Davis Alexander was happy to get five hours sleep last Friday night after finally getting to bed. But the Alouettes’ quarterback admitted to waking up sore Saturday morning — with good reason.
“I was hurting. It was hard getting up,” Alexander said Friday. “Maybe after two or three years of not really playing in a (regular-season) game, it felt nice to get hit a little bit again. But I’ll try to not get hit too much more.”
Alexander had to temporarily leave last week’s game against Hamilton in the fourth quarter following a vicious helmet-to-helmet hit from nose-tackle Casey Sayles, who received a 25-yard penalty for spearing/roughing the passer.
It was amazing Alexander arose, let alone continue playing on the Alouettes’ next offensive series. Perhaps more incredible was Alexander stating the injuries were to his back and hip, not his head.
“I took the one big hit from Sayles,” he said. “Besides that I don’t think I really took any unnecessary shots. That’s the position. Sometimes you have to sacrifice yourself for a big play. You always have to protect yourself. At the same time, I’m a gamer. If there’s a time I need to protect myself, yes. But if we need a big first down, I’m willing to sacrifice.”
But Montreal already is down one quarterback with Cody Fajardo recovering from a hamstring injury.
Alexander, now receiving his first legitimate playing time in his third season with Montreal, vowed he has learned and will be smarter in Saturday night’s rematch against the Tiger-Cats at Molson Stadium (7 p.m., TSN1, TSN2, TSN5, RDS, TSN Radio-690, 98.5 FM).
“I’m not going to change my game,” Alexander said. “I’m instinctual. That’s how I play. I’m not going to be back there, really conservative.”
The Alouettes, and specifically head coach Jason Maas, won’t complain about what Alexander, 25, has brought to the team in limited playing time. Alexander came off the bench to start the second half against Saskatchewan on July 25, rallying the team from a 16-3 halftime deficit to win 20-16.
Last week at Hamilton, Alexander fumbled in the first quarter, then threw an interception returned for a touchdown on the opening play of the second period. Alexander and the Alouettes overcame that early adversity to triumph 33-16. While the 6-foot, 200-pound Alexander knows ball security can’t remain an issue, he did complete 19 of 27 passes for 262 yards and a touchdown.
“Sometimes I can do too much, rather than take a sack,” Alexander said. “It’ll come. I didn’t fumble that much in college. Maybe it’s a little bit of rust, but there’s no excuse. I know farther down the road some of those mistakes can be very crucial. It’s something I’m going to have to manage.”
Maas, himself a former CFL quarterback, realizes Alexander will evolve as he matures and gains experience. But Maas also understands when a quarterback returns from a hellacious hit and displays his mettle, his teammates can’t help but rally around him.
“He has done a tremendous job for us, stepping in,” Maas said. “Is there room to grow? Absolutely. I don’t think a quarterback ever stops growing. Ultimately, every quarterback learns to protect himself the longer he plays. It’s one thing to go out there and sacrifice your body when you can choose not to and make better choices so you’re not getting hit. Everybody learns that differently.
“At the end of the day, it’s the guys that are tough enough to sacrifice for the betterment of the team, you want to go and roll with those guys. At the same time, it’s picking your spots, your moments when you don’t need to do that.”