Alouettes is how they became a ‘team’ – in every sense of the word.
| CFL.ca Season Rewind |
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 The Stampeders are champions after a season full of peaks and valleys for every team in the CFL. Follow along as CFL.ca takes a look at the season that was and looks ahead to 2015 where every team hopes to stand at the top of the heap in Winnipeg. CFL.ca Season Rewind |
Overview:
The Alouettes started their season 1-7 and even with the rest of the division starting slow appeared to be out of the race in the East Division. Their defence was tired from being on the field so often, while the offence lacked direction as the team switched quarterbacks almost weekly.
Their previous off-season vision of an emerging Troy Smith and a dominant defence was fading, as Smith completed under 50 per cent of his passes while the offence as a whole was by far the league’s worst.
Then, starting in Week 10 with a 20-10 win over the Ottawa REDBLACKS, something changed. Jonathan Crompton earned his first career CFL start and won, while the Alouettes sustained drives and kept their defence well-rested and able to make plays.
Led by Crompton, a stalwart offensive line, an opportunistic defence, an improved run game and the twin tower duo of S.J. Green and Duron Carter, the Alouettes rattled off eight wins in their next nine games, putting them on the brink of a division title.
With a chance to win the East and earn a home playoff game in the Eastern Final, the Alouettes couldn’t handle the Ticats in Hamilton in the season finale. Then after a one-sided win over BC in the Eastern Semi-Final, the Alouettes fell again to their division foe in the Hammer.
But while the season didn’t have the ending the Alouettes had hoped for, that was merely a chapter in Higgins’ new story – not the entire thing. The Alouettes have momentum heading into next year along with a much better understanding of their identity.
The Good:
While the defence was pretty well in sync with the offence during the team’s tumultuous 1-7 start, by the end of the year the Alouettes without question boasted one of the league’s elite units on that side of the ball.
During a six-game winning streak near the end of the season, Alouette opponents didn’t once reach the 20-point plateau. As part of the Als’ pressure-oriented system, linebackers Bear Woods and Chip Cox wreaked havoc on opposing quarterbacks while John Bowman brought big-time pressure from the end.
On offence, the Alouettes didn’t look like the most explosive team on paper – but by the end of the season you could tell they were a well-oiled machine. They didn’t give up sacks (they allowed only 31 all season, the second-fewest in the league), while they finished with the third-most rushing attempts in the league.
Jonathan Crompton became a legitimate starting CFL quarterback, finishing with one of the best individual winning percentages among all quarterbacks in 2014 (only Bo Levi Mitchell’s was better). He had excellent command of the offence for a first-time starting QB, and projects to improve with time.
Duron Carter and S.J. Green may have been the biggest highlight of 2014, as the Alouettes boasted the best one-two punch in the league at receiver. Together they combined for 1,865 receiver yards despite Green’s slow start to the season, along with 11 touchdowns.
In two playoff games they combined for five touchdowns, hitting stride at precisely the right time.
The Bad:
Just an average start would have been more than enough to secure the Alouettes a division title, first-round bye and more importantly, a home playoff game to get to the Grey Cup. That probably would have made the difference for the Als, who instead had to face a Ticats team that hasn’t yet lost a game at Tim Hortons Field.
Since the Alouettes’ season was a tale of two halves, it’s difficult to pick out the good and the bad because both of those things varied in separate halves of the season. The 1-7 start has to be the bad though, as that’s difficult to endure for any team let along a professional football team.
During that half of the season, the Alouettes struggled in virtually every area of the game. The worst was a five-game stretch through July and August, during which they scored only 60 points (that’s 12 points per game).
One thing that haunted the Alouettes was turnovers. They protected the ball better over the second half of the season, but Crompton still fired eight interceptions over 11 regular season games. He threw four more in the playoffs, including three in the Eastern Final against the Ticats – undoubtedly a difference-maker in that game.
Highlight of the season:
The highlight of the Alouettes’ season wasn’t one play or one game, but their run of eight wins in nine games. That was a feel-good story of the year in the CFL, as the team and its passionate fan base suffered through the pain of a 1-7 start before total salvation after that.
Almost overnight the Als had become a legitimate Grey Cup Championship, and while their season came up just short, fans in Montreal should be both proud and excited heading into 2015.
The high point of the streak may have been a 17-14 win over the Argos early in November, in a game that had a total playoff feel. It was a critical meeting for the Als’ playoff hopes, as it ultimately knocked the Argos out of the playoffs and secured a post-season berth for Montreal.
Down most of the game and then taking a fourth-quarter lead on a Duron Carter touchdown, that game was also indicative of the type of football the Alouettes had played all season.
Potential departures:
The Alouettes could be one of the busier teams this off-season, because while their pending free agent list isn’t the longest, it may contain the most top-end talent. Jerald Brown, Duron Carter, S.J Green, Geoff Tisdale and Bear Woods are among key contributors in 2014 that are currently without a contract next season.
Carter is rumoured to be headed south while Green may scope out free agency a little bit, potentially leaving a considerable hole on Montreal’s offence. With those changes looming, extra importance is added to locking up a defensive core that flourished in 2014.
The Alouettes took a huge leap forward over the second half of last season, but without Woods and co. back on that defence, 2015 could present a step back.
| CFL.ca Als Columnist |
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Rick Moffat |
Here’s the list of Alouettes due to hit free agency on Feb. 10, 2015:
Pascal Baillargeon, OL, National
Bo Bowling, SB/KR, International
Jerald Brown, DB, International
Duron Carter, WR, International
Dahrran Diedrick, FB, National
S.J. Green, SB, International
Jamahl Knowles, DB, National
Aaron Lavarias, DE, International
Scott Paxson, DT, International
Byrn Roy, FB, National
Brandon Rutley, RB, International
Geoff Tisdale, CB, International
Winston Venable, LB, International
Bear Woods, LB, International
Jerod Zaleski, LS, National
Why they’ll win the Grey Cup in 2015:
The Alouettes truly were the hottest team in the CFL over the latter half of the 2014 season, as the only team that could solve them was the Hamilton Tiger-Cats – both times on the Ticats’ home field.
What’s striking about the Alouettes is that they were a team without weakness down that stretch. The offensive line was the best in the league over the final nine games; the defence applied tremendous pressure and forced turnovers while not giving up points; while the offence sustained drives, didn’t turn the ball over, and generated big plays when needed.
With a veteran O-line and a full training camp as the starter under the belt of Jonathan Crompton, the Alouette offence should continue to improve. The defence, meanwhile, could take another step forward heading into the third season under Noel Thorpe’s system.
All in all, expect this to be a well-rounded, well-coached team that will compete for both a division title and a Grey Cup Championship in 2015.
