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There’s generally a purpose to everything Nik Lewis does and says. When he casually mentioned “give the ball to Sutton” as the Alouettes’ tailback was being interviewed on Monday, it likely wasn’t simply a coincidence.

Tyrell Sutton is the Canadian Football League’s leading rusher, with 210 yards on 34 carries. That’s an average of 6.2 yards on a team that’s struggling offensively. And yet, for some bizarre reason, Sutton didn’t get his first carry until well into the second quarter of last Thursday’s loss against British Columbia.

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Up until that juncture, the Als had produced four first downs, including just two in the opening quarter. Montreal went two-and-out on its opening two possessions.

Predictably, head coach Jacques Chapdelaine, who doubles as the offensive co-ordinator and calls the plays, said more rushing plays are ordered in the huddle than ultimately are executed.

“At the end of the day we also have to respond to what the defence does,” he said following Monday’s practice at Olympic Stadium. “From film study we thought we could get into the zone reads and run-pass options. But their defensive-end (DeQuin Evans) played differently than what we had seen. He came hard and we had to pull the ball.”