Technically, it’s a bye week. In fact, the Montreal Alouettes will take advantage of their bye in the first round of the Canadian Football League playoffs to maximize their preparation for the Eastern Conference final, which they will play at home on November 9.
Their 12-5-1 record gave them first place in the East and allowed them to avoid the division semifinal, where the Ottawa Redblacks (9-8-1) and Toronto Argonauts (10-8) will face each other on Saturday.
“We’re going to do a little bit of everything. We want to go back to basics: short plays, our second downs, but we want to look at all aspects of our game,” said head coach Jason Maas after the first practice of the week at Stade Hébert in Saint-Léonard. The team will also practice there on Wednesday and Thursday.
“That’s what this week is for,” Maas added. “We’re very pleased with the work we did last week; we want to continue to do that. Obviously, we’re going to continue to focus on that. One week is good, but two, three weeks is even better. We’re going to review everything and nothing at once, but in more detail.”
This extra week undoubtedly has its advantages.
“It allows us to see what our opponents have done against us. [Tuesday] we worked a little bit on our special teams and our blocks. It’s time to work on the little things that you don’t work on when all your attention is on developing a game plan,” Maas said. “We’re going to work like we’re playing Saturday. That can only help us.”
This week is also about treating a few injuries. This was particularly the case for offensive lineman Nick Callender, who was out Tuesday and possibly all week.
“He’s OK, he’s a little bruised after Saturday’s game, that’s all,” assured the coach. “We’re going to keep him in treatment this week. That’s what’s good about a week like this: the players who need treatment can take advantage of it. If we had a game this week, he’d be in training. He’ll be able to get better in another way and be ready to join us next week.”
The news is less encouraging, however, in the case of tackle Mustafah Johnson. The author of 35 tackles and six sacks this season did not play in the last two games of the season and has not been seen in the team’s entourage for some time.
“It’s only hope in his case,” Maas admitted. “Certainly we still have this week and maybe next week to see him again, but we have little hope.”
Variable preparation
While they don’t know exactly who their opponents will be for the Eastern Conference final, the Alouettes will still be able to begin their preparation. As Cody Fajardo points out, they’re not exactly in uncharted territory.
“It would be different if we had never played them, but we’ve played these teams a number of times,” the No. 7 noted. “We’ll watch their game and hope they don’t give us any quarter! But we’ll have a good idea of what we want to have as a game plan. It’s just a matter of fine-tuning it with the identity of the winning team on Saturday. We know what works and what we need to improve against them. That’s what the next two weeks are going to be about.”
Fajardo had the opportunity to take advantage of a first-round bye while leading the Saskatchewan Roughriders in 2019. He plans to take what he learned from that first experience, as the Riders fell to the eventual Grey Cup-winning Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
“At the end of the season, you want to rest your body, but you have to work hard so you don’t start this final late,” he said. “Last year, we had a lot of rhythm [in the playoffs]. When you play a team that’s coming off a bye, they’re definitely the most rested, but they’re not the ones with the most rhythm. So we have to work to find the same mindset as if you had played a game. That’s why this time around, I’m going to take this week as if we were playing Saturday.”
Several Alouettes players will gather to watch the Eastern Semifinal, presented at 3 p.m. Saturday, live from BMO Field. The Western Final, between the Roughriders and BC Lions, will get underway at 6 p.m.
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