It was written in the Alouettes\u2019\u2014dark?\u2014sky, but starting quarterback Davis Alexander was absent from Montreal\u2019s practice on Sunday at H\u00e9bert Stadium in Saint-L\u00e9onard. Head coach Jason Maas even confirmed that he would miss Thursday\u2019s game, when the Alouettes visit the Calgary Stampeders.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s not here today and won\u2019t play this week. And as you\u2019ll ask me every time, when he\u2019s not here, it means he won\u2019t play,\u201d Maas told the reporters gathered there, who were trying to find out more.<\/p>\n
Can we still ask him every week?<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, but the answer will be the same: his situation will be reassessed on a weekly basis.\u201d<\/p>\n
This is still worrying, considering that the offense didn\u2019t really get off to a good start under McLeod Bethel-Thompson during Alexander\u2019s first two-game absence.<\/p>\n
Alexander was in his first game back from injury, Thursday against the Toronto Argonauts. He led the Alouettes to a spectacular comeback, recording a crucial 26-25 victory over a division opponent.<\/p>\n
It was after scoring the game-winning touchdown on a 10-yard run that Alexander re-injured himself. A few steps before crossing the end zone, he injured the back of his left thigh, suggesting a new hamstring injury.<\/p>\n
Alexander remained in the game for the missed two-point conversion after his touchdown, but Caleb Evans took charge of the offense for the final series of the game.<\/p>\n
It remains to be seen whether the Birds\u2019 No. 10 will miss a few games or be placed on the six-game injured list.<\/p>\n
Bethel-Thompson led the Alouettes\u2019 first offensive unit during Sunday\u2019s practice. He will be the starter on Thursday.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe quarterback situation is exactly the same as it was a few weeks ago,\u201d noted Maas. \u201cMcLeod will be the starter and we\u2019ll see from there. We have two other guys who can come in at any time.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Alouettes\u2019 offense hasn\u2019t been firing on all cylinders during the two games that \u2018MBT\u2019 has been in charge. Nothing to worry the coach or Bethel-Thompson.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s an experienced quarterback, but he lacks experience in our system,\u201d noted Maas. \u201cAll the repetitions he\u2019s getting for us and these two games will make him better. We have full confidence in him, Caleb [Evans] and James [Morgan].<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not just the quarterback\u2019s fault when the offense is not doing well. (\u2026) Everyone has to do more, including the coaches.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI need to cut the four or five bad plays I had in these two games,\u201d explained Bethel-Thompson. \u201cIf we can reduce those bad plays to two per game, then zero. If we do that, we\u2019ll probably win these games.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve played these kinds of games before in my career. (\u2026) Just correct these mistakes and there won\u2019t be a problem.\u201d<\/p>\n
Philpot and Letcher out<\/p>\n
The Alouettes\u2019 offense was also without receiver Tyson Philpot. The Alouettes\u2019 No. 6 was scratched from the team\u2019s lineup at the last minute last Thursday due to a knee injury.<\/p>\n
\u201cTyson Philpot won\u2019t play this week,\u201d Maas said. \u201cI don\u2019t know how long he\u2019ll be out. He\u2019ll be reevaluated week by week as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kick return specialist James Letcher Jr. was also conspicuous by his absence. Letcher told colleagues after Thursday\u2019s game that he suffered a broken hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019ll be reevaluated as well, but he could be [in Thursday\u2019s game],\u201d Maas said. \u201c(\u2026) I\u2019ve seen guys play with a broken hand. We\u2019ll see if he can make it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Receiver Lincoln Victor, signed in the morning, was in the session. He\u2019s expected to be used as a return specialist against the Stamps.<\/p>\n
Lemon Officially Back<\/p>\n
The Alouettes didn\u2019t have all the bad news for this session, however. On defense, Dylan Wynn and Mustafa Johnson were back with their teammates, as was Shawn Lemon, who was officially able to resume training with the group.<\/p>\n
Absent for more than a season due to an indefinite suspension for betting on CFL games in 2021, Lemon was readmitted by Commissioner Stewart Johnston after confessing to his crime. He will, however, have to serve the final game of his two-game suspension for violating the CFL\u2019s anti-doping policy during the Alouettes\u2019 next outing.<\/p>\n
Lemon was very happy to be back with his teammates, but didn\u2019t want to discuss his off-field issues.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you have any football questions or questions about upcoming games, I\u2019d be happy to answer them,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Lemon still stayed in shape during his absence. He emphasized that he never gave up hope of being readmitted to the Canadian league.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m an optimistic guy by nature. I had faith that we\u2019d get to this point.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lemon added that he received offers from other CFL teams once his suspension was lifted. However, there were no other options for him.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is where I wanted to play. I like the team, the management, my teammates. I like playing under Coach [Noel] Thorpe, and I love the city.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Alouettes (4-2) will face the Stampeders (5-1), who have been on fire since the start of the season, on Thursday at McMahon Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 9 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time.<\/p>\n
\u2013This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It was written in the Alouettes\u2019\u2014dark?\u2014sky, but starting quarterback Davis Alexander was absent from Montreal\u2019s practice on Sunday…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":13133,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[49,48,521,522,520,82],"class_list":["post-13132","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cfl","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-canadian-football-league","tag-canadianfootballleague","tag-cfl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13132","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13132"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13132\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13133"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13132"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13132"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13132"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}