Montreal Alouettes kick off a new season
Alouettes will try to bounce back from a franchise-worst season in 2015
The Montreal Alouettes kick off a new season tonight and, for the first time in a several years, there is a sense of optimism around the team.
The team has been in a steady decline since Brian Bratton dropped an Anthony Calvillo pass in the end zone late in the fourth quarter to lose the 2012 Eastern Conference final.
In 2015 the Alouettes hit an all-time low, playing to a 6-12 record and missing the playoffs for the first time since relocating to Montreal from Baltimore.
Three head coaches and more than half dozen starting quarterbacks later the team now looks to have a clear direction heading into the 2016 campaign.
Anthony Calvillo was an all-time great, so perhaps it shouldn't come as a surprise that finding a long-term replacement for him at quarterback has been difficult.
Since Calvillo played his last snap the pivot position has been a rotating door: Josh Neiswander, Tanner Marsh, Troy Smith, Jonathan Crompton, Alex Brink, Rakeem Cato, Brandon Bridge and Kevin Glenn have all started games.
That inconsistency and inexperience has handcuffed Montreal's once-potent offence.
This year the Alouettes are opting not to gamble at the position with an inexperienced player. Kevin Glenn, a 12-year veteran, is the starter coming into week one.
At 37 years old Glenn isn't a long-term solution for the team, but he knows the game and that experience should allow Montreal's talented receiving core — led by S.J. Green and Duron Carter — to shine.
With Glenn at starter the club has also bought itself time to develop younger quarterbacks Vernon Adams, Rakeem Cato and Brandon Bridge.
Anthony Calvillo is now coaching the offence for the team and the hope is one of those three will learn from him and emerge as the club's leader moving forward.
The Montreal Alouettes lost a key piece of their offence when all-star left tackle Josh Bourke signed with the Toronto Argos as a free agent this off-season.
But Ruby isn't the only change on Montreal's offensive line. The team is also turning to rookie Philippe Gagnon from Laval University to jump in as a starter.
"This guy is pro-ready, that's why we drafted him," said Popp. "There is not a lot of them who can come right in and start, but he's got the temperament ... he plays like he's a ten-year vet"
The Alouettes defence, led by coordinator Noel Thorpe, has been the one consistent bright spot for the team in recent years.
The big addition to the squad is Vaughn Martin at defensive tackle. Martin is a Jamaican-born Canadian who played university football at Western for the Mustangs.
In 2009 he was drafted into the NFL by the San Diego Chargers and has spent the last seven years playing south of the border.
"Vaughn grew up playing the Canadian game so there is not much adaptation for him," said Thorpe. "We're excited to have him."
The only point of concern on defence is at the cornerback position. The team decided to part ways with veterans Mitchell White and Dominique Ellis in favour of unproven rookies Jonathan Mincy and Ethan Davis.