'We feel we can overcome any adversity,' defiant Als GM Maciocia says

Ottawa Citizen

4 days ago

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And this is why they play the game.
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The Alouettes went into Calgary last Thursday on a wing and a prayer. They were without starting quarterback Davis Alexander, Canadian receiver Tyson Philpot and returner James Letcher Jr. In the pre-game warm-up, linebacker Najee Murray was scratched with a hamstring injury and they already were missing defensive-tackle Dylan Wynn.
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But McLeod Bethel-Thompson won his first game as Alexander's replacement, and Jose Maltos kicked three field goals in the fourth quarter — including a career-long 58-yarder with 70 seconds remaining — and the Als prevailed, 23-21.
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'We went there and never felt we couldn't win the game, although we knew it wasn't going to be easy,' general manager Danny Maciocia told The Gazette. 'I'll talk about it until I'm blue in the face. Unless you're witnessing it and you're living it first-hand internally, it's hard to explain. There's such a strong bond and belief; the culture internally. We never feel like we're playing short-handed. We feel so strong about the people that are here. We feel we can overcome any adversity. We feel we have the elements in place.
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'And,' Maciocia added emphatically, 'we don't give a rat's ass what people think.'
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While it didn't hurt Montreal's cause when Stampeders starting quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. suffered an apparent head injury at the end of the third quarter, it didn't appear he would single-handedly win this game. While he completed 15 of 25 passes for 193 yards and a touchdown, Adams also missed seven consecutive passes to close out the first half.
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And the Als went into the intermission nursing a 14-13 lead following Maltos's 36-yard field goal on the final play of the half after trailing 13-3 earlier in the second quarter.
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'V.A. is an outstanding quarterback,' Maciocia said of the former Alouette. 'Obviously when he went down — it's no different than when a lot of other starting quarterbacks go down. There's a significant drop-off. With some others, there's a little one. Good teams find a way. Good teams rally around those types of situations. That's what we did.'