Can the Alouettes right the ship?

There were high hopes in Montreal last week following the firing of head coach Dan Hawkins and general manager Jim Popp's return to the sidelines, but the Alouettes turned in perhaps their most disastrous performance this year in a 38-13 loss to Toronto. The three-headed offensive monster of titular offensive coordinator Mike Miller, actual offensive play-caller Doug Berry and quarterback Anthony Calvillo failed to accomplish much of anything in the passing game, throwing for just 202 passing yards with just a 53.3 per cent completion mark. Things don't get any easier for Montreal this week, as they're on the road Saturday (4 p.m. Eastern, TSN/ESPN3) to take on one of the league's top teams, the 5-1 Saskatchewan Roughriders. Will the Alouettes be able to get things in gear offensively this week, or will they continue to struggle?

What doesn't bode well for Montreal is how strong the Saskatchewan defence has been this year. Through six games, the Roughriders have allowed just 21.5 points per game, the league's best average. They've conceded just 14 touchdowns this year, tied for the league's second-best total. The 23 sacks they've recorded this season are the CFL's second-highest total, which doesn't bode well for an Alouettes' offensive line that's given up 20 sacks so far this season (the league's third-worst total). Keep in mind that Montreal hasn't been effective on offence all season, either, recording league lows in offensive yards per game (277.0), passing yards per game (211.7) and first downs (97), and being tied for third-worst with a total of just 22.5 points per game. None of that suggests an offensive turnaround is imminent.

Perhaps most concerningly for the Alouettes, the only area of the game where they did really well against Toronto was on the ground (Jerome Messam rushed 14 times for 90 yards, a 6.4 yards per carry average), and that's where the Riders' defence particularly excels. Before allowing Jon Cornish to run for four touchdowns and 175 yards last week, the Saskatchewan defence had conceded just 62.4 rushing yards per game this year. Even after that, their average only rose to 89.2 rushing yards per game, the CFL's second-best total. Moreover, Montreal hasn't been consistently good running the ball this season: while they found success there last week, on the whole, they've averaged 5.1 rushing yards per carry (tied for third-worst in the league) and collected just 90.2 rushing yards per game (fourth-worst). Maybe last week signified that their rushing game has turned a corner, but they'll be facing a tough challenge against Saskatchewan's solid defensive front.

The real question for Montreal may be if they're able to turn back the clock on their passing game. Since Hawkins was fired, Popp returned and the Berry/Miller/Calvillo trio took over the offensive game, the discussion has all been about returning to the short-passing-focused, high completion percentage West Coast-style offence they ran for years under Marc Trestman and Scott Milanovich, but that wasn't much in evidence against the Argonauts: instead, they were still taking shot after shot downfield, with few of them working out.

Part of those issues may have been about the quick turnover, as the Toronto game came only a week after Hawkins' firing, which didn't give the Alouettes a lot of time to change their offensive scheme. What's more concerning for Montreal is the idea that maybe things can't be put back the way they were, though. Trestman's gone to the NFL, Milanovich is gone to Toronto, Calvillo's another year older and the Als' offence has lost several important parts, including slotback Jamel Richardson and guard Scott Flory. Will Montreal be able to find some of their old offensive success against the powerful Riders, or will this game be more proof that the issues with the Alouettes go well beyond Hawkins? We'll find out Saturday night...