Jason Halstead/CFL.ca
I found it kind of amazing to see just how well the Montreal Alouettes’ defence played in Week 1 of the CFL season, walking into Winnipeg and stifling the Blue Bombers’ offence in a 27-12 win.
Not that I didn’t think the Als’ defence was up to that kind of performance. You’d have to be a fool to underestimate them on the whole.
It’s just that the unit looked so much like it did on its run to a Grey Cup championship last fall. It appeared as though a mere week or two had gone by as opposed to an entire off-season.
You expect defences to be a little ahead of offences early on during the season but that was more than a defence being a little bit ahead. That was precise stuff. Precise and belligerent. The Alouette defence held the Bombers to 209 passing yards and did not give up a touchdown until late in the fourth quarter, when the ink was all but dry on the outcome.
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No surprise to Darnell Sankey, though. The 29-year-old linebacker — seen by many as the heart and soul of that furious, persistent Montreal defence — found the unit’s performance in Winnipeg to be merely another chapter in the book of what they do. With five tackles, a forced fumble and a pass knockdown to his credit in Week 1, Sankey added another chapter to his own impressive, personal volume as well.
“We knew what we were capable of coming into training camp,” said Sankey, on the phone after practice earlier this week, “and we knew what we were capable of coming into the game. We knew that our defence is the best defence in the CFL and we all pride ourselves in that. And we truly believe that.”
In Week 2 the Alouettes will remain on the road, featured in a Friday Night Football match-up against the Edmonton Elks at Commonwealth Stadium. The defence will attempt to keep the drum beating, with Sankey and his teammates trying to stymie a second veteran, seen-it-all quarterback after shutting down Winnipeg’s Zach Collaros in the opener.
Last year when these two met at Commonwealth, a wild second quarter — one that saw the Alouettes score three touchdowns, including one on defence and one on special teams — allowed them to mount a comeback in a 35-21 win over the Tre Ford-led Elks.
This time, Edmonton will have quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson at the helm and Sankey knows what to expect as well as what will be necessary in shutting him down, generally speaking.
“McLeod is a veteran quarterback,” began Sankey. “He’s a veteran, rhythm quarterback. I would say, I think that he really prides himself in controlling the offence.
“Let’s say they were to get an early lead on us,” Sankey went on. “As a defence, we would have a hard time, because he knows how to keep the ball. If we jump on them early, then I think it’s going to make the game a lot harder for him. He’s going to have to do things he’s not used to, you know?”
Sankey arrived in Montreal partway through the 2023 season, suffering a loss in his first game as an Alouette and then being part of a group that ripped off eight straight wins in order to claim the Grey Cup, the defence growing ever more potent, ever more terrorizing as the journey wore on.
After playing spring football with the Arlington Renegades of the XFL, the native of San Jose, CA doubled up on his football — and championships — when he joined the Als in September.
You’d assume that he could’ve tried the same thing in 2024. A contract in the United Football League — the loop that was born in an XFL/USFL merger — would have been fait accompli. So would another midseason CFL contract after that.
Instead, Sankey chose to stay in Montreal, signing a two-year deal very soon after the Alouettes won the Grey Cup.
“I think one of the main (reasons) was that I was on a team I really enjoyed being a part of,” said Sankey, agreeing that he could have gone the two-league route once again had he chosen to. “I really enjoy the organization. Danny (Maciocia, the general manager) for giving me an opportunity to play here, Coach (Jason) Maas for bringing me in.
“It’s an amazing city,” he said of Montreal. “You know, the culture is great. The downtown is amazing. The food is great as well. Not a lot of complaints other than the traffic.
“Last season was probably one of the most fun experiences I’ve had in my professional career,” Sankey continued. “And winning that Grey Cup, I wanted to come back. I knew I wanted to come back right after the season and I’m just glad that we were able to make that happen.”
With so many returning players on the Montreal defence — they did lose lineman Lwal Uguak to the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers and then SAM linebacker Reggie Stubblefield to a season-ending knee injury in the Winnipeg game — the Alouettes’ D is poised to top the charts in 2024. Having a full season of Sankey in the middle of the defence for the entire journey, you would think, will only make them that much better.
“We believe that there’s not an offence out there that can compete with us, and we’re willing to go out there and prove it,” said Sankey. “There’s a lot of great offences, don’t get me wrong. But we believe, as a defence, that we’re capable of taking on anybody.”
With an impressive showing in Week 1, Sankey and the Alouettes’ defence illustrated that their belief is well-founded. The altitude found during last year’s Grey Cup climb has been maintained to begin 2024.
HE DIDN’T REALLY “GUARANTEE” ANYTHING. HOWEVER….
A lot has been made of Sankey ‘guaranteeing’ or ‘vowing’ that the Montreal Alouettes would not lose again in 2023, after he and his mates dropped a 23-20 decision to the Toronto Argonauts on September 15.
Sankey, though, did not really put it in those terms.
What he said, was: “I believe we’re going to win every single game and we’re going to win the Grey Cup.”
“The hype around it, I really didn’t understand,” said Sankey. “They were saying, like: ‘Darnell, he’s guaranteeing every single game!’”
Sankey went on to say that all players have that kind of belief. Or should have, anyway.
“I mean, if you don’t have that mentality, then what are you really doing? If you don’t believe that you are going to win every single game then why are you a professional athlete?”
Sankey believed the Als were capable of running the table and he expressed those feelings, intending to raise up his teammates.
Said Sankey: “Wouldn’t you want your middle linebacker to believe in the defence?”
His belief was rewarded.
“I was right,” he said, laughing.
