Frederic Daigle, The Canadian Press
MONTREAL — The Montreal Alouettes are always looking for solutions that will allow them to get their season back on track.
After losing a 19-point lead against the Edmonton Elks (2-4) to lose 32-31 last Thursday, the Alouettes (1-4) will be looking to restart their season against the Ottawa Redblacks (0-5) this Thursday.
Head coach Danny Maciocia and defensive coordinator Noel Thorpe notably moved Tyrrell Richards from inside linebacker to outside linebacker. This is not a disavowal of the quality of his game, but the Alouettes are trying to find the right position to showcase all his athletic qualities.
“He is someone who deserves to be on the pitch. We’re going to use him in some rotation as a linebacker and maybe even on the defensive line. He has good qualities. We are aware of what he can bring us,” noted Maciocia after training on Tuesday.
“The first thing to do as a coach is to use the strengths of your players and Tyrrell has many of them: he is strong, fast and very athletic,” added Thorpe. He’s still learning as a rookie, but he’s a smart player with good instincts. We constantly challenge him and we are excited by the response he gives us.
After taking multiple receiver obstruction penalties in the loss to the Elks (after holding a 19-point lead in the third quarter), coverage drills have been added to the practice schedule for the week.
But more than anything, Maciocia and Thorpe want to redefine the identity of the Alouettes’ defense, which they want to be more incisive.
“(My defense) is built on chasing and pressing, disrupting the opposing offense, breaking through the protective pocket and getting to quarterback,” Thorpe explained. Everything the attack does is based on timing and we try to mess with that timing. But what we want above all is to establish our trademark as being a team that gets to the ball.
“It’s an identity that we want to have. That’s what we had in 2002: we attacked quarterbacks, played fast and created turnovers. So it’s natural for me to want to continue this tradition.”
“I think we’re going to be much more solid against the race,” added Maciocia. I think we’re going to play a little more traditional zone coverage; we will put our players in a position where they can play much faster. When we put them in those situations, that’s where you can go and make a few more plays.”
Maciocia is also hoping his team finally has a 60-minute game in store. The head coach believes the team only gave maximum effort over the entire game in the win over the Saskatchewan Roughriders last month.
“It’s possibly the best game we’ve played,” he admitted.
If the attack has finally unlocked in the paying zone with four touchdowns and a placement against the Elks, it will have to do even better against the Rouge et Noir. Quarterback Trevor Harris is of the opinion that the team has once again left points on the field, a situation it absolutely must reverse.
“It is certain that it is positive, but we must finish the matches. You lead by 19 points at home and you have the ball: we can’t let the opponent steal our rhythm like that. We could help our defense more by scoring more points.
