The past and present will clash for approximately three hours Friday night when the Alouettes host the B.C. Lions at Molson Stadium.
On one side will be Lions tailback William Stanback, who spent five seasons with Montreal before requesting his release last winter, saying he felt a lack of respect and appreciation from the organization before signing with B.C. as a free agent.
On the other side will be Walter Fletcher, the man who has replaced him following two seasons of sporadic duty with the Als.
Pro football eventually extracts a toll on its players. Many suffer through injuries that occur playing the violent sport, but all know they will eventually be cast aside by someone younger and cheaper. It’s the law of the jungle, and Montreal management undoubtedly wanted Stanback to take a reduced salary before returning.
Stanback is 30 and missed most of 2022 with a fractured ankle. Fletcher is three years younger.
“I know it’s a business,” Fletcher said Tuesday after practice at Stade Hébert in St-Léonard. “I’m here because I got traded (from Edmonton) my second year in the league. It’s not always about production and can be more of a numbers game. The CFL is a tough business and tough league to crack. If you’re consistent you’re going to have a job up here as long as a team gives you an opportunity. I’m trying to be consistent, so I can have a job next year.
“He feels a lot of people stepped on him going into the off-season,” Fletcher added about Stanback. “I’m just happy he’s making plays and doing his thing.”
Through 12 games, the bruising 6-foot, 233-pound Stanback is the CFL’s second-leading rusher, with 810 yards on 161 carries (5.0-yard average) while scoring two touchdowns. He already has surpassed last season’s total in two fewer games. Stanback has one 100-yard game to his credit. Last Saturday, against Ottawa, he had 20 carries for 93 yards, scoring once. He also caught six passes for 78 yards and is much more involved in the Lions’ offence than he was in Montreal.
Stanback, who made Montreal his year-round home, refused an interview request made by The Gazette.
Fletcher, 5-foot-9 and 206 pounds, is more of a slippery, scatback runner and has been virtually ignored in some of Montreal’s games this season. He has 483 yards on a modest 90 carries (5.4-yard average) while scoring three touchdowns. He has yet to produce a 100-yard effort and has had no more than 12 carries in a game.
Fletcher also has caught 49 passes for 461 yards, scoring twice, while coming out of the backfield. That’s the equivalent of a rushing play, any tailback will insist.
“It’s a week-to-week thing. I feel like I’m involved in the game plan,” Fletcher said. “Every week I’m involved in some way, some fashion. Putting me in the scheme and offence is enough for me. We have a style of offence different than any other team. We’re very efficient. I trust the game plan and feel I’m heavily involved every week. Whatever they have for me I’m going to execute it. I could do more but have been happy with my season and am touching the ball quite a few times. Even in the run game, if it’s eight, 10 or five carries, I feel like I’m a big play waiting to happen.”
While Stanback and Fletcher won’t be on the field simultaneously and aren’t competing against each other, comparisons undoubtedly will be drawn post-game. That’s human nature.
“We’re two different players,” Fletcher said. “At the same time he has been here. I know the history he has here, the legacy. It’s going to mean something to the fans, but I don’t take it as Stanback vs. Fletcher. We’re two brothers competing and trying to get the win for our team.”
If the Als took a leap of faith placing their trust in Fletcher, who still had to compete and win the job at training camp, head coach Jason Maas has had nothing but superlatives about him since then.
“Any time he touches the ball he does great things,” Maas said. “When he catches it he’s dynamic. He does a lot of other little things that people don’t see, like blocking. That’s the little thing that’s a big thing for us. We change the protections weekly. He has been physical enough to hold up against different varieties of defenders. Most of the linebackers in this league outsize him. He has a great knack for keeping his centre of gravity, using his hands and being strong at the point of attack.”
Montreal (10-1) clinched a playoff berth during their bye week.