O’Leary: Alouettes use free agency to overhaul defence

When you stumble as hard as the Montreal Alouettes did last year, you want to come back looking completely different.

Into the second day of free agency, Als’ GM Kavis Reed has gone all-in on a facelift for his team’s defence.

So far on Wednesday, the Als have announced the signings of defensive back Mitchell White and defensive end Jamaal Westerman. On Tuesday they added defensive backs Tommie Campbell and Joe Burnett out of Calgary, brought Dominique Ellis back to Montreal, while extending Tevaughn Campbell.

RELATED: CFL FREE AGENCY
» Official Free Agent Tracker
» Mitchell White returns to Monteal
» Als add to secondary; sign Burnett, Campbell, Ellis
» Westerman heads east; signs with Alouettes

This is the best the Alouettes’ defence has looked in a long time. Of just about any defensive stat kept in the CFL, you’ll find Montreal at or near the bottom of it after last season. An injection of talent was crucial, and in those six players, that’s abundant. An injection of new blood into a downtrodden group was almost just as necessary.

“If I could get three things to revamp a defence, which is what Montreal had to do,” CFL.ca’s Davis Sanchez explained on Wednesday night’s free agency live show on CFL.ca. “I’m going to take two cover guys, two defensive backs and one edge pass rusher.

“Kavis Reed went out and did that. I love the moves. There’s conversation that they paid a lot for these guys. Oh well. Ho hum. You’ve got to do what you’ve got to do to build this roster. Kavis Reed went out and did that.”

There will be some familiarity for the Calgary players, who were under Khalil Carter when he was the Stamps’ defensive backs coach over the last three years. Campbell can fill the void left by Jonathan Mincy, who signed with the Chicago Bears after a 54-tackle, two-interception 2017 season. Campbell, 30, had 37 tackles and a pair of interceptions with the Stampeders last year.

Sanchez said he could see the Als shuffling those players around a little in the backfield.

Montreal added Jamaal Westerman to their defensive line on the second day of free agency (Johany Jutras/CFL.ca)

“Tevaughn Campbell plays the field corner spot. Mitchell White also plays the field corner spot,” he said. “I think there’s a possibility of Mitchell White, who has great feet, really fluid, good instincts, I could see him moving and them trying him out at the field halfback position.”

White was a late-season acquisition for the Toronto Argonauts last year, but made a big impact in six regular-season games, where he had three interceptions. He added four tackles in the Grey Cup game against the Stamps.

While the influx of new talent should help in defending the pass, Westerman will be looked upon to help lead change in the trenches. The Alouettes were last in the league in sacks, with just 25, with Toronto and Calgary doubling them for the league lead. Montreal will need the soon-to-be 33-year-old (his birthday is next Wednesday) to be a leader.

Westerman’s season was cut short in 2017 by a shoulder injury, but he had seven sacks in 11 games. That followed an eight-sack showing in 2016 and an astonishing 17 sacks in his CFL debut season in 2015. Working on a line with another vet, in John Bowman, they can form a tough tandem or use Westerman to lighten the workload for Bowman, a 12-year vet.

“The cornerstone of every defence is an elite pass rusher and a guy that can manage a double-team,” Sanchez said. “Getting Bowman some rest, allowing him to play 25, 30 snaps a game, he’ll be much more effective. Adding Westerman gives them the flexibility to do that.”