![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/indicator-big.gif\")
<\/p>\n\u201cWe\u2019ve had plenty of experience with it,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s been a rainy training camp, that helped us in the first game. I tell the guys the only way you can get better in the elements is to play in the elements, so I\u2019m glad that coach always has us out there when it\u2019s bad (weather), it\u2019s rainy, it\u2019s windy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t<\/p>\n
Cornerback Tyrell Ford says defences love rainy game days because it can force offences to run the ball more than they maybe want to. That would be good news for Edmonton, which wants to keep Montreal quarterback David Alexander from scrambling and creating his broken-play magic.<\/p>\n
Alexander is a primary focus of the Elks\u2019 defensive game plan.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith him the whole field is live and in play,\u201d said head coach Mark Kilam. \u201cHe can make every throw; he\u2019s pushing the ball downfield; he\u2019s protecting throws. We\u2019re going to have to be really disciplined in what we\u2019re doing.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Elks\u2019 season-opening win was powered by running back Justin Rankin, who rushed for 102 yards and a touchdown and caught five passes for 94 yards. It was Rankin\u2019s first-down runs that opened up the offensive playbook for Fajardo.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat a flip of the script from last year when we found ourselves in second and long a lot,\u2019 Fajardo said. \u201cWe have a great running game. When you get five, six yards a carry, it wears defences down.<\/p>\n
\u201cDefences have to show their hand in second and medium (situations),\u201d he said. \u201cSecond and long, they can get exotic, they can drop nine guys, you\u2019re throwing into tight windows or check-downs, and they\u2019re rallying and we\u2019re off the field.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have to get into a rhythm as quickly as possible to give ourselves a chance.\u201d<\/p>\n
Both teams are missing key players. Edmonton is without defensive lineman Coulter Woodmansey, while Montreal will be without linebacker Tyrice Beverette.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a big loss for them,\u201d Kalim said of Beverette. \u201cBut the way they rotate their defensive personnel and their packages and the looks that they give, there\u2019ll be multiple people playing that position \u2026 we have to do a good job identifying what they\u2019re doing.\u201d<\/p>\n
As for the Elks\u2019 line without Woodmansey, Jordan Murray is confident whoever slots in beside him will do the job.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the next man mentality,\u201d said the six-foot-eight, 300-pound guard. \u201cWe\u2019re going to have a plan \u2026 whoever is in there is going to get the job done.\u201d<\/p>\n
While Montreal is looking for a third straight win, Edmonton is looking to go 2-0 to open the season for the first time since 2019.<\/p>\n
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 19, 2026.<\/p>\n
John Korobanik, The Canadian Press<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cWe\u2019ve had plenty of experience with it,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s been a rainy training camp, that helped us…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":748245,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[49,48,521,522,520,82],"class_list":["post-748244","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\/748244","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=748244"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/748244\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/748245"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=748244"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=748244"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=748244"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}