Cody Fajardo:
Cody is ever the pro. He radiates a confidence you need from your starting quarterback.
When asked about Montreal Alouettes QB Davis Alexander he said, “He won MOP, they made the right call.” When asked about betting lines he said, “I love the underdog role.”
He gets things in a way only pro’s pro can. The way he carries himself even through something like this, with the calm and the poise, and the looseness is infectious throughout the rest of the team, and to my eye it’s a big part of what brings them all such a (deserved) confidence.
He talked about the team identity: “We didn’t really have a team identity last year… this year it formed into a ‘whatever it takes mentality’.” I thought he made a really great point. Not that I would say they didn’t have an identity last year, because I thought their identity was that they were a team that would fight to the final whistle even if things didn’t go their way. But this year they made it a point that winning and winning by “whatever it takes” was what was necessary to elevate this franchise.
When I asked him about facing elite talent in the form of B.C. Lions linebacker Darnell Sankey and defensive lineman Mathieu Betts in the West Final he said that’s the offensive line’s job and when your eyes start wandering a QB will make mistakes. I asked him again about the secondary of this Als team, and he made the point on the importance of eye discipline.
“As a quarterback your eye discipline vs Montreal Alouettes is what’s going to help you win this football game…”. I can’t add anything here that most readers don’t already know about the importance of understanding the Als coverages, blitz packages, etc., but the most interesting point I thought was that I always thought of eye discipline as a tool. Cody made it a point to hammer home just how important it is.
Austin Mack:
One of the first things I had to ask Austin Mack was the prospect of facing his old team. He had this to say:
“You sign a four-year deal, you get released after one year, one year removed you get an opportunity to play for the big one you want to win it no other way… but at the end of the day is that going to take me out of my game? Of course not.”
I don’t want to speak for him but based on his demeanor and the nature of the quote it’s safe to say this one is personal. And how can it not be? But he made the even more important point that it won’t take him out of his game, which I think is key. I think there’s almost a connotation because of memorable moments, or movies, or TikTok edits that anytime a player plays with this chip on their shoulder they play better, and that’s not always the case. Now, it very well could be for Austin, I’m not saying it’s not. All I’m saying is that it’s not always the case. I think Davis Alexander on the other side can be a case for that.
So for Austin to come out and say “I can’t let it get me out of my game,” I think is huge. When he is who he is, he’s a top three wide receiver in the CFL. So why get away from who you are even if the emotion is high?
Carter O’Donnell:
This is a guy who’s just good at football, man. It’s really easy as that. Soft spoken and unassuming but man he’s a killer. He has such an aura to him that screams “I don’t want to be doing this I just want to be playing football,” but he’s the nicest guy in the world about it. I asked him about the success they had when he would pull out from the guard spot, in the first Montreal game when Justin Rankin had 230 yards, and he said “It’s always a mismatch.
Anytime the play allows me to do that you take advantage of it. We’ve been really successful running those plays.” And man have they ever. What both Carter and Coulter Woodmansey bring to the table on those sets where the guards pull is their athleticism. They get out in space so well. Rankin behind them really lets it develop. I hope we have a chance to see a healthy dose of those sets this Sunday, because when those guys get out in space and Justin is behind them the running game can look unstoppable.
Tyrell Ford:
Tyrell Ford is going to be involved in the matchup of the night when he lines up against Tyson Philpot. It’s the best wide receiver in the league vs the best cornerback in the league. And I was curious to hear his thoughts on the matchup so I asked him about it and this is what he had to say:
“I mean yeah he’s really talented, at the end of the day he’s gonna run whatever the coach tells him to run so I think if I can kinda get a little heads up on what I think’s going on that could help…I think the biggest thing is not making the play worse… If he does catch the ball, tackle him cause I think that’s when he’s most dangerous, when he gets the ball in his hands.”
First of all I think it’s worth noting that Tyrell didn’t give himself enough credit. He’s that dude too. Like he’s the dude. Tyson has to worry about him too. Now to be fair to Tyrell, and it’s only kind of donning on me now but I didn’t ask him about that part. But still. The point he made about his YAC ability was a great point. Tyson led the league in yards after catch. But not just that – for reference the gap between Tyson and second place was as big as the gap between second and fourteenth place (actually it was one yard off). So being able to make sure he doesn’t make plays once he gets the ball in his hands and limit his ability in that regard is a well taken and worth noting key to the game.
