RB William Stanback
Stanback is coming off of a strong performance against Calgary and has a tough test coming up against a good run-stopping team. Stanback has an average of 5.3 yards per carry rushing for 688 yards on 127 carries so far.
WR Tyler Snead
Snead is 2nd in receiving yards for the Alouettes as he caught 40 passes for 583 yards and 5 touchdowns in 11 games.
WR Tyson Philpot
Philpot led the Alouettes in receiving yards again last week with 4 catches for 87 yards. He now has 347 yards in 8 games.
Julien-Grant has 34 catches for 490 yards in 7 games. He missed a lot of time due to a hand injury but is back in the lineup for his second straight game.
DE Shawn Lemon
Lemon is coming off a 2 sack performance against Calgary and is 1 sack away from his 100th career sack.
LB Darnell Sankey
Sankey had the 10th-highest run defense grade by PFF last week among linebackers. Sankey led the team in tackles last week with 10.
Last week Avery Williams had the 5th highest run run defence grade among linebackers by Pro Football focus. Williams had 2 tackles last week.
CB Dionte Ruffin
Ruffin had the 6th highest PFF coverage grade last week. He also had 4 tackles last week.
S Marc-Antoine Dequoy
Dequoy had an interception last week, a fumble recovery, and 6 tackles. He also was the highest-graded defensive back last week by Pro Football Focus.
QB Dustin Crum
Dustin Crum has been a great storyline this season after beginning the year as the 4th quarterback on the pecking order behind Jeremiah Masolia, Nick Arbuckle, and Tyrie Adams. The Cookie Monster has completed 201 of his 287 passes (70%) for 2,334 yards and 7 touchdowns with 7 interceptions. He has also added 620 rushing yards and 9 rushing touchdowns.
RB Devonta Williams
Williams has rushed 137 times for 757 yards (5.5 average) and a touchdown over 11 games played. He is coming off a big performance last week in which he rushed 22 times for 136 yards.
WR Jaelon Acklin
Acklin had 5 catches for 66 yards last week for Ottawa. The 2022 East Division All-Star had a bit of a slower start to the season but has worked his way up to 709 receiving yards.
Hardy leads the RedBlacks in receiving yards with 70 catches for 747 yards and 2 touchdowns.
DE Bryce Carter
Leads the RedBlacks in sacks with 11 and also has 26 tackles and a forced fumble.
CB Brandin Dandridge
Dandridge has 21 tackles, a forced fumble, 7 passes defended, and 4 interceptions, 2 of which he returned for a touchdown.
Montreal will be without league-leading receiver Austin Mack this week.
This week we will see many players dress for their first game as an Alouette including wide receivers James Letcher JR. (Washburn), Shedler Fervius (Saint Maryβs), defensive end T.D. Moultry (Auburn), and cornerback Dishon McNary (Central Michigan).
Kabion Ento is back starting at cornerback as Kordell Rodgers is out with a foot injury.
We will see Jam
es Letcher Jr. handle the returns as Chandler Worthy is out with an ankle injury.Jamal Davis II has been released by Montreal and has since signed with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Davis stated on Twitter that he had asked to be released.
Vincent Desjardins is listed on the 1 game injured list.
(Redblacks depth chart not yet posted. Will update when it is.)
Score Prediction:
I predict the Ottawa RedBlacks to win at home this weekend 24-30.
This is based on the pattern previously displayed in which the Alouettes abandon the run when their opponent is defending well against it and the offense tends to play less efficiently as a whole. I suspect we may see this happen again this weekend but ultimately lead to a stronger Alouettes team as a whole that more fully embraces smash-mouth football thus making them more well-suited for the landscape of the 2023 CFL Playoffs.
