Long week of rehab for Alouettes’ Alexander

No limp. No restrictions. No problem?

Montreal Alouettes quarterback Davis Alexander was a full-go as the club practised for the first time as a part of their Grey Cup preparations on Wednesday.

Dealing with a season-long hamstring injury that flared up in last week’s Eastern final, all eyes were on the star pivot as he went through drills at Princess Auto Stadium. Alexander, who, albeit, didn’t take off running at any point, looked comfortable while working from the pocket, stepping into short and deep throws as he normally does.

“Better than expected. I’ll tell you that — better than I expected, just because I think I’m finally not sore… from the Hamilton game. So that helps a little bit,” Alexander said. “I felt great. This is playoff football, and I’ll be ready to go.”

Alexander nor head coach Jason Maas has left a shadow of doubt about whether the 27-year-old will play in Sunday’s championship game against the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

It will be a long week of rehab before getting to game day, however.

On Tuesday, Alexander went through six different treatments for his hamstring, including massages, stem cell therapy and strength work. He will follow a similar schedule all week as he fights through one more game before taking the off-season to heal properly.

“We have a checklist that we’re going through as the week’s gone on,” Alexander said. “Obviously, today was the first practice, so we felt like… I was able to check off all the boxes that we want to for Day 1. So Day 2 will be a different task. Day 3 will be a different task. And just keep going from there.”

While Alexander is a capable runner — he took off seven times last week — his signature is his escapability and improvisation, which requires him to be mobile but doesn’t demand that he reach full speed.

In the event he can’t fully cut it loose with his legs on game day, Alexander expressed confidence that his receivers will win on their routes so he can do damage from the pocket.

“They know what I expect. I expect the absolute best from them every single play. We talk about how they are so good. We have five superstar receivers, and there’s only one football. You don’t know when the ball is coming your way,” Alexander said.

“I think there’s been four or five games this year where I only ran the ball one time. So I understand the hamstring is a big deal to a lot of people, but I could drop back and throw the ball, too.”

Alouettes embracing local support

By all accounts, the crowd in the 112th Grey Cup is expected to feature a lot of green, as fans of the neighbouring Saskatchewan Roughriders make the drive down Highway 1 to watch their team in the big game for the first time since 2013.

However, there is a sentiment that the remaining seats, occupied by fans of the hosting Winnipeg Blue Bombers, will be rooting for the Montreal Alouettes— and, more importantly, against their Prairie rival.

Alouettes linebacker Darnell Sankey spent one season with Saskatchewan before joining Montreal. He knows how well that fan base travels, so he recognizes how beneficial the extra local support could be for his team.

“It’s a blessing that we have fans who are even willing to come out here, or locally here, that root for us,” said Sankey.

“It just goes without saying, we’re incredibly grateful, thankful, but ultimately, it’s the people that are in this group, it’s the people that are in this organization. We appreciate all the support we can get, but if the tides were turned and Saskatchewan had the majority, it wouldn’t matter, because at the end of the day, we got to play a football game. It’s going to be a clash of Titans, and we’re excited.”

The Roughriders won the regular season series over the Bombers 2-1, including both games in the annual home-and-home, but the only thing worse for fans of the Blue and Gold will be seeing the Riders’ logo painted in their end zone on Sunday.

“It’s a long way away from Montreal, so I don’t know how many fans will get here,” said returner James Letcher Jr., “but the Winnipeg fans, as far as the people at the airport and everybody helping us out, they’ve been great. I really appreciate them, and my teammates do, as well, so we’d love to see them cheering for the blue, but if they want to cheer for green, that’s fine, too.”

joshua.frey-sam@freepress.mb.ca

X: @jfreysam