Johany Jutras/CFL.ca
MONTREAL — One step forward, two steps back.
That’s what Montreal Alouettes quarterback Kevin Glenn says his team has done so far this season going into its Week 8 matchup with the Edmonton Eskimos on Thursday night.
The Als showed some semblance of a team that could be contending come November back in Week 6 when they defeated the Saskatchewan Roughriders 41-3 at Percival-Molson Stadium. But it was soon back to reality in Week 7, a 38-18 loss at home to the BC Lions.
“No rhythm,” the Alouettes’ veteran pivot, dejected, surmised after the game. “Penalties, and just not a good team effort throughout the whole game.
“We had spurts here and there, but nothing consistent – nothing consistent that you can build off of.”
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And therein lies what’s plagued the Alouettes all season: the lack of ability to string together one success after another. From week to week this season or even play to play in Week 7, the difference between the good Alouettes and the bad Alouettes is night and day.
Glenn completed 18 of 27 passing attempts for 231 yards and a touchdown vs. BC, keeping the Alouettes in the game through the first 45 minutes. On the first play of the fourth quarter, however, Corbin Louks hauled in a pass from Glenn and then fumbled – the result being a 47-yard fumble return touchdown by Loucheiz Purifoy.
The Lions never looked back while for the Als, that was their season so far in a microcosm.
“We’ve got to stop shooting ourselves in the foot,” Glenn added. “We take one step forward, two steps back. Two steps forward, four steps back. We’re not going to be able to win if we’re continuing to do that.”
At least if the Alouettes can avoid taking consecutive steps back when they face the Eskimos, they’ll be hanging around in what’s turned out to be a competitive race among the four teams in the CFL East Division. A loss and they’re in danger of falling back.
It won’t be easy against the defending Grey Cup Champions, who will be as hungry as ever to get back into the win column after three straight losses. The Esks put up their strongest defensive effort to date in a 23-20 loss to the REDBLACKS, scoring a touchdown and keeping Henry Burris and Ottawa’s offence quiet throughout most of the football game.
“We’ve got to stop shooting ourselves in the foot. We take one step forward, two steps back.”
Kevin Glenn
Kevin Glenn will look to get the Als back on track in Week 8 (The Canadian Press)
They also racked up three sacks, a sign of life on a defensive line that’s struggled through the first month of the season.
As the Als regrouped over the weekend looking to get last week’s loss out of their system, much of the talk was on holding the Eskimos’ front seven at bay. The Esks rank second-last in the league in sacks but are due to break out, while the Alouette offence has allowed 20 sacks this season — the second-most in the CFL.
“They play collectively as a team, we’ve got to make sure we watch out for everybody,” said Glenn. “Their front-seven is a good group of guys; they’re a group of veterans so they’ve seen a lot and they’re going to be energized – those guys up front are very energetic on Edmonton’s defence so we’ve got to make sure we just match it.”
The Alouettes are 2-4 and sit at the bottom of the East Division standings, but thus far have belonged in every game they’ve played.
With the Argos and REDBLACKS coming off wins and the Tiger-Cats getting Zach Collaros back under centre, the Alouettes better soon find out and prevent whatever’s letting contested games turn into losses.
“We want to be more consistent on offence, limit the penalties,” said Glenn. “We know it’s not going to be a perfect game but we want to try to have as many positive plays and less negative plays.”
– With files from MontrealAlouettes.com
