Duron Carter ejection part of Alouettes' return to earth in loss to Redblacks

Montreal star wide receiver Duron Carter's ejection Thursday night after bumping into Ottawa Redblacks' head coach Rick Campbell really summed up the night for the Alouettes, who wound up losing 28-13. They had occasional good moments, including the touchdown Carter scored moments before his celebration and run-in with Campbell, but they often shot themselves in the foot and paid the price for it. The expectations for the Alouettes were pretty low this year, but last week's 22-14 road win over Winnipeg (which was more lopsided than the score indicated) suggested they might not be that bad. While one game isn't enough to get a definitive read on a team, Thursday night's certainly was a step back for Montreal on a number of fronts, and a sign that this might indeed be a rough season for them.

Carter's ejection in particular is problematic for the team, as it illustrates some of the issues that have been seen with him over the years. He was a league all-star in his previous season with Montreal in 2014 and parlayed that into a stint with the Indianapolis Colts last year, but from his tangled college career to his various professional stops, he's often been accused of being uncoachable and difficult to play with. Carter told Yahoo's Chris Zelkovich earlier this year that he isn't a "me guy," and he's received praise from teammates like Kevin Glenn, but this move is definitely going to bring back accusations that he's selfish.

Getting himself ejected here (which was the obvious outcome of colliding with a coach) was a terrible move for Carter, and one that hurt his team. It left the Alouettes down another key receiver (after S.J. Green left with an injury early in the game) and further decreased their chances of coming back; it was 14-13 Ottawa after the convert and a subsequent single on the kickoff, but Montreal wouldn't score again. It also could mean that Carter gets suspended for one or more games. He didn't exactly seem too apologetic afterwards, either, as reported by Bill Beacon of The Canadian Press:

There is some debate about if Campbell was too far off the sideline, if he leaned in towards Carter first and if he exaggerated the impact, but Carter's actions do look much worse than Campbell's. Yes, he took a hit before that (and perhaps the Dennis Wideman concussion defence could be in play here, as noted by TSN's Chris Cuthbert, but that didn't work for Wideman in the end), but this still seemed rather intentional, and the league still seems likely to come down heavily on him. Of course, we can't get into Carter's head, and we don't know if he was dazed from that hit; perhaps he really didn't know what he was doing. Still, his bump of Campbell sure looked intentional, and it seems like the CFL will likely send a message it won't tolerate that, handing him a heavy fine or a suspension.

Meanwhile, the Alouettes as a whole seem to be headed down regardless of the punishment levied to Carter. Their defence had plenty of holes Thursday, giving up big play after big play to wide-open receivers; Ottawa QB Trevor Harris finished with 20 completions on 26 passes (76.9 per cent) for 395 yards and three touchdowns. Their offence couldn't get much going, especially after Carter (who had four catches for 63 yards and a touchdown) left; after his high-accuracy showing last week, Kevin Glenn returned to earth with a 26 of 42 (61.9 per cent) mark for 259 yards with a touchdown and an interception. They already lost Green, potentially for a while. And now, they're waiting to see if another one of their best players will be suspended. Add it up, and it's not exactly the best of times for CFL fans in Montreal.