Undisciplined alouettes make too many mistakes in latest loss to Argos

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TORONTO – There were two more interceptions thrown by Alouettes quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. There was a costly BJ Cunningham fumble with the team in scoring position. And there was more undisciplined play on the part of the Montreal defenders, and their frustration continued to mount.

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The Als’ season is not over after six games, but with the team running an unflattering 2-4 record and facing the unenviable task of going to Hamilton next Saturday and defeating a Tiger-Cats team that doesn’t lose at home. This condensed 14-game schedule has the potential to go south quickly.

“It’s frustrating, but it’s football and you’re going to have ups and downs,” linebacker Patrick Levels said after Montreal’s 30-27 loss to the Toronto Argonauts on Friday night at BMO Field. “If you’re going to point the finger every time (Adams) has a bad move or someone else does something bad, they could do the same for me. I don’t believe in pointing fingers at anyone other than myself. Defense is where our problems lie. We have to prevent people from scoring; It’s as simple as that.

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“Everybody’s so fucking close to us screaming (Hamilton’s) ass,” Levels added, thumb and forefinger almost touching. “Nobody is in trouble except the teams we play against once we do this. We have to get rid of this monkey and I promise you that you will be talking totally different in a couple of weeks from now. “

It was a bittersweet performance from Adams, who completed 30 of 39 passes for 382 yards, a season high, and two touchdowns. But his two interceptions, which gave him six in as many games, led to 10 points from Toronto, including a touchdown late in the first half, when Argos scored 14 points in 42 seconds.

While a good chunk of Adams’ passing yards came late in the game, when he led the Als on a six-play, 105-yard drive that culminated with a 27-yard touchdown pass to Jake Wieneke that made the score was more respectable. Head coach Khari Jones also simplified the game plan.

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Jones, the offensive coordinator and quarterback coach, called up a series of shorter, high-percentage pass plays for Adams, who has been guilty of too many deep shots. Mix that with the usual effective run of running back William Stanback, who gained 133 yards on 19 carries, and the Als again moved the ball effectively, but fell short once again in a close game.

Montreal had 32 first downs, 551 yards of net offense and controlled the ball for more than 36 minutes. But none of that mattered in the end.

“I hope we can figure out how to turn it around and change it,” said Jones, who returned after missing a game after testing positive for COVID-19. “We have to. I’m looking for those answers too. I’m mad that he’s falling on me.

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“It’s frustrating just because we have the team in that locker room. We have the group of guys who can win soccer games. That’s the frustrating thing right now. If we didn’t have the group, if we didn’t run the ball like we do, throwing the ball like we do, stopping people when necessary, it would still hurt, of course, but it probably doesn’t hurt like that. . “

Adams was clearly upset with a rib injury, but continued to play. Both he and Jones are cautiously optimistic that it won’t stop him from facing Hamilton. But for all the good Adams produced, the glaring mistakes remain his downfall.

He didn’t appear to see linebacker Chris Edwards on the first interception. In the second, thrown with the back foot, Eugene Lewis was doubly covered and the pass was not close to his teammate.

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“I’ll be fine,” Adams said quietly and barely audible about the availability of his video conference. “He (Edwards) made a great play. I just have to get back to work. That is all. I have to go back to work and take care of the ball.

“The most important thing is victory. It is an unpleasant feeling because we know how good we are. We can’t keep catching up. We just have to be better. “

As happened earlier this season, the Als continue to capitulate to irrational acts, penalized 11 times for 129 yards. That’s more than the length of a field the Argos won by doing nothing but maintaining discipline.

“They always catch the second guy,” Levels said. “We know. We have to start going first or just take it. It’s happening both ways; they just call us for it. We have to play more physical between whistles. If we want to fight, fight between whistles. This is a gladiator sport and you can do many things within the game.

“We have emotional guys, but we’re going to fix that.”

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