Calgary Stampeders' Jake Maier prepares to throw during first half CFL football action against the Ottawa Redblacks in Calgary, Alta., Sunday, July 23, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Larry MacDougal
MONTREAL – Danny Maciocia evaluated “everything” during his team’s bye week.
So what did the Montreal Alouettes general manager identify as one the group’s biggest needs as he dissected its performance through five games?
Making life difficult for opposing quarterbacks.
And Calgary’s Jake Maier will be the target when Montreal hosts the Stampeders on Sunday night at Molson Stadium.
Montreal (2-3) has lost three games in a row after a 35-27 defeat to the Toronto Argonauts in Week 6.
Maciocia signed veteran defensive lineman and former Stampeder Shawn Lemon this week to help the Alouettes pass rush, which has a league-low seven sacks.
Montreal head coach Jason Maas believes they’re up against an elite quarterback in Maier, who took over Calgary’s starting role midway through last season.
“He throws the ball as well as anybody that I’ve seen up here,” said Maas. “He gives them a chance every week. Watching their games, that’s what I’ve noticed, everything generally comes down in the end, and he definitely doesn’t shy away.
“I’ve been very impressed with him, especially since he hasn’t played a lot of football up here. He looks very wise beyond his years.”
Calgary (2-4) lost an overtime thriller 43-41 to upstart quarterback Dustin Crum and the Ottawa Redblacks last week. The Stampeders haven’t had a losing season since 2007.
Through seven weeks of CFL action, Maier was second in passing yards with 1,672. He threw a for 450 yards and four touchdowns, completing 28-of-38 attempts against Ottawa.
But he also gave the ball away three times with two interceptions and a fumble, leading to three Redblacks touchdowns.
“We’ve made a lot of winning plays, and we’ve had a lot of production,” Maier told reporters in Calgary this week. “But we’ve also had situations in games where you make plays, and you’re like, ‘Oh, man, that’s just a losing football team, that’s what a losing team does.
“We’ve got to right those wrongs.”
Alouettes defensive back Wesley Sutton calls Maier a good quarterback with the ability to make accurate passes all over the field. But he adds that when defenders collapse in the pocket, it can make life difficult for Maier, who isn’t known for his running ability.
Sutton secured his first CFL interception off Maier, and he’s hoping for more Sunday.
“Over the past few weeks, as a whole defensively, we’re making the (opposing) offence feel too comfortable. We got to be dictators and not be dictated to,” said Sutton, an all-star last season. “When you get pressure, when you’re not comfortable, that causes those type of (errant) throws and then we have to capitalize.
“We gotta confuse him, make different disguises and different looks and things like that. When it’s just his first read, that’s too easy. We got to make him go to his second and third read and give time for our (defensive) line to get after him.”
Stampeders quarterbacks coach Marc Mueller believes Maier is showing growth every game, and the mistakes are something he’s learning from.
“Any time you play quarterback, you understand that you have to be aggressive while still understanding that it’s our ball or nobody’s ball,” said Mueller. “Once the football leaves your hand, there’s no string pulling it back.”
Mueller expects Montreal’s defence to make it a “really tough battle” for Calgary. The Stampeders have done a good job protecting Maier, though, allowing just 11 sacks.
On the other side of the ball, the Stampeders are doing damage at the line of scrimmage with 21 sacks.
A constant theme of Montreal’s season so far is its trouble protecting quarterback Cody Fajardo, who expects to see another strong defensive line this week.
“It seems like every week, every defence has a great front seven, I think that’s where teams have decided to load up,” said Fajardo. “It’s clear what the defences in this league are trying to do. I think sacks are up 15 or 20 per cent in the league this year.”
Fajardo spent the bye week healing his body and taking some time to enjoy his new city. He also watched all five of the team’s games this season and saw some things he could improve.
He says not all the blame should fall on Montreal’s offensive line.
“A lot of times my footwork was off a bit, putting some pressure on our offensive tackles,” he said. “There’s a few times they got pressure on me it was more because of myself, not so much them.”
Luckily for Fajardo, the Stampeders may have a bit of a hole on their defensive line. James Vaughters, who has five sacks this season, is out after suffering an upper-body injury against the Redblacks.
Calgary head coach and general manager Dave Dickenson traded for veteran Ja’Gared Davis this week as insurance, giving up a sixth-round pick to Hamilton, but the exchange was voided due to a failed physical.
Fajardo will also have another weapon at his disposal with Canadian receiver Tyson Philpot coming off the injury list to make his season debut.
Philpot had 459 receiving yards as a rookie last season. He joins a receiving corps with Austin Mack and Kaion Julien-Grant, who are top-5 in receiving yards.
The Stampeders could be in for a boost on offence soon as 2022 rushing leader Ka’Deem Carey returned to practice this week from a foot injury, but he remains out for Week 8.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 29, 2023.
