This season there have been times in which Fajardo has either gone slowly in his progressions or has locked on to certain targets. He is only expected to play 1 quarter in this game but it will be a good sign if Fajardo is going through his progressions quickly in his final regular-season appearance.
Montreal has demonstrated this season good depth at the receiving position with a lot of new names to the CFL such as Austin Mack and Tyler Snead. This week’s starting receivers include Austin Mack, Tyler Snead, Shedler Fevius, Cole Spieker, and Tyson Philpot. Regis Cibasu and James Letcher Jr. are listed as 2nd string receivers this weekend.
Strong Run Defense
With James Butler in Hamilton, A.J. Ouellette in Toronto, and Brady Oliveira in Winnipeg, Montreal will need solid run defense in order to make a run for the Grey Cup. The Alouettes limited Devonta Williams to 70 yards on 17 carries over their last 2 games against Ottawa before they faced Edmonton. Against Edmonton, Kevin Brown rushed 10 times for 68 yards.
Montreal has allowed the 2nd least yards per pass attempt at 7.7 yards and the 2nd fewest passing touchdowns this season. There is uncertainty regarding who will be throwing the ball for Hamilton. The danger with this game is that one can consider it to be meaningless which leads to complacency. It will be key for Montreal’s secondary to stay focused and keep playing at the high level they have been performing at heading into the playoffs.
Alouettes to Watch
QB Davis Alexander
Davis Alexander has only attempted 15 CFL passes so far in his 2-year career completing 9 of those passes for 94 yards with 1 interception which came last year. In his preseason appearances over the last 2 seasons, he has completed 38 of his 52 pass attempts (73%) for 336 yards and a touchdown.
QB Caleb Evans
Evans is in his 3rd season in the CFL. Last year he started in 7 games for Ottawa and completed 111 of 178 (62.3%) for 4 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. He also added 354 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns over the season, many of which were QB sneaks as the short-yardage quarterback.
This year E
vans has started in 2 games for Montreal and has completed 38 of his 57 passes (66.7%) for 543 yards and 3 touchdowns with 4 interceptions. He has also rushed 46 times for 180 yards and 8 touchdowns over the season.WR Greg Ellingson
Ellingson has only played in 1 game this season due to injuries. Over the 2 previous seasons, he had appeared in 18 games catching 85 passes for 1,285 yards and 4 touchdowns. He had 4 1,000 yard seasons in a row from 2016 to 2019.
WR Cole Spieker
Spieker had himself quite a game in week 21 last year catching 6 passes for 105 yards and a touchdown in Toronto. This season he has appeared in 11 games and has 27 catches for 345 yards and a touchdown.
Antwi rushed 106 times last year for 600 yards (5.7 yards per carry). This season he has been given the ball for 35 rushes for 211 yards and a touchdown (6 yards per carry).
DE T.D. Moultry
Moultry is getting his first CFL start this weekend. He played in 58 games for Auburn with his last year being in 2021. He had 9 sacks and 72 tackles over his career with 33 tackles and 4 sacks in his final season with Auburn.
LB Tyrell Richards
Playing in his first game since late August due to a lower-body injury. In 9 games Richards has 10 tackles, a forced fumble, and a pick 6 against Winnipeg.
Williams is playing in his first game since September 30. He has played 8 games for the Alouettes this season contributing 30 tackles and a pass defended.
CB Dishon McNary
McNary is listed as a 2nd string corner this week. It may be an opportunity to give the CFL rookie out of Central Michigan some playing time.
Tiger-Cats to Watch
QB Bo Levi Mitchell
Mitchell has been limited to only 5 games this season due to injuries. He has completed 73 of his 122 passes (59.8%) for 978 yards and 6 touchdowns and 10 interceptions this season.
Powell has completed 187 of his 273 passes this season (64.7%) for 2,177 yards and 10 touchdowns with 7 interceptions. The product of Eastern Michigan is in his first CFL season.
WR Terry Godwin II
Godin is 2nd in receiving yards for the Tiger-Cats having caught 65 passes for 808 yards and 6 touchdowns. With Tim White not playing in this game expect a lot of targets to go Godwin’s way.
WR Kondre Smith
Smith is third on the team in receiving with 52 catches for 651 yards.
With Hamilton resting James Butler, Fleet-Davis is getting the start. He was a member of the Kansas City Chiefs training camp last year as an undrafted free agent and is poised for his first carry in a professional football regular season game. He had 1,343 yards at Maryland and 15 touchdowns. Notably in his final season with Maryland, he had 721 yards, 5.63 yards per carry, and 8 touchdowns.
Fleet-Davis had 13 carries for 39 yards in this past preseason with the Tiger-Cats.
DE Jamal Davis II
Jamal Davis was released by Montreal recently and posted on Twitter stating that he asked to be released following the move although it is not yet clear as to why. Since joining Hamilton he has 2 sacks in just 3 games and is making his first start this weekend for the Tiger-Cats. It is his first time facing Montreal where he played 29 regular season games for since 2021 contributing 9 sacks and 48 tackles for the Alouettes.
Thurman leads the Tiger-Cats in tackles with 91. He also has 4 sacks, 2 interceptions, 2 forced fumbles, and 4 passes defended.
S Stavros Katsantonis
Katsantonis leads Hamilton in interceptions with 5. He also has 55 tackles, 2 sacks, 4 passes defended, and a touchdown.
Injury Report:
Depth Charts:
Score Prediction:
I am predicting a 26-17 win for the Alouettes partially due to the fact that the Alouettes are resting fewer starters while playing at home.
