Argos blow out Alouettes, suggesting Dan Hawkins’ firing won’t instantly fix everything

In the wake of Montreal's decision to fire head coach Dan Hawkins after just five games, there were a lot of comments from general manager Jim Popp about getting back "to the Alouette way." Well, unless "the Alouette way" features losses by over than 20 points, there's still work to be done on that front. The Toronto Argonauts came to Montreal and blew out the Alouettes 38-13 in Popp's first game as head coach (in this particular stint: he also coached the team in 2001, 2006 and 2007) Thursday, suggesting that the new three-headed offensive scheme is far from perfect and that all of the problems in Montreal can't be fixed just with Hawkins' firing.

By far the largest issue for the Alouettes Thursday was turnovers. They committed seven of those, and many of those led directly to Toronto points. The chief culprit was returner Noel Devine, who had three lost fumbles on the night, but everything possible went wrong here, including interceptions and even a bumbled snap. The Argonauts jumped out to a 14-0 lead thanks to converting two early Montreal fumbles directly into touchdown passes from Ricky Ray to John Chiles, and they were up 21-0 after the first quarter. It didn't get much better for the Alouettes from there. They trailed 31-3 at the half (and only had those three points thanks to a long, late field goal), and while they contained Toronto to seven points after backup Zach Collaros replaced Ray, they weren't able to do much on offence themselves. Overall, Montreal gave up 24 points from those turnovers, and those points proved decisive.

There were more problems here than just the turnovers, though. While Jerome Messam looked good on the ground, collecting 90 yards on just 14 carries (6.4 yards per carry), the passing attack was largely a disaster. Anthony Calvillo completed just 16 of 30 passes (53.3 per cent) for 202 yards and one touchdown with one interception, numbers that aren't going to impress many. Moreover, while some elements of the high-percentage short passing scheme the Alouettes had talked about returning to were in evidence Thursday, their plan of attack was far from cohesive, and there were plenty of questionable decisions made. This offence looked worse than it did at the end of Hawkins' tenure, which isn't a good sign for Montreal. The defence was awful, too, allowing Ray to carve them up for 152 yards and three touchdowns with a 83.3 per cent completion mark.

Do the Alouettes need to panic here? Not necessarily. There's still a lot of talent on this team, and that talent hasn't all vanished overnight. However, it's clear that changing the offensive scheme and getting everyone on the same page is going to take some time.Beyond that, too, the players have to find a way to get motivated: while there were some strong individual efforts Thursday, the team as a whole seemed to be sleepwalking and was repeatedly called out by TSN analyst Matt Dunigan for their dismal effort. The belief in some corners around the league was that Montreal would return to dominant form once the NCAA interloper Hawkins was dismissed and Popp brought back their traditional style. That sure hasn't happened yet, and Thursday's game suggests that may be a slow process. It's not out of the question that the Alouettes will improve as the year goes on, but they have an awfully long way to go.