Believe it or not, the oft-beaten Montreal Alouettes could move into a first-place tie in the East with a win against the visiting Hamilton Tiger Cats (2-6-0) this afternoon starting at 1 p.m.
The Als, now 2-7-0 would have the same record as the Toronto Argonauts if they bag their second straight victory after edging Ottawa 20-10 in their last outing.
Quarterback Jonathan Crompton, who has completed 30 of his 54 passes for the Als this season, will be getting his second start for the team which started the season with Troy Smith.
“We’ve had a couple of good days of practice, we’ll just go out there and try to execute the offence,” said Crompton told his team’s website Thursday.
The Als’ modest resurgence has seen Brandon Whitaker become rise to second in the league in rushing, behind only Winnipeg’s Nic Grigsby.
Until recently, Montreal did not have a receiver in the top 20 in the CFL, but a big game last week has Duron Carter in 10th spot with 390 yards on 30 catches.
It was supposed to be a big year for Carter, the son of Hall of Famer Cris Carter, who is expected to jump to the NFL next season. But problems in finding an effective starting quarterback have hurt the all the team’s offensive statistics.
“I always expect more,” said Carter. “I expect 200 yards and three touchdowns every game.
“I feel like it’s going to come. We had some early mishaps, but I think we’re still one of the best teams in the CFL and we’re going to show it.”
The Ticats’ numbers are also modest. Their top receiver, Luke Tasker, is 16th in the CFL.
So both clubs have plenty to prove.
“It’s important us for, just like our last one against Ottawa,” said Alouettes’ Coach Tom Higgins. “It’s time for us to get on a roll.
“You don’t like to say anything’s must-win, but we put ourselves into a hole so that now, any time we play an eastern opponent, we need to win the game.”
“We’ll probably have to play them in the playoffs. It’s just letting them know we’re here to stay. We’re tied for second now, but it’s hard to say you’re second when you’ve got a losing record. So we need to keep tallying up wins and go into the playoffs with momentum.”
It is more than likely that whichever team finishes fourth in the West will cross over to play in the East Division semifinal in November, so finishing in the top two in the East is vital to Montreal and Hamilton.
The teams play only once more this season on Nov. 8, so the winner on Sunday will have the leg up on the season series between them.
Both came out of last week feeling better about themselves.
The Alouettes ended a six-game losing streak with Crompton throwing for 245 yards in his first CFL start. While some of his high, not quite on-target passes were an adventure for his receivers, he moved the ball and looked in control.
“All indications are he is the guy who we’re the most comfortable with now,” Alouettes coach Tom Higgins said. “He knows it’s about productivity, but more than that is whether he wins.
“That’s what he’ll be judged on. If he continues to win, he’ll be our quarterback.”
The former Edmonton backup may also be looking to spread the ball around more after directing nearly all his passes to either Carter or S.J. Green. Brandon London caught one pass. Chad Johnson wasn’t thrown to at all.
“It wasn’t by design,” said Higgins. “It just worked out that way.
“Obviously, a quarterback can feel confident throwing to either one of those two guys. There were other receivers open, but if you complete it, no matter who you throw to, he did the right thing. All our receivers are in the game plan and it won’t necessarily be just a two-receiver show. Hopefully, they’ll all get involved.”
It was also a first game for James Rodgers, who did a decent job replacing injured kick returner Larry Taylor and also got some turns at running back.
-With files from The Canadian Press
