When a CFL team loses its final game, changes and improvements must be made. Not only on, but off the field as well.
“This team needs to improve everywhere. There’s no complacency on our team,” Alouettes head coach Jason Maas said this week after his team’s East Division final loss against Toronto on Saturday. “Our coaching needs to be better. Our schemes need to be better, looked at and refined. Offensively, we’re not at the top of a lot of categories. We need to improve (there) more than on defence and special teams. There’s room for improvement there.
“It starts with the coaches. Evaluate our schemes and look at new things to do. How we coach it, and coach it better so the players we have … we need to be better to support them.”
Not only is Maas the head coach, he calls the offensive plays. He understands the onus falls on him to have the players better prepared. And while the Als finished first in the division at 12-5-1, they faltered following a 10-1 start. They had no offensive players near the top of any statistical categories and had only two — linebacker Tyrice Beverette and safety Marc-Antoine Dequoy — named all-stars.
No receiver or tailback eclipsed the 1,000-yard barrier, although receiver Tyson Philpot would have shattered the mark had he not missed half the season with a foot injury. The Als averaged 24.1 offensive points and scored 46 touchdowns, but were last in net offence (332.9-yard average), first downs (333) and offensive plays (51.8 average).
While the Als don’t require an overhaul and have a solid foundation, they’re not in B.C. defending their Grey Cup title, despite the belief expressed by many players this week they’re the league’s best and most-talented team.
“The expectations are high and remain high,” general manager Danny Maciocia said this week. “Anything less than a Grey Cup is obviously disappointing. But don’t lose sight of the fact we finished first. I really believe the loss of certain players (to injury) really hurt us; game-changers. And I’m not going to lie, Shawn Lemon, the whole suspension (for gambling on a 2021 game) was a bit of a nasty curve we had to deal with over the course of the season.
“If we can get luckier on the injury front, have a bit more stability and continuity, I think we’re going to be OK. I think we have some pretty good players here. If we can keep our core and foundation in place … we should be in the thick of it again next year.”
Management’s first, and most important, mandate is solving the quarterback riddle. It must decide whether to continue with veteran Cody Fajardo, 32, or his backup, Davis Alexander, 26, a potential free agent in February. Seemingly. the only way both return is if Fajardo is willing to restructure the final year of his contract.
“Our quarterback (Fajardo) did not lose the game last week,” Maciocia said. “We could have won the Grey Cup and we’d be having this conversation next week about the same two players. In my warped mind I saw us winning the Grey Cup, Cody being named MVP again and here we are. Same problem, same issues, same conversation.”
Maciocia denied he already has requested Fajardo to take a pay cut. He also denied Alexander said he would re-sign only if he’s guaranteed to return as the starter.
“I’m not asking anyone to do anything until I figure out what I want to do,” Maciocia said. “If I’m asking (Fajardo) to restructure, my thought process is potentially to keep both. If I’m there, potentially I’ll do it. Davis and I discussed his situation and how he felt about it. He did say he felt he could be a starter in the CFL, yes, but he made no demands.
“This is a nine-team league. Take a look at how many jobs are available and how many quarterbacks are going to be on the market. There’s going to be a couple starting quarterbacks, potentially, that are not going to have a job as a starter.”
Not only is Vernon Adams Jr. likely on his way out of B.C., there are close to a dozen quarterbacks who could become free agents, including Saskatchewan’s Trevor Harris, Ottawa’s Jeremiah Masoli, Edmonton’s McLeod Bethel-Thompson and Calgary’s Jake Maier.