Justin Rankin:
Justin’s another guy who just loves football and who just wants to win. He really has no ego. And I asked him about that and I’ll get to it. But he really just wants to win. He wants to contribute in whichever way he can, at any and all times to help the team win. He could so easily want to focus on being the guy. Someone as talented as him with the fanfare and talent he has. But he just wants to win. He’s willing to do whatever it takes. And that’s a huge reason this team is as good as they were. That attitude comes top down from your best players.
“Personally we have guys that are always preaching that unselfishness… not just talk about it but they have to actually go through things.”
That was his quote regarding team unselfishness, and I think it’s such a perfect matchup about what this team is and who they are through and through.
I also made a point to ask him the same I did Carter O’Donnell about the success they have in sets where his guards pull, and his relationship and communication with them as a result:
“Talking to each other throughout the game and making adjustments. At the end of the day it’s the same… let’s assert our dominance…”. Assert dominance. Well with in their ability, and as anyone will tell you, two of the most pertinent keys to winning football games. Win the line of scrimmage and run the ball.
One other point he made was about Coulter Woodmansey and the team depth, which I think is worth noting – “Having Coulter back for this game too, he’s one of the best players I’ve been around…I know that we have a lot of depth in that room as well… I think people forget how hurt we were this season because of the depth we have.” It’s so true. This team was rarely, honestly if ever fully healthy. But they also very very rarely missed a beat.
Vincent Blanchard:
Vincent Blanchard was one of my favourite people to talk to. He had this swag to him without even trying that I wished I could have. I asked him straight up if he thought he was robbed of the special teams player of the year award: “I would say yes.”
Rockstar.
And he was by the way. He just has such a confidence to himself. He’s ready to come in and put the team on his back, make the field goal and be the hero. Sometimes the moment might feel too big for some players. It definitely doesn’t for Vincent Blanchard. I did want to get to ask him about some specifics within the season. I asked about Bradley Hladik coming in for Luke Burton-Krahn to take over long snapping duties and if it made him nervous.
“Maybe the first game I was just a little bit stressed, but after the first one I’ve trusted him…”. Bradley’s been a rockstar himself by the way. Long snapping is one of the toughest jobs on a football field, and he came in and the team didn’t really miss a beat.
One other quote from Vincent that I think is reflective of his confidence is this: “The problem with last year was I didn’t have a good start… When I left after last season I told coach Mark I will be better next year because I know myself. I just need to find my rhythm…”. He basically told the coach I’m good for it, and has been ever since.
Joel Dublanko:
Joel was the last person I talked to at the second session and we got cut off, which was too bad but I did have a chance to ask him about something that I think is kind of a rarity. He’s had a chance to play in a College Football Playoff Game, which outside of the Grey Cup or the Super Bowl are the highest stakes you’ll find in football. Obviously there are a lot of players who have played in the Grey Cup and that’s higher stakes but I still wanted to ask him about how playing in that game lends itself to his preparation for this game.
“It’s very similar, I’ve thought about that a couple times about how I kind of handled that week and everything that came along with it…It’s adding to my preparation and thoughts going into it…be more intentional with your time… sometimes you think you are and then you go into a game and you’re like ‘not quite there’… I think it’s absolutely an advantage and very similar.”
Aside from that I would make the argument that this is the one player on the team who you can always count on to be ready and go into battle no matter what.
Ed Hervey:
The other conversation I had was with Elks general manager Ed Hervey. We had about 10 minutes at the beginning of the second session which acted as a defacto one on one. This one I’m going to have to tease a little bit.
It’s uploaded as a podcast to the Elks101 podcast channels, and bluntly I think this one works far better when listened to fully as opposed to being broken up with transcriptions and my thoughts. So I really do implore you to go listen to that one as is, in audio form. I’ll likely write a fully transcribed article for that one as well. It would feel like a disservice to do it in this format. But it was a great conversation regarding the team’s schedule, culture, the staff, and relationships. It’s well documented how bright Ed’s football mind is. But what he deserves just as much if not more credit for is his assessment of character. You can see that in the way this team is constructed.
